Elevator needed to make Alpine Hills Museum in Sugarcreek handicap accessible for visitors

Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter
·4 min read

SUGARCREEK ‒ The Alpine Hills Museum is a repository for a huge collection of items related to the history of Sugarcreek and the Swiss heritage of its residents.

At the museum, housed in a three-story building with basement at 106 W. Main St., visitors will find a kettle brought over from Switzerland for making cheese; a collection of alphorns, a Swiss musical instrument; replicas of a millinery shop and a barber shop once located in Sugarcreek; a display on the Amish and several horse-drawn vehicles and an ice cream bicycle truck.

An Amish buggy passes by the Alpine Hills Museum in Sugarcreek, Dec. 22.
An Amish buggy passes by the Alpine Hills Museum in Sugarcreek, Dec. 22.

More on museum: Alpine Hills alive with the sound of alphorns. Retiree visits Sugarcreek to learn to play

In 2023, the museum attracted 15,000 visitors.

Unfortunately, the museum does not have an elevator, so the second floor and the basement are inaccessible to people with a handicap.

One of the most prominent displays in Sugarcreek's Alpine Hills Museum is a replication of a traditional cheese house, in which an original cheese kettle over 100 years old from Sharp Run Dairy, East of Millersberg, can be seen. Cheesemakers in the 1980's were forced to switch from the use of copper to stainless steel because of regulations.
One of the most prominent displays in Sugarcreek's Alpine Hills Museum is a replication of a traditional cheese house, in which an original cheese kettle over 100 years old from Sharp Run Dairy, East of Millersberg, can be seen. Cheesemakers in the 1980's were forced to switch from the use of copper to stainless steel because of regulations.

Plans to install elevator

So, museum officials are planning on using an existing freight elevator shaft to install an elevator for visitors, said Becky Detwiler, the museum curator.

"Since it's deemed a freight elevator, it will never be available for humans," she said. "Our desire is to put in an all-new elevator to cover all four floors, the basement and the three floors, so that people will have access to more of the museum.

"So many individuals that come through the door have trouble with their hips or their knees. I see a lot of walkers. I see some wheelchairs. There are things to see on the first floor, but there's so much more on the second floor and in the basement."

Detwiler's dream is to expand the museum to the third floor, which is now used for storage.

"There's things up there that people will never get to see because I just don't have room for them," she said.

The project is expected to cost more than $200,000. Around $10,000 has been raised so far. The work will include shoring up the existing shaft and building a control room on the roof.

Becky Detwiler, curator of the Alpine Museum in Sugarcreek, talks about the necessity for installation of an elevator, which will be located behind the current shaft doors pictured at right, Friday, Dec. 22.
Becky Detwiler, curator of the Alpine Museum in Sugarcreek, talks about the necessity for installation of an elevator, which will be located behind the current shaft doors pictured at right, Friday, Dec. 22.

Raffle held to raise money

To help raise money, the museum hosted a raffle drawing three days before Christmas. The top prize was a cuckoo clock donated to the museum by the Edie family of Zoarville. The clock was purchased in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1998 for $800 by John Edie for his wife, Jeanna. It has three weights on it. Every hour and every half hour a waterwheel goes around. At the top there are four dancers that spin around every 30 minutes.

Tickets were drawn by Esther Yoder of Esther's Home Bakery in Sugarcreek. The clock was won by Margaret Nagy of Sugarcreek.

Becky Detwiler, right, curator of the Alpine Museum in Sugarcreek, and Esther Yoder, of Esther's Home Bakery, react to the first place winner's name drawn for a raffle drawing, Friday, Dec. 22. The winner, Margaret Nagy, will receive a hand-made cuckoo clock worth over $8,000.
Becky Detwiler, right, curator of the Alpine Museum in Sugarcreek, and Esther Yoder, of Esther's Home Bakery, react to the first place winner's name drawn for a raffle drawing, Friday, Dec. 22. The winner, Margaret Nagy, will receive a hand-made cuckoo clock worth over $8,000.

History of the museum

The Alpine Hills Museum was established in 1976 in a house across the street from the present museum. The house is no longer standing.

In 1977, Ranson Andreas, owner of Andreas Furniture in Sugarcreek, donated the current building, erected in 1927. He used it as a downtown furniture warehouse.

His furniture store was heavily damaged by a fire in 1974.

"He was so impressed by how the community came behind him and supported him to rebuild, and he felt that it was so important to give back," Detwiler explained. "This was his downtown warehouse. It was getting difficult to maneuver loading and unloading off the side street, Broadway."

Volunteers tore down an abandoned house outside of town and used the materials to build exhibits and a movie room, she said. It officially opened to the public in 1982 in time for Sugarcreek's centennial celebration.

The first curators were Les and Pat Kaser.

"Les Kaser was able to convince people to give their stuff to the museum and he promised that it would be displayed and handled appropriately," Detwiler said. "So, we have this huge collection today thanks to Les. He was hand-picked by Ranson Andreas to be the first curator."

Antique fire apparatus can be seen in the basement of Sugarcreek's Alpine Hills Museum.
Antique fire apparatus can be seen in the basement of Sugarcreek's Alpine Hills Museum.

The museum is open March through November. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.

"We have a little bit of something for everybody here at the museum," Detwiler said. "I think it's worth the trip."

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Officials want to make Alpine Hills Museum handicap accessible