New Bremen
Historic Association
120
North Main St. - P.O. Box 73
New
Bremen, Ohio 45869-0073
[Founded in 1973]
Meetings of the N.B.H.A. are held
the first Tuesday of each month
WINTER: 7:30
pm - Library meeting room SUMMER (May - September): 7:00
pm - Museum ———————— ANNUAL PUBLIC EVENTS ANNUAL
DINNER: 3rd Monday of March SUMMER PICNIC:
1st Sunday of June CHRISTMAS
CANDLELIGHT DINNERS: December CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE: 2nd weekend of December ———————— “The Towpath” is the New quarterly
newsletter, a benefit of N.B.H.A. membership.
Membership: $15.00/yr. - or $150.00/Lifetime |
(We’re across from the Post Office) VISITING
HOURS: 2:00
- 4:00 P.M. Sundays June - July - August [or by appointment] |
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CONTACT LIST: NBHA Officers/Contact People Links
to Other Organizations, etc. TOWPATH ARCHIVES: Oct.’87-Jan.’96 INDEX OF
ARCHIVES (.pdf) CHURCHES (St. Paul
Church) SCHOOLS (NBHS
Graduates) NEW BREMEN’S
CENTENNIAL - 1933 Mexican &
Spanish-American Wars HISTORICAL ARTICLES “The Bloody Barn Battle
of 1879” New Bremen Furniture / Monty
McDermitt New Bremen’s Filling
Stations (.pdf) MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES “Our Home Town”
(1935 poem) “The Flour Sack” (poem)
Lockkeeper’s House Progress
The groundbreaking for the reconstruction
of the Lockkeeper’s House in New Bremen was held on Monday August 3, 2009 at
10:00 A.M. at the site of the original lockkeeper’s house on Lock One North
of the Miami and Erie Canal in the heart of New Bremen. The new building will serve as a visitor’s
center, interpretative museum and offices for the Miami and Erie Canal Corridor
Association (MECCA) and Southwest Auglaize Chamber of Commerce as well as
meeting rooms. Many officials of the village and
organizations were present for the ceremony as well as a crowd of interested
citizens. Wanda Dammeyer displayed her completed model of a young boy leading
a mule on the towpath. The construction costs of the Lockkeeper’s House are being
covered by a Transportation Enhancement Grant awarded by the Ohio Department
of Transportation. The New Bremen
Historic Association raised money for
the local match of funds. The NBHA will
design exhibits within the new building to tell the story of the Miami and
Erie Canal and New Bremen.
Construction is expected to be completed by spring of 2010. uuuuu Lockkeeper’s House Fund Raiser #2
One thousand keys have been made, one of which will open the
door to the new Lockkeeper’s House when it is completed. These keys are still being sold for $20.00
each, with the “lucky” key holder being the winner of $1,000 cash as well as
various gift certificates from local merchants. True Value Hardware furnished
all keys, including the one that will open the Lockkeeper’s House. The first key was sold Tuesday, January
13th, to Mayor Jeff Pape at the Village Council meeting. Anyone who wished could come to the open
council meeting and purchase a key for themselves that night. Keys are available at the Chamber of
Commerce office or by contacting Delores Stienecker at 419-629-2685. The drawing will be held when the
Lockkeeper’s House is dedicated. |
Our old flag is now here Rededication of Civil War Flag
from Company
C of the Thirty-Seventh Ohio
Volunteer Infantry Regiment 10:00 a.m. Saturday, August 22,
2009 at Lock One of the The Miami & Erie Canal New Bremen, Ohio The Civil War Flag
given to the members of Company C of the 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment
by the citizens of New Bremen was carried through the war and returned by
William Schulenberg at the end of the Civil War. The flag passed through
three generations of the Schulenberg family and to Ray Knipple in 1959 for
safe-keeping. In 1975, Mr. Knipple
donated the flag to the New Bremen Historic Association. The flag has been restored and is on
display for all to see at the Bicycle Museum of America. On Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 10:00 AM,
a large crowd gathered to rededicate the flag. The American Legion Post 241
Color Guard was present as well as two men (John Hoffman and Wayne Maurer)
dressed as Civil War soldiers. Mayor
Jeff Pape addressed the group and said, “This is a lasting impression of what
sacrifices were made by those men in the name of freedom.” Author Mark
Bernstein talked about his research in the book “Company C: New Bremen and
the Civil War.” The AC Swing Band
played “Rally Round the Flag”, a very popular song during that time period. Rev. Becky Erb Strang, minister of St. Paul
United Church of Christ, delivered a prayer. Everyone
then entered the Bicycle Museum of America to view the flag where it will be
permanently on display. All were
surprised to see how large the flag is.
It measures 6’6” by 13’8” and was carried in the battles. The specialists who restored the flag (the
Textile Conservation Laboratory at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in
New York City) said they could still smell the gunpowder when they took the
flag out of its case. This is truly a
piece of our national history and the role that New Bremen played. Be sure to take your family to see the
flag. [Gen Conradi] uuuuu The
Past is our Future Lockkeeper’s House Fund
Raiser #1 In the early days of the Miami and Erie
Canal in New Bremen, what was later referred to as “the Thompson House” was the lockkeeper’s
house and New Bremen’s major overnight lodging establishment. It was the job of the lockkeeper to keep canal
boat traffic moving through the lock.
Boats coming from the north would be pulled into Lock One and raised
to the summit level to travel across the Continental Divide and then to
continue south on their way to the Ohio River. Boats coming off the summit level would be
locked through Lock One and then would continue another 123 miles on their
descent to Lake Erie. The lockkeeper was responsible for
tending the lock on the canal day and night and so a house close to the lock
was necessary. The original lockkeeper’s house stood on the west bank of lock
one until April 1968 when it was destroyed
in a practice session for the New Bremen and other area Fire
Departments. The foundation of the house
was uncovered during the renovation of Lock One in 2006. The house was referred to as “The Thompson
House” because Mr. Thomas B. Thompson was the lockkeeper for many years.
The New Bremen Village Council filed for a grant for
the project and a Transportation Enhancement Grant was obtained for
$522,300. To meet the grant requirements,
we must provide 20% matching funds.
Our share is $130,000-$135,000.
All donations towards this project at any level of giving will be
appreciated. If this amount is raised,
construction can begin by July 1, 2009.
Occupancy would be anticipated by early 2010. Your gift is tax deductible because the N.B. Historic
Assoc. is a 501(c)3 organization. Suggested donation levels are: Partners in
Building - $100.00 Cornerstone
Club -
$1000.00 [At the $1000 level your name will be placed on a bronze plaque and you will be included in the Grand Opening Celebration.] Memorials are also accepted. wwwww Please send your contributions to: New Bremen Historic Association P.O. Box 73 New Bremen, OH
45869-0073 |
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Standing: Larry
Dicke, President of NBHA; Delores Stienecker, NB Village Council &
Curator for NBHA Museum; Wayne York, Village Administrator; Brad Garmann,
Garmann/Miller & Associates (Principal Architect); John Rausch,
Garmann/Miller & Associates (Project Manager); Ben Baumer, Baumer
Construction (General Contractor); Todd Weigandt, Area Energy & Electric
(Mechanical Contractor); Mayor Jeff Pape. Kneeling: Neal Brady, MECCA; Jim Coon, Chamber of Commerce Director. |