Williamsburg planned bicentennial events well

After a historical marker dedication, an ice cream social, a tour of historic homes, a parade and concerts among other events, Williamsburg’s month long bicentennial celebration is over.

Mark White is Editor of The News Journal.

Whitley County was founded in January 1818, and Williamsburg was selected as the county seat in April 1818, which is what prompted the recent month-long bicentennial celebration.

Organizers took this celebration of the town’s history seriously, and put together a series of great events that culminated last week.

A pioneer historical encampment and an American Revolutionary War encampment were set up Thursday evening, and offered tours for school children throughout the day Friday and to the public on Saturday to teach them a little bit about what day-to-day life was like 200 years ago.

I don’t think most of us can imagine taking the grease from our morning bacon and using that as fuel for a lamp in the evening, but that is exactly what many people used to do.

Tom Stephens, Jim Moss and Alice Fae Weiland did a great job with these encampments.

Kathy Lay has organized several one-mile Step It Up walks over the last couple of years, but her one-mile Founder’s Day Celebrates Take a Walk for Child Abuse Prevention event Saturday morning had 92 walkers, including 56 adults and 36 children, which is the largest of these walks that I have seen.

Her subsequent bicycle rodeo also saw many young participants, who got the chance to learn more about bicycle safety in a fun way. Incidentally, Kathy has another walked planned on May 12 in Corbin.

Saturday afternoon’s “20 Decades of Williamsburg Parade” was one of the largest and possibly the largest parade I have seen in Williamsburg, and the crowd that turned out to watch it was pretty large too. Kay Martin, Jayma Moore and others did a great job organizing this event.

In addition, there was a good size crowd at the grand finale Saturday evening for the birthday gala concert that featured the band, “Off The Clock.”

If you didn’t make it out to any of the town’s bicentennial events last month, then you missed something special.

In case anyone hasn’t checked it out yet, Whitley County Fine Arts Extension Agent Cortney Moses still has “The ARTifact: 20 Decades of Whitley County” display set up at the fine arts center through the end of June.

The exhibit, which will be on display through the end of June, features about 140 items from 27 people. The exhibit is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Whitley County is doing its bicentennial celebration a little bit differently with events planned throughout the year so look for more to come there.

Now let me mention about a couple of other things before I conclude this column.

• I had fun at Josh Bunch’s art reception Monday evening at Seasons Restaurant in Corbin. Josh recently completed a painting entitled “Across the Board,” which will be auctioned at the Unbridled Eve Derby Eve Gala for charity.

Josh is a great guy, who has worn many hats during his career. I first got to know him pretty well when he was a Williamsburg police officer, and then when he went to work for Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr.

Josh’s day job is currently working as an arson investigator for the Kentucky State Police.

While Josh’s day jobs have varied over the years, art has always been one of his passions. He is a very talented painter, and it is good to see him being recognized.

• The Williamsburg Kiwanis Club is holding its 2018 Day of Prayer Breakfast Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at the Williamsburg Tourism and Convention Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and go to benefit various Kiwanis projects for local kids.

The speaker will be Tyler Johnson, youth minister at First Baptist Church in Williamsburg.