Warther Museum celebrates 50 years with special event
By Kyle Valentini
May 31, 2013
897
The Warther Museum at Dover will celebrate 50 years on June 8 with a daylong event that will showcase three locomotive engine carvings that famed master carver Ernest Mooney Warther gave away years ago, a practice that was common with the artisan. The event offers discounted admission prices and anyone under the age of 17 is admitted free. Children will receive a complimentary pair of carved wooden pliers, a trademark of the museum.
Current museum director Patrick Warther along with the tireless efforts of his brother-in-law and Warther Cutlery president Steven Cunningham were able to secure one-year loans of two pieces currently owned by the Ohio Historical Society and another that has been in the care of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y.
Mooney never sold his carvings, said Patrick Warther. He gave them away and such is the case with the pieces we will have on display as we celebrate 50 years in the community at the museum.
The Warther Museum, opened by the late David Warther in 1963 to honor his father, is now in the capable hands of third- and fourth-generation family members.
We have a lot of plans for the museum, said Cunningham. We are working on some outdoor improvements, some of which will involve the participation of the public.
In addition to the three pieces, one of which was gifted in 1924 to the then president of the New York Central Railroad and stayed with the railroad until 1961 when it was handed over to the Adirondack Museum, the special event will also include a replica chess set carved by Cunningham.
We were able to track down a partial chess set Mooney had carved for actor Henry Morgan, said Cunningham. I decided to try my hand at carving and last Christmas I presented a complete replica chess set to my father-in-law Mark (Warther). Mark Warther is the current owner of the museum.
Attempts to borrow the carvings were made in years past but to no avail. We were fortunate that everything came together, said Patrick Warther. It was Steven who made it happen. He was relentless and now visitors have an opportunity to see these early carvings that really showcase the progression of Mooneys work. They are not as detailed as later pieces and in one case there is no base. Mooney always included a base.
At one time there probably was a base but it might have gotten lost as the piece changed hands, said Cunningham.
First time visitors will be impressed with the museum that includes dozens of original Warther carvings, the Button House, home to Mooneys wife Friedas collection of more than 100,000 buttons, with more than 73,000 buttons artfully displayed, and the kitchen cutlery shop where they can watch firsthand the creation of craft kitchen knives using the same techniques developed by Mooney Warther.
The museum grounds include the restored original Warther home as well as railroad collectibles and the original 1916 Concord grape arbor as well as the Swiss gardens designed and planted by matriarch Frieda Warther when she and Mooney first bought the property in 1910. The gardens continue to be meticulously maintained by the Warther family. We are getting ready to plant 4,500 annuals, said Patrick Warther. Even visitors who have been here before always discover something new at Warthers.
Tours June 8 begin at 8:30 a.m. and continue until 6:30 p.m. The museum is handicap accessible and plenty of comfortable seating is available.
Warther Museum is located at 331 Karl Ave., Dover. They can be reached at 330-343-7513.
