Kernersville Museum

12/16/2022

11/30/2022

The Kernersville Museum’s Ice Skating Rink will be opening on Thursday, December 1st! The hours for each week of December are listed below. We hope that you will come out to skate and enjoy the festive atmosphere of Downtown Kernersville at Christmas time! We also hope that you will help us to thank our generous sponsors for helping to make this opportunity a reality for our community!

10/21/2022

"WINGS AND A PRAYER" -- A five page article about Raymond Reid's paintings published in this month's issue of "OUR STATE" magazine.

09/29/2022

Imagine not knowing this Thursday afternoon (29 Sept.) that 24 hours from now Kernersville might be experiencing the effects of tropical storm winds gusting to 50 mph, several inches of rain with localized flooding, and the possibility of a tornado.
That was the situation here on 27 August 1893 -- in an era before rapid communication by means of television and radio, telephones, and air and highway travel . The "Big Cyclone" was a tornado spawned by a Category 3 hurricane moving northward after coming ashore between Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga. It was estimated to have killed 1,000-2,000 people, with property damage as far north as Maine. (Post published here by DWS)

07/26/2022

"NOTHING I ATE AGREED WITH ME" -- An example of newspaper "endorsement" advertising in the early 1900s that featured Kernersville NC area native Lenora Williard Bodenhamer (1868-1950)
1. First, read the text beneath Mrs. Bodenhamer's photo in this advertisement - which appeared at least 900 times in over 150 small-town U.S. newspapers during the early 1900s. MRS. BODENHAMER WAS THE MOTHER OF HARVEY BODENHAMER (1894-1985), whose general store was located in Kernersville at the intersection of South Main and Salisbury Streets.
2. Click on the link below to Watch the short video about Dr. Hartman and "Peruna", the medicine he promoted as a cure for "catarrh of the stomach." NOTE: "Columbus" mentioned at the beginning of the video refers to Columbus, Ohio, where Hartman lived.
3. My Take-Away: The endorsement style of advertising we often see on TV is over 100 years old. Like now, the early newspaper ads featured both ordinary people like Mrs. Bodenhamer as well as widely known persons -- including former Civil War generals. (Post published here by DWS)

https://fb.watch/evO1ZoSiUF/?

07/14/2022

"A ROMANTIC AND THRILLING 1892 RUNAWAY MARRIAGE" -- Kernersville 'plucky' girl Minnie Kerner hops onto train with eastern North Carolina man James A. Hollomon.

NOTE: You will need to tap and then scroll to see the complete article if using a tablet.
***Image 1 tells the story. It's from the 2 October, 1892 edition of the Raleigh News and Observer. The other images have captions.
***J.A. Hollomon was an amazing, highly accomplished person, but sadly his life ended tragically. Ironically, his body was brought back to Kernersville in 1929 by train -- the same means of conveyance he and his young bride-to-be had used to leave the town in 1892. The couple had two children: daughter Auleno Hollomon who was born in 1893 and died young at age 17 in 1910. Their son, James A. Hollemon II married Zenobia Brown and they had one son -- James A. Hollomon lll. (Post published here by DWS)

07/04/2022

SEVENTY YEARS AGO
1952 KERNERSVILLE JULY 4 CELEBRATION
"A Parade" "Beautiful Girls" "Horse Show" "Weight Lifting Exhibition" "Most Freckled Boy and Girl Contest" "Baseball Games" "Square Dance" "Rides"
NOTE: In newspaper article "Danville Street" is North Main Street and "Highway 421" is West Mountain Street (Post published here by DWS)

06/23/2022

We've all heard it --- "Why you look just like you did when we were in high school together." Well -- maybe -- some more than others.😀😀
Help us identify these grown up 1943 Kernersville High School kids. And add their married last names if known.
Photo taken at their 50th (we think) Reunion in 1993. NOTE: Numbers 1 and 7 are, of course, Mrs. Maxine Blackwell and her husband Mr. Jim Blackwell, KHS music teacher and principal, respectively. (Post published here by DWS)

05/16/2022

In Case You Missed It.... Speakeasy 2022 was an epic evening. Check out our pictures to see an evening we won't forget!

Thank you to our sponsors for making this evening possible:

Pierce-Jefferson Funeral & Cremation Services, Fourth Elm Construction, Caudill’s, Coltrane Grubbs, PLLC, Long Insurance & Kernersville Auto Museum.

05/16/2022

05/15/2022

Just a few quick pictures from our Speakeasy last night. A successful and fun evening. Thank you to our sponsors and guests for supporting the Museum. We hope to make this an annual event!

05/13/2022

Happy 🚙 🛠 Take a look at this photograph of the Stuart Motor Company building! We are unsure of the exact date of this particular picture, but it would have been shortly before the building’s completion in 1926.

05/02/2022

Did you know that May is Preservation Month and we get to focus on preserving historic places and spaces in our town? We are so happy to celebrate Preservation Month with our friends at Körner’s Folly! This month, to celebrate we are co-hosting a photo contest. Check out the information below. You can download our historic preservation month 'sticker' and add it to your photos. Don't forget to use the hashtag

Follow this link to download "sticker" https://drive.google.com/file/d/1taXwTsbfQJ8USpN82gKQx6fn9lcO1vR4/view?usp=sharing

05/02/2022

South Main Street Kernersville circa 1900.

Imagine you are standing in the center of the road, at the intersection of Mountain and Main Street, looking down South Main (toward Walmart & Target). This would have been your view around the turn of the century.

05/01/2022

In honor if the first day of May, here is a re-colorized picture of the May Day celebration (re-colorized courtesy of Don Stanley). This picture is from the Museum’s collection and was taken in front of Kernersville High School.

04/29/2022

Don’t forget to buy your tickets for the speakeasy event for May 14! Casino tables, auction items, music and drinks.

Don’t miss this event!

Get your tickets here:https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/MZlK_UvWJRmMoVzVt1Ra5Q

04/27/2022

Huge THANK YOU to our Sponsors for our Speakeasy event! If you are interested in getting tickets for this event, grab them fast, we only have a few left!

04/25/2022

04/21/2022

to a 1933 magazine article in The State (now Our State magazine) discussing J. Harmon Linville, who was the youngest Mayor in the entire United States when he was elected in 1933. Harmon helped Kernersville navigate through the Great Depression and continued to serve Kernersville for the rest of his life.

04/21/2022

We LOVE to brag about our Town, and we love it even more when other folks talk about it! Now this list certainly isn’t ALL that there is to do in Kernersville, after all, we have some fabulous local shops on West Mountain, Cherry Street, and Main Street, but this list is certainly a great place to start!

https://www.travellens.co/best-things-to-do-in-kernersville-nc/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=kernersville-nc&fbclid=IwAR0lwgGjq_B86dtgSQPI-gLoQACaGw79odBSAKb6BTEz7OF0yVVIJdGfC4s

Discover the 15 best things to do in Kernersville, NC. Including Körner’s Folly, Fourth of July Park, Kernersville Museum and many more.

04/19/2022

Check out these 1962 pictures from Kernersville High School Yearbook.

04/11/2022

It’s a new week here at the Kernersville Museum! Something cool we wanted to share with you all today is this Pinnix Drug Store ad (circa 1960) 📌

04/07/2022

Goodbyes are never easy, especially when board members have been with us for six years and have been integral to the growth of your organization. Kay Pinnix and Dorothy Anne Peacock Coltrane are near and dear to our hearts. Thank you for helping to make our gifts special. Anne & Kay we will miss you and hope to see you soon!

04/02/2022

Don’t miss our local vendors Craft Market dates!

😲 Here is a FULL list of our markets for this year! If you haven't applied yet, you can go here to apply👇🏽
https://www.aixamariasgiftbaskets.com/vendor-shows

04/01/2022

The Bellamy House was built in 1880, which makes it 142 years old! Unfortunately, when a building is that old, sometimes we have to take a step back and be proactive about the maintenance of the house. Hopefully we will be able to have a status update by April 19, 2022. In the meantime, we will be posting history, updating our programming and getting creative about exhibit opportunities. So stay tuned and we hope to see you all real soon!!!

03/24/2022

We apologize for an inconvenience.

03/23/2022

The Museum will be closed today to the public.

03/21/2022

We are looking for Kernersville Fire Department artifacts!

03/15/2022

In honor of Women’s History Month, check out the story of The Woman All Spies Fear, Elizabeth Smith Friedman.

A Mighty Girl Pick of the Day: "The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life" by Amy Butler Greenfield. It sounds like the plot of a spy film: a gift young puzzle-solver is hired by an eccentric millionaire to find secret messages in Shakespeare's plays and ends up smashing N**i spy rings and taking down gangsters! In the midst of World War I, Elizabeth Smith Friedman's gift for spotting patterns and solving puzzles made her perfect for America's newly emerging cryptanalysis program, and she and her husband William became renowned for their uncanny ability to crack enemy codes. She would go on to help the Coast Guard stop smuggling rings, testify against Al Capone's lieutenants, and break up the extensive N**i spy network across South America during World War II -- but because her work was classified, her role in these critical victories was almost forgotten. In this fascinating new book, award-winning historian Amy Butler Greenfield draws on newly declassified information to tell the thrilling story of America's first female cryptanalyst whose pivotal work helped change the course of two world wars. Highly recommended for ages 13 and up.

"The Woman All Spies Fear" is available at https://www.amightygirl.com/woman-all-spies-fear

Her incredible story is also told in the picture book "Code Breaker, Spy Hunter" for ages 6 to 10 at https://www.amightygirl.com/code-breaker-spy-hunter

Adult readers can learn more about Friedman's story in the bestselling biography "The Woman Who Smashed Codes" at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-woman-who-smashed-codes

For an excellent book about the American women who served as codebreakers during WWII, we also recommend "Code Girls" for teen and adult readers at https://www.amightygirl.com/code-girls -- and its young readers adaptation for ages 10 to 14 at https://www.amightygirl.com/code-girls-young-readers

And, for kids who would like to try cracking codes, check out the Secret Decoder Activity Kit for ages 7 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/secret-decoder) and the Mastermind Code Breaking Game for ages 8 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/code-breaker-game)

03/09/2022

Several years ago the Museum was given a box of negatives of pictures taken by Joe Ragland. Several months ago our friend Don Stanley begin the process of digitizing these photos, printing some of them and identifying people in the photos. These pictures are some of our favorites because the family is so adorable and the kids are so spunky. So we were very happy to learn that these pictures are of the Beeson family! The Beeson family is well known in Kernersville and always stood out for their athletic abilities! C. A. Beeson, Carrie Sapp Beeson, and the kids are Patsy, Frankie, Jimmy, Carolyn and the smallest is Donnie.

03/07/2022

1956 Kernersville High School Yearbook gives us a great look into the high school days of the past!

03/03/2022

has us digging into the everyday life of an American Teenager in Kernersville via the 1949 Kernersville Yearbook. Check it out and let us know what you think!

03/02/2022

Coltrane’s grocery ad from a 1970 Southern Pilgrim Bible College yearbook.

02/24/2022

Our friends are getting eggs ready! Don’t miss getting yours this year.

Eggcellent things are happening in town!! Our Director of Development Thomas Joe Canterbury spent the morning at First Presbyterian Church of Kernersville, NC helping make chocolate covered peanut butter and coconut eggs. If you're interested in purchasing some eggs you can click this link: https://fpckernersville.org/index.cfm/ministries/easter-eggs/easter-egg-orders/ to place your order.

02/24/2022

Congratulations to Kernersville Museum Foundation Board Member Kevin Masten for being named one of Triad Business Journal's 40 under 40!

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2022/02/23/40-under-40-2022-kevin-masten.html

What is Kevin Masten's favorite competition? "Battleship with my 8-year-old. She's ruthless and definitely leads the series."

02/22/2022

C. G. Thomas shows off his family cow that he has taught to do tricks for local photographer Joe Ragland (Oct. 23, 1942)

02/19/2022

Did you know that North Carolina has the most HBCUs in the country? Take 2 minutes and listen to this amazing run down.

02/16/2022

Mrs. Sharpe's Second Grade Class at Kernersville School 1932-1933.