7/5/09

My Hometown




Today I am participating in Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treaures party, and I am also bringing you a small slice of my small mid-western hometown via "The Great American Town Tour" hosted by Huckleberry Prairie. Thank you to Rhoda & Melissa!

The garage sales were few and far between this holiday weekend. I found a couple of items at a sale, and a couple of items from the local S.A. Thrift Store. I especially love the small antique "electric insulator cap" on the left. I paid .50 cents for it.


It didn't matter one bit to me that there was no thrifting to be had - it was 4th of July weekend! Our holiday was low-key since we hosted a big family picnic last weekend. Hubby and I did get to spend some time in my hometown: Berea, Ohio.


My childhood home was built in 1864. We moved there in 1970 and my parents still live there today. It's a great old century home and I am so proud of my mom. She has caught the decorating bug the past couple of years and it is looking so cute!



When we stopped over at Mom & Dads on Friday evening we were greeted by a family of deer at the house across the street. My neice Emily & I were brave enough to sneak up real close to get some photos. The "bambi's" were so cute with white spots and all. Deer are a common site in the neighborhood. Unfortunately they wreak havoc on everyone's gardens & flowers.



While we were at my parents' house Friday evening their neighbor Karen stopped by. Karen works at the Berea Historical Society and just finished marching in the city's July 4th parade:


On Saturday, hubby & I headed over to the
Berea Historical Society's Ice Cream Social. There were delicious homemade cakes & pies for sale. We indulged in a peice of cherry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The Historical Society, also known as Mahler Museum, is housed in an old home built in 1854. It is really beautiful & is filled inside with room after room of antiques, furniture, clothing, and memorabilia that tell the story of the City of Berea.







If you look closely at the front door, in the center of the wreath is a plaque. This is a "century home" plaque which designates that this home is 100 yrs. old or greater. Many, many homes in historic Berea have this plaque.


Berea is most famous for 2 things:
Baldwin-Wallace College, a private, liberal arts college founded in 1845, and also for the sandstone quarries.
Here is a view of the side of the Historical Society. Oh look, the trolley awaits:

Lolly the Trolley was giving tours of historic Berea. For $3 per person you can ride the open-air trolley and listen to a guided tour of historic Berea.


Here is a view of the interior of the trolley. The tour guide sits up front an speaks into a microphone.



We enjoyed some popcorn on our 45 minute tour:


One of the stops was at the historic Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. These grounds have been hosting the annual County Fair since 1893.
We stopped underneath the "Victory Arch" at the main entrance. This arch was built in the 1920's and is in need of repair. The local American Legion is heading up a fundraising drive to raise money to restore the old arch:

Of course you can't have a history tour without visiting a few old cemeteries. Way off in the distance is the Fowles family cemetery. It's the oldest one in the city:

Berea is just chock-full of beautiful, old homes:

Behind the Historical Society is Coe Lake. On the other side of the lake is the town gazebo, a public pool, and the location of the Grindstone Festival:


If you look closely you can see the people, booths, and rides from the city's July 4th celebration: The Grindstone Festival:


Why is it called the Grindstone Festival??? Because this lake used to be a sandstone quarry in the 1800's. The quarries & the college are what put Berea on the map and brought people to the area. People from all over the United States came to Berea to work in these famous quarries. There are buildings all over the world that were built from Berea Sandstone. When the quarries closed in the 1920's it was filled in and is now known as Coe Lake. This little guy was hangin out under the bridge:

Here is the bridge that connects the neighborhood where the Historical Society is to the other side of the quarries:


In the evening hubby and I got ourselves settled for the annual fireworks display. The gazebo was rockin with a local band, and right before the fireworks display, the entire crowd stood up and sang the Star Spangled Banner. It was so cool.

All my years, and I never tire of watching the fireworks display:


I hope you enjoyed my Hometown Tour. Please vist Huckleberry Prairie to check out the Great American Town Tour.
Now I am gonna head over to Southern Hospitality to see if anyone made some great finds on the Holiday weekend.
Thanks for stopping by!!

16 comments:

  1. What a fun tour you took us on. Is it near Cleveland? I have been in alot of Ohio towns but not this one. Very pretty and historic.

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  2. Awww, beautiful town you live in! That is a great tour. Love your childhood home too, how fortunate you are to have grown up there. Your small town sounds so idyllic!

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  3. Thanks for sharing - enjoyed the tour.
    Glenda

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  4. Wow, what fun you had ! I love all your pictures and the story of your day. What a beautiful old
    town !
    Hugs ~ Kammy

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  5. Thanks for the tour. It really is a lovely town.
    I hear ya about the deer - I plant them an all-you-can-eat cafe every year!!!
    Rhonda

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  6. Your town looks like a beautiful place to visit...and live! Beautiful scenery, beautiful homes, and deer! I love that picture!

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  7. looks like you had a fun weekend.
    Hope you have a great week too!

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  8. The historic homes are so fabulous. We don't have in in our small city.
    Your sites are very interesting. I look forward to snooping around them.

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  9. ooooh, another fellow Ohioan.... I've driven around Berea a few times- our son was thinking of going to BW. We often visit relatives in Rocky River and have stayed at a local hotel in Berea. OH has a lot of history.Thanks for the tour. Next time we drive up there, we'll have to take more time to wander....
    :-) Sue

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  10. Great Hometown tour!! Love the olive green pitcher.

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  11. I am really enjoying the town tours everyone is sharing & I really liked yours.

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  12. What a fun post. Love looking at your pictures. What a wonderful hometown.

    I love the large lions on the porch of the historical society.

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  13. What a beautiful town you have! Your 4th celebration looks alot like ours. I'm like you, I never tire of fireworks displays. Thanks for the tour. Kathy

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  14. I enjoyed your hometown tour.

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  15. How fun & beautiful! Love your tour.

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  16. Wow! This is a wonderful post! I am going to bookmark your little town as a possible place to visit one day. Thanks for "showing us around". Kelly

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