Historic Shepherdstown newsletter – December 2020
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Dear Supporter of Historic Shepherdstown, Season’s Greetings from the Board of Directors of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission. We want to thank you so much for your generosity during our recent $60 for 60 Years fundraiser. As of Dec. 11, 2020, the date of our Zoom Happy Hour, we had raised $7,955, far exceeding our hopes. You have truly come through for us, and we appreciate every one of you. We want to let you know who won the basket raffle. The names were drawn during the Happy Hour by our administrator Teresa McLaughlin, from in front of her Christmas tree in her living room. Those in attendance noted that she regularly mixed up the entries before drawing the names, appropriately, from a basket. The winners are:
Many thanks need to go to the members of the Events Committee – Wendy Beckner, Anne D’Alauro, Mina Goodrich, Ebonee Helmick, Donna Bertazzoni and Teresa McLaughlin – for the work they did to organize this fundraiser and compile and contribute to the baskets. We want to announce a few end-of-the year pieces of news: Wanda Perry of Charles Town has lent the Historic Shepherdstown Museum a table that is believed to have been used by Colonel John Francis Hamtramck. Mrs. Perry purchased the table in the fall of 1986, when the contents of the Wyncoop-Morgan-Selby-Hamtramck-Shepherd-Billmyer house on East German Street in Shepherdstown were sold at public auction. Mrs. Perry acquired the table so it would remain in Jefferson County because family members often referred to the piece as the “General’s Table”, a reference to Colonel Hamtramck. He lived in the German Street home with his wife, Sarah Ellen Selby Hamtramck, following the death of Sarah’s father, Walter Bowie Selby, in 1855. Colonel Hamtramck was the great-grandfather of Elise Selby Billmyer, the last descendant to own the home. The table is currently in the front parlor of the museum. Other Hamtramck items on display in that room are Colonel Hamtramck’s diploma from West Point and his presentation sword. We want to thank Mrs. Perry for her generous loan. This year’s Christmas ornament, featuring the Opera House, is still available. Contact Teresa McLaughlin at 304-876-0910 or visit our website, www.historicshepherdstown.com, to order yours. Some ornaments from previous years are also still available. Each ornament costs $20. The schedule for the 2021 Speaker Series has been set. The first event has been scheduled for May, in hopes that by then, Covid-related restrictions on gatherings will have eased. Kevin Pawlak, who gave an abbreviated presentation at our annual meeting in September, will be our first speaker. Details will be forthcoming. Our annual membership drive will be held in January and February. Please keep an eye on your mail for membership information. Finally, while 2020 has not been the year any of us hoped it would be, we want to sincerely thank all of you for your continued support and wish you joy and happiness as we move forward into 2021. Please stay safe and healthy over the holidays and during the winter ahead. Sincerely, |
