Richardsville Road

2009 Reunion plans

This page is open for ideas from you the visitors, just as the whole web site is.  It will be in flux, changing, adding removing, etc.  Like a ball of clay in your hand if anyone wants to play.

But first I would like to share something, then will move on to 2009 Reunion.  Caution, this may spook some....but here it goes!

I will start off by checking to see what book everyone else has, just to see if everyone has a similar book, heck, I may have the wrong book, as I found it at a yard sale.

Now remember this book is very old and tattered, hard to read, and a few pages missing, no index, some pages have fallen out, and inserted in different places in the book.  No date is listed as to when the book was published, but I will attempt to share a few pages here as best I can.

It reads something like this:

The Richardsville Community/Heritage Center now stands as the only know one of it's kind.  Once you walk up the winding ramp along the front, East wall, then turn along the South wall, you enter the double doors of the 

 Heritage Room. It is easy to tell the room was once bustling with people, but has seen many changes, and except for a few devoted people over the years, the building was at the brink of abandonment. A close look shows a few of those scars left behind. Those small scars stand to remind us of just how close we were to loosing so much of or past for ever, never to be recaptured, just part of a future yard sale, or flee market at best.  But the scars,  like the worn board floor offers a link to our heritage its self.

It is a tall room now filled with short little display enclaves, most are about 8 ft wide and 3 ft deep.  An interesting walkway winds through the room, leading to areas dedicated to telling the stories of the families, farms as well as the business that once occupied the area.  

These 5 foot tall dividers that provide the discovery maze are built of the actual boards of the old buildings, they all have labels telling the story of where the boards came from, some include photos of the buildings,  Some are barn boards, some are from old out-buildings, even an original window or two make up the dividers. 

Inside each divided area are large clear photos with names on most.  The photos tell a story to anyone visiting about the life at the time that was turn of the century Richardsville.  Also included in each area are brochures with helpful information about the display including family stories, recollections.  It seams everyone takes a brochure from every display area for detailed reading and understanding.

It is easy to tell the Photos are the only thing that stays in the heritage room while visitors enjoy the area, or events take place.  Just below the photos on the walls are shallow display cases that hold old family items, table cloths, pocket watches, pocket watches, hand tools, and other items the were actually used by early Richardsville area residents.  These items inside the glass viewing boxes are always carefully removed by the family/owners for safekeeping else ware until the next scheduled viewing or event/reunion at the center.

All around the room, just above the height of the dividers is a ribbon of brass plaques with the names of financial donors, along with the names the donation was made in memory of.  The 12 inch tall brass ribbon will take years to fill with names, and continues to fill today some 50 years after the heritage center was first opened to the public. 

Since then it has been used for Family Reunions, Wedding Receptions, Birthday parties, Photo opportunities for family members in front of their ancestors displays.  Square dancing out in the Grand Auditorium, Pot Luck dinners over in the kitchen. 

The Auditorium with its board floor has become worn where the square dancers swing and turn, right along side the worn tracks from the early school days, and the paths worn during the Auction days.  In the summer time regular events take place, the sound of groups of visiting neighbors and friends fill the Auditorium during any one of the events.  Blue Grass, Country as well as Gospel music can be heard by players from all around on many a summer evening.

Much of the Auditorium has a more recent Historic feel, as the walls are covered at eye level with more recent, laminated color photos from local folks dancing, or donating their time and work on the building, children's Birthday parties.  It is easy for anyone to point look over at you and say, "hey look, that's you!"....or "remember him/her?"...or ...."remember that day?"...or ..."I sure miss them"...or ..."now that was a winter to remember"...

A 15 ft x 15 ft white screen hangs at one end of the Auditorium where during reunions and wedding receptions a computer can display a timed photo slide show, or video supplied by the family.  Often families bring old home videos that have been converted to C/D for sharing with other family members on "The Big Screen".  Sometimes parents arrange a afternoon when their children are left with supervising adults for a showing of their favorite new Children's Movie. This gives some of the other parents a few hours to be adults. This works well as the children have a chance to be exposed to their local heritage, as well as interact with other children, while enjoying a new movie just for them.

One wall is dedicated to telling the story of Farming, Logging, Mining and other enterprises of the area.  Here viewing these poster size photos you can almost smell the saw dist of the mills, feel the sweat of the work horses, hear the rub of the two man saw as they worked their way through standing timber, the sound of horses responding to the verbal commands pulling in a wagon of hay to the barn.  The whites of the eyes of the coal miners as they carried the lunch buckets home.....

 Since it opened, any kind of event you can imagine has been held in this building, and at the same time visitors continue to learn and appreciate where and how they came to be,  especially the importance of Civic Duty displayed by generations who are all but gone now.

The Kitchen  "History and Hope" is in a lot of ways much like the days of the old auction.  Filled with the smell of good food, the sound of a dozen conversations at once, people standing at the door way as you try to enter....the hub of community conversation.  More photos stripe the wall, just at eye level.  

Here the story of the Richardsville Schools are told with poster size laminated photos from the days before Government mandated consolidation, the pupils and teachers, as well as old schools transition to fully consolidated to Brookville, the closing of the building, the auction years, and the days when it seamed imposable to keep the building standing. To the development of the now Community/Heritage Center.  Here too as in the Heritage Room, the band of Brass with names everyone walks up to and run a finger across or lay their hand on...remembering them..... those people listed on the plaque are what you/we are all made of.......

And it all started by just a few people, and then there were dozens of people,.... then hundreds ...then hundreds and hundreds who all decided it was important and contributed what time and talents they could offer, as well as share old memories, heritage with the children not yet born...... July 5th 2008, the birth of an idea.

Even if it does take years to do, it is important and do-able

Given the fact that this site will probably have a record number of unique visitors this month (600+)   And this eight month old site is not even being advertised.  And their is nothing "really exciting" to see here except heritage of rural Warsaw township, I suspect their are a lot of other people who may think it may be important too.  So as you enjoy leafing through the old photos of your/our heritage, try to imagine looking one of them in the eye, and say out loud  "na...its not important".

 We all have different talents, and can bring different things to the table in a project....a simple "ok, what can I do to help" is all that is asked.  A page will be added to start to list ideas of all kinds you may want to submit.

 It is easy to think of reasons why not, or reasons why it wont work.......but what if it did...what a legacy!

 I suspect kindred spirits abound

This is the generation and who's children, and their children's children will grow to see the photos, and touch the worn brass plaques where your name is, telling their grand children..."that is your Great Great Great Grand Parents" they did this for you!