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News & Events 2004

2004 Annual Fund Effort
We appreciate all who contributed to the success of the Oberlin Heritage Center's 2004 Annual Fund effort, which contributed $16,700 to our general operating budget. Hats off to the 177 donors who contributed to this end-of-the-year campaign.

Congratulations to The Nord Family Foundation
The Nord Family Foundation received the 2004 Leadership Award for a Foundation at the National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon sponsored by the Association of Fund-raising Professionals. Nord Family Foundation community trustee, Camille Hamlin Allen, accepted the award on behalf of the foundation at a special event in Westlake, Ohio on November 12, 2004. Over 750 people from throughout the Greater Cleveland Area attended, including representatives of many Lorain County non-profit organizations, foundations, and businesses. The Nord Family Foundation was nominated for the award by Patricia Murphy, Executive Director of the Oberlin Heritage Center.

All Aboard! Local Train Talks: November 10th and 17th, 2004
Noted experts on the history of transportation in Lorain County, Albert Doane of Lorain and Dennis Lamont of Birmingham, made two free, illustrated presentations at the Oberlin Depot at 240 South Main Street. On Wednesday, November 10th they presented "Steam Railroads in Lorain County," a look at trains such as the 20th Century Limited and the New York Central. "A Nostalgic Ride on the Lake Shore Electric Streetcar" on Wednesday, November 17th followed the route of the streetcar that linked Cedar Point, Lorain, Sandusky, Oberlin and Wellington in the first four decades of the 20th century.

Another Oberlin Heritage Center Success Story:
Volunteer Receives Award
Bravo and kudos to Oberlin Heritage Center member and super volunteer Marly Merrill who received the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums History Outreach Excellence Award at the O.A.H.S.M. Awards luncheon in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, November 6 for authoring Sarah Margru Kinson: The Two Worlds of an Amistad Captive, published by the Oberlin Heritage Center. The editing and graphic design for the project was done by Oberlin Heritage Center member Sarah MacLennan Kerr. Copies of the book are available in the Oberlin Heritage Center gift shop. Also at the O.A.H.S.M. statewide conference, Executive Director Pat Murphy spoke on the topic of "Setting Standards of Practice and Professionalism."

Living History Open House: September 18, 2004
We took a step back in time to the year 1862 at our Living History Open House, a free event at the Oberlin Heritage Center. Our own cast of volunteer reenactors told the story of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, an event that occurred in 1858, from a "firsthand" point of view. Visitors talked with them, learned from them, and even argued with them as they moved through our site at their own pace throughout the afternoon.

Oberlin designated a Preserve America Community
Congratulations to the City of Oberlin for its designation as a Preserve America Community on September 10, 2004 by First Lady Laura Bush and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. A special ceremony was held at Oberlin City Hall with special guest, Mark Rey, Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information, visit PreserveAmerica.

Women's Equality Day Celebration: August 26, 2004
Oberlin celebrated the 10th annual Women's Equality Day Celebration by having a wonderful dinner program at the Oberlin Inn, which included a panel discussion entitled "Not There Yet!: Obstacles Women Still Face." The event was cosponsored by a number of organizations, among them the Oberlin Heritage Center.

New Flagpole in Honor of Colonel Richard Reid Hallock
On your next visit to the Oberlin Heritage Center, make sure to enjoy the new Hallock Flagpole, rock gardens, plantings and sandstone bench west of the Monroe House. It was erected in memory of Colonel Richard Reid Hallock (1919-1999), a great friend, volunteer and life member of the Oberlin Heritage Center. He was a 1941 graduate of Oberlin College and a highly decorated paratrooper during World War II and the Korean War who later became active in Army Intelligence and military reform. Surrounding the flagpole are plantings appropriate to the time period of the Monroe House that were selected for their white blossoms and fragrant aromas throughout the growing season. The flagpole was designed by Paul Arnold, Dave Clark and landscape architect Todd Martz and dedicated at a gathering of friends of Colonel Hallock on August 24.

The Hallock flagpole project was completed in time for this summer's America in Bloom judging. Over the summer Oberlin Heritage Center volunteers including Colette and Marty Buck, Fran and Roger Cooper, Terry and Karen Hobbs, Dick Holsworth, Bert Latran, and Jan and Jerry DeMarinis worked many, many extra hours to help beautify our grounds. We also thank Mulberry Creek Herb farm in Huron for providing plants.

Vintage Days & Family Fun Fair: August 7, 2004 Historic downtown Oberlin and the Oberlin Heritage Center grounds were home to the fifth annual Vintage Days Classic Car Show/Sidewalk Sale and Family Fun Fair! Main Street Oberlin's Vintage Days featured cool cars built before 1978, and a sidewalk sale featured great items at bargain prices from Oberlin's many unique shops. The Family Fun Fair brought to town clowns, magicians, pony rides, face painting and many hands-on activities for children. At the Oberlin Heritage Center, children of all ages were able to enjoy old fashioned fun and games. Click here to view pictures from the event.

"The Dining Room" and Fun, Friends, and History: July 24, 2004
The Oberlin Heritage Center's Fun, Friends, and History Series provides special opportunities for members and friends to explore historic places, enjoy unique cultural activities, and enjoy one another's company, all while benefiting our organization's Endowment for History Education. The first event in this series was the play, The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney performed by The Workshop Players, Inc. Theatre-in-the-Round. The program took place in the historic sandstone Middle Ridge Road Amherst Township School, built in 1898. This fundraiser netted just over $2000.00 for our Endowment for History Education.

Summer Camps for Children: Summer 2004
Hands-On History Summer Fun week-long day camps are ever popular. This year we offered four weeks of camp for children between the ages of 8 and 13. Our history/theater camps included crafts, costume, and prop-making and presenting a a fun historically-based play to family and friends on the last day of camp. One week focused on the Victorian era, and another (plus an "encore" week for overflow registrations) featured the Colonial period. Our Architecture Workshop for Kids inspired children to "Explore the Built Environment" with a week filled with a walking tour of several homes in Oberlin and hands-on projects, where the children's architectural skills flourished.

AAM Accreditation Site Visit
The Oberlin Heritage Center Board and Staff hosted two peer reviewers from the American Association of Museums (AAM) Accreditation Visiting Committee in early June for a two-day visit to the Oberlin Heritage Center. This was another step forward in seeking AAM Accreditation for the Oberlin Heritage Center (one of the final stages in the overall three-year process!) The Visiting Committee will make a recommendation to the AAM Accreditation Commission at its December 2004 meeting.

Oberlin Heritage Center Receives 2004 Annual Award for Preservation Hero
Downtown Ohio and Heritage Ohio announced the Oberlin Heritage Center (then operating as "O.H.I.O.") as the winner of a 2004 Annual Award for Preservation Hero, which was presented during the statewide Annual Preservation & Revitalization Conference in May 2004. The Oberlin Heritage Center was honored as an exemplary local preservation organization in Ohio, whose work is having a significant impact on Oberlin. More information can be found in the press release. If you would like to become more familiar with Downtown Ohio and Heritage Ohio, please visit their websites.

Pride Day: May 15, 2004
Thank you to all of our members who came to the annual Pride Day clean-up, fix-up day on Saturday, May 15! Thanks to your work, the grounds at the Oberlin Heritage Center look great! Despite the rain, we had fun catching up with each other while catching up on spring yard work. There is still more to do in preparation for the June visit of the accreditation team from the American Association of Museums and the 2004 America in Bloom judging, and we'd also love to find a few new volunteers willing to help with gardening on an ongoing basis. Let us know if you are interested!

National Historic Preservation Week: May 3-8, 2004
We celebrated National Historic Preservation Week from May 3-8. The theme of this year's celebration was "New Frontiers in Preservation." Here is our press release about our programs for the week, and you can learn more about preservation from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Residential Architecture and Preservation: May 8, 2004
"Residential Architectural Styles and Maintaining Historic Character" was a special presentation by the Cleveland Restoration Society that we hosted as part of our celebration of National Historic Preservation Week. The free event was held on Saturday, May 8 at the Oberlin Public Library.

History and Architecture of Downtown Oberlin: May 4, 2004
Oberlin Heritage Center Museum Fellow Maria Surovy presented a very interesting program called "The History and Architecture of the new Downtown Oberlin National Register Historic District" on Tuesday, May 4th at the Oberlin Public Library. The event, part of our celebration of National Historic Preservation Week, was co-sponsored by the Oberlin Heritage Center and the City of Oberlin Historic Preservation Commission. The program included historical narratives and comparisons of old and new photographs of downtown, which sparked interesting stories and happy memories from the enthusiastic audience.

The Oberlin Big Parade: May 1, 2004
Everyone loves Oberlin's Big Parade! The event, now in its third year, is a fun way for all of Oberlin's groups and individuals to celebrate our unity, diversity, and creativity. At the 2004 event, churches, artists, music groups, dance troupes and many other organizations from both the town and the college paraded their talents along the route to Tappan Square for an afternoon festival. Some of our Living History volunteers walked in the parade, and festival attendees enjoyed Oberlin Trivia questions along with information about Oberlin's history and the Oberlin Heritage Center at our information table in Tappan Square.

Oberlin Heritage Center Annual Meeting: April 7, 2004 A wonderful time was had by all at the Oberlin Heritage Center annual dinner meeting at the Oberlin Inn on Wednesday, April 7, which included a special presentation by champions of fun Elizabeth Goulding (retired actress, theater director and business executive) and Dan Goulding (author, film critic and retired professor of film studies and theater arts) called "Fun in Oberlin, Past and Present," a collection of lighthearted excerpts from Oberlin Oral History Project interviews. We also applauded this year's recipients of the Oberlin Heritage Center Community Awards, reviewed the year's accomplishments, saluted our successes and elected new trustees and officers. You can read a summary in this press release. See this link for more pictures from the event!

This Affordable Old House: March 20, 2004
An enthusiastic crowd enjoyed a workshop offering practical solutions for homeowners, "This Affordable Old House," on Saturday, March 20, 2004 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Oberlin Public Library, co-sponsored by the Cleveland Restoration Society's Preservation Resource Center of Northeast Ohio and the Oberlin Heritage Center.

Hip Hip Hooray; we're Proud of Our Town!
On March 3rd, Oberlin was designated one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2004! The nomination was submitted by the Oberlin Heritage Center. The Dozen Distinctive Destinations program promotes heritage tourism and markets historic communities that cherish and preserve their history. For more information on this honor, click here.

Women's History Month Celebration: March 4, 2004
"Stories and Songs about Women," a free one-hour original variety show, took place at the Oberlin Public Library on Thursday, March 4, 2004 at 7 p.m. Storyteller Karen Vuranch and singer/songwriters Julie Adams and Colleen Anderson shared their wisdom, energy, and creativity. This Women's History Month event was sponsored by the Oberlin Public Library and the Oberlin Heritage Center.

Underground Railroad program for Children: February 22, 2004
An interested crowd of children and adults enjoyed a Black History month presentation called "A Children's Look at the Underground Railroad" on Sunday, February 22, 2004 at the Oberlin Public Library, presented by nationally known Underground Railroad historian Cathy D. Nelson. She is the Elementary Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for the Columbus Public Schools and founder and president emeritus of the Friends of Freedom Society. The event was co-sponsored by the Oberlin Heritage Center and the Oberlin Public Library with the support of the Ohio Humanities Council. Here are some pictures from the event.

A Visit with Emily Dickinson: February 13, 2004 The famous American poet Emily Dickinson was portrayed by historian/performer Debra Conner in "Called Back: A Visit with Emily Dickinson" on Friday, February 13 at 12:30 p.m. at the Oberlin Public Library. The free event was sponsored by the Oberlin Public Library, the Friends of the Oberlin Public Library, and the Oberlin Heritage Center.

Oberlin Abolitionism Symposium: February 6 & 7, 2004
Oberlin's historic First Church was the site of a two-day symposium on "The Lane Debates: The Making of Radical Abolition and the Oberlin Commitment to Racial Egalitarianism" on February 6 and 7th, 2004. The event featured eighteen nationally prominent historians, including Oberlin College President Nancy Dye and our own Oberlin Heritage Center members Gary Kornblith and Carol Lasser, re-enacting the debates held at the Lane Theological Seminary and the January 1835 trustees meeting by which Oberlin became the first U.S. institution of higher education to adopt a policy of student admissions irrespective of race. Gary and Carol's costumes were made by our Sewing Guild. At the Lane Debates reenactment on Friday the enthusiastic crowd of Oberlin and Lorain County residents was joined by high school students from all over Northeast Ohio, who jumped back 170 years to ask very insightful questions. Then on Saturday the historians' portrayal of the Oberlin Trustees' debate again led to an enthusiastic discussion with the audience.

Big News! And you can help!
Big news we can use! The Oberlin Heritage Center is the proud recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant. We were the only organization in Ohio and only one of ten organizations nationwide that were selected to receive funding for local history initiatives. The grant, announced in the New York Times, provides us with the opportunity to build a new Endowment for History Education to support the position of Museum Education Coordinator and to organize a local history symposium. The Oberlin Heritage Center will receive up to $100,000 from NEH, provided that we raise at least $100,000 in matching funds by July 2006. This is a tremendous opportunity for donors to double the value of their gift and support a new professional position that will enhance our educational outreach and programming to bring history alive for school age and general audiences. Our Board of Trustees invites your support of the Oberlin Heritage Center Endowment for History Education campaign. To donate, call us at (440) 774-1700 or email Pat Holsworth at ohiobiz@oberlinheritage.org.