Byesville Rotary invited to explore local history

Pictured: Shana Fair, speaker host, and Jonett Haberfield, owner of A Taste of Ohio and Ohio-Made Getaways.

Jonett Haberfield invited Byesville club members to take a new look at local surroundings. She has been involved in tourism for over 30+ years. Recently, she is developing tours that explore “forgotten spaces” in Cambridge. Haberfield stated she hopes, “… to bring people back to downtown Cambridge.”

Cambridge is not unique. Many towns have forgotten spaces that are linked to the town’s history. These spaces are not a complete secret. Most people have heard parents and grandparents mention these spaces when they talk about memories and experiences from their pasts.

Haberfield said that sometime in the 1980’s a “Walking Tour of Historic Cambridge” existed. Haberfield explained the tour was self guided and that each of the 31 buildings included in the tour was identified by a small plaque mounted on the building. Haberfield discovered that many of the plaques were missing and that replacements would cost $3000.

Haberfield decided to develop several tours to replace the ‘80’s walking tour. She intends to focus on the forgotten and hidden spaces in Cambridge. The tours are geared toward adults. Each tour includes at least three buildings and covers the history and architecture of the buildings as well as information about the different businesses and owners which occupied the site, plus future plans for the property.

One tour—“Billiards, Ballrooms, and Basements”—includes stops at the billiards parlor, the Masonic Lodge, the Odd Fellows Temple, and the rooms above McKenna’s Market and the Guernsey Kitchen. Another tour—“Upstairs, Underground, and Unpredictable”—will visit Dr. Swans old office (above Rogers Jewelers), a work room for Rogers and a fallout shelter (basement of Rogers Jewelers).

Haberfield explained that there is a lot of work to prepare the spaces for a tour. The areas need cleaned up. Props that reflect her correct era need to be found to furnish the space. Sometimes Haberfield is lucky and finds many of the items she needs stored in the space—covered with dust and forgotten along with the space itself. She also recruits people to portray some of the people who used to inhabit the stops on the tour.

Other activities that Haberfield has planned and implemented to entice people to return to downtown Cambridge include activities for kids like “Little Princess Day” and “Super Heroes Day” and “Rock the Block”—an event for the whole family. Updated information about her creative tours can be found at http://www.atasteofohio.com

Connect with Byesville Rotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting.