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News & Events 2003

10th Annual Gingerbread Extravaganza: December 2003
The 10th Annual Oberlin Heritage Center Gingerbread Extravaganza took place from Saturday, November 29th through Sunday, December 14th from 12 noon to 5 p.m. daily at the historic Jewett House at the Oberlin Heritage Center, 73 S. Professor Street. Visitors judged the wonderful creations on display.

Thank you!
Our Annual Fund campaign, held each fall, supports ongoing costs of operating our facility, preserving our collections and historic buildings and paying our staff. We are very grateful to the 194 individuals and businesses who contributed $16,700 to the fund this year; your names will be listed in our 2003 Annual Report.

Oberlin's Historic Buildings: November 18, 2003
On Tuesday, November 18th at 7:00 p.m., the Oberlin Heritage Center presented a program at the Oberlin Public Library about the City-wide Historic Sites Inventory presently underway in Oberlin. Oberlin Heritage Center Museum Fellows Maria Surovy and Hans Petersen explained what is involved in this massive project to research, photograph and document the community's most intact buildings that are fifty years old or more. The project is being conducted by our staff, interns and volunteers under contract with the City of Oberlin Historic Preservation Commission and the Ohio Historical Society's State Historic Preservation Office.

Awards Galore!
The Oberlin Heritage Center's Biking Tour of Historic Oberlin received a "History Outreach Excellence Award" from the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums Awards Luncheon this fall at a statewide conference on History, Preservation & Revitalization held in Columbus. Oberlin College Historian Member Gary Kornblith also received an award for the Electronic Oberlin Group website. The City of Oberlin received special mention for heritage conservation in the America in Bloom National Awards Ceremony held in Chicago this past September.

Building Connections: November 6-8, 2003
"Building Connections: Ohio's 2003 Conference on History, Preservation & Revitalization" took place Thursday, November 6 through Saturday, November 8, 2003 in Columbus. The goal of the conference was to give heritage-related interests in Ohio a chance to learn from each other, and it succeeded with flying colors! The Oberlin Heritage Center's Executive Director Pat Murphy presented a session on "Museum in a House or Historic House Museum?" The 3-day event was a collaboration of the Ohio Historical Society with the National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center, National History Day in Ohio, and Ohio Historic Preservation Office, with Downtown Ohio, Inc., Heritage Ohio, the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums, Ohio Preservation Alliance, and Society of Ohio Archivists.

From Here: A Century of Voices from Ohio: October 23-25, 2003 In late October, we hosted The Wallpaper Project's "From Here: A Century of Voices from Ohio," an award-winning play based upon the true stories of 800 Ohioans that is being presented in 40 Ohio communities as part of the State's Bicentennial. The Dayton Daily News (August 28, 2003) reported that "This fast moving, two-act production covered virtually the entire 20th century, as experienced by those who told stories of immigration, hard work, wartimes, protest, family warmth, discrimination, tolerance, eccentricity, favorite foods, folk remedies, and characteristic customs," also noting it was "lively, entertaining and effectively staged." Award-winning Cleveland playwright Eric Coble wrote the poignant, inspiring and illuminating live drama, which includes parts of twenty interviews with Oberlin residents, conducted as part of our Oral History Project in the early 1980s. The Oberlin production featured Oberlin performers. More information is available through the Ohio Humanities Council website.

Historic Marker Dedication: October 14, 2003 A great time was had by all at the dedication of an Ohio Historical Society/Ohio Bicentennial historic marker honoring Charles Martin Hall and Frank F. Jewett on October 14 at 5 p.m. at the historic Jewett House at the Oberlin Heritage Center, 73 South Professor Street. Representatives of Alcoa, the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, Ohio Historical Society, members of the Hall and Jewett families, Hall/Jewett expert Norman Craig of Oberlin College, and other dignitaries participated in the program.

Living History Open House: Sept. 20, 2003 The annual Oberlin Heritage Center Living History Open House on Saturday, September 20th, 2003 featured our costumed Living History volunteer performers telling the story of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. Here are some pictures from the event!

Women's Equality Day: August 26, 2003
We celebrated Women's Equality Day with a community dinner and program on August 26, 2003 at the Oberlin Inn. The program, "You Go, Girl! Title IX and Gender Equality" celebrated the 30th anniversary of Title IX. The featured speaker, U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, gave a talk about the late Patsy Mink who sponsored Title IX.

Family Fun Fair: August 2, 2003 The 4th Annual Oberlin Vintage Days Classic Car Show and Sidewalk Sale and the Lorain County Family Fun Fair took place downtown and at the Oberlin Heritage Center on August 2, 2003 with fun, free activities, a downtown scavenger hunt, and music from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Here are some pictures of the event!

Trustees Honor Award for Preservation Achievement
The Oberlin Heritage Center received a Trustees Honor Award for Preservation Achievement from the Cleveland Restoration Society and Preservation Resource Center of Northeastern Ohio at the 2003 Preservation Awards Ceremony/31st Annual Membership Meeting of the Cleveland Restoration Society held at the Cleveland Masonic Auditorium on July 24th. The award is given to honor exemplary people, programs and projects that have contributed significantly to improving the quality of life in the greater Cleveland area through the preservation of our architectural resources. Executive Director Pat Murphy and Past President/current Staff Member Pat Holsworth proudly accepted the award on behalf of the Oberlin Heritage Center's board, staff, members and volunteers. For more information about the Cleveland Restoration Society and its programs, visit their website at www.clevelandrestoration.org.

Ohio Chautauqua: July 8 - 12, 2003 The Ohio Humanities Council, with support from the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, co-sponsored OHIO CHAUTAUQUA in Oberlin! It took place from July 8 to 12th at Tappan Square. The theme for OHIO CHAUTAUQUA 2003 was "The Ohio Frontier." In this theme, scholar/presenters explored the lives and legacies of important pioneers who participated in and influenced the opening of our state. Characters for OHIO CHAUTAUQUA 2003 were frontier aristocrat Margaret Blennerhassett, folk hero John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed), Indian captive Mary Draper Ingles, frontiersman Simon Kenton, and Iroquois leader Chief John Logan.

Downtown Oberlin National Register Historic District approved!
Hip, hip, hooray for Historic Downtown Oberlin! It's official! After three years of work by Oberlin Heritage Center staff, interns and volunteers, the United States Department of the Interior has officially designated the Downtown Oberlin National Register Historic District. The district encompasses 44 buildings, dating from 1860 to 1939, which represent a variety of architectural styles, ranging from late 19th century Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne to early 20th century Classical Revival and Art Moderne. Designation allows property owners to take advantage of tax incentives for rehabilitation of income-producing properties and will also be useful in promoting heritage tourism. It places no restrictions on what property owners can do to their buildings.

King House Historical Marker Dedication: May 24, 2003 On Saturday, May 24th we dedicated our Ohio Historical Society/Ohio Bicentennial historic marker for the Burrell-King House, 315 E. College Street. Following a brief ceremony which featured local dignitaries and costumed living history players, the audience explored the first floor of this elegant, 150-year old historic landmark owned by the Oberlin Heritage Center. Visitors learned about the fascinating history of the house and its residents through an informative display assembled by Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer Stacey Gerson.

Pride Day: May 17, 2003
Pride Day is an annual community-wide clean-up/fix up campaign that takes place throughout Lorain County. On Saturday, May 17, volunteers helped spruce up the Oberlin Heritage Center and the Burrell-King House. Come admire their handiwork!

O.H.I.O. and the Oberlin Heritage Center, Past, Present and Future: May 15, 2003
Executive Director Pat Murphy gave a presentation titled "O.H.I.O. and the Oberlin Heritage Center, Past, Present and Future" at the Kendal at Oberlin Third Thursday lecture on Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m. She spoke about O.H.I.O. (now doing business as the Oberlin Heritage Center) and how its history intermeshes with that of the town of Oberlin over the past century.

Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums' Regional Meeting: April 12, 2003 The Oberin Heritage Center welcomed museum professionals, board members and volunteers from throughout Northeast Ohio on Saturday, April 12th for the regional meeting of the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums, held at First Church and at the Oberlin Heritage Center. Others joined in for the dedication of our Ohio Historical Society/Ohio Bicentennial historical marker at the Oberlin Heritage Center at 3 p.m. It was a fun and festive day! Come to the Oberlin Heritage Center to see the historical marker at the crossroads of our brick walkways!

Annual Meeting: Wednesday April 2, 2003
The Oberlin Heritage Center held its ninth Annual Meeting and Banquet on Wednesday evening, April 2 at the Oberlin Inn, where we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of our predecessor organization, the Oberlin Village Improvement Society. This fun and festive gathering of members and friends included dinner, a performance by the Oberlin Choristers Touring Choir, the second annual Community Awards ceremony (check out a list of the recipients here!), and the display of a National History Day project by Oberlin High School students.

The Homefront: A One-Act Play About Ohio Women in World War II: March 1, 2003
An enthusiastic crowd enjoyed a special, free Women's History month one-woman show called "The Homefront: A One-Act Play About Ohio Women in World War II" with Karen Vuranch, a performer who will return to Oberlin in July for Ohio Chautauqua. The performance incorporated many memories from women about their experiences during the war, and an interesting discussion followed, as many audience members shared their own memories. The event was co-sponsored by the Oberlin Heritage Center and the Oberlin Public Library and was presented on Saturday, March 1 at the Oberlin Public Library (65 South Main Street). March 1 was also the day that the State of Ohio kicked off its 2003 Bicentennial festivities!

Black History Month Program: Feb. 9, 2003
The Oberlin Heritage Center celebrated Black History Month by hosting a free public program on Sunday, February 9th at the Oberlin Public Library with Frank Dobson, an associate professor of English and director of Wright State University's Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center. He spoke on this year's Black History month theme, a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the publication of W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk. This program was co-sponsored by the Oberlin Public Library, the Oberlin Race Relations Committee, the Oberlin Heritage Center and others. Following Professor Dobson's talk, attendees participated in a lively discussion about DuBois' relevance to the United States today.