Support the Historical Society – Page 2

May 2, 2025 victoriavm Activities, fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop, Monarch Waystation, Sundays at the Depot, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam

Get your butterfly-friendly plants!

🦋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!

April 21, 2025 victoriavm Activities, Barrel Train, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop, Monarch Waystation, Sundays at the Depot, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam, Volunteer

Butterfly Day at the Depot!

Join us to celebrate National Start Seeing Monarchs Day!
Visit Griffith’s very own butterfly garden, aptly named the Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop.
It’s the first anniversary of the garden, conceived and planted by Griffith Tri Kappa member Jeanette Bobos, and supported by the organization.
May 4th is one day after National Start Seeing Monarchs Day, when America celebrates those beautiful, endangered orange and yellow creatures.

It will be a fun and interesting Sunday afternoon at the Griffith Historical Park, where:
The Depot & Train Museums, and the Tower will be open to tour
Our barrel train, the Hess Express, will be running
Jeanette Bobos, the retired Master Gardner who planted our garden, will be on on hand to share her knowledge. We’ll have info on Monarchs and how they’ve become endangered.
Kim Moor, from The Wild Ones, will be with us sharing information about adding native plants to your garden.
Want plants to help butterflies, especially Monarchs? Through the courtesy of Scheeringa Farms, we’ll have a small selection of milkweed plants; black-eyed Susans, Griffith Centennial’s flower in 2004; plus some Heirloom Plants, as well.
Girl Scout Troop 15620 will be selling cookies, lemonade, and butterfly clips.
The Cub Scout Pack 622 and Boy Scout Troop 623 will be on hand with hotdogs, chips and pop.

December 27, 2024 victoriavm Blog Posts, Community Callout, Franklin Center Museum, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Meetings, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam, Volunteer

Special General Membership Meeting

Please join us for a Special General Membership Meeting.
Wednesday, January 8th at 5:30 pm
•Franklin Center – Community Room
•Enter Door A

As we plan for and move strategically into 2025, the Board of Directors is recommending changes in how we operate and represent the Griffith Historical Society Museums, not only in Griffith, but across the nation within a fraternity of hundreds of other Historical Museums.

To do this, we are proposing changes in our Bylaws regarding membership.

Please join us at this Special Membership Meeting to hear about the changes and vote on them, to secure the future of the Griffith Historical Society.

December 17, 2024December 17, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Blog Posts, fundraiser, Santa in the Caboose, Sundays at the Depot, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam

Santa in the Caboose THANK YOU!

✨THANK YOU THANK YOU!
🎅This year’s Santa in the Caboose was a huge success thanks to every visitor and so many volunteers!
🚂This event is fun for everyone and has a huge impact in funding the upkeep of the Depot and Train Park!

🎄Thanks to our old friends who come every year, and to the new friends who found us this year.
🍪Thanks to the Scouts and Leaders of Griffith Girl Scout Troop 15620 for baking cookies for us to sell at our bake sale and for being part of the fun with their holiday hair club and headbands.
🌭Thanks to Griffith Cub Scout Pack 622 for again selling hot dogs and hot chocolate up at the Park during the event.
🥧Thank you TriKappa for donating baked goods!
🏫Thanks to the Griffith Public Schools for helping get the word out about Santa in the Caboose.
🌳Thanks to the Park Department for sharing the info at Central Park.
🏢Thanks to all the businesses that let us put flyers in their windows.
👋Hopefully we didn’t forget anyone!!
🙋‍♀️And a huge thanks all the Griffith Historical Society members who decorated the Depot and railcars, worked to promote the event, made goodies to sell, and made the event run smoothly!!
✨A special shoutout to volunteers/members Karen, Nancy, Martha Belinda, John, Laura, Valerie, Debbie, Jim and Beth for making this weekend a success!

🎅🤶And, of course, a big thanks to Santa and Mrs. Claus!

We had a wonderful time and we’ll see you next year!!

December 3, 2024December 6, 2024 victoriavm Activities, fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Santa in the Caboose, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam

Santa in the Caboose!

Reminder, mark your calendars for this year’s

𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐒𝐄!

➜ 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 14: 10 𝒂.𝒎. 𝒕𝒐 3 𝒑.𝒎.
➜ 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 15: 𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 3 𝒑.𝒎..

Give a donation to see Santa (our 27th annual!) and support the upkeep (and heating!) of the Historical Park!
Take as many personal photos as you’d like – you can even record the visit on your phone!
Be sure to shop our Holiday Bake Sale and the holiday stocking stuffers that Girl Scout Troop 15620 will be offering.

🌭☕️ Hot dogs and hot chocolate will be sold by Griffith Cub Scout Pack 622 and Griffith Boy Scout Pack 623.🚂🧲 Griffith train magnets will be available for sale.

*𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴!

September 22, 2024September 22, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Blog Posts, fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society

THANK YOU notes from ElmerJ Program!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 again to EVERYONE who donated to help completely fund this program for Griffith’s 3rd graders!

Our presentations and field trip days were a complete success, and this week, we’ll be sharing some of the THANK YOUs written by the 3rd graders to our volunteers who ran the event, and to YOU, who donated and made this program possible for EVERY 3rd grader to enjoy!

September 16, 2024September 22, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Blog Posts, fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society

Thank You!!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮!

Our goal was accomplished thanks to YOU!

The Griffith Historical Society is proud to announce that participation by Griffith Public Schools third-grade classes in the Society’s ElmerJ Program this coming September has been totally underwritten by donations from our members, Griffith Public School graduates, and others.

The two books and the cost of the bus for the field trip to our Griffith Historical Park will be free for all students!

The ElmerJ Program, named for town founders Elmer and Jay Dwiggins, was instituted in 2022 by the Griffith Historical Society to help students learn about the history of their town, which is part of their Social Studies curriculum. The program includes an introductory, in-school PowerPoint presentation, after which each class gets a guided tour of the Depot, railcars and Tower at the Griffith Historical Park.

Two books on railroad and Griffith history, created by the Society, are given to the students, as well as primary-source stories of growing up in Griffith, written by the grand-daughter of the town’s first settlers.

This is the first year we asked for donations to underwrite the ElmerJ Program, and we are so grateful to our members, GPS graduates, and others for their donations. From the beginning, Griffith townspeople cared about schools and the children who attended them, and it continues today.

September 10, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Blog Posts, fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam, Volunteer

Standing Committees (Ways You Can Volunteer!)

We are always up to something at the Historical Society. We are constantly looking for ways to keep up our efforts to preserve Griffith’s historical records and stories, and publicize and fundraise for our efforts!

These are our standing committees, for which we ALWAYS accept new volunteer help!
Please contact us at [email protected] or come to a monthy meeting, if you’d like to volunteer!

STANDING COMMITTEES : Functions and responsibilities (see current By-laws for additional information)
1. Audit: on-going and year-end audit of financial records. Real time auditing of on-going operations vs. strategic planning to offer recommendations to Board of Directors
2. Railroad Depot Curator: plans and develop programs, displays and plans for public access to the Historical Park and Depot to share the stories of Griffiths Heritage. Monitors and keeps records of museum assets.
3. Franklin Museum Curator: plans and develop programs, displays and plans for public access to the Franklin Museum to share the stories of Griffiths Heritage. Monitors and keeps records of museum assets.
4. Newsletter: collects and creates information about the GHS to plan for and publish a membership Newsletter. Goal to publish three times per year – Mar, Jul and November
5. Programs: Plans for other special programs for both museums, Depot & Franklin in coordination with other Historical Societies
6. By-Laws: provides year-end and on-going review of all Bylaw Articles for required timely updates and republishing if and as required
7. Ways & Means: coordinates development of new fundraising programs to support GHS operations and its projects, programs & event priorities.
8. Special Event Chairpersons
a. Raffle Sales: 50/50 Super 7 yearly raffle
b. Rock & Rail Fest (Aug)
c. Annual Meeting / Dinner (Nov)
d. Santa in The Caboose (Dec)
e. Oral History Project / Golden Senior Interviews
9. Barrel Train Coordinator: (Mar – Oct) Plans and coordinates operations and continued maintenance of the GHS Barrel train amusement ride.
10. Merchandise / Purchasing Agent: Plans for on-going purchases or expenses required. Tracks completion and reports to Treasury
11. Maintenance: Plans and Coordinates all Park, Museum, RR & other equipment maintenance, repairs & upgrades. Reports schedule and plans to BOD monthly.
12. Publicity / Communications: Plans for and coordinates all local, area and Social Media Communications, Plans, projects and programs to inform and promote the public about the Operation and activities of GHS to “Preserve and Share the Stories of Griffith’s Heritage..
13. Nominating Committee: Committee and Chairman appointed by Sept.1 by President. Solicit and recommend candidates for all Officers and open Director positions of the Society by November 1, 2024
14. Strategic Planning: Provides assistance in the development coordination, facilitation and integration of strategic planning into active and on-going operations of the GHS and its Officers, directors and member

August 27, 2024August 28, 2024 victoriavm Activities, fundraiser, Rock N Rail, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam

Rock n Rail 2024

🎸 Find us at 𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙣 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙡 this weekend!! 🚆

Grab your 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘁 🚂🧲,
your 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗧-𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁 👕, (check out our SALE PRICE!)
and your 𝟱𝟬/𝟱𝟬 𝗥𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 🎟!!

Your purchases and donations go directly to helping maintain our Franklin Museum and Depot/Train Park! We are all volunteers and we appreciate your support!

September 8, 2023 victoriavm Activities, Central Market, Support the Depot, Support the Historical Society, Support the Rail-Cam

Upcoming places to find us! Ride the Barrel Train and get your Griffith Souvenirs!

Find us!!
Friday Sept 8 – 9am – 1pm at Strack and Van Til in Highland
Friday Sept 8 – 5pm – 7pm at Central Market 🚂
Saturday Sept 9 – 1pm – 4pm at Griffith Public Safety & Community Day in Central Park! 🚂
Friday Sept 15 – 5pm – 7pm at Central Market 🚂

🧲We have Limited Editon Griffith Magnets!! 🚂🚃🚃🚃 for 💲5️⃣
👕 Or get your own Historical Society t-shirt!Super soft, Bella Canvas tri-blend! 👕 We have V-necks and crew necks available!💲2️⃣0️⃣
🎫 We also have 50/50 Raffle tickets!! Everyone loves a raffle!💲2️⃣ each or 3️⃣ for 💲5️⃣!! 🗳Drawing is on November 15th.
🚂 When we’re at Central Park, we’ll have the Barrel Train!! Grab your ticket to ride! $3️⃣ per kid! All aboard!!

All sales and proceeds go directly to the upkeep of the Depot Museum, Train Park, Railroad Webcam, and Griffith History Preservation!!