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Follow Baleigh to The Versailles Area Historical Society & Museum

Baleigh Reed, Intern at The Darke County Visitors Bureau is back in action with this week's installment of "Follow Baleigh" to The Versailles Area Historical Society.
 
Where has the month of August gone!? In the blink of an eye, kids are back at school, and all of the summer festivities have wrapped up. In Versailles, the summer concluded with a BANG due to the All-Class Reunion Labor Day weekend. The streets of Versailles were shut down for the 5th annual All-Class Reunion which is celebrated every four years.
 
I was fortunate to get the chance to speak with the man who has been there from the beginning, Mr. Ken DeMange. He said that the reason they started this event over 20 years ago was to, “Encourage classes to celebrate their class reunion the same weekend as the All-Class Reunion. By holding the VHS All-Class Reunion every four years, the classes rotate celebrating their monumental year for their class reunions.” Ken explained that the ultimate goal of this event is to bring the community together and raise money for the Versailles High School scholarships, which supports their mission statement.
 
For guest enjoyment, a shuttle bus was provided to transport people to the Versailles Historical Society Museum every half hour, and I just so happened to be on it. On the last day of the event, I took a tour around the museum and spoke with the President of the museum, Deb Pohl. As I spoke with her, so many questions swirled around in my head. I was so curious to learn about this establishment, and several others must have been as well because the museum was packed with families and people young and old.With the All-Class reunion being held, business was BOOMING for the museum and other local businesses.
 
When asked the reasoning for creating the museum, Pohl responded, “On Poultry Days for several years, people would make displays in the trophy cases of the old high school for Versailles items they have collected over the years, and we kept talking about how it would sure be nice to have a permanent display set up somewhere. So Sara Magoteaux and I would kid each other back and forth about having a permanent museum.” Finally after several years of going back and forth trying to decide who would begin this project, Mrs. Pohl rose to the occasion. She and Sara got together at the 2009 Poultry Days and both said, “Let’s go for it!” The rest is history… no pun intended.
 
The displays inside hold all Versailles area artifacts including items from all the towns in Versailles and Russia school district. I was made aware that the “Military room” was the crown jewel of the museum, and as I entered, I would say that is an understatement. This room is truly amazing! Inside, one may find uniforms from a great majority of the wars on loan from the soldiers and their families. I also spotted an authentic Nazi flag from World War II that someone had recovered. It was so great to look around at all of the history that surrounds us, and looking at all of the area people who fight/ have fought daily for our freedom is beyond a doubt a humbling experience.
 
In addition to the military room, the museum also has rooms dedicated to the three areas of the school system, a sports and music room which displays all of the band uniforms since the 1950s, a train room, a room entitled “On the Street Where You Live” featuring The Sweet Shop, a room dedicated to “The Famous Russels” who traveled all around the United States with a circus act, a fire room displaying shots of the town before and after it burnt down, a mercantile room, the church room with items from all of the local churches, a turn of the century 1900 kitchen room, the curiosity room which houses tools used on the farm or in the kitchen at the time, and many, MANY more!
 
I highly recommend visiting this museum. I was astounded by how much history it had to offer, and I would love to visit again soon to learn even more! Pack up the family and head to the museum during its hours on Sunday from 1-4 special tours are also available. If you would like to get involved with the museum, Mrs. Pohl explained that they are always looking for volunteers to come and help out! If you are interested in doing anything from building shelves to cleaning/ helping to change displays, you can call the museum at (937)-526-4222.


 
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