Winchester Happenings

By Joyce Porter and Patsy Roberts

Patsy, Zayne and I spent a wonderful week visiting the Arches National Park Canyonland and Dead Horse Park in Utah. We enjoyed the many hikes, one almost straight up a huge rock, and beautiful formations. (One week after we were there, they experienced a rockslide which resulted in the park being closed.) On our way to Durango, we stopped by the Four Corners and stood in four states at the same time. We enjoyed the Durango train ride alongside a mountain overlooking absolutely beautiful scenery, back in Colorado. We toured St. Elmo, a ghost town, and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument on the way back to Denver. It was a great trip!

On Saturday, while we were watering downtown flowers, we met Betsy Adams, a descendent of Anne Bradford and niece of Chet Bradford. She had not visited since their home was demolished in 1921 and cried when she saw the vacancy. She shared lots of memories from her times in Winchester.

Congratulations to Gerry and Janet (Mahaffey) on their 50th wedding anniversary. Their family hosted a celebration at the W3CU Gym on Saturday.

Everyone is invited to attend a short Bike Ride that will be the launch for the new Bike Share Program with the County Library System on Monday, July 15 from 9 a.m. - noon. This will be at the Peebles Library at 157 High Street. The ride will be led by a professional from Toole Design, and they will discuss safety measures. This will be a slow, easy ride focusing on easy, accessible trips in a rural setting. If you don’t ride, come out to support the kids. Helmuts are required and will be available if you don’t have one.

The next meeting of the Winchester Homecoming Festival will be held on July 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. The brochure is done and will be available in June. This year’s festival will be August 23, 24 and 25. Much more information to follow.

W3CU food and clothing pantry hours are 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday each month. The next date is July 18. If you are unable to come on Thursdays to Compassion Closet, please call the church at (937) 695-0025 to schedule an appointment. If you can donate your time, stop by around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday to assist the food pantry in serving. We appreciate our many volunteers and donors who make this pantry possible. Our Compassion Closet is accepting donations of new or gently used shoes in anticipation of August when we are open for back to school Saturday.

The next Winchester Village Council meeting is Tuesday, July 9. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you have an agenda item, call Ashley in the Town Hall (937-695-0880) before 3 p.m. the preceding Friday. The monthly work session occurs on the fourth Tuesday of the month, 6 - 7 p.m. All council meetings are public and held in the Town Hall.

Winchester’s Past (Patsy Roberts): Continuing with Frances Adams. Frances continued living with her parents, William and Jane, in dwelling number 8 in Winchester. In 1868, her sister, Mary Isabelle married George W. Doyle. He was the son of James Doyle (1808-1879) and Matilda McMeekin (1811-1866). They are both buried in the old part of the Winchester Cemetery. At the time of his marriage, George was a dry goods merchant in Winchester. George and Mary (Isabelle) had three sons: Edwin (Ned) (1867-1942), Frank (Hal) (1868-1943) and William (1869-1872). Unfortunately, Isabelle passed away in 1872 leaving her two small sons, Ned and Hal. Ned and Hal moved in with their grandparents where Aunt Frank started taking care of them. They continued to live in dwelling number 8 on Main Street in Winchester. (to be continued)

Information is due by Sunday evening and can be sent by calling (937) 205-2309 (leave a message) or by email at japorter45697@gmail.com.