HAPPENINGS AT
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Spring has awakened the activity at the Bland County Historical Society. The visitor count has risen since the warmer weather arrived, and there has been a steady stream of research requests, both onsite and online.

Submissions of scenic photographs are still being received as entries for the 2013 Historical Society calendar. The 5 x 7 photographs need to be in color and depict scenes taken in Bland County during the last 3-4 years, and they need to be delivered to the Society office by July 1 with a description and date of each photo. Entries may also be emailed in high-resolution, jpg format to kingbw@centurylink.net. All entries become the property of the Historical Society once they are submitted.

Ann Beardshall, Society volunteer, is hard at work on her new Bland County Glimpses book, which will be on the CCC Camp that was once in Bastian. The new History of Bland County book is still being indexed and will be sent to the printer later this year.

Renovation projects are still underway at the Society building. The new addition roof has been replaced, and the roof on the original building has been painted, and all new windows were installed downstairs. Within the next several weeks, the Society hopes to replace all guttering, and install new windows upstairs. The flower boxes have been filled with specimens that will add beautiful color to the front of the building.

Some of the items that have been recently received as donations to the Historical Society are: framed and unframed photos, copies of scrapbooks, school yearbooks, a white crocheted bedspread, an old Bland Baseball uniform, approximately 50 photo entries for the 2013 calendar project, a Peace Lily in memory of Mildred Richardson, numerous old store account books, assorted genealogy books and documents, a 1940s Rocky Gap High School basketball jacket, numerous monetary memorial donations, and several unspecified monetary donations.

The Society is very much interested in having a complete set of yearbooks from the Bland, Ceres, and Rocky Gap schools. Persons who have copies to donate may contact the Society to see what issues are needed.

The photograph collection is growing weekly. Originals or copies of photos are very much appreciated as the Society tries to amass an extensive collection of Bland County related photos for the Bogle Library.

There are now 187 members of the Society. Yearly membership dues (Jan-Dec) are $5.00 per student, $15.00 per individual, $25.00 per couple. Lifetime memberships are $150.00 per individual.

The June membership meeting will be held on Saturday, June 9, at the Bland County Library Meeting Room, beginning at 1:30 pm. Members and their guests will be treated to a walking tour around Bland Square, with H. G. "Buzz" Richardson as guest leader. Richardson will discuss points of interest and describe the "way things were" when he was a child living in Bland. After the tour, members will return to the Library for light refreshments.

Anyone who would like to make a monetary donation to the Bland County Historical Society to help with the continuing restoration projects, for memorials, or to become a member, please send your check to the Society at PO Box 416, Bland 24315. If you have questions, please contact Brenda King at 276-688-0088 or kingbw@centurylink.net., or visit the Society webpage.