Pike Heritage Museum

06/24/2026

On this Day In History, 1937, New Waverly Scoutmasters Named.

Robert Adair Druyor, vocational agricultural instructor at Waverly High School and George Young, Manager of the Sinclair Service Station have been named as Scoutmasters for the Waverly Boy Scout Troop. They will take the place of Elmer Stanley Melick, regular Scoutmaster, who has accepted an out of town position.

New Waverly Scoutmasters Named, Republican Herald, 24 Jun 1937.

06/23/2026

Dr. Andrew 'Drew' Feight, Director of Research and Outreach, at the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative shared this post with us about the Pike County Connection on the Underground Railroad.

"I'm excited to share this post from the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom as it makes public for the first time our research into the escape of the Piketon 59 in 1862. It is an incredible, never-told-before story, and one of the best examples of how the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative has recovered the lost history of the Underground Railroad in Appalachia. Congratulations to Marlitta Perkins for her original research and bonafide contribution to our understanding of the UGRR in American history. It is from this research that I now have a great appreciation for the life and character of James A. Garfield. Total respect for that dude! Additionally, because of Milton Kennedy (the Captain and owner of the steamer Piketon) and his connection to Portsmouth, Ohio, this story means a lot to me. Documenting Kennedy's role in this group escape only bolstered my conviction that Kennedy is one of Portsmouth's greatest abolitionists, whose contributions to what we call "the First Civil Rights Movement" deserves greater attention. I also wish the late Jeremy Burnside was here to share in this news. Jeremy and I bonded over our respect for Milton Kennedy and it is Jeremy's vision that saved Kennedy's Feedstore from destruction and why it stands today in Portsmouth's Boneyfiddle District, the home of Oddfellows .

During the Civil War, Catlettsburg, Kentucky, served as a crucial Union supply base and river landing. It also became the staging ground for one of the largest successful escapes of enslaved people in Kentucky history.

In December 1861, future US President Colonel James A. Garfield launched his Eastern Kentucky Campaign, designating Catlettsburg as his brigade’s supply and communications hub. Managing the base's logistics were Commissary of Subsistence Jacob Heaton and Brigade Quartermaster Ralph Plumb, both noted abolitionists with deep ties to the Underground Railroad. They coordinated transportation between Catlettsburg and Pikeville, contracting push boats and steamers. Among these vessels was the Piketon, owned by Captain Milton Kennedy, a documented Underground Railroad conductor.

At the close of the campaign, as Union troops withdrew from Pikeville, a group of 59 African Americans from the Slone and Johnson families sought to escape. Although they had been freed by their former enslavers' wills, they faced severe local legal challenges to their freedom. The group secured permission to use a government push boat for their journey, but they were quickly pursued by their former enslavers and attacked at Buffalo Shoals. Fortunately, they were rescued by the Piketon, which happened to be transporting Garfield and his staff back to Catlettsburg.

On April 1, 1862, the Piketon carried the 55 surviving members of the group safely from Catlettsburg across the river to Portsmouth, Ohio. The daring rescue gained nationwide attention and was fiercely condemned on the US Senate floor by Kentucky Senator Lazarus Powell on April 16, 1862.

Image: Historic view of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, with wharf boat and steamboat landing.

06/23/2026

Visit and Read the Books.

Welcome to the Pike County Reading Trail!

Join us for a county‑wide reading adventure designed to spark curiosity, encourage literacy, and connect families with local businesses. Kids can visit participating locations across Pike County, read a book at each stop, and collect a unique sticker for their Reading Trail map from June 15th - August 15th.

✨ How It Works:
Visit businesses around the county
Read a book at each location
Collect a sticker for your map
Once you’ve visited at least 10 businesses, submit a picture of your completed map to the group page

Earn a FREE book for completing the challenge
Every participant is automatically entered into the Grand Prize Drawing for an exciting STEM kit

⚡ Bonus Fun:
Check the group often — they’ll be posting flash prizes throughout the Reading Trail for active participants.

Let’s celebrate reading, support local businesses, and make memories all around Pike County. Happy exploring, readers!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538401324670498

06/22/2026

On this Day In History, 1949, OSU Student Is Indicted In Raidiger Death.

Donn Allen Schucker, 20, an Ohio State University student was indicted yesterday, by the Franklin County Grand Jury, in connection with the traffic death on May 21st, of Robert Lee Raidiger, OSU basketball star, on Refugee Road, near Brice Park, in Columbus.

Schucker, of 4153 Garden Rd., Columbus, was accused of second degree manslaughter. Assistant County Prosecutor, Henry W Holden said the indictment charges driving while intoxicated, speeding and reckless operation.

Schucker was the driver of the auto which struck a stalled automobile being pushed by two students, one of whom was Raidiger, 21, of Waverly, Junior in the College of Education and George Steele, 22, who suffered a broken ankle. All involved in the collision had been to a fraternity outing, sponsored by Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at Hempy's Grove, on Blacklick Creek.

The maximum penalty for second degree manslaughter is one to 20 years imprisonment.

We hate to leave you hanging, so we skipped ahead and searched for the cases outcome.

Donn Allen Schucker, 21 of Columbus, entered the Columbus Workhouse Monday to serve a six month sentence in the death of Robert Lee Raidiger, 21 of Waverly, Ohio State Varsity Basketball player.

Mr. Raidiger was killed near Columbus last May when he was hit by a car driven by Schucker, while helping push a stalled machine.

Schucker, an OSU Sophomore, pleaded guilty to a reckless driving count, in a second degree manslaughter indictment. He was sentenced last Wednesday afternoon, February 1st, by Common Pleas Judge Dana F Reynolds.

OSU Student Is Indicted In Raidiger Death, Republican Herald, 23 Jun 1949.
Youth Gets Six Months In Raidiger's Death, Republican Herald, 9 Feb 1950.

06/21/2026

On this Day In History, 1915, George L Wickline is Appointed Postmaster of the Givens US Post Office, Pike County, OH.

George Lafayette Wickline was Appointed Postmaster of the Givens US Post Office, Pike County, OH. he replaced John E Voelker, who was appointed 29 Apr 1914. George was the last Postmaster, as the Givens Post Office was discontinued 31 Dec 1918, when all operations are moved to Waverly.

He was born 12 Apr 1848, in Patriot, Gallia County, OH, to David & Phoebe (Wiseman) Wickline, and was the second youngest of eleven, six girls and five boys.

George L married Christina Carol Quincel, 17 Apr 1870, in Pike County, and they were blessed with seven children. She passed 16 Jul 1891, and he married Caroline Siemon, 17 Jul 1892, in Jackson County, OH.

George died 28 May 1928, in Beaver,, and funeral services were held at his home Wednesday at 2pm, and he was buried in Allen Chapel Cemetery in Jackson Township. Rev William Reisinger of Beaver, conducted the funeral services. He was survived by his widow, Caroline and two sons and five daughters.

George L Wickline Givens Pike County Ohio Postmaster 21 Jun 1915.

06/21/2026

On this Day In History, 1941, Daniel Ray Gehres, Waverly Undertaker and Furniture Dealer, Dies at the Age of 75.

Death claimed Daniel Ray Gehres, 75, prominent and well known retired local merchant and undertaker at his home at 115 Walnut St, at 8:45am, Friday, following a years illness.

The deceased was associated with A Gehres and Sons from 1901 until 1937. They disposed of the undertaking business in 1926 and entered into the furniture business, in the Gehres Building on High Street, which they closed in 1937.

The firm had been doing business in this city for the past seventy years. He was a member of the Waverly Presbyterian Church. The body was removed to the Boyer Funeral Home in this city.

Final Rites were held at the Walnut St residence on Sunday at 2:30pm, with Rev Philip Williams officiating. Internment followed in Evergreen Union Cemetery, here under the direction of Arthur H Boyer, local funeral director.

D Ray is survived by his wife, Georgia (Grimsley) Gehres, who he married 28 Jun 1905, in Waverly. He is also survived by his brother, Joseph Adam, and three sisters, Miss Nellie Gehres, Mrs. Zachariah Wyatt Davis and Mrs. John Wesley Dingledine, all of Waverly.

He and his wife, Georgia had no children, and she passed on Christmas Day 1958, and was buried next to her husband, in Evergreen Union Cemetery.

D Ray Gehres Services Held, Waverly Watchman, 26 Jun 1941.

06/19/2026

On this Day In History, 1934, Ohio state alcohol agents make raids in Mifflin Township finding moonshine stills and mash.

All day Tuesday, state inspectors, Elmer Farmer, Thornton West and Robert Scheels raided in Mifflin Township and found two stills and plenty of mash, and arrested Harold Kneisley, Woodrow Shoemaker and Calvin White.

They will be arraigned before Judge Nye Tuesday.

State Inspectors Capture Three Illegal Liquor Men, Republican Herald, 21 Jun 1934.