By Andrea Uhde
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ken and Carol Lyon of College Hill stroll past stationmaster Jim Sicking (right) at the Heritage Village Museum in Sharonville Saturday. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

SHARONVILLE - Some ghosts from Cincinnati's past have arrived in Sharonville to celebrate the state's bicentennial.

At the Heritage Village Museum, Judith Kemper, who lived in the early 1800s, can be found holding a tiny, black Bible in the entrance room of her log house. Wearing a white day cap, she tells of her marriage to the Rev. James Kemper, who organized the Montgomery Presbyterian Churchin 1801. It still exists.

Across the way, a stationmaster at the Chester Park Station,which was known as Winton Place Station in the 1800s, can be found tapping on a Morse code telegraph.

"Somebody told me there're hardly any trains left," he said. "I don't know how people get around."

Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon this month,, eight people at the village will portray a well-known Ohioan who lived in the area in the 19th century. Visitors can get a sense of Ohio's past by touring the old homes and listening to the stories the "ghosts" have to share.

"The concept is that the 19th-century person can come into the 21st century," said Ashley Ford, a board member of Historic Southwest Ohio, which operates the Heritage Village Museum. Ford started the "Meet the Past" program this year as a way to celebrate the bicentennial.

Usually, museums transport visitors - not the actors - into a different time period, he said.

"It's easier for visitors to accept. Some people think the classic stuff is a little hokey," Ford said.

Women in long floral gowns and white bibs stand outside the homes, which are furnished with 19th-century goods.

On one porch, a woman eases wool into a spinning wheel. On another porch, John Hayner, a 19th-century farmer, holds a cornstalk and explains how he got into the corn business.

People who have experience at living history sites play the "ghosts," and many of the people are associated with the Cincinnati History Museum, Ford said.

Jim Sicking, a railroad historian from Monfort Heights, plays a stationmaster. The station was in Winton Place until 1969; Sicking's father owned a building across from it.

"I can remember this back until about 1945," Sicking, 64, said as he sat by the bay window in the office. "This station's like home to me."

Among the other 19th-century Ohioans at the village:

• Phillip Gatch, a farmer whose family helped map Milford.

• Dr. Henry Langdon, a prominent surgeon in Columbia Tusculum.

• Mary Smith, a wealthy Clermont County mother.

• Jane Vorhes, a Blue Ash mother who shows what life was like on the eve of the Civil War.

• A church elder from Somerset Church, which was in Deerfield Township.

About 100 people braved sweltering heat to tour the village Saturday.

Ford said he expects a much larger turnout in weekends to come.

Karen Goodman, 38, of Symmes Township, brought her three children to the village to learn about Ohio's history.

"Once in a while, we'll talk about it, and they study it at their school," she said. "We always like to teach our children history."

If you go to 'Meet the Past'

What: "Meet the Past," with actors portraying 19th-century Ohioans talking about early life in the area.

When: Today, Saturday, and July 13, 19-20, 26-27 (noon-4 p.m. Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays).Where: Heritage Village Museum, Sharon Woods Park, 11450 Lebanon Pike, Sharonville.

Cost: $7, $6 for seniors 60 and over, $5 for children 5-12.

Information: 563-9484.

E-mail auhde@enquirer.com