Topic of Historical Society’s Aug. 1 program
~by Chuck Offenburger, Greene County Historical Society
The Greene County Historical Society has been unusually successful in recent years in introducing local history to school students, and then involving them in museum programs and activities as they go on through school. The general membership and public are going to get an idea why local history seems to appeal to the younger students when the society has its regular monthly meeting and program on Friday, Aug. 1, at St. Brigid Parish Center in Grand Junction.
Jan Durlam of Jefferson will do excerpts from the lectures that she has been giving the last three years to the fifth graders of all Greene County schools. The school visits, started six years ago by Historical Society members Mary Weaver and Jeane Burk, are now viewed as a rite of passage for fifth graders.
The program will start at 1 pm and is free and open to the public.
Durlam, now the Historical Society’s secretary, is a former teacher who has always connected well with students. She has worked closely with fifth grade teachers to design her presentations to the students, and that includes bringing along several artifacts from the museum which capture and hold the youngsters’ attention. Her presentation is highly entertaining, and will include nostalgic vignettes for many of the Historical Society members.
Special guests will include past fifth grade teachers who have hosted the school visits, as well as other Historical Society members who have presented with Durlam. They will be recognized during her program.
Lunch at the parish center will be at 12 noon, for $8 per meal, with all proceeds going to St. Brigid Catholic Church. RSVPs for lunch should be phoned by 5 pm on Wednesday, July 30, to the Historical Society’s community contacts. The ham ball dinner will be prepared by the women of the church, including a new treat in the form of a salad buffet.
The Historical Society’s business meeting, led by president Ces Brunow, will follow the program.
Agenda items include review of the society’s involvement in summer events, including the Greene County Fair, and the July 26-27 Pleasant Prairie Threshers Bee at the Nick Foster farm northwest of Jefferson. New business will include plans for a “historical cemetery walk” to be held in Jefferson in October. The society’s executive director Roger Aegerter will also update the membership regarding the Bell Tower Festival Art Show, as well as a quilt show, both held recently at the museum. With those events, the number of people visiting the museum this summer has been at an all-time high.
This upcoming first weekend in August is going to be a busy one for the Historical Society. On Sunday, Aug. 3, the society hosts a special feature program at 2:30 pm at the museum, with American Athletic Inc. founder Bill Sorenson returning from his home in Westport, CT, to do a pictorial history and reflection on the company’s 60 years making gymnastics and sports equipment in Jefferson. More details on that program will be announced next week.
Membership for the Greene County Historical Society is $20 for a family and $15 for an individual. The society qualifies as a 501c3 organization under IRS guidelines.
