Middlesex County has been blessed with a long and storied life: And each year the Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society honors a resident or organization that has made our county’s stories, our county history, a priority in their life. The recipients of the museum’s annual Preservation Award for 2022 will be the husband-and-wife team of Bettie Lee and Fred Gaskins, who have supported the writing and reporting of our county stories through their many years of publishing the Southside Sentinel.
They bought the paper in 1966, and in the ensuing 56 years, have covered the county news each week with tenacity and gumption. The Southside Sentinel weekly paper multiplied by 51 weeks out of the 52-week year and additionally by the total of 56 years, has created a repository of life and events on the middle peninsula like no other modern history journal.
“I think of the Southside Sentinel as an archive of county history. It is additionally a source in itself of hands-on primary history,” Museum President Marilyn South said.
The Gaskinses’ work will be celebrated and recognized by the presentation of the award on Sunday, Oct. 16, during the museum’s Oktoberfest and antique car show to be presented at Historic Rosegill’s beautiful barn from 1 to 3 p.m. This fall fundraising event will be full of good food and lively music. The menu will include grilled bratwurst, potato salad, vegetables, roll and a variety of cookies for dessert.
Tickets are $30 a person in advance until Oct. 10 and $35 at the door. A cash bar for beer and wine will also be available. Clayton Neal will liven up the occasion with his much-loved live folk music.
Tickets may be purchased online at middlesexmuseum.com or at Bristow’s Store and Low Tide in Urbanna, Salon By the Bay in Hartfield and Nauti Nell’s store in Deltaville. Additional information is available by emailing info@middlesexmuseum.com.
County history is the focus of the Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society and this event will enable the museum to preserve, collect and share our local history while educating the public as to the significance of Middlesex County history.
Please contact the museum with any questions at info@middlesexmuseum.com.
