When CAHS bought the House in 2007, there was a room behind the kitchen with red  carpeting.  It became the "Red Room."  The red carpeting has been gone for quite a while, and 2014, and 2015 saw us transforming the Red Room into a heated, lighted storage room.  This transition continues in July  of 2015. When you visit, ask to see the Red Room.

Once again the Carlisle Area Historical Society is a reciepient of a Warren County Philanthropic Grant. This grant will be used to paint our museum/house, The Randleman House. The WCCP has been very supportive of our efforts and we certainly appreciate all the help they have given us. This is an exciting project and will make a huge difference in our neighborhood. Some parts of the house have not been painted for over 50 years! Thank you to Mary Sue and Carol for attending the award ceremony and accepting the award!

The Holiday open house was a fabulous success! The deadline gave us that extra push to get the second floor completed and the decorators took over from there. This old house has never looked so grand. It makes you just want to sit and admire the rooms for hours on end.

We had so many events, teas, dinners and private parties this season that my head is whirling and my feet are aching! Once again Mary Sue (with help from Josh) outdid herself  with the wonderful cooking. No one goes home hungry from the Randleman House and that includes the help! Thanks Mary Sue for all your hard work.

No outside events are planned the rest of the year but members can gather for an informal New Years Eve party. We will have some snacks, maybe a movie and a chance to reflect on our successes (and hatch a few plans for the coming year)

Hope to see you there.

Melody

Sanding and staining of the floors upstairs at the Randleman house is complete. Today the first coat of polyurethane was brushed on. It will need to cure 24 hours before applying the second coat. Very soon those rooms will be ready to decorate. I am very excited about the upcoming Light Up Carlisle celebration scheduled for December 3rd and 4th. Teams of local families will be decorating the rooms in different themes. A small charge ($5) will be charged to tour the house. All proceeds will go to the Paint the House campaign!

Come on over for breakfast before shopping on the 26th. Sausage gravy and biscuits, eggs, pancakes, cofee, juice and cinnamon rolls. You can't beat this!

Rex Fowler got the ball rolling for the tear-off of the back stairs. Rob and Danny followed up on his work and were scratching their heads about how to get the rest of the work done when member, Carole Gates suggested her friend Don might come finish the job with his bobcat. Thanks to everyone who completed this big step in the renovation of the Randleman House. Included in the demo was the removal of the rotten siding on the outside of  "the red room". It is brick all the way up! Curiously enough the brick is in layers with the oldest (original) brick being in the middle. Newer brick forms the lower tier and also a few places at the top. We can only assume that this was to shore up unsupported areas and fill in gaps. The removal of the siding reavealed great information about how the original porch was constructed and gives us a  pattern for restoration of the original porch. Way to go everyone!

The Pioneer Voices Cemetery Event was a blast! Both the audience and the cast had a great time and all of us learned a little bit more about the pioneers who settled this area.

It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather. It got a bit dark for the 6:30 performance and a flashlight was needed to help the actors navigate their lines but that did not detract from the experience. We would love to hear feeback about this and our other historic offerings. If you want to see more, please let us know!

Melody

A gift of an antique oak secretary was received in April from our local Quester group, Old Dudley 1221. This gift was made possible by a grant from the State Quester's organization with a matching amount donated from our local chapter.

 Questers is an international organization  edicated to the preservation of history and restoration of historical buildings and artifacts. Questers is made up of small chapters who study history and work to educate everyone about historic preservation.

CAHS is so proud to have The Randleman House be one of Quester's "projects". This is the third Quester gift/grant since we formed in 2007. Several local Quester members are also CAHS members and volunteer many hours to our cause.

 The evening was cool enough to be bearable and the rain held off. What an entertaining night!  Recent donors were invited to the pre-performance party to eat, chat and mingle with the actors. Some singing took place and a birthday was celebrated!

Outside the shuttle from the school delivered the audience and the excitement began to build. Lorenzo perfectly captured the dry humor that made Mark Twain one of America's most enduring authors. Highlights from Tom Sawyer, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Prince and the Pauper and Eve and Adam's Diary were presented along with witty repartee, music and dance.

Carlisle is fortunate to have been given the opportunity to present this caliber of play. The production was made possible by BRAVO, The City of Carlisle, CAHS and several individual donors. Thank you so much. The actors from the Shakespeare Experience are wonderful and I can't wait to see more of them!

Melody

I just received the CD with the photos that Sandy Morris took at our Civil War Event. They are spectacular. I am going to post my favorite but you will want to visit her website (sandymorrisphotography) to order a copy of your favorite. She and Dani (Captured by Dani) are available for weddings, senior photos and other events. Both are wonderful photographers!

Doesn't it look like a scene out of the past??

    BUSHWACKERS

The Civil War Weekend was a smash hit! The weather was perfect and everyone had a wonderful time. Many people asked us to make it an annual event. Carlisle has long searched for something unique to bring folks to town. This could be it!

The reenactors were delighted with the food. Everyone knows that an army travels on its stomach and when word gets around that Carlisle offers up some good home cookin' there will be more soldiers and their families who come for the event. This was truly a family event with children of all ages taking part.

Stan DeHaan's realistic portrayal of Abraham Lincoln sent chills up our spines and Jessica Michna as Mary Todd Lincoln on Saturday and Sari Semple on Sunday brought tears to our eyes as she told the story of women who lived through those perilous times.

Thanks go to everyone who worked so hard to make this event a success. Mary Sue & Rob Van Ryswyk, Kathy Fleishman, Carol Murphy, Mike Kinter, Danny Roach, Susan and Glen Robinson, Melissa Hawk, Teri and Greg Gruss, Jim Snyder, Darl & Ethel Lee, Mary and Denny Keeney, Brooke Mott, Jon Peterson, Alma Reed,  Reenactors Carol and Roger Shannon, Jim Hawk, Bob Buelow, photographer Sandy Morris. The list goes on and on. I am sure I missed someone, please forgive me. Mary Sue has the list of people who donated pies, money and supplies. This was truly a team effort and we could not have done it without your help!

Pictures are posted in the photo gallery and on our Facebook page.

Melody