Shanesville history book gets its second printing
Alpine Hills Museum curator Becky Detwiler, left, Shanesville Historical Society members Glen Hammel, Jeff Schrock, and Judy and John Harstine peruse the newly reprinted book, “Shanesville: 200 Years on the Hill.”
What do you do when there are no more?
According to Becky Detwiler, curator at Alpine Hills Museum, the public continued to inquire about purchasing the book, “Shanesville: 200 Years on the Hill.”
The only problem was the books were sold out, so the dilemma became whether they should reprint a second edition.
The answer was yes, and now another 200 copies of the book filled with local lore, history and facts about Shanesville are available for purchase at Alpine Hills Museum.
Shanesville Historical Society members Glenn Hammel, Judy and John Harstine, and Jeff Schrock, who also is a board member at the museum, officially dedicated the release of the second edition on Friday, April 7 at the museum.
“We had several people asking for the book, and I wasn’t sure what to do,” Detwiler said.
Then she had a revelation. Sugarcreek United Church of Christ had once been considered part of Shanesville, and it had celebrated its bicentennial anniversary since the printing of the first edition, so the SHS went to work in adding a story about the church’s history and several other additional pieces of information for the second printing.
“That church has always been a pillar in that community, so we wanted to make sure we included that, and then we kept coming up with other information to add,” Detwiler said, “and finally I said, ‘We aren’t going to get this printed if we keep adding on.’ We are so delighted with the final product.”
The additions were made, and the book was printed. The museum and the SHS united to pay for the printing, and the book is now for sale for $39.95.
“These types of books are so important because they keep the history of the community and the people here alive, and we can learn so much from that,” Detwiler said. “We’ve got to get the next generation excited about their past.”
Considering the SHS hasn’t existed very many years, it is impressive it produced this new edition of the history of its town and people.
Judy Harstine said she had found an old minutes book from the Lutheran church secretary from 1914. In the minutes was a letter from the church secretary encouraging a bicentennial celebration in another century. Shanesville didn’t make it that far as a town, combining with Sugarcreek, but Harstine was intrigued by the letter and the idea of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the town anyway.
She took the idea to then-Sugarcreek Mayor Clayton Weller and asked him about the idea. He suggested having a meeting, and she responded by saying, “A meeting with whom?”
She collected a group from Shanesville, and at that inaugural meeting of the Shanesville Historical Society, about 15 people showed up and the society was created.
“Out of that came the book,” Harstine said. “Shanesville meant a lot to many of us back in the day. It was really bigger than Sugarcreek years ago, and the history of the town is so interesting that the story needs to be told.”
Schrock had been pushing for the reprint of the Shanesville book for some time and said while he didn’t grow up in Shanesville, his connection to it now runs deep, including his uncle Robert Schrock being the last mayor of Shanesville.
“There’s a lot of great history in these little towns throughout our area,” Schrock said.
Hammel designed the cover for the Shanesville book, and he said he drew his inspiration from the old mill that was a central part of the community.
Working in the design department at AloNovus Corp., Hammel has plenty of experience designing eye-catching work, and the cover sets the tone for the pages inside.
Hammel said he added a page dedicated to the Shanesville veterans. Gordon Printing in Strasburg did the lay-out work, and Schlabach Printing near Sugarcreek produced the reprint book. Hammel said many were instrumental in helping to guide the book to completion.
“I worked closely with Don Sprankle, whom I call Mr. Shanesville,” Hammel said. “He has since passed away, but he was instrumental in this book taking shape.”
Hammel said there were no takers as to writing the content of the book, so he took on that task. He said his initial effort was to simply turn to Sprankle and other longtime Shanesville citizens and let them paint a picture of what life in the old days was like.
“Don gave me so much great information just by telling stories,” Hammel said.
With eight new pages added to the book in total including the veterans pages, the UCC Church and a story on Robert Schrock, the last official mayor of Shanesville, there is new material that is not in the first printing.
He said with stories like the former schoolhouse near the Shanesville cemetery, important houses and businesses, and other pertinent stories like the fire of 1881 that killed 10 people — which remains the deadliest fire in Tuscarawas County history — fading away after the town merged with Sugarcreek, it is more critical than ever to keep these stories alive.
Detwiler said she isn’t originally from this area, so learning more about its history and the ancestry is an exciting way to tie together families, businesses and events.
She said if this effort succeeds, it could serve as a catalyst to reprint the Sugarcreek historical book, which was last printed in 1977.
“If I forge ahead with that, it will take some help from individuals in the community,” Detwiler said.
“Shanesville: 200 Years on the Hill” is available at Alpine Hills Museum and Information Center, located at 106 W. Main St. in Sugarcreek. It is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 330-852-4113 to reserve a copy or stop by in person. Visit online at www.alpinehillssugarcreek.com.