The Muse: August 2001

Annual Meeting
Sunday, September 9, 2:00 Sweet Briar Museum

This year’s Annual Meeting will be a membership only event held at Sweet Briar Museum on September 9th at 2:00. Mrs. Ann Whitley has graciously offered to open the Sweet Briar Museum and slave cabin tool collection for visitors. There may also be an opportunity to tour the President’s House - the original Fletcher Plantation home. Mrs. Whitley will share with us the history of Sweet Briar, and there will be time for refreshments on the veranda/porch at the Alumnae House.

This will be an opportunity to meet with friends, learn a little about the history of Sweet Briar College and the Fletcher family and catch up on the latest Museum news. Feel free to being a friend or neighbor and invite them to become a member of the Museum.

New Exhibit

A Time of Hardship and Growth: The 1930s and the Great Depression in Amherst County will replace What if the Dress Wasn’t There? by the first week in August.

This exhibit reviews the decade of the 1930s in Amherst County. Although it was a time of great hardship, Amherst dependence on agriculture helped to lessen the effects of the Great Depression on its citizens. Still, trains ran through Amherst and Monroe filled with men searching longingly for work. Several relief programs in the mid-1930s employed workers who built roads and buildings throughout the county. At home, families cobbled together furniture and clothes out of scraps and canned fruits and vegetables to last through the winters.

In this exhibit you can see examples of furniture made in Amherst during the 1930s, read reports of historic buildings taken by local relief workers and listen to several 1930s radio shows including Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds. The exhibit will run through second week in November.

While you are here, be sure to check out the entries of our art and essay contests. See what local children feel is of historic importance in their communities. The projects will be exhibited through the end of September.

New Telephone Number

Notice to our out of area residents. The area code for the Museum has changed from 804 to 434. The new telephone number for the Museum is (434) 946-9068.

Fall House Tour

This year’s Historic House Tour will be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Patrick in Amherst. Their turn-of-the Century home as well as the adjoining Military History Research Center will be open to members of the Museum. More information to follow. The tour will be early in November.

Director’s Notes
Permanent Exhibit Now Open

I hope you all have had an opportunity to visit the Museum within the past months and see the new Permanent Exhibit that opened June 2. The exhibit explores several aspects of Amherst County’s history including the natural history, bateaus, agriculture and Civil War. Objects on display include Monacan projectile points, a copy of the original legislation creating Amherst County, a Civil War era wooden leg, a ca. 1900 christening gown and much more. It is my hope that every individual who walks through the exhibit will learn something new about the history of Amherst County.

A small section of the exhibit is arranged to represent a 1910 sitting area decorated as the Kearfoot family may have done so when they lived in the museum building. This space already holds a Victorian parlor organ, traveling trunk, and a 1915 dress on a mannequin. Several objects for the walls have been temporarily loaned to the museum including a mirror, and some Victorian prints. These items will remain only until permanent gifts can replace them A traditional late Victorian setting would be much more cluttered.

This is a plea to those of you who may have attics full of old stuff. There are several specific items I am looking for to complete this section of the exhibit. If anyone has any of the following they might be willing to donate to the Museum, please call me at the Museum.

• Small gilt mirror
• 1890-1910 era framed prints or artwork
• coal scuttle
• 1900-1915 wide brimmed lady’s hat
• Victorian trinkets
• Victorian trinket stand/curio

By combining out efforts, we should be able to make this segment of the exhibit a truly realistic setting of life in Amherst ca. 1910.

Meghan

Contest and Raffle Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our recent Historic Essay and Art Contests!!

Essay:

• 1 - Daniel Warner - History Report of Charles Tucker Creamer
• 2 - Jonathan Warner - History Report of Glease Edward Jones
• 3 - Rachel Shimp - The Indian Creek Mill

Art:

• 1 - Christopher Wegert - Model of Cash’s Mill
• 2 - Scot Valiente - Photograph of Dulwich Manor
• 3 - Laura Tourtellotte - Painting of Campbell’s Mill at Sunset

The winner of the painting by Dr. Betty Rich was Tony Drumheller. We know he will greatly enjoy it.

Historic Essay Contest Winner

This month’s historic article was this winner of the Museum’s Historic Essay Contest this spring. It was written by Daniel Paul Warner. All the essays submitted for the contest are available at the Museum for anyone interested in reading them.

History Report of Charles Tucker Creamer

Charles Tucker Creammer (now spelled Creamer) was born on March 15, 1935 in Amherst County, Virginia. Mr. 'Tuck' Creammer was born and raised in his parent’s house, which was built in 1732, the same year that George Washington was born. It still stands today in Giddsville at the base of Piney Mountain. An original sheepskin deed reveals new evidence that the Creammer property was first sold to William Martin in the 1790s and later transferred to the Tucker and Waller families. Robert William Creammer, Tuck’s father, married Ruby Tucker. When Robert Creammer asked for Ruby’s hand in marriage, her father said, "If you want my daughter, you have to take the house and land too." Tuck’s mother is part of five generations of Tuckers, which have lived and worked in the area.

Tuck Creammer was the second born of five children, three bothers and one sister. He and his family raised cattle, hog, and chicken. They grew corn and tobacco while maintaining a large garden enough to feed the family and their livestock. During the Depression years, just prior to World War II, many Americans went hungry and lacked income. Mr. Creammer remembers never going hungry or being without basic provision. They canned garden vegetables and stored other food in root cellars for consumption during the winter months. Additionally, he remembers salting their meat and using ice boxes.

As a boy, Mr. Creammer attended Temperance School offering grades one through twelve. Most of the time, an old bus came by to pick up him and his bothers. Otherwise they would walk the three-mile trek to school. He also remembers walking the old back road by the Thoroughfare to attend Sunday School and Ivy Hill Church located on Indian Creek Road. Tuck recalls how all the locals identified what is now called Gidsville Road as “The Thoroughfare.” In the springtime, this passage is particularly beautiful being lined with Mountain Laurel, Rhododendrons, and a variety of other flowering plants. When he was a sophomore in High School, his father became disabled for six months after stepping on a rusty nail in the field. Consequently, his leg became gangrene and he was unable to work the farm. As a result, Tuck and his younger brother, Clinton, were left with much of the farm respoisibilities. During that year, Tuck and Clinton chose to help his Dad on the farm instead on continuing their education. Clinton returned to school the following year, but Tuck decided to work on the farm. Tuck did earn General Education Diploma (GED) in 1966 during his service in the Army. The management skills he learned on the farm prepared him for better service in the Armed Forces where he became a Master Sergeant.

In 1956, when Mr. Creammer was 21 years old, he joined the Army. He served mostly during the Vietnam War. In 1978, he retired from the service with many medals of honor. One of the heroic actions during the Vietnam War was recounted by Walter T. Kerwin, Jr., Mr. Creamer’s Major General in the Army by saying: "For heroism in connection with military operations against a hostile force; Sergeant First Class Creamer distinguished himself by heroic action on 30 June 1967 while serving as a Popular Force Advisor, Lai Thieu Subsector, Binh Duong Sector, Republic of Vietnam. On this date, Sergeant Creamer was accompanying a platoon assigned the task of providing security for seven bulldozers as they worked on a land clearing project. Soon after the bulldozers went to work they were attacked by a Viet Cong unit employing hand grenades and automatic weapons. Disorganized by the savage ferocity of the attack, the Popular forces defensive element fell back, leaving the bulldozers and their operators exposed to enemy fire. Reacting immediately, Sergeant Creamer began returning fire with his personal weapon and urging the Popular Forces to aggressively counter the enemy attack. Inspired by his personal display of bravery, the platoon moved forward and vigorously drove the Viet Cong into the jungles. As a result of Sergeant Creamer’s brave, timely actions, the operators and their bulldozers were saved from certain destruction and the clearing project was able to continue. Sergeant First Class Creamer’s historic actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the military service."

When Tuck joined the Army, he changed the spelling of is name from Creammer to Creamer and made it legal. Although his brothers were in the service also, they retained the family spelling.

Tuck has one adopted and three biological children: they are Richard Dean (born in 1959 and adopted,) Charles Robert (born in 1960,) James Tucker (born in 1970,) and Ruby Marie (born in 1977). Additionally, Tuck has five grandchildren so far.

When asked about any unique features of the Creamer family, Tuck just said, "We’re a plain ol' mountain family."

Query

Searching for information on George and Susan Wilmer between the dates 1850 and 1875. It is believed that they lived at a farm known as Locust Grove along the James, just to the north side of Lynchburg.

Leonard Craig Sr.
1567 Benchmark Lane
Bedford, VA 24523
(540) 586-4397

TO SUBMIT QUERIES:

Please use a 3x5 index card (one query per card). Try to be clear and concise. Your query may be edited to shorten it. Include name and address so that readers may contact you directly.
One free is permitted from members of the Museum. Additional queries appearing in the same issue are $1 per member. Queries from non-members are $2 each.

Report on the Birthday Bash

The Museum's 25th Anniversary Celebration on June 2 featured beautiful weather, wonderful displays, craft and masonry demonstrations, a moving flag ceremony and creative time capsule by the Boy Scouts, music, and plenty of birthday cake! Dancers were lively and colorful, the magician was great, and the "yarn-spinners" told some fascinating stories. The permanent exhibit officially opened, art and essay contest winners were announced as well as the winner of the painting by Betty Rich.

Many thanks to all the participants who made the day so interesting and to all who came to enjoy. There's always room for more!!

Kathryn Pixley - Chair of Anniversary Committee

Graveyard Project Continues

The Museum is still searching for old family graveyards to record. If anyone knows of an unrecorded cemetery, please forward the location and recording to the Museum. All that is needed is the name, dates, any family relationship, military service included on the headstones and the exact location of the cemetery. Help the Museum preserve this historic information.

Charles L. Hamble

Yard Sale Recap

Our thanks go to Alice Powell for her amazing efforts with May’s Yard Sale. It was our most profitable ever - raising over $1200 for the Museum’s operating fund.

Festival Season Approaches

Look for the Museum’s table at this October’s Sorghum and Apple Festivals. We will have material about the Museum and our activities as well as items from the gift shop available for purchase. If you are willing to help staff either of these festivals, please contact Meghan at the Museum.

More Tours to Come

If you missed the "Get to Know Your County Tour" on July 14th you missed a great time. Over 30 people joined us to visit sites in Elon, Agricola, Naola, Snowden and the site of the Pearch Ferry. We heard fantastic stories of growing up and everyday life in these once active communities. Those who attended even got the chance to wander through historic Red Hill Farmhouse. Thanks go to Jo Woods and Holcom and Florence Nixon for all their hard work in preparing the tour and arranging the speakers.

Everyone enjoyed themselves so much that we are planning another tour for late September - likely in the Temperance area. A mailing will go out as more definite plans are made. You can also check the Museum’s web site for information on our latest activities.

Have you noticed the Museum’s New Look?

Our front walkway was completed just in time for the June Anniversary Celebration thanks to the hard work of the Old Dominion Job Corps and the Village Garden Club.

The work on our gutters and roof has also been finished - and we now have a newly painted roof and sealed gutters. The next step in the restoration project of the Kearfoot-Wood house will be the basement.

The basement project will consist of taking steps to rectify the dampness. We will level the earth with gravel, repair the broken sump pump and re-open closed ventilation holes. Once that is completed, we hope to move on with the front porch project.

New Members

Welcome to our newest members of the Amherst County Museum & Historical Society.

• Rebecca & Clifford Ambers-Sweet Briar, VA
• Janet Berry - Monroe, VA
• Frances Hamble-Fairmount , IN
• Tom Morris-Amherst, VA
• Alice & Bill White-Amherst, VA

Birthday Bash Participants

Thanks to those participants at the Anniversary Celebration on June 2nd. You helped to make our Birthday a wonderful day.

• Amherst Boy Scout troops 15, 37 and 43.
• Louise Cash
• Central Virginia Community Choral Ensemble
• Mrs. H. Crady
• Kay Daughtery
• Ann Drumheller
• Ted Hughes - Historic Buggy Restorer
• Lourine Massie
• Jean Mays
• Dave Mudry
• Jeff Price and Mike Tyree - Virginia Lime Works
• Dale Rumsmoke
• Clara Seay
• Terrific Time Dancers
• Morris Thomas
• Warner Family
• Margaret Ann White
• Ann Whitley

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