Kelleys Island History Blog

Can you believe that it has already been 11 years since we opened the doors on the new museum? Read all about opening day and the move from the church to the new building as documented in our Fall 2010 newsletter. We bet you’ll recognize many of these names. The new museum and gift shop officially opened on June 26, 2010. Our hours of operation were from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. And we were, once again, able to run by an all-volunteer staff. Volunteers were recruited by Fran Minshall and worked the entire summer. The volunteers included: Pat Seeholzer, Leslie Korenko, Ed Frindt, Charlotte Halliwill, Knut Lahrs, Mary Ann Pileski, Carol Dodson, Shirley Crabill, Elsie Homegardner, Anne Eddowes, Fran Minshall, and Sharon Mclntire; along with substitute Lori Arnold. A huge thank you goes to all of these dedicated volunteers who made it possible for us to be open for the hundreds of interested islanders and island visitors to see our beautiful new museum, while learning about Kel...

Every museum has a ghost story (except maybe us), and every museum has that one item that is a show stopper. Ours is “that creepy doll”. Of course we don’t think the doll is creepy at all. She is quite charming. She was donated by Lydia Bechtel and she is wearing a blue skirt with a white blouse and cloth sweater. She has a lovely pearl necklace and earrings, and has lace-up black and white shoes and socks. In researching her, we discovered an advertisement for a similar doll with this description that closely matches our doll. A doll made by Simon & Halbig, which has a smooth, creamy bisque face with crisp facial modeling. She has four upper teeth, small ears, molded and feathered brows over deeply set, spiral threaded eyes that close for sleep with upper and lower lashes. Her hair is a Mohair wig, which likely had spiral curls at one time. We actually have several lovely old dolls which we are working at bringing back out into the museum. The scariest thing about this doll is how...

Decoration Day was appropriately observed by the people of Kelley’s Island, who at 4 o’clock assembled at Kelley’s Hall, where a very interesting address was delivered by Rev. M. K. Holbrook. During his remarks, he gave a short sketch of the lives of the six soldiers who are buried in the cemetery, three of whom died in the service, one – Mr. Simon Huntington – of wounds. After the address a procession of carriages was formed, which proceeded to the cemetery. The ladies of the Island had brought their choicest flowers, forming beautiful wreaths and bouquets, and the graves of the unforgotten brave were profusely and beautifully decorated. The grave of one soldier is unmarked by any tombstone, and a committee was appointed, consisting of John T. Woodford and Mrs. George C. Huntington to procure funds for the purpose of erecting a suitable monument over his grave. It is perhaps unnecessary to say that the funds will soon be forthcoming from the large hearted people of the Island. The cer...

  T HE ISLAND’S OLDEST INHABITANT– JACOB HAYES   George Huntington , in his presentation to the Fire Lands Historical Society   on October 30, 1862, offered this about the man. “Jacob Hay, then as now a bachelor, and one of our oldest residents, was boarding with Mrs. Knowlton at the afore-said boarding house in front of where the Island House   now stands. If, as political economists assert, that man is to be considered a public benefactor who causes two spires of grass to grow where but one grew before, then Mr. Hay is certainly deserving great credit, since he has performed a much greater amount of physical labor than any man now living on the island, almost the whole of which was tended directly or indirectly towards the general improvement. For 15 years his time was devoted almost exclusively to clearing land, building fences, putting up small tenements, &c. and since that date he has been employed in making and repairing agricultural implements, &c., ...