Old Settlers Days-Whitley County

08/25/2026

It is with sadness we share the passing of Matthew Henney. Matthew celebrated his 100th birthday in January 2026. Born and living in Whitley County all his life he was well known in the community. He was recognized as Old Settlers Days Oldest Resident and Longest Continuous Resident for several years. He was awarded Longest Continuous Resident from 2023 to 2026 and was Oldest Resident in 2023 and 2026. This year’s recognition was extra special as his great granddaughter Lainey Hinen (age 3) was the Youngest Settler registered on Old Settlers Day.
Matthew was known to be a hard worker and enjoyed spending time outside. As a side note, he registered the first time as a young 97 years old in 2023 and when his family brought him to register he let them know they interrupted his w**d trimming.
Mathew’s sweet smile and humble character will be missed. Please join us as we extend our sympathies to Matthew’s family and friends.

View William Matthew Henney, Sr's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

07/30/2026

Join us August 8th 10AM-noon for free petting farm at Morsches Park near the Pavilion area. Available this year $5.00 pony rides. Questions call the park office 248-5180.

07/29/2026

We are saddened to share the passing of Toban “Toby” or as he preferred “Tob” Chapman. Tob has been part of our community all of his life and served as our Old Settlers Days President in 2012. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

View Toban James Chapman's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

07/18/2026

We would like to extend a big thank you to John Roy for helping Old Settlers Days this year. Our 2027 President, Brent Bockelman, has recently been our entertainment coordinator. However, this year as Vice President and next as President will be busy times for Brent.

Fortunately John stepped in to oversee the nightly entertainment. This involved working with each band to meet their specific needs. John also would arrive early to help with set up, provide beverages and food for the bands and then stay long after most of us had left to help with tear down.

John and his wife Karla also generously hosted lunch for the annual Mizpah Shrine Power Club Antique Tractor Drive held the Saturday before the kick off of Old Settlers Days.

We hear John is already working to schedule bands for 2027. Thank you John for going above and beyond as an outstanding part of our Old Settlers Days festival. We look forward to working with you next year!

07/12/2026

We want to thank the staff at Whitley County Historical for displaying our oldest, longest continuous and youngest resident plaques. They not only host our annual Old Settlers Day registration and they also bring items out from storage reflecting our 122 years of history.

At one time, many years ago, Old Settlers awarded the winners with a “loving cup”. Over the years some of these have been donated to the Historical Society for safekeeping and because of two families donating their Loving Cups, we recently rediscovered the story behind dual presentation to two residents for the Longest Continuous resident in 1936.

Both recipients arrived by covered wagon in September 1849 and both lived in Whitley County for 87 years! The recipients were Margaret Cassell and Alonzo Lancaster.

Margaret, from Etna Township, was 2 years old when her parents arrived in Whitley County. She was 88 years old when she received her Loving Cup.

The Lancaster family was on their way to California to be part of the Gold Rush and decided to settle in Richland township. They
discontinued their journey because of the hardship of the trip on their 8 month old baby, Alonzo. He was 87 years old when he received his Loving Cup.

The original Loving Cup was presented to Margaret and a duplicate was obtained, engraved and sent to Alonzo. This is most likely the only time that two residents were recognized at the same time for living in Whitley County continuously.

Thank you to the families who donated these to the Whitley County Historical Museum. They helped preserve a precious moment of our history we may not have discovered.

Thank you to the Whitley County Historical Society for their wonderful safekeeping of our records including the Post & Mail newspaper clippings that detailed this story.

07/03/2026

Tonight’s Independence Celebration at Morsches Park will occur rain or shine.
Bring an umbrella, a sweat towel, neck fan, cool drinks (or buy some from the vendors) and any other necessary attire, and enjoy our community’s celebration of America’s Semiquincentennial birthday!

07/03/2026

Save the date!

06/22/2026

Thank You, Columbia City! 💛 We're so grateful to everyone who attended, volunteered, sponsored, participated, and supported the 122nd Annual Old Settlers Days Festival. Because of you, another incredible week of community, tradition, entertainment, and memories is in the books. 🎡✨

As we wrap up this year's festival, we're already looking forward to next year!

📅 Save the Date: June 22–26, 2027
We can't wait to celebrate with you again next summer!