The Franklin Area Historical Society will host Sam Ashworth, who will present his film Armco Ambulance Corps in the Great War on Monday, November 11, at 6 p.m., at the Deardoff Senior Center in Franklin.

 

The film highlights the ambulance corps sponsored by the American Rolling Mill Company (Armco) in 1917. The company, in just its second decade of business, sent 15 men to serve with the French, helping to remove the injured from the front lines.

Ashworth, a graduate of Eaton High School and Miami University, worked in the design department of Armco Steel Corporation for 15 years. More recently, he has served as the Executive Director of the Middletown Historical Society and has done exhibit design and historical documentaries for many historical organizations.

Admission is free and the presentation is open to the public. The Deardoff Senior Center is located at 605 S. River St., Franklin. For further information, call (937) 746-8295.

At this meeting, FAHS will conduct a short official member meeting to elect 2020 board members and officers.

The photo is courtesy of the Midpointe Library Digital archives. Thank you to Julie Kellis for this article.

The Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce will hold an After Hours Holiday Mixer called "Mooses and Mistletoe" at the Harding Museum on Thurs., Nov. 14, 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the Franklin Area Historical Society and the George E. Kuhn & Company. Stop by for some holiday cheer, a chance to make new friends, and enjoy our beautiful museum's professional holiday decorations, with a "Here Comes Santa" theme.

RSVP online here for this free event.

Our ever-popular Holiday Home Tour will allow you to explore five historic homes, two museums, an historic downtown Franklin building, and an historic Franklin church. Tickets are $15 until Dec. 8, and you can purchase them online with a credit card at this link. Tickets will be $20 after Dec. 8, and will be also available at the door on tour day.

The tour begins at the Harding Museum, which will be professionally decorated for the holidays, with the theme "Here Comes Santa." Questions? Call (937) 746-8295.

Many thanks to our 2019 Tour sponsors, Gross Lumber Company and The Greenbusch Group.

It's not every day that someone turns 100, but one of our members did a few weeks ago. Congratulations to Dick Tracy on his milestone!

Dick is a longtime member of the Franklin Area Historical Society. He was born in Franklin and graduated from Franklin High School. He has lived here all his life except during World War II when he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in the South Pacific.He was injured during an amphibious attack on the island of Pelilu during his third year in the Marines. He also had some shrapnel wounds and received a Purple Heart.

He has lived in Franklin since then and worked as a printer for several area companies.

Dick was baptized at St. Mary's in Franklin and was married there. His wife, Jean, died in in 2010. He has three sons, two daughters, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. He still lives at his home in Hunter and does his own shopping and cooking.

The Springboro/Franklin branch of LCNB National Bank recently remodeled its office. The new decor includes historic photos of both communities. Franklin photos include John F. Kennedy's visit to Franklin; the Harding brothers, Justin and E. Forrest; the railroad bridge during the 1913 flood; Franklin sports teams; and more.

On Oct. 16, Eric Meilstrup, LCNB CEO, presented checks to the Springboro Historical Society (represented by Charles Schaefer) and to our Society (represented by Harding Museum Director Julie Kellis) to thank both societies for their assistance.

Our beautiful Harding Museum generally looks wonderful, but we do face a major repair of one of our chimneys. It has a long crack and must be rebuilt at a cost of $6,000. That was the lowest of three estimates which we received.

Since our entire operating budget is an extremely lean $18,000 per year, we cannot even begin to cover that expense ourselves. We hope to have the repair completed this fall, and have submitted grant requests to the Warren County Foundation (which was denied due to it being a capital project) and the Middletown Community Foundation (waiting for a response), and we have received a $700 a donation from the Fraternal Order of Orioles, Nest #263.

Granting organizations require matching funds, so we are also reaching out to FAHS members, as it is people like you who are most likely to want to support and maintain our beautiful museum. If you wish to donate, please mail a check made out to Franklin Area Historical Society, 302 Park Ave., Franklin, and mark it "chimney."

Schenck Elementary students recently visited our museums, and Hunter Elementary will be visiting in early November.

At the Harding, the Schenck students had a wonderful time looking at the summer exhibit, Work Hard, Play Hard: The History of Sports in the Franklin Community; the artifacts in the Franklin room; Mr. Moose; General Harding's sword collection; and more.

Many thanks to our staff and volunteers who worked with students: Julie Kellis, Tim Carberry, Patty Frazee, Pam McClain, and KathyMaria Badalamenti.

Are you an early holiday shopper? Are you familiar with Amazon Smile?

Amazon Smile donates 0.5% of qualified purchases to a charity of your choice. We hope you will choose FAHS! You must designate Franklin Area Historical Society as your charity and and begin your shopping at smile.amazon.com

Shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7164805 and AmazonSmile donates to FAHS.

Thank you to Wesbanco for underwriting the admission fees to both the Harding Museum and the Log Post Office this year. We appreciate their support of FAHS and generosity in making the museums financially accessible to all.

The Harding Museum is open on Fridays, 10 to 3. The Log Post Office has closed for the season, but both museums are open by appointment. Call (937) 746-8295.

We're fortunate to have received several grants this year. Many thanks to the W. E. Smith Family Charitable trust for a $1,845 grant that we used to purchase portable, folding art display boards. Franklin City Schools has graciously lent us their boards the past two years, but now we have our own. We will also purchase a screen and archival storage with these grant monies.

Many thanks to the Heritage Advisory Council for a grant with which we will purchase a portable projector.

Many thanks to the Fraternal Order of Orioles Nest #263 for a $700 restricted donation toward our chimney repair.

Thank you to our members and friends who have recently supported the Society with their donations!

Membership has its privileges

Membership in the Franklin Area Historical Society benefits the community and you!

Membership dues help maintain the Harding Museum and the Log Post Office. Memberships preserve artifacts that tell the story of Franklin. Memberships allow the Society to offer educational programs that benefit local schools.

And, membership will let you be among the first to know when special events and programs will take place, plus give you a member discount on certain ticketed events.

You can join or renew online with a credit card here. If you prefer to download and fill out a paper membership form and mail a check, you can do that, too.

FAHS was founded in 1965 with 177 charter members. Four are still living, Harriet Foley, Carolyn Kramer, Ann Tracy, and Dud Bryant. and three are still active with FAHS. The idea for a local historical society stemmed from Franklin Public Library Board discussions. A few highlights from the first decade society's existence:

The Harding Museum is available to rent. Some of the recent activities that have taken place or are scheduled are a graduation party, a wedding, Rotary Club Holiday party, a family Christmas party, a baby shower, and a birthday party. The rental form is available here. Call (937) 746-8295 to check date availability.

We appreciate Clark's Tax Service for their 2019 support.