By Wayne Gates
Brown County is now entering its third century. The first 200 years of the county’s history was celebrated last week at the Brown County Fairgrounds. An old fashioned three day Chautauqua was put on by the Brown County Historical Society, featuring period music and speakers. The guests of honor for the three day event were Sister Julia Chatfield, Reverend John Parker and President Ulysses S. Grant. Each was portrayed by a living actor and addressed the crowd. All three were also inducted into the historical societies new Brown County Hall of Fame as the first three inductees. Chatfield was portrayed by Judge Margaret Clark, Parker by actor Anthony Gibbs and Grant by Dr. Curt Fields. Brown Historical Society President Ned Lodwick said he was pleased by the event. “I felt it was very successful. We had four great music local acts and each one was a little bit different. The three speakers were also just exceptional.” Lodwick also said that people who attended the event found a lot of interesting historical information. The full story including more from Lodwick and interviews with Clark and Fields can be found in the June 28 News Democrat, on sale now. To subscribe, call 513-732-2511.
