The Adams County Community Foundation (ACCF) awarded two grants to the Swiss Heritage Society recently for the Annual Education Day and Heritage Festival, a two-day event that occurs the Friday and Saturday after Labor Day in September. Friday is the designated student day and area fourth graders attend to do firsthand learning about early Indiana history. Approximately 1,400 to 1,700 students, teachers, and chaperones attend.Â
The Swiss Heritage grounds are sectioned for this day so each student group with their teacher or chaperone can experience the entire village in different periods.
On that Saturday, the Heritage Festival allows the public to visit the village to view and experience the games, buildings, cheese making, the cooking of apple butter in copper kettles over an open fire and the pressing of cider on the Hauenstein cider press. The Werling sawmill is also in operation as the crew is busy cutting dimensional lumber. As the time nears late afternoon the hum of the sawmill ceases, the cider press is cleaned, and the fire used to cook the apple butter is extinguished. Another day of memories ends.
Ernie Steiner, Swiss Heritage Executive Director, expressed his appreciation to the ACCF for this support, which helps the Swiss Heritage Society continue teaching Indiana history to large numbers of students, as well as the public.
Ryan Hirschy, ACCF grants committee member, noted that the ACCF is pleased to support programs that provide interactive education and appreciation of our history and heritage.
“This event is very impressive, and we are proud to be a sponsor of this annual event in our community.”
These ACCF grants were made possible through unrestricted funds sponsored by the Norman & Elizabeth Koons, Fred & Sonia Lehman, James Luginbill, Victor & Kristine Porter, and Betty Jean Jones-Seffernick Memorial Community Enrichment funds.