OVHS to hold barbecue fundraiser at John West Park

Anyone who is free this Saturday night can mosey down to John West Park and the Tunnell-West House for the Ocean View Historical Society’s September barbecue fundraiser.

“The purpose of this is as continuing fundraising for the Tunnell-West historical home,” said Burt Edwards, who is chairing the fundraiser. “It’s one of the oldest homes in Ocean View, and we hope someday it will be the Coastal Towns Museum. We have plans to build a modern building behind the house, and right now we’re in a reasonable advanced status of restoring the house.”

The September barbecue, which will be held adjacent to the Tunnell-West house, will open with a silent auction at 5:30 p.m., with dinner, catered by Charlie K’s BBQ, beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $20 per person or $30 per couple.

Dinner will include a choice of beef brisket or pork barbecue platter, and a cash bar will be available.

“We’ve moved it to where it should be — at the house,” said OVHS member Richard Nippes, noting that, originally, the fundraiser was going to be held at the Millville fire hall. The new venue will be tailored to the purpose of the fundraiser itself. “We’re going to set up tents and put up lights, and people can come look at the house and the post office and all that.”

Those who attend the fundraiser will also get to view live entertainment performed by members of the historical society.

“There’s going to be a skit by a couple of our members about the history of our area and that kind of thing,” explained Diane Dee, president of the society. “It should be really nice.”

A silent auction, live auction and 50-50 raffle will be available to those who are in attendance. More than 20 auction items will be available, from restaurant gift certificates, to themed baskets — including a “rainy day basket” and “game basket.”

Big-ticket items include a two-day trip to New York City for two, offering a two-night stay at a Marriott Hotel and roundtrip tickets on Amtrak. There will also be a two-day trip to Washington, D.C., for two, offering a two-night stay at a Marriott Hotel, tickets to the Kennedy Center and a gift certificate to a D.C. restaurant.

In July, the OVHS received word that the Tunnell-West House would be listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. For the barbecue, the house will be open for attendees to tour and learn about the house and the surrounding area.

“We expect the house to be open so people can walk through it, as we did at Homecoming time,” said Dee.

She added that the community support has been wonderful and that she hopes people will come out to support the historical society and their mission.

“We expect hopefully to have a really nice turnout,” she said.

“It should be a great event,” added Nippes.

Reservations are required for the event. To purchase tickets, contact Rose Parsons at (302) 537-5187 or rmparsons1@mchsi.com. The Tunnell-West house is located at 39 Central Avenue, in Ocean View. For more information on the Tunnell-West house or the Coastal Towns Museum, visit www.ovhistoricalsociety.org.