Historic expansion

A little elbow room can make a world of difference.
Just ask members of Jay County Historical Society.
The society will show off the new addition to Jay County Historical Museum at the east end of Main Street in Portland with an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
With its growing collection, the 10,000-square-foot museum had been bulging at the seams for years.
The 3,500-square-foot addition completed in 2015 goes a long way toward remedying that condition. Construction on the $180,000 project began with a groundbreaking in March and was paid for with a fundraising campaign that included a $50,000 grant from The Portland Foundation.
The additional space has allowed museum volunteers to highlight the collection in a more appealing, less cramped way. And as some displays have been moved to the new room, more space has been in the older section of the museum.
The result is a much more visitor-friendly experience.
On display in the new addition will be an expanded area with memorabilia from all of Jay County’s former high schools: Portland, Dunkirk, Redkey, Pennville, Bryant, Madison, Poling and Gov. I.P. Gray. Jay County High School memorabilia is on display as well.
One section of the addition features several displays focusing on Jay County industries. Among the companies featured are Portland Forge, Haynes Milling Company, Bimel Spoke and Wheel, the Jay Garment Company, the Joseph Lay Company, Sheller-Globe Manufacturing, the Portland Tile Company, Naas Foods, Hart Bottle Works of Dunkirk and Carr Canning of Redkey.
Other items on display had been located in other parts of the building and have found a new home in the addition.
“Jack hopped back here,” said the historical society’s Larry Hiatt, referring to a display on Lawrence Welk Show entertainer Jack Imel. That move freed up space elsewhere in the museum.
Other attractions in the addition include paintings by early 20th century artist Jane Louise Fulton, a model of an oil pumping rig, an old home laundry set-up, and items related to Jay County aviation pioneer Albert Rupel.
During Saturday’s open house two unique collections of local artifacts will also be on display.
Two display cases will feature some of the fans and thermometers with advertising for Jay County businesses that were collected by historical society member Cheryl Myers.
Other display cases will feature Pennville-related memorabilia collected over the years by Daniel Denhart-Lillard, an expert on Pennville’s early history.
Admission to the open house is free, and refreshments will be served.