Stemtown Museum grad opening draws a crowd for grand opening

Stemtown Museum in Green Springs held its grand opening April 6 following months of hard work moving from the old location on East Morgan Street into the former Calvary Church on Kansas Street.

Museum items from the former location were carefully packed and moved to the new location in July. It took about two days to empty and pack and be moved by a professional service.

"It took months to unpack," said Megan Knieriemen, president of the historical society. Decisions on where to place displays were done slowly, section by section.

More: Stemtown Museum building deemed unsafe, historical society discusses options

The interior of the new museum is enhanced by sunlight streaming through the beautiful stained-glass windows. The church pews offer a place to sit and view the individual displays, memorabilia from Echo Press and the Green Springs Community Band. Both upper and lower areas are filled with displays, and are accessible with chair lifts.

A steady stream of visitors attended the opening, chatting with each other and reminiscing about items on display.

When the former church building was up for sale, it was purchased by Bud Rutherford, longtime volunteer, who gifted it to the Stemtown Historical Society in memory of his late wife, Maxine.

“Everything I do is for her," he said of his wife, who died in 2019. They were married in 1951.

An entire wall is dedicated to Rutherford, with framed photos and documents, which he estimated would take about 35 minutes to explain to visiting school groups. He said he has 63 combined years in education, teaching driver education and physical education at Clyde High School and later serving on the Clyde-Green Springs Board of Education and Vanguard-Sentinel School Board.

The museum board is indebted to Bud, Knieriemen said. "He also allowed us to keep the proceeds from the sale of our former building. He's a pretty amazing guy," she said.

Rutherford has written two books, one about Green Springs and a more recent one about his and his wife's life story so their descendants can learn about them.

The new museum curator is Brenda Rando.

"I'm learning," she said. "It's the best job,” she said, explaining how Jacob Stem purchased land and developed the area of Stemtown, now known as Green Springs. Descendants of the Stem family from Michigan traveled to see the new museum.

Historical society board members are Knieriemen, president; Stephanie Rutherrford, vice president; Brenda Engeman, secretary; and Andrew Jones, treasurer.

Museum hours are 3-7 p.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, or by appointment by calling 419-639-0319. More than 100 people attended the ribbon cutting April 4.

Moore running to promote S.T.R.I.V.E.

Dr. Clifford Moore, DDS, of Columbus and a 2003 Clyde High graduate, plans to run a 100-mile Tribute Trails for Heroes this weekend to raise money for The Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative for Veterans, an in-patient facility based at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

He will start Friday in Cleveland at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument downtown, following the Northcoast Inland Trail and arriving the Veterans Memorial in downtown Clyde Saturday between 3 and 3:30 p.m.

During his run he will stop at eight different memorials, parks or museums to honor veterans. The Clyde VFW Post 3343, 847 W. Maple St., is holding a fundraiser from 3-8 p.m. for STRIVE that day with food, raffles, music and fireworks at 8 p.m.

To date, Moore has raised $12,600 toward his $20,000 goal for STRIVE. Donations can be made at give.osu.edu/tributetrail.

Moore ‘s parents both live in Clyde ― Millie Bouyack Keown and Brian Moore, commander at Clyde VFW Post 3343. Cliff Moore said he has been running for 26 years, switching from triathlons to marathons to ultramarathons. As a student at Clyde High, Moore ran cross country. He served four years with the U.S. Navy through the Health Professional Scholarship Program, which paid for four years of dental school. He owns a dental practice in Lewis Center between Columbus and Delaware.

He can be followed on his run by a tracker on his Facebook page, Clifford Moore.

S.T.R.I.V.E. is the only research institute in the U.S. that explicitly focuses on developing, refining, and treating in the areas of suicide, trauma, and gun related violence risk reduction. STRIVE provides state-of-the-art psychological treatment for current service members and veterans experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to exposure to military and nonmilitary related traumatic events. All veterans are eligible regardless era of service or discharge status.

Roach wins CCW raffle basket

Sarah Roach was the winner of the eclipse gift basket raffle put on by Clyde Career Women at Sandco Sweeties during eclipse weekend.

Jeanette Liebold Ricker writes about Clyde and Green Springs. Contact her at 419-547-8177 or by email at jeanette.ricker@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Stemtown Museum in Green Springs OH opens at new location