A morning for appreciation

Davidene McDonald of Chariton brought the old square grand piano in the John L. Lewis Building to life Saturday morning by playing familiar hymns during the Lucas County Historical Society's Appreciation Day open house. Mrs. McDonald relies on memory rather than sheet music to play selections from a repertoire of hundreds of old melodies and no one in the audience was able to stump her when she took requests.

Perfect fall weather allowed Lucas County Historical Society members and friends to gather on the museum patio Saturday morning for an Appreciation Day open house program. The event celebrated the contributions of thousands of Lucas Countyans to the museum over the years and marked the repair and re-erection of the society's vintage windmill, damaged in a storm two years ago.

Frank D. Myers, LCHS president, welcomed guests and spoke briefly about volunteer efforts that since 1965 have created the museum on a campus that now includes seven buildings housing approximately 40,000 artifacts. Those mentioned included Col. Warren S. Dungan, organizer of the first Lucas County Historical Society in 1901 whose collection is housed in the current museum. Those acknowledged included members, guests, board members and volunteers present, all of whom were invited to rise and give themselves a round of applause.

Frank Mitchell, Lucas County Historical Society board member, spent a few minutes Saturday morning putting into historical perspective the place of windmills in Lucas County history. Saturday's Appreciation Day open house at the Lucas County Historical Society museum also celebrated the the repair and re-erection of the museum's vintage windmill.

Frank Mitchell, historian and Historical Society board member, spoke of the place of windmills in Lucas County’s history, recalling a time when nearly every farmstead relied on wind power to carry water from well to livestock and, in some cases, to homes. That was the function of the museum windmill, donated to the Historical Society during the early 1980s by the Lenig family.

Davidene and Emery McDonald provided musical entertainment during the event which also included tours of the museum and hot cider and coffee cake.

The vintage windmill on the Lucas County Historical Society museum grounds in Chariton was one of the focal points of a Saturday Appreciation Day open house. The windmill, donated by the Lenig family during the early 1980s, was damaged in a storm two years ago. Repairs were completed during the summer and it was re-erected west of the barn during early October.