Historical society says thanks

To the editor:
On behalf of the board of directors of the Jay County Historical Society, we wish to thank the community for all of its support during the past several months.
The museum has had a continual stream of visitors throughout the summer and fall, both to reminisce as they viewed the exhibits and to research in our extensive genealogy library.
Although the weatherman didn’t cooperate, our Heritage Festival in October was another successful event. In spite of the rain and cold, we had large turnouts on both days. We thank all the businesses and organizations that helped sponsor the festival and all the volunteers who devoted many hours to making it happen. A special thank you to The Portland Foundation for a grant that helped fund programming for the festival. Mark your calendar now for next year’s festival on the first weekend of October.
Volunteers are now busy decorating the museum for our annual Christmas at the Museum celebration. This year, 12 churches from around the county are decorating trees. Along with these will be other trees and vintage decorations prepared by our loyal volunteers. Visitors are welcome to view these decorations during museum hours on Tuesdays through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special open hours, with light refreshments will be on Saturdays Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, 13 and 20 from 1 to 4 p.m.
On Saturday, Dec. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. we are having Museum Candlelight Tours. Everyone is invited to come and see the museum lit by decorations and candlelight. We have invited several early Jay County residents to attend and share their stories with the visitors. This includes Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Votaw, Nancy Hawkins, Mary Brooks, Fred Bimel, Jesse Gray and other personalities from our history. A special highlight of the evening will be the Play It by Ear Barbershop Quartet from the Winchester area, who will be serenading throughout the museum. Special refreshments will also be served.
A Chris Family Festivities Day will be held on Sunday, Dec. 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. Parents and grandparents are invited to bring their children for candle dipping, cookie decorating, Christmas stories and a Christmas scavenger hunt. About 2 p.m., Santa, sponsored by Progressive Office Products, will be arriving to visit with the youngsters. Again, refreshments will be available.
We cordially invite everyone in the community to visit the museum for any and all of these activities. As usual, all of these activities at the museum are free of charge.
Sincerely,
Larry Hiatt
Kay Locker
Co-presidents
Jay County Historical Society