La) ho 1 Ll 4 The Dallas Post PHOTO ALBUM Friday, August 15, 2003 Huntsville celebrates its past, enjoys the p ro By JESSE DANOFF For The Dallas Post Visitors to the last weekend's Huntsville Days festival got a small taste of what life was like two centuries ago in the little hamlet. In the 1770s residents of Huntsville, now a section of Jackson Township, would ride down Church Road in wagons heading toward the general store or the post office, both conveniently located at the crossroads where five roads meet. On Saturday, modern-day res- idents rode in wagons, only this time the passengers were seat- ed in $3,000 models equipped with shock absorbers and re- flectors, the better to be seen by drivers of horseless car- riages. Huntsville Christian Church sponsored the third annual fes- tival, which in addition to wag- on rides featured a fellowship dinner and talent show, ice cream social, games and an ap- ple pie baking contest. On Sun- day, a joint worship service and fellowship hour was held with Huntsville Methodist Church. Pastor Dennis Gray said he thought it was a great opportu- nity to reach out to the commu- nity. “The program helps people who just moved here to under- stand the community and the values it is built around,” Gray said. Youth Pastor Harry Haas also is interested in learning about the area where his church was built. “(Huntsville Days) cele- ¥ RY Zac Harvey gingerly reached to touch the nose of brates our heritage. It also gives people something to do, since a lot of children complain that there is nothing to do.” Haas, who was a passenger on one of the wagon rides, en- joyed learning about the area’s past. The wagon ride, anchored by two Percherons named Prince and Pat, ran down Mountain Road to the Huntsville Methodist Church, up to the corners and then back to the church. On the ride, tour guide and program organizer - Bob Bullock talked extensively about the Huntsville area. “Use your imagination of what Huntsville was 200 years ago,” Bullock advised the rid- ers, “when there were about 300 people living in this imme- diate area.” Bullock mentioned that Huntsville was once a bustling stop between Plymouth and Harveys Lake that had two ho- tels, a general store, four schools, a post office, and nu- merous grist mills. Huntsville is thought to have had 16 homes built there be- tween 1772 and 1825 when a small footpath was built from Plymouth to the area and tra- versed frequently by Huntsville’s founder, William Levy Hunt. Bullock said the area was in great shape until the invention of steam power, when grist mills near Huntsville Reservoir weren't needed anymore. “When the grist mills faded so did Huntsville,” Bullock said. This article appeared in orig- inal form in the Times Leader. : | m Taking a break from badminton, from left: S Stefani Manzoni and Stevie Kioske. resent g ¥ 3 5 i s one of the Percherons that pulled the wagon, as Omeed Firouzi looked on. tephanie Cichoski, Contest. Apple Pie Baking Contest winners Winners of the Apple Pie Baking Contest were: 1st Place - Eleanor Yanalunas 2nd Place - Lavada Riggins 3rd Place - Eleanor Yanalunas 4th Place - Phyllis Bullock 5th Place - Jeff Shimp ‘Charlie Hayes, left, and John Hudak, chef at Huntsville Golf Club, tested, tasted and rated entries in the Apple Pie Baking / community. | Yuri Ackerman stripped the kernels off corn cobs to be used as chicken feed, Post PHOTOS BY CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Bob Bullock gave wagon riders some insight into the history of Huntsville, the Back Mountain's oldest