A vision to bring a Zanesville tradition back to Putnam has caught the interest of hundreds in the community while garnering the support of Mayor Don Mason.

“The Friends of Putnam, have been very excited about organizing and cleaning up their neighborhood, and they have a great deal of neighborhood pride, so they’ve approached the City about bringing back the Zane’s Trace Commemoration located in the Putnam area,” said Mason.

During Monday night’s City Council meeting, a resolution was passed authorizing the first Zane Trace Commemoration since the 1990s. 

The event will be in 2021 over the course of three days — June 18, 19 and 20.

“Most of the criticism I heard in the 1990s was it went from focusing on history and our pioneer days to being a flea market. The people I’ve talked with at the Friends of Putnam are very clear, they want this to be an educational opportunity, a cultural opportunity,” said Mason. “They want to focus on some of the great traditions that once took place in the Putnam area and some of the history of the Putnam [district]. They want to educate the next generation through the commemoration.”

Taking the lead on organizing the event is Friends of Putnam member, Rick Buck, who recently incorporated the Zane’s Trace Commemoration and filed for the group to become its own 501(c)(3) organization.

Buck wants to make it a family-friendly event that involves both older and younger generations.

“Some of them don’t know how Zanesville was even established, and I think that’s important, you know, to carry on through the years to know how Zanesville actually came about because if not, it’s all a loss,” said Buck.

In the past, the commemoration celebrated the history of Zanesville and its origin in Putnam. 

“I remember going to my first one in 1973 and then when I took office in 1980 as a councilman, through actually 1991, let me just say, it was a great event when it was done correctly,” said Mason. “You could have fun events like everything that floats but a boat race that took place in the canal, you had some crazy things like even a mustache and beard contest, but then, the greatest part about the parades they used to have was you would have people in traditional clothing such as outdoorsmen, Civil War, things of that nature so people could talk about the history of the area.”

Buck would like to see the entire Putnam Historic District utilized for the three-day event. 

“Our vision is to bring the community together. We’re here to help bring the community together,” said Buck. “We’re not here to bring the Zane Trace back by ourselves, we’re trying to get the community together to bring it back. That’s what it’s going to take.” 

Buck explained that there are many ways for community members to get involved, starting by attending the first public meeting at Weasel Boy at 6:30 p.m. on March 10. 

During that meeting, Buck hopes to begin organizing committees and identifying leaders to continue the planning stage. 

“Personally, I’m very excited to be working with them,” said Mason. “I think we all have a pride in our community and in our neighborhoods, and this will be another opportunity for many of us with diverse backgrounds and interests to work together on the betterment of the community.”