Gnadenhutten Homecoming and Apple Butter Days
A group celebrated the Gnadenhutten Homecoming in 2021 with a square dance on the square.
The Gnadenhutten Homecoming and Apple Butter Days will take place Friday through Sunday, Oct. 7-9. The homecoming will be held in downtown Gnadenhutten, and Apple Butter Days will be at the Gnadenhutten Museum grounds.
There will be activities at both sites on Friday night. Downtown Gnadenhutten will host its weekly Food Truck Friday event, and at the museum, the Levi and Anna Zook family of Bristolville will gather again to make the apple butter.
“They’re going to let people come in, if they want, to show them how they start to make the apple butter and core the apples and how they get them prepared for the next day,” said John Heil, coordinator of the Gnadenhutten Museum.
The public can stop by after 5 p.m. at the museum grounds. On Saturday apple butter stirring will start at 6 a.m. Messdad’s Concessions food truck will serve a full breakfast at the museum in the morning and will move to a downtown location in the late morning.
Once the apple butter is finished, it will be available for sale at both the museum and in downtown Gnadenhutten.
Heil said colonial era reenactors will be camped on the museum grounds and available to speak with visitors about the period.
This will be the last event for Heil, who has held the museum coordinator position for about 16 years. He enjoyed his time there.
“I love doing what I did. I met a lot of good people and made a lot of friends. But it’s just time to move on and let somebody else do it,” Heil said.
The Apple Butter Days event means more this year.
“This is our 250th anniversary, so that’s what we’re celebrating this year at Apple Butter Days more than anything,” Heil said, adding Oct. 9 is the actual date of the anniversary. “We’re going to enjoy it, celebrate it and let people know what Gnadenhutten is all about.”
In downtown Gnadenhutten, there will be a full schedule of activities starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. with fireworks.
“Kim Stull (fiscal officer at Gnaden) and Jeff Crites (village administrator) did a great job of organizing this event,” Mayor Rich Gilmore said.
Food is a great way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the village. On Friday food options include Messdad’s, Mill Street Grill, Bunker Hill BBQ and Chrystal’s Freedom Bee. On Saturday the following options will be available: Messdad’s, Boone Creek Pizza, Backwoods BBQ, Hillbilly Hot Dogs, Risher Ice Cream and Chrystal’s Freedom Bee.
An auction will be held Saturday evening with 250th commemorative items sold. Included will be two 18-by-24-inch wooden flags, seven smaller wooden flags, and a replica of the Gnadenhutten Historical Museum’s church and one of the Cooper cabin.
Some of the funds raised during the homecoming will be used for park renovation of the park that was heavily damaged in a storm this year.
“Our plans are to hold this Gnadenhutten Homecoming every year on the second weekend in October,” Gilmore said. “It will be a great time for all of our residents and former residents to get together and enjoy the fall weather. Gnaden is and has been such a great place to raise a family.”