Summary:
The Dover Historical Societys annual Ice Cream Social was held Sunday July 10 at the J.E. Reeves Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum. Approximately 300 people attended this years event, taking part in old-fashioned games and touring the historic home.
Article:
Ice cream socials date back to the 18th century here in America; these events were held as a way to bring the community together and to cool off during the long, hot summer. The Dover Historical Society still continues this tradition with its annual Ice Cream Social, held each year at the J.E. Reeves Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum. This years social was held on Sunday July 10, and with the warm perfect summer weather, the turnout was higher than expected.
I would estimate that we had around 300 people come through this year. Since its mainly a free event for those who wanted to walk through, many people did show up. But if visitors wanted to take part in any of the games, or purchase any ice cream or hot dogs and drinks they had to purchase tickets that cost 25 cents each or five for one dollar. It was an expensive way for families to share an afternoon, said Kim Jurkovic, curator for the J.E. Reeves Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum, the site where the Ice Cream Social was held. Along with games and food, the J.E. Reeves Home was open for tours, and 52 people went through it. There was also a car show, that was free of charge, along with a bounce house and large slide for the kids to enjoy.
The Ice Cream Social started back in the 1970s, it was held every Sunday afternoon in August, then later was pushed back to start in July. Families could come and spread a blanket on the lawn and converse, ice cream, cookies and cake were provided for those who took part in it. Then in 1993 it was changed into the one-day event, much like this year, said Jurkovic. We had many old-fashioned games for the kids to play, such as ring toss, egg on spoon races, pin the tail on the donkey and horseshoes. We even had a cake walk, another old-fashioned activity for the family. A cake walk is when a group of people walk around a certain area while music plays, beforehand the person in charge picked a certain spot along the walkers route and whoever was closest to that spot when the music stopped won a cake, and this year the cakes were provided by Camelot Cakes of Dover, Ohio. All of this was made possible by a gracious donation from the Dominion Foundation, without them and all the wonderful volunteers and employees the Ice Cream Social wouldnt have been possible.
Along with all the games, music and summer time food the Ice Cream Social provided visitors other unique opportunities. In the carriage house, a tearoom was set up to allow visitors the chance to cool off and enjoy treats such as mini cupcakes and cream puffs along with iced tea. Roaming the grounds were civil war re-enactors, discussing with visitors life during the Civil War on the battlefield. The re-enactors were part of a living history performance and were supplemented by Patti Feller of Dover portraying the ever-popular Mrs. Evans, the Reeves family housekeeper; Mrs. Evans interacted with the guests, telling them what life would have been like in the house during the period that the Reeves family lived in it.
We enjoyed ourselves very much, said Meredith Martin of New Philadelphia. This was our first time here, and the kids enjoyed seeing all the neat old cars. We also took a tour of the house and saw many interesting things in it. It was a great a time.
