By BEA LATHAM

The written word — have you ever pondered the impact that words have on our lives, or are you like most and just take them for granted?
We certainly recognize the importance of learning to read, having a broad vocabulary, and how to put words together to make a point. Clean up your room! Watch out! Quiet, baby sleeping. Will you marry me? Combining words provides employment for many in the publishing field, educates and teaches concepts that shape our world and also tear people apart when used in anger or accusations.
On Aug. 11 at 10 a.m., as the third and last installment of the Second Saturday initiative for 2012, the Historic Bath Site will offer you a chance to explore the written word with area authors of various ages and writing styles. At their booths, each author will share with visitors their inspirations for writing, how they choose their topics, how they got started, what keeps them going and any other questions that you may have for them. They will have their books for sale and gladly autograph your purchase. In addition, each author will have a featured appearance on the stage, where they will read some of their favorite selections and interact with the audience.
The event will be held at the Visitor Center grounds located at 207 Carteret St. The featured authors and their brief biographies follow:
• Don Brown (on stage at noon) is a former Navy Judge Advocate General officer who served in the Pentagon. A Washington County native, Brown practices law in Charlotte. People in the Bath area will be pleased to know that Brown is the brother of Bath postmaster Amy Swain.
• J. Gary Fulton (on stage at 11:30 a.m.) is an Episcopal priest who served as rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Bath, from 1988 until his retirement in 1999. • Jacob Smith (on stage at 11 a.m.) is a 10-year-old author and the grandson of Alethia Anderson of Bath.
• Joan Daniels (on stage at 12:30 p.m.) is a published author and photographer who has lived in Colerain since 1974. Her experiences in Bertie County have served as an inspiration for her writing and photographs.
• Toshiba Austin-Smith (on stage at 1:30 p.m.) has written articles for awareness and poetry for encouragement for several publication ministries over the past few years.
• Barbara Ann Smith (on stage at 1 p.m.), along with her sister Nina, have written “Burning Rails as We Pleased,” a collection of the letters written by their great-grandfather William Garrigues Bentley, who joined the Union Army in 1862.
• Billie-Jean Elliott Mallison (on stage at 10:30 a.m.) is intrigued with the estuary system found in eastern North Carolina. Her endeavor is to pass along her appreciation of the estuary, especially to children, through her creative writing.
Throughout the day, Historic Bath staff will offer quill writing for children and adults, and teachers from Bath Elementary School will have a creative-writing station. The Bath Community Library will conduct a used-book sale during the event.
Would you like to receive a monthly email of Historic Bath events? If so, send your name and email address to bea.latham@ncdcr.gov.
The Historic Bath Visitor Center is located at 207 Carteret St. in Bath. You may call the Visitor Center for more information at 252-923-3971. The center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It offers tours daily, but is able to tailor a visit (with advance notice) to meet a visiting group’s needs depending on the size and ages of the group and their interests. Call us to learn what Historic Bath may offer your group and to schedule groups of more than 10 people. During Historic Bath’s non-operating hours, walking tour brochures may be found outside the front door entrance.