Versailles Museum News

Open Memorial Day!
The Versailles Museum will have regular hours next Sunday May 24th from 1-4. But we will also accommodate all our Memorial Day and out of town guests by opening on Monday May 25th also 1-4. At 1:30 on Monday the Versailles AM Legion and VFW will conduct a short flag pole dedication on the lawn of the museum. Please join us as we remember those who served and then tour the museum. You’ll be glad you did!

Changes Have Happened at the Museum
Your museum is changing! That’s right, as the seasons charge so do our wonderful displays at the museum.

We are excited to offer some wonderful new displays for the summer. Our 1890’s barn yard has taken on a new look as things are in bloom and all is ready for Poultry Day 2015.

In addition we have added a new lighting display from candles to the incandescent bulb “Illuminating Our World” will show early lighting and its remarkable journey to lighting our home and world.
Another interesting display entitled “As Time Goes by” features a great collection of time pieces from the 1800 and 1900’s and is filled with beautiful clocks and watches. Nothing digital here!
One of our more ambitious changes is the creation of our Huffman 1900 General Mercantile Store. The name honors Alice Huffman who was one of the museum’s original Founders and Trustees and who passed away in April. This collection gathered from many friends of the museum helps to recreate the wonderful memories of yester year of the fun of visiting a country store. There were many in our area, from George’s General Store in North Star and Osgood, to Kelch’s General Store in Brock. One of the larger rural stores was Althoff and Martin’s in Willowdell. The Littman’s even had a “huckster wagon” to take their products on the road to sell in the neighborhoods around the Willowdell community. Tom Mendenhall, one of our chief builders, created awesome shelving to give the room the right look. We hope when you visit it will give you a glimpse into the world before Walmart and one stop shopping.

With the Poultry festival fast approaching we have brought out much of our Poultry history of the industry as well as the festival and it may be seen in the Entrepreneur Room at the museum.

Martin’s Department Store is still featured as a 1940’s through the 1980’s, a staple in our community. Sharing this space is a envisioned tribute to our local newspapers in Versailles. Both The Leader & The Versailles Policy served our community well and The Policy remains the oldest and longest operating newspaper in all of Darke County! Also numerous other old businesses, long forgotten by many are fondly recalled from Hawk & Fanastalk, to J.K. Long and Earhart Tobacco, to Gerlach’s Harness and Auto Repair, to numerous other gems. A treat to browse through!

Midmark’s fascinating 100 year history remains on display as well as our ever changing military display. If you have any pre World War I items that you would consider loaning we would love to hear from you!

As you can see there is much to see at the museum. We hope you’ll drop by this summer and spend a little time wandering the past with us.

Our Gift Shop:
During the months of June & July all Annie Oakley items will be 50% off. Added to our books we now have Jim Eiting’s book and a few copies of our own book remain of “All Roads Lead Home” are still for sale. Cook Books from the Pohl Family and Trinity Lutheran Church are also reasonably priced for your collections Thanks to David Simmons we have copies of Timeline, the magazine of the Ohio Historical Society and are available at a reduced price.

Raffle tickets are a must and are also available in the Gift Shop. We urge you to support us in this fund raiser to keep your museum alive and strong. The drawing will be July 5th at the Annual Ice Cream Social on the Museum Lawn.

May Gathering Goes East:
On Thursday May 28th (not the usual “Last Monday”) the Museum will travel to Russia to The Gathering Place at 2:15 p.m. to talk about Russia history. All are welcome to join us as we continue to learn about our local history!

For June’s “Last Monday” we will return to the museum for another fun reunion as it will be Yorkshire’s turn in the spotlight. Program returns to 1:00 p.m. and all are invited.

Poultry Days Hours:
The Museum will be open Poultry Days Week-end for your touring pleasure. Friday from 4-8, Saturday 1-8, and Sunday 1-6. There is always free parking for those while you are visiting the museum. Also be sure to watch for us in the Grand Parade on Saturday. Remember you are rounding third and heading … for your local Museum. It’s always a grand slam!