Story and photos by Lisa Carolin
Chelsea residents had a chance to celebrate the city’s rich history Sunday, June 22, at History Fest, which took place at Timbertown.
There were exhibits from longtime Chelsea businesses showing their own histories. They included Lane Animal Hospital, Vogel’s and Foster’s, Jiffy Mix and the Cole Funeral Chapel, which had a 1916 hearse on display.
While visitors had a chance to visit the displays and enjoy food and beverages, the vintage baseball teams from Chelsea, the Monitors and the Merries, played ball against members of the community known as the “Scrub Nine.”
“This is a fun community event and a chance to get to know people,” said Pete “Caveman” Kapelke, a member of the Monitors. “I’m a fan of baseball and a fan of history.”
“We have such a great, rich history in Chelsea,” said Jasen King, chairperson of the History Fest. “The whole idea is to celebrate and recognize our history.”
Jane Creswell, director of publicity for the Chelsea Historical Society, attended History Fest with the mission to tell people about an 1853 house that the Historical Society is hoping to buy as a home for a museum.
“It’s called Boyd House and it’s across from the Chelsea Depot,” said Creswell. “We need to raise $250,000.”
She says that they are using an 11’X15′ storage unit to house all the historical items people have donated to the Historical Society.
“If we had our own location, we could fundraise more,” she said.
King hopes that the Chelsea History Fest will continue to be an annual event that gets bigger and bigger and continues to raise awareness about the city’s history.
