MARBLE HILL STORE HOSTS ANTIQUE TOY AND CRAFT SHOW

The streets were busy recently as folks crowded into the Wisecarver Store, some to browse and others to do their Christmas shopping early.

The event was a joint effort of the Bollinger County Historical Society and the Lutesville Presbyterian Church forming the Annual Christmas Bazaar.

Antique toys, collectibles, old field equipment, antique home furnishings, jams, jellies and many other historical items were on display, including quilts more than 100 years old.

Wisecarver Store is an historic structure itself for Marble Hill, and what better place to host such an event?

One of the many historically significant items on display was a phonograph believed to be over 100 years old. The inscription held up the theory, dated 1894 with the signature of inventor Thomas Edison engraved on the top of the speaker.

The phonograph is the proud possession of "Doc" Hahn, a Marble Hill historian who inherited the phonograph from his grandparents.

At age 89, Hahn has stories that never tire and historical merchandise interesting to any historian.

Hahn has about 150 records to play on the phonograph. The records are cylinder shaped with two- and four-minutes play time.

"My grandparents never got to bed before midnight after they got this thing," Hahn said. "The neighbors were over every night wanting to hear it."

Hahn worked at the Banner-Press for 55 years, from 1921-1975, setting type or the newspaper. Hahn remembers when the printer was gas-powered.

Wiscarver Store was built in 1893 under the name, Smith-Witmer. It was described in the 1901-02 Lutesville Banner as "an enterprising and prosperous house, steadily pursuing its way to the public favor, the trade constantly increasing."

Dances were frequent in the upstairs of the building, according to historians.

Jacob Wisecarver became associated with the store in 1904. It remains one of the oldest buildings in Marble Hill.

In 1919, Wisecarver purchased the building from his brother, Nathan Wisecarver. He continued the general merchandise outlet there, known as J.H. Wisecarver Store, until his death in 1943. His son-in-law and daughter, Henry and Nina Illers, continued operating the business. Mrs. Illers passed away in 1953, followed by her husband in 1974. Shirley Cooper then inherited the building and is the current owner.