ELKINS — The GFWC Elkins Women’s Club and the History Alive Program from the West Virginia Humanities Council is hosting a Pearl S. Buck event on Nov.1 on the campus of Davis & Elkins College.

The presentation, which will take place inside the historic Halliehurst Mansion, is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Nov. 1 and is free to the public. There will be a luncheon prior to the lecture at 11:30 a.m., with food prepared from Pearl Buck’s cookbook.

“We have had a Pearl Buck book club as part of the Women’s Club for many, many years,” Dr. Mary Boyd, a member of the Elkins Women’s Club, told The Inter-Mountain. “We have read a lot of her books and we really just love Pearl Buck and her writings. So we wanted a re-enactor to come in and portray her.

“I think a lot of the younger people need to know about her, because she won the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize and not many people do that, especially a woman from West Virginia.”

Buck, who was a best-selling author and a social activist, will be portrayed by veteran actress and historical re-enactor Karen Vuranch, a resident of Fayetteville.

“I haven’t seen Karen (Vuranch) perform before, but some of the older members of our club have seen her,” Boyd said. “They all have said that she is really good and we are looking forward to seeing her. Those attending the presentation will see somebody who is going to be Pearl Buck. She will even answer questions as Pearl Buck at the end of her talk.”

Boyd said the Woman’s Club hasn’t hosted a History Alive re-enactor for some time, but that the organization has been very active within the community.

“We are always doing something in the community,” Boyd said. “And we are always accepting new members for anyone who is interested in joining the club. We currently have about 50 members, but we used to have around 100 before the pandemic.”

Buck grew up in China with missionary parents, but never forgot her West Virginia roots, having been born in Hillsboro. She received the Pulitzer Prize for 1931 novel “The Good Earth” and became the first American woman ever to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1938. She was also a humanitarian who was deeply concerned about the welfare of children worldwide. Buck passed away at the age of 80 in 1973.

Tickets for the luncheon are available at the Elkins Sewing Center or by calling 304-516-3993.