October 2014

THE CLARK
MESSENGER
October 2014
George Rogers Clark Heritage Association
P.O. Box 1251, Springfield, Ohio 45501 (937) 882-9216; Website: www.grcha.org
President - Andy Shuirr (937) 964-1978
Secretary – Sheri Forness (937) 408-6834
Treasurer – Bill Smith (937) 205-1023
Newsletter Ed – Erin Jenkins
Vice President – Tom Rumpke (937) 244-0419
Marketing Director – Pam Cottrel (937) 322-4181
Fair Masters – Sheri Forness, Maggie Roberts, Katie Wright
Office Admin – Linda Katon (937) 322-0172
From the President’s Quill for October 2014
September 24, 2014
Next General Meeting: October 1, 2014
Dear Members,
Congratulations to all who had part in making this years’ Fair at New Boston another success. We
have had numerous compliments on the Fair from both new and long-standing participants. We had
great participation from all of our various groups within the organization. There is, however, still
some work to be done around the Gathering House in order to get things stored away before winter
sets in. Look for calls to assist in the effort.
After the October general meeting, the trustees will be meeting in executive session to appoint
the Fairmaster for the 2015 Fair at New Boston. If you are interested, please let one of the
trustees know by that meeting and if possible have a letter listing your qualifications.
October brings the fall events. The Park District will be holding a fall festival on Oct. 4th at the
Davidson Interpretive Center. We will have an information table set up and could use a couple of
volunteers to sit at the table. Please see the Crabill Homestead report concerning the Haunting at
the Crabill House.
Now’s the time to clean out your closets. GRCHA will be holding a yard/rummage sale on
November 1st and 2nd. We will accept period and nonperiod quality items. Volunteers will be
needed to man the tables. Please contact Katie Wright to help out or to make arrangements to bring
items to the Gathering House.
Looking to the future George’s Birthday Party will be held on Nov 15. Mark your calendars and
plan to attend. This is a great evening for members to enjoy period food and good fellowship in
proper period attire. Sign up and recipes will be available at the November general meeting.
The Trustees have accepted, with regret, the resignation of Lynn Slowden as the editor of the
newsletter. Erin Jenkins has accepted the position starting with the November issue. Erin may be
reached at [email protected] .
Don’t forget to check our Facebook page. Many times information about what’s going on can be
found there.
Until next month…
Andy
Crabill Homestead Happenings
Crabill Homestead will host its final open house / event for
the season: All Hallows Eve. The event is Friday &
Saturday, October 17 & 18 from 6:00 – 9:00. Many people
are needed to pull this event off.
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Photo booth – help with costumes, take pictures & print out picture Pumpkin patch, -­‐ one per child Food booth – help sell and set up food Provide cookies for food booth, plain sugar and such -­‐ no decorated cookies Music – any musicians willing to provide period music (early to mid 1800s) Sit in any of the rooms for a period of time as ambiance, (say “boo” periodically) Take entrance fee at gate and send people to parking area Man the bake oven, don’t need to be baking anything, but would like a fire in it Help with set up and especially take down on Sunday, October 19. Keep track of all the real candles and smudge pots set out. If you have any ideas we are open for suggestions. Costuming is your GRCHA clothing with a
“scary twist” to it if you so desire, but not required.
A flier is attached to the newsletter, feel free to print out and post.
Also I would like to thank Doris, John, Diane, and Arlene for stepping up and helping me in August
as I was called out of town unexpectedly.
There is still work to be done on the house through the fall season; if work is being done it will be
posted as an email and on the various Facebook pages.
Alice Dayhoff-Miller
Fairmasters’ Report
A great time was had by many at this year’s Fair at New Boston. The gate count on Saturday was
quite high but the weather once again got us on Sunday with lower than average numbers. Despite
a smaller crowd on Sunday multiple merchants, including Steve Caudill who portrays Daniel
Boone, have reported record sales for this year’s Fair. Entertainers, most notably Mike Follin, our
master of ceremonies and the good Dr. Balthazar, happily reported that they had large, and more
importantly, engaged audiences during their performances throughout both days. New and tenured
artisans, such as Tim and Kathleen Nealeigh of Irish linen making fame, not only had praise for the
changes in this year’s Education Day but also for the new crowds they were able to share their work
with. Of the multiple new artisans welcomed to our field this year, the wheelwright Bradd Mertz
and his family received a lot of praise and we are happy to report that they are excited to further
develop their presentation and return to the Fair for many years to come. Over in the Indian Village
a young gunsmith, Tom Landefeld, and his family exemplified the spirit of reenacting with a spot
on presentation and a passion for accurately portraying their characters lives in our time period, so
much so that little Silas won the hearts of many not to mention the Best Dressed Boy award. On
Sunday the hill that the battle is staged on was too wet so, for safety reasons, a tactical
demonstration was held and to the delight of many the public relished the opportunity to learn more
directly about military procedures. Many a citizen reiterated the gratitude they have for our
Saturday night dinner, dance and tavern gathering, with multiple reenactors remarking on the
surreal joy they experienced as they fell asleep to the echo of the Sea Shanties singing at Little
Johns. All in all another Fair went on and the George Rogers Clark Heritage Association can take
pride in the fact that we were able to provide an atmosphere where the public could effortlessly
learn area history and reenactors had the opportunity to build memories to last a lifetime.
The Fair could not be staged every year without the dedicated service of our members and we’d like
to take this opportunity to, once again, sincerely thank those who came out and gave their time to
the 2014 Fair at New Boston. That being said, we had low volunteer turnout before and after the
Fair, which is in large part due to our aging volunteer base but also speaks to the fact that we do not
regularly gain new members and when we do, we have trouble keeping them. This year, more than
any other year, it feels as though personal agendas were pursued at the cost of the overall moral and
efficacy of GRCHA as a whole. To say that being Fairmasters of the 2014 Fair was personally
trying is an understatement as time after time we were insulted as humans rather than being judged
by the work we were doing for the Fair. It is time that we, as a group, put our differences aside and
work to make changes that our group desperately needs so that we can effectively get back to the
business of putting on one of the most respected early American civilian trades fairs in the nation,
the Fair at New Boston. We encourage all who are compelled to muster a similar attitude of
dedication, passion and tenacity for preserving history that the founding men and women of
GRCHA had, and despite vast differences, worked to the same goal of developing and stewarding
an unmatched living history event.
As fellow members, we once again would like to thank everyone who keeps the Fair’s best interest
at heart while working to keep it alive and well, all while giving credence to their fellow members,
past and present, who have similarly chosen to dedicate their time and effort to our great Fair at
New Boston.
Your Humble Servants,
Sheri, Maggie and Katie