Western-Star.com

The Warren County Historical Society, headquartered in downtown Lebanon, retains artifacts from the Paleolithic era to the 21st century. Museum official pride themselves on having one of the finest county museums collection in the country.

So it might seem a bit strange that a historical society like this hosts craft events such as a quilt show and scrapbooking workshops.

Anyone in the WCHS, however, would tell you otherwise.

"Scrapbooking is really hot right now and we want to let people know that it's nothing new and that people have been doing it for decades," said museum director Shirley Ray.

The next big thing

According to Ray, scrapbooking dates all the way back to Victorian times and that last week's workshop and the upcoming quilt show — set for the first weekend in March — and sale fit in perfectly with the organization's mission.

One of their biggest fundraising events, the quilt show will feature quilts from 1930s America — a time when the country was in the depths of the Great Depression.

With more than 2,500 people in attendance, the show also attracts vendors from all over the country that will be selling both vintage and new quilts, Ray said.

"I love seeing what the different vendors bring and what the new hot thing is going on," Ray said. "It's very trendy. It's like fashion, and I like seeing what's the latest thing."

Relying on donations

The WCHS itself claims more than 300 members, most of whom are volunteers, and two museums — both of which are in Lebanon, although society president Bill Duning pointed out that "it's not the Lebanon Historical Society.

"The organization draws information and artifacts from all of Warren County. We have people offering things to the museum regularly because they want to see things preserved," Duning said. "One of the first questions from our curator is, 'Is this related to Warren County history?' ...The importance is that it is related to Warren County."

Like many mostly-volunteer organizations, the WCHS depends largely on money from the community to fund projects. In fact, donations and fundraisers provide for about two-thirds of the society's budget. And in light of the recent purchase and proposed renovation of Lebanon's original post office — an estimated $1.8 million project — Duning said he has no intention of slowing fundraising efforts.

The WCHS also is working on restoring the Glendower Mansion in Lebanon, a pre-Civil War era home known for its Greek Revival styling that was commissioned by one of the original framers of Ohio's constitution. The mansion is one of five Greek Revival homes in that area and has been called "one of the finest examples of the Greek Revival architecture in the Middle West."