Oct 6, 2025 By Garrett Neese 4 min read

The square bale of straw that people might use to spruce up their fall decor could come from a quick trip to the store.

Or it could come through a tractor, baler and sweat.

Matt Mooney of Waynesburg drove his tractor 5 miles from his farm to the Greene County Historical Society Museum Saturday morning for the opening of the museum’s two-day Harvest Festival.

He hoped the visitors took away “an appreciation for where we’re at, because you have an understanding of where you’ve been.”

“It’s not magic that hay comes in a bale,” he said. “You can get equipment. You can do it yourself.”

At the 54th annual Harvest Festival, visitors gained a close-up glimpse into the past — whether through hands-on experiences, watching live demonstrations or witnessing a war re-enactment — and also engaged with the present through food, crafts and nearly 30 vendors.

Matt Cumberledge, executive director of the Greene County Historical Society, said the event is the museum’s signature event of the year, and usually its best-attended.

He said the continued success reflects how much people enjoy the organization and the building.

“You will not see another historical society in the state that is of this scale and at this level of preservation,” he said. “Plus, we’ve got the (Waynesburg & Washington Railroad Second No. 4) locomotive outside, and all kinds of cool stuff here.”

Mooney had an array of 70- to 90-year-old tractors, balers and hammer mill, which he used to make cornmeal. He’s been coming to the festival since the 1980s, demonstrating the cornmeal for the past six or seven years.

“We let anybody take it, just because it’s more about the process and the fun,” he said. “Then we give the donations back to (the museum), because I’m just here for the fun of it.”

Nearby on the grounds, Travis Elliott of Spraggs was demonstrating blacksmithing techniques, forging nails as he explained the process to the crowd.

An avid researcher of anvils, he tells crowds about how families in mid-1800s England would often have a small forge where children would make nails or chains to provide extra income for their families.

Elliott estimated it takes about five to seven minutes for him to make a nail. The children of the mid-1800s could produce one in about 30 seconds, he said — though they were using softer metals and possibly making smaller nails.

Like Mooney, he’s happy to give the end product away. His bigger message is reinforcing what humans are capable of doing.

“If someone’s done it before, you could probably figure out how to do it yourself,” he said.

Fifty-four years in, the Harvest Festival has maintained a traditional focus, bringing back popular features like a tavern set-up in a log cabin, Cumberledge said.

“A lot of people in the community build relationships with those people, or some of the vendors,” he said.

Payton Duncan of Clarksville was selling Halloween-themed treats at her booth, Payton’s Pastries, while her younger sister Kaelyn helped kids with make-and-take decorations.

Kendall Conner, 6, of Waynesburg, came away with a wooden memento freshly decorated in the style of a happy pumpkin.

Her father, Brian Conner, enjoys the peaceful nature of the space and the beauty of the scenery. And Kendall needed no time to deliberate on her favorite part: “Cookies.”

With more than two hours left, Payton’s Pastries had already sold out of pies for the day, and brownies were going fast, said her mother, Lainey Duncan.

The festival gave them a chance to see some of their regulars.

“And we like fall, so we like being out here and doing things,” Lainey said.