Staffer to explain her involvement with Paula Deen, NBC TV May 30

Leslie Hall, a longtime staff member at Western Washington University's Wilson library, will present "How my book on revolutionary Georgia led me to Atlanta and Paula Deen" during the quarter's last WWU Connections presentation at Village Books in Bellingham. The brown bag speaker series highlights the expertise of WWU faculty and staff.

Hall's presentation, which is free and open to the public, will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 30.

Hall has to admit that she really doesn't know who she thinks she is. She never thought she would complete her master's degree in history at Western, as she took one class at a time for many long years. But she did, eventually publishing a scholarly work and contributing to various encyclopedias. And she certainly never considered the idea that she would one day be asked to contribute to an episode of the well known NBC TV show "Who do you think you are?" But this also happened. The episode, featuring Paula Deen, aired on May 18. Due to time constraints, the segments featuring Paula Deen's Revolutionary War era ancestor, whom she and Leslie discussed, were cut. However, the deleted scenes will be available on the show's website soon after broadcast.

Hall was born and raised in the Seattle community of Richmond Beach. Since childhood, she has held strong interests in music, art and history, pursuing them all. Bellingham has been her home for 30 years, and she has worked at Western's Wilson Library for much of that time.

Her book, "Land and Allegiance in Revolutionary Georgia," was published by the University of Georgia Press in 2001.