President Mary Ann Larkin announces the fall 2016 meetings of the Sharon Historical Society, held at 7pm on the third Monday of the month in the Community Room of the Library Building on Main Street/State Route 10.
Monday, September 19, sculptor/artist Peter Cozzolino and photographer Erreca Batchelor will present a program featuring the historic St. John's Lutheran Church building in the Town of Sharon.
Mr. Cozzolino will speak about frescos and their use in early New York, and Ms. Batchelor will present her photographs of the interior frescos and architecture in this first Lutheran congregation in Schoharie County, founded in 1745 by the Reverend Peter Sommers.
Local church members are invited to attend.
October 17, Schoharie County Sheriff Anthony Desmond will talk about the Beech-Nut Circus wagon his father drove in the 1930s.
One of six used by the Beech-Nut company to promote its products, these wagons traveled all over America as "a three-ring circus on wheels" with Beechie Girls and music. Members and former employees of Beech-Nut are invited to attend and bring Beech-Nut memorabilia to share.
November 21, American Hotel Manager Austin Jetton will share his Broadway experiences on The Great White Way and on tour with some of America's best musicals. Mr. Jetton will also perform some of this music as part of the program.
The annual Christmas Potluck Dinner and Gift Exchange will be held on Saturday, December 10 at 6pm in the Library Community Room.
Members and guests are invited to bring a covered dish and a $10 wrapped gift to share during the evening, which is during the Victorian Christmas Festival in Sharon Springs, and will feature holiday music.
The Museum Complex will be open during the 2016 Harvest Festival weekend September 17-18.
The Museum holds exhibits from the Society's collections and an upstairs Victorian suite of parlor, kitchen and bedroom with authentic furniture and everyday items.
The restored Chestnut Street Schoolhouse, also furnished in authentic style, was moved from its original location to the complex.
Sharon Springs resident, Sylvia Somers Lane, mother of Town Supervisor Sandra Lane Manko, was the last teacher there.
Other exhibits include a carriage barn holding an original mail delivery wagon and mailboxes, a cemetery exhibit containing gravestones donated to the Society, and an authentic, non-functional outhouse that was adjacent to the one-room schoolhouse.
Also mounted on display is the 1871 St. John's Lutheran Church Bell, donated to the Society by Fred and Sheila Coger, which will be the subject of a special dedication ceremony this next summer.
The Sharon Historical Society is the official Town of Sharon Historian, and its meetings are free and open to the public. Anyone interested in local history is invited to visit and join.