JUNE 18, 2009 ISSUE
Banner House Museum Kicks off Season June 20
Civil War re-enactors will be on the grounds throughout Opening Day for the Banner House Museum, Saturday, June 20. Photo submitted
Banner House Museum in Banner Elk will open for its third season on Saturday, June 20, and its hours will be from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays through October 17.
The museum has a full day of activities planned for Opening Day, June 20.
Orville Hicks, considered by many to be the “Last Beech Mountain Storyteller,” will entertain visitors with tales and yarns from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Hicks will also sign copies of his new book, Jack Tales & Mountain Yarns as Told by Orville Hicks, that was released by Parkway Publishers this spring.
The Corklickers Old-Time String Band will play music from the mid- to late 1800s at 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. The group was organized in 1976 and features musicians Mark Adams, Gil Adams, Rick Palmer, Rick Moore and Brian Yerman. The band has appeared at the Carter Fold, Brandywine Music Festival, Chicago Folk Life Festival and other venues.
According to Mark Adams, the group takes its name from the old days when whisky drinkers emptied their bottles and then licked the cork. The Corklickers’ CD “Uncorked” will be available for purchase.
Company B of the 37th North Carolina Regiment, also known as the “Watauga Marksmen,” and headed by re-enactor Tudd Dean, will be on the grounds throughout Opening Day. Re-enactors will discuss topics ranging from the roles of the Home Guard, Bushwhackers and other local groups and individuals in the Civil War to field hospitals and the roles of doctors and nurses.
“The Greater Banner Elk Heritage Foundation cordially invites everyone to our opening day,” said president Mary Frisbie. “We think it’s varied and interesting and we also have a changing exhibit each year.”
The Civil War in the Western Mountains exhibit is back by popular demand, with artifacts and memorabilia provided by Steve Chandler, owner of Clemmons Produce in Banner Elk.
“We’ve expanded [the exhibit] this year to include life in the area during the 1860s,” Frisbie said.
An exhibit on the Founding Families of Banner Elk will also be on display.
The museum will host other special events throughout the summer, including Elk Camp for Children ages six to 10, that will be held on Wednesday afternoons from June 24 to August 5.
Banner House Museum, owned and operated by the Greater Banner Elk Heritage Foundation, is located at 7990 Hickory Nut Gap Road in Banner Elk.
For more information, call 828-898-3634 or click to www.bannerhousemuseum.org.
Want To Go?
Date: Saturday, June 20
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Banner House Museum, Banner Elk
Cost: Free, tours available for $5
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