CHAMPAIGN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
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News of the Society

CCHS Set to Host 50th Annual OktoberFest on Sunday, Oct. 2

9/26/2022

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2022 OktoberFest
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 2, 10am-4pm
WHERE: Champaign County Historical Society Museum (809 E. Lawn Ave. Urbana, Ohio)

Admission is $3.00 per person, cash only at the gates.

Celebrating our 50th Year, this Oktoberfest promises a day of fun for the entire family! The museum will be open to explore, and the grounds will be full of crafters and artists selling hand thrown pottery, candles, wreaths, holiday décor, pumpkins, woodcrafts, scented oils, bath bombs, handcrafted soaps made with natural and organic oils, handmade quilts, jewelry, and lots more! There will be games for the children and decorated pumpkins to buy!  
 
Returning is Schmidt’s Restaurant from German Village, Columbus. They will offer Bahama Mammas, knockwurst, German bologna, German potato salad, kraut, sweet red cabbage, pork or chicken brats, and their famous jumbo cream puffs! If you have not had one, you do not know what you are missing! Heavenly!
  
Returning, also, is Poppy’s Smokehouse Food Truck with their bbq ribs and pulled pork and pulled chicken. Layla’s Sweet Treats will once again offer premium hand-dipped ice cream in cups, waffle cones, milkshakes, and sundaes!! 
  
Joining us this year is The Fat Straw Co., offering Tiger, Taro, Peach, Dragon Fruit and Tropical milk teas, chai, lemonade, and strawberry matcha.
 
Joining us, also, is Carter’s Chimney Cakes Food truck. A chimney cake is a traditional Hungarian dessert or Eastern European Street food. It is simply a sweet dough wrapped around a spit cooked over a rotisserie grill, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Delicious toppings are then added such as Oreos, cinnamon sugar, coconut, and sprinkles. When stood up straight, the hot steam comes out from the top of the cake looking like a chimney. They can be made traditional cake style or as a cone filled with goodness. This is a traditional Oktoberfest food and one we are excited to offer our guests!
   
A local favorite, Farmer’s Daughter will be offering their homemade specials and various vendors will be offering cookies, French macarons, breads, kettle corn, and other delights!
  
No Oktoberfest is complete without beer – and we will have a beer trailer offering a variety of your favorites!
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Delicious food, live entertainment, and an admission price of only $3.00 – what could be better? Mark your calendar and don’t miss this day of fun for the whole family!
 
Oktoberfest is the largest fundraiser for the Historical Society.

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Drug ID Program Coming to the Museum on Jan. 16

1/7/2022

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On January 16, 2022, at 2 p.m. Sgt. Shawn Schmidt will present a program on identifying drugs. There will be a PowerPoint slide show with photographs to help people identify different types of drugs and drug paraphernalia. He will also go over the effects drugs could have on someone and common signs of drug usage. He also will bring many items / paraphernalia that have been seized.

Click here to see more Upcoming Events and Programs at the Museum.
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Upcoming Lecture Dates

7/2/2021

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The Champaign County Historical Society will present two educational lectures this summer about local history. The programs are free.
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Warren G. Grimes, circa 1960 photo
Nancy Patzer: A Light In The Sky
At the Urbana Aviation Museum on Sunday, July 25 at 2 p.m., Nancy Patzer will present a program on Warren Grimes, a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Grimes, the inventor of the familiar red, green and white navigation lights still found on the wing tips and tails of modern aircraft, made his home in Urbana, Ohio and created an internationally-known company, Grimes Manufacturing. As businessman and community leader, Grimes provided jobs for thousands of local workers and built the Grimes Field airport on the north side of town.

From his humble beginnings in an orphanage near Dayton, and as a day worker at Ford Motor Company, Grimes had the grit and ambition, not to mention ingenuity, to live the American Dream. Grimes served as mayor of Urbana and chairman of the State of Ohio Aviation Board. This “Father of the Aircraft Lighting Industry” built airplane lighting that helped the U.S. and Allied Forces win World War II.

Grimes Manufacturing is now part of Honeywell International’s Aerospace Division. Mr. Grimes passed away in 1975. In an effort to celebrate Grimes and his legacy, Mike Major, visual artist and sculptor, published a book on Grimes at Main Graphics, his design shop in downtown Urbana. With the help of writer Nancy Patzer, who grew up in Urbana and has written historical non-fiction throughout her writing career, the book is called “A Light in the Sky: A Biography of Warren G. Grimes and the History of Aviation Lighting.”

Patzer, a 1983 graduate of Urbana High School, currently resides in Columbus, Ohio. She has written a number of articles on Ohio history. She owns a marketing communications company, providing consulting services to the residential housing and healthcare industries. Patzer also dabbles in fiction and has twice received the Thurber Treat Award for Humorous Fiction by the Thurber House Literary Center.
National Plowing Contest
Dean Wilson is shown in this vintage photo preparing for the plowing contest in 1950 after having won the competition the previous two years.
1950 National Plowing Contest
On Sunday, Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Champaign County Historical Museum at 809 East Lawn Avenue, there will be a program on the 1950 National Plowing Contest that was held in Champaign County. There will be several presenters talking about their memories of this event. The presenters will include: Howard Brust discussing the history of this event, members of the Dean Wilson family relating how the publicity from their father’s success affected their family, Sue Evans Berkemeier covering the conservation project connected with the event, and finally, Sarah Finch will introduce Shirley “Payne” Prosser who was crowned the Queen of the Furrow of Champaign County in 1950.
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Urbana Students Sharing History of Local Educator; Feb. Event POSTPONED

10/9/2020

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This article was written by Urbana Junior High students Elaei Brown, Grady Lantz, Ethan Rose, Janaya Scott, Gavin Stacy and Michael Upchurch as part of a Project Based Learning unit called “Lost Voices,” which helps preserve and share the history of African-Americans in Urbana. The junior high’s Social Studies Department (which includes 6th-8th graders) is working with the Champaign County and Delaware historical societies to present and preserve the story of Dr. EWB Curry. The information below, as well as other information about Curry, is to be presented at the Champaign County Historical Museum in February 2021. (EVENT POSTPONED)
The students of Urbana Junior High School have selected Dr. Elmer Curry for their 2020 Project Based Learning assignment. They used primary and secondary resources to research his family history, educational background, and his different learning institutions. Dr. Curry was a pioneer in educational reform for African-Americans in the early twentieth century and many of his progressive schools were located throughout Champaign County.

Elmer Curry was born on March 23, 1871 in Delaware, Ohio. He lived in a log house on South Street with his mother Julia and his father George. His dad worked as a minister at The Second Baptist Church on Ross Street, which had a great impact on his future career in education. African-Americans that were freed from slavery were not permitted to an equal education that would have helped them to live a better life. Elmer was interested in helping solve that situation through education.

While attending Delaware City Schools at the age of 17 years old, Elmer rented a kitchen shed for 50 cents per month to start his own school for African-Americans. His school was called The Place of Knowledge for Old and Young. It was located at 19 Davis Street in Delaware, Ohio. The tuition was 25 cents per week and his first student was a 50-year-old man who was a day laborer. After attending Michael College and graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University, he went on to become the first African-American teacher at the desegregated Delaware City Schools.
Curry Normal and Industrial Institute
In this 1910 photo of Curry School, 325 E. Water St., Urbana, the “Wake Up Black America” group is shown in front. The school focused on black education, but was open to all races. The school opened in 1898 and closed in 1917.
In 1889 he moved to Urbana, Ohio and founded the Curry Normal and Industrial Institute. His school had a traditional education, which focused on reading, writing, and math. It also taught trade school skills, such as nursing, caretaking, farming, printing, and clothes making. The building still stands today and is located at 325 East Water Street.

Dr. Curry passed away June 19, 1930, in Springfield and was buried at Oakdale Cemetery in Urbana, Ohio. There were over 2,000 students who attended the various Curry Schools. Dr. Elmer Curry’s story illustrates activist African-Americans from Ohio utilizing the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments in an attempt to better the lives of African-Americans.
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John Titus to Speak at Museum on Sep. 20

9/16/2020

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John and Bev Titus
John and Bev Titus have worked for a more peaceful world since the death of their daughter Alicia on Sept. 11, 2001.
John Titus, co-founder of the Alicia Titus Memorial Peace Fund, will speak at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Champaign County Historical Museum, 809 East Lawn Ave.

A resident of Champaign County most of his life, Titus graduated from Graham High School and Urbana University, where he worked as Dean of Students for 11 years and served on the board of trustees for 12 years.

He, along with his wife, Bev, collaborated with university personnel and community organizers to develop programs for the university and community on issues of peace, social justice and non-violent communication through the Alicia Titus Memorial Peace Fund, housed at the university until its closing earlier this year.

Since the death of their daughter Alicia, the Tituses have organized, presented and been a part of hundreds of events in their daughter’s name to bring about a more just and peaceful world.

The Tituses raised their family in Champaign County until their move to Michigan in 1997. After their retirement in 2009, they returned to Champaign County and now divide their time with their home in Michigan on Half Moon Lake.

Titus’s career began in the mental health field, working as a youth counselor before moving to the field of higher education.

While working for Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan, tragedy struck. On Sept. 11, 2001, their oldest daughter, Alicia, was murdered while working on United Flight 175 by terrorists who hijacked her plane. In his book, “Losing Alicia: A Father’s Journey After 9/11,” he describes intimate details of this tragedy, their grief journey that followed and their decision to fight for peace rather than war, and justice for those involved rather than more killing.

Shortly after 9/11, after speaking publicly against “civilian casualties” resulting from war, the Tituses joined September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization of 9/11 family members. Titus served on the steering committee for this organization for several years.

His presentation at the Historical Museum will include these issues and his decision to promote peace and justice over war and destruction.

Space will be limited for this free program due to social distancing. Masks are required.
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Program on Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger to be Presented on Aug. 30

8/21/2020

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Urbana native Gen. Robert Eichelberger
This photo of Gen. Robert Eichelberger and Sgt. Russell Arnold was taken at Yokohama, Japan, in June 1947.
On Aug. 30, 1945, Urbana native Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger and a detachment of 11th Airborne Division troops were the first Americans to step foot on mainland Japan following the Japanese surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.

To commemorate this event, exactly 75 years later to the day, on Aug. 30, 2020, at 2 p.m., Ward Lutz, Champaign County Historical Society volunteer and author of the Daily Citizen feature “Then and Now,” will present a program at the Champaign County Historical Society Museum on the remarkable background and achievements of Gen. Eichelberger during this period.

Champaign County native Russell Arnold, Staff Sergeant, who was stationed in Japan at this time, interacted with Gen. Eichelberger on multiple occasions. Arnold still lives in Champaign County and will be on hand during the presentation to elaborate on these interactions with the general as well as answer questions on what it was like to be in Japan during this transformative time in history.

Due to social distancing requirements, capacity for this program will be limited to 30 attendees. Because the event is expected to be well attended, current Champaign County Historical Society members will be given seating priority; specifically, no non-member will be seated until 15 minutes before the start of the program if it appears capacity will be reached by members.

Persons attending together may sit side-by-side while single attendees will be seated six feet apart. A temperature check will be performed at the door. Masks will be required.

The Champaign County Historical Museum, a not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum, 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.
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"Main Street Champaign County" Program Coming to Gloria Theatre Nov. 7

10/10/2019

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This event is being presented by the Champaign County Arts Council and Champaign County Historical Society. Event will take place at the Gloria Theatre on November 7th at 7pm.

Event admission only $5.

Check out Scott Kirby's preview video and more preview videos to learn more about the event. 
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UHS Students Refurbish Park Benches for CCHS Museum

10/9/2019

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The Champaign County Historical Museum received “new” benches just in time for last weekend’s Oktoberfest thanks to the Urbana Parks and Recreation Department’s desire to recycle, and Urbana High Vo-Ag teachers Mallory Zachrich and Steve Wilhelm’s desire for a community service project for their students.

When the city donated 12 aging benches to the museum, Historical Society board member Candy Gilliam suggested contacting the school to see whether repairing and painting the benches would qualify as a school project. The teachers responded that it certainly would qualify.

The Historical Society provided the paint and now has 12 refurbished benches for museum visitors.
Urbana High School student benches
UHS students Gavin Napper, Jessica Salyers and Ethan Melms work on installing new boards to benches.
UHS student Kevin Bowdle paints a bench.
UHS student Kevin Bowdle paints a bench.
Instructor Steve Wilhelm returns freshly-painted benches.
Instructor Steve Wilhelm returns freshly-painted benches.
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Champaign Chronicles: Summer Newsletter

6/28/2019

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Read about what's happening at the Champaign County Historical Museum this summer in the latest edition of the Champaign Chronicles!
Champaign County Historical Society Newsletter
Click to download and view.
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Antiques Appraisal Fair: Meet Appraiser Greg Shipley

4/17/2019

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The Champaign County Historical Museum’s new spring fundraiser, Antiques Appraisal Fair, will be held in the museum on Thursday, April 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. The event, which will be patterned after the popular PBS series “Antiques Roadshow,” will be sponsored by the locally owned and operated Freshwater Farms of Ohio (fwfarms.com). All proceeds will benefit the museum located at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana.

“We hope that this new fundraising event will be a success,” stated Rob Pollock, event chair. “The funds raised will help keep our museum open to the public.”

Greg Shipley
Five experienced appraisers will be positioned in locations throughout the museum to accommodate attendees by describing the history and estimated value of each item presented. The first appraiser to be highlighted is Greg Shipley.
Shipley has been a passionate collector of early Americana and Native American artifacts over 50 years. Early Americana items include relics from the Colonial and Federal eras (1620-1820). Native American artifacts include stone and flint arrowheads and cutting implements, trade goods, tomahawks, beads and wampum. Shipley is an avid amateur archaeologist whose favorite part of collecting is hunting for artifacts in the field. He looks forward to the Appraisal Fair and helping people learn the approximate value of their prized possession.

About the event
The price of admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door and includes one appraisal and a wine and cheese “bistro” provided by Freshwater Farms so that folks can socialize during the event and tour the museum rather than simply wait in line. Regarding the “show” component, an appraiser will be announced at five times throughout the evening; he will then present a special item to those gathered in the main meeting room.

Tickets may be purchased at the museum (Mondays and Tuesdays), at local banks – Civista, First Central National, Peoples, Perpetual, all county Security locations – and online until 11am on April 25th. In addition to benefiting the museum and preserving its artifacts, this will be a fun event for people of all ages to enjoy and hopefully one that will build from year to year. This is an excellent opportunity to have a family heirloom, an item from the attic, or perhaps something found when spring cleaning to be evaluated.
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    Champaign County Historical Society Board President

    Candy Gilliam

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