Saturday, November 28, 2009
By LINDA M. LINONIS
Vindicator Staff Writer
GIRARD — For children, toys are synonymous with Christmas. This year, the historic Barnhisel House, 1011 N. State St., is highlighting a unique collection of cast-iron and other metal toys.
If you’re looking for a family outing, the collection will be featured during three weekends of “Christmas at the Historic Barnhisel House” planned by Girard Historical Society. Society members will take visitors on guided tours.
Kids of all ages will be fascinated by metal toys.
Colette Chuey, vice president of the society, said she and other members are displaying parts of their collections.
A large display case houses old-fashioned firetrucks whose horsepower had four legs. The size and weight of the cast-iron toys are enough to tucker out any child. Some date to the early 1900s — and others, the 1950s.
A smaller case features large and small trains dating to the early 1900s.
A table displays a Scottish doll from the 1800s that wears a red-plaid kilt. “They don’t make them like this anymore,” Chuey said.
A metal toy soldier who plays a drum and a dog that feeds itself candy are two of the wind-up toys, which Chuey estimated are from the 1940s.
A metal top, which Chuey said she bought on a trip to North Carolina, has a special link to the Buckeye State. It was made by the Ohio Art Co.
The toy display doesn’t stop in this room. Toys, a reminder that the house was home to children at one time, are an element in most of the rooms.
In the Blackstone Room, a tree is decorated appropriately to the time period when the house was built and home to the Barnhisel families. Tom Blackstone had the oldest business in Girard, a funeral home, and a clock from his business also is in the room.
Candles, oranges with cloves, crocheted ornaments and small tussie mussies (floral and herb nosegays) provide decorations that recall simpler times.
A wooden cradle with a baby doll, a few teddy bears and old wooden toys emphasize the time when video games and iPods didn’t dominate children’s lives.
Sleigh bells, with a wonderful melodic sound, are among items in this room. “In the early 1900s, the bells were on horses, and you knew when your street would be plowed,” Chuey said.
On the second floor, another tree is decorated in what Chuey described as “Victorian fussiness” with gold angels, small fans, tussie mussies and crocheted ornaments.
In a bedroom, a closet is home to an array of baby dolls, whose eyes seem to follow visitors. An old desk from the former Wilson Avenue School in Girard also recalls times gone by.
Chuey said fourth- and fifth-graders from Girard, Liberty and St. Rose visit the historical society’s house. “It’s a learning experience,” she said.
The Barnhisel House also has an array of interesting artifacts for adult visitors.
Chuey said remodeling and restoration buffs will appreciate what the society has accomplished in the house. “There was nothing here in 2000,” she said. There’s a hand-turned banister and balusters on the staircase.
The society has preserved in photographs what the rooms were like. And, through glass-covered sections of wall, visitors can see the weathered walls and up into the brick chimney.
There’s a nice collection of furniture, some from the Barnhisel family.
linonis@vindy.com
Barnhisel House
Christmas weekends
The historic Barnhisel House, a 10-room Greek revival mansion at 1011 N. State St., Girard, is decorated for the holidays. The house, built circa 1840, has an Ohio Historical marker dedicated June 12, 2004.
Weekends: Hours are to 1 to 5 p.m. today and Sunday and Dec. 5-6 and 12-13. Holiday decorating is by Girard Moccasin Garden Club, Girard Herb Society, Flower and Alternatives and Creative Design and Landscaping. Refreshments will be served; musical entertainment will be featured Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for children. Parking is available at Frankford Bicycle Inc.
Background: Henry and Eva Anna Barnhisel bought 318 acres in the Connecticut Western Reserve of Ohio in 1813 and settled there. A son, Henry, acquired the land after his father’s death. In 1833, he married Susan Townsend, daughter of a Youngstown businessman, and built what is now the Barnhisel House in 1840.
Information: Contact Colette Chuey, vice president of Girard Historical Society, (330) 545-6162. The house will be open for the Christmas weekends and then closed until spring. For special tour arrangements, call Chuey.