September 1, 2026
By Rachel Scofield
Before Rule 3, Get Air, Marcus Cinema and Combustion, having fun in the rural village of Pickerington often meant heading to a pond to skate, meeting friends at a pool hall, playing softball in the Fourth of July tournament or simply disappearing into the woods for the afternoon.
The Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society hopes to bring some of those memories back during its upcoming open house, “Pickerington’s Past: Fun & Leisure.”
The event, part of the community’s America 250 celebration, will explore the many ways Violet Township residents have enjoyed their free time over the years. The open house will be held Sept. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Museum, 15 E. Columbus St. The museum will also be open Sept. 10 from 4 to 8 p.m. during the Pickerington Village Shop Hop with the static exhibits on display. Admission is free.
“This is one of our America 250 events,” said Peggy Portier, president of the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society. “The monthly theme for Ohio’s celebration is Ohio Plays — Sports & Wellness, so we chose to focus on ways people used to enjoy themselves. Sports was often part of it and fun is always good for wellness.”
The open house will feature a combination of exhibits, activities and local residents sharing their memories.
Visitors can play bingo using old Violet Township Fire Department bingo cards or learn Stick & Stuck, a card game once played at Moore’s Pool Hall. Keith Ebright will demonstrate the game which is similar to Euchre but played without partners.
Gene McManus will share memories of setting pins at the duckpin bowling alley that once occupied the second floor above what is now The Molt & Moon. David Williard will tell visitors about a private go-kart racetrack where you could race if you knew the owner.
Displays will highlight bygone lakes, the original Cardo’s, local racetracks and other beloved hangouts from Violet Township’s past.
The exhibits will span roughly a century of local history. Among the oldest items is an 1870 advertisement for a shooting contest that featured a live bear as the prize. The displays continue through photographs and stories from the 1990s.
There will also be plenty of opportunities for visitors to reminisce about their own childhoods and the places where they spent their time. Memories of the Pickerington Strawberry Festival, neighborhood Fourth of July softball tournaments, the Pickerington Gong Show, local swimming holes and fishing spots, ice skating on ponds, playing arcade games and teachers confiscating Pogs are all part of the broader story the museum hopes to tell.
And that story is still being written.
Portier is encouraging visitors to contribute their own memories, whether they can attend the open house or not.
“Everyone has memories that will be lost when they are gone,” she said. “We’d like to create a collection of those memories for future generations.”
That may be the most important part of the event. Historical records often preserve major events, influential people and significant buildings, but the smaller details of everyday life can disappear surprisingly quickly: where kids gathered, what games they played, where families went swimming, what local businesses offered for entertainment and how neighbors celebrated together.
The museum hopes to capture some of those stories before they are forgotten.
The open house is designed to be enjoyable for all ages. Older visitors may recognize places, games and activities they remember from childhood, while younger visitors will encounter things they may never have heard of before. Kids of all ages can play Pac Man on a mini arcade console and sample Cardo’s Pizza.
Whatever draws visitors to the exhibit, the goal remains the same: to make sure the everyday history of Violet Township remains part of its future.
“Pickerington’s Past: Fun & Leisure” will be held Sept. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Museum, 15 E. Columbus St. Admission is free. Also, the museum exhibits will be open Sept. 10 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Residents who cannot attend are encouraged to share their memories of local fun by commenting on the Historical Society’s Facebook page.
