DUBOIS – A past president was honored and a long-ago DuBois resident remembered during the 35th annual dinner of the DuBois Area Historical Society held at Christ Lutheran Church, Sunflower Drive, DuBois.
Ruth Gregori, society president, announced that the society’s executive council had voted unanimously to name the veteran’s room in the E. D. Reitz Museum in honor of the late Evo Facchine.
Facchine, the society’s longest-serving president, was the driving force behind establishing a section of the museum to honor veterans.
A plaque will be placed in the room reading: “Evo G. Facchine Veterans’ Room for his dedication to veterans and to the DuBois Area Historical Society.”
During the brief business meeting, Gregori was elected to another two-year term as president.
Also elected to two-year terms were: Carol Laughlin, first vice president; Richard Castonguay, director of buildings and grounds; Carolyn Rhoades, director of youth; Todd Thompson, director of history; Walter Kosiba, assistant director of museum/curator; Paul Bojalad, area representative City of DuBois; Galen Kilmer, area representative Sandy Township; and Nancy Rosman, area representative Winslow Township.
The program was “An Evening With Melville Post.” Todd Thompson presented background information on Melville Davisson Post (1869-1930), a famous mystery writer.
He was married to Ann Bloomfield Gamble, who was the sister of Willie Gamble DuBois, wife of John E. DuBois. Because of the relationship with the DuBois family, Post spent a great deal of time visiting in the DuBois Mansion.
During those visits to DuBois, he wrote many of the stories for which he would become famous. Many of Post’s stories focused on the character of Uncle Abner, a lawman in the hills of ante-bellum western Virginia (modern day West Virginia).
Post’s most famous story “The Doomdorf Mystery,” first published in 1914, was read in old style radio format. In the story, Uncle Abner solved a locked room crime.
Performing the story were Darius Clement as Uncle Abner, Beecher Klingensmith as Squire Randolph, Carolyn Rhoades as the woman, and Tom Schott as Bronson, with Robin Powers doing the narration.
Catering by Paulette provided the dinner buffet. The Rev. John Miller, pastor Christ Lutheran Church, gave the invocation.
Seventy-nine people attended the dinner including two travelers from Wisconsin, who learned about the dinner at the society’s Web site and made it a stop on a trip to visit relatives in New Jersey.
