The Muse

Chamber of Commerce Opens Office

On December 1, 1999 the Amherst Chamber of Commerce moved its office back to the Amherst County Museum building. The office is kept open all day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Donna Murphy, a former ACMHS Secretary now with the Chamber of Commerce. Everyone agrees there's no place like a home near the Court House for the Amherst County Museum & Historical Society and for the Amherst Chamber of Commerce. Welcome, friends!

Meet the Museum Secretary

Martha Turner began working at the museum after our last newsletter was prepared, but it seems like she's been with us much longer, since she's so pleasant and helpful to everyone. We hope you'll be able to meet Martha next time you come to the museum.

ACMHS Receives Three Grants

Three grant requests submitted by the Amherst County Museum & Historical Society in recent months have been successful. They are:

A Library of Virginia matched grant of $1123.00 for a Pentium Computer and peripherals.
A Greater Lynchburg Community Trust Grant of $1500.00 for an additional computer.
A Lynchburg Retail Merchant's Foundation Grant of $500.00 toward the completion of a replacement of the front sidewalk at the museum.

The museum opened at its present location in 1992, and the time has come for periodic maintenance to the structure such as interior/exterior painting, and repairs to the roof, rain gutters, windows, and porches. Further grants and funding are being sought from government agencies, corporations, and individuals who may be able to give financial help to these projects.

Muse Bulletin

The museum has received permission to reprint Alfred Percy's book, The Amherst County Story. This book has been out-of-print for a long time, and a new edition will be welcomed by everyone who enjoys local history. Gravestone Inscriptions of Amherst County, Virginia, a reprint of the book originally published by the D.A.R. and edited by Mary Boxley, was published by the museum in 1999 with additional grave listings and a comprehensive index. It is available in the museum gift shop.

Doll House Winners

The wonderful doll house, built by Jack Sutler and donated by Jewel Sutler for the museum's raffle drawing on December first, was won by H. Caperton and Mildred Morton. Their prize included furniture made by Bill Olinger. ACMHS and the Mortons would like to thank Mrs. Sutler and Mr. Olinger.

New at the Museum

Don't miss the colorful exhibit of song birds and decoys created by artists Edgar Schaar and Luther Shimp. Mr. Schaar's birds were molded from clay and Mr. Shimp's were hand carved from wood before they were painted in authentic colors. The birds are displayed in the hall cases, and look so real it's a good thing they're under glass and can't fly around the building!

Did you see Santa Clause?

Local folk artist, Rose Marie Wooddell, loaned her collection of hand-crafted, miniature Santa Clause figures to the museum for the holidays. Each Santa has historical documentation, and Mrs. Wooddell is writing a book about the legend of Sants Clause. Visitors and staff at the museum want to say, "Thank you!"

Log School Sign

Thanks to the kindness and skills of McBride Sign Co., the Tyler Log School has a sign affixed near its entrance which encapsulates the building's history. Look for it when you visit the museum.

Many Thanks to the Village Garden Club, the Job Corps, and the Amherst Woman's Club.

Have you seen the lovely brick pathways at the sides and across the front of the museum? The Village Garden Club provided materials and obtained help from the Old Dominion Job Corps for this project.

Members of the Village Garden Club also made wreaths and garlands from fresh plant materials to decorate the museum for the Christmas season, while the Amherst Woman's Club and Morris Orchards donated a tree decorated by club members as a project in their Community Improvement Program.

ACMHS is truly grateful.

Special Events

A fund raiser in the form of an antiques appraisal fair is in the planning stages. Please le the museum know if you like the idea and can help with the fair.

The Membership Open House at the Augustine family's home was well attended. The museum wishes to thank Dr. and Mrs. Augustine for their kindness, and for joining with group of docents who guided tours through the historic house.

New at the Museum

New acquisitions at the museum include a letter drop box, sewing machine, and desk owned by Wyatt Bowling, Post Master at Massie's Mill, Virginia during the Civil War. Wyatt had a daughter, Susan Jacobs Bowling. The story of her encounter with Yankee troops was found inside the desk.

An Account of One Of Susan Jacon's Bowling's Experiences as Deputy Post Master at Massie's Mill, Virginia, During the War Between the States.

Susan Jacobs Bowling was the oldest child of Wyatt and Mary Ann Nelson (Hill) Bowling. Her father was Post Master at Massies Mill, Virginia, and she was named deputy to carry on business at such times as her father has to be away for any reason.

In 1864, when the Northern Army under the command of General Breckenridge marched from the Valley of Virginia, they invaded Nelson County, passing by Clay Pool, Rose Union Church, and Rose's Mill. The older men who were at home received warning that the Northern troops were headed toward Massies Mill, and they went out to block the roads to protect the citizens, their homes, cattle and horses. Wyatt Bowling was on such a mission, and he left his daughter, Susan, in charge of the Pose Office. She was expecting the mail that was due to be brought by a boy on horseback that day.

It happened that the United States Army scouts came up upon the boy who had the mail pouch and gave him a chase. He know the short cuts through the woods and hills and was able to elude and outdistance the scouts. Susan Bowling heard the galloping horse and went outside to meet the rider. He threw the mail pouch on the porch and dashed away, yelling, "The Yankees are coming." He raced on into the hills to hide the horse and escape capture.

Susan opened the pouch and hid the letters in the deep pocket of her wide, full gathered skirt which was fashionable in that era. She knew the letters would be from soldiers in the Confederate Army to their wives, sweethearts, and relatives. She has no time to hide the newspapers before the scouts arrived. The officer in charge demanded the mail and she handed him the newspapers. Seeing no letters, the officer asked for them. Her positive reply was, "Only over my dead body will you get the letters." He sat down, glanced quickly through the newspapers, and then asked again for the letters. She repeated her ealier reply. "Only over my dead body will you get the letters." He threatened to have the building burned, and she still refused to give up the letters.

At this point the officer gave instructions for the fire to be started in a corner of the Post Office. He went inside to look around and passed through the Post Office into the room beyond which was Wyatt Bowling's tailor shop. There he observed patterns which had been purchased from his own father in Baltimore, Maryland. Turning to Susan Bowling, he said, "I see your father is one of my father's customers."

He asked once more for the letters, but she did not reveal their whereabouts. The officer and his men rode away. The fire had been extinguished in time to save the building, but Wyatt Bowling's desk was damaged by the flames. The charred desk was a keepsake in the home of his son, Robert Perkins Bowling, and it remained there from the time of his death in 1919 until the hurricane, Camille, flooded Massies Mill in 1969. The desk was water soaked, but it was salvaged by Wyatt's grandson, Edward Bowling. At that time the desk was given to Wyatt's grandson, Henry Lee Bowling of Gibonsville, North Carolina. The desk has been refinished, but the scar of the charred place is still visible.