Coneys, demonstrations, historical figures draw many to bicentennial birthday party

Olivia Treen from Treen Acres Farm demonstrates the twisting of fine wool into twine on an antique wheel Sunday at the Putnam County Museum during the county bicentennial celebration.

Banner Graphic/NINA THOMPSON

The Bicentennial birthday bash on Sunday, which celebrated 200 years of Greencastle, 202 years of Putnam County and 20 years of the Putnam County Museum, attracted families from all around Putnam County.

Tents from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and Hendricks Regional Health greeted families, and a long line formed outside the charicatures tent. Inside the museum were demonstrations from a potter, a violinist, quilters, yarn spinners and a weaver on the museum’s own vintage loom.

Dressed in period garb for the Putnam County bicentennial event on Sunday, local officials hobnob with Abe Lincoln impersonator Danny Russel from Famous Hoosiers Inc. Those visiting with the president include (from left) Sheriff Jerrod Baugh and commissioners David Berry, Tom Helmer and Rick Woodall.

Banner Graphic/NINA THOMPSON

Guests lined up to greet Abe Lincoln with a selfie, watched jugglers catch their impossible tosses and grabbed a Mahoney’s coney or a cupcake and ice cream while socializing with other residents.

Although the scattered rain caused some of the guests to disperse, the event was a sweeping success for the museum, indicating an even greater success: Putnam County’s legacy.

Meanwhile, after 400 hotdogs and buns were steamed, Mahoney’s Coneys are assembled for all to enjoy. The supply ran out well before the conclusion of the event, as the line started to form at 12:30, according to an attendee.

Banner Graphic/NINA THOMPSON