Greenfield Historical Society hosts annual Tour of Homes Dec. 4
Lead Summary
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By Harold Schmidt
Greenfield Historical Society will hold its annual Tour of Homes on Dec. 4.
This year, the tour includes the Shorter Chapel AME Church as well as four homes. The homes range from a Victorian, a farmhouse, an 1800s brick and a modern barnhouse.
In addition to the tour, a baked steak dinner will be served from 11:30 AM to 2 PM at the society's Grain & Hay building on the corner of Jefferson and McArthur Way. Dinner will include baked steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, cake and drinks. Cost of the meal is $8.00. Carryout will be available.
Tickets for the tour are $10 and can be purchase before the tour at The Home Building and Loan on Jefferson Street or on the day of the tour at the homes or the Grain & Hay building.
Rod and Hannah Lucas Banks purchased their home at 1255 State Route 138 north of Greenfield in 2003 The home is believed to have been built in the mid 1800s. Local minister Reverend Bob Blaine's father was born here in 1886 and the Blaine name is still carved in an exterior brick.
Soon after purchasing the home the young couple set to work putting their signatures on it. Ten acres of pine trees were planted which will provide greenery for the decorating of the home this year. A complete renovation was begun in the summer of 2008 and finished in the spring of 2009. The house was completely gutted, remodeled and a family room, garage and breezeway was added. Landscaping of the front slope has just recently been completed. The country style home will include a live tree this year, a tradition of the family.
Elaine Cekola-Menard describe their home as a "tranquil setting for all creatures great and small." Elaine and her husband Paul Menard purchased the home, located at 1234 Rolfe Road, in 2006. It is nestled among rolling acres of farmland with sunrise views of Roundtop Hill outside the kitchen windows. Nearby is an abandoned railroad bed that provides a sanctuary for a variety of birds and other animals throughout the year.
Renovations doubled the size of the Menard home by adding a new kitchen, dining room, bedroom and bath. The pine plank floors add to the country farmhouse style which is continued with the rocking chairs on the front porch.
The greenhouse, a recent addition, will be in full bloom with orchids, poinsettias, paper whites and Christmas cactus, as well as geraniums and begonias. The seasonal decorations will include the couple's German nutcrackers and materials gathered from the two and a half acre grounds.
The AME Shorter Chapel at the corner of North and Second Streets is another stop on this year's tour. This is the first year that a church is a stop on the tour.
The AME congregation was begun in Greenfield in 1841 at the corner of Fifth and North Streets. In 1866 they purchased the present location from the Free Soil Presbyterians. The original building was later razed and the present one built. The steeple on this building was later removed because of instability. The congregation became the Shorter Chapel in honor of Bishop James A. Shorter who was instrumental in Patterson v Board of Education Greenfield, Ohio, a court case that opened the Greenfield Schools to all children regardless of race.
The church will be open for visitors to view the church and its stained glass windows. Church members will be on hand to share the church's history and their new cookbook will be on sale.
When Richard and Barbara Sapienza purchased their home at 240 Mirabeau a year ago, it had been a bed and breakfast called The Mertz Place for several years. Built in 1895 by C. W. Price, the home went through many changes of ownership including a sheriff bankruptcy sale, and estate settlements. When John and Rosemary Mertz purchased the home in 1952, one of the owners was in the Air Force stationed in Japan.
The Sapienzas brought their business, Visibly Green, from New York to Greenfield in 2010 and purchased the home at auction. Barbara says it was a big step moving from a small apartment to something as large as their new house. Finding furniture to fill the home was a challenge.
The house has an elegance about it but, when you walk in, it is still very welcoming and comfortable. Barbara has filled the home with antiques and older style furniture such as wing chairs and floor lamps to fit the style of the home without overpowering the architecture. More modern pieces were added. Holiday decorating will be very simple including several small trees and hand cross stitched stockings.
Sam and Anne Byars' home at 7357 Rapid Forge Road was built in 2010-11 even though its roots go back much farther. It is located on land that Anne's ancestors settled in the early 1800s and constructed of materials from an old barn that stood on the same spot.
The barn was taken down carefully, the rafters were used in the new living room and old flooring and siding became tables, a bench, a coat rack, shelves and a mantle. Old foundation stones now serve as thresholds. The old grain bin base will become a fire pit in the future.
One modern addition to the home is a solar collection room. Located on the south and west side of the home, four large plate glass windows collect solar heat while fans circulate it through the house.
The decorating style of the home is described as eclectic starting with furniture made from the old barn wood, along with modern pieces. Anne describes it as being a nod to her Ohio roots. Many treasures from the family can be found through the house including photographs taken by Anne's grandfather. A playhouse on the property was built for Anne's mother in the early 1930s.
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Greenfield Historical Society will hold its annual Tour of Homes on Dec. 4.
This year, the tour includes the Shorter Chapel AME Church as well as four homes. The homes range from a Victorian, a farmhouse, an 1800s brick and a modern barnhouse.
In addition to the tour, a baked steak dinner will be served from 11:30 AM to 2 PM at the society's Grain & Hay building on the corner of Jefferson and McArthur Way. Dinner will include baked steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, cake and drinks. Cost of the meal is $8.00. Carryout will be available.
Tickets for the tour are $10 and can be purchase before the tour at The Home Building and Loan on Jefferson Street or on the day of the tour at the homes or the Grain & Hay building.
Rod and Hannah Lucas Banks purchased their home at 1255 State Route 138 north of Greenfield in 2003 The home is believed to have been built in the mid 1800s. Local minister Reverend Bob Blaine's father was born here in 1886 and the Blaine name is still carved in an exterior brick.
Soon after purchasing the home the young couple set to work putting their signatures on it. Ten acres of pine trees were planted which will provide greenery for the decorating of the home this year. A complete renovation was begun in the summer of 2008 and finished in the spring of 2009. The house was completely gutted, remodeled and a family room, garage and breezeway was added. Landscaping of the front slope has just recently been completed. The country style home will include a live tree this year, a tradition of the family.
Elaine Cekola-Menard describe their home as a "tranquil setting for all creatures great and small." Elaine and her husband Paul Menard purchased the home, located at 1234 Rolfe Road, in 2006. It is nestled among rolling acres of farmland with sunrise views of Roundtop Hill outside the kitchen windows. Nearby is an abandoned railroad bed that provides a sanctuary for a variety of birds and other animals throughout the year.
Renovations doubled the size of the Menard home by adding a new kitchen, dining room, bedroom and bath. The pine plank floors add to the country farmhouse style which is continued with the rocking chairs on the front porch.
The greenhouse, a recent addition, will be in full bloom with orchids, poinsettias, paper whites and Christmas cactus, as well as geraniums and begonias. The seasonal decorations will include the couple's German nutcrackers and materials gathered from the two and a half acre grounds.
The AME Shorter Chapel at the corner of North and Second Streets is another stop on this year's tour. This is the first year that a church is a stop on the tour.
The AME congregation was begun in Greenfield in 1841 at the corner of Fifth and North Streets. In 1866 they purchased the present location from the Free Soil Presbyterians. The original building was later razed and the present one built. The steeple on this building was later removed because of instability. The congregation became the Shorter Chapel in honor of Bishop James A. Shorter who was instrumental in Patterson v Board of Education Greenfield, Ohio, a court case that opened the Greenfield Schools to all children regardless of race.
The church will be open for visitors to view the church and its stained glass windows. Church members will be on hand to share the church's history and their new cookbook will be on sale.
When Richard and Barbara Sapienza purchased their home at 240 Mirabeau a year ago, it had been a bed and breakfast called The Mertz Place for several years. Built in 1895 by C. W. Price, the home went through many changes of ownership including a sheriff bankruptcy sale, and estate settlements. When John and Rosemary Mertz purchased the home in 1952, one of the owners was in the Air Force stationed in Japan.
The Sapienzas brought their business, Visibly Green, from New York to Greenfield in 2010 and purchased the home at auction. Barbara says it was a big step moving from a small apartment to something as large as their new house. Finding furniture to fill the home was a challenge.
The house has an elegance about it but, when you walk in, it is still very welcoming and comfortable. Barbara has filled the home with antiques and older style furniture such as wing chairs and floor lamps to fit the style of the home without overpowering the architecture. More modern pieces were added. Holiday decorating will be very simple including several small trees and hand cross stitched stockings.
Sam and Anne Byars' home at 7357 Rapid Forge Road was built in 2010-11 even though its roots go back much farther. It is located on land that Anne's ancestors settled in the early 1800s and constructed of materials from an old barn that stood on the same spot.
The barn was taken down carefully, the rafters were used in the new living room and old flooring and siding became tables, a bench, a coat rack, shelves and a mantle. Old foundation stones now serve as thresholds. The old grain bin base will become a fire pit in the future.
One modern addition to the home is a solar collection room. Located on the south and west side of the home, four large plate glass windows collect solar heat while fans circulate it through the house.
The decorating style of the home is described as eclectic starting with furniture made from the old barn wood, along with modern pieces. Anne describes it as being a nod to her Ohio roots. Many treasures from the family can be found through the house including photographs taken by Anne's grandfather. A playhouse on the property was built for Anne's mother in the early 1930s.
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