Community Roundup: Hayes museums to host special events

Hayes museums prepares for 'Train Special' display

FREMONT – For many area residents, the Christmas season begins when the “Hayes Train Special” model train display rolls into the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. This year the display opens on Friday, Nov. 24.

For the past 28 years, the “Hayes Train Special” has been a beloved holiday tradition at Hayes Presidential. The multitiered display features a variety of trains that wind through a winter wonderland reminiscent of President Rutherford B. Hayes’ day.

Admission is free to see the train display, which is in the museum auditorium. A donation box will be available for those who wish to make a gift to Hayes Presidential for the display.

The “Hayes Train Special” will remain on exhibit though Sunday, Jan. 7. For hours and holiday closings information, visit rbhayes.org/visit-us/visitor-information.

Visitors can watch the trains wind through a Victorian, snow-covered village. They can get involved by pushing buttons that run one of the trains, turn the Ferris wheel, send the ice skaters gliding across the pond, and other interactive options.

For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org. Like Hayes Presidential on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @rbhayespres.

Historical Society launches 2024 membership drive

PORT CLINTON - The 2024 campaign for new and renewed membership in the Catawba Island Historical Society has begun.

Annual membership dues are a major source of the funds used to operate Catawba Museum at Union Chapel and sponsor public presentations by experts on a variety of historical topics.

The historical society's service to the community grew significantly this year. In 2022 it touched the lives of over 1,200 people. During the museum’s 2023 mid-May to mid-October operating season, that number exceeded 1,500 between visitors, special events, and outreach speaking engagements.

“A big part of the reason for the increase this year,” noted Jane Spriestersbach, Museum Curator, “was that we hosted more private tours for clubs and interest groups. Some of those who stopped to see us included the employees of the Catawba Island Club, Leadership Ottawa County, attendees of the 1973 Port Clinton Class Reunion, and residents of the Otterbein SeniorLife Marblehead.”

Continued emphasis was also placed on introducing young people to the area’s history. School-age groups who visited included fourth grade students from Port Clinton’s Bataan school, the junior and senior year history class from Port Clinton High School, and members of the Port Clinton High School football team.

Two speakers gave presentations as part of the Historical Society’s biannual cultural lecture series.

According to Kathie Holbrook, vice president and chairperson of the group’s membership committee, the historical society had less than 100 members the year it was created. That number has more than tripled over the last six years, exceeding 335 by Sept. 30.

Two levels of annual membership are available: the Historian at $25 and the Curator at $100 per year. A lifetime subscription to the Society’s Council of Nabagon can also be acquired for a one-time investment of $1,000.

The museum is in Union Chapel on East Porter Street at the north end of Catawba Island. More information will be included in the group's fall-winter newsletter. Those with interest can also learn about becoming a member by calling 419-967-5363 or at catawbaislandhistoricalsociety.com.

Hayes Presidential offers tours based on Hayes servants’ experiences

FREMONT – Winnie Monroe was much more than a household staff member to President Rutherford and First Lady Lucy Hayes and their family.

Born in Kentucky, Monroe moved to Ohio and met Lucy’s family. She later was hired as the cook, gardener, housekeeper and nanny for Lucy, her husband, President Rutherford B. Hayes, and their family.

Monroe developed a close relationship with Lucy and worked for the family while they lived in Cincinnati, Columbus, Fremont and the White House in Washington, D.C. She even delivered one of the Hayes children, Scott Russell Hayes.

Determined, ambitious and outspoken, Monroe was good at most things she took on, from whipping up delectable multicourse holiday meals to planting and tending to the manicured flower garden at Spiegel Grove.

Monroe eventually left the Hayes family and moved back to Washington D.C., where she started her own catering business and also sold jams and jellies.

Her story is one of many of the lives of the Hayes family’s servants that Hayes Presidential Library and Museums staff will share during a special evening servants tour of the historic Hayes Home on Nov. 16.

Visitors will learn about the servants’ experiences, from the domestic staff to the staff who tended to the trees and gardens, and enjoy ginger snaps and lemonade.

Tours are at 6, 6:30, 7 and 7:30 p.m. They last one hour.

Tickets for nonmembers are $13 for adults, $5 for ages 6-19 and free for ages 5 and younger. Tickets for Hayes Presidential members are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6-19 and free for ages 5 and younger.

Tickets are available online at rbhayes.org/events/2023/11/16/events/servants-tour-of-the-hayes-home.

The tour involves going up and down stairs. An elevator that can accommodate walkers is available.

The News-Messenger/News Herald

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Community Roundup: Hayes museums to host special events