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Left
to Right: Roger Brocious, Darke County Park Board
President, Deborah Shiverdecker, Parks
Administrative Assistant, L.
Stephen Shaltry, Darke County Park Board Vice President, John Cook,
Darke County Park Board Commissioner at Large, Roger Van Frank, Darke
County Parks Director,
Clay Johnson, Ph.D., Garst Museum Executive
Director, Susan Gray, John Marchal, Darke County
Historical Society
Board President, and Mara Cox.
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Garst
Museum’s Heritage Award Goes to Darke County Parks
The Darke County Historical Society (DCHS) is dedicated to preserving
the history of the county and fostering education on its relevance to
the American experience. The DCHS operates the Garst Museum and
its mission is to collect, preserve, exhibit, study, and interpret
materials relating to the history and culture of Darke County. Clay
Johnson, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Garst Museum, notes that “For
those familiar with the county’s history, the area is rich in its
history and traditions and its significance touches so many in the
community. The Garst Museum recognizes this importance and feels it is
important to honor those that join in its mission in celebrating the
county’s past. As a result, the DCHS’s Heritage Award has been given
annually since 2004 to an outstanding citizen or organization for their
distinguished contributions which help connect people to Darke County’s
past.”
Dr. Johnson continues “The Darke County Parks District is truly
representational of why the Heritage Award was created and I feel they
are so deserving of this recognition, not only for what Roger Van Frank
and the Darke County Parks does for the museum, but also for what they
provide for the county and its citizens. From school tours to the
Gathering at Garst, the Parks District has been a stellar partner in
sharing the vision of preserving and interpreting the county’s history
for generations to come. I was very pleased to have the honor of
presenting the 2016 Heritage Award to Roger and the Darke County Parks
District.”
“I was completely surprised and was absolutely elated that we were
chosen for the Heritage Award,” said Darke County Parks Director Roger
Van Frank. “This is truly representative of a group effort between
staff, commissioners, and volunteers who help maintain our historical
values.” While the Darke County Parks usually evokes thoughts of
nature, the park district also does a great deal to preserve the
historical heritage of Darke County. “We work hand in hand with the
museum,” Van Frank went on. “Both maintain historical heritage in two
completely different ways.”
The parks’ mission statement says, “The mission of Darke County Park
District is to acquire and preserve land areas possessing special
natural and historical features and to manage and maintain these
resources for the benefit of its residents through appropriate
educational and passive recreational programs and activities.”
“We try to keep all facets of history alive,” said Van Frank. “We’re
thankful for the foresight of Judge Edward Williams, who created the
park district, and the original commissioners, Susan Gray, Dan
Schipfer, and Dr. David Cox.” The park district was created in 1972 and
Coppess Nature Sanctuary became the first park in 1974. The Park
District had an office at 601 S. Broadway until the Nature Center
opened in 1997.
Garst Museum and the Park District often cooperate on projects. Both
host many school tours during the year, and the students often spend
half a day at the museum and the other half at the Nature Center. They
also work together on the Gathering at Garst, which has made people
more aware of the history of the county, as well as attracting many
visitors to the area. The Gathering makes use of the Anthony Wayne
Peace Council House and the newly-built Bowery. Both are located at
Prairie Ridge Park, adjacent to the Garst Museum.
Darke County Parks also have several historical festivals. The largest
is Prairie Days, which occurs on the last weekend of September. The
two-day festival celebrates the past with demonstrations of 18th
century skills, a tent where children can play old-fashioned games and
try their hand at historical crafts, an encampment, pioneer living
activities, and entertainment.
Other festivals include their Maple Syrup Festival in March, “Sugarin’
at the Prairie,” and their December “Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland.”
The March festival includes a waffle breakfast and tours of the
sugarbush and sugar shack. The December event features a walk through
the woods and along the road to the blacksmith shop and log house. The
path is marked with hundreds of luminaries containing candles. The
blacksmith demonstrates his craft and at the log house, refreshments
are served and children can participate in old-time crafts.
The log house at Shawnee Prairie Preserve was built using donated logs
from several old log houses in the area. The house is the site of many
historical programs, including pioneer cooking demonstrations.
Volunteers in costume, staff the house when it is open. Each fall,
several Candlelight Dinners are held in the house. These feature food
from the log house era (1790-1820) served by volunteers in pioneer garb.
The blacksmith shop gives insight into the importance of a blacksmith
in a pioneer society. Visitors can observe a blacksmith at work on
Saturday afternoons and during the festivals.
The sugar shack makes it possible for volunteers to boil down sap
collected in the area and make maple syrup the way it was made in
pioneer days. Many school children, as well as adults, tour the sugar
shack each spring.
All these buildings were mainly built by park volunteers.
The Park District offers many historical programs during the year. Some
examples in the past year include “The Rock Man,” a program by
geologist Mike Manning, “Sharks through the Ages,” by Dr. Chuck
Ciampaglio, basket weaving, broom making, local expert Mick Maher’s
program, “Roundup at Custer State Park,” a living history hike, a
program on survival skills, local author Elaine Holzapfel’s book
signing for her new geology book, and a recent encampment with
demonstrations by the Ohio Valley Civil War Association. Some of the
summer day camps for children also have historical themes. Last year
children learned what it was like “Back in the Day,” and this year one
of the choices is a survival camp.
The Darke County Historical Society presented the 2016 Heritage Award
to the Darke County Park District at the Society’s annual meeting on
March 22, 2016.
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