July 7, 2011
Home and Garden Tour higlights 1800s BY CANDY BROOKS
Ventrescas blend history, whimsy inside their 1820s ‘dormitory’
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Some of Worthington’s oldest structures will be open during the Worthington Historical Society Home and Garden Tour on July 10. Thirteen buildings, seven of them private homes, will be on the tour that runs from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available prior to the day of the tour at the Old Rectory and at Fritzy Jacobs. On July 10, they will be available at the Orange Johnson House and the Old Rectory. Presale tickets are $10. The price is $15 on the day of the tour. To celebrate the 200th birthday of the pioneer section of the Orange Johnson House, this year’s tour will spotlight buildings constructed in the 1800s. The homes on the tour are as follows: • 25 Fox Lane: The home stands on land purchased in 1812 for the Worthington Manufacturing Co., operated by Worthington founder James Kilbourne. It included a sawmill on the river. In spring 1814, the large brick building was constructed as a boarding house for single workers at the company. Officers at Camp Lyon used it during the Civil War. Current owners bought it in 2009 and made several upgrades, including a more substantial deck to enjoy the view of the Olentangy River. • 680 Hartford St.: The property was one of the original parcels when Worthington was founded in 1803. The house was
By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
It’s one of those houses you have always wanted to see inside. And this coming Sunday, for the first time, visitors will be welcome to come and see the interior of one of Worthington’s smallest but most visible homes during the 2011 Worthington Home and Garden Tour. The Ventresca home is the cozy, saltbox-shaped home at 72 E. Granville Road. The long side of the narrow house is just feet from Hartford Street, inviting drivers stopped at the infamous long red light to look and wonder about the quaint historic home. Though it may look like it was plucked from a storybook, the 1820s house is the very real and comfortable home of Jim and Jordy Ventresca. The couple has lived there since 1971 and has restored and added to the house, making sure it remained authentic but with a touch of whimsy and an appreciation for conveniences of modern life. Known as the Travis Scott House, it is one of the oldest post-and-beam structures in Worthington. The Ventrescas tell visitors that the most remarkable thing about the house is that it is still standing.
By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
The fireplace of Jim and Jordy Ventresca’s home at 72 E. Granville St. will be part of the 2011 Worthington Home and Garden Tour.
Historians believe it may have Scott, the first documented been built as a dormitory for owner, signed the deed with an workers putting in the railroad tracks east of town. See HOME, page A2
A closer look Tickets are available prior to the day of the tour at the Old Rectory and at Fritzy Jacobs. On July 10, they will be available at the Orange Johnson House and the Old Rectory. Presale tickets are $10. The price is $15 on the day of the tour.
built between 1882 and 1889 for Caroline Vest and her daughter and sister. The home has been modernized and includes a twostory addition and a garden that features hundreds of perennials, including hostas and day lilies. • 91 E. Granville Road: The lot was owned first by Russell Atwater of the Scioto Co., but the house was built circa 1860. Winfield Vest built new additions circa 1890. Family antiques and quilts decorate the home, which includes carved wood trim in the master bedroom. • 92 E. Granville Road: Known as the Topping Evans House, the structure was built in 1845 but has undergone several characteraltering additions since then. Second Empire construction with a mansard roof was added in 1878. Features include horsehair plaster and original plaster, molding, doors, windows and woodwork, mantels, floors and staircase. • 72 E. Granville Road: Built circa 1820 as a dormitory for railroad workers, the Travis Scott House is one of the oldest postand-beam structures in Worthington (See related story).
• 72 E. North St.: Built in 1838, the Mattoon-Woodrow House was moved from the northwest corner of North and High streets in 1932 by John Snouffer. The home has been listed as a station on the Underground Railroad. It once was owned by the Rev. Thomas Woodrow, who was minister of the Worthington Presbyterian Church and grandfather of Woodrow Wilson. • 700 Hartford St.: An early, one-room structure, the Skeele House was built on this lot in 1827 by Ebenezer Washburn. The current form of the structure probably took shape in about 1837. The elegant double-galleried home is decorated with period antiques and art by local artists. The extensive English gardens were designed by the current owners. Other structures to be open during the tour are the Ripley House, 623 High St.; the Masonic Lodge and Museum, 634 High St.; Sharon Memorial Hall, 137 E. Granville Road; and the Sidney Brown House, currently operated at the High Road Gallery, 12 E. Stafford Ave. Also open for tour will be the Old Rectory and the Orange Johnson House, both owned by the historical society. A spinning demonstration will be held from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at the Orange Johnson House. Herb experts will discuss typical 1800s herbs and their uses. Artwork from the society’s collection will be on display at the High Road Gallery. The Bethel Folk Ensemble will perform at Sharon Memorial Hall. cbrooks@thisweeknews.com
Learning communities CELEBRATING THE FOURTH being planned for TWHS By CANDY BROOKS
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ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Teams of 100 to 400 students who are focused on a topic of mutual interest are being organized at Thomas Worthington High School. “Cardinal Communities” is the title of a renewal program being planned by TWHS teachers and administrators, who presented an overview to the Worthington Board of Education on June 27. Under the plan, students and teachers could choose to form learning teams that spend most of each school day together, with classes formed around a specific topic of interest. The school already has communities centered on business; engineering; and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Ninth-grade teams are being
I think this is terrific. It is exactly the way schools need to go.
MARC SCHARE school board president
planned. They will keep teams of freshmen together during mornings or afternoons to help ease the transition into high school. Future learning communities might be focused on sports and fitness; culinary arts; engineering and architecture; or fine arts. Those were the top four academic themes mentioned by students surveyed in October 2010. According to advocates of the system, learning communities offer opportunities for students and staff to focus on an area of interest and
allows education to be more personalized. Service learning, community involvement and senior projects also are part of the program. Some youths already form their own communities, board member Julie Keegan said. A formalized program would allow more students that advantage, she said. Keegan said she is concerned about the practical application, especially when it comes to the complex process of high school scheduling. “It’s going to be a lot of pieces coming together,” she said. Additional communities are not planned for next year but could begin in 2012-13, assistant principal Rebecca Chapman said. Meanwhile, more effort will be placed on marketing the learning communities already in place, she See BOARD, page A2
Blossom Tour shows off gardens at homes in Worthington Hills Eight Worthington Hills homeowners will open their gardens to the public Sunday, July 10, for the 2011 Blossom Tour. The Worthington Hills Garden Club sponsors the tour, which will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Visitors will see both professionally landscaped gardens and gardens designed by the homeowners, transformed from challenging terrains into dramatic (or cozy) garden spaces. They’ll also see sources of design inspiration or horticultural ideas in the hardscapes, clever vertical spaces, delightful water features, interesting shrubs and perennials, shady and sunny locales, flat and hilly grounds, benches and swings, gazebos and tree houses.
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All proceeds from the Blossom Tour will benefit the landscaping fund of Habitat for Humanity Greater Columbus. Tickets are $10 on the day of the tour, available at the Worthington Hills Country Club, 920 S. Clubview Blvd. Advance purchase tickets at $7 are available online worthingtonhillsgardenclub.com. Children ages 12 and younger will be admitted for free. Visitors will receive tour books with descriptions of each garden and a map at the country club. For more information, go to the website or call (614) 436-5626. — Candy Brooks
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Jim Rush, a member of the 30th Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, watches the festivities during the Fourth of July Family Festival held on the lawn of Thomas Worthington High School July 4.
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