Pioneer Days slated in Wirt County
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ELIZABETH -- Pioneer Days in Wirt County will be held Oct. 7 and 8 in Elizabeth.
"Wonderful things" are planned for the two-day festival that includes a re-enacted Civil War battle and numerous demonstrations, said Carole Menefee, who has organized Pioneer Days for the past 20 years.
The 20th annual festival is sponsored and organized by the Elizabeth Beauchamp Chapter Daughters of American Pioneers. Menefee is the regent treasurer of the chapter.
"The goal of the Daughters of American Pioneers is to provide family entertainment and share our historical knowledge of Wirt County's past," Menefee said.
Among the demonstrations will be basket weaving, blacksmithing, apple butter stirring, pottery making, wool spinning, crochet and tatting, among others, she said.
Guided tours will be held Oct. 7 of the Beauchamp-Newman Museum, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and the historical McClung-Morgan House, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Menefee said
A Civil War Ladies' tea will be held on the museum lawn where costumed pioneer ladies will serve refreshments and teach the art of tatting, Menefee said. Union and Confederate troops will engage in a small skirmish at 2 p.m., she said.
A full battle is planned for 2 p.m. Oct. 8, Menefee said. The Civil War encampment will open at 9 a.m.
"You can talk with the soldiers and see their pride in authenticity as they display their equipment and uniforms," Menefee said. "We aim to bring family entertainment and historical knowledge of our past to Wirt County. Please bring your children and help revive the history that is being forgotten."
The battlefield will be near the bridge on W.Va. 5. Bring lawn chairs and plenty of parking is available, Menefee said.
The schedule is:
Oct. 7, Wirt County Pioneer Vendor Day
∫ 9 a.m.: opening ceremony, Riding in Faith and Friends Parade, national anthem and prayer, Jon Larrison from Big Island Run Church; food and vendor booths open; Rocky Point Carriage rides
∫ 9:15 a.m.: essay contest winner
∫ 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.: live bands & cloggers – 9:30 a.m., Waverly Run Bluegrass; 10:30 a.m., River Rats; 11:30 a.m., Mountain River Cloggers; noon-2 p.m., The Country Club Band; 2:45-4 p.m., Cross Fire
∫ 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: car show (registration 9-10 a.m.)
∫ 10 a.m.-3 p.m.: quilt show (registration 4-6 p.m. Oct. 6 and 8:30-9 a.m. Oct. 7).
∫ 10 a.m.: pumpkin contest (registration 10 a.m., judging 11:30 a.m.), winner announced at 2 p.m.; petting zoo and pony rides; Civil War Ladies Tea, museum.
∫ 2 p.m.: Civil War skirmish.
The historical tours will be: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. open house, Beauchamp-Newman Museum; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. guided tours, Morgan-McClung House. Demonstrations will be: blacksmith, basket weaver, quilting, tatting, & crochet); Joe Lott, Mountain Monsters Actor; Smokey the Bear; bounce houses/face painting/kids' crafts/antique engines).
Oct. 8, Wirt County Civil War Reenactment Day, W.Va. 14 and W.Va. 5, Elizabeth.
∫ 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Visit camps.
∫ Infantry and artillery units will open campsites at 9 a.m. The battle will take place at 2 p.m.