Madison Bicentennial
Many
events continue
through remainder of the year
Musical,
train excursions
among events still planned
By
Konnie McCollum
Staff Writer
 |
(August 2009) – Although the 200-Hour Party
for the Madison’s Bicentennial ended in June, the celebration will
continue with events throughout the year that include videotaped oral
histories, an original musical production and a historic train excursion.
Madison Bicentennial Celebration Committee Chairwoman Jan Vetrhus said
the majority of comments she has heard about the 200-Hour Party and
other events of the Madison Bicentennial have been positive so far.
“Some people said they wished there had been more openings at some
of the more popular events, but overall, most people had a great time,”
she said. “There were so many events to choose from, and some of
them were simply wonderful, but we still have events planned throughout
the year, and we want people to continue enjoying them.”
Vetrhus, former Madison Mayor Al Huntington and former city special
projects administrator Betsey Vonderheide began planning the Madison
Bicenten-nial in 2007.
“A Bicentennial Celebration is a monumental mark for a community”
said Vetrhus. “I knew we needed to do something special for our
community because such a thing only happens once.”
During the 200-Hour Party, the Madison Bicentennial Celebration Committee
and Digital Dreams Inc., located at 205 W. Main St. Madison, teamed
to videotape oral histories and fond memories of Madison. That project
is still ongoing.
Organizer Marilyn McQueen, who has an avid interest in oral history
and sociology, said the idea came to her during the first few meetings
of the Bicentennial Celebration Committee when everyone kept talking
about the history of Madison.
“I realized that we not only needed history from the past, but
we also needed history for the future,” she said. “This will
be a wonderful gift for the future.”
The project started with older people but has expanded to include anyone
interested in talking about their experiences, thoughts and feelings
about some aspect of life in Madison.
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“We’ve had people talk about how the community
changed since they were children, and we’ve had others that described
a memorable event or experience they’ve had,” said McQueen.
“If someone wants to talk about how special Madison is, or even
how a particular person influenced their life here, we would welcome
it.”
The project will continue through at least October. Anyone who would
love to participate is welcome, said McQueen.
The videotaped collection will eventually be archived at the Jefferson
County Historical Society. There are also plans to offer brief showings
at the Ohio Theatre, and individual copies of the tapes are available
for sale.
On Oct. 17-18, Bicentennial characters will ride with other guests on
the historic Railroad Excursion Train. During the event, passengers
will meet at the Venture Out Business Center for a two-hour ride to
Middle Fork Bridge and back. The ride will feature souvenir tickets
and handbills and costumed re-enactors. The Jefferson County Historical
Society and the Madison Railroad worked together for more than a year
to plan this ‘historical learning experience.”
The Bicentennial characters, 22 re-enactors who portray just a fraction
of the noteworthy people throughout Madison’s 200-year history,
are still available for public and private events. They will make their
appearance at a variety of school functions and community events through
the rest of the year.
In honor of Madison’s Bicentennial, an original, two-act Broadway
style musical has been commissioned to be a part of the city’s
year-long celebration. The show will run for two weekends, Oct. 9-11,
and Oct. 16-18, and will be performed by a cast of high schools students
who auditioned in May 2009 for parts in the production.
The show, created in the style of Broadways hits, such as “Music
Man” and “Oklahoma,” will feature a generic character,
not a specific historic person from Madison, to be the “storyteller”
of “Rivertown.” The play was written by Charles Moman, Yancy
Unger and Aaron Kelsey.
• For more information about upcoming Madison Bicentennial events, visit www.MadisonBicentennial.com. For more information about the oral histories project, call Marilyn McQueen at (812) 701-3305 or Stephan DeLorenzo at Digital Dreams at (812) 265-4220.