Mary Haven Still Stalled

A year ago our Board of Trustees toured Mary Haven Orphan's Asylum and Children's Home.  We were curious to see if the building was still strong enough to be preserved, conserved or at least moth balled for future re-purposing.

We were all very surprised to find the building in relatively good shape considering the vandalism it had suffered in the last couple of years.  There was a little water in the basement due to the fact that all the copper drain pipes had been stolen and not replaced. A couple of rooms had water damage because the roof had some major holes and was leaking into the building. But by and large, the building sat firm on its stone foundations.  A few rooms had water damage but mostly the walls were in good shape and the floors seemed firm.  New, inexpensive drain pipes and some covering of the holes in the roof would have gone a long way to preserving the building.  It also needed a good cleaning as vagrants had used it as a dumping ground for trash. 

Our Board was ready to start looking for a partner for the restoration and re-use of Mary Haven. The Attorney General of the State of Ohio was expected to find some workable solution regarding the outdated Klingling Trust by the end of April, and we were prepared to move forward at that time. In the meantime we mounted an exhibit about Mary Ann Klingling and Mary Haven at our museum (its still in place and can be viewed during regular museum hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to  4pm).

It's almost a year later and the Attorney General's office still hasn't acted. The Warren County Commissioners hands are tied. The little bit of  money from the original 1867 trust has long since been used to care for the building and the County has been footing the bill for many years out of tax payer dollars.  In the meantime record rains have wrecked havoc on the roof and now the damage to the building is more than serious.  We can't really fault the Commissioners for not spending money to secure the building.  With the economic down turn, it might have been considered irresponsible to spend money to care for a building rather than the people of the county. 

At the same time, to tear down the building would be a waste of a good resource. Mary Haven could become anything from a beautiful development of apartments within the building, to a school, to a center for the arts, just to name a few re-use ideas.  I don't believe for one second that the old saw "its more cost effective to build new then to renovate old" is anything but a bunch of you know what!  A builder who tells me that is not a true craftsman and doesn't have his community's welfare at heart. 

If you would like more information contact us at the Warren County History Center, 513-932-1817 or wchs@wchsmuseum.org. 

Lynley's Sugar Cream Pie

At the dusting party last week, everyone brought a dish to share - each was assigned either salad, side, dessert or roles. Our Archivist/Assit. Curator, Lynley Culpepper brought this delicious pie. It's her son's favorite dessert and reminded us all of creme brulee but without the eggs. Enjoy!

Lynley's Sugar Cream Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 baked pastry pie shell

4 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons melted butter

2 1/4 cups half and half (you can use whole milk but it won't be a creamy)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon white sugar

Directions: Preheat your oven's broiler to high.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat combine cornstarch, sugar, butter and half and half.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens to a pudding like consistency. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.   Pour cream mixture into the prepared pie shell. Pour 2 tablespoons melted butter over the pie distributing as evenly as possible. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar evenly. Cover exposed pastry edges with pie ring or a foil ring and broil the pie for one minute or until butter bubbles. Don't let it burn.  Remove pie from oven, refrigerate for at least two hours to firm the filling.

Note:  You could probably substitute a graham cracker crust for the pastry, but pastry is more traditional.





Murder Mystery Wedding Reception Sold Out

As of the end of business today our joint fundraiser with the Lebanon Theatre Company is sold out! Every other February we stage a murder mystery dinner theatre at the museum. This year the play is called "I'm Getting Murdered in the Morning".  It's  a wedding reception with a murder in the middle of it.  The event takes place at our Lebanon Conference & Banquet Center on February 11. 

The staff is busy planning the reception. The color scheme is white and silver with a few touches of pink.  The meal is a catered buffet and there will be wedding cake for dessert.  And a murder mystery to solve of course.