Butterfly Day at the Depot!

๐Ÿฆ‹Join us to celebrate National Start Seeing Monarchs Day!
Visit Griffith’s very own butterfly garden, aptly named the Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop.
๐Ÿฆ‹ Itโ€™s the first anniversary of the garden, conceived and planted by Griffith Tri Kappa member Jeanette Bobos, and supported by the organization.
๐Ÿฆ‹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:
๐Ÿš‚The Depot & Train Museums, and the Tower will be open to tour
๐Ÿš‚Our barrel train, the Hess Express, will be running
๐Ÿฆ‹Jeanette Bobos, the retired Master Gardner who planted our garden, will be on on hand to share her knowledge. Weโ€™ll have info on Monarchs and how theyโ€™ve become endangered.
๐Ÿฆ‹Kim Moor, from The Wild Ones, will be with us sharing information about adding native plants to your garden.
๐ŸŒปWant plants to help butterflies, especially Monarchs? Through the courtesy of Scheeringa Farms, weโ€™ll have a small selection of milkweed plants; black-eyed Susans, Griffith Centennialโ€™s flower in 2004; plus some Heirloom Plants, as well.
๐ŸชGirl Scout Troop 15620 will be selling cookies, lemonade, and butterfly clips.
๐ŸŒญThe Cub Scout Pack 622 and Boy Scout Troop 623 will be on hand with hotdogs, chips and pop.

Special General Membership Meeting

Please join us for a Special General Membership Meeting.
Wednesday, January 8th at 5:30 pm
โ€ขFranklin Center – Community Room
โ€ขEnter 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.

Santa in the Caboose THANK YOU!

โœจTHANK YOU THANK YOU!
๐ŸŽ…This year’s Santa in the Caboose was a huge success thanks to every visitor and so many volunteers!
๐Ÿš‚This event is fun for everyone and has a huge impact in funding the upkeep of the Depot and Train Park!

๐ŸŽ„Thanks to our old friends who come every year, and to the new friends who found us this year.
๐ŸชThanks 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.
๐ŸŒญThanks to Griffith Cub Scout Pack 622 for again selling hot dogs and hot chocolate up at the Park during the event.
๐ŸฅงThank you TriKappa for donating baked goods!
๐ŸซThanks to the Griffith Public Schools for helping get the word out about Santa in the Caboose.
๐ŸŒณThanks to the Park Department for sharing the info at Central Park.
๐ŸขThanks to all the businesses that let us put flyers in their windows.
๐Ÿ‘‹Hopefully we didn’t forget anyone!!
๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™€๏ธ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!!
โœจA special shoutout to volunteers/members Karen, Nancy, Martha Belinda, John, Laura, Valerie, Debbie, Jim and Beth for making this weekend a success!

๐ŸŽ…๐ŸคถAnd, of course, a big thanks to Santa and Mrs. Claus!

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

Santa in the Caboose!

Reminder, mark your calendars for this year’s

๐ŸŽ… ๐’๐€๐๐“๐€ ๐ˆ๐ ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐‚๐€๐๐Ž๐Ž๐’๐„! ๐Ÿšƒ

โžœ ๐‘บ๐’‚๐’•๐’–๐’“๐’…๐’‚๐’š, ๐‘ซ๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Ž๐’ƒ๐’†๐’“ 14: 10 ๐’‚.๐’Ž. ๐’•๐’ 3 ๐’‘.๐’Ž.
โžœ ๐‘บ๐’–๐’๐’…๐’‚๐’š, ๐‘ซ๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Ž๐’ƒ๐’†๐’“ 15: ๐’๐’๐’๐’ ๐’•๐’ 3 ๐’‘.๐’Ž..

๐Ÿ’ธ Give a donation to see Santa (our 27th annual!) and support the upkeep (and heating!) of the Historical Park!
๐Ÿ“ธ Take as many personal photos as youโ€™d like โ€“ you can even record the visit on your phone!
๐Ÿช Be sure to shop our Holiday Bake Sale and the holiday stocking stuffers that Girl Scout Troop 15620 will be offering.

๐ŸŒญโ˜•๏ธ Hot dogs and hot chocolate will be sold by Griffith Cub Scout Pack 622 and Griffith Boy Scout Pack 623.๐Ÿš‚๐Ÿงฒ Griffith train magnets will be available for sale.

*๐˜ž๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ. ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ด, ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด!

THANK YOU notes from ElmerJ Program!

๐“๐ก๐š๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ 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!

Thank You!!

๐“๐ก๐š๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ! ๐“๐ก๐š๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ!

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 Societyโ€™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 townโ€™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. ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ’›

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 โ€“ 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 โ€“ 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 โ€œPreserve and Share the Stories of Griffithโ€™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

Rock n Rail 2024

๐ŸŽธ Find us at ๐™๐™ค๐™˜๐™  ๐™ฃ ๐™๐™–๐™ž๐™ก this weekend!! ๐Ÿš†

Grab your ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—˜๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐Ÿš‚๐Ÿงฒ,
your ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ง-๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐Ÿ‘•, (check out our SALE PRICE!)
and your ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ/๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜€ ๐ŸŽŸ!!

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!

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 ๐Ÿš‚
Saturday Sept 9 – 1pm – 4pm at Griffith Public Safety & Community Day in Central Park! ๐Ÿš‚
Friday Sept 15 – 5pm – 7pm at Central Market
๐Ÿš‚

๐ŸงฒWe have Limited Editon Griffith Magnets!! ๐Ÿš‚๐Ÿšƒ๐Ÿšƒ๐Ÿšƒ for ๐Ÿ’ฒ5๏ธโƒฃ
๐Ÿ‘• Or get your own Historical Society t-shirt!Super soft, Bella Canvas tri-blend! ๐Ÿ‘• We have V-necks and crew necks available!๐Ÿ’ฒ2๏ธโƒฃ0๏ธโƒฃ
๐ŸŽซ We also have 50/50 Raffle tickets!! Everyone loves a raffle!๐Ÿ’ฒ2๏ธโƒฃ each or 3๏ธโƒฃ for ๐Ÿ’ฒ5๏ธโƒฃ!! ๐Ÿ—ณDrawing is on November 15th.
๐Ÿš‚ When we’re at Central Park, we’ll have the Barrel Train!! Grab your ticket to ride! $3๏ธโƒฃ 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!!

Get your Griffith souvenirs at Rock N Rail!

Visit our tent at Rock N Rail!!!(Just north of Vegas Vegas) to get your Griffith souvenirs!!

We have Limited Editon Griffith Magnets!! ๐Ÿš‚๐Ÿšƒ๐Ÿšƒ๐Ÿšƒ for ๐Ÿ’ฒ5๏ธโƒฃ

๐Ÿ‘• Or get your own Historical Society t-shirt!Super soft, Bella Canvas tri-blend! ๐Ÿ‘• We have V-necks and crew necks available!๐Ÿ’ฒ2๏ธโƒฃ0๏ธโƒฃ

๐ŸŽซ We also have 50/50 Raffle tickets!! Everyone loves a raffle!๐Ÿ’ฒ2๏ธโƒฃ each or 3๏ธโƒฃ for ๐Ÿ’ฒ5๏ธโƒฃ!! ๐Ÿ—ณDrawing is on November 15th.

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