[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8087]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE RENOVATION OF THE MONCLOVA, OHIO POST OFFICE BUILDING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 2008

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, this month marks a celebration in the 
community of Monclova, Ohio. After four years, hundreds of volunteer 
hours given by dozens of volunteers, and many donations and financial 
contributions from generous sponsors, the citizens of Monclova will 
dedicate a reconstructed and renovated historical Post Office. Bill 
Strayer and Mary Kay and Connie Nuhfer of the Monclova Historical 
Society prepared a wonderfully descriptive history of the building and 
the effort to restore it, which I am pleased to submit for the Record.

            A Brief History of the Monclova Old Post Office

       By the late 1800s and early 1900s, Monclova Township 
     boasted a variety store, a mercantile, a drugstore and a 
     barbershop, as well as wagon makers, blacksmiths, and a 
     lyceum. Home mail delivery was also provided to area 
     residents following the Rural Free Delivery legislation 
     enacted by Congress. Ira Hinkle became the first mail carrier 
     in the Township, using a horse and covered wagon on good 
     weather days and riding the horse in snowy weather. Claire 
     Metzger became the first Postmistress of Monclova Township on 
     March 19, 1915; she served for 41 years before retiring on 
     October 31, 1956. Prior to Miss Metzger becoming 
     Postmistress, the Trapp Mercantile Store housed the Monclova 
     Post Office. Claire, however, had a cement block building 
     erected on property owned by her father, John Metzger, 
     creating the first stand-alone post office in the Township. 
     This one room building was unique in that it was the only 
     post office in the country to have a piano; Claire would 
     often entertain her customers by playing songs on it. The 
     post office continued to operate until December of 1961, when 
     the current Monclova Post Office opened on the corner of 
     Monclova and Waterville-Monclova Roads.
       Within a few years after its creation, the Monclova 
     Historical Foundation was approached by the Kerscher family 
     to see if its members would like to have the old Post Office 
     building that now sat empty. The Kerschers, who owned the 
     land where the old post office was located, requested that 
     the building be moved from its current site and relocated on 
     the Community Center property. At that time, the Foundation 
     did not have the resources to take on the property and so the 
     project was put on hold.
       In 2004, however, the Foundation was approached by retired 
     Master Carpenter and builder Ray Parker. He and friend Peggy 
     Brown were willing to take on the project of saving and 
     restoring the old building. In June 2004, a letter was signed 
     granting the Foundation ownership of the old Monclova Post 
     Office with the condition that it be removed from the 
     Kerscher property. In early fall 2004, a meeting with Ray 
     Parker, Peggy Brown, Bill Strayer, then president of the 
     Foundation, and Tom Meyer, architect and friend of Bill's, 
     met to discuss what had to be done to move the building. Ray 
     made detailed drawings of the building including noting where 
     each block was located. There were four different style 
     blocks used in the Post Office and Ray wanted to be sure it 
     would be reconstructed exactly as it was before it was taken 
     down.
       A few weeks later a group of volunteers took apart the 
     building block by block. The blocks themselves were the only 
     part of the building that were salvageable, but small pieces 
     of trim were saved to be used as a pattern for creating new 
     trim work. The blocks were stored behind the Community Center 
     until plans, prints, permits and funds were ready. In late 
     summer 2005, reconstruction of the old Post Office began and 
     the building was under roof by winter. In early 2006, Ray 
     Parker died of cancer. Peggy, along with Bill and many other 
     volunteers, have worked to complete the building the way Ray 
     would have wanted. Over seventy volunteers have put in 
     hundred of hours of work on the project and contributors have 
     given both large and small donations in order to make this 
     restoration possible. On May 24, 2008, the building will be 
     officially dedicated; it will then be used as a museum for 
     area school-children and visitors to explore and to learn 
     about the history of this great community.

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