Preserving the past

TIFFIN — The Tiffin Historic Trust was recently host to its annual dinner and award ceremony, where members of the community are recognized for their efforts to restore or maintain historical buildings with Historic Preservation Plaques. Recognized at the event were four separate properties: • 116 N. Sandusky St., recognized were Tony & Lee Anese• 12 S. Monroe St., recognized was Larry Breidenbach• 491 Circular St., recognized were Mike & Nancy Grandillo• 125 E. Market St. (Tiffin Community Kitchen), recognized by Rev. Aaron Gerlach. President Tim McKee shared some background of the property at 116 N. Sandusky St., owned by Tony & Lee Anese. "It's the perfect blend of updating and modernizing a Victorian home," said McKee. "It still has that character, the charm, and it feels comfortable and elegant." Next to be recognized was that of 12 S. Monroe St., owned by Larry Breidenbach. Breidenbach shared that he repainted the home top to bottom on the exterior, and that alone has completely transformed the look of the home. "This property wasn't always located here either," shared Breidenbach, noting the property was moved just prior to the historic flooding in Tiffin back in 1913. He continued, sharing historic photos of where the home was previously located. McKee asked Breidenbach if he maintained the property as a single family home, to which he quickly responded "Yes– I could not break this property up like that." Gina Grandillo accepted a historic preservation plaque on behalf of her parents, Mike & Nancy Grandillo, for the work put into her childhood home at 491 Circular St. According to Grandillo, her parents originally purchased the home in 1982– two years before they got married, for $13,000. "There is a lot of history to the house, and my mother actually did write a bit of a story about the person who built our house," said Grandillo. She began sharing the history of the property, noting it was built by a runaway slave named Dennis Bibb and his wife Emily Bibb in 1873. "Dennis met his wife Emily– who was from Tiffin, in the Oberlin area after escaping the slave trade," shared Grandillo. Reportedly, Bibb was formerly owned by John Martin James, grandfather of the notorious outlaws Frank and Jesse James. She continued, "John James died in Kentucky, where it is believed Dennis was held before jumping ship in Cincinnati, and following the underground railroad to Oberlin." Grandillo also shared many newspaper articles and even a few history books that cited Dennis and Emily's love story, and how they had arrived together in Tiffin. Additionally recognized at the event was the Tiffin Community Kitchen, attached to the Old Trinity Episcopal Church located at 125 E. Market St. Accepting the plaque on behalf of the kitchen was Rev. Aaron Gerlach, who shared he was grateful for the Trust's guidance in the construction of the project. "One of the first things we were told is to make sure when you add on to a historical building, you don't want to mimic it's style but rather complement it," said Gerlach. Construction on the Tiffin Community Kitchen is ongoing, with several milestones achieved over the last several months, according to Gerlach. Additionally, recognized at the event was trust member Rachel Crooks with the Volunteer of the Year award. Upon accepting the award, Crooks shared the following: "It's been an exciting year, and the group has accomplished so much together. As someone who has personally renovated a historic home in Tiffin, I am passionate about preserving the beautiful historic properties in our community, and I hope we can continue building momentum and enthusiasm for that work."