Ashe County Historical Society celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Family Heritage Gathering with special entertainment and helpful explorations into local history and genealogy this weekend. This is an event that has gained in recognition and popularity since its autumn gathering in 1998. The events this year will be held on Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20 in Hensley Hall of the West Jefferson United Methodist Church at 107 Church Street in West Jefferson.

All presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Carol Williams at 877-2281 or email caromwil@skybest.com.

The weekend begins with a special event on Friday at 7 p.m. Judy Cook, international touring ballad singer and nominee for Best Female Vocalist in Traditional Folk, presents a program of songs and stories of the Civil War. Dressed in 1860s style costume, she uses correspondence of her great-great grandparents to introduce period songs and provide fascinating historical details.

Saturday offers a day of programs on area families, businesses, communities and historical information.

At 9 a.m., Montie Ann Debord will make a presentation on the Bowers family of Ashe County. She is well known for her genealogy work on this family and the Bower family is a long-time prominent Ashe County family. She will also discuss a pre-Civil War family cemetery of which she is a trustee. It recently underwent an “x-ray” test to locate graves that include slaves buried in that time, along with other people from the West Jefferson area.

At 10:30 a.m., Don Long, curator of the Ashe County Museum of History, will discuss plans to include family history genealogies, pictures, and memorabilia in the museum, which is scheduled to open this year. This is an opportunity for family history collectors to start working with Don to display information on their families in the exhibits.

At 1:30 p.m., David Van Hoy will discuss the history of the Grassy Creek community and the Grassy Creek Methodist Church. His presentation will focus especially on the history during the Civil War era. Davis is a noted, regional historian and a talented musician.

At 3 p.m., will be a talk on the Huffman Store, now known as the New River General Store, and the nearby mill just over the bridge in Scottsville. Keith Huffman, son of the original founder, and Mitchell Wooten will tell tales of this “last of its kind,” one of the few general store type buildings and operating mills in Ashe County. They are in the process of restoring the mill on Dog Creek with original equipment. Lonnie Jones will also contribute to this presentation.

You can write to the Ashe County Historical Society at P.O. Box 1361, Jefferson, NC 28640.