This year it’s been fun to look back half a century and give a shout out to fifty years of history-loving volunteers who have made Greene County Historical Society Museum a home-grown success.
In 1971 the old county poor farm on Rolling Meadows Road, with its sprawling, 19th century outbuildings and stately brick home, built in the 1840s, then enlarged in the 1870s to house the county’s elderly, destitute and disabled, sat empty. The aging complex with its outdated living facilities closed in 1965 when the Curry Nursing Home opened across the road. The county reclaimed the property with no clear idea what to do with it until the spirit of historic preservation presented itself. That’s when Greene County Historical Society, lead by the indomitable Josephine Denny (1892-1991), petitioned for and was granted the rights of stewardship. Those first volunteers got busy cleaning and furnishing rooms in the high Victorian style that Miss Denny still remembered living, using donated furniture, musical instruments and other high end household items to bring back those good old days. A general store in back was stocked with the goods of 19th century living. Halls were filled with donated family heirlooms, military regalia, old photographs and displays of indigenous artifacts dug from the surrounding hills and cornfields by local “antiquarians” of the 19th century. GCHS Museum was born.
That year, the first Harvest Festival was held to raise money and awareness for the history to be found here on the Western Frontier. The Bicentennial of 1976 was on the horizon, America was awakening to its Revolutionary roots and Greene County was on track to be part of that celebration.
The next 49 years would see generations of volunteers, board members and museum directors serve the time it took to bring their own preservation projects to fruition – inspiring volunteers and writing grants to replace the roof, shore up foundations and other big ticket items such as creating a library in the old boiler building in the back yard. Log cabins got rescued and rebuilt and regional reenactors penciled in the Harvest Festival weekend for Civil War encampments and skirmishes, frontier settlements, indigenous villages and old school demonstrations of weaving, saw milling, printmaking and firing up old machinery, including the blacksmith forge. Local artisans sold handmade pottery, woodcrafts, and handicrafts and live music and theater presentations were there to inspire kids of all ages who came to experience history up close and personal.
The museum became the place to donate local artifacts of every sort. The Waynesburg and Washington Railroad engine number 4, first on display at the Greene County Fairgrounds, was hauled over in 1971 and by 1978 the rusting engine was being restored by a first crew of volunteers.
Perhaps the most rewarding sight to see this year was the almost completely refurbished “Old Waynie” being pushed back and forth on its brand new track, in and out of its brand new shed, ringing its bell and inviting festival-goers to climb aboard and see the world from the engineer’s seat.
Will the old engine ever be under steam again?
“Everybody’s asking that!” longtime train volunteer Jim Weinschenker said with a grin. “It will take a lot of work and won’t be cheap – the boiler has to be completely redone – but it’s something we plan on doing. If you want to help, let me know.”
The museum basement, where food was traditionally served as an historical society fundraiser, has been repurposed with collections of artifacts in the thick walled stone and brick rooms where mentally unstable residents were once relegated. This year, exhibitors set up tables in the hallway selling horror inspired art and books on paranormal happenings in the county, including here at the museum. The uneasy spirits of those who came to live and die here because they had nowhere else to go are said to still wander these rooms. The museum’s occasional invitational to explore here after hours with ghost hunter gear have become sellout events.
Adding to the fun of seeing Phil Galing taking one of his Lippencott alpacas for a stroll this year was getting to meet Greene County’s newest working dog Hildie, hanging out in her booth beside the print shop with her people Gavin and Nancy Rush. Gavin, a lifelong bow and gun hunter said he stumbled upon the European heritage Hanoverian scent hound breed, fell in love and decided to go into the game tracking business with Hildie. Scent dogs are in high demand, especially with bow hunters, whose prey have a tendency to run far from the strike site, Gavin pointed out. That’s when a scent dog becomes a hunter’s best friend.
The Rush family owns 400 acres of the old Andrews farm near Nineveh where sheep once grazed by the hundreds on miles of cleared pasture land. But times are changing. Gavin gave Hildie a pat as he handed me his card. “Our neighbor cuts some of our fields for hay but these days all we raise is deer. I’m here to let people know they can call me anytime.”
Potters Jim and Linda Winegar had a potter’s wheel in their booth to demonstrate the craft that put Greensboro on the map 150 years ago. Next door to the hit and miss engine behind the train shed, blacksmith Gary Shriver custom bent door hooks for shoppers who browsed the hand cut antler buttons and hand forged hooks and jewelry for sale beside the forge.
In the Confederate encampment, reenactor Chris Jones of Carlysle had all the fixings of a Civil War photographer set up and was making tintypes on the spot.
Chris was born in Brave and got his start as a reenactor here at the festival 26 years ago as a drummer boy. Will he be back next year? You betcha.
The first annual pie competition made its tasty debut in the barn and I got to sample a slice of Souix Harbargar’s first place apple pie. Her secret? Nothing fancy, just some home canned apple pie filling, sugar and cinnamon as you like it and a crust made with home rendered leaf lard and flour bound together with water, distilled vinegar and an egg. “Oh and I threw in a handful of raisins, thought that would be nice.”
Museum director Matt Cumberledge, living his dream of a lifetime job since 2018, was everywhere, playing the part of a Confederate soldier on Saturday, then returning on Sunday in a W&W T-shirt to bake pepperoni rolls and pizza in the museum’s wood fired oven in the wall of the poor farm kitchen.
I caught up with him in the railroad shed with Jim Weinschenker as visitors were leaving and reenactors and crafters were breaking camp and loading up. He stayed just long enough to show us the tintype he purchased from Chris, then was off again.
When I finally found him relaxing by lantern light on Facebook a few nights later, I asked him for an ending to this article, and he was happy to oblige.
“The 50th annual harvest festival was a huge success! I cannot thank our sponsors enough for making it happen and I’d like to give a huge shout-out to Janis Rohanna for working day and night making sure everything came together well. It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the museum and the grounds and having a good time with all of the activities. We hope to see everyone again next year.”