Ice cream socials, hosts for displays, one-room school & historical chats
~by Chuck Offenburger for the Greene County Historical Society
The Greene County Historical Society will again be presenting free programming and treats on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 15-17, at the Greene County Fair in Jefferson.
There will be “hosts” volunteering in and around the Society’s fairgrounds building, helping visitors understand the antique farm machinery and other displays – most of them about rural life in earlier times.
Historical Society president Dale Hanaman of Rippey and his wife Nancy, a member of the board of directors, are hosting ice cream socials each of the three days at 4 pm with their own special mix of homemade ice cream. Marilynn Hoskinson of Jefferson and Becki Cunningham of Paton will again portray teachers in the actual one-room schoolhouse, letting people experience that early form of public education.
There will also be “historical conversations” on different aspects of Greene County’s past at 1 and 3 pm each of the three afternoons. Those will be conducted in a ring of chairs in the building, and spectators will be invited to ask questions, too. Former journalists Chuck Offenburger of Cooper, and Jerry Roberts of Jefferson will moderate those hour-long conversations. The line-up of topics and some of the guest presenters:
–Friday, 1 pm. – “Sports history in Greene County,” featuring Doug Rieder, sports director of KGRA radio and former sports editor of the Jefferson Bee & Herald. One of the stories Rieder has been asked to tell again is what he has said “may be the greatest sports story in the county’s history.” It’s the one about Donald “Speedy” Wilson, a graduate circa 1926 of Jefferson High School, who was a so-so prep athlete but was absolutely driven by the dream of playing football at the University of Michigan, despite weighing only 135 pounds in high school. Wilson’s path to Michigan football stardom is an amazing one that would be totally forgotten, were it not for the interest and research of Rieder.
–Friday, 3 pm – “Land use changes in Greene County farming history and the present,” with Bob and Joyce Ausberger of Jefferson.
–Saturday, 1 pm – “When Greene County had a draft board and how it worked.”
–Saturday, 3 pm – “Cooking for crowds, past and present,” featuring some of the county’s most well-known chefs and cooks.
–Sunday, 1 pm – “School reorganizations & consolidations in Greene County,” especially from the 1959-’62 era. Presenters will include Jack Lashier, Jefferson High School graduate in 1966 and now director of the Iowa Hall of Pride in Des Moines. Jack’s late father Dick Lashier was school superintendent in Jefferson in that time of reorganizations around 1960, and Jack now has observed the changing school scene across the entire state.
–Sunday, 3 pm – “Old Iron: Our famous 1924 Avery steam tractor and other antique farming equipment,” with Nick Foster of Jefferson. He will also preview the 17th “Old Fashioned Threshing Bee” that he and his family will host on their Pleasant Prairie Farm July 30-31.
If you have information or experiences on the above topics that you want to add to one of the conversations, attend the session or call Offenburger at 515-370-2659.
All events are free and open to the public.
During the week of the fair, the Greene County Historical Museum on E. Lincoln Way will not observe its normal Wednesday and Saturday open hours. All activities will happen at the Society’s fairgrounds building.
