Lake Township Historical Society celebrates 27th Christmas Dinner and fundraiser

For the 27th year, the Lake Township Historical Society held its festive Christmas Dinner and benefit auctions, both silent and live, at Hartville Kitchen on Dec. 5. 

This year’s theme was “Cornerstone and Hearth.” Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. with an auction preview, bidding on silent auction items and cookie trays available for purchase.

LTHS President Shelly Quinn offered opening remarks and delivered a tribute to Lois Lehner, a longtime member and supporter. The invocation was given by Sandi Costell, who also led attendees in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Donna Hall served as mistress of ceremonies.

This event is LTHS’s signature fundraiser of the year and helps support preservation and celebration of the community’s history. Recently, the society announced the purchase of a historic property in downtown Hartville through a generous donation from a community member, along with additional contributions from residents and businesses. In addition to maintaining One-Room Schoolhouse No. 12 and the museum property in Greentown, the new space will allow LTHS to deepen its educational, cultural and community impact. Upcoming steps include cleaning and preparing each room, moving in and organizing the space, hosting a ribbon-cutting and finalizing a calendar of programs and events.

Dinner included a choice of four entrées—roast beef, broiled chicken, baked boneless chicken with cream sauce or vegetable lasagna—along with mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetable medley, assorted rolls, a dinner salad and a slice of pie for dessert.

Following dinner, Reflections, a group of talented Lake High School students, performed several holiday songs including “O Christmas Tree,” “Silver Bells,” “Deck the Hall,” “Silent Night,” “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” and “Joy to the World.” The Lake Local Schools Choir Program’s mission is to provide a quality music education to all enrolled students by focusing on the individual performer. Reflections, consisting of sophomores, juniors and seniors, is the high school’s only auditioned vocal ensemble and performs under Choir Director Matthew Eversdyke.

A short business meeting was held, led by James Tawney and Ruth Sturgill. Four board members were reelected: Martha Mertz, Lexi Pearson, Shelly Quinn and Ruth Sturgill. Quinn also presented an award to Tawney for his 19 years of service as LTHS treasurer. LTHS is seeking a volunteer curator; those interested may email lths95events@gmail.com.

After the silent auction closed, Hall led attendees in singing while they played bells and waved glow sticks. The evening concluded with the live auction conducted by Bruce Morckel. Items included two packages donated by Dr. Mark Smith—a dinner for eight in his newly renovated 100-year-old barn decorated with American folk art and a tour of the Pioneer Farm Museum, and a second package featuring a museum tour with an overnight stay and farm-style breakfast. Other offerings included a week in a house near Sarasota, driver training lessons from Myers’ Driving School, a rare signed copy of “A History of Hartville, Ohio” by Jim McPherson, Ruth Sturgill’s renowned ground cherry pie and a vintage Archie Griffin football statue from a 2006 limited edition of 1,500.

Corporate table sponsors for the evening were Dutcher Door, Gentlebrook, Noble Homes, Starkey & Runkle Law Firm, Yoder Bontrager Insurance and Lee Yoder Construction. The Planning Committee, chaired by Ruth Sturgill, included Joy Benton, Sandi Costell, Joyce Freeland, Abigail Gabler, Mike Gabler, Tami Gabler, Donna Hall, Freda Hathaway, Ruth Hawari, Debby Hershberger, Irene Hershberger, Lisa Hershberger, Sandy Jarvis, Jim McPherson, Martha Mertz, Bruce Morckel, Beth Pearson, Lexi Pearson, Shelly Quinn, Chase Schweitzer, Ava Snyder, Rita Snyder, James Tawney and Rosie Vadasz. The committee also thanked the many individuals, merchants and corporations who donated items for the auctions.

For more information, visit the Lake Township Historical Society on Facebook at facebook.com/laketwp200.