Click below to read our full Spring 2021 Newsletter!
The staff and Board are delighted to announce the support of Chloe Dickson, an AmeriCorps Member, who is serving approximately five hours per week at the museum-- organizing and maintaining the organizations’ Google Drive, which safely stores files and allows for easy on-line collaboration and remote work.
Chloe grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., and attended Messiah University, located outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After graduating in May 2020 with a degree in history (concentration in public history), she moved to Columbus in September as an AmeriCorps service member, assigned to the Ohio History Service Corps, where she will continue to serve until August 2021. Chloe's primary service work is with Ohio History Connection and Ohio Village in research and accessibility projects, as well as partnering with local historical museums and societies on projects that build capacity.
Happy New Year! I know we are counting on this new year to be better than the last, and that is certainly my hope as the Board, staff, volunteers and members continue to meet and plan the museum’s upcoming 2021 calendar.
Because none of our crystal balls work anymore (did they ever?!), it looks like the best way to plan anything is to create a mix of virtual events with the intent to turn them into a hybrid of in-person and on-line as soon as it is safe to do so.
In partnership with the Granville Recreation District, the Robbins Hunter Museum hosted the 13th Annual Gingerbread House Competition virtually. Thank you to all who participated in the 2020 Gingerbread House Competition! Photo features Phillip Demarest, who won Adult First Place.
Much of our work this past nine months has been as CARES Act grant writers, with the most recent grant award of over $20,000 coming in from the Licking County Foundation. We are so grateful to the foundations and community organizations that worked to distribute these federal funds and thank everyone who played a part in keeping the Robbins Hunter Museum at the top of their lists! Of course, we will continue to pay close attention to the New Coronavirus Stimulus & Relief Package and have our grant writing A-game close at hand to apply again where eligible.
As we closed out 2020, we were fortunate to not only have the help of volunteers Tracey Fleitz, Pam Clements and the Order of the Silver Stars to deck the halls in a simple way--as we held our annual Gingerbread House display and Santa meet ups virtually; we also had the assistance of Audrey Ames, a Granville Middle School student, who helped us with our annual fund drive mailing and joked non-stop as we sent out over 500 letters to our steadfast members and donors.
Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our annual fund! We brought in over $7,000!...which, full disclosure, is $5,000 shy of our ambitious goal of $12,000, so if the busy-ness of the holidays and/or pandemic and/or politics, had you distracted, please know we certainly still welcome your annual fund donation. Click here! to be taken to our donation web page.
Again, I really can’t say, thank you enough for your continued support of our beautiful historic house museum! I look forward to re-imagining what it means to be a community and educational resource as we move forward into this coming year.
Sarah Straley Hottle
Upcoming Programming
Virtual Book Club
Join us for a bi-weekly virtual book club! We will be reading The Scarlet Sisters by Myra MacPherson. The first meeting will be Wednesday, January 27 via Zoom.
Please RSVP to info@robbinshunter.org. A Zoom link will be provided to everyone who RSVPs. Copies of The Scarlet Sisters are available on Amazon.
See you virtually on Wednesday, January 27!
Victoria Woodhull Phoenix Rising: Women in the Next 100 Years
This will be the final roundtable in the series, so mark your calendars for March 11, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks!
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!
I first met Robbins when I started at Denison in 1972. I majored in instrumental music. My favorite professor, George Hunter (no relation), was Denison’s band director, and he took us to Robbins’ antique shop to see all the various musical instruments, including the Broadwood piano in the back, two pipe organs, and many smaller instruments. The inventory was always changing, and the shop, Avery House, was so full of stuff it was hard to get through. Robbins even had stuff piled on the porches. Village council got after him. I remember one councilman saying, “Now Robbie, we know you can be very outspoken.” Robbins responded, “I intend to become more so with age.” He was a riot.
Robbins Hunter, Jr. c. 1974-1975; Photo credit: Michael Williams
Robbins was of an age that he didn’t drive at night (as I am now). He asked me to drive him to antique auctions. What a learning experience! We went all over Ohio, but one of my favorite destinations was Garth’s in Delaware, OH. I also took him to concerts at Denison, Licking County Symphony, etc. I even took him to a few parties in Columbus. He seemed to know everyone, and everyone liked his affable manner. As a treat we went to see Bette Davis at the Ohio Theater. This had to be 1974 or 1975. I’ll never forget going to see the movie ‘The Exorcist’ 1973, which we both found hilarious, though it was not meant to be funny.
I remember when the fountain (behind the Warner house at the Buxton) was at Avery House. It came from a beautiful house in Lancaster, my hometown.
I remember when the Octagon Room was started, by Larry Swartzenberger. Larry restored the house I lived in for 25 years, on Hudson Ave. in Newark. Larry was very talented, and did Robbins’ room from a picture. At the time, we all thought Robbins had flipped his lid. I’ll never forget when Larry opened up the back of the house. This was in the dead of winter. In the middle of it, he decided to take off to Mardi Gras! Robbins was furious, but it certainly turned out to be beautiful.
After Robbins passed, the saddest part was the BIG auction to empty Avery House. I know it had to happen, but all the beautiful things were sold.
Look at it now! I hope Robbins would be pleased!
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.
It's been an exhilarating three months! I started as your new director the day Gov. DeWine closed schools for three weeks. It will forever remind me of my beginning chapter as I am woven into the history books of the Robbins Hunter Museum. In spite of the unusual circumstances, the Board, Teri Niedermeyer and I have been busily working from home, writing emergency grant proposals and planning to take our collections and exhibits on-line as much as possible.
We have also deep cleaned, painted and beautified the museum so that our doors are open again for tours. We allow groups of four at a time, Tuesday-Saturday, at 1 pm and 3 pm, and as always, by reservation. We highly encourage masks and have prioritized cleaning between tours.
Sarah Straley Hottle and her family installing a brick at the museum's west entrance, "For our children Gram Dritz and Bodhi Hottle."
If you haven't already joined the museum as a member, we are running a summer membership campaign where you can Buy One Give One (BOGO) and all new members will have their membership through the end of March 2022! Please consider joining today! Your membership dollars will be used to support the museum going forward and maintain this precious community resource.
Many of you have seen Pam Clements working diligently in the Museum’s gardens, and you may have wondered who she is. Pam heads the garden committee of the Museum, and has a passion for and deep interest in gardening. What most people don’t know is that Pam is a banker, and quite a serious one at that. She works in risk management and assessment for MT Bank, which is headquartered in Buffalo, NY! Fortunately the bank allows her to telecommute, but she does still have to travel to Buffalo on a regular basis.
Why is she in Granville? When her daughter wanted to go to OSU, Pam realized she had no family in New York, her husband was working in Atlanta, and their families were all in Ohio. Accordingly, she negotiated a telecommuting arrangement with the bank and moved to Ohio in 2015 to be closer to family. After carefully looking at central Ohio neighborhoods, she discovered Granville with her daughter, and decided the village was the right fit.
In 2016, Pam’s siblings came for a visit, and they took a tour of the Museum. Their tour was led by the inimitable Becky Dungan, who finished by saying, “So, do you want to volunteer?” Pam didn’t say no. It was Becky that connected Pam to the Granville Garden Club, and through that organization, she began working in the Museum’s gardens in addition to becoming a docent. As work in the garden began to fill her time, she stepped back from regular tours, but still leads them on an as-needed basis. Her first love and passion are the gardens, and readers will often see her on Sundays planting and caring for them. Stop by and say hello as you walk by. Her enthusiasm for her work is infectious.
One of her plans for the 2020 season is to enhance the gardens near the weeping cherry by the west entrance of the Museum with plantings to attract pollinators, be they bees or other insects, birds, or anything else that will help feed and sustain these vital creatures while at the same time showing how integrating the correct plants into a garden only enhances its beauty.
Bryan, who is also originally from Ohio, is in information technology strategic management in the banking industry. His positions often call him away from home, and he was working in Atlanta when Pam made the decision to move to Ohio. He completely agreed with her idea that it would be a good thing to be closer to their families, and joined her here full time in 2017.
Bryan’s interest in the Museum developed when he took one of Becky’s Christmas tours and became interested in the collections. Although he jokes that “my wife made me do it,” he has proven to be invaluable, committed and deeply interested in the Museum. “I believe in the importance of volunteering in a way that celebrates history and helps to inform the present.” Bryan quickly realized that the Museum’s information technology needed to be updated, allowing for the genesis of new technological ideas available in order to reach the broadest audience possible. He has thoroughly assessed the museum’s computers, network, and software and made recommendations and changes to make everything more user friendly, but at the same time secure. Realizing the potential of the new smart television, Bryan has been hard at work to help make the museum more interactive. Stay tuned for developments in that area!
Both Bryan and Pam feel strongly in the importance of volunteerism as an opportunity to give back in a way that celebrates history while informing the future. Pam’s bank was always an advocate of volunteerism, and she is given time off for every 40 hours of volunteer time. Through their efforts, the couple has become close friends to the Museum and we are grateful to have them.
Robbins Hunter, Jr., called this painting his most important piece. Looking at her, it is easy to understand why. The strong pyramidal shape, with the lighting focused on her neck and shoulders, the vivid blue of her wrap and the delicate lace of her dress, all against a dark background, Emma Stewart gazes directly and intently at the viewer and, by extension, the artist. Her complexion, with a delicate, feminine blush on her cheeks, suggests her youth and recalls the first blush of love. That the subject was the bride of the artist, and it was painted shortly after their marriage, makes the viewer feel an intimate sense of the couple’s affection for one another.
Mary Emma Stewart (1835-1889), known throughout her life as Emma, was the first wife of an artist with the wonderful name of Eliphalet Frazer Andrews. The couple was married in 1857, when they were both 22 years old: Emma was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1835 and Andrews was born in Steubenville, Ohio in 1835. He graduated from Marietta College and the Royal Prussian Academy in Berlin and finished his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before returning to Ohio where the couple married.
Following the election of Andrews’ friend Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency in 1877, the couple moved to Washington, D.C.
Most noted as a portrait painter, several of his images are now in the White House, including posthumous full-length portraits of Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Johnson. Other portraits hang in the Capitol Building. Andrews did not limit himself to portraits, and fourteen of his paintings, including interior and nature studies, as well as landscapes, are held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The images came to the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery (formerly the Corcoran Gallery of Art) after the Corcoran was dissolved in 2014 by court order.
Andrews’ connection to the Corcoran came about in 1878 when he was hired by William Wilson Corcoran to establish what would become the Corcoran School of Art and design, a post he held until 1902. Originally, Andrews taught students visiting the Corcoran Gallery. Corcoran, realizing the importance of what Andrews was doing, donated the funding to formally establish the school which was to be associated with the gallery. The school was founded for the purpose of “encouraging American Genius.” After Corcoran’s death in 1888, a small building was built for the expressed purpose of housing the school. Under Andrews’ tenure, the school greatly expanded the scope of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the oldest and largest non-federal art museum in Washington, through the encouragement of young, talented artists. Many of the “new” artists’ paintings were accessioned into the collections of the Gallery.
In 1902, Andrews then became the director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which had become a major center of American art, both historic and contemporary. With its extensive collection of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century American art, the Gallery represented the most significant American artists but it also had a fine collection of European art. Andrews continued Corcoran’s philosophy of encouraging modern and American artists by showing and purchasing their work. Andrews began the Corcoran’s “Biennial” exhibitions, which highlighted young artists.
You can enjoy seeing Emma Stewart beginning in April when the museum will open the exhibition “A Collection of Treasures.” Interestingly, another painting will hang in the exhibition that has a direct relationship to Andrews and the Corcoran. It is the museum’s Carl Springer untitled snow scene. This painting was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery Biennial in 1916, a year after Andrews’ death. Whether the two men knew one another is a puzzle currently being researched.
Plaque on back of Carl Springer snow scene
Emma Stewart Andrews died in 1889 and was buried in Steubenville. E.F. Andrews died in 1915, his body was returned to Ohio, where he was buried in Steubenville beside Emma.
In December, the Museum was visited by a record number of visitors including the 3750 people who came on the one day of the Candlelight Walking Tour. People came to bring their children to see Santa, to see the fabulous gingerbread houses, and, always a favorite, to see the wonderful Christmas trees put up by the dedicated volunteers of the Robbins Hunter museum. A special favorite among the trees, moved into the Sitting Room this year, was the 1950’s themed tree with its bubble lights. Scores of visitors waiting to see the gingerbread houses commented that they remembered the lights from their childhood.
The search for the new Executive Director is well underway, with several interesting candidates. We hope to have an announcement soon.
As we move forward into 2020, we have a number of exciting and fun programs planned, including three Victoria Woodhull: Phoenix Rising round tables, the Garden Stroll and Garden Soiree, the Woman of Achievement Award celebration, the Scarecrows and, of course, the 2020 Christmas Candlelight Walking Tour.
This summer, the Museum’s collection of Clarence White photographs will be featured in a joint exhibition at The Works and the Columbus Museum of Art. The importance of White in the history of photography cannot be underestimated. He was self-taught, but with an eye that attracted the attention of the nation’s great photographers. Alfred Stieglitz came to Newark to meet him after seeing one of his images in an exhibition, and together the two brought the world of photography to Licking County. The pair hosted two exhibitions, one in 1898 and the other in 1899, that were held at the Newark YMCA. The shows featured an array of the vanguard of photography at the time. I encourage you to attend both The Works’ and Columbus Museum of Art’s exhibitions to learn more about the man who is credited as the teacher of Edward Steichen, Margaret Bourke-White, and Dorothea Lange. You will not be disappointed.
I am particularly pleased to be able to announce that we have three exciting new membership benefits:
· A 10% discount at Alfie’s Wholesome Food
· A 10% discount at Just WRITE
· Reciprocal arrangements with over a thousand museums nationwide that members can visit for free or at a reduced admission, including discounts in the museum cafes and gift shops
These benefits are in addition to all that we have offered in the past, which, depending on your membership level, include discounts on rentals of our spaces, and, of course 221 Broadway East.
Speaking of rental spaces, the wonderful Octagon room can now be rented for intimate dinner parties, luncheons, teas, or even business meetings. This is through the generosity and hard work of board member Kevin Kerr, who has done an outstanding job of preparing the room for this use. I can literally say that people who see this space gasp. The room can be rented on a do-it-yourself basis or we can handle everything for you.
2020 promises to be an exciting year, jam packed with programming and fun events. I look forward to seeing all of you as we get ready to open the doors in April.
2019 was an eventful year at the Museum through programs, tours, and our efforts to maintain the Museum and the gardens for you and future generations to enjoy. One collaboration that proved to be particularly positive for the community was the Music4U! concerts held for free in the gardens by members of the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra. The Daffodil Stroll was a resounding success. All of these programs we offer to help offset the ongoing need to support the maintenance of the Museum building, collections, and garden.
Thanks to the terms of Robbins Hunter, Jr.’s will, together with the efforts of the founding governors of the Museum, a trust fund was developed that offsets what are our highest costs: staff salaries. This fund supports our staff through a percentage of the income earned by it. Therefore, no contributed dollars or earned revenue has been used to pay salaries for our employees. The Museum receives approximately 5% of the income from the investment of the trust and the rest is reinvested under the terms of the agreement. We, the board, cannot change or alter that agreement in any way because it was established under the terms of Robbins Hunter, Jr.’s will.
The trust fund, however, does not fund maintenance of the historic Avery-Downer House, nor does it support collections, programming or operations. For these purposes we rely on contributions, memberships, and earned revenue from our programming.
We are enormously grateful for those of you who do contribute, either in time or money or both. Every dollar given counts towards the continued operations of the Museum and ensures that the legacy continues for future generations to enjoy.
Even though programming does provide revenue, no programs we offer are funded by the operating budget of the Museum. By board vote, all programs must be self-funded, so organizers understand they need to plan and project the program’s needs and account for those costs and revenue. This requires our committees to do a bit of business planning and fund-raising on their own to make sure the program enhances our mission. For example, the Phoenix Rising round table discussions are entirely self-funded and any surplus left over at the end of this year (and the program’s end) will revert to the operating budget. The Jill Griesse gardens are also funded independently of our operating budget, so no operating funds, unless allocated by a donor for the gardens, are expended in that area. We feel this is the most responsible and transparent way to handle donated funds.
In 1979, when Robbins Hunter, Jr. died, he left his splendid Greek Revival home and its contents to be a museum. As an antique collector and dealer, Hunter’s home was literally packed to the ceiling with items he had spent a lifetime collecting. To establish an endowment for the museum’s future, he also directed that properties he owned in Granville and elsewhere in Licking County be sold.
John David Jones, executor of Hunter’s estate, would spend the next ten years of his life fulfilling Hunter’s wishes. He began by gathering his friends and fellow businessmen in Granville into a committee that would become the Board of Governors. One of these, Buck Sargent, was a master at talking his friends, family, and co-workers into volunteering their help. One of the first tasks at hand was to clean out the contents of the museum, determine what should be kept and what should be sold, and then to begin renovating and repairing the building.
By 1982, the Robbins Hunter Museum began giving tours. The very first docent to lead one was Dorothy Garrett. A retired teacher, Dorothy had learned about the collections and house by serving on the committee that Sargent had formed. A historian first and foremost, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the house through time. “I believe telling people about their heritage and past enhances my own life,” she said recently. “When you are a docent, you can have a conversation about the past but you can also bring that conversation forward. You can find out about what people like and their own past experiences and build.”
In the mid-1980s, Dorothy took a break from Robbins Hunter Museum and began training to be a docent at the Columbus Museum of Art. She discovered that the Columbus institution wasn’t too concerned about what she knew about art, they were more interested in her ability to communicate well with people. “They train you about the collections – weekly classes for a year! But they wanted their docents to be able to tell the story of the art and engage visitors in the experience. I learned a lot from that.”
In 2006, Dorothy moved to Kendal and began volunteering again at the Robbins Hunter Museum. She no longer leads tours, but she remains an active presence at events. “The Robbins Hunter Museum is a neat place,” she said. “I believe in the importance of art. Just as music is best appreciated live, so is art.”
Visit the Robbins Hunter Museum Wed-Sat from 1pm-4pm through Dec 28, and during special holiday events. Who knows…you may be lucky enough to find Dorothy here too!
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!
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!
Foreword: It takes a team of people to create an exhibit as fabulous as Ordinary and Extraordinary, and many times the pieces of an exhibit are on loan from other museums and collections. The Robbins Hunter Museum (RHM) is proud to display borrowed garments, as well as undergarments belonging to the museum in the exhibition. Suzanne Kennedy has been intimately involved with preserving these textiles since they arrived at RHM from the Robinson Museum in Granville 10 years ago. We asked Suzanne to note what she thought about pieces from the collection on display in the current exhibit.
The current Ordinary and Extraordinary exhibit includes items from the museum collection, from the Granville Historical Society and from the Ohio History Connection. The collaboration enhances the result.
Undergarments in the museum collection are special for several reasons. They have a provenance or history that is well-documented as belonging to Granville and to the Devenney family of Granville. The collection is exceptional because ordinary, everyday garments were saved, as well as beautifully embellished extraordinary garments. It is unusual for a museum to have the quantity of garments covering such a long time span as those in the Robbins Hunter Museum collection. Garments in the collection cover a span from 1850 to 1920. Items from the Victorian era have been selected for display in the current exhibit.
Of particular interest is Emma Devenney’s signature in India ink on the waistband of an ordinary set of drawers (underpants). These would have been her everyday underclothes, not a fancy pair, and perhaps it was done because she was headed to the Granville Female College. The ink is permanent, and you will notice there are no blots in her signature. She was very precise while inking her signature on her regular underwear. Great insight to her personality!
Also on display are garments sewn by Charlotte Spelman while living on the first floor of the house. Charlotte made the garments for her sister, Martha Spelman Downer, whose photo is also on display. Come for a tour and learn about the Spelmans. See up close the Victorian underwear they left behind. What would they think if they knew the world was invited to take a peek?
As most know, executive director Ann Lowder retired on the 7th of September. She reports that she is enjoying not having to set her alarm clock, and that she is looking forward to travelling and spending more time with her family. She has already been on a trip to France and judged a flower show. If she is not careful, she will find herself with less personal time in retirement than she had while still working! We look forward to her continued input with some of our upcoming exhibitions. I met with her recently, along with Andrew Richmond and board member Rachel Menzer, to start hammering out the details of an exciting forthcoming exhibition on the pioneers of Ohio decorative arts and antiques collecting. Stay tuned, this will be a fun and insightful presentation that will be coming in 2021.
While Ann was in France, we installed a device that she has advocated having for years: a 26” smart high definition television. The audio-visual equipment – it is so much more than a mere TV – is capable of interfacing with I-phones, laptops and other devices. It can stream images and videos of exhibitions on our second floor, making them available to those who cannot manage stairs. This is the pinnacle for our ADA standards. It can also be used to highlight upcoming events. We are just beginning to discover all the potential and possibilities of the “smart” in our “smart television.”
One of the first events where the television’s usefulness was put to good use was Ann’s retirement party. Thirteen years of photos of Ann and her numerous friends and partners brought happy memories to the event that everyone enjoyed.
One morning while at the Museum, I had the pleasure of watching a class of kindergartners from Granville Elementary make their first attempts at cursive handwriting by following the hand of their instructor live on the television. The five-year-olds were totally immersed and clearly enjoying the experience. The television made it so much easier for them to follow in real time. Kudos to Stefanie Lauvray of Just Write for this innovative program. We are already planning this to continue, and to include all ages, for those who missed cursive classes while it was on hiatus in Ohio. I think this will be a great, fun program for all ages!
Peter Lowe, of Dawes Arboretum, made excellent use of the television one evening for his presentation of “Putting Your Garden to Bed.” The ease of use and integration with his laptop was seamless. The high definition images could be easily seen from anywhere in the room. Best of all, Peter’s wonderful commentary and deep knowledge taught every single person in the room (myself included!) a little something. We look forward to having Peter come back in the spring, and hope all our Granville gardeners will come, hear, and learn.
The “smart” television was the generous gift of the Granville Community Foundation, and for this we are tremendously grateful. The Foundation provides support for the arts, education, historic preservation and special events that truly define Granville. All of us at the Robbins Hunter Museum, its board, staff and volunteers, encourage you to support the Foundation and its programs. The Granville Community Foundation truly does make Granville special. In its short tenure at the museum, I cannot believe how much energy and enthusiasm has come forward just because of a “television”.
Editor’s Note: Many creative RHM minds turned a live and silent auction into a fun and exciting experience at the Patron Party on Friday, April 26, the evening before the Daffodil Stroll, the museum’s popular garden tour. No action item was more alluring on the auction list than an evening of biscuit making at the Buckeye Lake home of Dr. Thomas Wortham and the Rev. John Kauffman and sometime this summer, the flour will fly in their kitchen. The entire event - Patron Party, auctions, sponsorships, and garden tour - raised more than $18,000 for the museum, making this the highest net income event in the history of the museum. To take an inside look at one part of this amazing event, we asked Tom, a board member, to pen his thoughts about creating this one amazing auction item.
I love the excitement of auctions. They provide a relatively safe way to exercise that human demand for competitive behavior that is the underbelly of civilized society. Therefore, when I saw that the Robbins Hunter Museum was going to hold an auction in connection with its recent Garden-Day celebrations, I mentioned to my husband John that we should contribute something. “Not our home,” he quickly replied, reminding me of the request from a local charity a year or two ago that we should vacate Heronroost, our house at Buckeye Lake, for a few days so that someone else could enjoy its views and cool breezes.
Still we did want to participate in this new venture of the museum. But how? John is a Master Gardener, and we are both great admirers of the gardens that Laura Burchfield is helping to create on the museum grounds. “We’ll figure out something,” he promised, “something that won’t require us to be homeless.”
A few days later we were having dinner with our friends Lucy Porter and Ann Lowder and the challenge of the auction came up in conversation. Silence descended. Ann, always the master in these situations, was the first to break the silence: “Why don’t you share Regina Charboneau’s method for making flaky butter biscuits, and then allow your guests to practice their new skills at a party at Heronroost.”
Even more than auctions, I like Regina Charboneau, whom the New York Times has called the “biscuit-queen of Natchez.” She is an amazingly talented woman with whom John and I became friends during my host duties on several UCLA-sponsored alumni trips on the “American Queen,” the stately luxury paddle boat on the Mississippi. At the time, Regina was the vessel’s Executive Chef, and one of the shore excursions was always a visit to “Twin Oaks,” her Antebellum house in Natchez, where Regina would entertain “Southern Style,” the star of which for me was a heaping plate of her deliciously wicked ham biscuits.
The Rev. John Kauffman and the “biscuit queen of Natchez”, Regina Charboneau, in her kitchen at Twin Oaks in Natchez, Miss.
I love good biscuits, and it came as no surprise to our friends that John and I both quickly fell in love with Regina. We have been guests in her house on several occasions, and so it was just a matter of time before the day came when she called John into her kitchen with these magic words, “Let’s make biscuits.” I doubt if Virginia was any happier when she was told that there was indeed a Santa Claus.
Now every good son or daughter of the South has a recipe for biscuits (in my case make that grandson). My juvenile culinary creations even won a prize at the Kansas State Fair in 1959, a recipe that I later demonstrated on a local television station (yes, those were simpler times). John, on the other hand, hasn’t a drop of Southern blood in his veins; he’s just a good cook.
So the matter was settled: we’d teach the lucky bidders how to make Regina’s biscuits. It was our sacred duty. After all, hadn’t I told our neighbors in California when we announced our plans to retire in Ohio where we’d do “missionary work” among the natives?
We’ll begin the afternoon with mint juleps fortified by trays of Regina’s cheese coins and ham biscuits. Then proceed to the Kitchen Aide mixers lined up at attention in our kitchen ready for battle, the spoils of which will be boxes of biscuits for each of our guests to take home. After these Herculean labors, we’ll retreat to our deck for a victory dinner. Of course, the ever reliable Ohio weather will be perfect that day, but the next morning I shall probably wonder, “Where did all this flour on the counters and floors of the kitchen come from?”
On second thought, perhaps we had better wait until the biscuits are done and the flour returned to it canister before we serve the libations.
