Saturday, June 18th will be a busy day at two of Gilford Village’s museum buildings, according to items listed on Thompson-Ames Historical Society’s Calendar of Events. From 10:00 a.m. until noon at the Grange Museum Building, 8 Belknap Mountain Road, the monthly get-together of the Heritage Arts and Crafts Bees will be held.

Upstairs in Grange Hall, the focus will be on rag dolls and their various wardrobes. “Participants are encouraged to bring in a favorite doll to show, no matter what vintage the doll represents,” coordinator Carol Anderson remarked as she was discussing the on-going June-July T-AHS celebration of wonderful childhood memories and dolls, which includes a historic display of dolls that is being featured in the Children’s Room of the Gilford Public Library during the month of June.

Downstairs at the Grange, wooden toys of historic design will feature “The Hoe Boy”. When asked about this project, Stan Piper commented, “Mechanical toys hold a special fascination for youngsters and adults alike. A kit will be available for a youngster paired up with an adult to assemble. There are also opportunities for youngsters and adults to help take part in the actual creation of pieces essential to the mechanical toy.”

Volunteers who help create wooden toys of historic design as well as the kits that are available for get-togethers the third Saturday morning of each month, will also be making wooden penny dolls for the Saturday morning, July 16th bee/get-together.

If you wish to volunteer or learn about these activities, please telephone T-AHS at 527-9009, leave your name, telephone number and a brief message and you will receive a return call.

Light refreshments are served during the monthly Heritage Arts and Crafts Bees. These get-togethers are open to the public of all ages.

Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, June 18th, there will be a Garden Tour and Open House at the Benjamin Rowe House, located at 88 Belknap Mountain Road, to celebrate the completion of the Herb Garden created by the students in Wendy Oellers’ third-grade class. Light refreshments will be served and the public of all ages is invited to attend. The activities at the Rowe House will begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue through 1:00 p.m. to give participants in the Heritage Arts and Crafts Bees at the Grange Museum Building an opportunity to drop in at the Rowe House after 12:00 noon.

“Volunteers have been working hard to refurbish the gardens at the c.1838 Benjamin Rowe House,” stated Carmel Lancia, who along with Marge Muehlke serves as Co-Chair of Thompson-Ames Historical Society’s Rowe House Gardens Committee. Marge Muehlke added, “This lovely old farmhouse, which is on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, is getting the garden setting that it deserves.” Kathy Lacroix, T-AHS’s Education Coordinator, commented, “The Herb Garden has been a wonderful learning opportunity for the students in Wendy Oellers’ third grade. It was also a community service project that topped off the students’ three field-trip experiences offered by Thompson-Ames Historical Society to make Gilford’s history come alive.”

The Saturday, June 18th activities will be held rain or shine.
For further information, please telephone Thompson Ames Historical Society at 527-9009. Also, T-AHS’s website www.gilfordhistoricalsociety.org is a good source of information, including the society’s calendar of events.
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