An unsinkable life
BARKing for rescue
Wave tennis victorious
OPINION • 3A
LOCAL • 1B
SPORT • 4B
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Sunday, August 30, 2020 • $1
Foundation distributes $139,000 in grants Provided photo
The Holzapfel brothers of Greenville enjoy books mailed to their home as part of the United Way’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The Darke County United Way received a grant from the Darke County Foundation to support the program that mails free books monthly to Darke County children up to age 5. Pictured (l to r): Max, Eli (standing), Graham and Trey Holzapfel.
DARKE COUNTY — The Darke County Foundation recently distributed $139,000 in community grants to 38 non-profit organizations that serve Darke County residents. The following funds at the Darke County Foundation provided money for the groups listed below, along with their project descriptions: J. Michael Beard Fund Bradford Schools – community garden Darke County United Way – Dolly Parton Imagination Library New Madison Public
Library – children’s book giveaway Harold and Betty Brewer Fund Darke County Humane Society – facilities and services Wayne HealthCare Foundation – programs and services COVID-19 Relief Fund FISH Choice Pantry – food pantry items Darke County Foundation General Fund Ansonia FFA – utility barn Bridges to College – college visits for high school students Cancer Assoc. of Darke
County – nutritional supplements Council on Rural Services – ACES School art class Council on Rural Services – Gateway Youth Community Connectors Darke County Center for the Arts – performing arts programs Darke County Historical Society – data server for Garst Museum Darke County Pregnancy Help Center – curriculum and technology Girl Scouts of Western Ohio – financial aid for members
Grace Resurrection Community Center – general expenses Illumination Ministries – festival expenses Kinder Korner Preschool furniture Ronald McDonald House Charities – lodging for Darke County families St. Vincent dePaul Society – financial assistance for Bradford and Versailles residents Trinity Lutheran Church – windows for educational wing See GRANTS | 2A
Spartech donates Treasured nook of ‘la vie en rose’ plastic shields to Remembering The Inn at Versailles Arcanum schools By Carol Marsh
DarkeCountyMedia.com
By Nathaniel Kubik DarkeCountyMedia.com
ARCANUM — With back-to-school time looking different this year, many parents are worried about school safety precautions regarding COVID-19, and what can be done to ensure the safety of students and staff returning to school. Spartech, a plastic fabrication company in Greenville, showed that they are willing to help weather this storm. Spartech donated plastic shields to Arcanum schools last Friday in an effort to ensure the safety of students and teachers. This donation will enable the school to erect plastic barriers in the offices and classrooms to provide additional safety. “We appreciate Spartech helping us out,” noted Arcanum Superintendent, John Stephens. “During this time, it has been problematic finding plastic shields, and the cost of them is fairly significant, so it’s nice to have that local connection, and be able to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.” Spartech donated 50 sheets to Arcanum for use primarily in elementary school classrooms. The plastic shields will be used in classrooms to create barriers that will help students and teachers maintain proper See SPARTECH | 2A
Provided photo
Arcanum Superintendent John Stephens (left), greets Donnie Baker (middle), a Spartech employee and Arcanum resident, and Robert Benton (right), Spartech plant manager.
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VERSAILLES — In Billy Wilder’s 1954 silver-screen classic, Sabrina, a chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) has dinner with her father’s employer, Linus (Humphrey Bogart). In their colorful banter, Sabrina shares her thoughts on visiting Paris, and attempts to persuade her cynical companion of its inexplicable charm, “…It’s for changing your outlook, for throwing open the windows and letting in ‘la vie en rose.” “La vie en rose” – a French idiom – in its barest translation, means “life in rosy hues;” however, it often implies a more subtle meaning which speaks to the feeling of being so happy that everything seems beautiful, no matter what may come. For many Ohio travelers throughout the decades, the intersection at Main and Center Streets, and the two-block radius surrounding it, is a memorable, magical place, filled with the sights and sounds of busy village life. For Versailles residents, it is the hallowed ground of those who dreamed of a better life, and worked tirelessly to attain it, making the most of their circumstances with optimism and grace. Without a doubt, the heart of the Village was the Inn at Versailles, the treasured nook of “la vie en rose.” Now, thanks to the generosity ofMidmark Corporation, the Inn and its legacy will continue to inspire future generations to live with renewed joy and hope. The site of the Inn emerged from humble beginnings, and has evolved as circumstances prevailed upon it. According to the Versailles Area Historical Society records, in 1860, hotel proprietor Isaac Marker opened
In an Emergency, When Seconds Count … We’re Here for You!
Carol Marsh | DarkeCountyMedia.com
The Inn at Versailles iconic sign, now resting at the Versailles Area Historical Museum.
the Golden Eagle House. In 1872, Harrison Brandon bought the hotel, but died only three years later. His widow, Margaret, remarried in 1877, and together with her new husband, Frank Snyder, renamed the hotel the Snyder House. Renovations to the structure took six years, and became a noteworthy hotel and boarding house until the great 1901 Versailles fire destroyed most of the standing structures. Undeterred by his misfortune, Frank Snyder rebuilt the hotel on the same site, using the very foundation which miraculously survived the destruction. In 1909, Snyder was elected to serve as the Darke County Auditor in Greenville; thus, he sold
the hotel that year to George Worch. In 1927, title transferred to Worch’s widow, Amelia, who hired James Beare in 1929 to manage the property. Soon thereafter, Beare added a restaurant, which added to the establishment’s popularity. Mrs. Worch sold the hotel to Glenn Hansey in 1946; however, Hansey put the hotel up for bid at a public auction, listing it as a “24-Room HotelBarber-Shop-Grocery.” Ross Ward, a Versailles visionary who owned a longstanding drug store, bought the hotel for $26,500, and rented the rooms as apartment space and hotel stays for long-term clients, renaming See ROSE | 9A
5-Star Quality Rated Hospital by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
835 Sweitzer Street Greenville, OH 45331