Director Ed Morris and Assistant Director Jennifer Smart are working through a long check list of items and events necessary to prepare the Wake Forest Historical Museum for the mid-April arrival of a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution, “Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America.” The first of the docent training sessions was held Saturday with a large crowd in the Nancy Cullum Harris Auditorium to watch a film about the exhibit and hear more about the plans. Morris did say that the date he’s looking forward to is May 31, the last day of the free exhibit. The museum has had to raise money to meet several requirements, including tinting the windows in the main lobby to prevent fading on the exhibit, and Morris said he was happy to announce that donations for the expenses of the exhibit will probably be more than $40,000 with a little left over

Spring has sprung and winter’s done! While that may be wishful thinking now, downtown Wake Forest is planning a special event in April that will celebrate the return of weather suitable for enjoying the great outdoors. Promising something for the entire family, Wake Forest’s second annual Dirt Day will be held along South White Street in downtown Wake Forest on Saturday, April 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids will have a blast playing in an oversized sandbox or making wheatgrass containers for home windowsills. Adults will have the chance to learn about the newest techniques in gardening and composting, check out the newest in outdoor activity gear, enjoy a beekeeping demonstration and visit with a variety of vendors offering an array of products and insight. But that’s not all. Dirt Day participants can participate in an outdoor Zumba class, take part in a mud pie eating contest and

Wake Forest Power has been named a “Tree Line USA” utility by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The award acknowledges Wake Forest Power’s national leadership in caring for the health of trees while removing branches and limbs that grow too to close to its power lines. “Our utility’s efforts in meeting Tree Line USA requirements – training our workers in quality tree-care practices and helping our customers plant appropriate trees near utility lines – not only helps to enhance our urban forest, but also results in long-term operation savings,” said Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones. The Tree Line USA award was presented formally to Wake Forest Power during Saturday’s Annual Arbor Day Celebration at E. Carroll Joyner Park. Wake Forest Power conducts an extensive year-round line-clearing program safely trimming trees and clearing brush from more than 70 miles of distribution lines and keeping vegetation-free the bases of nearly 1,400 distribution

Historic house was home to two different Crenshaw families Crenshaw Hall, which was built in the early 1820s and was home to Samuel Crenshaw and his nephew John Martin Crenshaw, may be sold to a Virginia-based bank with local branches, American National Bank. It has been owned by Crenshaws and their descendants since it was built. The current owner, John Bennett, renovated the house to serve as an event venue after he inherited it in 1997. Bennett is in failing health. The house has been a landmark since it was first built, with all the later additions and changes which made it a fascinating mixture of Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Colonial Revival styles. The double-door Gothic Revival doorway was a favorite of the family and their visitors. Samuel and Eliza Crenshaw built Crenshaw Hall in 1824 on the old Raleigh-Oxford Road. Samuel died in 1828. Their daughter, Louisa James