Gooney Valley History Club’s New Calendar Turns Local Memories Into Living History

Browntown’s favorite gift is back—and it does more than mark the days. The new Gooney Valley History Club calendar blends rare photos, short stories, and easy QR codes to bring 250 years of local history to life. It’s part scrapbook, part classroom, and part love letter to the Valley of the Gooney.

All proceeds from the $20 calendar benefit the Browntown Community Center Association, which supports various community events and programs. “All proceeds from this calendar will go to the Browntown Community Center Association,” said Roger Tomhave during a visit to the Royal Examiner studio. The club’s goal is simple: save the stories, buildings, and landscapes that make this place special—and share them in a way everyone can enjoy.

The idea is as friendly as a porch chat. Each month features a historic photo with a brief caption and a QR code. Scan it, and you’ll jump to the club’s website for a deeper story about the people, places, and events in the picture. “We’re trying to give them little tidbits, little tasty bites of history that we’re doling out in monthly stories,” Tomhave said. “If you hit this little QR code, that takes you to the website, and you’re going to learn much more information.”

This year’s edition leans into local legends and family roots. Writer-researchers Brian Wilkerson and Tom LaComb chased down names, dates, and connections—sometimes with a surprise twist. The Updike family appears in two memorable spreads. One is a big reunion photo—almost 30 faces strong—where the year and the exact honoree remain a mystery. “We don’t even know which Updike it is,” Wilkerson admitted. “You’ll see our best guess for who it is.” The second, taken at the Izaak Walton League along Gooney Manor Loop in 1908, led to a fun correction: a “Shirley” in the caption turned out to be a boy, a common name for boys at the time.

Not every image stays within Browntown’s borders. A standout page explores the Bentonville Railway Station and how the train once connected local families to Washington, D.C., and the wider world. “There are whole stories about Warren County… which are not well told,” Wilkerson said. The club is filling those gaps with careful research and community memory.

The calendar’s magic is how it sparks conversations. Folks pick it up for the pictures and end up swapping stories at the counter of O.J. Rudisill’s store, where LaComb has greeted neighbors for decades. “There was a man in the store today who bought a calendar,” LaComb said. “He said, I read all those stories last year. He enjoyed it very much.” That back-and-forth—“I remember when…”—is how forgotten details find their way home.

It’s also a gentle nudge to look closer at what’s still standing. “There are so many old structures… which are neglected,” Wilkerson said. “If we don’t do anything… many of those will disappear.” The club hopes the calendar will inspire families to dig into attics and albums—and to share what they find.

Have an old photo? They want it. Bring originals to the club, and they’ll scan, clean, and return them—often in better condition than before. “If they’ve got a damaged photograph, but it’s really an important one, I do the photo editing,” Tomhave said. Donors receive a digitized copy, and the community gains a preserved piece of its story.

In the end, the calendar is more than dates and deadlines. It’s a friendly reminder that history isn’t far away—it’s right here, in family names, country roads, hand-lettered signs, and the creak of an old store door. As LaComb put it, stores like his have always been keepers of community: “What are you doing here?” isn’t just a question—it’s an invitation to tell your story.

Pick one up, hang it in the kitchen, and take a minute each month to scan, read, and remember. The past is closer than you think—and with help from the Gooney Valley History Club, it will be here for the next generation too.

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