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For Belva King, receiving an old newspaper clipping, a rusty tea pot, or an aging postcard is like winning the lottery.

And the 64-year-old Frederick native is looking forward to sharing the wealth this Friday, when she debuts her first Black History Month display tour at the downtown restaurant, Café 611.

King has been collecting bits of history ever since she began to live it — since the days when she couldn't sit and eat with her friends in downtown restaurants; when she began her senior year at the "the white school," known today as Frederick High School; when she and her friends used to sit in the balcony at the movie theater, and not because it offered a better view.

For three hours on Friday, King invites those who want to learn about Frederick's black history to come by the restaurant. With the help of her partner and publicist, Michael North, she said the experience will be the closest thing to a black museum that Frederick has yet produced. It will showcase items she has been preserving in her East Street home for more than 30 years.

"I've seen so many things in my lifetime, and I just need to share it," she said. "It's something I felt needs to be done. I think Frederick is a very historical place and I hope and pray that we have a museum one day, but until then ..."

Displays depicting various eras of Frederick's black history will be featured during the event from 5 to 8 p.m., at Café 611. The restaurant's display window will also showcase displays on pivotal black figures and events throughout the month of February, known as Black History Month.

Randy Jones, owner of Café 611, said he was glad to host both the event and the displays.

"It's another community event that Café 611 is doing to support good gestures," Jones said. "We know what Belva King does to preserve history; it's another way to share of part of Frederick history that otherwise wouldn't be noted."

Items on display include the history of the Ku Klux Klan in Frederick as well as the history of East Street and the area known as Shab Row, a neighborhood name that may not carry the same connotation for trendy shoppers as it does to the people like King, who have lived there since the 1940s, she said.

"At that time people didn't have anywhere else to live, nowhere to play," she said. "We just didn't like that they call it that."

Also included are displays of historic Frederick figures, such as 100-year-old Fredericktonian Edith Jackson, historic Frederick civil rights activist Lord Nickens, and historian Kathleen Snowden, from whose estate King was able to obtain some pots and pans, a tea kettle and postcards after Snowden died.

A traveling display of the life of former alderman William O. Lee, on loan from the Historical Society of Frederick County, will also be featured during the event. King also has displays on some of her family members, including Lester Bowie, a reknowned jazz musician.

King invites everyone to her home to see her collections, said that whether one or 10 people come to see the display, she hopes that it will reach the youths of the community.

"I want them to come see it and see what our people had to do to make us better," she said.

The tagline for the display is "Look over your shoulder to see where you're going."

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.

In celebration of Black History Month, AARCH: African-American Resources - Cultural and Heritage will be hosting the Second Annual Gospel Fest. The event will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday, at the New Dimension Worship Center, 919 East St. Performances by gospel singers and choirs from several historical churches in Frederick County. Questions about the event should be directed to Belva King at 301-662-9035 or beldking99@aol.com.