National Register of Historic Places and African American Sites
Wednesday, June 8th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Ohio has hundreds of important historic sites related to under represented communities: Ohio Green Book properties and other Civil Rights related properties from the 19th and 20th century. This webinar will provide the background and knowledge to encourage more conversations in the field of preservation in relation to underserved communities. Diamond will also touch on two specific projects King Records and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House.
We will discuss the National Register of Historic places and illuminating the importance of underrepresented communities in preservation. This webinar also examines The National Park Service Underrepresented Communities Grant.
Our Presenter
Diamond Crowder, Underrepresented Communities Survey & National Register at the State Historic Preservation Office. Diamond has a B.A. and M.A. in History, University of Toledo (with major areas of study Early American History, African American History, and Women and Gender History) and is currently finishing her doctoral dissertation that specifically focuses on African American women post Emancipation (University of Cincinnati).
Webinar: Ohio’s Historic Opera Houses & Theatres
Thursday, May 5th – 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Heritage Ohio is excited to partner with the Ohio Arts Council for an in-depth look at Ohio’s historic theatres and opera houses. We’ll begin with the cultural history and development of these storied institutions, then transition to stories of several rural opera houses and theatres making significant economic and cultural impact in their communities, and conclude with four case studies of successful restoration and preservation efforts from around the state.
Featured Theatres & Opera Houses
Twin City Opera House – McConnelsville
The Twin City Opera House has been in continuous operation since it opened as an opera house and town hall in 1892. Today, 130 years later, the opera house continues host a variety of live performances, movies, and community events.
Ashland Schine’s Theatre – Ashland
The theatre first opened its doors as a deco-style movie theater in 1942. Over the years, the building entered a period of decline, eventually closing its doors in 2009. In 2015, a dedicated group of volunteers known as the Ashland Schine’s Theatre Organization purchased the theatre and began to restore it with the goal of making Ashland “Schine” in 2022.
Murphy Theatre – Wilmington
This historic grand theatre was built in 1918 as a gift to the people of Wilmington. More than 100 years later, it has become an economic boost to the community and the center of activities in Clinton County, with a wide variety of programming attracting audiences from miles away to shop, eat, and enjoy downtown Wilmington before and after shows.
St Marys Theatre and Grand Opera House – St. Marys
Built in 1895 as a performance theater and later modified as a movie house in 1930s and 1940s, the historic theatre is now under rehabilitation. Friends of the St. Marys Theatre and Opera House, Inc., is transforming the space into a vibrant performing arts center featuring artistic and educational performances for generations to come and is expected to reopen in September 2023.
Preservation Month Webinar: Design Review: How NOT to be the Hysterical Review Board
Tuesday, May 24th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
As design review boards go, it seems like landmines are lurking everywhere: bad applicants, misinformed board members, apathetic city governments, bullying property owners, and murky ordinances can cause the board’s best efforts to go awry. Hear from Ohio design review veterans on how they’ve reacted to difficult situations, and have built design review programs to function fairly and efficiently.
Preservation Month Webinar: Design Review 101
Wednesday, May 11th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Join us for an introduction to design review with Nathan Bevil of the State Historic Preservation Office. We’ll touch on topics such as legal framework, design guidelines, board service, the decision-making process & framework, and running fair & efficient meetings.
Our Presenter
Nathan Bevil, Community Planning & Preservation Manager, holds a bachelor’s degree in history and historic preservation from Mary Washington College and a Master of Historic Preservation degree from the University of Georgia. He administers the CLG program, manages the Building Doctor program, guided the development of the State Historic Preservation Plan, and provides technical assistance to communities on local historic preservation matters.
Minding the Business while Changing the World
Wednesday, April 13th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Charities strengthen our communities in countless ways and the volunteers associated with these groups are often passionate about the cause. Sometimes there is a lot less enthusiasm for paying attention to board governance, legal fiduciary obligations and reporting requirements. But charities ignore these important concepts at their own peril. If groups fail to take care of business properly, the entire organization can be jeopardized. This training will include a review of the basic requirements all charitable organizations have and provide easy-to-follow tips for board members who try to do their jobs responsibly in order to protect the organization and the beneficiaries of the group’s efforts.
Our Presenter
Beth Short, who handles outreach and education for the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section, has spent her career working for and with nonprofit organizations. Her passion for the nonprofit sector is evidenced by her professional and volunteer background working with charities as a staff member, board member, consultant and volunteer for large and small organizations. She brings a background in journalism, legislative and public affairs and training, complemented by a master’s in business that focused on nonprofit management issues. Her work in the Charitable Law Section focuses on the development of strategies aimed at strengthening the nonprofit sector. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University and Ohio University.
Downtown Development, Tradition, and Change!
Matt Long and Chad Boreman, owners of the Quinby Building (1897), new home to Ace Hardware in downtown Wooster.
Downtown Wooster has been reinvesting and revitalizing its downtown for 34 years. A true public/private partnership, more than $215 million of reinvestment and revitalization has occurred since the inception of the Main Street program, beginning in 1987.
In 2015, two former Main Street Wooster board members and subsequent chairs, Matt Long, a local attorney, and Chad Boreman, a local financial planner, formed CBML, Ltd., to acquire and add other community properties.
2018 brought a change for the Quinby Building (1897), a four-story, 26,000 sq. ft. building located on Wooster’s Public Square. Originally occupied as the William Annat Co. Department Store until the 1990’s, the building was most recently the company outlet store for the Newell/Everything Rubbermaid Store.
When the property was listed for sale in 2018, Boreman and Long, generational members of the community (Chad, five and four generations, Matt, three and seven) decided to purchase the building to preserve the “status quo” of the building, keeping the Everything Rubbermaid Store in place, and maintaining Wooster ownership. Long stated, “it was too important of a building to leave to chance”.
Due to the pandemic and revitalization of the 1993 streetscape construction on the Public Square, Newell/Rubbermaid decided to close the large facility in August, 2021 leaving a potential and significant vacancy for downtown Wooster. Long and Boreman made plans to lease “pop-up” stores in the firstfloor retail space (7,500 sq. ft.) while seeking to recruit a long-term tenet; however, early in the planning process, they were approached by Wooster-based E&H Hardware Group, LLC regarding a long-term lease of the entire Quinby Building (1897).
Enter Christopher Buehler and Rich Fishburn, fourth generation, great-grandsons, of Ed and Helen Buehler, who began the Buehler’s grocery chain in 1929 in New Philadelphia, then moving to Wooster where they opened a store in downtown Wooster. Adding stores throughout Ohio, the business is now 92 years young! A hardware company was added, not as a separate company, in 1959, as part of the Orrville, Ohio store.
E&H Hardware group was formed in 2011 as a separate entity from the Buehler’s Fresh Foods grocery chain, opening 25 Ace Hardware stores throughout Ohio. Both Buehler and Fishburn wanted to have a store in their Wooster hometown for years but could not find a space that filled their needs. With Newell announcing the closing of the Everything Rubbermaid Store, Rich went to Christopher and said, “This is it! A perfect building for what we want to do!” The partners envisioned the building as their “flagship store”, a destination for local, regional and tourism customers.
Christopher Buehler & Rich Fishburn looking at uncovered column in the Quinby Building
The E&H partners contacted Long and Boreman and, within a month, executed a lease and created a new partnership to bring a large, new business to the existing downtown retail businesses. (The current hardware store, Tignor’s Hometown Hardware, was purchased by the E&H group: the employees will be a part of the Ace Hardware store when it opens in March, 2022.)
Long and Boreman will have the exterior of the building painted and the Ace Hardware interior will house three floors of hardware, with additional lifestyle- living merchandise including outdoor living, home goods, a dedicated contractor area, The Nook, “a store within a store”, and a plumbing and handyman business. The fourth floor will be the corporate offices of the E&H Hardware Group.
“We want this store to be an anchor for downtown Wooster, we want it to evolve all the time, we want it to complement the downtown and participate in activities with all of the downtown businesses. We will be a “test store” for new and upscale branding of products, introducing new hardware and living products to the customer, yet continuing to offer the products that are “tried and true”, stated Buehler and Fishburn. Boreman and Long said, “This is a “perfect storm”; a traditional business in a traditional downtown, with community development supporting the “sense of place” that is downtown Wooster, Ohio!”
By Sandra C. Hull
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of Revitalize Ohio. All rights reserved.
Matt Wiederhold Named Executive Director for Heritage Ohio
Matt Wiederhold
W. Kevin Pape, chairman of the Board of Trustees for Heritage Ohio, announced Matt Wiederhold will become the third executive director for Heritage Ohio, the state’s revitalization and preservation non-profit.
Matt Wiederhold has over 20 years of community development experience combining his interests in historic preservation, local history, and community building. He has served in positions in Cleveland, Toledo, and most recently served as the executive director of the successful Main Street Medina program. Wiederhold said, “I’m honored to have been selected as the next executive director for Heritage Ohio, an organization with which I’ve been involved since 2001. I’m deeply committed to the mission of the organization, and look forward to using my passion for historic preservation and community revitalization on a state-wide level.”
Wiederhold received his bachelor of arts degree in art history with a focus on American architecture and historic preservation from the University of Toledo. He received national Main Street Certification in 2004, and in 2006 he became an economic development finance professional.
Board Chair W. Kevin Pape states, “The search committee was impressed by Matt’s experience with combining his expertise in historic preservation, local history, and community building to transform neighborhoods and towns into desirable places to live, work, and play. It was clear to us that he had the energy and vision we were looking for in the engaged leader who will be Heritage Ohio’s next executive director.” Wiederhold will begin his role May 2, 2022.
Livable Communities and the AARP Challenge Grants
Wednesday, March 2nd – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The AARP Community Challenge provides small grants to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. This year, applications will be accepted for projects to improve public spaces, housing, transportation and civic engagement; support diversity, equity and inclusion; build engagement for programs under new federal laws; and pursue innovative ideas that support people age 50 or older.
This presentation will walk through the Community Challenge grant opportunity as well as introduce the concept of livable communities and age-friendly initiatives to the audience.
Our Presenter
Doug Tayek serves as the Associate State Director for Outreach with AARP Ohio, where his work focuses predominantly on Northeast Ohio; managing a large team of volunteers, Doug is responsible for implementing AARP’s social mission in this area of the state. In 2021 Doug became the statewide lead for Age-Friendly and Livable Communities work for AARP Ohio, supporting his colleagues around the state as they advise and support Ohio’s age-friendly initiatives. Doug currently supports Age Friendly Cleveland, Akron, Summit County, and Athens County; he has also previously worked in support of Age Friendly Columbus/Franklin County, and Age Friendly Delaware County.
Doug joined AARP in 2011, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University, and a master’s degree in Applied Politics from the University of Akron. Doug serves on the board of directors for Cleveland Catholic Charities and Cuyahoga County’s Division of Senior and Adult Services.
2022 Annual Awards
What is the awards nomination process?
To nominate a a person, building, or project, complete a nomination form and attach supporting documents and high-resolution photos. If your documents or photos are large files, please email them to fquinn@heritageohio.org with the name of the nomination in the title of the email. To view a detailed description of the awards categories, view the 2022 Awards List.
All nominations must be received by July 1, 2022. Nominations that do not follow the formatting provided in the form, and incomplete entries will NOT be accepted.
Not sure if your nomination fits a category? Contact us at 614-258-6200 or fquinn@heritageohio.org and we will be happy to discuss the nomination with you.
Award Categories
Main Street Awards
- Best Main Street Committee Project or Event
- Main Street Business of the Year
- Main Street Director of the Year
- Main Street Volunteer of the Year
- Spirit of Main Street
Complete a nomination for a Main Street Award
Complete a nomination for a Main Street Director of the Year Award
Rehabilitation Project Awards
- Best Commercial Rehabilitation
- Best Public Building Rehabilitation
- Best Public-Private Partnership
- Best Residential Rehabilitation
- Best Upper Floor Residential Rehabilitation
- Best Urban Infill Project
Complete a nomination for a Rehabilitation Project Award
Place Awards
- Historic Farmstead of the Year
- Historic Theater of the Year
- Best Downtown Placemaking
Complete a nomination for a Place Award
Individual Awards
- Outstanding Leader in Revitalization
- Preservation Hero
- Young Preservationist of the Year
A Warm Handshake and Plate from NAICCO
Life moves fast, and we often forget to ask ourselves, “What am I doing for future generations?” Well, the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO) is sustaining their community by centering around the universal love and need of food.
Preserving and revitalizing does not solely rely on physical efforts, while they are important, there is a cultural component of preservation that leads to physical revitalization projects.
In 2011, Ty and Masami Smith took management roles NAICCO, an urban Indian center based in Columbus. Since that time, they have focused on building up the local Native American community and preserving and restoring their peoples’ cultures, heritages, and traditions. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are a husband-and-wife duo who value family and are focused on giving back to their fellow Native American people, who they now serve as Project Director and Executive Director respectively. Their goal has been to engage the community and to create a sustainability program for the people who personify their mission work at NAICCO.
The Project
The result is NAICCO Cuisine, a food trailer that serves Native American street food. This project has been eight years in the making and came to fruition on Indigenous Peoples Day in 2020. NAICCO Cuisine has come together through the dedication of NAICCO leadership in connecting with their community’s wants and needs. After the NAICCO team collaborated with community elders, NAICCO Board of Trustees, the families and the youth involved in NAICCO they wrote a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Native Americans grant proposal and received funding for NAICCO Cuisine.
Native American street food was an instant hit and soon NAICCO Cuisine was invited to take their food trailer to other places around Central Ohio. They never thought this would be possible so soon, or at all for that matter during the pandemic. Originally, they had only planned to operate out of the NAICCO parking lot.
By the end of November, Ohio’s weather had turned cold and there was a spike in COVID-19 cases. NAICCO had to put the trailer away.
After the success from the food trailer, they knew NAICCO Cuisine could not come to an end so soon. Mrs. Smith, Executive Director, pitched the idea for curbside pickup– a way to spread culture and food while be socially distant. The food platters had different themes: Intertribal, Southwest, Oklahoma, Northern Plains and Northwest. Highlighting different areas of food is important for NAICCO to do since the community is intertribal. These platters could be picked up right in NAICCO’s parking lot.
The Effect
“NAICCO is focused on writing a new chapter in Native American history,” Ty Smith, Project Director, notes.
NAICCO Cuisine is about much more than food. It is about teaching, learning, family, visibility, pride and so much more. Ohio does not have any federally recognized tribes which leads to a lack of resources for the indigenous peoples residing here. NAICCO Cuisine provides sustainability to pave the way for future Native American programs to take place at NAICCO and highlight the possibilities for all Native Americans going forward.
From the outside, NAICCO Cuisine looks like a food trailer, or a warm platter of food, but it provides more than sustenance. It provides social and economic development for the people NAICCO represents while preserving Native American culture here in Ohio.
The Possibilities
The food trailer was able to be brought back out in May of this year and was in such high demand that they were booked throughout 2021. NAICCO Cuisine intends to travel throughout Central Ohio and beyond in 2022 and can be tracked on NAICCO’s website and Street Food Finder. Now that the weather has gone cold, the trailer is being stored for winter again and the platters will pick back up again like last winter. They have received stellar reviews and high praise and won the Whitehall Food Truck & Fun Fest Runner-Up Foodie Food Truck Award this summer. Such a successful first year is unprecedented and NAICCO is ready to not only continue but expand this program for the future generations of Native Americans in Ohio and across the United States.
Ty Smith says it best, “NAICCO Cuisine is a warm handshake unto the rest of society.”
There is more to Indigenous culture than what is visible on the surface. It goes deeper. It is a belief system. It is a way of life. It is thinking of future generations. It is self-assurance. It is so much more than words can possess. NAICCO Cuisine gives the Indigenous Peoples of central Ohio the opportunity to connect with one another and find confidence in their identity, while introducing this way of life to the rest of the population.
By Kenzie Hahn
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of Revitalize Ohio. All rights reserved.
Heritage Ohio Annual Awards: How to Submit a Successful Nomination
Wednesday, February 16th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The 2022 Heritage Ohio Annual Awards nomination period is now open!
Are you proud of the work being done in your community? Do you know someone who has done outstanding revitalization work? Then maybe you want to apply for Heritage Ohio’s statewide awards.
We have 16 award categories to honor the people, organizations, and projects that are making Ohio a better place to live. Want to know more about the award categories and how to submit a successful nomination that will get noticed by the awards committee? Then attend this webinar!
Join Joyce Barrett and Frank Quinn as they introduce the various award categories, and share tips on completing the nomination forms.
Nominations are due by July 1, 2022.