ANTIQUE TOYS ONLY SMALL PART OF MARBLE HILL TOY SHOW

Christmas is coming a month early to the residents of Marble Hill. The Bollinger County Historical Society/First Presbyterian Church's antique toy show will have the theme of "Christmas in November" on Nov. 4. But antique toys aren't the only things people will see at the one-day event, not by a long shot.

"We'll also have antique quilts that are all over 50 years old," said Rose Ann Thiele, the president of the Historical Society for the past seven years. "They will be on display for people to look at here." One of the quilts will even be raffled off at the show.

Antique toys, collectibles, old field equipment, antique home furnishings, pitchforks saws, and many other items will be on display at the antiqe toy show, which is in its fifth year.

"We're going to have lots of things that our ancestors used," Thiele said. All items are either owned by the historical society or its members.

Charles Hopkins, also a member of the Historical Society, says that all the items will have "Bollinger County roots."

There will be food for the visitors as well at the event that usually draws 400 to 500 people.

"There'll be apple butter, jellies, Bollinger County black walnuts, homemade bread -- all kinds of goodies," Thiele said.

One of the items that will be on display will be the vertical operation of a water-powered saw that came from a slave operation near Castor River that dates back over 100 years.

The society will accept donations from those that visit. They have various expenses, plus a goal.

"Everyone has to have a goad," Thiele said, "and ours is to someday have a museum."

The society already has the plans drawn up for the museum that were drawn up by Marble Hill resident Jake Wells and his son. Wells is a former instructor at the art department at Southeast Missouri State University.

While the plans are drawn, there are other considerations.

"We know we have enough items to fill a decent-sized building," Thiele said. "But funds are tight."

A lot of the older members would like to see it happen in their lifetime, and the society hopes to at least have started within the next four or five years. The members say the sooner the better.

The items that would go in the museum now are in "the Log House," a house that the museum owns in Marble Hill.

"It's full of items," said Thiele. "It's two floors."

The house was moved from North Bollinger County in 1976 to Marble Hill because it was centrally located. Having the house moved set the Historical Society back $16,000.

The house is also referred to as the 'four-pen-double-dog-trot log house.

Thiele explains that is because of the area in between the rooms where two dogs often go to feel the breeze.

Ideally, the museum would sit next to the log house. In fact, a sign has sat in the vacant lot next to the log house that reads "The Future Site of the Bollinger County Museum." Of course, that sign has been there for 20 years.

The Historical Society's display will be held in the Wisecarver's Store, owned by former Marble Hill Mayor Shirley Cooper.

The store was owned by Cooper's grandfather, who bought it in the early 1900s, and has been passed down to her.

The society thought it was a good idea to have the show at a building rich with history in Marble Hill.

"And the atmosphere will add a lot," Cooper said.

There will be a wide array of items for sale at the show, too, from food to crafts. Thiele said the event will be a great place for Bollinger County residents to do their Christmas shopping.

"And people have a great time when they come," Thiele said.