greene dedication

  • By Tami Lange Mosser
  • October 2, 2013
  • 446
                        
The Green Local Schools Board of Education has voted to raze Greene Middle School, but local preservationists are not ready to give up the cause just yet. The work of the Green Township Historic Preservation Society has resulted in the building, formerly Smithville High School, being included on the National Register of Historic Places. So, regardless of the building’s future, the GTHPS plans to celebrate the honor with a dedication ceremony on Saturday, Oct 19 at 11 a.m. in front of the school on Ohio 585. According to GTHPS President Sam Sheller, the event will feature a number of speakers and will mark the building’s Sept. 4 recognition because “it is huge. It’s something we worked so hard on. We thought it was important to have an event to celebrate that.” Among the speakers will be Smithville Mayor Allen Snyder, former Smithville teacher Beverly Crafton, Smithville Community Historical Society President Harold Downey and Barbara Powers from the State of Ohio Historic Preservation Office. George Brown, a northeast Ohio representative for U.S. Rob Portman also will attend. Sheller will emcee and music will be provided by the East Chippewa Church of the Brethren Vocal Band. Because the school district is hosting a volleyball tournament that day, attendees are asked to not park on school grounds, Sheller said. Instead, parking will be available at the nearby Mishler Weaver Mill, the Smithville Village Park and at Beaver Meats. The school building, the core of which was built in 1939 as part of FDR’s Works Progress Administration, becomes the 18th Wayne County property to join the register, which already includes the Wayne County Courthouse in Wooster, the Zimmerman Bury Octagon House in Chippewa Township, the Barnet-Hoover Log House at UA Wayne College, the Kister Mill in Clinton Township and the Orrville Downtown Historic District. While the inclusion on the register does not mean the school board must halt its plans, it does buy Sheller’s group another bargaining chip, not to mention it “opens the doors to a floodgate of funding opportunities,” he said. The organization, which wants to convert the building into a community center and performing arts center, already has more than $300,000 in donations and pledges and Sheller admitted he does not know how much it would take to get the board to change its mind. Still, he said, “we’ve invested too much time and too much money to give up now.” The school is still in use through the current academic year, so Sheller said the GTHPS plans to use that time to educate the community about historic preservation and historic buildings. With plans to also demolish Smithville Elementary, Marshallville Elementary and the current high school, the Greene building would remain “the only connection to the past in our community.” Dozens of governmental and community organizations have been invited to the celebration, which also will feature the sales of t-shirts and special-edition Cat’s Meow miniatures of the building. Sheller also noted the event will dovetail nicely with the Smithville Community Historical Society’s open house, which is scheduled for 1:30-4 p.m. “It’s going to be a perfect fall day,” Sheller said, “with lots of celebrations going on."


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