Fundraising events cancelled, masks required
KINGWOOD — Fundraising events have been cancelled or put on hold due to COVID-19, and visitors to places like the Szilagyi Center World War II Museum have dwindled to almost nothing.
“That is our only income and so far we have had less than 10 people visit,” Shirley Hartley, secretary of the Rowlesburg Revitalization Committee, said about the World War II museum. “We have had to cancel our four-day River City Festival and our Mother’s Day and Father’s Day dinners. In fact all monthly Sunday dinners so far have been canceled. At the present time, the West Virginia Chestnut Festival is still on the schedule.”
Hartley said Katie Orescanin wrote and received a grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council Cares program to help with the bills for a few months. She said when the pandemic first began, a plea was sent out to Rowlesburg High School alumni for donations and some funds were received from that effort.
“For these two things, we are very thankful,” Hartley said. “As I understand it, the Labor Day events have been canceled and therefore, our annual RHS (Rowlesburg High School) reunion will not take place either. These events also bring in funds to help carry us through the winter months.”
The Szilagyi Center is open on weekends (11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday).
“Sometimes we will close at 3 p.m. if there is no one about,” she said. “We are practicing social distancing, hand sanitizers and temperature checks. Masks are required for the World War II museum.”
Darlene Bolyard, director of Arthurdale Heritage Inc. (AHI), said the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to find non-traditional ways of fundraising.
“AHI canceled all of its fundraisers from March through September, including our biggest event of the year, The New Deal Festival,” Bolyard said. “This has dramatically affected AHI as 64% of our total yearly revenue comes from the events held during this period.”
She said AHI’s Goat Gallop 5K was turned into a virtual race. This allowed participants to stay safe and AHI to raise much needed funds.
“Our craft shop has been doing well because we started marketing the products via our website,” Bolyard said. “We’ve shipped handmade West Virginia crafts to many states during the past few months. This helps not only AHI but also local artisans and craftspeople.”
She said as soon as the Payroll Protection Plan program opened up, AHI applied and was fortunate to receive funds to pay her salary for 12 weeks.
“For Father’s Day, we had a drive-through dinner, which was a tremendous success. Now, we are planning on offering a homemade, pickup-only Sunday dinner once a month,” Bolyard said. “We’ll post more about it on our website and Facebook Page.”
AHI is open for tours 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Masks are required.
“We are booking our beautiful Center Hall again for bridal showers, weddings,” she said. “And, our craft shop is open during tour hours. All of AHI volunteers and staff wear masks and maintain proper social distance at all times. Nothing is more important to AHI than the health and well being of our visitors and volunteers.”
The Aurora Area Historical Society Museum will continue to open its regular hours from 1-4 p.m. Sundays.
Jeanette Adams, a spokesperson for the museum, said the staff is requesting people wear masks and abide by the COVID-19 guidelines when visiting the museum.
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