The Muse: February 2005From the PresidentWelcome to the new year at Amherst County Museum! We are expecting this year to be better in every way. Our very busy Activities Committee has been hard at work and has planned lots of goodies for 2005. Make it a point to attend as many as you can--some will be informative and some just plain fun. Just don’t miss any of them! Many thanks to Lynn Kable for coordinating the wonderful activities and abundance of food for the Holiday Open House. We all had a lovely time! Mary Frances Olinger, President Amherst County Home TourBe sure to mark your calendar for the annual home tour on Saturday, April 30 from 10 to 4! This year’s tour will focus on homes in and near the High Peak area. Genealogical Society MeetingThe Amherst County Genealogical Society will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 6 at the Museum. This program will focus on using books and other paper resources for genealogical research. There will be several board members there who have had extensive research experience. Come on out and learn how to make the most of the resources available. Election Day Cake EventYour Museum was well represented at the Amherst County voting precincts during the 2004 presidential election. Under the able leadership of Dolly Payne, each location was assigned a chairman who secured volunteers to staff our display tables during the polling times. A great deal of information about the museum and its activities was distributed to the voters. Many thanks to all of you who contributed time and enthusiasm and cakes to make this such a successful effort! Kearfott-Wood House Bedecked with Garlands!Special thanks go to the Village Garden Club for trimming the Museum with such lovely winter greenery. They spent a great deal of time preparing the evergreen garlands and fastening them to the doors, porches, and windows. Holiday Open House Above, Clare Wailes Webb inspects the gifts from the Amherst Woman’s Club for Angel Tree gifts. The nine foot tree was donated by the new Lowes in Madison Heights. If you were unable to attend the Museum’s Christmas Open House this year, you missed a delightful party. The Museum never looked more beautiful! Many members and volunteers spent hours in preparation for this event decorating and providing refreshments. Music was everywhere! Thank you to Terrie Linton, illustrator of the new Master Gardeners cookbook, and Bob Faught, author of the new Amherst Men in Gray, for autographing their books! Wonderful stories were told about memories of happy childhood Christmases in Amherst County. Our thanks go out to everyone involved and especially to Lynn Kable for coordinating all of the festivities! We plan to have this annual event during the first week in December so put it on your calendar and spend the Museum’s 2005 Open House with friends! Victorian Valentine Celebration February 12 - Come one, come all and bring children for a free celebration of Valentine's Day! This event will take place Saturday at the Museum from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Gilbert and Patricia Rose of "What a Blessing Bakery" are making sugar cookies for children to decorate and take home. Judy Bondurant, a renowned Amherst baker, will help children of all ages to create their own cookie masterpiece. Specially decorated cookies by the Roses will also be available for purchase. Children are invited to create their own "Victorian Valentines" with materials provided by the Museum, under the tutelage of teachers Barbara Helms and Nancy McDearmon. Children who wish to include a photo of themselves in their Valentine creation should bring it with them. Hand-work Valentine gift ideas from earlier generations will be demonstrated, and adults are invited to try their hand at creating a special Valentine gift. Handkerchief embroidery will be demonstrated by Evi Kirkman. There will be a temporary exhibit of old Valentines from the Museum's collection and loans from Amherst County residents. If you have old Valentines, please bring them to the event to share. A Collector's Item Several years ago a manuscript titled Amherst Men in Gray was donated to the museum. We felt it had too much historical value to our members and anyone with connections to one of Amherst’s Civil War soldiers, to remain hidden in our files any longer. We have published the manuscript as a book. It is now on sale in the museum gift shop or may be ordered by mail (see order form on our website http://members.aol.com/achmuseum ). In the author’s words, "I was amazed to find one or more of the Amherst companies of infantry, cavalry or artillery in every major battle in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. They fought under such great generals as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart. They were tough combat troops. Some of the infantry regiments and the light artillery battery to which they were assigned were so shot up several times that they almost ceased to exist. I was really impressed by their combat record and what they had to endure while in service. Amherst and Nelson counties have a common history in four of the regiments where both had companies, and many men from Amherst served in Lynchburg and Nelson County units." We feel that you will be impressed. The book is certain to become a valuable research tool for anyone wishing to dig deeper into the history of one of the companies. There are many key dates, events, names and references to guide you. An appendix provides the name, unit and burial place of many veterans who returned to Amherst after the war. There are limited copies. To be sure to obtain yours, please order or pick up one at the museum’s gift shop soon! Amherst Roadways On Saturday, March 12, at 10:00 a.m., Charles Hamble, will present a program about the old highways and byways of Amherst County, from its early trails into the nineteenth century. Mr. Hamble is a Museum Board member and Amherst County researcher and has done considerable work with the lay of Amherst County’s geography in addition to studying many of the old families. This program should be of interest to all who are looking at the changing face of Amherst’s roadways and understand how they originated. The Year in SummaryIt’s been a mile-marker year! Our number of visitors has gone up, our research has gone up and our website viewing has gone up. We’ve been busy! Just how much? 4365 people reviewed our website, about 60% more than in 2003. We had 881 visitors to see our exhibits-- more than double from 2003; and 409 genealogical researchers, more than triple the number from 2003! We are growing and your support is needed more than ever before! What’s new......in the Library.
Welcome to our new members
And Special Thanks!Many thanks to the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust for a grant to assist the Museum with the costs of renewing and repointing the exterior brick of the Kearfott-Wood House. We should be able to finish this project this summer! And also thanks to the William Cage Trust for their generous grant to the Museum’s research library to help with building a research collection that is becoming more and more popular! A Call for IdeasSince the Amherst County Museum & Historical Society exists to serve everyone who is interested in the county’s history, we welcome comments from you and your friends. What recent exhibits, programs, or events were your favorites? What exhibits, programs or events would you suggest for the future? Do you have items of historical interest you’d like to loan or donate to the museum? Would you enjoy participating in a "show and tell" special event? Even if you live in another locality, you’re invited to share your thoughts about new directions the Museum and its newsletter, The Muse, might take during 2005. Please write, phone, or email the Museum Director with these proposals. Many thanks for the many ideas we hope you’ll have for us! |