October Sky festival will make a town’s museum a reality
“I love history and I love this town.” — Theresa Freels
Teresa Freels, Oliver Springs Historical Society member, stands in a room of the future museum. (photo:Crystal Huskey )
“We’ve taken an old building and refurbished it,” said Freels, “and are making it into a museum.”
It’s nearly complete, said Freels, and just needs some trim here and there. Then, they can move the historic items from the library into the museum. The historical society also runs the library.
The October Sky festival, which takes place on Oct. 20, is the society’s main fundraiser of the year. The festival was named after the film of the same name, which was filmed in part in Oliver Springs. It’s Freel’s third year volunteering with the festival and with the historical society. She expects around 100 vendors and exhibitors to be at the festival, along with live entertainment, kids’ activities, a rocket launch and “a whole lot of fun.”
While she doesn’t know the exact amount that’s been raised over the years, she thinks that at least half a million has gone into the renovation. Roane County gave the society a small grant last year and this year, and community members have made personal donations on top of the fundraisers.
Freels was born and raised in Oliver Springs.
“I love history and I love this town,” she said.
All the materials and labor for the future museum have been donated. The building used to be a movie theater in the 1920s. The area where the movies were played now has a stage and chairs that came from an old theater in New York.
“One of our members found them online,” Freels said.
They hope to use the building for whatever the community needs, from live music acts to weddings.
Around the turn of the 20th century, Oliver Springs had a brick plant, bottling plant and a booming coal industry. There were eight or nine hotels in the town, according to Freels, and it was a big stop for the train. The historical society aims to, obviously, preserve the history of the town, but also to instill a sense of pride and inspiration for the younger generation.
For more information on the festival or the historical society, visit oshistorical.com. Meetings are held already at the future museum, located at 301 Kingston Avenue in Oliver Springs, on the first Monday of every month.