On Saturday, Sept. 7, members of the Greene County Historical Society and others from the public welcomed a motor tour that traveled across the county on the Lincoln Highway. There were about 40 cars on this trans-USA tour, which is being sponsored by the Lincoln Highway Association. We hosted a "museum party" at our building in Jefferson. The tour is commemorating the centennial of a U.S. Army convoy, with Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower as one of its ranking officers, that traveled the Transcontinental Highway in 1919. On August 24, a convoy of restored military vehicles came through Greene County in a similar commemoration.

When Grand Junction celebrated its sesquicentennial on August 2-4, one of the highlights was a big parade that had several generations participating -- and watching, too. We caught up with these two pals watching rom the shaded front entrance of Kennedy's Museum. They are museum owner Jerry Kennedy and his great-granddaughter Edynn Smith, of Paton.

Here's one of the historic steam engines on the move during the 20th “Pleasant Prairie Old-Fashioned Threshing Bee” held July 27-28 by the family of Nick & Annette Foster at their farm northwest of Jefferson. “This is a historic farm re-enactment,” Nick Foster, a member of the historical society's board of directors, recently explained. “We teach the way things were done. It’s one way to keep the rural culture and history alive.” There are demonstrations of threshing and plowing, an antique tractor ride, music and food over the two days. (Photo is by Roger Aegerter)

One of many highlights during Scranton's sesquicentennial celebration on June 29 was the performance during a late-afternoon program on local history of a Scranton High School alumni choir, shown here. The choir was directed by Bob Reck, who taught most of these singers in high school and who still lives in Scranton.

After retired journalists Chuck Offenburger and Jerry Roberts -- co-hosts of the historical society's "History Chats" at the recent Greene County Fair -- picked the brains and imaginations of these five about the future of Greene County, Offenburger said it was "the best conversation I've had in 15 years here." The five, from the left, Greene County High School senior class president Sophia Ausberger; rock musician, barbecue slinger & barista Parker Willis; Greene Bean Coffee co-owner & high-level IT systems manager for Oracle, Rich Osborne; Greene County Treasurer Katlynn Mechaelsen, and farmer Schyler Bardole. Hopefully, we'll have a story later about the key points of the panel discussion.