Excerpts from NEWS LETTER June 2008
Officers elected for 2008 – 2009
President: Mary Sue Robertson
Vice President: Bill O’Neal
Secretary: Rosemary Comisky Treasurer: Jack Trogdon Board: Helen Blades, Carolyn Meadors, & Alan Comisky
Appointed: Scrapbook, Patsy Trogdon Librarian: Betty Mason Newsletter: Rosemary Comisky and Mary Sue Robertson
Thanks to volunteers the museum may be visited each Saturday from 10:00 – 2:00. We continue to get loaned or donated items, so if it has been awhile since you have seen the exhibits you may find a new item of interest. Trophies including sports, music and drama from the school system are displayed in a newly donated glass case.
The museum recently inherited Vencil Mount’s extensive rock collection which has attracted past students as well as the general public. There are also books of interest from the Greene County Archives in Springfield that are a great source of reference. Plat, Census, Wild Bill Hickock and Young Brothers books are for purchase.
Special arrangements may be made to open the museum for school field trips, class reunions, clubs or out of town guests. We have enjoyed the reunion classes of 1962, 1957 and 1958. It has been a true delight to share the past with the 5th and 6th grades classes during their field trips.
One of our latest projects is a result of work on the history book. The goal for the book was to find a picture of each of the one room schools and a class picture for that school. Now we are trying to collect as many different class pictures as possible from both rural and city schools and put them into notebooks so that when you visit the museum and are interested in a certain school you can easily see and enjoy the information compiled. Several years ago Betty Rainey donated a notebook for Mt. Aetna (Etna) which also served as an inspiration for us. If you have any pictures you are willing to copy or donate, it would be greatly appreciated.
We are also doing a notebook of Baccalaureate and Commencement programs. Several years are missing, so these are needed also.
The society is pleased to have been able to support People Helping People for the past two years at Christmas. In 2006 we adopted a family, and in 2007 we gave a Christmas cash donation.
One of our favorite money raising projects, thanks to the generous help from the community, is our Christmas Home Tour. This past December five families graciously opened their homes to receive visitors. Joe Bob and Rose Dunn shared their newly completed retirement home and their Christmas decorations they have collected through their 45 years of marriage. David and Jenny Doke invited guests to experience the warm, cozy feeling of their home as the bustling family of four enjoyed the excitement of the holiday season. Rhiannon Giddens let us view the 1930’s home previous owned by her grandparents on Elm Street. Her decorations had a traditional style, but with a fun touch. Ray and Marianne Jennings let us view the former Glenn Owen Home also on Elm Street featuring Victorian decorations in the Queen Anne style home. Mike and Connie Pritchard’s home featured 18 different theme decorated trees as well as a variety of collectibles. Plan to attend our 2008 Christmas Tour on December 6, 2008.
Republic Pumpkin Daze is always filled with excitement throughout the city. Republic is privileged to be one of the sites for the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, the largest Giant Pumpkin organization in the world. People from all over this region bring their giant pumpkins, squash, and watermelon for the competition. In addition to the pumpkin competition, there are numerous booths and concessions. The Historical Society is always pleased to host the Growers annual meeting in the back room of the museum. The society also gets into the festivities of the day by having a drawing for a special gift, last years winner was Mr. Dale Beck.
REMEMBERING
The society sorrows at the loss of three faithful members: Clarice Lawrence, Buell Mason and Vernon Sanders.
Clarice is especially remembered for her expertise in writing delightful articles for the Republic Monitor pertaining to the Society.
Buell was always willing to work at any time and do whatever he could for the Society.
Vernon loved bringing his antique cars when the Museum was open for school tours. We appreciate the donation of his obituary collection of Republic residents.
(Bill Robertson continues to update obituaries for the museum. Should you have family death notices to add to this collection they would be greatly appreciated.)
Each year, despite the unpredictable weather, we set up a booth at the Fall Festival. We try to have a display of antique items, pictures of the past or something we feel will be of interest to draw attention to our booth. Last year the display was “then and now”. There were old and new photos of the same location. This helped people locate in their minds places they had heard about but did not know where they were located. For instance there were a couple of old pictures of Lloyd’s Drive Inn and then the new one of Casey’s both located at the corner of Main and Hwy 174.
Stop by our booth August 14, 15, and 16, 2008 to see what is of interest this year! We promise to feature some pictures between the 1940’s and 1980’s.
Our continued thanks and appreciation to the Republic Masonic Lodge for their support of the museum.
