A December to remember

Henry County Historian and museum co-director Darrel Radford presented a program on the origins of popular Christmas carols as Celia Burns played them on a Jesse French piano.

Henry County Historical Society co-director Kaye Ford welcomes the holiday crowd.

Musician Kevin Stonerock made a surprise appearance and performed “Silent Night.”

Brad Burk, who has done lots of great videography work for the museum, was on the job again at the Christmas open house. Go to the society’s YouTube channel to see it.

The Henry County Historical Society is planning a big 2023! Please come visit our museum at 606 S. 14th St., New Castle.

Spring is near! We hope to see you here!

A slogan coined by the Henry County Historical Society years ago still rings true today. “Bringing history to life... and life to history.”

Society directors, board members and volunteers worked hard in 2022 to fulfill that slogan during the 200th birthday for Henry County. In 2023, the team at 606 S. 14th Street is eager to do it again as the city of New Castle celebrates its bicentennial.

Cannons

Henry County Historical Society President Gene Ingram is also planning a PowerPoint presentation about how a dedicated team of volunteers worked together in restoring the German Krupp cannon at Memorial Park. That cannon has great historical significance. It was captured by Gen. Omar Bundy’s forces during a pivotal battle of World War I.

The cannon restoration process was a slow, detail-intensive battle for Ingram’s team. The PowerPoint presentation will show in a series of photographs the process and progress of restoration that would have made Gen. Bundy, whose forces captured the cannon, proud indeed.

Now new generations of future Henry Countians will be able to enjoy and learn from it.

Regular museum hours to resume March 2

The Henry County Historical Society Museum will resume its regular Tuesday-Friday hours (1 to 4:30 p.m.) on Thursday, March 2.

The museum is open anytime by appointment. Call us at 529-4028 and leave a message.

HAPPY 200TH BIRTHDAY NEW CASTLE!

Two other PowerPoint presentations planned for 2023 include a look back at New Castle’s origins and early leaders along with an examination of the amazing Thaddeus Coffin desk.

New Castle was platted in 1823. The Henry County Historical Society is planning a special PowerPoint presentation to tell the city’s story in pictures and interesting key moments. Also planned is the re-release of the popular coffee table-sized book New Castle: A Pictorial History. Citizens State Bank will spearhead the project as a way to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2023.

Video / Continued from P. 1

Recently, our Henry County Historical Society Board President had a chance to sit down with Charles Werking, a military veteran who was part of the the Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” project. It was a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built. Its mission was to carry a nuclear weapon should the need ever arise again.

It’s a fascinating conversation. Visit the society’s YouTube channel to see it. If you know of someone you think would be a great historical interview, or if you would like to be interviewed yourself, please call the museum at 529-4028 and leave a message.

“We’d like to interview retired police officers and firefighters as well as veterans,” Ingram added. “They have stories to tell, and we’d like to not only share those stories, but preserve them for future generations.”

Speaker / Continued from P. 1 memoir, “There’s a Clydesdale in the Attic: Reflections on Keeping and Letting Go,” is about the memories, stories, and people behind the heirlooms.

She has developed an audience-participation program where she spends 20 minutes talking about practical ways to preserve legacy belongings, ideas for sharing heirlooms with loved ones that are both personal and welcome, and tips for organization. The second half of the program is fun for everyone! Those in the audience are asked in advance to bring an heirloom or keepsake of any kind and tell its story.

Cronk peppers her talk with examples of oddball belongings kept in her family and ideas on how to organize yours.

Smith, author of “The War Comes to Plum Street,” will complement Cronk’s presentation. He will offer advice on writing about your heirlooms or family stories.

Watch the society’s Facebook page and The Courier-Times for more info as the date nears.