Tuesday, July 20, 2021
www.the-papers.com
Serving Elkhart County and parts of Noble, LaGrange & Marshall Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . . . . 2➤ Speak Out . . . . . . . . 3 Good Neighbors . . . . 4 Vol. 49 No. 15
Goshen (574) G (5 ) 53 534-2591
134 S. Main, Goshen, Indiana 46526
Ruthmere survives the pandemic %\ /$85(1 =(8*1(5 $VVRFLDWH (GLWRU Throughout 2020 when the world shut down hard due to the global pandemic, there was concern as to who would make it through, small businesses, restaurants and tourist attractions such as zoos and museums. For Ruthmere the shutdown came at a fortunate time, the museum is closed to the general public from January to March. During this time Bill Firstenberger, executive director of Ruthmere, and his staff plan for the rest of the year. Instead of opening April 1 as usual, the Ruthmere campus, which includes the 1910 Beaux Arts home of Albert and Elizabeth Beardsley and the Havilah Beardsley home, located down the street, opened June 14, 2020, and made it a free day for visitors to come and tour both homes. “It was a great learning curve,” Firstenberger said. “How we could shift gears … We can make decisions and implement them the next day.” The first decision was to address projects Firstenberger and the staff had decided needed to be addressed. The first quarter of the year is typically used for planning, now the staff had an additional planning. Ruthmere also participated in programs offered by Hoosier Hospitality Promise and received a payroll protection plan. “It helped make ends meet especially for staff hours,” Firstenberger said of the PPP. When the museums opened in June, 2020, at just 50% capacity, there were no issues with visitors not wanting to wear masks. And Firstenberger and the staff simply followed the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control. A new HVAC system was installed in the game room so they could have concerts in the fall and winter. “It was about maintaining the traditions, keeping the series going in a difficult time,” Firstenberger said of 2020. “This year has been a great start since we opened April 1. This special exhibit (‘Wedgewood Blue’) just opened (two) weeks ago and it’s doing phenomenally well.” What helped Ruthmere weather the pandemic storm was some well made decisions in 2019. The museum sold a Rodin sculpture purchased by Walter Beardsley
in 1969. He donated it to the museum with the intention it could one day help secure the legacy of the museum. In 2019, Sotheby’s sold the “The Fallen Caryatid” by Rodin for $7.5 million netting Ruthmere $5.98 million. The funds provide financial stability for the organization with a sliver being used for necessary historical preservation and public education. The pandemic provided staff with extra time for research, photography and development of the “Wedgewood Blue” exhibit. More than half the objects in the exhibit were procured by Ruthmere for the exhibit. Then in the fall, those items will go up for public auction. “Our staff is so creative, unbelievably creative. Pre-COVID, ideas were discussed. The pandemic swept the slate clean as to what’s a new way of interpreting history to the public. The ideas (from staff) went through the roof),” Firstenberger said. One of those new ideas is a partnership with Beacon Aquatic Center and Elkhart City Parks called the History Hike For Fitness. This self-guided history tour is a 1.6 mile loop featuring 12 historic stops and 12 fitness stations all around Island Park and the River Walk in Elkhart. The launch card is available at historyhike.org. “This is another idea born in the vacuum of the pandemic,” Firstenberger said. At the Havilah Beardsley House, the Ruthmere board agreed to purchase the house located to the north of the Beardsley home. Research showed it was once the carriage house for the Beardsley home and after numerous owners was converted to a home in 1926. In 2020, the house caught on fire. The board decided to purchase the property and save the property. Firstenberger said the project is being done in phases. Phase one which will be done at the end of summer is to put a new roof on the building and make sure it’s structurally sound inside. “There’s lots of possibilities of what it could be. We’re at the beginning of a strategic plan revision. That’s part of the fun of figuring it out,” Firstenberger said. At Ruthmere, repairs are also underway with tuck pointing brick work, installing a new HVAC unit on the third floor and putting a new roof on the home as well.
1(&(66$5< 5(3$,56 ³ /LNH PRVW ROGHU KRPHV 5XWKPHUH LV LQ QHHG RI VRPH PDLQWHQDQFH +HUH %LOO )LUVWHQEHUJHU ORRNV RYHU D SHGHVWDO LQ IURQW RI 5XWKPHUH QHHG LQJ UHSDLU ZRUN 3KRWR E\ /DXUHQ =HXJQHU
7(//,1* 7+( 6725< ³ %LOO )LUVWHQEHUJHU OHIW WDONV DERXW WKH DUFKLWHFWXUH RI WKH EHVW SDUORU LQ WKH +DYLODK %HDUGVOH\ KRXVH ZLWK 6WHYH %DUWRQ GRFHQW DQG YLVLWRUV -RDQ 'RZQV .URVWHQNR DQG 0DUJDUHW 0HVHUYH 3KRWR E\ /DXUHQ =HXJQHU
+,6725,& 35(6(59$7,21 ³ 6KRZQ LV VRPH EULFN ZRUN RQ WKH IURQW H[WHULRU IHQFH EHLQJ UHSODFHG DW 5XWKPHUH $ORQJ ZLWK WXFN SRLQWLQJ D QHZ +9$& ZLOO EH LQVWDOOHG RQ WKH WKLUG ÁRRU DV ZHOO DV D QHZ URRI 3KRWR E\ /DXUHQ =HXJQHU