Lawrence County Museum and Historical Society holds its first bean dinner fall festival

On Saturday, members of the Lawrence County Museum and Historical Society began what they hoped to be a new annual event, a bean dinner.

The goal was to have people stop by to eat and then check out the museum’s trove of local history.

“This is our first year trying to get this bean fall festival thing going,” said board member Ron Henderson.

For just five dollars, people could get a bowl of beans right out of a big black kettle set up in the yard along with corn bread, dessert and a cup of spiced apple cider.

“We have antiques set up outside and hopefully, it will draw people inside,” he said. Among the antiques was their Conestoga wagon parked on the closed off street for people to check out.

“We have lots of events, the spring tea, the Christmas tea and the Cemetery Walk and other things,” Henderson said. “We decided to have a fall festival just to bring people in the museum so they can see all the historical things of Lawrence County.”

Among the displays right now is a roomful of articles and photos of Roger Gustin. The Ironton native was famous in for being the driver of the jet-powered car, the Lava Machine. He had a long history of driving jet cars and set a record for getting one up to 300 miles per hour. He was in the National Hot Rod Association Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Pro Jet Association Hall of Fame in 1993, the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Maple Grove Raceway Walk of Fame in 2008.

Gustin died Dec. 15, 2015, at the age of 76.

“It is a little more recent history, but a lot of people can relate to that,” Henderson said. “He not only drove jet cars but regular race cars as well. I knew Roger and his brothers pretty well.”