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Heritage Societytions.Cuff’s passion for antique quilts began at a flea market in Knoxville, Tenn., when he could not decide among three quilts. He bought all three and has since assembled an impressive collection of quilts, specializing in Mennonite and Amish examples.Some of his collection, which includes quilts from both sides of his family, has appeared in Quilt Engagement Calendar, Centre College of Kentucky Fine Arts Center and the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City.Napoleon Public Library 310 W. Clinton St.The first stop on the tour is Napoleon Public Library, which opened in 1906 as a reading room in the home of T.G. and Sarah Clay on Woodlawn Avenue, site of the current Carnegie building.According to records, “music, shorts speeches and general sociability” vere offered.Charge for its use was 25 cents for a three-month period, and Anna Lauerman was librarian.In 1907, the library moved down town above the Rohrs Racket Store, and later that year, an official library organization was formed and opened in Union School with Clara Fisk as librarian.Subsequent moves were to McGill’s Electric Light Office in 1908 after a fire, to a room above Fisk’s Grocery on West Washington Street in 1909, to Orva Reiter’s home in 1910 and back to aboveFisk’s Grocery in 1911.The Clay property was purchased in 1911 by Napoleon Village Council for $3,000, and the library had a permanent home.The Carnegie Library was built with a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation and opened in 1913. First librarian at the new location was Ora Sheffield.In 1923, the facility became a school district public library, and property was transferred to the library trusteesLibrarians through the years included Evelyn Ferris, Rosemary Nestleroad, Leopold Gergely, Faith Stoughton and Ada Wells.In 1960, the trustees purchased the adjacent St. Paul Lutheran School property for $90,000, and the present library was dedicated in 1965. The Carnegie structure is used to store older books and periodicals.Pamela Leiser was appointed director in 1982 and also oversees branch libraries in Florida and McClure.Current board of trustees is: George Kryder, president; MaryFran Meekison, vice president; Elizabeth Tuttle, secretary; Berna-dine Roessing, Leo Snyder, James Funkhouser and William Palmer.The Mitchell home 544 High St.When E.P. (Bud) and Florence Mitchell bought this home in 1960 from Leo Snyder Jr., it had been divided into a duplex.The Mitchells restored it to a one-family residence and made several changes.They removed a wall dividing the living room and dining room; a hall leading from the entry to the kitchen was closed and converted to a guest closet; the open stairway leading to the second floor landing was enclosed to conserve heat, the original banister was preserved: two of the seven kitchen doorways were eliminated.A massive chimney between the kitchen and living room suggests the house once had a fireplace.Of the Queen Anne style, the house features a steeply hipped roof with lower cross gabies and patterned brickwork with relativelylittle wooden detailing. The full two-story wrap-around porch is uncommon in the Napoleon area.The walls are three bricks thick, and the entranceway is oak. The windows in the sunroom are beveled glass as is the oval window in the front door.The house was built in 1908 for the Henry Rohrs family.Rohrs was among the German immigrants who played an important role in the early history of Napoleon. Originally a farmer, Rohrs later held several posts in Henry County government.His son. Dr. Henry Rohrs (1875-1941) was a noted Napoleon physician, establishing his practice in 1898 and later becoming a specialist in x-ray diagnosis and treatment as a surgeon.The home remained in the Rohrs family for several decades.Mrs. Mitchell is employed at Henry County Department of Human Services, and her husband works at Service Station Supply Co. Also residing in the home is Anna Fitzenreiter, Mrs. Mitchell’s mother.The Mitchells have three married daughters, Ann, Sharon and Carol.The Thielman home509 W Clinton St.This house was built in 1936-37 for Henry and Edna Thielman. parents of the current owner, Walt.The Tudor style of architecture is characterized by steeply pitched gables, rounded or arched doorways and multiple group windows with multi-paned glazing, commonly located on or below the main gable.An unusual feature at the time this house was built was the use of asbestos siding, which only has been repainted twice in its 50 years.An older and smaller house on the lot was moved to 621 Jefferson St. before construction could begin.Cost to build the home was $12,-000, and carpenters reportedly were paid 75 cents per hour. Carpenters included Fred, George and Austin Tuttle and Fred Zahrend. Roger Tuttle was electrician.Lumber was purchased from Thiesen and Hildred Lumber Co. of Napoleon, and the wrought iron railings are from Art Iron Co., To-The Marketeer, September 8, 1986—3(Continued from page 2)ledo.Over the years, there has been very little change to the original structure. Only the fireplace mantle has been altered. The original birch woodwork has not been refinished and remains in beautiful condition.The bathroom fixtures and ceramic tile also are the same as were installed 50 years ago.The late Henry Thielman started Napoleon’s Shell Oil distributor ship, a family business Walt has continued.Walt has a sister, Betty Thoring-ton, who was married in this house, and a brother, Ron, of Toledo. Walt and his wife, Byrde, have two sons, Doug and Bill, both of Texas.The Frey home630 W. Washington St.Built in 1874 for Philip Hanch at a reported cost of only $300, this resi-(Page 4, please;VINYL REPLACEMENT WINDOWS STORM WINDOWS * DOORS CLASS FURNITURE TOPS STORM WINDOW REPAIR PATIO DOOR GLASS INSULATED GLASS SCREEN REPAIRAwnroffs m glass fon evsav runrostCall Jim “The Window Man”NAPOLRON GLASS A MIRRORJim Enos, Prop.37 Yoars Experience210 E. Riverview NopolvonPh. 592-7270
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Defiance Marketeer
Defiance, Ohio, US
Mon, Sep 08, 1986
Page 3
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USA 12 May 2021
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