The Darke County Historical Society has named Don Mong and Dr. Steve Gruber as the 2026 Heritage Award Winners

Mong was honored for his work on the books, “Greenville: My Home Town in the Great Darke County,” volumes one and two. The books featured beautifully painted watercolor Illustrations of landmarks from around the community. All proceeds were donated to the Garst Museum. The captions for each of the pieces of artwork were written by Dr. Steve Gruber. Gruber currently serves as chair of the Darke County Historical Society.

Eileen Litchfield, chair of the selection committee for the Heritage Award, announced Mong and Gruber as this year’s recipients. She praised both for their work on the books. Dr. Clay Johnson noted that in addition to his work on the book, Dr. Gruber has been the chair of the Darke County Historical Society, which he said is not an easy task. He has served in the leadership position throughout COVID, a tornado, and lightning strikes. “He’s met every challenge that we’ve had,” said Johnson.

Mong got his start in artistry while he was a student at Greenville High School. “Early on, in high school, I had a desire to learn how to draw,” he said. “I took a mechanical drawing class from Mr. Beal. He showed me some amazing things and that was one of the classes I really enjoyed.” Mong added that he continues to use some of the techniques he learned from that class in 1975.

Although Mong has a strong affection for his hometown and still considers it home, he moved to Rhode Island after leaving the United States Army. It was there that he continued to refine his artistic skills. He joined the East Greenwich Police Department and became a forensic police investigator. “One of my roles there was as a traffic officer, and I had to respond to very serious motor vehicle collisions and draw accident scenes to scale. In doing so, and using some of the techniques I learned from Mr. Beal’s class, I was able to draw and illustrate, and I also trained to be a forensic illustrator. I’ve been qualified as an expert in court in Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.”

In 2000, after being in a police car accident, Mong said he was driving his wife crazy during his recovery. She suggested he draw something. He began drawing lighthouses. “I illustrated lighthouses for the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum and actually sold 2,000 posters that I had illustrated.”

After his father’s death in 2008, Mong and his wife, Sherry, invited Mong’s mom to come stay with them in Rhode Island. The plan was for her to stay with them, but she missed being in Greenville. They began talking about some of the places in Greenville, some of which were no longer around. “I thought that would be a great way to try to use my training to draw and use some of the information and try to illustrate a book,” he said.

After his mother passed away in 2020, Mong moved forward with his idea and began to seek input. After putting his illustration of the Swinging Bridge on Facebook, where it gathered a lot of attention, Mong brought his idea to the Garst Museum’s Johnson and Gruber.

From there, the project moved forward, and two books were created.

The second edition of the book features all the illustrations from the first edition, plus many new ones. The book is available at the Garst Museum Gift Shop and on Amazon; search for “Greenville: My Home Town in the Great Darke County.”

Gruber said, “It has grown from just an idea and a single picture on Facebook to something much, much bigger.”

Left to Right: DCHS President Dr. Steve Gruber, Don Mong via Zoom, and Garst Museum CEO Dr. Clay Johnson