Local
historian/writer visits NB-NK Rotary club
New Bremen-New Knoxville Rotarian Steve Smith
introduced Ms. Mary Ann Olding as the “Martha Stewart of historic
presentation and research.” Ms.
Olding has spent her professional career working to research, record, and
preserve the history of West Central and
Southwest Ohio
. Having lived in New Bremen, Ms.
Olding is a co-founded the New Bremen Historic Association in 1973, prior to
living and working in
Cincinnati
for the past 25 years. Recently
she sold her home in
Cincinnati
and moved to the southern shore of
Lake
Loramie
where she’s discovered “a great place to think, read and write” and work
on her latest projects.
Ms. Olding has been contracted by The
Verdin Bell Company to write a book about their long tradition of
manufacturing and restoring large bells and clock towers.
To begin the project, she spent two years planning and researching an
historical fact finding trip to
France
. Mary Ann traveled to the
Strasburg area in eastern
France
where the Verdin family immigrated from in 1837.
Ms Olding said “I always spend a lot of time preparing and
researching for my trips, I never like to leave things to chance. I set my
itinerary, my trips, my appointments, everything ahead of time.”
Through her research, Mary Ann
discovered that the Verdin family had operated their bell and clock business
as far back as 1650 in the small
village
of
Vanvey
, in the
Burgundy
region of
France
. “The family worked there from
about 1650 until 1795 as nail makers, blacksmiths and horse smiths.
I had discovered a small town near Vanvey where a large forge had
existed. We traveled to Marlenheim
to see the forge, only to discover that it had burned about 15 years prior,
said Ms. Olding. “Several of the
buildings of this small manufacturing village remained, dating back to the
early 1500’s and in fact, the great-great-granddaughter of the forge owner
still lived in the community,” said Ms. Olding.
As the result of her efforts, Ms. Olding was able to find all of the
birth and death records of the Verdin family going back to the 1600’s
through the local churches. This
helped her piece together the long tradition of bell making with the Verdin
family.
People want to gather around something in their community that has
meaning,” said Olding, referring to the old church bells and clock towers
found in this part of Ohio., known as the “
land
of
Cross Tipped
Churches.” The Verdin Bell Company (Verdin family) immigrated to
Cincinnati
in 1837, and began work right away forging the bells and clock that went into
the clock tower for the Old St Marys Church in the Over-The-Rhine district in
Cincinnati
in 1842. “The Verdin Company
asked me to write this book so that they might celebrate their heritage and
market their long standing tradition of excellent craftsmanship to newer
clients,” said Ms. Olding.
Hosting Rotarian: Steve Smith
