Headlines From the Plains District Memorial Museum

The exhibit currently on display at Plains District Museum is a tribute to the nine service clubs who support our community. These clubs (corrected from last month’s article) include four Ruritan Clubs-Broadway/Timberville, Tenth Legion/Mountain Valley, Fulks Run, Bergton, Broadway/Timberville Lions, Broadway-Timberville Rotary, Plains District Women’s Club, Loyal Order of Moose Club, and the historic Odd Fellows Organization in Timberville and possibly in Broadway. As stated last month, the mission of all these organizations is to improve the quality of life in our communities.

Social and service clubs first started in America in the 18^th -early 19^th centuries and became more widespread after WW I. Formed by groups of men who shared the same patriotism, interests in business, and economic status, the clubs began primarily as social clubs. With the changes in the economy created by WW I, the organizations saw the need to help improve the lives of the average citizens in their communities and became more service oriented. The Odd Fellow organization was started in 1819, the Loyal Order of the Moose in 1888, the Rotary Club in 1905, the Women’s Clubs in 1917, the Lions Clubs in 1917, and the Ruritans (meaning rural small towns) in 1928.

For the history of our local clubs, visit the Museum. The current exhibit will be featured until June 2025.

UPDATED WINTER/SPRING CALENDAR

For the first time in the history of the Museum’s Lecture Series programs, two talks ( Dec. 2024 and Jan. 2025) were postponed because of snow. Both will be rescheduled this spring.

Sunday, February 16 at 2 pm

In recognition of Black History Month, Verne Leininger, Assoc. Professor at Bridgewater College, will speak on a project at the Linville Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery which explored the history of a plot designated as “Free to the Poor.” The only marked graves in that plot were those of members of several Black families who lived in the Broadway community following the Civil War. The project involved both genealogical study and underground exploration of the plot.

Sunday, March 16 at 4 pm

ST. PATRICKS DAY TEA

Reservations required.

$25 per person