Annual Meeting and Annex Opening Slated for Nov. 9

The Elkhart County Historical Society will host their Annual Meeting and unveil the new building annex on November 9.

The event will begin at 2:00 p.m. with the Historical Society’s Annual Meeting. President Dean Hupp and Museum Director Nick Hoffman will address the state of the Historical Society, review the 2008 season, and update members about exciting changes planned for 2009.

National Studebaker Museum Curator of Collections Tony Smith will be the guest speaker. Smith will discuss the restoration of the Lincoln Carriage presented with digital slide photos. Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln rode this carriage to Ford’s Theater on the night of his assassination. The Lincoln Carriage is held in collections at Studebaker National Museum.

At 3:00 p.m. the annex will be unveiled to the public with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Construction will be nearly completed and visitors can catch a glimpse into the benefits of this building to the mission of the Historical Society. Hereafter the museum will feature a state of the art facility to expand, preserve, and secure objects and records pertaining to Elkhart County’s history.

The facility will be equal to similar storage and preservation areas at the Midwest’s leading museums with specialized storage environments and shelving units to protect Elkhart County’s historic treasures. Most importantly, the museum can now enter a new phase of building projects to enhance the museum with topflight exhibits and amenities.

Call 574-848-4322 for more information about the annual meeting and annex opening.

Do not miss the 5th Annual Crystal Ball!

Discover Bristol's Cemeteries on Driving Tour

Bristol, IN - On Saturday, October 25th the Elkhart County Historical Museum will lead a driving tour of Washington Township cemeteries. From 10:00am – 12:00pm participants will visit four cemeteries in Washington Township including: St. John Episcopal Cemetery, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Proctor-Heaton/Baptist Cemetery and Zion Lutheran Cemetery. The tour will be led by Curator of Education Rebecca Oestreich.

Participants will locate graves and hear the stories of American Revolutionary War soldiers, early Bristol settlers, abolitionists, murder mysteries, and victims of heartbreaking accidents. The driving tour will also pass and discuss a one room school, Charles Harker Second World War Memorial, and the 1848 Slave Catcher Trial Historical Marker.

The tour will also identify uniquely beautiful and ornate gravestones and describe the meaning of some common gravestone symbols. Participants will also have the opportunity to make rubbings of gravestones they find particularly attractive or meaningful and even try the “art” of using a dowsing rod to locate unmarked graves.

“Cemeteries are a fantastic source of local history”, says Oestreich, “You can learn so much, not just the genealogy of the people buried there, but also particular gravestone designs and even the history of the cemetery itself.”

The event is limited to 10 vehicles. Participants must pre-register by contacting Oestreich at 574-848-4322 or rebecca@elkhartcountyparks.org.

About the Elkhart County Historical Museum

The Elkhart County Historical Museum fosters appreciation and preservation of local history and culture through exhibits, educational programs, and an accessible library and archives.

The museum’s regular hours are 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday and 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. on Sundays. There is no charge for admission, but donations are accepted. For more information, please call the museum at (574) 848-4322. The museum is located at 304 W. Vistula (SR 120) in Bristol.

Learn about Historic Trades on Shipshewana Walking Tour

On Saturday, October 18, the Elkhart County Historical Museum is hosting walking tour to visit three historic trades being practiced in Shipshewana. The program will occur from 9:00 am to 10:30 am.

Participants will meet at Country Cordwainers located at Riegsecker Marketplace at 215 N. Van Buren Street in Shipshewana (connected to Dad’s Toys). At Country Cordwainers participants will learn from Proprietor Cliff Pequet how to make 19th century leather boots, shoes, belts, and saddles. Pequet has made period footwear for historically themed movies, including most recently Mel Gibson’s The Patriot.

The tour will continue to Rebecca Haarer Arts and Antiques to learn about regionally-made quilts. Haarer will discuss Amish quilts that are sold and displayed within her store. Haarer has contributed to numerous quilt publications, PBS programs, and a portion of her collection was featured in Rachel Pellman’s The World of Amish Quilts.

Finally, the tour will conclude at DNM Forge to learn about blacksmithing. Proprietor James Rubley worked as a blacksmith at Conner Prairie Living History Museum and is well-known in the trade for forged cutlery. After the program has concluded, participants can stroll through Shipshewana during the beautiful fall color season!

The program is appropriate for children and adults. Participants are encouraged to pre-register by calling 574-848-4322.

Students to experience pioneer life at ECHM

Public, private and home school students are invited to participate in “History for Kids: Pioneer Life in the Indiana Territory” at the Elkhart County Historical Museum. The free program will take place on Tuesday, October 14 from 10:30am - 12:00pm.

Children will experience the hardships, dangers and joys of frontier life through interactive hands-on activities that underscore Indiana State Standards. Museum volunteer Terry Trimmer will begin the program by highlighting the journey, settlement and daily activities of pioneers. Trimmer will focus on Elkhart County’s settlement period during the 1830s and 1840s, before railroads entered the county and ended the pioneer era.

Afterwards museum staff will lead three activity stations focused on one room schools, agriculture, and log home and barn construction. Children will participate in a 1830s spelling bee, thresh wheat with a flail and winnow, and help raise a barn.

“The county museum is dedicated to providing supplementary resources to classroom education,” says Curator of Education Rebecca Oestreich. “Not only do we help provide depth to historical topics, but also make learning fun through hands-on activities and memorable experiences.”

The program is appropriate for elementary aged students. Participants are encouraged to pre-register by calling 574-848-4322.

The museum provides a fun learning environment for children. Do not miss five exciting "Children's Activity Days" scheduled for 2009!

Bus Trip to ACPL Filled!

Today the bus trip to the Allen County Public Library was filled to capacity. The museum will host the trip again in 2009. Participants will be contacted next week with instructions on parking and the trip plan.

Construction continues on building annex

Masons finished the brick details along the museum's parking lot. The lower blocks still need to be covered to match the museum structure. Three large banners will be hung on this wall to advertise upcoming events and exhibits. The building was designed without windows to block natural light that can fade objects and potential pest control issues.

Last week the building annex was officially connected to the museum. Construction crews broke into the building in two locations to installed a wide doorway to easily transfer objects from storage into the galleries.

Museum unveils new Mission Statement

In order to better serve Elkhart County residents, the Museum has redeveloped its mission statement to reflect the organization's focus on preserving and interpreting local history. After researching word count, language and scope used in purpose statements by the Midwest's leading local history museums, museum staff met for three consecutive weeks to collaboratively write the statement. Here is our product:

*New* Mission Statement
The Elkhart County Historical Museum fosters appreciation and preservation of local history and culture through exhibits, educational programs, and an accessible library and archives.

What are your thoughts about our new mission statement? Be sure to post in the blog's comment section.

Eric Kanagy to discuss patents and meaning of “high-tech”

On October 8, 2008, Eric Kanagy, Executive Director of The RedPost, will present “RV’s or Prosthetics: Which is High Tech?” The program will take place at 7:00 pm in the museum’s library.

Kanagy’s program will discuss "high-tech" as something that is based on innovation, the process of creation, and not what is actually created. Participants will also learn about patent design in Elkhart County as well as changes occurring in our business community. Kanagy is the Chief Executive Officer of Goshen’s tech start up RedPost that designs software and hardware for a low-cost way to link digital signs throughout a "neighborhood."

This workshop is the final installment of the museum’s 2008 “Wednesday Nights at the Museum” series about how to do local history. Over 211 people participated in the 7 completed sessions, which covered topics from collection preservation to making heritage books.

In 2009 the museum will host 12 weeknight programs, which will be moved to every third Thursday of the month. Activities will include the Underground Railroad, neighborhood walking tours, concerts, local history workshops, and folk art projects, among other exciting programs!

For more information on “RV’s or Prosthetics” or the 2009 schedule, please contact the Elkhart County Historical Museum at 574-848-4322.