CHESTERVILLE – A concert to benefit one of the few remaining historical buildings in Chesterville will be held on Sunday, May 15 at 3 p.m at the Chesterville Center Union Church building. The concert will feature two popular local groups of youth musicians, the Franklin County Fiddlers and the Mount Blue Voices. Both groups will be performing at their peak, having compiled large repertoires during the school year.
“We’re very excited to have such great music to support our cause,” said Carolyn Drugge, a board member of the non-profit corporation in charge of the building. “We have a serious need for funds to maintain insurance coverage of the building and to perform necessary maintenance.”
Speaking for the Chesterville Heritage Society, President Linda Harris said that the Society will be supporting the under-staffed corporation in staging the event because the building is very important to the town’s history and heritage.
“This building was built in 1852 to replace the church that had been at the Center but was hauled away by residents of the northern end of town! There’s quite a history behind it,” she noted. Harris continued, “People have come to appreciate the value of the few remaining older buildings in town, and we are hoping they will turn out for a really fun concert to help support this effort to preserve one of them.”
Carolyn Drugge explained that the Center Union Church is not currently being used as a church. “The corporation was established in the 1960s to maintain the church building and keep it available for uses consistent with its original charter. We’d just like to maintain its beauty and integrity, as well as its availability to townspeople,” she said.
The May 15 concert will be at the building itself, which is on the corner of Zion’s Hill Road and the Burough Road, near the center of Chesterville (which is at the southern end of Zion’s Hill Road). There will be refreshments served. A $5 donation is suggested. For more information on the concert, call Cyndy at 778-3513 and leave a message if no answer. For information on the Center Union Church building or its Board, call Carolyn Drugge at 778-3767.
