Ballroom
Fundraising Classes Continue
On Tuesday, January 3, the next six-week session of ballroom dance classes in
the barn will begin. The Country Western Waltz will be taught at the beginner
and intermediate levels. Cha Cha and Foxtrot lessons will continue. Merengue
will be thrown in, just for fun. The beginners' class starts at 6:30 pm and
continues until about 8 pm, at which time the focus will switch to the
intermediate level dancers. Beginners may stay until 9:30 and practice what they
learned and intermediate dancers are welcome to come at 6:30 for extra practice.
The pay-as-you-go price is $10 per person for three hours. Singles are welcome
as well as those at all levels of dancing ability. Weekly lessons learned can
be practiced at monthly dances held in the barn. The proceeds from the classes
help support the barn. For more information, call 717-597-9325.
January 2012
Exhibit
The January
2012 special exhibit at Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 South Ridge Avenue,
Greencastle, Pennsylvania will be “Local Treasures from the North Storage Bay.”
The exhibit will be comprised of artifacts from the museum’s collections which
don’t have a place in the permanent exhibits. Each object has a story, which
becomes the bridge between the 19th and 20th centuries and
present day. It’s the story which makes each artifact relevant to 2012.
One
of the items that will be on display is the baggage cart that was used by George
Hamilton, who was employed as a porter by the McLaughlin Hotel in the early 20th
century. Almost 123 years ago, on March 8, 1889, Hamilton was born in the
village of Clay Hill. The U.S. Postal Service awarded him the first contract
in southern Franklin County, to deliver mail from the Jefferson Street train
station to the Greencastle and Mercersburg Post Offices. Hamilton was active in
the Old Home Week Association. He died 4 ˝ years shy of his 100th
birthday on October 24, 1984. Although Greencastle-Antrim’s mail is no
longer delivered to the Greencastle train station, the increase in the cost of
fuel over the past decade has made it cost effective for the USPS to return to
moving mail via rail freight by using intermodal containers. What other
treasurers will be brought out of the North Storage Bay for the exhibit? The
answer is – artifacts that will tell stories about the area’s early agricultural
economy, the industrial revolution, and our ancestors who lived
Greencastle-Antrim’s history. The exhibit will be open from January 2 to 27.
February
Speaker
On Thursday, February 9, at 7 pm, Allison-Antrim Museum will hold
a monthly meeting in the restored German bank barn at 365 South Ridge Avenue,
Greencastle, PA. In recognition of Presidents Day during February, Jim Plunkett
will speak about “U.S. Presidents Who Were Freemasons.” The
PowerPoint presentation will be enlightening, surprising, and
somewhat controversial because of the omission of one president. Only 14 U.S.
presidents have been members of the Freemasons. James Buchanan was born April
23, 1791 at Stony Batter just west of Mercersburg, near Cove Gap, at the base of
the mountain. He was the 15th president of the United States. In
1816, Buchanan became a member of Lancaster Lodge #43 and eventually rose to the
position of Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. He died
June 1, 1868 in Lancaster, PA.
Plunkett served in the U.S. Air Force from January 1975 to June 1978. After 30 years of employment, he retired in 2008 from the General Motors Service Parts Operations in Martinsburg, WV. Plunkett currently works on a seasonal basis at White Tail Ski and Golf Resort. He enjoys doing research and is a “student” of U.S. history, the Civil War, and local history of Franklin County. He has held numerous positions of distinction within the Freemasons and lodges within the tri-state area. Plunkett, an Allison-Antrim Museum board member, lives in the Greencastle area with his wife Nancy.
The program is open to the public. There is no fee to attend, but donations will be accepted toward Allison-Antrim Museum's annual speaker series. For more information please visit the museum's website at www.greencastlemuseum.org, on Twitter @greencastlemuzm, or call 717-597-9325. In case of inclement weather, please check the Web site for notice of cancellation or call the above number.
March
Exhibit
The planned exhibit for the month
of March is "Legendary Film Stars from the Golden Age of Movies" - Movie
memorabilia included in this exhibit will be from the 1930's to the 1960's -
with a large variety of different kinds of displays.
Movie memorabilia will be included for such stars as Jean Harlow, Mae West, Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Elvis Presley, Tony Curtis, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, and many others.
The types of exhibits will include movie posters, movie programs lobby cards, photo stills from movies, original studio photos, movie magazines, movie props, original sheet music from the great musicals, autographs, personal bios and facts about the stars, and personal items owned by the stars.
There will be many vintage original items from the great movie era of the 1930's thru the 1960s, along with certificates of authenticity. Come see the dressing room keychain used by Jean Harlow at MGM, jewelry personally owned and worn by the stars, including a necklace worn by Greta Garbo, a purse and signed playbill from Mae West, gloves owned by Grace Kelly, and many other original items from the great stars and movies of this era.
There will be displays from various movies such as the Saturday westerns to the great Oscar-winning movies of the greatest film era ever seen in this country.
If you like the old movies from the greatest movie era of the 20th century, you will love this exhibit - These memorabilia items are rarely seen in this condition, and some of these items planned for display at Greencastle Museum in March are also currently being considered for donation to and exhibition at the Hollywood Museum in Hollywood, California. Don't miss this exhibit - it is a "one time event" with many "one of a kind" items you will enjoy seeing and remembering from this great period of memorable movies and the irreplaceable film stars still followed by numerous fans today.
Civil War Collection
Items from the G-A Civil War Roundtable Collection include Lt. Colonel B. F.
Winger’s dress uniform, dress saber, personal items, and a photograph, along
with the small U.S. flag that hung on the center square bandstand when the 126th
Pennsylvania Volunteers Regiment returned home to Greencastle. The dress
uniform coats of Captain Hezekiah Easton and Col. William Davison as well as
their swords, and other personal items will also be displayed. Archival pieces
include the Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers from April 15 – 28, 1865
chronicling the events of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; a newspaper
interview of Scott K. Snively (Company K, 126th Pennsylvania
Volunteers) of Shady Grove that recounts his presence in the saloon of Ford’s
Theater on April 15, 1865, the night Lincoln was shot; Winger’s signed copy of
the “Organization of the Army of the Potomac;” the discharge papers and
photographs of Frances Hoffman, Isaac Ingream, and Jeremiah Staley – all of
Greencastle-Antrim; and the 1863 Simon Rupley letter. Other primary documents
include handwritten letters from local Civil War soldiers including a love
letter written on February 3, 1864 by Alexander McGrew who was a member of the 8th
Regiment, Company A, U.S. Colored Troops. He wrote the letter to his wife,
Nancy, in Greencastle.
Once again, visitors will have an opportunity (with construction paper and permanent markers) to write down either their retrospective thoughts on the events of September 11, 2001 or their comments on America’s freedoms. All creations will be kept in a three-ring binder as part of the September 11 collection. During First Friday on September 2, Anna’s Paperworks will help the museum with this project by providing a table for patrons to express their thoughts.
The “Remembering September 11th” exhibit will be a time to remember the 2,973 victims – the heroes, the innocents, and their families. They will not have died in vain if Americans always remember.
Allison-Antrim Museum is open Monday through Friday from noon – 4 pm. A special open house will be held on Sunday, September 11, 1 – 4 pm. There is no charge for admission but donations are accepted.
The program is open to the public. There is no fee to attend, but donations will be accepted toward Allison-Antrim Museum's annual speaker series. For more information please call 717-597-9325.