Patrons of the Carnegie Library in Chillicothe come and go every day under the watchful eye of an eagle. They read their newspapers and move through the stacks carefully choosing what next to read, perhaps without ever questioning why there’s an old metal weathervane hanging high on the wall beyond their reach.
That’s not just any old weathervane, the librarian says it’s the one that was installed over the first Ross County Courthouse in 1801. At some point, during the nation’s centennial year, it was displayed in the library on the top floor of the city building where it stayed until it was moved to above the circulation desk in the newly opened Carnegie Library in 1907.
The library has since been remodeled, the circulation desk moved and the weather vane has been moved to another wall in the original part of the library.
This weathervane is deeply intertwined in the library’s history as much as it is in the city’s history and in the state’s history as well. After all, this old eagle stood sentinel over Ohio’s first and third capital city for many years. That’s why it was exhibited at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus during the opening reception of a new Ohio Constitution display in 2018.
You have to wonder what it has seen over all these years.
The glass industry has long been an important part of Ohio’s economy. In Lancaster, you will find the Ohio Glass Museum which celebrates the glass industry and the pieces that make our world more beautiful and functional every day.
While their mission is to tell the story of Ohio’s glass industry, their current focus is on Lancaster’s famed Anchor Hocking Glass Company. There’s an impressive exhibit that runs through this August.
We were fortunate to have a really great tour guide, a fellow who once worked as the head of new products for Anchor Hocking. He told us the story of how the company came to be with tremendous reverence for founder I.J. Collins who most people in town just called Mister Collins. He told us a little about his own career traveling to far flung places across the country and the globe. He talked about the impact this company had in Lancaster and how it survived the Depression years.
They have some gorgeous pieces of Anchor Hocking glass including some that I grew up with and a few things I didn’t even know existed. Honestly though, the best part to me was our tour guide’s storytelling style and knowledge. He had a lot to say about Mister Collins, a small town boy from Maryland who learned and developed a passion for glass making around the turn of the 20th century. He ended up opening his own factory in Lancaster in 1905 after the local factory he worked for closed. Mister Collins kept that business going through the Depression, selling his goods for cheap just to keep his workers employed. He focused on developing the colored glass that would be known as Depression glass. It’s still highly collectible and a favorite among glass lovers.
Mister Collins rebuilt his factory in less than six months after a terrible fire leveled the first. When his glass jars didn’t sell, he started using them to bottle mustard that did sell. He was the first to approach baby food companies and suggest they bottle rather than can baby food. He then purchased another factory that made caps for his bottles. The man was smart and savvy and he clearly loved his job..
Our tour guide said that Lancaster didn’t feel the Depression to the extent other places did. That’s because Mister Collins kept his people working and money continued to be exchanged in the city. Our guide referred to the city being under a literal and figurative glass dome that shielded them from the horrors and hardships of those terrible years.
When I asked about his favorite piece, he showed us something he helped to develop. It’s pictured here.
Allow more time than you think you need. This isn’t a large museum but they have packed in a lot of things to admire. By the time we bought tickets, did the tour and watched a glass blowing demonstration, we were there for close to two hours.
Admission is just six bucks. There are other museums and nice shops for your entertainment in downtown Lancaster. Maria’s Mexican Restaurant, just up the street from the museum, is located in the old Elks Lodge, a gorgeous 1919 era stone building with beautiful windows and fantastic atmosphere. The food is good and the prices are decent too.
Want to learn more about the Ohio Glass Museum? Click here.
You’ll find Maria’s Mexican restaurant at this link.
These vintage kids’ clothes were available for sale at an antique mall in Muncie, Indiana back in April. The clothesline picture I shared a few days ago reminded me of this image.
As a child of the seventies, I’m still a little surprised anytime someone refers to seventies and eighties items as vintage. Antiques dealers typically consider an item vintage if it’s forty years or older.
Given my age, I suppose I am vintage as well. Of course, that’s a little better than being an antique!
Happy Thursday, friends!
People in Greenfield, Ohio are waking up this morning with a nagging question on their minds.
Who was that blond in the black shirt at alumni yesterday? She looked familiar but no one knew her.
That’s because I more or less crashed their alumni day just to see inside their gorgeous high school. To be fair, the high school open house was open to the public but it was a sea of people with name tags like – “Bill, Class of 62” and Shannon, Class of 94.”
One of them seemed to think he knew me and struck up a conversation. I’m a little ashamed to say that I didn’t confess to being a tourist. Honestly, I was having such a fun time I hated to out myself!
What brought me to this place?
My lovely reader Christine Lewis recommended that I take a tour of Greenfield’s McClain High School. She said that it’s a beautiful old building filled with artwork and she said it is the kind of place I would enjoy.
Christine was not wrong. This place is like no high school I’ve ever seen. It is magnificent.
Built in 1914, this brick three story behemoth was a gift to the community from inventor and industrialist Edward Lee McClain.
The building resembles an art museum with its marble staircase, murals, statues and hundreds of works of art in seemingly every nook and cranny.
The wood floors are almost blindingly shiny and the light is stunning.
The pool was built in 1923 and is believed to be the oldest high school pool still in use. The theater has a balcony that overlooks a large stage, pipe organ and gorgeous friezes that line the side walls.
The water fountains! Oh, how I loved them. They are backed by Rookwood tile from Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood.
And the library! The library is anchored by two large murals and lined with busts of influential classic writers and paintings that depict them.
The old card catalog is no longer in use but it’s still there.
Plus, they still have the old bell system. I really liked this space.
Not to mention, the classrooms are pretty fabulous too.
I learned some things about Mr. McClain but my favorite factoid is that he built this school for all high school students in the community. There was no mention of race, religion, nationality or anything else. This school was integrated in 1914 – a full fifty years before most in southern Ohio.
What a gift to the community – not just the building but all it stood for in terms of equality and even access to beauty and art in a rural community where museums would not be easily accessible.
One thing I noticed is that they have done a nice job of keeping up with the times while honoring the integrity of the history and the artistry of this place. For example, the classrooms still have the original wood framed chalk boards. They also have white boards and technology tools that make the classrooms functional and modern.
The place buzzed with people surrounding the various alumni activities but I managed to find some quiet spaces. Those spaces felt different. They felt solemn and important. Those quiet places with dim light and antique features felt sacred. It felt like a cathedral of learning and I hope the students who get to learn there appreciate their surroundings.
I never would have known to go without Christine’s tip and I am grateful that she thought of me. If you ever get a chance to tour McClain High School – GO. You won’t regret it.
There’s a great new vintage shop in downtown Logan, Ohio. Vintage en Vogue is a neat boutique packed with antiques, vintage items, art, decor and even some clothes and accessories.
Everything seems to be good quality and the prices are fair.
It’s also staged so beautifully that I wanted to linger a while. I’m saving for some upcoming adventures but wanted to support them so I bought a cute sunflower T-shirt with the promise to go back again soon.
The owner was delightful and so very welcoming that I imagine there will be a return trip in my near future. You should check them out too!
Find Vintage en Vogue at 45 West Main Street in Logan and be sure to follow them on Facebook too. While you’re in town, check out the other downtown shops as well as the Logan Antique Mall on Rt. 664.