News and Events 2006
The Legacy of Geoffrey Blodgett
A full house piled in to Kendal at Oberlin's Heiser Auditorium December 5 to hear Jane Blodgett's talk on the legacy of her late husband Geoffrey Blodgett, Emeritus Danforth Professor of History at Oberlin College. Geoffrey was very involved in historic preservation in Oberlin and wrote extensively about Oberlin history and architecture. Jane Blodgett read aloud selections from Geoffrey's recently published book,Oberlin History: Essays and Impressions, intriguing and delighting the crowd with details about early Oberlin buildings and stories from the College in the 1930s. To close the evening, Jane Blodgett discussed an ongoing project to put the lectures and slides from Geoffrey's popular course, The Social History of American Architecture, on DVD.
Caring For Textiles: A Hands On Workshop
Over 40 conservators, students, collectors and museum staff joined us November 20 and 21 for a textile conservation workshop at the Oberlin Depot. Textile conservator Camille Myers Breeze, Director of Museum Textile Services in Andover, Mass., led the workshop, which taught participants the basics of archival materials and methods. Keys for properly storing textiles without spending a fortune were also discussed. Participants gave the workshop rave reviews, calling it "very informative and helpful" and "absolutely terrific."
Going Behind the Scenes with the Oberlin Heritage Center's Collections Committee
Around 50 interested residents of Oberlin -- and beyond -- joined Oberlin Heritage Center director Pat Murphy, collections assistant Prue Richards, Collections Committee Chairperson David Mellott, and members of the organization's Collections Committee for an illustrated look at how the organization collects and preserves artifacts to tell the history of our community on November 15 at Kendal at Oberlin's Heiser Auditorium. The Collections Committee discussed the ins and outs of their work and related some of the Oberlin Heritage Center's collections success stories.
"Past Perfect" Software Training hosted by the Oberlin Heritage Center
The Oberlin Heritage Center hosted a
Regional Training Program on "Past Perfect," a software program used by many museums. The training was attended by 25 museum professionals, from all over Ohio as well as Tennessee and even Alaska! Trainees got a chance to learn how to get more out of the Past Perfect program. The session was held October 10-12 in the Oberlin Depot.
OAHSM Outstanding Individual Achievement Award
Bravo! Bravo! Pat and Dick Holsworth from the Oberlin Heritage Center received the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums' Outstanding Individual Achievement Award at the 2006 awards luncheon at the Ohio Historical Society on Saturday, October 7th. The awards were presented at the OHS/OAHSM annual meeting and conference, Ohio History Pride, which drew history lovers from throughout Ohio. We are very grateful to Pat and Dick for their exceptional, continuing service to our organization (and community) in many, many ways since 1994. They were nominated for the award by Pat Murphy while others wrote wonderful letters of support. See photos from the luncheon here.
14th Annual Lorain County Family Fun Fair
On Saturday, August 5, the Oberlin Heritage Center participated in the Family Fun Fair, located in Oberlin's downtown district. A Vintage Days Classic Car Show and Oberlin merchants' Sidewalk Sale added to the day's festivities. The first floor of the Monroe House and the Little Red Schoolhouse were open for self-paced walk-through tours with docents available to answer questions. Children of all ages enjoyed old-fashioned fun and games on the Oberlin Heritage Center grounds, including stilts, tops, jump rope, ring toss, and coloring sheets featuring historic scenes. We also raffled off a gift bag donated by Trader Joe's. Cooperative weather, good turnout, and great volunteers combined for a successful Fair! Check out photos here!
Kids & Cultures Around the World II Summer Camp 2006
Campers continued on their world journeys from the locale of the Oberlin Depot for a second week of camp. This week, participants got to hear taiko drumming from Japan -- and then try their hands at it! -- make (and then break) piñatas from Mexico, and create Native American dreamcatchers, among other activities. At the end of the week, the campers performed two Hawaiian hula dances. Other featured nations this week included Ukraine, Micronesia, Germany, Bermuda, China, and New Zealand, to name a few. (Photos!)
Kids & Cultures Around the World I Summer Camp 2006
Participants in this week of summer camp had the opportunity to travel the world without ever leaving the Oberlin Depot! Campers got to talk with lots of world-travelers and immigrants from other nations, make crafts, try new foods, and get their hands painted with henna, just to name a few activities! At the end of the week, the campers presented a Vietnamese water puppetry play. Other featured nations this week included, among others, India, Sweden, Guatemala, China, Mexico, Ghana, Germany, and Japan. (Photos!)
Architecture Summer Camp 2006
For an upbeat and energetic hands-on camp all about architecture, both historic and modern, this camp can't be beaten! Campers learned about different aspects of building design through activities, games, crafts, and projects, culminating in creating a model of a building of their own design. New knowledge and creations were shared in a program on the last day of the camp. See some of the activities and projects "under construction" here!
Juneteenth: Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17
The town of Oberlin celebrated Juneteenth--which observes the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, taking charge of the formerly-Confederate state and enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation--on June 16 and 17. Friday's events included tours of historic cites and the local cemetery, Maafa Memorial Service, and an evening concert; Saturday's events included a celebration of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue and a parade. The Oberlin Heritage Center had a booth set up in Tappan Square, the center of all the celebrations, on Saturday. To honor the day, the Oberlin Heritage Center also offered free guided tours of the Oberlin Heritage Center.
Hands-On History Summer Camp 2006
We had another fabulous session of our perennial-favorite history camp! Campers made crafts, toured historic buildings, played games, and learned and performed a play, presented to an audience of family members and well-wishers, about the Underground Railroad. Check out some of the pictures from this camp here!
Docent Training Session
The Oberlin Heritage Center offered a docent training session on Wednesday, June 7. The session was open to new docents and to returning docents who wanted to brush up their skills and check out updates to the tour. (Click here for more info on the Oberlin Heritage Center docent program!) The training took place in the Monroe House, Little Red Schoolhouse, and Jewett House, all on the grounds of the Oberlin Heritage Center, and addressed general Oberlin history, history of these specific buildings, and guidelines for history interpretation. As always, the docent training session was free and open to the public. Trained docents are requested to commit to guiding at least one tour each month to assist the Oberlin Heritage Center's tour program. (If you are interested in becoming a docent but were not able to attend this training session, please contact us--we're happy to work with you!)
Oberlin College Commencement Weekend 2006
As in previous years, the Oberlin Heritage Center offered free guided tours during Commencement (Memorial Day) weekend. Free guided tours were scheduled for Saturday, May 27. Visitors were also offered the option of taking a free self-guided mini-tour through our buildings, open both Saturday and Sunday afternoons with special "old-time" games and toys for children on the lawn outside the schoolhouse. Three free "Oberlin History" bus tours, lasting about an hour each, were offered over the course of the weekend. A number of Oberlin Heritage Center interns & volunteers graduated: Adina Langer, Katherine McCardwell, Laurie Stein, and Darrin Tate!
Pride Day 2006
The Oberlin Heritage Center grounds got a makeover on Saturday, May 20 during Oberlin's Pride Day. Volunteers and staff collaborated on projects ranging from weeding to transplanting flowers to trimming trees to trimming the lawn. Huge thanks to all our volunteers--it looks great! (And thank goodness it stopped raining just in time!)
"Fun in Oberlin, Past and Present"
We hope you were with us on April 24 for "Fun in Oberlin, Past and Present," presented by Elizabeth and Daniel Goulding. This presentation was based on anecdotes collected in the Oberlin Oral History Project. Among the Oberlinians, past and present, whose stories were featured are Millie Arthrell, Marvel Fields, Marianne Cochrane, Jack Cochrane, Mary Wright Fisk, Maynard Gott, Mildred Haines, Marion Bradley Kelly, Carl Kinney, Bill Long and Bob Thomas. After the Gouldings' presentation, Oral History Committee representatives Marly Merrill and Pat Holsworth talked briefly about the nuts & bolts of the ongoing Oral History Project being conducted by Oberlin Heritage Center volunteers.
The Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums' regional meeting, entitled "The Cost of Doing History's Business," was held in Lakewood on Saturday, April 22.
Oberlin Heritage Center's Annual Meeting and Dinner
We hope you attended and enjoyed our Annual Meeting and Dinner, held the evening of Wednesday, April 5 in the Oberlin Inn. Our Guest Speaker was Dr. Bill Laidlaw, Executive Director and CEO of the Ohio Historical Society, who spoke on "History Works." The attendees of the annual meeting celebrated all of this year's accomplishments of the Oberlin Heritage Center and its members: the Oberlin Heritage Center itself achieved museum accreditation, Bob Lodge and McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory received a Community Interpretive Sevice Award from the National Association for Interpretation. The fifth annual Oberlin Heritage Center Community Awards were also presented. This year's honorees were: Jane Blodgett, Heritage Guardian Award; Margaret Christian, Community Historian of the Year Award; Catharina "Katy " Lester, Oberlin Heritage Center Volunteer of the Year Award; and the McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory, Inc., Oberlin Heritage Center Business Leader Award. If you had to miss the event, check out our review of the Annual Meeting 2006.
Celebrate Women's History Month: Meet "Katharine Wright"
Katharine Wright, younger sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright and
alumna of Oberlin College with the class of 1898, was the subject of a
dramatic representation presented in honor
of Women's History Month. Wright was portrayed by historian and dramatist Betty Darst
in a first person, one-woman, one-hour performance presented on March 22 in the
Heiser Auditorium of Kendal-at-Oberlin. The free public event was presented with the
support of the Ohio Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for
the Humanities.
Oberlin Heritage Center's New Logo!
After months of deliberation, critiquing, and tweaking, we finally settled on our new logo, to go with our new name. We hope you like it! We think it clearly represents who we are, and suggests what we do: preserving and sharing Oberlin's unique heritage and making Oberlin a better place to live, learn, work, and visit.
"Painting Your Old House"
On Wednesday, March 15, Sara Hobbs, Manager of the Preservation Resource Center at the Cleveland Restoration Society, presented a free illustrated presentation addressing issues of special interests to owners of historic homes, including paint surface preparation, choosing a painting contractor, the pitfalls of replacement siding and how to remove it, and selecting a color scheme appropriate to the historic character of the building. Many attendees brought photos of their homes for one-on-one consultation with the presenter. The presentation was be held in the Oberlin Public Library (65 South Main Street) and was sponsored by the Cleveland Restoration Society, the Oberlin Heritage Center, and the City of Oberlin Historic Preservation Commission.
Celebrate the Accreditation of the Oberlin Heritage Center!
The Oberlin Heritage Center is very proud to announce that, as of December 2005, we are an accredited museum. The accreditation was awarded by the American Association of Museums. This distinction puts the Oberlin Heritage Center in the top 10% of American museums--of the more than 16,000 museums in the nation, only 771 have achieved accreditation. The Oberlin Heritage Center was one of 21 organizations who achieved accreditation in 2005. Click here to read the official announcement.
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