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Check out vintage Grand Lake postcards and more at the Mercer County Historical Society’s postcard exhibit on Sunday, November 8, 2020, from 1 to 4 pm.
From Historical Society President Joyce Alig:
You are invited to visit the Post Card and Post Mark Exhibit at the Mercer County Historical Museum, 130 East Market, Celina. Dale Poeppelman and other Local Post Card Collectors will show their Post Card Collections at the Museum on Sunday afternoon. Everyone will recognize old scenes from their own communities in this area. David Gray will show his collection of Post Marks and Autographs of Famous Citizens. You will recognize famous people from your lifetime.
People study old post card photographs, and try to identify the buildings, or scenes or citizens on the front of the old post cards. They also watch for the local Post Office post marks. Post Cards present puzzles about history which wait to be solved. This Post Card shown above was written by Sylvia and sent to Mrs. Josie Carl, from Spencerville, Ohio on June 1, 1908, and arrived at Celina’s Post Office on June 11, 1908, a year and a half after Celina’s Public Library was opened. Karen Scheer, Member of the Mercer County Historical Society, donated this 1907 post card photograph of the Celina Public Library to the Mercer County Historical Society.
Post Mark Collectors will show their collections. Can you guess the number of U.S. Post Offices in the 14 Townships of Mercer County? Whoever guesses the closest number of Post Offices in Mercer County, prior to 1900, will receive a free copy of the 1995 book, “Mercer County Centennial Buildings.” When Rural Free Delivery, RFD, was implemented, people had mail boxes installed at their homes and their mail was delivered to them. As a result, many local post offices were closed the first decade of the 1900’s. There may be more than a one winner who identifies the number of post offices. The answer to this question can be found by looking at the Township & Village Plat Maps in the 1888 and 1900 Mercer County Atlases, at your local Libraries.
Do you recognize the buildings on North Main Street, Celina? The Shakspere Club established a library for Celina in 1897, when they met at the Calvin E. Riley Home, 130 East Market, which had just been built in 1896. The Riley home is now the Mercer County Historical Museum. The Celina Public Library built at 303 N. Main, was opened January 1, 1907. This Library building was replaced by the new building, The Dwyer Mercer County District Library in 1970. When was the house on the north side of this Library torn down? In the 1968 Directory of Celina, this home was identified as a vacant Duplex. In quest of more history about this house at 307 North Main, whoever contributes information about the history of this home, will also receive a copy of the 1995 book, “Mercer County Centennial Buildings.”
Visitors may view historic Post Card Photographs of Grand Lake, and scenes of Off Shore Oil Wells on Grand Lake, and vistas of the local villages in the new book, “Oil & Gas Boom, Mercer County and Midwest Ohio,” which will be available for Christmas Presents.
The Mission of the Mercer County Historical Society is “To Preserve Mercer County’s History and To Educate the public about that history.” In keeping with this Mission, the Society is preserving local history by preserving historic post cards with photographs from our past. At this November 8 exhibit of Post Cards and famous autographs, please follow Social Distance Rules and wear your face mask.
[Mercer County Historical Society President Joyce Alig may be contacted at 3054 Burk-St. Henry Road, Saint Henry, OH 45883, or histalig@bright.net or 419-678-2614]
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