We’re back from Christmas break, and ready to hit the ground running in the new year. The end of December is a great time to give our readers a sneak peek at some of what is coming with MyHometownOhio, Preservation Ohio and the statewide preservation and revitalization movement during the coming twelve months.

Earlier this month, we added our new Clipmarks Feature Box to MyHometownOhio, which allows us to feature articles concerning Ohio and Ohioans – as well as preservation stories of national interest. Clicking on the “from” link takes you to the full article. And, if you want to take the Feature Box with you to your own website or page, just click on “Embed” on the bottom left of the box, copy the code, and paste away! Later this Spring, MyHometownOhio will add new social networking features that will bring Ohio preservationists together in new and effective ways.

Preservation Ohio has recently joined the ranks of non-profit organizations using brand-new “Facebook pages” as a way to communicate with a broader set of individuals, and to attract a younger generation to the potential of the state’s historic resources; click here for a sneak peek. Our new Ohio Heritage Traveler website is also poised for launch in the coming weeks.

This Fall, a statewide preservation conference for Ohio is scheduled to make a return after a multi-year absence. The date for the event will be announced shortly.

A Call for Nominations for the 2008 List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites goes out in January. This year, final decisions will likely be made on properties already included in the list, including the Seneca County Courthouse.

Another edition of Statehood Day is set for March 5 in Columbus. This annual event brings together a number of statewide organizations and supporters to meet with members of the Ohio General Assembly and other state officials, and to advocate for passage of measures that promote funding and policy initiatives that support Ohio history.

As always, all of these events – and more – will be chronicled on MyHometownOhio. Our best wishes to you and your community for preservation-related success in 2008!

H.R. 2764, the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, passed in the United States House of Representatives last night, and is presently pending in the United States Senate. As of 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening, passage looked promising after key planks were added concerning funding for the Iraq action.

If passed, the bill currently calls for an increase in appropriations for several key preservation-related programs. Those include the following proposed increases over Fiscal Year 2007:

State Historic Preservation Offices would receive $39.379 million, an increase of $2.159 million;

Tribal Historic Preservation Offices would receive $6.399 million, an increase of $953,000;

Save Americas Treasures would receive $25 million, an increase of $16.58 million (subject to a 1.5 percent reduction applicable to Department of the Interior programming);

Preserve America would receive $7.5 million, an increase of $2.46 million ((subject to a 1.5 percent reduction applicable to Department of the Interior programming);

Please consider contacting the offices of Ohio’s two US Senators on Wednesday to express your support for the budget bill and these increases for preservation programming.

Here’s a sampling of recent YouTube videos that showcase the best in Ohio preservation and revitalization efforts:

From Mount Vernon, the Woodward Development Corporation has produced a video to highlight recent work on the Woodward Opera House. One of the most significant preservation stories in Ohio in the last decade, the Woodward is best known for two things – first, its relationship with Daniel Decatur Emmett, composer of “Ol’ Dan Tucker” and “Dixie,” and second, its status as the country’s oldest authentic nineteenth-century theatre building. Take a look – its well worth the four minutes! Click here.

Remnants of the Ohio and Erie Canal are included in the video tribute to “The Canal Diggers.” The video looks at the work done by laborers who hand-dug and line the canal for meager pay, but who nevertheless helped to make the interior of Ohio ready for settlement. Click here.

A resident of Middletown, Ohio recently took a walk through her community, and chronicled her results in a video she entitled, “A Picture Show of the town I call Home.” Part photo essay and part social commentary, the result is powerful and speaks to the heart of preservation and revitalization issues. Note that the Carnegie Library, pictured in a series of shots starting at 01:20 in the video, has recently been purchased and awaits hopeful renovation/restoration. Click here.

Visitors to Historic Kirtland can see a reconstructed sawmill and ashery in operation. Several of the structures at the site are original to the 1830s Mormon settlement. Click here.

And, while not in Ohio itself, this video includes a visit to a restored monument that commemorates a well-known Buckeye -- the Harding International Goodwill Memorial, located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. The monument honors the first visit of a United States President to Canada, which occurred during President Warren G. Harding’s ill-fated westward trip in 1923. Click here.

Preservation Ohio is pleased to announce that its innovative HometownOhio program has come to the beautiful town of Mechanicsburg in Champaign County, which is also a new Preservation Ohio Affiliate Community. Just 30 miles from Columbus, the village is blessed with 24 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a wonderful history, and an outstanding collection of physical and human resources.

Over the next few months, Preservation Ohio will be working with our local partner, Our Towne Mechanicsburg, to create a local revitalization and marketing strategy based on use of existing historic resources. The program will provide hands-on advice and assistance in the community by working with both building and business owners. This effort will also include the creation of new tools to promote the community and its downtown and to generate visits and investment.

HometownOhio brings a unique set of services to communities across Ohio, all provided on-site and all at a highly affordable cost. Each participating community also qualifies as a Preservation Ohio Affiliate, which extends Affiliate membership benefits to residents. For more information about HometownOhio, please click here.

Photo:  Downtown Mechanicsburg/Preservation Ohio File Photo

At its meeting on November 30, the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board voted to recommend the following nine properties for listing on the National Register of Historic Places:

Colonel Joseph Taylor House (1878) – Cambridge, Guernsey County
Chardon Post Office Building (1940) – Chardon, Geauga County
German Evangelical Protestant Cemetery Chapel (1884) – Cincinnati, Hamilton County
Cleveland Club (1930) – Cleveland, Cuyahoga County
Grafton School (1936) – Grafton, Lorain County
Brumberg Building (1906) – Ironton, Lawrence County
Marlow Theatre (1920) – Ironton, Lawrence County
Pleasant Hill – Milford, Clermont County
Historic Associate Reformed Church and Cemetery (1825) – rural Preble County

For more information on these listings, click here.

Photo: Colonel Joseph Taylor House, Cambridge - Public Domain

Here are a handful of new and interesting websites and blogs we have recently discovered; click each to access:

CHAPS – Citizens for Historic and Preservation Services, a long-standing local preservation organization serving as a voice and catalyst for Butler County’s historic resources, has a new website.

DowntownChillicothe.com – The central business district for Ohio's First Capital City is now online, and features resources and news about downtown revitalization.

OhioCanal.org – A new website for the park system that tells the story of the historic Ohio Canal, from Cleveland on the north to the Dover/New Philadelphia on the south.

Foreclosing Cleveland – A blog concentrating on the housing foreclosure situation hitting Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, which the author states is the national “Ground Zero” for the crisis.

Short North Arts District – Columbus’ “Short North” has a new website, which combines wonderful design, resources and interactive opportunities to learn about this unique area.

Putnam County Historical Society -- The new website of a local historical society that is itself historic, having been established in 1873.

Apple Tree Gallery -- Shop historic Downtown Ohio for Christmas -- this retail store in Piqua features a wide range of holiday-inspired products.