The Soddy, Daisy & Montlake Historical Association had its 1,000th visitor in 2018 at the Good Old Days Museum.
SDMHA President Steve Smith said, ”This is pretty good considering we are run by volunteers and only open part-time on weekends for three quarters or about nine months out of the year. Along with educational classes, mailings and our outdoor events like Pioneer Day, we are reaching out to thousands to share the local history of this area that includes everything from early settlement, to the Civil War, to coal mining to moonshiners. It is a vibrant story to tell.”
The Good Old Days Museum is open for an Old Fashioned Christmas Friday and Saturday, complete with homemade ornaments, a real Santa and live tree. Just like days past, SDMHA board members went into the woods, picked out a not so perfect cedar tree and transported the eight-foot “giant” home to adorn the museum where it now sits proudly. There will be candlelight, music and cheer.
Santa will be at the museum from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday. Visitors are encouraged to come by for a photo and to explore the old bank building (c.1921) that houses the museum at 11298 Wall St. in Soddy-Daisy.
There will be a SDMHA all member Board Member meeting on Friday from 4-5 p.m. to provide the annual report. Everyone is invited for this meeting. Following will be a holiday party from 5-7 p.m. The public is invited to join in for treats, music, hot cider, door prizes and a silent auction with some unique/antique items. Funds from the auction will support SDMHA, a 501C3 organization. The museum is off of Dayton Pike/Depot Street near Back Valley Road, both accessed from US-27 or Hwy 111.
The 4th annual SDMHA History Fair will be held Jan. 19 at the Soddy-Daisy High School from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. SDMHA already has over 60 tables reserved with many Soddy, Daisy, Flattop Mountain, Mowbray and Montlake historical items on display. The public is invited to share anything of interest concerning local history by asking for a table to display the historical items or bringing them by and let a SDMHA officer photograph and get the history of the relic. Officials will be changing many of the displays in the museum after the History Fair and before it reopens for 2019. Call 718-0528 for information about having a table at the History Fair.
SDMHA will be closing the doors on the museum this Saturday, Dec. 15, and will reopen in 2019. The date of the reopening in the spring has not been set yet.