Perhaps for the Gathering at Garst, the Great Darke County Fair, or the Holidays, coming home is special. Maybe you even take a drive to see those familiar places from years ago that are still standing; sadly, others may have been lost to time. Yet, as we have learned from the past two years, coming home is not always possible. The pandemic prohibited travel for many. Some members of the military are stationed thousands of miles away from Greenville. And, others have moved on in their lives.
The nostalgic pen-and-ink watercolor sketches by Don Mong are Greenville, our hometown. Don, now a resident of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, captures some of the most iconic sites that have given us the memories we cherish. These are portraits of our lives in Greenville, Ohio. At present, The Museum Store at Garst Museum offers his prints, notecards, keepsake boxes, and posters of select places that would enhance any setting and be the perfect gift for someone so far away or the proverbial person who has everything. Some of the prints that embrace Greenville’s points of interest are St. Clair Memorial Hall, the Hamburger Shoppe, State Theater, Sledders on Memorial Hill, Motorcycle Races, Darke County Courthouse, Marling Band Shell, Swinging Bridge, and Garst Museum; additional prints are available as they arrive. Perhaps a coffee-table book that is a collection of many of the special places we all know would be just the thing to help a person to feel connected. Inside the cover, the coffee-table book includes numerous images of our churches, schools, fair, theaters, businesses, bridges, one-of-a-kind Greenville structures, and unique features of the city park. Imagine the excitement and joy in the heart of the soldier deployed to the Horn of Africa when they see the picture of the city pool where they were a lifeguard in high school—home is not so distant now.
Nowhere is too far away for UPS, FedEx, or the USPS to deliver hometown memories. The Online Museum Store is offering free shipping from November 10 through December 11 (web orders only). Shop and order from the web store at garstmuseum.org/museum-store or stop in the Museum Store at Garst. Include that coffee-table book on your wish list to Santa; special things happen during the holiday season! A book launch for Greenville, My Hometown, sketches by Don Mong and narration by Dr. Steve Gruber,is scheduled for early December. Preorder your copy of the book now by contacting Garst Museum at 937-548-5250 or store@garstmuseum.org, and artist Don Mong will personalize it before it is shipped—just in time for the Holidays.