You Would Need Some Maintenance, Too!

CLOCK DIAL

At least one time every day, somebody stops outside the West entrance of Robbins Hunter Museum to delight in the sight and sounds of Victoria Woodhull making an appearance from her clock tower home. They may be looking for her after a tour, or just happen to be passing by, but they always seem to leave having been captured by a moment of awe. Sharon Ryan is one of those admirers. However, last fall she was awed for another reason.

Sharon passes by the museum almost daily, and like all others, looks up to admire Victoria when she makes her hourly appearance. Yes, she is inspired by Victoria, but what tugs at her heart strings is the clock itself, located just above the wood carved woman, particularly the Seth Thomas dial. You see, Sharon is originally from Thomaston, CT, the factory town that produced Seth Thomas clocks and derived its name from their famous clockmaker. One of her ancestors even worked in the factory! So on this particular day, as she noticed the appearance on the dial starting to fade, she knew she had to do something. And we are ever grateful she did!

"As a Connecticut native, I'm proud of our history in clockmaking, as Western Connecticut was a global innovator in clockmaking through the 19th Century. Whenever I see an old clock I check to see if it was made by Seth Thomas.  The Victoria Woodhull clock was becoming worn, with the name 'Seth Thomas' barely legible, and I wanted to restore this bit of Thomaston history in Granville."  

Volunteers Jim Niedermeyer (l) and Ben Englefield (r) remove the dial from its attic home for repair.

The barely legible “Seth Thomas” as viewed from behind the dial.

Calls were made, quotes were given, and soon the dial was removed and on its way to a revered clock restoration company in Georgia, at no cost to the museum, thanks to Sharon! However, as happens sometimes when restoration projects are underway, things don’t always go as planned. After a couple of months the clock company called, and due to the intricacies of restoring the dial (which is made of glass), they decided to return it untouched. Thus, we were back to square one. Already in touch with our local Antiques Restoration guru because of other projects, he took one look at the dial and is anxious to get it back in its original tip top shape. Stay tuned for progress…and thank Sharon if you see her!

PORCH CEILING

It was noticeable from the upstairs exhibit space but didn’t cause too much alarm. I mean, at 178 years old, there are cracks and creaks in a few places around the house. We were watching the front porch ceiling and developing a plan for restoration. It, however, demanded to accelerate our plans. With an influx of spring rain leaking to a small area in the old plaster, it was inevitable that we would find an area of about 3’ x 4’ on our porch floor when it should have been on the ceiling. 

April 2020

April 2020

May 2020

June 2020

At a time when the coronavirus kept our indoor visitors away, but our garden invited all outdoor visitors, this was as good a time as any to make things right. Board member Kevin Kerr began to work his magic with the help of Davis Construction, who donated the set up and take down of the scaffolding.  It was a complex repair as it involved several trades: a plaster craftsman (hard to find these days), a construction crew for the carpentry work, and a roofing crew to repair the leak. To look at our porch ceiling today with the repairs and fresh paint, you don’t even have to imagine what Alfred Avery saw when he looked up there, too, back in 1842!

New Trustees at Robbins Hunter Museum

To say it has been a strange year would be an understatement. Lucky for us, Robbins Hunter Museum has a strong backing with an incredibly talented board to help us continue moving forward. Board members volunteer their time and talents to help us carry out our mission. This year, along with new board member Bryan Clements who was highlighted in the Winter 2020 newsletter, we have three new board members who have joined our family. We asked them to tell us a little about themselves…

MEGAN HANCOCK

Megan Hancock is Curator of Education and Exhibitions at the Denison Museum at Denison University. Her current work focuses on developing and curating exhibitions as well as finding innovative ways to utilize the permanent collection in support of the diverse programs and courses at Denison University. Megan was selected in 2018 as an Art21 educator and was also selected to participate in the Rijksmuseum, the University of Amsterdam, and Bard Graduate Center summer program in 2020. Megan lives in Granville with her husband Aaron and daughter Eszti.

STEPHANIE IMHOFF

Stephanie Imhoff has over 35 years of executive financial, operational and strategic leadership expertise working primarily in the retail, direct sales, manufacturing and construction industries.  She has significant experience in strategic, financial and business planning, cash management, bank refinancing/restructuring and financial reporting and analysis. 

Stephanie, a certified public accountant, is a 1982 cum laude graduate of Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. 

She began her career with Ernst & Young in 1982, working primarily with privately held, entrepreneurial companies.  She spent over 10 years with the firm before joining the Longaberger Company as its CFO in 1992.  She served as a senior member of Longaberger’s executive team and was instrumental in the development and execution of its strategic and financial growth plans, including the execution of several private debt placements and debt restructurings.  Stephanie left Longaberger in 2009.

Over the past 10 years, Stephanie has provided consulting services to privately held, entrepreneurial companies in Central Ohio helping them primarily in the areas of Finance and Accounting. 

Stephanie is involved in the community at many levels and has received several appointments and awards.  In 2004, she was appointed by the Governor of Ohio to a nine-year term on the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees and is a past Board Vice-Chair.   She served on the Board of Trustees of the YWCA of Columbus from 1991 -2003 and is the past Board Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer. She also served as the Treasurer on the Board of the Columbus Chapter of the United Nations Association.  In 1999, she was selected as one of Columbus Business First’s “40 under 40” and in 1992, was honored as the Central Ohio Girls Scout’s Woman of Distinction.  She currently serves on the Finance Committee of St. Edwards Catholic Church. 

MICHELLE NEWMAN

Michelle Newman is a "community enthusiast" and marketing professional living in Newark, Ohio. Michelle was born in Indiana, raised in Texas, became an adult in North Carolina, and she has called Licking County home since 2009. Michelle is first and foremost the mom of Mirabelle Hope, a fantastically funny and awesome six year old little girl. In addition, she is an entrepreneur running two businesses (Michelle Newman Marketing, a small business marketing company, and the creative coop, a nonprofit coworking space in downtown Granville.) Michelle also serves as the Executive Director of the Canal Market District - a community event space that serves as the home to one of Central Ohio's finest farmers markets. In her spare time, Michelle has found a niche managing local political campaigns. Michelle serves on the board of the Robbins Hunter Museum and as the Vice Chair of the Board for the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce. Last, Michelle earned the title of Ironman after completing the 144.6 mile triathlon in Chattanooga, TN in 2015. 

Fall Guests Bring Community Together

2019 marks the fifth year that the Robbins Hunter Museum has hosted Scarecrows on the Lawn!

This exhibit, a collaboration between Robbins Hunter Museum and the Welsh Hills School, is much anticipated for all parties involved.  “The kids really enjoy the whole project, beginning to end!” Shelli Drumm, Assistant Head of School said.  Shelli and Michelle Lerner, Head of School, would know.  They are with the students every step of the way, even escorting the scarecrows down the street to the museum and assisting in the installment on the lawn.  So just what IS the process from idea to completion?  Shelli says the project is “interest-driven, and that is a natural motivator for students.”

It begins with the theme, this year being “Pioneers and Trailblazers”.  “When choosing themes for our scarecrow project every year, we try to stay true to our mission statement: Welsh Hills School provides a dynamic, global education that focuses on the whole child. The theme of pioneers and trailblazers lends itself perfectly to the study of a diverse group of dynamic individuals from around the globe who have had an impact on our world today. Because the project includes so many different aspects of work and study, our individual students each get a chance to shine in their own way - through writing, drawing, sewing, building, and speaking. The project is a collaboration of art and language arts. This project began with each upper elementary student (fourth through sixth grade) choosing the pioneer or trailblazer who they are most interested in learning about.”

And then the work begins. According to Shelli, students “spent several weeks gathering information through research so they could become ‘experts’ on the person they've chosen. The information also included details about appearance, so students could begin to gather the appropriate clothing and accessories needed to build accurate representations of their subjects. Students then sewed the features onto the scarecrow faces by hand. To produce final, published copies of their biographical research papers, students worked through all the stages of the writing process and created colorful covers to showcase their work. It took a few days and lots of helping hands to physically build the scarecrows on wooden frames. Students worked with a partner to help dress and stuff their scarecrows”. 

The buildup of excitement explodes the day the scarecrows are installed! “The culmination of the project, and most exciting for the students, was the Friday evening reception at the Robbins Hunter Museum. They were thrilled to stand proudly next to their pioneers and trailblazers and tell the stories of the inspirational people they got to know so well.” Families, friends, and neighbors gathered throughout gardens to appreciate the children’s accomplishments and learn more about historical figures.  “The cookies were a big hit, too!” said Shelli, referring to refreshments enjoyed by all!  “This is a project we look forward to every year. After five fantastic years, it has become one of the highlights of our WHS upper elementary program!” 

 Us too, Shelli! It is a highlight for us too!

Old Friends, New Partners

We were basking in our great luck when the paperwork was final…The James Store would be moving into the space we lovingly call the Woodshed!  The transfer from their spot beside Broadway Pub (which would eventually become an expansion of the Pub itself) to a step off of Broadway was a big one…and one that the Robbins Hunter Museum felt blessed to be a part of.  Little did we know, one of the greatest blessings would be our growing relationship with the store’s owner, Samantha Smith.  The store closed shop in 2018 but the relationship continues.  Sam is the newest member of our Board of Trustees!

“I joined the RHM board of directors in October.  Currently I am Denison's Financial Wellness Coordinator having joined the university after successfully selling a Granville retail business (The James Store) that I had owned and operated for over 10 years. For the last 3 years of owning the business we were located directly adjacent to the RHM and because of that I had even more interactions with the museum, the staff, and its events,” Sam says.  Her familiarity with the museum’s operations isn’t the only thing she brings to the board. “One of the perspectives I bring to the museum is both digital marketing and event planning experience. I earned my M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and did large-scale event planning in Seattle, WA.”

Her credentials are impressive, but family is of utmost important to Sam.  Her mother worked alongside her at The James, and she is raising her family right here in Granville! “My husband, Pete, and I moved to Granville in 2002.  We have 4 children and have always enjoyed programs and events at the museum.”  However, Sam isn’t the only member of her family involved with the Robbins Hunter Museum.  “Our daughter, a senior in high school, is currently helping develop programs tied to the Victoria Woodhull series specifically for middle and high school students.”  Look for more information in your inbox as the program develops.

So again, we wonder how we have gotten so lucky to have been given this opportunity to continue working with Sam.  But this time when she arrives, her focus is strictly on the Robbins Hunter Museum.  In her own words, “I look forward to continuing to make the RHM an asset to Granville residents and visitors.”  

And you know she will!

From the Director...

“….to tell the stories of the people who lived here.”  The mission statement of the Robbins Hunter Museum, adopted five years ago, continues to inspire and enlighten what we do here.  We knew that in 1860, Sylvester Spelman lived here with his middle-aged daughter Charlotte who had been left deaf from a childhood illness. It seemed to us like a rather quiet house with just two adults in residence. A simple trip to the census records for 1860 revealed a much different scenario.  Spelman had married Mary after the death of his first wife. 

Another big surprise was that Reverend Burton, his wife Sarah, and their four children were boarders in the home.  Also we learned that Adeline, a domestic helper, aged 22, from Wales and her three-year-old child, Olive, were residing in the big house on East Broadway. So now we know that these rooms were home to eleven people ranging in age from three years to mid-sixties. That changed how we thought about the way people lived here.  We had confirmation of the help that contributed to the running of the house.

This summer, if you come for a visit, you will see evidence of Adeline’s work.  In the main parlor, one of the gold leaf mirrors is covered in netting to prevent fly specks from attacking the gold leaf. Muslin covers one of the blue velvet loveseats.  Walking into Charlotte’s bedroom, you’ll see a stack of bed linens and nightgowns, all freshly laundered, ironed, and ready to be put away.  A copper bath tub allows docents to interpret the bathing ritual in a day when water had to be pumped from the well, heated on the wood stove, carried to the bathing area, and then the domestic would have helped rinse the bather.

Being able to verify that the Spelmans actually did have help, that the help lived in the house, where they came from and how old they were brings factual information to help interpret the work of running a large home in the Village of Granville in the mid-nineteenth century.

Plan a visit soon to see for yourself how the tour interpretation continues to grow and be enriched by new information.  We are open all summer, Wednesday-Saturday, 1-4 p.m.  Admission is free.