Christmas is coming to Lebanon Ohio

This morning the air is crisp and cold, the sun is shining and the City of Lebanon's work crew is busy hanging Christmas wreaths from our street lights.

Wreath and a big red bow hooked on to the lift truck

Its a struggle to get the life truck past the crab tree

It's only November 14, but its just such a perfect day for working outside provided you are dressed warmly - and these guys know how to dress for the cold!

Three men and a lift truck make short work of the process of hanging a big wreath and a big red bow.
One man drives the truck, one rides the bucket up to the pole carrying the wreath and one climbs the ladder to help position the wreath properly.

One guy on a ladder and one on the lift truck

Across the street a crew is hanging lights on the big Christmas tree in Christmas Tree Park.  There's a fountain in the center of the park draped with lights.  The water is turned off for the winter so the lights give the affect of water falling in the fountain.  It is always a pretty site here in the center of town with the fountain and the Christmas tree all covered in lights and ornaments.

Catty-cornered from the park is the venerable Golden Lamb Inn, the oldest continuously operating business in Ohio. The Lamb, as the locals call it, will be decked out for Christmas as will all the quaint little shop fronts up and down Broadway and Mulberry Streets.  We love Christmas in Lebanon, Ohio.

Gingerbread House Display and Contest

Gingerbread House in process.  Puppy chow on the roof is so cool!

This month its all about the gingerbread house contest.  We stole this idea from Pittsburgh where the contest is so popular that they have had to limit the number of entries to 400!

Each of the entry fees for our contest will  be donated to the Big Brother and Sisters of Warren & Clinton Counties.

The gingerbread houses will be on display at the Warren County History Center from November 28 through December 6.  Then the winners of each category will be on display at Glendower historic mansion through December 28th. Get all the information about the contest at our website at wchsmuseum.org.

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Gingerbread House Display and Contest

Antique Children's Chairs

People have been buying their little children child sized chairs for hundreds of years.  Here at the Warren County History Center we have a great collection of 19th and early 20th century children's chairs. Some have seen a lot of use, but we love them regardless.

Children's Chairs at the Warren County History Center

You can just imagine a family sitting on their porch with a pretty little girl rocking demurely in this wicker rocker circa 1890 to 1910. The little Windsor style chair looks like it might have been designed for sitting at table or desk.

Wicker Rocker and Windsor like desk chair.

This little rocking chair was a nice little Eastlake style child's rocking chair circa 1850 to 1870 but someone replaced what would have been a fancy upholstered seat and back with a 1920's or 30's piece of molded wood.  I'd love to get this chair restored, but as it is today it tells a story - probably somebody's grandpa from the 1930's making do! 

Re muddled child's Eastlake style rocking chair . 

P. Buckley Moss at Glendower

I've always liked P. Buckley Moss' work but now that I've had a chance to meet her in person, I like her all the more.  She is a delightful, upbeat, gracious and fun lady - and that's a tall order, but she fills it very well.

Last evening we hosted a meet and greet for Ms. Moss at Glendower historic mansion to celebrate her recent painting Colors of Glendower.  We are all so thrilled that Pat Moss chose to paint our beloved house museum, have prints made and have them available for sale through the Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, OH.  Laura at Canada Goose has bowled us over with her generosity, donating 20% of the sale of each print to Glendower.  Laura has agreed to make the print available for sale at Glendower during Christmas at Glendower beginning December 5 but of course you can always get the print at the Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, Ohio.

Time for Tea and Etiquette

Cucumber infused water with lemon and mint

We've been planning the menu part of the Princess Tea and Charm School event this Saturday and we know we will have little cucumber sandwiches and some sweet cakes of some kind. There will be compound bread and butter sandwiches and maybe cream puffs. But what to drink?  Tea right?

Well, yes. But what about a cold drink? It is summer after all.   Fruit infused water drinks are becoming popular and what little girl doesn't need to learn about cucumbers for cooling puffy eyes. We've been serving cucumber water at Glendower for teas thanks to volunteer Mark Howard who always makes a good sized batch. It's addictive.  The watermelon version sounds good as well. It seems that watermelon has some added benefit for your health in hot weather.

 

Add a little watermelon to the cucumber water. It's refreshing and good for you too.

Princess Tea and Charm School Boot Camp

Places are filling up fast for the Princess Tea and Charm School Boot Camp for next Saturday, June 28th from 1:30 to 3:30.  Girls ages 6 to 8 will learn how to act like a real princess with etiquette lessons, crafts, tea and nibbles and lots more. For more information see Princess Tea and Charm School Boot Camp

The cost is just $20.00 per girl.

Who Visits The Warren County History Center?

The Warren County History Center in Harmon Hall

It's summer and that means people will travel, and Governor Kasich and the Ohio Tourism Board want people to travel to Ohio.  Destination marketing is a hot topic.  Governor Kasich wants to make Ohio a destination state like Texas or Florida so that folks will come to Ohio from all over the country in great numbers and spend lots of money. More outside dollars coming to Ohio helps us all.

We at the Warren County History Center are doing our part. From Memorial Day weekend through today (June 13) individuals and families from California, Washington state, Tennessee, Michigan, Brazil (the country) and Mexico (the country) have visited our History Center.   We've also welcomed visitors from Maineville, Cincinnati, Morrow, Springboro, Beavercreek, Kettering, Dayton, Oakwood, Centerville, Englewood, Highland and Hillsboro.

1920's dress with rhinestone decorations.

It is not at all unusual for Warren County History Center to have visitors from out of state. The Golden Lamb Inn is a famous destination and many people want to do something other than eat and shop when they visit Lebanon, so they very often find their way here. In fact we book many groups who are visiting the History Center in the morning, having lunch at the Golden Lamb, then going to Glendower mansion in the afternoon.

 The editor of Travel & Leisure magazine encourages families to pick vacation destinations that have a lot of museums and cultural attractions. Families who visit museums build longer lasting memories from those visits than to other attractions. Also, people who visit museums tend to be better educated, spend more money at a destination and stay a day or so longer in any given community.  

Turtlecreek Summer Music Festival

What could be more fun than a FREE classic rock n' roll concert held in the great out doors.  

From Shaker Clothes Pegs to Artisan Clothes Pins

One of the reason we revere the Shakers (United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing) is that in the process of creating Heaven on earth they invented many wonderful little items that we still find useful today.  One of those items was the clothes peg.  Attaching clothes to a line so that they dry smooth and evenly seems only common sense to us, but until  the Shakers in America invented the clothes peg, most people draped their wet clothes over bushes and other handy objects.  The Shaker clothes peg had no springs like the modern clothespin, but it works for most light weight clothes and sheets pretty well.

Handcrafted clothespins from Classic American Clothespins.

The spring loaded clothespin we know today was invented in the 19th century.  It was a staples of laundry day for generations.  Several American companies manufactured clothespins, but as has happened lately, they were forced out of business by cheap imported (Chinese) clothes pins that fall apart if you are not very careful with them. They also can fall apart on a windy day leaving your clean sheets in the grass. The wood is light weight and the springs are inferior. You need a lot of them to make sure your clothes stay on the line and once they break you cannot put them back together, but they are cheap.

Then in 2012 one husband finally listened to his wife's lament about the cheap clothespins she was forced to use and decided to do something about it.  The Classic American Clothespin Company was born out of the desperate need that often accompanies a new venture in this country. The Classic American Clothespin Company started selling hand crafted clothes pins in 2013.  These are artisan clothespins and if you are lucky enough to be able to buy any, they will cost you $2.00 a piece! However, the company is not greedy and is willing to sell you either a kit to assemble your own (also now sold out) and even the diagrams and instructions to hand craft your own from start to finish. Read all about it at www.classicamericanclothespins.com.

The evolution of the Shaker clothes peg.

Downton Abbey Style Graduation Dress

Louise Herrick's 1928 high school graduation dress.

Our Downton Abbey in America version 2 exhibit opened this month. The exhibit features Downton Abbey quality dresses of the 1920's all from the collection of the Warren County History Center.  The graduation dress in the above picture is made of silk satin with silk satin roses decorating the skirt and the left shoulder. This dress reminds us very much of the dress Lady Rose wore to be presented to the King and Queen of England.  Lady Rose's dress had the same drop waist with a gathered skirt, although her dress was floor length.

Exhibit Honors Law Enforcement in Lebanon, OH

Police Badges from the Lebanon Police Department Exhibit

Each May for the last several years, Traci Gallagher who is a dispatcher for the Lebanon Police Department puts together a memorial program honoring one of Lebanon's past Marshals. This year's event honors Marshal Elmer E. Smith and takes place May 13 at the Lebanon Cemetery, Section H at 6:00 pm. The event is open to the public.

In addition, Ms. Gallagher has produced an exhibit of the history of the Lebanon Police Department. The exhibit which includes pictures, newspaper articles and other historical information about the history of law enforcement in Lebanon, is currently on display at the Warren County History Center.  The History Center is located at 105 S. Broadway in Lebanon, next door to the Lebanon Public Library. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:00 pm and Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm. Admission is adults $7, seniors 65 and older $6 and students under 18 $4.

Marshal Smith served from 1903 to 1909

Pioneer Cemetery Tour Date Change

When is this year's Pioneer Cemetery Tour?

The annual tour  of Lebanon's Pioneer Cemetery will take place Friday evening, May 16th beginning at 8:00 pm.  The tour was originally scheduled for May 9 but conflicts with the opening night festivities of the Lebanon Theatre Company's new play. 

Historian John Zimkus leads the tour introducing guests to more than a dozen of Lebanon's most famous pioneers.  Members of the Glendower Historic Characters portray the dear departed in costume.  Paid reservations in advance are required.  Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students under 18.  Call 513-932-1817 to place your order.


   

City Councilman Stephen Kaiser portraying Matthias Corwin.