Hiram House Today

Calling all Campers!
Horse Around at Hiram House 2009
NEW! First Alumni Summer Reunion & Annual Benefit
Saturday, July 18, 2009, 1:00 - 9:00pm

Please Join Us! Pass the Word to your fellow Alumni! Bring your Families and Friends!

Were you ever a Hiram House Camper, Staffer, Supporter - (or just wish you were)? Hiram House is calling all its current and former campers, staff members, their families and friends, as well as supporters across Ohio and the nation, to come together for a fun-filled time at camp this summer.

On Saturday, July 18, 2009, we will host "Calling all Campers! - Horse Around at Hiram House", featuring our first Summer Alumni Reunion for generations of campers, staff, supporters and "campers at heart" of all ages.

NEW! Enjoy an afternoon of your favorite camp activities and attractions, like canoeing, horseback riding, archery, climbing wall, nature walks, and camp tours. Plus, an entertaining evening of food, friends, and fun, complete with entertainment by David Young, barbeque, auction, campfire, songs under the stars, and more! The daytime activities kick-off at 1:00 p.m. and the evening festivities will end by 9:00 p.m.

All proceeds will benefit the Hiram House Horseback Riding program and Campership Fund to help send area children in need to a life-enriching summer camp experience.

Reserved tickets will include a Barbeque Buffet dinner by the Winking Lizard with beverages and dessert, plus all camp activities and entertainment. Tickets are $35 adults, $15 children (2-12 yrs., under 2 yrs. free), free parking at camp.

Hiram House is also seeking Alumni to share their own camp stories, photos, memories, as well as Sponsors for the event. We also welcome Alumni volunteers for the Alumni Association Reunion Committee. If interested, please contact Hiram House for details.

Hiram House is the oldest camp in Ohio and among the oldest in the United States. Operating a continuous camping program in the scenic Chagrin Valley area since it was founded in 1896, it has served thousands of children and adults with a variety of Summer Camps, Outdoor Education & Recreation programs and Retreats for well over a century. It was officially recognized for this long legacy of service with an Ohio Historical Marker awarded by the Ohio Historical Society and the Ohio Bicentennial Commission in 2001.

Hiram House has a rich history with deep ties in the Northeast Ohio community. Originally founded in downtown Cleveland as Ohio’s first “Settlement House” in the summer of 1896 by a small band of students from Hiram College, it opened it doors to help decades of children and families from all ethnic, racial and social groups. Each summer children boarded the old C&E Interurban trolley to transport them to Hiram House’s “Fresh Air Camp” in the country.

To commemorate this unique heritage, special exhibits will be on display at the event all afternoon, including one by the Cleveland & Eastern Interurban Historical Society. The track for C & E’s Chagrin Falls’ line ran through the camp’s property. Dubbed “Snail’s Trail” by the campers, the route is still visible and has been hiked by thousands of children to the present day. The Maltz Museum also will have an exhibit noting the role Hiram House played in aiding the waves of immigrants who arrived from across Europe and elsewhere in the early 1900’s adjust to new lives in America. Video images from the extensive Hiram House collection at the Western Reserve Historical Society Library will also be shown. The Hiram House archives at WRHS are available to educators, scholars and the public (See related articles below, WRHS, Maltz).

Located amid 172 acres of lush woods, streams, ponds, meadows, and wildlife, at 33775 Hiram Trail, in Moreland Hills, Ohio, the camp is open year-round and beautiful in all seasons. Among its popular attractions are the Double H Ranch Riding Center, 35-ft. Alpine Climbing Tower, Log Cabins, 1890's Fire Station, Treehouse, Train Station and Caboose.

To register or for more information about the event, please call the camp office at (216) 831-5045, or Alumni may use the online registration form. All other supporters, please read more here. A non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, Hiram House is accredited by the American Camp Association and is a United Way Partner Service Agency.

Ingalls Foundation Donates $100,000 for Fourth New Log Cabin

The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation donated $100,000 to the Hiram House Capital Campaign to help fund construction of a fourth new residential Log Cabin for Lodge Village in Pioneer Circle. The Ohio-based Foundation also helped fund the first of several Log Cabins built at the camp in recent years.

Artist's renderings (pictured from top to bottom) Log Cabin, Lodge Village in Pioneer Circle, and the first of several new Log Cabins built at camp

These year-round cedar cabins each house fifty campers, counselors and staff, with four dormitory wings, restrooms, showers, a central activity lounge and winterized sun porch. The 4,600 square foot structures are handicapped accessible and have state of the art fire and safety features. The newest Cabin will be nestled in the woods around Pioneer Circle in the heart of the scenic 172-acre campgrounds. It will be used by Summer Campers, School Campers and Retreat Groups.

For more information about the camp's Master Plan, capital improvements and other new facilities planned and how you can help, please click here or contact the camp office directly at (216) 831-5045.

Hiram House Western Reserve Historical Society Photo now in Smithsonian National Museum of American History, History Channel Film

Children with Flag and "AMERICA" sign July 4, 1918 at Hiram House Settlement, photo courtesy of the Western Reserve Historical Society Library

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, based in Washington, DC, has reopened its doors after a two-year restoration project. The NMAH's new Star Spangled Banner exhibit now features a one hour film titled "Legacy" produced by the History Channel's Save Our History series with a bit of Hiram House history.

"Legacy's" film producers selected a wonderful Western Reserve Historical Society Library photographic image from their Hiram House scrapbook collection, according to the WRHS News. The black and white photograph, dated July 4, 1918, features seven children standing on the grounds of the orginal Hiram House Settlement in downton Cleveland, each holding a board spelling out the word "AMERICA". An eighth child stands nearby with the American flag, You can visit the NMAH exhibition online at: http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner and the History Channel at www.history.com

The Western Reserve Historical Society Library, located in University Circle, houses an extensive collection of archived Hiram House records, photos and memorabilia from the early 1900's. It is available to scholars and the public for research and education. Director of Research Dr. John J. Grabowski is an expert in early Hiram House history. His articles on the subject appear in the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, the Ohio History journal and other scholarly publications. Visit WRHS at: www.wrhs.org

Founded in Cleveland in 1896, Hiram House was the first Settlement House in Ohio and one of the first in the nation. It provided needed services to immigrants and families in need. An outgrowth of its programs was Hiram House's Summer Camp for children, held in the Chagrin Valley area each year. The Settlement House closed after WWII, but Hiram House Camp has remained in continuous operation for over one hundred years now and still fulfills the mission and vision of its founders. This long legacy of service was recognized with an Ohio Historical Marker awarded to Hiram House from the Ohio Bicentennial Commission and the Ohio Historical Society.

Editor's Note: Hiram House "AMERICA" Photograph and article excerpts reprinted courtesy of the Western Reserve Historical Society. Visit the WRHS at: www.wrhs.org

Hiram House Has Long Legacy
in Northeast Ohio Community also in
Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage

For more than a century, Hiram House has had a postive impact on generations of people in Northeast Ohio.

When Hiram House was founded in Cleveland in 1896 as Ohio's first Settlement House, it sought to help the waves of new immigrants, children, families, and ethnic groups coming to the United States from across Europe and elsewhere around the world who flocked to urban areas around major cities.

From humble origins in a small wooden house on Orange Street, to its brick three-story complex along Woodland Ave., to its summer camp for children in the Chagrin Valley, Hiram House served thousands of people in the Cleveland Jewish community and others living in the surrounding neighborhoods for decades, from the late 1800's into the 20th century.

For its legacy of service, Hiram House is recognized in a exhibit titled "A Place of Welcome" in the "An American Story" permanent collection at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, in Beachwood. Visit at: www.MaltzJewishMuseum.org

Learn more about the history of Hiram House and view our video at: www.hiramhousecamp.org/history.htm

Hiram House Hosts
Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce
Camp Facilities, Programs, Attractions featured in CVCC Publications

Hiram House co-hosted the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce at camp for the organization's monthly "Meet Me at 5" program this spring.

Hiram House is a member of the CVCC. The Camp was also featured on the cover of the CVCC's March newsletter.

Watch for an upcoming article about the camp's deep roots in the Chagrin Valley in the fall 2009 issue of Chagrin Valley Magazine, published by the CVCC and the Times. Visit at www.cvcc.org