Mail Pouch Barns in the Ohio Valley

Website: www.pickeringtonhistoricalsociety.com ~ Email: pickhistsociety@hotmail.com
Spring 2012
OFFICERS
OFFICERS
Electedfor
officers
the until
Officers
Jan 1,for
2012
Pickerington-Violet
Township
Dec 31, 2013 are:
Historical Society for Jan 1, 2012
thru Dec 31, 2013 are:
President
Gary Taylor
Vice President-Administration
George Hallenbrook
Vice President-Education
Jack Whitaker
Secretary
Mary Herron
Treasurer
Judy Stingel
Board Members at Large
Carolyn Boetcher
Chris Reale
Patsy Woodruff
Appointed Officers:
Membership Chairman
Barbara Taylor
Historian
Peggy Portier
Curator
Rita Ricketts
Librarian
Joan Heft
Publicity
Maggie Arendt
Pickerington-Violet Township
Historical Society
15 E. Columbus Street
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 732
Pickerington, OH 43147
Mail Pouch Barns in
the Ohio Valley
Thursday, April 12 ~ 7:30 PM
Historical Society Museum
15 E. Columbus Street
Olde Pickerington Village
For the past 20 years, Eddie Black has been chasing “Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco”
signs and barns in rural Ohio and other parts of the Midwest. During our Historical
Society’s first meeting of the season on Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 PM, the 40-year
old Lancaster, Ohio high school English teacher will share some of her photographs, memorabilia and information about this unusual form of advertising used
by Mail Pouch Tobacco in days gone by.
Eddie also will tell us about her visit with the last living Mail Pouch painter, Harley
Warrick. The Belmont, Ohio native estimated he painted or repainted over 20,000
barns during his career. Unfortunately, few Mail Pouch Tobacco barns remain, but
Eddie knows the locations of those still standing in the Fairfield County area. Eddie
currently is an active member of the “Barn Stormers,” a group of like-minded Mail
Pouch enthusiasts.
Be sure to invite your friends and family to join you in the Historical Museum’s
Lower Level for this entertaining program about a piece of disappearing
Americana. As always, our program and refreshments are free to the public.
Historical Museum Volunteer Orientation: March 24
In order to adequately staff our Historical Museum for Saturday Open
Houses and Olde Pickerington Village special events, we need volunteers!
If you are interested in being a host or hostess for a few hours each month,
join us for an orientation workshop beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday,
March 24 at the Museum, 15 E. Columbus Street in Olde Pickerington
Village.
Topics covered will include: opening/closing procedures; frequently asked
questions; finding photos/memorabilia/resources; computer searches and
printing; a Q&A guided tour of current Museum collections; and the
Museum’s 2012 Open House calendar.
Please contact Museum Historian, Peggy Portier, at
pickhistsociety@hotmail.com to sign up for the March 24th Orientation
Workshop or to ask questions about being a Museum host or hostess.
Historical Museum Quilt Raffle Fundraiser
Historical Society members are asked to help sell tickets for a
raffle fundraiser to assist with necessary repairs and
restoration of our 100-year old Museum which until 1993
operated as the community’s Carnegie Library.
The raffle prize will be a “Baby O” quilt similar to the one
shown at left by Society members Diane and Jim Paxton.
Diane presently is stitching the machine pieced/machine
quilted prize and expects it to be ready for Museum display
soon. Size of the quilt is approximately 50 x 68 inches. Diane
has been a quilter for the past 11 years with the Heart of
Ohio Quilters Guild.
Tickets will sell for $1 each or 6 tickets for $5 between now and September 13 when the winning Quilt Raffle ticket
will be drawn during the Historical Society’s Annual Founders’ Day Banquet. The winner need not be present.
If you can help with this fundraising project by purchasing tickets or helping sell tickets to your friends and
neighbors, contact Historical Society Secretary, Mary Herron at pickhistsociety@hotmail.com, or pick up your tickets
at our Museum any Saturday between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning April 7 when the Museum opens for the 2012
season.
2012 Historical Society Museum Events
March 24 ~ 1:00 PM: Volunteer Orientation Workshop
April 7: Our Museum opens for the Season! Visit us Saturdays 10:00 AM- 3:00 PM
April 12 ~ 7:30 PM: Historical Society Membership Meeting: Mail Pouch Barns in the Ohio Valley by Eddie Black
May 3 ~ 7:30 PM: Historical Society Membership Meeting (Program to be announced)
May 4 ~ 6:00-8:30 PM: Olde Village Chocolate Hop (Advance reservations/map required)
June 1 ~ 5:00-9:00 PM: Strawberry Social on Pickerington Plaza; Cruisin’ Car Show on West Columbus Street
June 7 ~ 7:30 PM: Historical Society Membership Meeting (Program to be announced)
July 6 ~ 6:00-8:30 PM: Olde Village History Hop (Civil War Theme featuring Abe Lincoln, live music, food and more!)
August 4 ~ 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Olde Village Market Day (Yard Sale on the Museum lawn)
Historical Society August Picnic: Date and time to be determined
September 13 ~ 6:30 PM: Annual Founders' Day Banquet (Quilt raffle drawing held)
October 4 ~ 7:30 PM: Historical Society Membership Meeting (Program to be announced)
October 30 ~ 5:30-8:00 PM: Haunted Museum at Haunted Village
November 1 ~ 7:30 PM: Historical Society Membership Meeting (Program to be announced)
November 3 ~ 11 AM – 4 PM: Olde Village BeanFest
December 6 ~ 6:30 PM: Historical Society Christmas Potluck
December 7 ~ 5:00 - 8:30 PM: Olde Village Holiday (Storytelling at the Museum)
Page 2
… around the Historical Society Museum
Pickerington Plaza’s New Look: At the request of the Pickerington-Violet Township
Historical Society and Olde Pickerington Village Business Association, the city of
Pickerington is removing the large planter that occupies a substantial portion of
Pickerington Plaza. The project will open up the Plaza to make it more user friendly for
community events and other gatherings. Photo at left shows city employee, Gary
Anderson, removing the tree.
PCMA Pickerington Food Pantry Has Moved: Our Food Pantry friends moved the last
weekend of February to their new Olde Pickerington Village location at 70 Cross Street
(behind the former Creamery). For the past 18 years the Food Pantry occupied space in
the lower level of our Historical Museum. Food Pantry Director, Dianna Kassouf, tells us
their new Cross Street home of more than 3000 square feet includes office and warehouse space and is wheelchair
accessible. Also, there is plenty of parking adjacent to the building.
Peggy Portier, our Society’s Historian, represents the Pickerington-Violet
Township Historical Society on the Fairfield County Civil War 150 Alliance. This
group is a collaboration of heritage, arts and cultural organizations that are
planning county-wide events during 2012 to commemorate the 150th
anniversary of the Civil War. Historical Society members are invited to
participate in local 2012 Civil War commemoration activities which include:
Sharing Civil War Photos/Mementos: Do you have photos or Civil War souvenirs associated with a Fairfield County
resident who served during the Civil War that can be borrowed? Photos will be scanned and immediately returned to
you. Civil War items will be safely displayed during the Olde Village History Hop scheduled for Friday evening, July 6. The
event already includes Abe Lincoln, a Fife & Drum Corps, Civil War medical equipment, “Dear Jane” quilt and food.
Contact Peggy Portier at pickhistsociety@hotmail.com if you have Civil War photos, memorabilia or other ideas to
contribute.
Passport Program: Fairfield County children are being encouraged to learn local Civil War history through a Passport
Program that runs through December 2012. Boys and girls can obtain a “Passport” at the Pickerington-Violet Township
Historical Society Museum, Pickerington Public Library, or online at www.civilwarfairfieldcounty.ohio.org. To win a prize
from the Civil War treasure chest, all kids need to do is have their “Passport” stamped as they complete seven activities.
Dozens of activities are suggested and include: reading a Civil War book at the library, taking a photo of the headless
Sherman statue at 1252 Hill Road North, visiting the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society Museum, attending
the July 6th Olde Pickerington Village History Hop and any other Civil War 150 events throughout Fairfield County.
Welcome New Members!
“Spare Change Day”
Pickerington Public Library
Saturday, March 17 ~ 10am - 4pm
The Pickerington Public Library invites you to bring
your friends and spare change to the Library on or
before Saturday, March 17 to help create a
“Homework Help Center” for local students within
the Library. The St. Patrick’s Day activities include:
1:00-3:00 pm - Live Irish Music
2:00-4:00 pm - Fun with Money (ages 4 and up)
All day - Money Smarts for Tweens
For more information about this event, go online to
www.pickeringtonlibrary.org
New “Individual” Members: Paul Lindquist,
Mary Ann Macioce, Carol Yurt
New “Family” Members: Stephen/Miseon Hooper
Family, Fiona/Rusty Spears Family
New “Lifetime” Members: Mitch O’Brien, Lilane Fox
Invite a guest(s) to join you for our April 12th meeting
and to become a member of our Historical Society!
Application forms will be available at the meeting and
during Saturday 10-3 pm Open Houses. Annual
memberships are only $7.50 for an individual, $10.00
for the entire family, and $100 for a lifetime member.
Page 3
Pickerington-Violet Township
Historical Society
P.O. Box 732
Pickerington, OH 43147
If there is a Red Star next
to your mailing label →
your 2012 membership dues
are past due!
Visit the Museum Gift Shop for:
“Baby O” Quilt Raffle tickets
($1 each or 6 for $5), “Then &
Now” books ($8) and a
variety of quality gifts!
Spring 2012
Did You Know?
At one time Pickerington-Violet Township had a
very active chapter of the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union (WCTU). Members appearing
in this circa 1900 WCTU photo were women of
many prominent local families including Stemen,
Fishbaugh, Ricketts, Harmon, Kraner, Handshey
and Courtright. At this time in history, the small
village of Pickerington was reported to have half
a dozen saloons in operation.
The WCTU originated in Hillsboro, Ohio in 1873
when women organized pray-ins at local saloons
and demanded that the sale of liquor be
stopped. The WCTU quickly became the largest women’s organization in the U.S. Their primary goal was to abolish
alcohol, tobacco and drugs. The Anti-Saloon League and the WCTU were credited with the 1919 ratification of the 18th
U.S. Constitutional Amendment banning the manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating liquors. That
amendment was repealed in 1933. The WCTU also was responsible for gaining for women the right to vote in 1920.
Do you have a photo and short story/personal remembrance from our community’s past that you’d like to share with
fellow Historical Society members? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Contact newsletter editor, Maggie Arendt, by email
at pickhistsociety@hotmail.com.
Page 4