Letter to the editor: Appreciates visitors at New Kent County fair

What a fun time to see all the crafts, talent, and people who visited the fair this year. As a board member of the New Kent Historical Society, I was thrilled to meet and greet all the people who stopped by our table and who were fascinated by all the important historical events that have occurred in our own county over the last 360 years – two first ladies born here, five armies made history here, a landmark Supreme Court case based on segregation in New Kent schools changed laws nationwide and so much more.

In order to bring that history to residents and to visitors to our county, the New Kent Historical Society is making history of its own. I explained how we are planning a historical museum to make our history available to everyone. Our new motto is “Explore, Preserve, and Educate.”

We’ve certainly outgrown the small, old jailhouse which mostly contained genealogy information and there was no place to display the archives we’ve stored for years. Now that we have purchased a building, we are doing fundraisers to pay the mortgage and other expenses. We’ve put together a huge historical event centered on the Colonial and Revolutionary times at Cumberland Plantation on Oct. 11-12 to allow everyone to experience the event. We will be giving tours of the house, with crafters demonstrating blacksmithing, weaving, butter churning, quilting, and more. There will also strolling musicians, storytellers and dancers, along with serving Brunswick stew (and other delights).

We encourage all to come out for the event to support the New Kent Historical Society.

Gale Auer
New Kent