November 2003, Vol. 6, Issue 6
From the President’s Desk
On October 4, 2003 the museum purchased a barn which is located just south of Chambersburg at the intersection of the Molly Pitcher Highway and Loop Road directly across from the Franklin Storage buildings. It is a German bank barn from the 1860’s to 1870’s.
The purchase of this barn marks the beginning of plans for the construction of a facility which will house climate-controlled storage, curatorial and conservation areas in addition to a meeting and workshop area, and more exhibit space.
When the long-range plan for AAMI was developed in 1999, one of the objectives was to provide the proper storage environment with climate control for the museum’s collections which would be built according to archival standards. The primary action plan to fulfill that goal was to build a separate curatorial storage facility.
Storage space in the museum house has been at a premium for some time, in order to allow as many of the rooms in the house to be used for exhibit areas as possible. Over the past number of months the directors have discussed and researched ideas which would make the primary action plan of building a separate storage facility a reality.
The board hired Robert Smith, an architect from Kensington, Maryland, who developed a feasibility study for AAMI. Smith is not a stranger to Franklin County. He has worked with Wilson College on numerous projects since the mid 1980’s. His most recently completed project at Wilson – the Hankey Center which houses their new archival facility – won the Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce’s Property Improvement Award for projects costing at least $500,000. Smith is enthusiastic about AAMI’s barn facility and enjoys the challenge of unusual building projects.
Some of the considerations included in the concept were maintaining the historic integrity of the property, the aesthetics of placing another building in proximity to the 1860 house, and the stated purpose of AAMI which is to preserve, exhibit, and interpret, items that will serve to illustrate the history of the Borough of Greencastle and Antrim Township.
The history of the Irwin property includes a German-style bank barn, which was originally located where the northern end of the Greencastle-Antrim Middle School parking lot is. Taking that into consideration, the decision was made to accomplish the stated objective by preserving an existing barn. The process of numbering, cataloging, dismantling, moving, and reassembling a building is not a new concept. The National Park Service has done this many times.
A barn meeting the requirement for the project was located in Franklin County. This barn is not exactly like the original barn but is of its German architectural style. When the barn is completed it will probably not look exactly as it does now with red barn siding. The lay of the museum’s grounds on the west side will naturally accommodate the bank style barn. The “bank” entrance will make wheelchair accessibility very easy. The lower level will house the climate-controlled storage, curatorial, and conservation areas while the upper level will be used for the meeting and workshop area, more exhibit space, and bathrooms.
The first phase will include moving the barn to the museum’s property,
reassembling it, and completing one climate-controlled storage area. At this
point, the barn itself will be an exhibit, with agricultural displays, until the
remaining three phases can be finished, depending on available funding. The
bank side of the barn will face east.
Eventually, the museum house can be used for more interpretive-type programs
that will teach visitors about what the daily life of the Irwin family was like
in Greencastle. The Irwin’s lived in the museum house from 1860 to 1933.
The addition of the barn facility will allow Allison-Antrim Museum to expand its programs, attain the remaining long-range plan goals that have been set, and to become more of an integral part of the Greencastle-Antrim community by strengthening its partnership with the school district and helping to increase the economic vitality of the area.
And so, the next chapter begins in the history of Allison-Antrim Museum.
November Exhibit
The special exhibit for November will be a
Greencastle-Antrim Veteran’s exhibit from the museum’s collection. It will
include the uniforms and personal items of Greencastle-Antrim area men and women
who fought in the Civil War, World War I and World War II.
This exhibit will be the first time that some of the items from the former Greencastle Civil War Round Table’s collection have been displayed in about ten years. The items from that collection will include Colonel B. F. Winger’s dress uniform, his personal items and a photograph, along with the small U.S. flag that was used on the center square bandstand when the 126th returned home to Greencastle. Captain Hezekiah Easton’s dress uniform coat and campaign hat will be displayed because he was an ancestor of Percy Snyder of Greencastle. WWII uniforms from the collection include those of Max Izer, Ramer Shrader, Myriale Stover, Bill Kline’s WWII Australian Army hat, a summer uniform of an unknown soldier, and four American Legion Auxiliary over-seas caps. The post-WWII decorated uniform of Bill Kline, a career soldier, is also included. Archival pieces include the Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers from April 15 – 28, 1865 chronicling the events of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Winger’s signed copy of the “Origination of the Army of the Potomac” and Capt. Boyd’s original copy of the “History of 126th Regiment, Pa. Volunteers, an 1886 newspaper article of the reburial of Corporal Rihl, the mustering in and out regimental rosters of Capt. Boyd’s unit in Upton.
In addition, through a very recent gift, the Civil War dress coat, sash, sword, and archival documents of William H. Davison will also be displayed. They are gifts from his great grandson, William Elden of Waynesboro.
From the museum’s collection, the following uniforms and archival pieces will be on display: Civil War veteran Frances Hoffman’s discharge papers and a photograph; the 1863 Simon Rupley letter; WWI veteran Arthur Fair’s uniform and the U.S. flag that draped his casket; Richard Gingrich; Wilbur Sell; Lorraine Pennsinger Phillips; Harold Zimmerman; Harold Stine; Charles A. Fetterhoff, Sr.; and Richard Coble; and a scrapbook of newspaper articles from WWII.
December Exhibit
The museum house will be decorated in the style of the Civil War era. In addition, the special exhibit will be antique sleds from the collection of David Thomas, Fairfield.
On Friday evening, December 5, AAMI will participate in Heritage Christmas by having open house from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Luminaries will light the way to the front entrance and Dr. Terry Musselman will join us again to entertain visitors with traditional holiday songs played on dulcimers. Light refreshments will be served.
On Sunday, December 7, please join us as three-time author, Mike Weaver, of Harrisburg, will portray an 1863 Santa, dressed in red, white, and blue, for the enjoyment of visitors. He will be giving several short presentations during the course of the afternoon covering the topics of the very patriotic 1863 Santa Claus, the Confederate invasion over the Mason-Dixon Line, and “General Lee, of all places, why Harrisburg?”
At other times he will mingle with guests and will personalize and autograph copies of his three books. A portion of the book proceeds on December 7 will be donated to the museum.
Weaver’s latest book, Pennsylvania Civil War Snippets for Curious Minds, is a collection of 24 historical short stories about what happened in south-central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. He also looks into the history of Curtin, Cameron, and T. Morris Chester. The history in this book is presented in an interesting and entertaining fashion that is both a good read and a great resource for teachers and local history buffs. “Snippets” connects historical events that occurred in Pennsylvania to the larger Civil War picture. It showcases Pennsylvania’s important role, with much of it accruing in Greencastle and surrounding areas, in what could have very well resulted in a different outcome to the war that split and reunited our nation. Included in Snippets is a story about Greencastle with a photograph looking south on Carlisle Street, the route taken when the Confederates entered Greencastle.
Come join us for this Christmas special and remember to bring your cameras for a picture with Santa Claus on Sunday!!
Holiday Dinner Meeting
Allison-Antrim Museum’s 2003 holiday meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 9 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Antrim House Restaurant. Guests will serve themselves from a special buffet set up for AAMI. The cost will be $10 per person, payable that evening.
Colleen Clark will be the guest speaker for the evening. This is Clark's fourth visit to Greencastle, last performing her “Songs of the Canals” concert for the April 2003 AAMI quarterly meeting.
The title of Clark’s concert is "Sentimental Journey". She will be performing the music of the Swing and Big Band Era with songs made popular during the 1930's and ‘40's by the likes of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael and Harry James. The music of these composers was made popular by many of the favorite performers of that time period such as Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, the Andrews Sisters and others.
These are the songs on which the parents of baby boomers teethed - danced to and sang along with. They will take you back to a bygone era that will bring back many happy memories. These songs were the pop music of their time and are popular again with the boomer generation because of the recent hit CD releases of Rod Stewart.
Reservations for dinner are requested by Friday, December 5 and may be made by calling Bonnie at 717.597.9325. Reservations are not required if only attending the presentation. The dinner, meeting, and presentation are open to the public.
Reminiscing Tapes
The 1998 and 2001 Old Home Week Reminiscing video tapes are available at the Besore Library. They may be checked out for one week. If anyone wants a copy of any of the tapes, they may request a copy be made for them at the cost of $10 each which will cover the costs and benefit the museum. To order a tape, call 717.597.9010.
What’s Been Happening
- A total of about 120 people visited the museum for the two-month exhibit, “A Time to Mourn.” Approximately 70 of those visitors attended the October Sunday open house. Visitors came from as far away as Virginia, Maryland, and State College, Pa.
- Bonnie gave a tour for Ryan Berger and his friend, Rosa Hall, on Sunday, October 19.
- Jim Craig gave a tour for the Graham family, which has Crunkleton family connections, from northern Virginia on Thursday, October 23.
Recent Acquisitions
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One United States Flag (1967) that served as the casket flag for Arthur J. Fair. Fair was a veteran of World War I. . His funeral was held on October 22, 1967 at Grace United Church of Christ in Greencastle with Reverend Ralph Geiman officiating. Interment was in the Cedar Hill Cemetery. A gift from Rev. Ralph Geiman
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Two copies of The 150th Anniversary Martin’s Mill covered Bridge 1849 – 1999. Gifts from Al Bonnell
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One copy each of Maryland and the French and Indian War 250th Anniversary Edition and its companion book Forgotten Heroes of the Maryland Frontier Both are autographed and were gifts from the author, Allan Powell
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One Sunshine Packing Company can. Fruit was processed in a building behind the old Greencastle Cold Storage on North Carlisle Street. The cans were then stored in Greencastle Cold Storage until Sunshine Packing had orders for them. This can belonged to Helen Mummert who worked for Sunshine Packing Co.
A gift from Paul Mummert
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One canvas coal bucket from Omwake Brothers which was used to deliver coal from the truck to the old cook stoves in home.
Assorted wood patterns from the Landis Tool Company Greencastle plant retrieved after the building burned as told by Lloyd “Tuck” McDonald and Phil Cooper to Glenn C. Stine
One suitcase of numerous newspapers (Echo Pilots and others), clippings, photographs, and cards from about 1910 to present
Gifts from Glenn C. Stine
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One copy of a study completed by Skelly and Loy, Inc., Harrisburg which included archaeological investigations, environmental studies, photographs, and historical research on the Brown’s Mill bridge replacement.
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The livestock dealer and broker license of Roy W. Stover, 155 South Washington St.; one 1926 Webster’s Ever Ready Dictionary; one 1864 Kerl’s Elementary English Grammar book which belonged to A. W. Line; on farming journal dated 1907 to 1912; Henry Putman’s household journal from 1914; one 1930 – 1937 journal of monthly transactions; one 1884 – 1907 journal with wages paid out and prices of goods for farm work; one 1937 – 1941 journal of rents, wages and goods; one 1912 – October 1913 ledger of G. W. Crunkleton, 150 South Washington Street, dealer in “Staple Groceries, Choicest Fruits and Fresh Vegetables”; one October 1913 – February 1914 ledger of customer accounts of G. W. Crunkleton. Gifts from Darryl D. Crunkleton
Calendar of Events
Thursday, November 6, noon to 3 p.m. and Sunday, November 9, 1 – 4 p.m.: Open House – A Veteran’s Day exhibit from the museum’s collection (see article).
Thursday, December 4, noon to 3 p.m., Friday, December 5, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 7, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Holiday Open House PLEASE NOTE, the Sunday open house is on the FIRST Sunday of the month (see article).
Tuesday, December 9, 6:30 p.m., Holiday Meeting, Antrim House Restaurant: Colleen Clark presents “Sentimental Journey.” (see article) Dinner reservations are requested by Friday, December 5 by calling 717.597.9325.
Sunday, January 14, 1 – 4 p.m. and Thursday, February 18, noon to 3 p.m.: Open House - A Tribute to Elvis Presley