Bellevue Historical Society

Current Events

Bellevue Historical Society is having our Annual Garage Sale fundraiser this year!

So hold on to those goodies and let it become someone else treasures and donate to this fundraiser.
Please see details below on the poster.

Bellevue Historical Society 2021 Annual Meeting

WELCOME!

Because the current Coronavirus pandemic precludes our gathering in person, this year’s annual meeting is hereby called to order “in print.” So put your slippers on, get comfy, and read on …

FROM LAST YEAR’S ANNUAL MEETING. Our 2020 annual meeting had been scheduled for March 19 at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Bellevue. Immediately prior, however, the coronavirus hit. Out of an abundance of concern for our members’ health, the Board felt it prudent to cancel; therefore, there are no minutes because there was no meeting. Little did we suspect that the world would still be grappling with COVID-19 nearly a year later!

TREASURER’S REPORT (summary). In keeping with our members’ and donors’ intent, in 2020 we spent over $53,000 on restoration of the historic Tremont House. We are excited to have made so much progress in 2020 and earnestly hope that 2021 will be the year when we can open Phase I of the Bellevue Heritage Museum! In spite of our having to curtail our fundraising activities due to the pandemic, the community continued to offer their strong support. The board has striven to be good stewards of our donors’ funds by comparison shopping, cutting unnecessary expenses, etc. We have no paid employees.

Beginning balance 1/1/2020 (all accounts) $68,103.08
Ending balance 12/31/2020 (all accounts) $30,869.08

2020 COMMITTEE AND ACTIVITY REPORTS

Building Committee. Tremont House: All front porches repaired and reinforced … Bricks repaired/replaced … Roof repaired … Porch and sidewalks replaced or repaired … All trim work scraped and repainted (175 years’ worth of paint!) … Historically appropriate exterior doors installed on upper floors thanks to a grant from the Dorn Foundation … Most pillars installed, with the remainder to be installed in 2021 … Fire escape repaired. Annex (building behind the Tremont House): Exterior repaired as much as possible and repainted; roof repaired. Office building (108 Northwest Street): Leak in roof repaired. Thank you to the dedicated contractors who have gone above and beyond in the Tremont House/Annex projects: A2Z Pressure Washing of Bellevue, Bent Nail Architectural Millwork of Lodi, Chamberlin Roofing of Fremont, Keystone Custom Construction of Bellevue, Quality Welding of Bellevue, and Wilhelm Construction of Monroeville.

Collection Committee. In 2020 we stepped up our efforts to organize and document the items in our collection. The shelving and totes purchased with a grant from the Sandusky County Communities Foundation were a big help. We also instituted a new donation form to better establish the provenance of historical items given to the Society. Many thanks to the 26 individuals, families, and organizations who donated literally hundreds of items this year!

Education Committee. Our popular annual Bellevue Cemetery Walk on September 17, with area funeral director Brian Foos as guide, was attended by over eighty people. Board member Jeannie Gore faithfully maintains our Facebook presence and coordinates with our web developer, posting many interesting articles and photos of historical interest.

Fundraising Committee. We are extremely grateful to the individuals and businesses who have supported the work of the Bellevue Historical Society in 2020. Due to the pandemic, we were unable to have our annual gala or garage sale. Our annual sunflower sale in July, however, was a huge success! And for the first time, we hosted a drive-through chicken dinner fundraiser in September. Our board was humbled and amazed by the outpouring of community support in terms of patronage, sponsorships, volunteers, etc. Thank you, Bellevue!

Volunteer Committee. A big thank you to the many individuals (in addition to the board members noted elsewhere) who gave so generously of their time so the Society could carry on in 2020: Karen Dendinger (repairing holiday decorations for use in 2021); Brian Foos (cemetery walk); Oscar Bannister, Paul Wolfe, Jim Ott, Dan Hartley, Doug Gildenmeister (construction and painting); Beth Patten Bailey and Mary Magyar (sunflower sale); Bellevue High School art teacher Leslie Woodard and student Katilyn Cullen, Beth Patten Bailey, Leslie Hackenburg, Abby Kastl, Roberta Kimmet, Andy and Lisa Lukac, Renee Schoen, Ray Tea, and Pat Zerman (chicken barbecue).

Plans for 2021. As stated in our bylaws, the Bellevue Historical Society exists to further historical education and to bring together people who share a common interest in Bellevue’s local history. We hope to turn a real corner late in 2021 by opening the first floor of the Tremont House to the public as the Bellevue Heritage Museum! But that goal will not be achieved without a significant investment of our donors’ dollars and our volunteers’ time. Watch for more information in your mailbox (or your email inbox) soon.

ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS

Eligible for reelection this year for two-year terms expiring in 2023: Dale Hoffman, John Miller (president)
Candidate for one-year term expiring in 2022: Mary Shelley
Eligible for reelection in 2022 (no vote needed this year): Larry Claus (vice president), Pat Custer (secretary), Jeannie Gore, Mary Mitchell (treasurer), Alicia Robles

HOW TO VOTE: If you have any objections about any of the above nominees serving on the Board of Directors, please contact us by March 15, 2021. Otherwise, the assumption is that these willing and hardworking volunteers have the membership’s approval to serve on the Board.

Do you know of anyone else (perhaps yourself) who would be interested in serving on our Board of Directors? Please contact us!

Our Board meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of every month, and meetings are ALWAYS open to any Society members who wish to attend. Of late, we have had to meet via Zoom – which does offer certain advantages, we must admit. If you would like to attend a Board meeting, please call us at (567) 228-0833 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will then email you a link to the next Board meeting. Members’ input and suggestions are always welcomed!
You may print a PDF version of this 2021 Annual Report as well by clicking this link.