Lanterns and Landmarks

Learn about the Montgomery Lanters and Landmarks walking tour and get inside information about hidden history about one of Montgomery's oldest landmark buildings.

Transcript

Matthew Vanderhorst: 0:07

This is Montgomery Insider. I am Matthew Vanderhorst. Montgomery Insider is a podcast with your inside look at the city of Montgomery. Joining us today, our co-host, Amy Frederick, assistant City Manager Tracy Henao and Recreation director Julie Machon to talk to us about the upcoming Lanterns and Landmarks event.

Amy Frederick: 0:25

So tell us about lanterns and landmarks, the historic walking tour.

Tracy Henao: 0:29

Well, Amy, Lanterns and Landmarks is a historic walking tour of downtown Montgomery, where we get to see several of our historic landmarks within historic downtown. It's a super fun event that starts at Universalist Church. We make sure that you're well fed with some heavy orders, and we give you some wine to start the evening out correctly. So you want to bring friends or have a date night. It's a fantastic event for that. And then we'll head out by lantern light along the brick paved sidewalks in historic Montgomery to see some of those landmarks and learn about the history behind the city. So it's just a great opportunity to get out on Saturday night and learn a little bit more about downtown Montgomery.

Matthew Vanderhorst: 1:17

So this is the fourth year of lanterns and landmarks. What can visitors expect this time?

Tracy Henao: 1:22

Great question, Matthew. So we are always trying to mix it up a little bit. We want to make sure that the last year's event has got a few different new twists this year so that if you did come last year, you'll see some new things. Probably my most the thing I'm looking forward to the most this year is that we have two of our fabulous staff members that will be playing historic characters within walking tours. So the first will be Richard Parrott, played by Kevin Cesare, our community development director. And then we will have Hannah Tolman played by the one and only Julie Machan, Recreation director. And so they'll give you an insider's look at what their life was like living here in the village.

Amy Frederick: 2:06

So those two people actually lived here in the what did you say, the 1700s, 1800s?

Tracy Henao: 2:10

Yeah, exactly. So Richard Parrott was a really well known person here in the city and the 17 and 1800s and ran a general store.

Amy Frederick: 2:20

And he's the name behind Parrott Alley.

Tracy Henao: 2:22

Exactly. That's where we get paired alley from. And then Hannah Taulman was the wife of the first postmaster for the village and also the dreaded tax collector.

Amy Frederick: 2:36

So, Julie, let me ask you first, what's your favorite stop on this tour?

Julie Machon: 2:39

There are a lot of great stops, but by far my favorite is definitely Yost Tavern. So this is the oldest building in Montgomery. It's on Main and Cooper and the chair of the Landmarks Commission, Larry Schwartz, just outdoes himself. He adds furniture. You get to kind of go explore the building and learn about it. You get to go upstairs, you get to go down in this cool cellar if you wish to. I cannot confirm or deny that there may or may not be a shot of an adult beverage on hand, but we will definitely keep you hydrated along the tour.

Amy Frederick: 3:15

So I'd like to hear that.

Julie Machon: 3:16

Yeah.

Amy Frederick: 3:17

So same question to you, Tracy. I know that you know a lot about every single building down there in historic Montgomery, but what's your favorite stop on this tour?

Tracy Henao: 3:25

I think that my favorite stop has to be the Jonathan Crane house, which is home to Clarity Bakery and Tea House if you haven't been in. So it's a great opportunity to get inside the building, see all of the hard work that they put into renovating the building. But they also have a lot of historic artifacts about the building and the Crane family who owned the home. And there may be a possible tie to Charles Dickens with this house. So it's always fun to kind of hear about that as well. But most importantly, they give you a free, delicious cookie to end the tour with. So you have to check it out.

Amy Frederick: 4:02

Now, you had me at Cookie, but let's back up with the adult beverages now. If I'm out and about, can I get a refill on my door cup?

Julie Machon: 4:09

Absolutely, yes. So we start you off on the tour with some adult beverages at the beginning at Universalist. Throughout the tour, we do make a stop at Corner Pub and of course the ending at MPH. So you'll definitely be hydrated for sure.

Amy Frederick: 4:24

And that's so important when you're out walking on a Saturday night is to stay hydrated.

Julie Machon: 4:29

Yeah, exactly.

Matthew Vanderhorst: 4:31

So, Tracy, every time you talk about Montgomery's history, you always have these golden nuggets of hidden history out there that I'm always surprised about. What is your favorite piece of hidden history?

Tracy Henao: 4:42

Well, there are an awful of really fun things that we talk about on the tour. Some historic moments from 1700s or 1800s all the way up to the eighties, and even some fun facts from today that we'll throw in as we walk on the tour. But by far, the one that I think is the most fun to talk about is that when they were constructing Universalist Church, the. Rumor has it that they needed something to model the beautiful tapered columns for the church after. So what makes it better? Better template than a nice barrel of whiskey. So they put barrels of whiskey into the pillars and then built the pillars around them so we can never confirm or deny. We're certainly not going to tear down the building to find out, but there could be some very nice, nicely aged whiskey in the columns at the church.

Amy Frederick: 5:34

So if people want to do this tour, what's the best way for them to get on it?

Julie Machon: 5:38

So check out the city's website. Montgomery, Ohio dot gov and search for lanterns and landmarks. So check us out. It's Saturday, October 22nd, 6 to 9. We start off at Universalist Church. We do have a few spots left, but it is a pretty full class right now.

Amy Frederick: 5:56

So can my kids come?

Julie Machon: 5:58

It is actually for 21 and over due to the.

Amy Frederick: 6:01

Even better.

Tracy Henao: 6:03

Duration.

Amy Frederick: 6:04

I will leave the kids at home this time.

Matthew Vanderhorst: 6:08

Well, this sounds like a really, really fun event. I encourage everybody to come, especially if you haven't already. Thank you, everybody, for listening. And remember to subscribe to Montgomery Insider to catch the next episode. Thank you.