Kelso House News Update
Mark Your Calendar
Ice Cream Social and Picnic at the Kelso House
On Sunday, August 1, 2010, the Kelso House Ice Cream Social and Picnic will be held on the front lawn of the historic Kelso House in Brimfield. The Brimfield Historical Society's major fund-raising event will feature a barbecued chicken meal with all the trimmings catered by Mike's Place Restaurant of Kent.
Adults eat for $9, children under 10 for $5. Call the Museum at 330-673-1058 or e-mail curator@kelsohouse.org to make reservations. The deadline for ordering is Monday, July26. The picnic lunch will be available from 1 p.m. until 3.
Purchase tickets for the ice cream treats during the social. Frank's Ice Cream in Brimfield will provide the ice cream and Home Savings Bank of Brimfield the toppings.
This year's event features a Chinese auction. Prizes available will include an assortment of gift certificates, gift baskets, rounds of golf, garden accessories, and items from local establishments. Special this year will be a rides in a Brimfield fire truck, and two chances to win a ride a Brimfield police cruiser as part of the Brimfest parade on September 18. Extra special will be a chance to join Field High School Head Football Coach Patrick Youel as a guest in the locker room and on the sideline during a home game.
Tickets will be three for $1 or 20 for $5, with the drawings starting at 2:45 p.m. Tickets for a 50/50 raffle will also be available.
Purchase all tickets for the drawings on the day of the event. All proceeds will benefit Brimfield Historical Society programs.
At the Annual Meeting of the Membership:
New Trustees Elected, Year Reviewed
The annual meeting of the membership of the Brimfield Historical Society got underway on Monday, June 21, 2010 as President of the Trustees, Frank Susi, recognized Lawrence Bryner, the first president of this organization and reminded everyone of the many changes the association has seen as it has grown. Frank pointed out that this yearly event provides an update on the past year’s achievements as well as electing new members of the Board of Trustees. He noted that bringing in fresh talent fortifies our efforts to play a key role in the development and relevancy of this organization to the community and its history.
Helena Parry arranged and decorated the tables with an imaginative tropical motif. She also lead the way in helping our grounds and gardens look good.
Judi Allen, our curator, pulled many pieces of information together for the evening’s program. Also saluted were Elizabeth Phillip, designer and installer of the exhibit of agricultural implements now mounted in the Michael-Cable Barn and Jim Winkler, who oversees the care and maintenance of our grounds and facilities.
Following the guidelines spelled out in our By-Laws, the following individuals were elected to serve three-year terms on our Board of Trustees:
- Christopher Balan earned a degree in organizational management from Malone University. He works for Bass Security Services of Cleveland and is a past president of the Hudson Junior Chamber of Commerce. Chris, his wife and three children reside in Brimfield.
- John Burnell re-joins the Board for another term. He is a self-employed stone mason and member of the adjunct faculty at Ursuline College where he teaches courses related to historic preservation. Last winter John organized and hosted the Robbie Burns Night celebration in the Heritage Room.
- In 2006 Anthony Russo relocated to this area from Buffalo, NY. Tony earned a degree in Business Administration at the State University of New York at Alfred and works in technical sales in the food industry. Tony resides in Brimfield with his wife, Michelle, and their two children. We welcome and congratulate these new trustees and look forward to their participation. Their terms officially begin on September 1, 2010.
Three Board members will complete their terms this August:
- Diane Bowman, a past president of the association, currently serves as our corresponding secretary. Regular attendees of Kelso House functions will recognize her kind manner, friendly disposition, and willingness to serve this organization.
- Barbara Bryner, also a former president, completes a term as Vice President. She serves as chair of the Accessions and Archives Committee. Barbara and husband Lawrence provided great leadership on the ad hoc committee that reviewed and revised our Constitution and By-Laws last year. Her contributions on committees, work days and at social functions are invaluable.
- Nancy Rodd, our current treasurer, has spearheaded fundraising efforts for the School Arch project and obtained donations for many of our events. We especially appreciate her help in identifying items in our new Michael-Cable Barn exhibit. She has been an enormous help with the McCormick and Silent Auctions and at Kelso House events.
In closing, Dr. Susi reminded everyone that the upcoming membership drive begins on the first of August. He asked that we all play a part in increasing our numbers by serving as ambassadors of this organization, renewing or upgrading our memberships, and encouraging neighbors, family members and friends to join, too.
From the Annual Meeting
Highlights of this Year's Activities
Since last June’s meeting of the membership, many activities and initiatives have shaped the form and function of the Brimfield Historical Society and our Kelso House Museum. Some of our achievements since last year’s meeting of the membership:
- In memory of Mary Russell, a pink dogwood tree was planted near the back porch of the Kelso House.
- Jim Winkler oversaw repairing, painting and replacement of first floor carpeting in the south apartment of the Saxe house. He also lead efforts to upgrade the driveway from SR 43, installed a new mailbox adjacent to the Kelso House driveway, increased the number of parking spaces in our lot and straightened and painted the fence around the Kelso House yard.
- Our 2009 summer intern, Maggie Bullock, worked on the McCormick accessions and installed the innovations exhibit displayed in the exhibit room on the first floor gallery of the Kelso House.
- The Silent Auction and Ice Cream Social had huge support from many private and commercial donors. Ron Jones and Gary Rodd organized the erection and take down of the large tent. Attendance was good and $1420 was added to our treasury.
- At the meeting of the membership preceding the auction, attendees voted to approve our name change to the Brimfield Historical Society.
- As the school year began, Judi Allen resumed the Kelso Kids’ Club and the History Club educational programs for youngsters. Also, Elizabeth Phillip joined our staff as an intern and Laura Kraft volunteered every Saturday as she waited to begin graduate school.
- Judy McCarron organized material from Edgar McCormick’s collection in a searchable database.
- Electrician Mike Justice assisted by Jim Winkler, split the electric service in the two apartments in the Saxe House. Renters now pay individually for the power they use.
- The traditional Election Day Dinner received good support from our membership and the community. Mike Kostensky, owner of Mike’s Place Restaurant in Kent donated and catered the chicken and biscuit meal. The old fashioned slice of homemade pie made by members for dessert continued as a popular part of the meal.
- Virginai Brearly, representing the Brimfield Gals, presented the BHS with a check for the School Arch project.
- The Board approved a contract with a pest control service for the Kelso House.
- Carl Ebie of C&S Heating and Cooling of Brimfield completed replacement of the furnaces and duct work in the Saxe House.
- Barbara Bryner organized and hosted the Holiday Gathering. For the first time, invitations were extended to all members of the organization. At the business meeting, attendees voted to adopt a series of amendments to the BHS Constitution.
- In January, John Burnell organized and hosted the Robbie Burns Night celebration in the McCormick Heritage Room.
- At the conclusion of the membership drive in January, our roster stood at 172.
- The Valentine’s Day Social was organized and hosted by Helena Parry and assisted by Nancy and Gary Rodd. Attendees socialized, played games, and enjoyed tasty snacks.
- At the February Board meting, Gary Rodd lead a brainstorming session that focused on planning for the future.
- The Board approved a uniform policy on rental rates for the Heritage Room.
- Jim Winkler introduced a plan to upgrade the small windows in the Heritage Room. The cost for one window unit is $56. He and John Burnell will donate the labor needed for this project.
- Judi Allen coordinated our annual Easter Egg Hunt. We saw a great turnout of youngsters and parents. Special age bracket prizes were awarded by the Brimfield Police Department.
- Helena Parry, association historian, tended the various gardens around the Kelso House, submitted articles and photos for publication in the Kelso Courier and the Record Courier, hosted the Valentine’s Day Social and lead the spring clean-up days.
- In addition to generating 32 pages of minutes from our board meetings, association secretary Barbara Susi served on several committees and submitted review articles and photos for the Kelso Courier.
- The current exhibit of old time tools in Michael-Cable Barn opened as part of the May Lyceum. Elizabeth Phillip designed and installed the display.
- Rick Davis expanded our e-mail database to facilitate communication with our members and provided monthly updates on association news.
- Responding to the initiative and energy of curator Judi Allen, a library, resource center and main office has been created on the first floor of the Kelso House. Many individuals have contributed time and effort to this sizable undertaking. Jairo Martinez relocated BHS computers and related equipment, upgraded our telephone connections, created an in house network, re-installed the printer, and donated a 15 inch flat panel monitor, keyboard, mouse and cables.
- Under the watchful eye of Rick Davis, our Web site is averaging about 1,766 page requests per month. About 30% of those can be attributed to Web robots or crawlers that update information on search engines. We average about 1,200 legitimate page requests per month (an average of 40 per day). BHS pays about $65 annually to host the Website and register the .org domain identity. According to Rick, the top search engines that send visitors our way are:
http://www.google.com
http://www.vpa.org
http://www.brimfieldohio.com
http://www.ohiomuseums.org
The top five search queries:
1. kelso house
2. kelso museum
3. kelso house museum
4. kelso house brimfield ohio
5. kelso house brimfield
- So far this year, six issues of the Kelso Courier have been produced, totaling 36 pages and including 27 photographs.
Lyceum Review
Early Brimfield Barns
The Kelso Lyceum Series that took place on the evening of May 5, 2010 in the Michael-Cable barn focused on tools and machines found in Early Brimfield Barns. Many of the items on display date from the mid-19th century. Elizabeth Phillip, a Field High graduate with a degree in art history from the University of Akron, researched, designed, and installed the exhibit. A large audience convened in the red structure to learn about the origins of this building and other local barns and farms. This particular New England-style barn, first built by the Boszor family, dates from the 1840’s. Maps from 1857 show its original location on lot 23, today the corner of State Route 43 and Howe Road. The barn was donated to BHS in 1991, moved to it its present location soon after, and dedicated on September 13, 1992. Photos of the deconstruction and reconstruction of the barn are displayed in the exhibit.
The 1870 census showed Brimfield Township with a population of 914, mostly families farming hay, wheat and corn. Many early farming tools are on display, ranging from rough and hand-made utensils to more sophisticated yet clearly homemade devices. All were people-powered and/or ox or horse-drawn. Examples include saws, scythes, drills, chisels, a grain sieve, an apple press, scaffolding, an oxbow, planter, cultivator, and plow. Judi Allen, Kelso House Curator, substituting for Elizabeth, provided many details about the construction and use of the barn. Ron Jones, Nancy Rodd and Jim Winkler assisted with the presentation. A detailed booklet that accompanies this exhibit is available from the Kelso Store.
Following the barn program, the audience stepped outside to watch Andrew Siegfried, a local craftsman and artist demonstrate wooden boat building techniques that are similar to the construction methods used in the era of the early barns. He showed how a farmer would work green maple logs in a horizontal and vertical cutting technique with an adze (a tool similar to an ax with an arched blade at right angles to the handle) and a broad ax. Two men would work the log, one notching and one chopping. Siegfried earned a degree in Crafts from Kent State University School of Art and he completed a two-year apprenticeship in wooden boat building in Maine. Andrew and his father own Redeem to Green, a design and construction business located in Brimfield.
Prior to the program and demonstration, lyceum guests enjoyed a light supper of chicken, potatoes and coleslaw from Gemini Pizza of Brimfield. Following the program, conversation continued over coffee and dessert in the McCormick Heritage Room.
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