HELP WANTED

Shanes Crossing Historical Society Looking for Museum Volunteers for the 19th Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure

Click here for the website for Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure.

Next Meeting: Thursday, February 22, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the museum.

Click Here for Church Celebrations and the Razing and Time Capsule Opening of the former Grace United Methodist Church in 2005.

Click Here for Pictures and Information

Click Here for an article on the purchase of the former Rockford Lumber Company for a museum and town hall.

Since the holidays, we have been very busy at the museum, With the help of the town workers, we now have the ceiling tile replaced in the main showroom. This has really dressed-up the ceiling. We still get items donated on almost a weekly basis.

A couple of weeks  ago we received some pictures from the Esther Buel family which included some one room school pictures and a very nice picture of the creamery in the late 1800's run by the grandfather of the late Olen Ransbottom. This week, Ted Bollenbacher dropped off some of his grandfather's WWI equipment.

Since the last letter, many of you know, we received a sizable inheritance from the Janice Reisher Brands estate. We are in the process of investing the largest share of the $140,000 so the interest will pretty much keep the museum going for many years. We still have a few small projects we hope to get done soon. Below is the news item which was posted on www.parkwayindependent.com

Former Rockford High School Graduate Bequests Money to Local Historical Society Pictured are Murph Knapke and Norm Van Tilburg.  A check from the Janice (Risher) Brands estate is being presented to Norm VanTilburg, president of the Shanes Crossing Historical Society. The amount was over $140,000. The late Janice Brands graduated from Rockford High School, and spent 25 years as a bookkeeper for the Rockford D P & L office. Kanpke is executor of the estate.

HELP WANTED

Shanes Crossing Historical Society Looking for Museum Volunteers for the 19th Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure

Click here for the website for Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure.

Next Meeting: Thursday, February 22, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the museum.

The first weekend of December brought well over 200 visitors. Positive comments were made and there were even some that had items they wanted to share. 

We have found that the work in a museum never ends. After the holidays we need to start the inventory process. We hope to get a good program for this process and have everything computerized. Also this winter, with the help of the town workers we will replace the ceiling panels with the ones we salvaged from the old school. It seems that every week we get a new item to show. 

Many things have happened since the last letter. We have been able get our building painted on the inside and the town has put new offices in for the police department. The town offices have been moved and everything is working fine for them.  They are very happy with the amount of room they now have.

As the school year ends this week we will now be able to get some items from the old school building before it is torn down.  One of the main items we will get are the three large trophy cases which we will place on our walls for displays. We will also get some storage cabinets and tables and chairs. After seeing how everything fits together we hope to have a dedication sometime this fall. 

Click Here for Pictures and Information from the meeting in April.

Click Here for an article on the purchase of the former Rockford Lumber Company for a museum and town hall.

Much of the ice has melted off the roads and driveways. It is surprising that there was not more broken bones from falls on the ice. We are looking forward to spring and hope the warm weather continues. Everyone says that spring is one day closer.

The sign for the Works Cemetery (now a Little League diamond) has been put together, and we will place it when the ground thaws, and we have a good day to pour cement. Our thanks to Bill Beerbower and Bill Now for help with this project.

At the community Christmas Walk, the theme for the display of decorated trees was Ohio Bicentennial. Madge Shock helped put together our "88 counties" tree, which won first Place.

It is certainly hard to believe that December is here. The society has had a successful fall with good attendance at its meetings and another successful heritage dinner. We want to thank Jane Now, Kay Thomas, Nancy Thomas, and others for the work they did in putting together another great dinner. These ladies also organized asnother town garage sale.

If you have passed the log house recently you may think there has been litle work done to it, but the men have spent many hours weatherproofing the logs. They have continued to work on the chimney. They think the work will never be finished.

We haven't had many donations recently, but in early December I received two sweatshirts from the Jerry Schaadt family of Rockford which we can sell and keep the proceeds. We also received on the same day a letter from Mary Ann Coppage of West Hartford, Connecticut. Mary Ann is the daughter of Carl and Catherine Hawk and was born and raised in Rockford. She sent three postcards she found at an antique show in Sarasota, Florida. These cards show the original school in Rockford, a class picture of room #3 in 1908 at this school, and the prsent Colonial Rest Home of south Main Street when it had a very small tree in front of it. We thank these people for these donations.

The Christmas Walk on December 5 was a rainy day, but the log house was warm and dry. Roy and Mona Thompson organized the food table with homemade cookies and hot cider. Considering the bad weather we had a good number of people visit during the afternoon.

Now is the time to pay your dues for the year 2000. For only $5 per person you can become a member. If you do not have a membership form, you can contact the president for one.

The WWW II tribute during Community Days was a great success. The response from the veterans was tremendous as they brought memorabilia for display and many were available to talk about their war experiences. We thank Mike Bruns for organizing this event. During the summer the log house has been getting some finishing touches with the logs being treated for insects and weatherproofed. We are still waiting for the chimney to be completed. Also the grounds committee has been meeting to complete plans for the display of memorial bricks, walkways, etc. During Community Days we had a preacher's coat from the early 1800's donated by Ned and Kathy Myer. Opal Huffman and her family also donated some old clothing. Included were two dress straw hats worn by W.B. 'Billy' Frysinger, a pair of leather 'leggins' worn by Dr. Wickerham during WWW I, and many items worn by Mrs. Irene Wickerham. We thank these people for their donations. Our next meeting will be held at the log house at 7:30 on Thursday, September 23. Jim Bowsher of Wapakoneta will be our speaker. Jim always has a very entertaining and informative talk.

The Shanes Crossing Historical Society reports that its effort to commemorate the Rockford Area's W.W.II Veterans, during Rockford Days (June 18-20, 1999) was a great success. We had many visitors from near and far. Thank-yous go out to Mike Bruns, who spent many hours preparing for this event, as well as the willingness of the Veterans and their families to share their mementos with the community.

All branches of the service were represented in pictures, uniforms, guns and miscellaneous memorabilia brought from that great conflict. We would have liked to have had a memento from every person who participated in W.W.II, but none are forgotten for their sacrifices for us. Many Veterans lingered in the Shanes Park Community Building to reminisce of the difficult time. We were also pleased to hear that some had not spent much time, over the years, talking about their experiences. This event seemed to add some closure for them. In an effort not to neglect mentioning anyone, we will not list the names of all the volunteers that helped prepare and run this event, but much thanks goes out to them. We also appreciated all those who assisted in having our log home open for tours. The memorabilia on display added to the charm of the cabin. In addition, many thanks go out to Connie Sell and the SCHS members who donated to, planned and planted the fragrant herb garden adjacent to the log cabin. A wonderful "map" of the garden layout, complete with descriptive uses for the herbs, delighted many. Nothing is possible without the support of the community and many, many thanks go out to all those who took the time to honor their families, neighbors and friends by visiting the W.W.II display and the log home.

T or F 1. The present town of Rockford was plotted in 1815 by Anthony Shane.

T or F 2. The first name given to the town was Shanes Crossing.

T or F 3. A trading post owned by Anthony Madore, at the approximate site of today’s market (Barrys' Market), was probably the first business in the area.

T or F 4. During the War of 1812, General Ulysses S. Grant camped here with his army enroute to Detroit to fight the British.

T or F 5. In early history, this area was indicated on old French maps as "Half Way Cross" which meant it was half way between the towns of Piqua and Ft. Wayne.

T or F 6. As the town began, the business and residential section of the village was around North Franklin Street.

T or F 7. The name of Rockford was given to the town in 1890 by the State of Ohio.

T or F 8. Small church groups began meeting in homes as early as 1840.

T or F 9. The first official church congregation was the present Presbyterian Church.

T or F 10. The first building in town built specifically for a shool house was built on the present school site in 1884.

T or F 11. The first Fire truck was bought in 1928.

T or F 12. The first Post Office was opened in 1938 with William B. Hedges serving as postmaster.

T or F 13. The first known newspaper to be printed was "Shanes Crossing Chronicle" dated May 2, 1879.

T or F 14. Passenger service on the Cincinnati-Northern railroad was discontinued in 1960.

T or F 15. The first graduation ceremony for Rockford High School was held on May 18, 1887, in the Dysert Opera House.

T or F 16. The first bank was opened in 1887 in the building that today houses Terry’s Trim Barber Shop.

T or F 17. The first telephone company was formed in 1902 with offices located above the present Ketcham’s Furniture store.

T or F 18. The present library building was built in 1923.

It has been a few months since the last newsletter. It seems that when I think I will be able to sit down and write the letter the "crew" working on the log house wants me to help them. In March the first log was laid for this project and just about every good day since then there has been some work done. Bob Beerbower has been there about everyday and solving the different problems that only a good engineer with a sharp pencil can solve. Roy Thompson spent many days on the project and donated the use of his backhoe when needed. Bill Now has also spent many days helping with his chainsaw and showing his "expertise" in notching logs. Al Heitkamp, a non-member, has also been faithful, even though he was injured the first day. We want to thank these fellows and others who have helped as their time allows them.

We are about ready to put the roof on. The chimney work has been contracted, and work should begin shortly. We still need someone to build windows and help on the doors.

To finish the log house project we will be speing large amounts of money on the roof and fireplace, and we still need funds to complete the house and grounds surrounding. We know many of you have donated generously, and we have heard that some of our members wish to still donate. Please contact Norm VanTilburg at normvt@bright.net. We thank all that who have donated to this project which will help preserve the Shanes Crossing heritage.

Another exciting event that happened since the last newsletter was our historical display at Rockford Community Days. The number of visitors was high, and we hope it inspired many to help with the society. Some visitors commented that they had items they could display next year. Contact me to reserve a space.

During community days Jack Smith, a former resident of Rockford and descendent of William B. Hedges, gave the society some papers that belonged to William Hedges, including his last will and testament. We have made a copy of the will and placed the original in the safe deposit box. At next year's display, we wish to have a display honoring William Hedges.

Since that donation, we have received two hats with the Kohn & Williams emblem shown on the inside of each. In addition, a WPA shovel was donated. We have also had numerous pictures of past Rockford events donated. We are keeping all of these items with the hope of someday opening a building for public display. If you have any itmes in your closets, garage, barn, attic, dresser drawers, etc. that may you may think are junk, we will gladly take them off your hands.

We still have a few members who have not paid their 1998 dues. Why not sign up your family members, too, so you can keep abreast of the happenings of the society.

The next meeting will be September, 1998, on the fourth Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM at the First United Methodist Church.