SMALL TOWN USA, cont.—

Last Sunday, son Brian and daughter-in-law Kate treated me and her pop to Father’s Day breakfast at the Mansfield Restaurant; always a nice place to eat.

Kate’s dad, Ron Rabel, and his first wife Joyce, were my late-wife’s and my best man and matron of honor at our wedding. Imagine that.

I was reminded earlier that morning by a local news item about the Mansfield Memorial Museum so I headed there after breakfast. I think the last time I visited that place was in the early 1950s.

While waiting for them to open I plopped on a park bench in Mansfield’s square and listened to the amplified sermon by a preacher over closer to North Park St. His congregation was rather small.

At the museum I met a very enthusiastic Scott Schaut, its curator and director. He came to Mansfield in the 1990s and has found his life’s calling. He told me about the museum being founded by a Civil War Veteran in the late 1800s.

While enjoying his story, well known columnist, recently retired and once co-worker of mine, Ron Simon stopped by, so, Ron and I promptly interrupted Scott’s tale with some tales of our own; just briefly, of course.

The current building was opened in 1889 and was built as a permanent meeting hall for the Grand Army of the Republic (Union veterans of the Civil War). It also housed the Mansfield/Richland County library from 1889 to 1908, and the museum—way up on the third floor.

Today, the modern library is one block North and the museum will soon have displays in the entire building.

It is the oldest Memorial Building in Ohio and still has its original woodwork. Even the original meeting room chairs remain in use today.In fact, Scott and I sat in two of those chairs as he treated me with this delicious story.

The photo above shows the memorial building when it was flanked by the Madison Theater which was demolished many years ago. The photo is from their web site which is here: www.mansfieldmuseum.org.