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Post by David Sechrest on Jul 14, 2006 21:25:07 GMT -5
Well, things are pretty much wrapped up for our first annual celebration of Columbus History tomorrow at Donner Park.
The itenerary posted earlier will hold up as fairly true. There may be some slight changes.
I know it's awfully late to be posting this, as it's about 14 hours until things kick off, but...
It's going to be extremely hot! Dress comfortably and drink lots of water. We will have fans set up inside the shelter (if we're lucky, maybe there will be a slight breeze).
Bring your own lawn chair for better comfort.
I had hoped to arrange a bus to drive those interested in the city cemetery tour to the cemetery, but that fell through. Maybe some can carpool...
Other than that, I hope to see everyone tomorrow!
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Post by Ricky_Berkey on Jul 14, 2006 22:16:02 GMT -5
Well, things are pretty much wrapped up for our first annual celebration of Columbus History tomorrow at Donner Park. It's going to be extremely hot! Dress comfortably and drink lots of water. We will have fans set up inside the shelter (if we're lucky, maybe there will be a slight breeze). I had hoped to arrange a bus to drive those interested in the city cemetery tour to the cemetery, but that fell through. Maybe some can carpool... I think we should remind folks that an hour in the very hot sun walking through the cemetery might not be the best thing for everyone. It will be very hot and there is not much shade! I will be glad to repeat the same thing for anyone at a later date (morning or evening) when it might be more comfortable. Harry's column was great. I heard a lot of comments about it and I hope they all join us at the park.
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RER
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Post by RER on Jul 15, 2006 6:54:45 GMT -5
"Today Is The Day"If you go WHAT: “Columbus! Celebrating Our History.” WHERE: Donner Park shelterhouse.WHEN: 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday. (July 15, 2006)ADMISSION: Free.HIGHLIGHTS: Displays of historic Columbus memorabilia; tour of City Cemetery; talks by Mayor Fred Armstrong, county historian Harry McCawley and Donna Kuhlman of County Genealogical Society. ENTERTAINMENT: Performances by local musicians Tim Grimm, Dale Sechrest and Craig Thayer. _____________________________________________________ From The Columbus Republic Paper Yesterday History celebration offers fun, information for all By Harry McCawley Associate Editor I suspect that a big share of the crowd at Saturday’s first “Columbus! Celebrating Our History” will be described as “old-timers.” I’m not sure what the cut-off is between “old-timers” and “newcomers” but I’d have to put anybody who remembers the “old” City Hall, one Columbus High School and the Law Enforcement Building into the former group. That’s less than 35 years ago — a lot less in terms of the Law Enforcement Building that was replaced by the “new” jail 16 or so years ago — but in a town where many residents come from other countries, not to mention other states, it doesn’t take long to become an old-timer. If indeed Saturday’s crowd in and around the Donner Park shelterhouse is mostly old-timers, expect a lot of the conversations to begin with “remember when…” It would be nice if there were also a lot of “I didn’t know that” and “Tell me more.” The 1 to 10 p.m. event Saturday can be a fascinating educational opportunity for old and new alike, especially when it comes to understanding the town in which they live. Grassroots effort The program is an honest-to-goodness grassroots effort that has been put together by Dave Sechrest, creator of an Internet Web site dedicated to all things historic about Columbus (historiccolumbusindiana.org). Saturday is going to be about a lot more than just history of a town. For one thing, there’s going to be plenty of entertainment. Musicians Tim Grimm, Craig Thayer and Dale Sechrest will be performing at various times in the day and door prizes will be awarded from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Those who want to stay a while but don’t want to pack a picnic basket can purchase hot dogs and Cokes at the shelterhouse. They can even get some nostalgic candy — whatever that is. But the highlights of the day are the opportunities to delve into Columbus history — back to the beginning in the early 19th century and on through the many changes over the years. There will be informal talks by Mayor Fred Armstrong, the county historian (who happens to be me) and Donna Kuhlman of the Bartholomew County Genealogical Society from 2 to 3 p.m. One of the most fascinating elements in the program is a tour of the neighboring City Cemetery from 4 to 5 p.m. led by Ricky Berkey. The families that are interred in that three-block space comprise a major part of the city’s history going back to its earliest days. In between those special presentations of history and entertainment, guests have the opportunity to browse through the collections of Columbus memorabilia that have been assembled by local residents. - Jim Loesch is bringing one of the largest collections including the Reeves’ Worth automobile and an early Cummins engine. - Tamara Iorio will have on hand her massive collection of historic Columbus postcards, many of which were profiled in a book she put together last year. - Representatives of the group putting together the Columbus architectural archives will have information about their progress. - Local authors Sylvia Whorton, Kenneth Landreth and Joy Deckard will be on hand to talk about their works dealing with local history. - And hundreds of other artifacts dealing with local history will be provided by Bob Schwartzkopf of Cummins Book Store, George Kelly, Norm and Betty Ryle, the Bartholomew County Historical Society and the Genealogical Society. Those are only the tips of the iceberg. Organizer Dave Sechrest reports that he’s constantly learning of others who want to participate. If the rest of Columbus has the same enthusiasm as all these people, there should be quite a crowd at the shelterhouse Saturday. It would be nice if it were made up of old-timers and newcomers alike.
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Rhonda
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Post by Rhonda on Jul 15, 2006 20:46:54 GMT -5
Well..........I hope Dave was pleased with how things turned out today. Dave......You should be proud! All in all, in the time I was there, it seemed like a good turnout. A little warm and sticky.......but a success! I enjoyed meeting and greeting the folks who stopped by my Orinoco Furniture/Lincoln Chair Company display.
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Babs
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Post by Babs on Jul 15, 2006 20:53:29 GMT -5
I think the Celebration was a "huge success" and so much of the credit goes to David for all his hard work. Yes, the committee and the vendors and the musicians were there to lend their support but it was David's baby right from the start and I for one think our turn out was terrific. My last count was around 170 and more people came in after that; also a lot of people didn't bother to sign in even after they were asked to do so.
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Post by Ricky_Berkey on Jul 15, 2006 21:33:51 GMT -5
Thanx everyone for letting me hang out all day and help a little. It was a pleasure and I'm on board to do it again!
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RER
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Post by RER on Jul 15, 2006 22:23:39 GMT -5
"Congratulations To The Crew In Columbus"
By what I have read tonight, it sounds like a great turn out. I am sorry I couldn't come from South Carolina today but had to go to a wedding and other commitments. Maybe, next year if the Lord is willing. Congratulations to David and Richard and the support folks for such a historical first step, for many years to come.
Hope to see a few pictures of the event in the future days. I put in the local Columbus Republic Paper article (by Harry from yesterday) on the net this morning early, in hopes some local folks would get a reminder about the event to attend. Anyway, congrats again David for a successful turn-out for over 200 or more people. Now, that is a success !!!!!!
Bob
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Post by richard on Jul 15, 2006 22:49:48 GMT -5
COLUMBUS CELEBRATING OUR HISTORY 1:00 P.M. TO 10:00 P.M. July 15, 2006 at Donner Park Shelter House
Here is the itenerary for the 15th:
1PM Kick-Off; Introductions 2 - 3PM Fred Armstrong To Speak; Harry McCawley To Speak; Donna Kuhlman To Speak 3 – 4PM Music by Craig Thayer 4 – 5PM Guided Tour Of The City Cemetery (Ricky Berkey, Tour Guide) 5 – 6:30PM Door Prizes 6:30 – 7:30PM Music By Tim Grimm 7:30 – 8:30PM Music By Dale Sechrest 8:30 – 9:30PM Wind Things Down The vendor/display list is as follows..
Sylvia Whorton-local author Kenneth Landreth-local author Cummins Bookstore, Bob Schwartzkopf-display and sell Columbus memoriabilia George Kelly-display Columbus memorabilia Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives-info & display Jim Loesch-huge display, including the 1907 Reeves' Worth automobile and a Cummins Engine Joy Deckard-local author Tamara Iorio-postcard collection Bartholomew County Genealogical Society-info and display Norm & Betty Ryle-Columbus memorabilia Bartholomew County Historical Society-Columbus memorabilia
Hot dogs, cokes, and novelty candies will be sold all day
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NLHill
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Post by NLHill on Jul 15, 2006 22:57:51 GMT -5
Hello Everyone, Just wanted to comment on how much I enjoyed the event today-all the exhibits and meeting many of the people who post here. Putting a face with a name is nice. I thought there was a good turnout when I was there. Thanks to everyone who participated and especially to David for the idea!
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Post by richard on Jul 16, 2006 13:09:19 GMT -5
Below is our webmaster, David Sechrest getting a rare moment to relax at the web sites July 15, 2006 gathering at Donner Park.
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Post by richard on Jul 16, 2006 13:26:09 GMT -5
Reminiscing with memorabilia from Zaharako’s know as ‘The Greeks’ Saturday, July 15, 2006, at the Donner Park gathering.
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Post by richard on Jul 16, 2006 13:38:15 GMT -5
Below are two members of the Columbus Saddle Club, Junior Trail Blazers meeting for the first time in many years. Both were members in the nineteen-forty’s.
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Post by Margo Hughey on Jul 17, 2006 8:53:51 GMT -5
The First picture is Wanda Stillinger with Dave Sechrest..
Second picture is Nanci Stevens ..don't know the other gentleman. GREAT DAY at Donner Park even if the weather was extremely warm !!! ;D
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Margo CHS Class of 55
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Post by Margo CHS Class of 55 on Jul 17, 2006 9:15:10 GMT -5
I would like to say ' THANK YOU ' to Dave Sechrest and the planning committee for a lot of hard work and dedication to make this first get together a huge success !!
The heat was definitely a factor in keeping some of the more "mature" residents from coming ..but hey .. it's Indiana in July ..what can you expect ? I had to take a break in the afternoon for a while and have picked up several personal emails from people who came by while I was gone. They were really impressed with all the different displays. Hopefully.. next time I will be able to help much more.
Passed out all the business cards of the web site that Richard gave to me at our Saturday Lunch Bunch gathering so hopefully we will have more "lookers" on our web site.
All the Displays were awesome and just proves there are a lot of people interested in Columbus History. I met a lot of people to be able to put a face with a name. Also made some contacts with former students at CHS.
Late afternoon I started making an email contact list. Surely wish I had thought of it earlier. Bob and Jerry Records..met a lot of your school mates and will be passing on their names as soon as I can.
A special thank you to Harry McCawley from THE REPUBLIC for all the newspaper articles promoting this event. Did see a photographer from the paper at my display...so we may see some more pictures in the future.
Learned a lot from this first time... ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONE ... Margo
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Post by David Sechrest on Jul 17, 2006 10:27:50 GMT -5
From the "Well...It's Over" Department:
It's funny how you spend months planning an event and when the day arrives, it goes by in a whirlwind...
It did surprise me that we filled up the entire perimeter of the shelter house with displays of Columbus-related items, plus the displays set up outside. There were many fascinating things to look at, and many interesting stories about life in Columbus in "a simpler time..."
I want to thank EVERYONE who took time out of their day (a hot and humid one at that), and brought so many fascinating items to peruse over. And...many thanks to all the committee members for all of their hard work! Thanks to Tim Grimm, Dale Sechrest, and Craig Thayer for the music venue...Many thank-you's to Fred Armstrong, Harry McCawley, Donna Kuhlman, and Rovene Quigley for speaking...
I spent most of the day on the couch yesterday, but did manage to count the number of people that signed the guest register: 181.
I would guess that we had somewhere around 250 people throughout the day. We were lucky, in that, for most of the morning and afternoon, a breeze rolled through the shelter house. Things got a little sticky just before Tim Grimm went onstage, but that didn't deter the crowd's enthusiasm!
I hope that all those who attended enjoyed their time spent with us, and here's hoping we can do it bigger and better next year!
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Babs
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Post by Babs on Jul 17, 2006 12:59:30 GMT -5
I was wondering if anyone would do a recount, as my attempt during some of the music was not so "on target". If you counted 181 Dave, then for sure we had over 200. I know a lot of people who did not sign in; we'd ask them but they didn't want to. I can add a couple names at our meeting.
I think we had a great turnout and next time will be even bigger and better.
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Post by richard on Jul 17, 2006 20:36:35 GMT -5
Below is a jacket worn by members of the Knights of the Road, hotrod club. This club was active in the nineteen-fifties and into the nineteen sixties.This display was the Courtesy of Jim Loesch.
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Margo CHS Class of 55
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Post by Margo CHS Class of 55 on Jul 19, 2006 10:01:17 GMT -5
Below are two members of the Columbus Saddle Club, Junior Trail Blazers meeting for the first time in many years. Both were members in the nineteen-forty’s. Nanci Stevens from CA (would have been in CHS Class of 1955 but the family moved before she graduated) and James K.Dickey Columbus CHS Class of 1953.
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Margo CHS Class of 55
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Post by Margo CHS Class of 55 on Jul 19, 2006 10:03:59 GMT -5
The First picture is Wanda Stillinger Hunter with Dave Sechrest.. Second picture is Nanci Stevens ( now in CA) and James K. ( JIM) Dickey..Columbus.. CHS Class of 1953 GREAT DAY at Donner Park even if the weather was extremely warm !!! ;D
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nancs
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Post by nancs on Jul 20, 2006 8:21:48 GMT -5
Hi to all, and am back in CA after just an AWESOME WEEK IN COLUMBUS. Saturday's historic event at the Shelterhouse was just great, it really was. Thanks, David, for having the vision and pulling it off with such success. 'You done good!'One of the last VERY special people that I saw in Columbus, asked me 'when I was driving out of Dodge' to the airport. To that, I have to respond, much, much too soon. I was en route to the library to do just a bit more research, and that turned up some cemetery questions, which in turn offered even more avenues to explore. Many, many stones remain unturned, on many, many issues. My love to all, and many thanks, I had the time of my life. Much more later. Nanc
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