Hayden’s biggest day of the year will take place on Saturday, Sept. 2, when the Hayden Historical Museum will combine Pioneer Days with Hayden’s Harvest Past to make it a double-feature living history day. The event will be held on the museum’s property from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The first event will be the annual Luke Elsner Memorial 5K Run/Walk at Hayden Elementary School. Registration is at 7 a.m. and the race will begin at 8 a.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit the scholarship endowment fund that was established with the Jennings County Community Foundation in memory of Luke Elsner, the 2½-year-old son of Andy and Amber Elsner who passed away in 2007 from a heart ailment. Each year, scholarships are awarded to Jennings County seniors who plan to study agriculture in college.
The Hayden United Methodist Church will be serving breakfast at their social hall from 7 to 10 a.m. for a free-will donation.
The Hayden Historical Museum buildings, including the Sullivan Blacksmith Shop, the 1947 Sinclair gas station and A Place Called Yesterday, will open at 9 a.m., along with the museum grounds, where many of the pioneer related exhibits and demonstrations will be on display throughout the day.
Hayden’s Harvest Past is the museum’s event to recognize the agricultural heritage of the local community. The backyard will be transformed into a giant display of antique farm equipment. Along with the tractors, implements, and one-cylinder engines, garden tractors and lawn mowers will be also featured. As in the past, Mary Ann Maschino and her son, Lenny, will have their peddle tractor mobile museum on site for visitors to see.
There will be no entry fees, judging or prizes for anyone bringing a tractor. The tractors do not have to be in show-room condition as this event is held to provide an informal opportunity for all tractor owners to be a part of the show.
The museum will be holding their pie baking contest again this year as part of the festivities. Contestants can bring one or more fruit pies to be judged to the Hayden Museum kitchen anytime between 9 and 11 a.m.
Judging will begin at 11, and the pies will be graded on appearance as well as taste. Awards will be given for first, second, and third place. Volunteer auctioneer Tom Lawson will auction off the top three pies at noon in the pavilion. Everyone is welcome to bid on the prize-winning pies and the more bidders there are, the more entertaining the auction will be. All other pie entries will be sliced and offered in exchange for a free-will donation.
The Spencer Township Volunteer Fire Department will begin serving their barbeque chicken dinners at noon and throughout the day. The dinners include a half chicken, two sides, dinner roll and a drink for $10.00. Carry-out orders are also available.
There will be musical entertainment during the day in the pavilion. At 10:30 a.m., the Scattertack Band will performing. After the pie auction at noon, the Star Prominaders will be square dancing until 2 p.m. A group of musicians and singers have formed a Tim Miles Tribute Band and they will be on the pavilion stage at 2:30 p.m.
A popular attraction will be Koverner Korner’s Ice Cream truck, which will be at Hayden at 11:30. The truck will be parked between the old gas station and the Ed Whitcomb house.
This year’s special photograph exhibit will feature 45 pictures of some of the past tractor show participants. These will be posted on a display board in the exhibit area of the museum.
Parking is free and available at the museum property and nearby fields. The Jennings County High School FFA members will assist in getting everyone in and out of the parking lots. Two shuttle wagons will be running between the museum, blacksmith shop and the fire station throughout the day.
This is a free event, but the Hayden Museum will accept donations in one of the containers at the old gas station, A Place Called Yesterday, inside the museum or at the pie stand in the pavilion.
The buildings and grounds will close at 4 p.m.
Contact the Hayden Historical Museum to get the complete schedule or for more information: 812-592-8445, email haydenmuseum@gmail.com, or check out the Hayden Historical Museum’s Facebook page.
