PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
BANK 419 … Bank419, a sponsor of the community celebration, had members of its team helping behind the bar inside the newly renovated annex.
CHAUTAUQUAS … Displays share information about the Chautauquas held in Metamora from 1911 through 1929.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
Rain changed some of the plans Saturday, Aug. 15, but it did not stop people from visiting the Heritage House for a free community celebration marking America’s 250th birthday.
Presented by Bank419 and the Metamora Area Historical Society, the event included Heritage House tours, local history exhibits, free ice cream and drinks, games and a basket raffle.
A table highlighting the history of Metamora’s Chautauquas remained on display, along with the tent for the basket raffle, while lawn games stayed set up for use in between the rain.
Historical society member Jane Dominique said attendance remained fairly strong despite the weather. “The rain did not keep people away, so that was good,” Dominique said.
The celebration also gave visitors an opportunity to see the newly renovated annex, which Dominique described as the newest addition to the Heritage House. “We were really looking forward to this,” she said.
Inside the annex, visitors could see an original bar acquired from a former Metamora tavern, along with panels from the Ohio Tavern, which once stood along the Ohio-Michigan state line.
The annex also featured a recently conserved 48-star American flag and a tribute to local musician Bill Champion, with music from his Buffalo Swing Band playing during the event.
Another featured item was the original Metamora school bell, which hung at the school from 1911 until an addition was built in 1932.
The bell later ended up at the former Fulton County museum building in Wauseon.
Dominique said she and John Swearingen eventually arranged for the bell to return to Metamora in exchange for architectural pieces saved from the former school.
Those pieces were incorporated into the entrance of the current county museum, while the bell now sits in the Heritage House yard.
The Chautauqua display recalled the programs held in Metamora from 1911 through 1929.
Dominique said the Chautauqua movement brought education, religion, entertainment and public speakers to communities throughout the country during the early 1900s.
For Dominique, the Chautauqua exhibit reflects the larger purpose of the Heritage House. “Our job is to bring back some of the old, old histories,” she said.
That effort also depends on community members trusting the society to preserve items connected to Metamora’s past.
“The community’s excited about it,” Dominique said. “And I think they love knowing that if they have something that they want to make sure is preserved for the future, they want us to have it.”
