Walking Tour Of Waterville Examines The History Of The Village
BY KAREN BERGER —MIRROR REPORTER
Despite the humidity and heat, Sally Croy looked remarkably crisp and unruffled walking along the Waterville sidewalks in her drab, full-length skirt, long-sleeved white blouse, tied bonnet and sensible black shoes.
Clutching notecards, the Waterville Historical Society volunteer led a dozen guests along River Road, Second Street, Farnsworth Road and South Street, sharing tidbits of Waterville history at each stop.
The red house at 39 S. River Rd. was built for Jane Richardson in 1937 by her father, after her husband Isaac – rumored to be mean-spirited and cruel to his employees – was murdered at his tavern.
Because it was the first such crime in the territory, Isaac’s killer, George Porter, was hung in a well-attended event at Fort Meigs, Croy said.
The tour began at the Robbins House, 114 S. River Rd., one of 50 lots platted out along the river when Waterville was founded by John Pray. The house, built in 1837 by David Robbins Jr., village constable and farmer, was built on land purchased for $38.00. It is now the home of the Waterville Historical Museum.
Gathering at the museum, visitors can hear curator Mary Ann Porter tell of original Waterville residents, view artifacts such as clothing from the mid-1800s, and, on occasion, hear the organ played.
With each stop along the tour, Croy had details. The original Reed-Ulrich House at 38 S. River Rd. was the foundation for the first Waterville School, built in 1833 or 1834, but burned down.
In front of the Morehouse-Downs house, circa 1835, are carriage stones so ladies could easily climb into carriages or onto horses. Mrs. Downs ran a tearoom in the home until her death in 1926.
Because travel through the Black Swamp was slow, inns dotted the territory along the river. The Columbian House at Mechanic and River Road, was built as the John Pray Inn in 1823, with an addition in 1837. Croy stopped to ask visitors to count the number of panes on the windows.
“Back then, you couldn’t float whole pieces of glass easily, so the windows had many smaller panes,” she said, pointing out an eight-over-12 window. Since it was built, the Columbian House has been a stagecoach inn, post office, restaurant, antique shop and, as rumor has had it, a ghost haven, Croy laughed.
The historical walking tour took visitors to 16 different homes and businesses in Waterville.
Walking tours are available to groups by calling (419) 878-8766.
The next public tour will be offered on Saturday, August 30 at 2:00 p.m. beginning at the Robbins House. A donation of $1.00 is suggested.
August 5 Special Election Is D-Day, Granger Says
BY KAREN BERGER — MIRROR REPORTER
“August 5 is D-Day for us. That’s when the community is going to decide the quality of the schools,” said superintendent Dr. John Granger of Anthony Wayne Local Schools’ special election on Tuesday.
After two failed attempts at the ballot box – in November 2007 and March 2008 – the board of education voted in April to split the original combined levy into two separate levies. A 3.3-mill renewal levy would raise $3 million, and a 3.3-mill emergency levy would raise another $3 million.
The 3.3-mill emergency levy would cost the owner of a $150,000 home $151.59 per year.
The levies are necessary to lift the district out of financial caution, according to Kerri L. Johnson, Anthony Wayne Local Schools treasurer and chief financial officer. The failure of two levies contributed to that designation by the Ohio Department of Education.
In the past two years, the district has cut $2 million in spending, mostly from personnel, including teachers, non-teaching staff and administrators. Last year 15 teachers left the district.
Of the 17 who announced their departure this year, at least three need to be replaced in order to meet state minimums, Granger said, but if both levies fail, he expects to make reductions in the workforce.
“From the educational perspective, I can’t stress enough how detrimental this will be if any one of the levies fails. I think it will be the nail in the academic coffin. This community can’t let that happen,” Granger said.
Without both levies passing, the average class size in the elementary schools will be 27 or 28, and intervention teachers would be eliminated, Granger said.
Volunteers with the Citizens for Anthony Wayne Schools recently mailed out a postcard outlining exactly what will happen should one or both levies pass or fail.
The mailing said if both levies pass, staff levels and transportation services would be the same, math and reading intervention services would be reinstated, and the district would be able to emerge from fiscal caution.
If one levy is passed, the district says 14 teaching and five non-teaching positions would be lost through attrition, reading and math intervention teachers would be reassigned to fill vital classroom positions, the district would remain in fiscal caution, and the board would immediately need to place another emergency levy on the ballot.
If both levies fail, according to the school district, several positions would be eliminated; pay-to-participate would be instituted for athletics, music, band and academic clubs; busing would be eliminated within two miles of the school; the primary and middle school buildings would be closed at the end of the day; and the district would most likely remain in fiscal caution.
If one or both levies fail the district will remain in fiscal caution and could possibly move to fiscal emergency depending upon the state, Johnson said.
“The district has to have a carryover at the end of the year and would have to make cuts in order to get that carryover,” Johnson said.
Granger is encouraged by the increased number of pro-levy signs in yards and volunteers knocking on doors and working long hours to share information one-on-one.
“I think there’s a sense of urgency that has not existed in the other two elections. The number of volunteers has increased, I think because they see what dire straits we’re in,” he said.
These are a couple of articles that ran in The Mirror Newspaper.
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