Our New Cookbook is Here!

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, November 25, 2009

Though it seems that Christmas is thrust upon us earlier and earlier each year, Thanksgiving is the traditional start of the holiday season. Family, friends, festivities, and food are all front and foremost this time of year. What would Thanksgiving be without turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and any number of other family favorites? And Thanksgiving leads into Christmas cookie season: gingerbread men (and women), sugar cookies, linzer, shortbread, molasses – oh my!

By all accounts, the last family member to live in the Andrew Johnston House, Dr. Harvey Green Johnston II’s wife, Marjorie Johnston, was a wonderful cook. The kitchen that you see in the house today is the kitchen she expanded in the 1940s to provide more space for cooking, baking, and visiting with friends and family. Many of the cabinets and drawers are still filled with Mrs. Johnston’s dishes, cookware, and utensils. There is even a junk drawer! Fortunately for us, her cookbooks and recipe boxes are in one of the cabinets as well so we can try some of her favorite recipes.

Just in time for Christmas, the cookbook, A Taste of History: Favorite Recipes from the Giles County Historical Society, will tempt your taste buds with recipes from Mrs. Johnston and current and past members of the Historical Society. Historical Society board member, Ellen Woodyard, the driving force behind the cookbook project, included a number of Mrs. Johnston’s recipes in the book. With over 280 recipes, there is sure to be a recipe that can become a new holiday tradition in your house this year!

Stop by our Museum Shop to purchase your copy or use the order form at our website.

Museum Assessment Program Collections Assessment

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, November 18, 2009

Earlier this year, Giles County Historical Society was the recipient of a Museum Assessment Program (MAP) grant from the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS). The focus of the MAP grant has been on a Collections Management Assessment. The Historical Society contains a variety of collections representing different facets of Giles County history. From books, letters, and tax records to furnishings, clothing, and a hearse, the collections of the Historical Society are widely varied in size, shape, and other characteristics. Each provides a different challenge for care, exhibits, and management. The Collections Management Assessment focuses on collections policies, planning, access, documentation, and care within the context of the Historical Society’s total operations.

The first step of the MAP process was a self study. The Historical Society completed this very thorough 60-page study in August which included questions about how the collections are used, how items are accepted into the collection, collections care, and institutional governance. The questions were thought-provoking and helped identify strengths and weaknesses in our current collections management policies.

The second step of the MAP process is a peer review. Ms. Lee Langston-Harrison, the Executive Director of the Museum of Culpeper History will visit the Giles County Historical Society on November 18th and 19th critically review the Historical Society’s operations from a fresh perspective. She has reviewed the Historical Society’s self assessment and other documents and will visit all four buildings – the Andrew Johnston House, Doctor’s Office, Research Office, and Museum – and interview staff and volunteers about collections issues. Once Langston-Harrison’s review is complete, she will write an Assessment Report which summarizes the visit and makes recommendations for change.

The third step of the MAP process will be for the Historical Society to incorporate the self assessment and peer assessment information into our planning process. The information will help the Historical Society to formulate goals and strategies to improve its collections management and focus grant writing and fundraising activities for several years to come.

Pearisburg Garden Club and Boy Scouts Plant Trees

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, November 11, 2009

While visitors typically come to the Historical Society to discover the historical treasures hidden inside of the buildings, one of the things that lures them to the site are the grounds and landscaping. The Andrew Johnston House sits in the shade of old maple trees, its front walkway flanked by boxwoods like those that surround the Doctor’s Office. The dogwood trees between the house and museum show their flowers in spring and red leaves in fall. Flower gardens bloom with bulbs in spring and fall and annual and perennial flowers in summer. Love and Alex Witten’s Rose Garden provides an explosion of color in spring and fall.

One particular corner of the Historical Society’s grounds between the parking lot and the Doctor’s Office could not be described with such superlatives. Members of Pearisburg Boy Scout Troop 34 earned community service hours and learned a valuable life lesson by volunteering their time and energy on November 5 to plant trees, shrubs and perennial flowers at the Giles County Historical Society. “Part of being a Boy Scout is giving back to the community,” explains troop committee chair Brian Squibb. The new greenery was donated to the Historical Society by the Pearisburg Garden Club to help landscape an unsightly hillside at the edge of the Society’s property. Next Spring will bear witness to the scouts’ hard work, with a profusion of rhododendron, daffodil and iris blossoms.

Fresh Cider!

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, November 4, 2009

Apple and pumpkin are ingredients in many of the comfort foods of fall. Apple pie, pumpkin bread, apple streusel, pumpkin pie, apple sauce, pumpkin butter, and apple butter are all fall flavors that most of us look forward to. Apple cider is another distinctly fall flavor - not the apple cider found in today’s grocery stores that has been pasteurized to within an inch of its life, but the good, old fashioned apple cider that retains the flavors of the apples, the outdoors, and the cider mill itself.

At the Historical Society, there is an old-fashioned cider mill on display that once belonged to C. A. Lucas’ father, James C. Lucas, and was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Winston. To make cider with the mill, apples were placed whole or cored into the wooden hopper at the top of the mill. The mill’s crank was turned by hand to grind the apples. Apple pulp including the skin and seeds, dropped from the bottom of the mill into a slatted, bottomless tub. When the tub was full, it was moved to the other side of the mill where a disk fitted with a large screw mechanism was placed on the tub. As the screw was turned by a crank, the disk pressed the juice out of the apple pulp. The resulting cider escaped through a hole in the bottom of the mill into jugs or other containers. Two people could work the mill at once with one making the apple pulp and the other squeezing the juice from the pulp.

The flavor of the cider varied depending on the type of apples used and the length of time that the cider aged after milling. Unfortunately, today there are concerns about bacteria in apple cider so it is pasteurized to make it safe for general consumption and inhibit fermentation caused by bacteria growth which removes some of the intensity of the apple flavoring. Apple cider is filtered to make apple juice, removing any of the remaining pulp and creating a sweeter, and further reducing the intensity of the apple flavoring.

Enter the Christmas Tree Decorating Contest!

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, October 28, 2009

The leaves are turning, the air is getting chillier, and its time to start thinking about Christmas! This year’s Christmas at the Johnston House will be a true community event. The Giles County Historical Society, Olde Towne Pearisburg, and the Giles Arts Council would like to invite your organization or civic, community, or church group to decorate a tree in our Christmas Tree Decorating Contest. Trees will be judged on creativity and imagination and first, second, and third place will be awarded. There will be a junior award for schools and youth organizations.

All trees will be on display in the Andrew Johnston House from December 6th through 31st during regular operating hours. Because space is limited to 16 trees in the House, we ask that you return an entry form indicating your intentions to decorate a tree. Entry forms are available on our website, by e-mail, or by stopping by the Historical Society. Contest rules and set up procedures are on the entry form.

The Historical Society is planning an exhibit of antique toys in the Johnston House to complement the Christmas trees. Please contact us if you have a toy that is at least 50 years old that you would like to loan for the month of December.

We look forward to the community helping us make this a memorable holiday event!

Bobbin Shuttle Tatting Class - November 6 and 13

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, October 21, 2009

Did your grandmother tat, but you never learned? Have you seen tatting kits in stores and been intrigued? Is tatting something you’ve heard of, but aren’t quite sure what it is? Now is your chance to learn the art of tatting! The next offering in the Giles Arts Council and Giles County Historical Society Needle Arts Class series is Shuttle Tatting, taught by Bernie Cossell on November 6th and 13th from 1:30 to 3:00 pm at the Historical Society.

Like other crafts based around knotting, tatting began with fishermen’s knots: large shuttles were used to weave heavy rope into fishing nets 2,000 years ago. Other knots were used in the rigging of sails and to secure anchors. Later, the same ideas were translated to yarns then finer threads to create fine lace used to embellish the clothing of royalty. During the Victorian period and into the mid-20th century, tatting was used to edge linens and to make table covers and chair linens.

A tatting shuttle is used to make tiny knots around a central thread. Loops are connected to loops and picots in various ways to make a heavy lace that is often used as an edging or an overlay on fabric. Tatting shuttles today are often plastic, but in the past were made from wood, hand-carved ivory, or precious metals. The shuttle and thread are small enough that tatting can be done anywhere, making it a very portable craft.

Call or e-mail the Historical Society to register for the Shuttle Tatting Class and learn this decorative craft!

Experimenting with Social Media...

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, October 14, 2009

Traditionally, companies have used the media outlets such as newspapers, radio, and television to make others aware of their services. Today, there are a host of other media and publicity options. It may seem obvious for computer firms and software companies to use the internet for publicity, but it also makes sense for non-profit organizations and museums to use the internet as well. Many non-profits are concerned that they aren’t attracting the younger generation as volunteers, donors, visitors, and board members. By using social media on the internet, non-profits can reach a younger crowd and more people than they can locally.

Social media provides an opportunity for people to quickly share information with others who have a shared interest. It is an internet communication medium where people can be both authors and audiences. Examples are Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and blogs, where people can read and comment on your input. Because the internet is international, your audience becomes much larger than the local newspaper market, listening area, or cable system. When you find an organization of interest on a social media site, often you’ll find other organizations or people that you would like to connect with also, quickly expanding your social network.

Like many museums throughout the country, the Giles County Historical Society is experimenting with social media to attract a larger audience of people who are potentially interested in our programs. We are using social media to advertise our events as well as let people know about interesting things that happen on the site. You can follow us on Twitter for short, 140 word updates about events and daily happenings; become our fan on Facebook and link with other people who have similar interests; read our Virginian Leader articles on our blog; or check out Flickr for photographs of our recent events. All of these sites are accessible from our website: www.gilescountyhistorical.org. We’ll look for you on the internet!

(If you're paying attention, you'll notice that we missed a week. Despite the ease of using the computer for social networking and publicity, the computer is only as smart as its user - if you don't attach the newspaper article to your e-mail, it won't get into the paper! Figures it would happen with this article too!)

New Genealogical Research Donations

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, September 30, 2009

The Research Office at the Giles County Historical Society contains books, family files, and county records pertinent to the families and communities of Giles County. We receive many genealogists throughout the year from many different parts of the country who are researching their family history. Often we can trace the path of settlement of Giles County’s families, by looking at our guest book. After leaving Giles County, early settlers headed west through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky, Ohio, and other places in the Midwest – many of our genealogy visitors now live in these states.

When genealogists with roots in Giles County finish their family histories, they often send them to the Historical Society for inclusion in the Research Office and use by other visitors. This year has apparently been especially productive for Giles County genealogists as we have received a number of new books including: Little Walker’s Creek by Rebecca Cox Sowers and donated by Peggy Hollar; “Doty/Niday Family History” by Carol Niday Doty; “William Cephas Lucas and Birdie Mae Collins Lucas Family” by Hilda McCoy Walker; “Encounters with the British in Virginia During the War of 1812,” “War of 1812 Veteran Burials at St. John’s Episcopal Church Graveyard, Richmond, VA,” and “War of 1812 Burials in Virginia” from the Society of the War of 1812 in Virginia; “Cleveland Lucas Family History” by Mary Peare; and “Kinfolk – the Stevers Family History – 1752-2008” by Heather Reynolds.

Stop by the Historical Society to look at these books and learn more about your own family history!

Knitting Class - October 2 and 9, 1:30-3pm

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, September 23, 2009

Are knitting and purling mysteries to you? Have you always wanted to knit a sweater or a pair of cozy wool socks, but haven’t known where to begin? Do all those letters and numbers in knitting patterns look like gobbledygook to you? The Giles County Historical Society and the Giles Arts Council present a Beginning Knitting Class as the next class in their Needle Arts Class series. Ellen Woodyard will teach the class on October 2nd and 9th from 1:30 – 3:00pm at the Historical Society (registration is required). You will learn to knit and purl and combine those stitches in a pattern using the garter and stockinette stitches to create a dish cloth.

At its most basic, knitting uses 2 needles to create fabric from a single strand of yarn. The earliest example of true knitting using 2 needles was a pair of socks found in Egypt dating to 1100AD. Historians believe that knitting was spread to Europe by sailors and merchants traveling in the Mediterranean. Knitting was originally a male-only occupation with knitting guilds formed in Europe to control the quality and price of knitted material sold. Socks and stockings were among the first knitted items because of the ease of molding the knitted fabric to shape of the foot. Legend says that sailors wore sweaters with family patterns knitted into them so that the sailor could be identified if he was lost at sea.

While knitting began with just the knit stitch, the introduction of the purl stitch and colors greatly expanded the patterns that could be created. Different parts of the world created their own patterns: Scandinavian knitters created elaborate and now familiar patterns with color, while the Irish are known for the elaborate cabled patterns of fisherman knit sweaters. Today, with the many different yarns and patterns available, your knitting is limited only by your imagination.

Come learn to knit and learn the fundamentals for making knitted heirlooms of your own! Shown above are a pair of knitted slipper socks for the Veteran's Slipper Sock project that you will be able to knit upon completion of the class!

Pride In Our Heritage Quilt Show III - People's Choice Award Winner

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, September 16, 2009

Visitors to Giles County Historical Society’s and Giles Arts Council’s Pride In Our Heritage Quilt Show III on September 5 and 6 were asked to vote for their favorite quilt from among the contemporary quilts on display. The winner of the People’s Choice Award, a paper foundation pattern designed and donated by Missy Barnhart called Roses in the Sunshine and the fabric to complete the project donated by Ella Page and Teresa Adams of Quilt Essentials in Peterstown, WV, was Tammy Muchler of Pearisburg.

Tammy’s quilt is called “Timeless Treasure” and was made for her 11-year-old son Grant. The quilt has 140 blocks with 22 pieces in each block making a total of 3080 pieces, hand-quilted in 5 different colors. In Tammy’s words: “I wanted to make a traditional quilt that had a bit of quirkiness to it. If you look closely, you will see a variety of ‘hidden’ things. Look for the money – dollars and pennies, cowboy hats, boots, chicken and eggs, turtles, feathers, ropes, millennium fabric…To offset the squares, I hand-quilted circles in variegated silk thread. I chose to do a thick thread so the circles would stand out event more.

“We had a lot of fun making this quilt. I am so proud of my son and so very glad that I got to make him a quilt he loves. He not only willingly went to quilt shops and shows to pick out almost every piece of fabric, but he also helped me machine piece it and hand quilt it.”

Stories like Tammy’s make each quilt a personal and unique experience for the quilter. Quilters were encouraged to share the stories of their quilts so that visitors could better appreciate the work and love of needlework that went into each piece displayed. Speaker Paula Golden, who presented “Quilts of Virginia” on Saturday, emphasized the importance of including these stories with each quilt so that future owners will know the quilt maker and history.

If you missed this year’s show, be sure to join the Giles County Historical Society and the Giles Arts Council next fall for Pride In Our Heritage Quilt Show IV!

Pete Ballard Speaks at Quarterly Meeting

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, September 9, 2009

Arthur J. “Pete” Ballard was the speaker at Giles County Historical Society’s Quarterly Meeting on Sunday, September 13th. A native of West Virginia, Ballard has had a fascinating career in the arts and traveled extensively including stays in Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, and China where he taught English as a second language. He later taught at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, North Carolina. While in Winston-Salem, he was asked to curate and conserve the costume collection of the Reynolda House Museum, former home of the R. J. Reynolds family. Ballard’s expertise in museum costume curation and conservation came from his work with the costume collections of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Museum of American Art in Winston Salem, and many other museums in the southeast as well as his experiences working with the late Stella Blum, curator of the costume institute for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The topic of Ballard’s presentation to the Historical Society came from his period of museum work in North Carolina. He showed slides and discussed the costume restoration of a wedding gown that survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The Pennsylvania flood caused by a dam burst killed 2,209 people and flattened the town. What was left, including the wedding gown, was covered in mud. The gown provides a fascinating example of the loving and painstaking work required to restore and intricate costume and its fragile fabric. Ballard also showed slides of other costumes that he worked with over the years.

During his career in the museum profession, Ballard amassed quite a collection of leftover fabric scraps from completed conservation projects. The scraps became the inspiration for the next phase of Ballard’s career of making fashion dolls that are extensively researched, authentic examples of period fashions from the 18th century through the early 20th century. The dolls have been donated to museums across the United States including the Giles County Historical Society where they populate the Andrew Johnston House. At the conclusion of his presentation, Ballard showed slides of some of the over 200 fashion dolls he has created.

Visit the Andrew Johnston House to see our collection of fashion dolls created by Pete Ballard, a true artist and recent recipient of the Arts and Historical Letters Award from the West Virginia History and Archives Commission. He is shown with the Martha Washington doll he donated to the Giles County Historical Society in 2007.

School Days

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, September 2, 2009:

The first day of school brings back memories for many people of their own school days: the promise of a new school year and time with friends, one-room school houses with pot-bellied stoves, strictly disciplined teachers, walking several miles to school (uphill both ways!), pigtails in inkwells, ringing the school bell, Friday night football games, long curvy bouncy bus rides, clouds of chalk dust, and the smell of new textbooks. For many in Giles County, the memory is of school buildings long gone or now being used for other things. Before the days of school consolidation, there were schools in each community.

In the early days, before buses and automobiles became the norm, most people walked to their local school, often several miles from their home. A single teacher in a one-room school house taught all grades, often in a building with a pot-bellied stove for heat and no indoor plumbing. Children wrote their lessons on slates and strict discipline was maintained.

The bigger towns like Pearisburg, Narrows, Pembroke, Eggleston, Newport, and Rich Creek had many small schools and later became the location of the larger elementary and high schools in the county. As transportation became easier, many of the one-room schools closed, but smaller, more remote, communities like Penvir, Kimballton, White Gate, and Bane still had their own schools. The schools often were one of the centers of their communities with residents cheering their hometown sports teams and attending pageants and graduations.

As people became more mobile and educational demands grew, the smaller schools were gradually closed and the children bussed to larger schools in larger towns. Today, Giles County has just 5 public schools creating memories for a new generation of students. Look closely though as you travel through the County and you will see that many of the old schools still exist and are being reused, often maintaining their status as a center of the community and keeping memories alive for former students.

Pride In Our Heritage Quilt Show III - September 5 & 6

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, August 26, 2009:

The Pride in Our Heritage Quilt Show III will take place at the historic Andrew Johnston House, 208 North Main Street, Pearisburg, Virginia on September 5th and 6th from 1pm to 5pm. The Giles County Historical Society and Giles Arts Council are sponsoring the event which will feature contemporary and antique hand-made, hand- and machine-quilted, bed- and crib-sized quilts and wall hangings. Admission is $3.00.

Certified quilt appraiser Neva Hart will be on hand both days to provide verbal or written appraisals of your quilts for insurance or donation purposes. Verbal appraisals are $15 per quilt or 3 quilts for $30. Written appraisals are $50.

Quilt expert Paula C. Golden will present a slide show and lecture entitled “Quilts of Virginia” on Saturday. Golden co-authored the book Quilts of Virginia 1607-1899: The Birth of America Through the Eye of a Needle.

Antique quilts from the collection of Tony Williams will be featured in an antique bed turning both days of the show. The quilts are placed on a bed then one by one they are turned and held up for the audience while a narrator describes the quilt, its date, and its story. The antique bed turning is a fun and informative event for the whole family!

Local quilters will be on hand throughout the house demonstrating various quilting techniques. A viewers’ choice award will be given to the contemporary quilt most admired by visitors. Refreshments will be served.

The Giles County Historical Society (www.gilescountyhistorical.org) works to perpetuate interest in the history of Giles County; provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents, and artifacts; assists those interested in genealogical research; and voices concerns and pursues the preservation of any and all endangered Giles County history including artifacts, sites, and records. The newly-formed Giles Arts Council (www.gilesartscouncil.org) is a non profit organization dedicated to the encouragement, nurturing and promotion of the visual, performing and needle arts in Giles County.

Smocking Class, August 29th, 2:30-4:30pm

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, August 19, 2009:

Beth Cross, a member of the Red Bud Chapter of the Smocking Arts Guild of America, will teach Smocking on Saturday, August 29th from 2:30 to 4:30 in the latest class in the Giles County Historical Society’s and the Giles Arts Council’s Needle Arts Class series. Smocking is a form of utilitarian and decorative stitching that has been in use since the 13th century. Smocks were loose fitting blouses of linen worn by farm workers and other laborers. The loose fit provided protection and warmth, as well as freedom of movement. The linen was gathered into pleats at the yoke and sleeves. Smocking stitches secured the pleats creating stretch in the garment while also providing decoration and identification.

During the period of industrialization, smocks became dangerous for workers to wear because they were loose fitting and could get caught in machinery. Though smocking was no longer a necessity on work clothes, the embroidery stitches used became popular on women’s and children’s clothing as decoration.

What used to be a rather laborious process of creating the pleats, has become easier with the use of a pleater which gathers the fabric. The focus of smocking today is on the embroidery stitching rather than the gathering of the fabric. Pleating creates a canvas on which to work with the pleats creating vertical lines and the threads holding the pleats in place creating horizontal lines. Simple outline, cable, trellis, and wave stitches can then be used to create intricate and beautiful patterns on the pleated cloth.

Join us on August 29th to learn smocking stitches that can embellish clothing or Christmas ornaments. Please contact the Historical Society to register for the class.

Questions About Pearisburg's Civil War Hospital

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, August 5, 2009:

Throughout the year, Giles County Historical Society receives many requests for information via telephone, e-mail, and postal mail. Many are genealogical questions or questions about communities or the location of cemeteries. Occasionally, we receive questions that are obviously directed to the wrong place like those about President Andrew Johnson or Giles County, Tennessee.

Some questions are just puzzling. One Civil War question was about a family member who was in the Pearisburg hospital in October 1862. We knew that there was a hospital here during the Battle of Pearisburg in May 1862, but assumed the hospital had been closed when troops left town and thought that maybe the letter writer meant the Petersburg hospital instead.

As Kate Delaney has researched the Civil War in Giles County to update our exhibits, she found additional references to a hospital in Pearisburg. During a visit to the National Archives in Washington, DC this summer, Delaney was able to verify the existence of a hospital in Pearisburg through monthly records from 1863 to 1865. The records clearly indicate Pearisburg hospital in Giles County, Virginia had patients numbering from 30 to 180. The records also show the number of surgeons, nurses, cooks, laundresses, and other personnel on staff.

A report of the sick and wounded from the week of June 4th, 1864 found at the National Archives clearly shows that there was a large hospital in Pearisburg during the Civil War. During that week there were 77 patients in the hospital, 13 in private quarters, and 15 medical officers and attendants present.

Now, of course, we have additional questions! Was the hospital in the Courthouse for the duration of the War or was it somewhere else? Where did all of the sick and wounded come from to fill the hospital? Where were the deceased buried? If you have any information that can help us solve the mystery of Pearisburg’s Civil War hospital, please contact us.

Giles County Confederate Memorial 100th Anniversary Celebration

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, July 29, 2009:

A parade of Civil War re-enactors, a Civil War encampment, Gen. Robert E. Lee and his staff, and an antebellum fashion show will be included in the festivities surrounding the 100th anniversary of Giles County's Civil War Memorial on August 8th in Pearisburg. The McComas Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and the Giles County Historical Society have organized the day's events.

The parade begins at 11am following a route from the Andrew Johnston House to the Giles County Courthouse where the UDC will present a program honoring the monument which was dedicated by the UDC on August 9, 1909. The marble and bronze memorial stands on the courthouse lawn as a memorial to Giles County's Confederate soldiers.

From 12-5pm, re-enactors will be camped on the lawn of the Andrew Johnston House at the Giles County Historical Society for the public to learn more about a soldier's life during the Civil War. The 1829 Andrew Johnston House and 1857 Doctor's Office will be open for visitors, the Research Office will welcome people seeking Giles County genealogical information, and a Civil War exhibit will be on display in the Museum. The afternoon program will include a duel and a desertion trial skit, infantry and artillery drills, a fashion show featuring women's clothing of the period, and a talk with Gen. Robert E. Lee and his staff. Gen. Lee is portrayed by Al Stone who has portrayed the General for several History Channel specials and is well-regarded nationally for is accurate impression.

About the McComas Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is a lineage society organized in 1894 to preserve and protect the history of the Civil War and those who served the Confederate States of America, including the role of Southern women during the war and the reconstruction of the South. The McComas Chapter of the UDC was formed in Pearisburg in 1896 and named for Capt. William Wirt McComas, a Giles County soldier killing in battle in North Carolina in 1862.

About the Giles County Historical Society
The Giles County Historical Society works to perpetuate interest in the history of Giles County; provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents, and artifacts; assists those interested in genealogical research; and voices concerns and pursues the preservation of any and all endangered Giles County history including artifacts, sites, and records.

This Place Matters!

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, July 22, 2009:

For many of us, there is a place that evokes pleasant memories of childhood, an important milestone in life, or that is a landmark in the community. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is gathering photographs of these places through their This Place Matters campaign. Everyone is encouraged to download a “This Place Matters” sign and photograph themselves holding the sign at a place that is important to them. The photographs are being assembled into a mosaic of the National Trust’s headquarters building in Washington, DC.

The Andrew Johnston House is a Pearisburg landmark as well as a place that evokes memories in many people’s lives. During Living History Day in May, we took a photograph for inclusion on the This Place Matters website to support this initiative. The Giles County Historical Society recognizes the importance of historic buildings as a resource in our community for business, tourism, and residential uses that contribute to the character and uniqueness of Giles County.

About the National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize our communities. The need for the National Trust for Historic Preservation has increased since its founding in 1949. When historic buildings and neighborhoods are torn down or allowed to deteriorate, a part of our past disappears forever. When that happens, we lose history that helps us know who we are, and we lose opportunities to live and work in the kinds of interesting and attractive surroundings that older buildings can provide.

We're rearranging our Civil War exhibits - you can help!

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, July 15, 2009:

The infantry was the backbone of the military during the Civil War. The infantry men were foot soldiers carrying small arms who were responsible for most of the fighting during the war. The smallest fighting unit in the infantry was the company usually consisting of about 100 men. Infantry companies came together as battalions or regiments with 8 companies per battalion or 10 companies per regiment. Regiments, generally from the same state, came together to make brigades, several brigades became a division, and several divisions became a corps. The entire organization, formed of several corps, became a division led by a general. A local example of this hierarchy from Giles County was the 24^th Virginia Infantry Regiment Company F, a part of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia most famously commanded by General Robert E. Lee.

The Civil War Sesquicentennial is approaching in 2011. Virginia has appointed a Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission to plan the commemoration which will last until 2015. Here at the Giles County Historical Society, we are reorganizing our Civil War exhibit to provide a more comprehensive picture of life in Giles County between 1861 and 1865. The exhibit will include information about the skirmishes fought in the area, encampments, and life on the home front. A display of items found in Giles, Pulaski, and Monroe Counties by Thomas Francis. include the "I" buttons shown where the "I" signifies that they were from an infantry uniform.

If you have any interesting stories – preferably with documents/photos – about your Civil War-era ancestors (men and women), please contact Kate Delaney on Thursday afternoons at the Historical Society, 540-921-1050.

To learn more about the 24^th Virginia Infantry, attend the Giles County Confederate Memorial 100^th Anniversary Celebration on August 8^th.

Meissen porcelain

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, July 8, 2009:

The first exhibit that many people see upon entering the Historical Society’s Museum are the large porcelain urns displayed directly in front of them. While this exhibit might seem unusual for Giles County, these urns are part of a collection of Meissen porcelain left to the Historical Society by their owner, Fowler Johnston. Mr. Johnston was Andrew Johnston’s great grandson and the reason that the Giles County Historical Society has the extensive Complex that it does today. The Meissen porcelain is beautiful, but it becomes even more spectacular when visitors look at it more closely and understand the amount of time and hand work that went into each piece.

Meissen porcelain has been made in Germany since 1710. Each piece is hand-formed and hand-painted in a time-consuming process that creates exquisitely formed pieces. The process begins with a white porcelain paste made from kaolin, a white clay. When an object, such as an urn, is made for the first time, a full-size model is created of the object so that plaster molds can be made from the model. Some symmetrical objects, like an urn, are created on a potter’s wheel with the mold being used to provide external contours that match the model. Other objects, such as the urn’s handles, are cast by pouring liquefied porcelain paste into the mold, pressing the two halves of the mold together, and waiting for it to cure. Smaller details are formed by hand and attached with the porcelain paste.

The porcelain is biscuit-fired at over 1,600 degrees to strengthen the piece. Underglaze designs are painted with cobalt blue or chromium green on the biscuit-fired piece, the object is dipped in glaze, then glost-fired at over 2,600 degrees which creates the intense white of the Meissen porcelain. Overglaze painting then completes the design on the object. Artists us models and references are used to ensure that the art on each object matches the others of its type. Once completed, the object is decoration-fired at over 1,600 degrees to fuse the paint to the glaze.

One Woman and Her Crazy Quilt - July 10th, 1:30pm

Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, July 1, 2009:

Crazy quilts became popular during Victorian times. Each block of a crazy quilt is made from asymmetrical pieces of fabric arranged abstractly. Fabrics used in early crazy quilts were usually silks, velvets, and brocades with decorative stitching on each seam. Embroidery was added to the crazy quilts with motifs such as flowers and animals. A spider was often embroidered into the crazy quilt for good luck. Because of all of the hand work and expensive fabrics, these quilts were often used as decoration rather than for their functional value. Later crazy quilts were made with more common fabrics and personalized with embroidery or remembered clothing scraps.

Today’s crazy quilters abide by the original premise of abstractly arranging asymmetrical pieces of fabric and including embroidery in the blocks, but also take advantage of the many different fabrics and motifs that are available today. Karla Upton, a Marie, West Virginia quilter and art teacher, will present nine modern examples of crazy quilt blocks at the Giles County Historical Society on Friday, July 10th beginning at 1:30pm. Each block has stories and memories to enjoy along with their beauty.

Upton enjoyed working in pastels and acrylics prior to catching the crazy quilting bug and her expertise is apparent in the blocks she will show. “Embroidery thread is my paint,” Upton said when discussing the depth of color within her embroidered motifs. “I had a rule, that if I used a printed fabric, I had to do something to it.” said Upton. The results are embroidered paisleys, cats, deer, flowers, and, in one case, a bee alight on a flower in a print. The embroidery colors often closely match the colors of the original print, though sometimes the colors are changed slightly to improve the colors or hide an oddity in an original fabric. For example, a cloud is added to cover a portion of a repeating motif that looked odd out of context.

Upton’s crazy quilt blocks exhibit a wide range of colors and textures created by the fabric and embroidery. Included are the more typical satins and velvets as well as neck ties and a piece of her mother’s handkerchief. Smooth satin stitches and groups of bumpy French knots or bullion stitches create greatly varied textures. Applique is also used.

The Giles County Historical Society and the Giles Arts Council invite you to attend Karla Upton’s presentation to enjoy her beautiful work and get some inspiration for your own projects!

How were old postcards made?

Discover Giles County Historical Society column from the Virginian Leader, June 24, 2009:

Today, anyone can create a postcard and have it mass-produced. Just take a photograph with your digital camera and go to a printer or one of many internet postcard printing sites, order 200 postcards, and – viola! – you have created a small piece of history that you can mail or sell as a postcard. However, have you thought about how postcards were made in the early 1900s before cameras were so popular and developing photographs so easy?

Most early postcards were actually prints made from engravings. The Giles County Historical Society has five examples early copper engravings used to create postcards of the buildings of Pearisburg on display. These copper engravings, loaned by the McComas Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, were made by E. S. Dennis in 1907. (Shown is the old Pearisburg Presbyterian Church and Manse)

By looking very closely at the resulting postcards, one can see that the grays of the picture are made with tiny black dots, similar to today’s digital pixels, that are closer together to create dark grays and farther apart to create light grays. This would indicate that the process used to create the copper engravings was half-tone engraving, a rather complex chemical process of transferring the photograph to the copper block through a glass screen and etching the image on the copper. Once complete, the copper plate is then covered with ink and wiped clean with the ink being forced into the etching crevices. A press is used to force the paper into the crevices to create the image. When the paper is peeled from the press, a postcard is born.

Postcards are invaluable for people looking for information about a place. Most every small community had postcards made of the town or special events like parades, homecomings, or even bad storms. The postcards can tell a historian where buildings and streets used to be and how the town used to look. For those studying history or revitalizing a community, postcards provide a public record of a time now lost.

Traditional Needle Turn Applique Class a hit!

Through an unexpected turn of events, I was able to join the Traditional Needle Turn Applique class at the Historical Society this afternoon. For those of you who don't know, the Giles County Historical Society and the Giles Arts Council have partnered to present a series of Needle Arts Classes. They are offered about once a month at the Historical Society and have included various quilting and embroidery classes, crochet, tatting, and other crafts. Different local crafters teach the classes and participants are well on their way to a completed project when the class is over. For the Historical Society, it has been a great way to get new people to the site. For the Arts Council, it helps them meet their mission which is to encourage, nurture, and promote visual, performing, and needle arts.

Today, there were 7 of us, taught by the wonderful and enthusiastic Vickie Green. She showed us beautiful examples of applique that we can all inspire to and very ably taught us how to make a heart with rounded corners and sharp points with just a needle, thread, and fabric. Now she says we can do anything!

My attempt is shown and considering I'm not a quilter (and its not quite done yet!), I think I did a pretty good job with my curves and corners. Vickie may be right!

Here we go a-blogging!

The Giles County Historical Society might seem like a stodgy old institution with lots of old stuff dating back to the 18th century, but that doesn't mean we can't live it up a bit in the 21st century! We got a new website earlier this spring (that still isn't quite complete!) and now we're moving into the world of Web 2.0. We're blogging, tweeting, and facebooking so far. It's an experiment in marketing and we'll be interested to see how this increases our exposure to different demographic groups! Hang on and enjoy the ride with us!