Winchester Happenings

By Joyce Porter and Patsy Roberts

During our last festival meeting, we discussed the continuation of requesting donations for The Homecoming Festival. Thank you to those who have already made generous donations. The next meeting of the Winchester Homecoming Festival will be held on August 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. Brochures are in local businesses and the Post Office. This year’s festival will be August 23, 24 and 25. We have some new vendors coming this year and are happy to announce we will be having caramel corn. Some of our current vendors are expanding their menu due to popular demand. Patsy and Zayne are continuing repairs, installing name decals and cleaning the old part of the cemetery. We hope you will join us during the festival for the Historical Ghost Ride through the old section.

Prayers are extended to Mike Swackhammer who is scheduled for surgery this week. He will be missed throughout the village.

W3CU food and clothing pantry hours are 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday each month. The next date is August 15. 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, new socks and underwear, in anticipation of August 3 when we will be open from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. for “Back-To-School Saturday”. We are also accepting donations of new socks and underwear at the church. If you would like to donate, please call the church, me or a member of our group.

Work has begun on our new Walking Path here in Winchester. We appreciate the donations for the project. If we collect enough money, we will be able to proceed with the paving project later this year.

I was honored and enjoyed being part of the Adams County Health and Wellness Coalition bike share program in partnership with the Adams County Public Libraries. During the ride we learned some bike safety tips and I enjoyed meeting some new people. You can “Book A Bike” at your local library. I would love to see some organized bike rides in the county.

I hope everyone has noticed long-needed repairs are being made to the Town Hall. After repairs are completed, the entire building will be painted. The next Winchester Village Council meeting is Tuesday, August 13. 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): Nancy Ann Harper was born in 1782 in New Jersey. Her parents were William Harper and Lucretia Tucker. Her father William died in 1833 and has the earliest recorded date of death on a stone in the Winchester cemetery. Her Mother died in Virginia and the family moved to Adams County by 1800. In 1806, Nancy married William Marsh. He was a sergeant in Captain Beasley’s Company. William was born in 1782 and his family was one of the first settlers in Adams County. Nancy and William moved to Winchester by the early 1820’s and had 13 children. Nancy died in 1854, William in 1850 and are both buried in this part of the cemetery along with three of their children. Come to our Historic Ghost Ride during the Winchester Homecoming Festival on August 24th, at 8pm and hear more about Nancy and her family.

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.