🎄Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from the Griffith Historical Society!
🎅Thank you to everyone who braved the cold and came out to Santa in the Caboose!! From our volunteers to those of you who visited and left a donation, we couldn’t do it without you!
🚂As a non-profit, volunteer-run organization, all of your donations go directly to the upkeep of the Train & Depot Museums and the Town History Museum at the Franklin Center. We appreciate you and your support!
The Superfantastical Monarch Journey
The monarch butterflies fluttering about aren’t just casual flutterers. They are the last to be born in 2025, and they are ‘super monarchs.’
Right now, they are busy sipping up nectar they, so as to build up fat reserves in their bodies. You see, these particular butterflies were born to do a seemly impossible job.
They, and millions of other super monarchs, fly 1200 miles to a fir tree forest in central Mexico between August and November. And the continuation of their existence in the northeastern states depends upon their safe arrival.
These butterflies do have some ‘super powers’ to help them accomplish their task.
– Because of this journey, a super monarch will live far longer than the 2 to 5 weeks normal monarch butterflies do.
– These butterflies are born with larger wings and are capable of flying 50 to 100 miles in a single day, weather permitting.
– It is believed they were born with an internal sun compass or magnetic compass to guide them to Central America.
– They can fly at speeds of 5 to 25 miles an hour for 4-6 hours a day, gliding on currents of warm air called thermals, to conserve energy when possible.
At the end of each day of their journey, the butterflies will seek out nectar from the flowers to fuel their next-day trip. Once that is accomplished, they will spend the night in trees, clustered together for protection.
It will take the monarchs who leave from Indiana 5 to 7 weeks to make the trip to that Mexican forest Oyamel fir tree forest.
Once there, they, and millions of other super monarchs, will blanket the fir trees for warmth and to conserve energy. Thereafter, they will enter a state of dormancy, allowing them to survive the winter.
We wish all these spectacular insects a safe trip.
🦋Join us in May 2026 to celebrate these incredible creatures at our 2nd Annual Butterfly Day at the Griffith Historical Park, featuring our Monarch Waystation, the Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop.
(If you come visit our Monarch Waystation at the Depot, we ask that you do so respectfully. Please don’t touch the plants, insects, or disturb the habitat in any way. Thank you!)
photos by Jeanette Bobos and Ken Krick
It’s a busy weekend for the Historical Society!!
🚂Friday – LAST Barrel Train at Central Market for the Season!
🚂Saturday – Barrel Train at Safety Day at Central Park!
🏛️Saturday – The TOWN HISTORY Museum at the Franklin Center will be open!
🛤️Sunday – Visit the Depot and Train Museums! Tour guides will be available. Parents of Beiriger 3rd Graders – come see what your kids learned this week!
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁!
Come down to the Griffith Historical Park and visit the 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺𝘀!
Get to know us and learn a little bit about the history of the railroads and the town that came to the tracks.
• 1 – 3 pm
• 201 S Broad Street
• At the tracks, on the corner of Broad Street and Avenue A
𝗪𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘:
𝑩𝑼𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑭𝑳𝒀 𝑫𝑨𝒀 𝑰𝑺 𝑶𝑵!!
• The Barrel Train will NOT be running
• The Depot and Train Musems WILL be open
• Our flower & butterfly experts will be inside
• The rest of the fun will be inside!
𝑵𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒍𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒚!
🦋𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻?
🌻𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀!!
👋Join us on Sunday to get your butterfly-friendly plants, and learn more about these amazing creatures!
🚂Griffith Depot & Train Museums – Corner of Broad St & Ave A, next to the tracks!
🙏Thanks Scheeringa Farms & Greenhouses for helping us choose plants butterflies love!
Thanks again, to photographer Max Crosby, for filling our Depot Museum and Historical Park with his incredible photos of magic moments on the rails. We loved your dynamic images and the amazing turnout you brought with you.
Thank you to Griffith Daisy Troop 15620, Cub Scout Pack 622, and Boy Scout Troop 623 for providing refreshments!
It was a wonderful weekend!
Check out more of Max’s work:
https://youtube.com/@peremarquette1223?si=3VYUDQFa2D7fRJnt
Come down to the Griffith Historical Park to view a special photography display, “Moving Freight Along the Great Lakes”, from 1 to 4 p.m., on June 15th and 16th.
The work showcases the railroads of the Great Lakes Region in action, moving freight forward to destinations all over the country.
Max Crosby, the photographer, has loved trains for longer than he can remember, and is passionate about capturing magic moments on the rails. He is talented, knowledgeable and has a wonderful eye for new and fresh compositions.
The photographs, a sample shown below, will be displayed colorfully and dynamically, along with descriptions throughout our iconic sleeper car. Guests can linger, experiencing trains, history, and pondering what it REALLY takes to move freight among the Great Lakes.
Our Grand Trunk Western Depot will be open, as well as our Road Caboose and Tower (which is celebrating its 100th birthday!)
Griffith Daisy Troop 15620 will have cookies and lemonade for sale on Saturday.
On both weekend days, Cub Scout Pack 622 and Boy Scout Troop 623, will be on hand selling hot dogs and chips, and pop on Sunday. Picnic tables will be available.
Our Historical Park has hosted Railroad Fairs, Santa Claus and even a Halloween event years ago. But next Sunday will be a first for us!
Boy Scout Troop 623, sponsored by the Griffith Isaac Walton League, will be camping overnight at our Park, September 16-17. They will set up camp late Saturday afternoon and sleep in the railcars.
On Sunday, they will take a tour of the Park’s Depot, railcars and Tower. Both buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures.
Stop by our Griffith Historical Park, 201 S. Broad St., on Sunday if you’d like to see Scouting in action and learn more about Boy Scout Troop 623, or Cub Scout Pack 622.
Have you ever wondered about how the Purple Heart military award got its name?
Or how the award even came to be? Hint. It’s way older than you think.
August 7th is National Purple Heart Day, so come on down to the Griffith Historical Society’s first Sunday at the Depot event on August 6th at the Griffith Historical Park, 201 S. Broad Street.
Griffith resident, Karen Kulinski, will be on hand from 1 to 4 p.m. to answers these questions and more. Karen is the author of to beautifully illustrated, THE MEDAL WITH A HEART, which tells the tale of how the Purple Heart came to be. Books will be available for purchase.
For more info on Karen and her books: www.karenkulinski.com
Griffith History Museums 