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I rope my friends into moving a model of Mac-A-Cheek onto the
lawn where it will decorate a mini golf hole. |
I think we all had a great time celebrating a century of stories last weekend at Mac-A-Cheek. I brought a few friends with me from Pittsburgh and convinced them to help set up in exchange for cake. The day threatened rain, but despite (or perhaps because of) Mom's elaborate rain contingency planning we didn't get a single drop. Once the tents were all up and the mini golf hole was in place the guests started pouring in. It was hard to get an accurate count, as visitors milled about the grounds all afternoon, but I would estimate that we had at least 200 people join us for our celebration.
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| Mom and I cut the official birthday cake. |
On display were samples of many of the programs offered at Piatt Castles including activities from our summer day camps, a traveling exhibit about corn (it's a 6 foot tall quilted ear of corn - amazing) called Corny Facts and Kernels of Knowledge, exhibits about the civil war, information about our oral history program, games for children of all ages, and much more. We took 2 commemorative photographs of all in attendance that will be published in a souvenir book that Mom and I are writing to commemorate this anniversary. And of course, the cake was one of the most popular attractions with a line that stretched through the building.
Representatives from the fourth estate were present to capture the celebration, and the party was featured in both the
Bellefontaine Examiner and the
Columbus Dispatch.
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| I pose with the winner of our birthday cake baking competition. |
Now that the tents have been put away and the cake has been eaten we're working to complete our anniversary year and prepare for the future. First on the docket is the souvenir book. The first souvenir book about Mac-A-Cheek was printed in 1915, and our book will include an annotated copy of the original book plus a history of tourism at Mac-A-Cheek told through the material culture of the museum (brochures, ads, tickets, post cards, etc.). We are learning so much about the museum by looking at the way it was promoted through the years. As much fun as I had planning Sunday's party, I'm a little glad that it's over so that I'll have more time to get going on the book!
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| The staff at Piatt Castles |
