Kump Education Center Plans Summer Open House

The Kump Education Center will be hosting a special summertime Open House weekend, June 25-26, from 2-5 p.m. at the Gov. Kump House in Elkins. The two-day event is themed “Something Old, Something New” and will feature vintage family wedding gowns, memorabilia, and new interpretive displays.

The event will be the first time Edna Scott Kump’s 1907 and Peggy Kump Roberts’ 1936 wedding gowns will be on formal display along with other early 1900s wedding items. The home will be decorated with a wedding touch, and an Eleanor Roosevelt reenactor will be having tea in the newly built outdoor pavilion on the house grounds at 3 p.m.

The displays focus not only on family weddings but also on the historical significance of the site and the legacy of Gov. Kump, one of the most influential governors of the state.

“This will be our first of what we hope will be many Open Houses at the Kump House,” said Heather Biola, executive director of the Kump Education Center. “There is great significance to the overarching “Kump House at the Crossroads” theme of the minigrant: the house is at a major crossroads of several significant roads; Governor Kump served during a very transitional Depression to New Deal period of West Virginia history; and the brides were on their way to new stages of their lives.”

Admission to the event is free, but donations are highly encouraged. Limited parking will be available behind the Kump House, located on Randolph Ave., Elkins, and in the Kroger parking lot across the street.

The displays and event are partially funded by a West Virginia Humanities Council mini-grant. The WV Humanities Council is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and serves West Virginia through grants and direct programs in the humanities.

The Humanities Council budgets over $800,000 for grants and programs each year. A variety of grants are offered to nonprofit organizations that support educational programming. Major grants are designed for projects requesting over $1,500 and up to $20,000 and are awarded twice annually. Mini-grants, designed for projects requesting $1,500 or less, are awarded four times per year. The next Humanities Council mini-grant deadline is October 1, and the next major grant deadline is September 1.

For more information about the West Virginia Humanities Council grants program, contact Humanities Council grants administrator Erin Riebe at (304) 346-8500 or via email at riebe@wvhumanities.org. Grant guidelines and applications are available on the Humanities Council website, www.wvhumanities.org.