Fort Henry Days returns to Oglebay for Labor Day weekend
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WHEELING -- Local history comes alive once again at Oglebay Park as Fort Henry Days returns as part of a full slate of activities and events taking place in conjunction with the holiday weekend celebration.
The public is invited to experience 18th-century life on the frontier when Fort Henry Living History Inc. hosts its 29th year of Fort Henry Days at Oglebay Park and Resort on Labor Day weekend. The event will be among other activities at the park this holiday weekend, marking the end of summer and the unofficial kickoff to fall.
Fort Henry Days also is one of the community's marquee events celebrating America 250.
"This year, with it being the 250th of the country, we tried to have a little bit more with some specialty things that we haven’t had in a while," said Gary Timmons, treasurer for the nonprofit Fort Henry Living History Inc.
In addition to the traditional slate of historical artisans, vendors and demonstrators, this year's Fort Henry Days welcomes the return of Jon Stealey with his air balloon and camera obscura exhibit, showcasing 18th-century-style curiosities that were cutting-edge technology at the time.
The camera obscura has been a wonder of optical science for centuries. The technology predates photographic cameras by thousands of years and continues to fascinate people today.
"It's in his canopy, and it's all dark," Timmons explained. "With mirrors and lenses -- it's kind of like a periscope -- it projects an image down on the ground on a piece of white material. It's a color image of what you see outside."
Timmons added that Stealey's period-correct air balloon also will take to the sky as long as weather and wind conditions allow.
Many of the special features at Fort Henry Days were attractions organizers discovered during special events at George Washington's Mount Vernon. They brought them to Fort Henry Days for visitors to enjoy.
Among them is the return of the popular Rat Catcher, a character whose profession during Colonial America was to catch rats to keep them from eating food supplies and prevent them from spreading diseases.
"He's been coming for several years," Timmons said, noting that the Rat Catcher even carries some live rats in a cage. "Everyone enjoys him."
Another feature that provides laughs for the whole family is the Punch & Judy hand puppet show, featuring traditional English hand puppet characters Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The classic puppet show, with roots dating to the 1600s, provides chaotic, slapstick entertainment that everyone enjoys, especially children.
Decades ago, Fort Henry Days originally was held in a grassy area in downtown Wheeling that once stood between the then-Wheeling Civic Center and the old Wharf Parking Garage along the Ohio River. Timmons said the event outgrew that space and has taken place at Oglebay ever since.
The festival will take place outside the Levenson Shelter just past Oglebay's Good Zoo from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5-6. An encampment will be set up outside the shelter, with battle reenactments taking place on the large athletic field nearby.
Battle reenactments will unfold at 3 p.m. both days. Costumed period characters will reenact Betty Zane's famous gunpowder run this year.
Fort Henry Living History has launched a capital campaign to raise funds to rebuild the fort, which has been reconstructed every year over the past 29 years. Many of the panels of the modular fort are in need of replacement.
"The original fort made out of wood didn’t last that long," Timmons said. "We try to cover them up and protect them. But we never know what we’re going to find when we open it up and bring them out every year."
Exposure to weather, critters and general wear and tear from being set up, torn down and transported annually have taken a toll on many of the panels, Timmons noted.
"Every year, more and more of the panels are getting worse for wear," he said. "Last year we had a leak in the tarp that covers the blockhouse roof panels, and the moisture ruined them, and we had to rebuild them in order to use them this year."
The group is working to raise $4,000 to rebuild the fort, with a goal of replacing 68 of the modular panels.
"We are looking for donors or organizations to sponsor panels," Timmons said. "If anyone would like to donate to the fort rebuild, they could send a check made out to Fort Henry Living History and note on the check ‘Fort Rebuild.’ The check should be sent to Fort Henry Living History at 953 National Road, P.O. Box 150, Wheeling, WV 26003."
Timmons encouraged everyone, particularly history buffs and those interested in local history, to check out the fort, reenactments, exhibits, demonstrations, artisans and other attractions that will be on hand this weekend at Fort Henry Days.
"It's free," he said. "It's just a living history -- a great opportunity for all ages to come and relive a piece of history from the Ohio Valley and see what it was like at that time."