Lucy Higgs Nichols is brought to life in this new permanent exhibit, which details her escape from slavery in 1862, and her service as a nurse with the 23rd Indiana Regiment during the Civil War, to her life in freedom in New Albany, Indiana as an admired citizen whose wartime service earned her a nurse’s pension by a Special Act of Congress in 1898. The exhibit is an extension of the Carnegie Center’s award-winning permanent exhibit, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad." The grand opening celebration will begin with brief remarks and a ribbon-cutting by New Albany Mayor Jeff M. Gahan at 10:30 am. A community choir drawn from area churches will perform at 11:00 am, followed by a first-person interpretation of Lucy Higgs Nichols performed by writer and educator Judith C. Owens-Lalude at 11:15 am. Historians Curtis and Pamela Peters and Vic Megenity will speak about "The Search for Lucy Higgs Nichols" at 11:45 am, followed by sculptor David Ross Stevens on "Creating Lucy Higgs Nichols" at 12:15 pm. Sponsored by the Carnegie Center, Inc., this event is free and the public is invited to attend.