Marissa Purcell stands next to the desk used by Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley at the Riley Home in Greenfield. Purcell is its first museum curator and works closely with the Riley Old Home Society to care for historic artifacts in the home and neighboring museum.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD – October 7 marks the 175th anniversary of the birth of James Whitcomb Riley, the renowned poet who was born in Greenfield in 1849.
Marissa Purcell is excited to lead the festivities this week at the Riley Boyhood Home & Museum, where she’s served as curator since February 2023.
Although she likely won’t attempt to light 175 candles on his birthday cake, she and her team of seven docents at the museum will host a birthday party for Riley on Sunday afternoon as the Riley Festival draws to a close.
“The Riley Festival is important because it helps keep the history of Riley alive and introduces him and his poetry to new people each year,” said Purcell, who considers it an honor to be tasked with keeping Riley’s history alive more than 100 years after his death in 1916.
“It’s important that we teach them who Riley was and why he was so important, and how his legacy has impacted Greenfield,” she said.
One of Riley’s poems is chosen as the theme for each year’s Riley Festival. This year’s selection is “A Barefoot Boy,” which is thought to be an autobiographical tale of the poet’s carefree youth in Greenfield.
On Monday, Purcell hid a number of barefoot boy “footprints” around downtown Greenfield and posted to social media, encouraging followers to find the laminated printouts in order to win a prize.
Last year, she hid “little goblins” around town to promote last year’s festival theme, based on Riley’s poem, “The Nine Little Goblins.”
Since its founding 56 years ago, the Riley Festival has come to be known as one of the largest craft festivals in the state, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.
It all started as a means to honor and remember Riley, a prolific writer who would grow up to become the “Hoosier Poet,” performing his poetry to packed crowds and presidents for over a quarter century.
As a boy splashing around barefoot in Brandywine Creek, he likely never would have guessed that his outdoor playground would one day be named Riley Park in his honor, or that his burgeoning hometown would one day throw a four-day festival to commemorate his birthday each year.
Throughout his career, Riley was known as both the “Hoosier Poet” and “Children’s Poet” for his poetry bearing a folksy Hoosier dialect that was common at the time.
Of the approximately 1,000 poems he wrote, his most famous works include “The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphant Annie,” which inspired the Raggedy Ann character and the Broadway show “Annie,” respectively.
Purcell loves bringing those fun facts to life for visitors at the Riley Boyhood Home & Museum, where a young Riley watched horse-drawn wagons roll past his front porch, kicking up mud along the Old National Road.
She’s also driven to spark an interest in Riley’s poems among younger generations.
The Riley home and museum will be open extended hours this week to accommodate the influx of festival guests.
The public is invited to share in Riley’s birthday party Sunday afternoon. Guests can enjoy a piece of cake while engaging with a Riley impersonator, who will no doubt be donning the poet’s signature black suit and wire-framed glasses.
Just as Riley was known to love reading children, Purcell loves welcoming groups of young students into the Riley home and museum to teach them all about the Hoosier poet.
The Riley Boyhood Home & Museum is open for tours April through October, with extended hours throughout the Riley Festival. The hours this week are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2-4 p.m. Sunday.
Guided tours of the home cost $4 for adults, $3.50 for seniors and $1.50 for children age 5-18.
Admission is free for Riley’s birthday party at 1 p.m. Sunday.
For more information on the home and museum at 250 W. Main St., visit parksingreenfield.com/riley-home.
