Frush Home On Historic Homes Tour
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Jerry and Julia Frush purchased their American Four Square style home in 1976 during the Mae Friedman estate auction.
Although more than a dozen bidders began the sale the field was quickly narrowed down to two - the Frushes and Duane Huffer. The current judge eventually found a home on Main Street.
In the meantime the couple have treated the former home of Gustave and Sarah Meyer with tender loving care. Mae Friedman is the Meyer's only daughter. The house passed to her when Sarah died in 1941.
The house is one of several stops along the Kosciusko County Historical Society's Historic Home Tour next Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Located in the Runyan Addition, established in 1859, the two-story, brick house was built in 1913 and overlooks Center Lake.
Jerry and Julia have enclosed the front and back porches but haven't had to restore much more in the home.
Original treatments include leaded glass windows in the foyer, parlor and living room. The living room features a long window seat.
The oak and mahogany woodwork of the house is in excellent condition and Jerry claims they haven't had to do a thing to maintain the wood.
Each room can be closed off. One set of pocket doors has oak on one side and a rich mahogany veneer on the other facing the formal dining room.
A few original furnishings came with the house like an upholstered couch and chair Julia and her daughter recovered. A chamber pot found in the house "graces" one bedroom.
The Frushes purchased a bedroom suite - bed, dresser and dressing table - at the auction along with a bedspread.
Throughout the house are wonderful antiques pieces collected by Jerry and Julia from various estate sales around the county and state.
A few family heirlooms, including a derby hat worn by Jerry's grandfather, William Clifford Frush while courting his future wife, Marguerite Hughes; and a beaver hat also owned by William, occupy an original-to-the-house hat rack in the foyer.
The kitchen is the most remodeled room in the house. Originally an oak ice box with brass fittings stood on the east wall. It was torn out and replaced in the 1950's by Mae Friedman.
Jerry Frush is this year's Historical Society president.
This year's tour includes six other properties in Warsaw, along County Farm Road, CR 700S and CR 800S.
Optional sites to visit are the Old Jail Museum and Chinworth Bridge.
The museum is home of the society and former home of several Kosciusko County sheriffs, at 121 N. Indiana St., Warsaw. Tickets are available there prior to next Saturday's tour for $8, $10 on the tour date and at each home site.
Tour proceeds will be applied toward further restoration of the 1897 Chinworth bridge, Old Road 30W and CR 350W, Warsaw.
% White Hill Manor, west of the Ramada Plaza Hotel on Center Street, Warsaw, is a splendid Tudor Revival home, once occupied by Justin O. Zimmer, the founder of the orthopedic company that bears his name.
built around 1934, it is considered an outstanding example of the Tudor Revival style and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Alvin M. Strauss, a prominent architect based in Fort Wayne.
Zimmer and his family lived here until 1946, when he sold it to Frank Saemann. Saemann lived in the house until 1972, when it was sold to Warsaw-based SYM.
In 1988 the house was adapted for use as a bed and breakfast and became White Hill Manor. It was later acquired by Zola Henderson, who sold it in 1999 to Ramada Plaza's owners, Bruce and Steve Shaffner.
As part of the Ramada, the Manor now contains eight well appointed guest suites.
Outside, the brick building retains much of its original character, with adze-hewn timbering and its original slate roof.
Inside much of the woodwork and trim around the ceilings are from the original construction. One bathroom features an original claw-footed bath tub, floor tiling and stained glass window, as well as an elegant parlor with fireplace and oak trim.
Larry McDermitt of the Ramada Plaza said seven of the eight rooms should be open during the tour Saturday.
% The Fred and Jo Helfrich residence, 1202 E. Main St., Warsaw, is a Colonial Revival-style home. The Helfriches have lived there since 1996.
The neat brick house was built in 1937 by contractor Walter Gable for Charlie and Jessie Anglin Ker. It cost $7,500 at the time. Since then, the house has had two additions, the first in 1949 by contractor Paul Hieman and the second in 1953.
In 1990, the house was purchased by Chuck and Judy Yeager, who remodeled much of the interior. They lived in the house until it was sold to the Helfrichs.
Today, the house is a well-maintained example of a quality home from the 1930s. Its original shape, which consisted of a living room, dining room and kitchen on the first floor and three bedrooms over the top of the first floor, can easily be observed, as can the two additions. Some of the original woodwork, wood flooring and bathroom tiles still exist.
% Garry and Jackie McCleary, 1507 S. County Farm Road, Warsaw, live in a brick home built in 1870. It was constructed using an Italianate design of architecture, including a wraparound porch and a separate smokehouse. The smokehouse was probably built at the same time as the house.
The house, which is considered an outstanding example of its style, has been owned by the McClearys since 1989.
Both the exterior and interior look much like they did when the house was built more than 150 years ago. The exterior includes its original metal roof and has fancy trim at the eaves.
The interior, which includes three bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths, living room and kitchen, has the original hardwood floors, plaster walls, doors and door frames, as well as three-brick-thick walls.
The house is a good example of the kind of brick farm homes that could be built in the 1840s.
% The home of Rod and Ann Metzger, 76 E. CR 700S, Claypool, is of Italianate design. Built for the Metzger family in about 1887, it includes hand-carved, double- -decked porches with gingerbread trim. The roof is slate.
The two-story house, which was included in a previous Historic Homes Tour, is considered an outstanding example of its design. It has received the John Arnold Rural Preservation Award and the property is a Hoosier Homestead farm.
The farm was originally purchased in about 1855 by Joseph and Elizabeth Metzger and has been in the Metzger family ever since. The current owners, Rod and Ann, took over the farm and a cattle feeding operation from Rod's grandfather, the late Cloice Metzger, when Cloice retired.
% Clay Township District 8 School, 232 E. CR 700S, Claypool, was built about 1881 for the Welson/Deaton school. Until 1914, boys and girls in the first through seventh grades were taught there. It is an outstanding example of the brick one-room schoolhouses that once dotted the Kosciusko County countryside.
The school was purchased by Dan and Eileen Ransbottom in 2001 from the estate of Robert and Eleanor Scott. The Scotts owned the property since 1965, when they bought it from Clay Township officials.
For the last year, the Ransbottoms have been restoring the schoolhouse. They have redone the doorway and put in a new hardwood floor, roof ceiling and windows - all designed to make the building look as it did when it was first built. Inside, the school has a blackboard that wraps around the walls.
% Gilbert and Jan Knoop home, 760 W. CR 800S, Claypool, is a Gothic Revival, built around 1870 on a farm that has been in the Knoop family since 1846. The house retains much of its original character and includes high ceilings, oak trim and a distinctive porch. The property also has a bank barn that is older than the house.
The farm is a 1975 Hoosier Homestead farm and was included in an earlier Historic Homes Tour. It has been owned by Gilbert and Jan Knoop since 1985. [[In-content Ad]]
Jerry and Julia Frush purchased their American Four Square style home in 1976 during the Mae Friedman estate auction.
Although more than a dozen bidders began the sale the field was quickly narrowed down to two - the Frushes and Duane Huffer. The current judge eventually found a home on Main Street.
In the meantime the couple have treated the former home of Gustave and Sarah Meyer with tender loving care. Mae Friedman is the Meyer's only daughter. The house passed to her when Sarah died in 1941.
The house is one of several stops along the Kosciusko County Historical Society's Historic Home Tour next Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Located in the Runyan Addition, established in 1859, the two-story, brick house was built in 1913 and overlooks Center Lake.
Jerry and Julia have enclosed the front and back porches but haven't had to restore much more in the home.
Original treatments include leaded glass windows in the foyer, parlor and living room. The living room features a long window seat.
The oak and mahogany woodwork of the house is in excellent condition and Jerry claims they haven't had to do a thing to maintain the wood.
Each room can be closed off. One set of pocket doors has oak on one side and a rich mahogany veneer on the other facing the formal dining room.
A few original furnishings came with the house like an upholstered couch and chair Julia and her daughter recovered. A chamber pot found in the house "graces" one bedroom.
The Frushes purchased a bedroom suite - bed, dresser and dressing table - at the auction along with a bedspread.
Throughout the house are wonderful antiques pieces collected by Jerry and Julia from various estate sales around the county and state.
A few family heirlooms, including a derby hat worn by Jerry's grandfather, William Clifford Frush while courting his future wife, Marguerite Hughes; and a beaver hat also owned by William, occupy an original-to-the-house hat rack in the foyer.
The kitchen is the most remodeled room in the house. Originally an oak ice box with brass fittings stood on the east wall. It was torn out and replaced in the 1950's by Mae Friedman.
Jerry Frush is this year's Historical Society president.
This year's tour includes six other properties in Warsaw, along County Farm Road, CR 700S and CR 800S.
Optional sites to visit are the Old Jail Museum and Chinworth Bridge.
The museum is home of the society and former home of several Kosciusko County sheriffs, at 121 N. Indiana St., Warsaw. Tickets are available there prior to next Saturday's tour for $8, $10 on the tour date and at each home site.
Tour proceeds will be applied toward further restoration of the 1897 Chinworth bridge, Old Road 30W and CR 350W, Warsaw.
% White Hill Manor, west of the Ramada Plaza Hotel on Center Street, Warsaw, is a splendid Tudor Revival home, once occupied by Justin O. Zimmer, the founder of the orthopedic company that bears his name.
built around 1934, it is considered an outstanding example of the Tudor Revival style and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Alvin M. Strauss, a prominent architect based in Fort Wayne.
Zimmer and his family lived here until 1946, when he sold it to Frank Saemann. Saemann lived in the house until 1972, when it was sold to Warsaw-based SYM.
In 1988 the house was adapted for use as a bed and breakfast and became White Hill Manor. It was later acquired by Zola Henderson, who sold it in 1999 to Ramada Plaza's owners, Bruce and Steve Shaffner.
As part of the Ramada, the Manor now contains eight well appointed guest suites.
Outside, the brick building retains much of its original character, with adze-hewn timbering and its original slate roof.
Inside much of the woodwork and trim around the ceilings are from the original construction. One bathroom features an original claw-footed bath tub, floor tiling and stained glass window, as well as an elegant parlor with fireplace and oak trim.
Larry McDermitt of the Ramada Plaza said seven of the eight rooms should be open during the tour Saturday.
% The Fred and Jo Helfrich residence, 1202 E. Main St., Warsaw, is a Colonial Revival-style home. The Helfriches have lived there since 1996.
The neat brick house was built in 1937 by contractor Walter Gable for Charlie and Jessie Anglin Ker. It cost $7,500 at the time. Since then, the house has had two additions, the first in 1949 by contractor Paul Hieman and the second in 1953.
In 1990, the house was purchased by Chuck and Judy Yeager, who remodeled much of the interior. They lived in the house until it was sold to the Helfrichs.
Today, the house is a well-maintained example of a quality home from the 1930s. Its original shape, which consisted of a living room, dining room and kitchen on the first floor and three bedrooms over the top of the first floor, can easily be observed, as can the two additions. Some of the original woodwork, wood flooring and bathroom tiles still exist.
% Garry and Jackie McCleary, 1507 S. County Farm Road, Warsaw, live in a brick home built in 1870. It was constructed using an Italianate design of architecture, including a wraparound porch and a separate smokehouse. The smokehouse was probably built at the same time as the house.
The house, which is considered an outstanding example of its style, has been owned by the McClearys since 1989.
Both the exterior and interior look much like they did when the house was built more than 150 years ago. The exterior includes its original metal roof and has fancy trim at the eaves.
The interior, which includes three bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths, living room and kitchen, has the original hardwood floors, plaster walls, doors and door frames, as well as three-brick-thick walls.
The house is a good example of the kind of brick farm homes that could be built in the 1840s.
% The home of Rod and Ann Metzger, 76 E. CR 700S, Claypool, is of Italianate design. Built for the Metzger family in about 1887, it includes hand-carved, double- -decked porches with gingerbread trim. The roof is slate.
The two-story house, which was included in a previous Historic Homes Tour, is considered an outstanding example of its design. It has received the John Arnold Rural Preservation Award and the property is a Hoosier Homestead farm.
The farm was originally purchased in about 1855 by Joseph and Elizabeth Metzger and has been in the Metzger family ever since. The current owners, Rod and Ann, took over the farm and a cattle feeding operation from Rod's grandfather, the late Cloice Metzger, when Cloice retired.
% Clay Township District 8 School, 232 E. CR 700S, Claypool, was built about 1881 for the Welson/Deaton school. Until 1914, boys and girls in the first through seventh grades were taught there. It is an outstanding example of the brick one-room schoolhouses that once dotted the Kosciusko County countryside.
The school was purchased by Dan and Eileen Ransbottom in 2001 from the estate of Robert and Eleanor Scott. The Scotts owned the property since 1965, when they bought it from Clay Township officials.
For the last year, the Ransbottoms have been restoring the schoolhouse. They have redone the doorway and put in a new hardwood floor, roof ceiling and windows - all designed to make the building look as it did when it was first built. Inside, the school has a blackboard that wraps around the walls.
% Gilbert and Jan Knoop home, 760 W. CR 800S, Claypool, is a Gothic Revival, built around 1870 on a farm that has been in the Knoop family since 1846. The house retains much of its original character and includes high ceilings, oak trim and a distinctive porch. The property also has a bank barn that is older than the house.
The farm is a 1975 Hoosier Homestead farm and was included in an earlier Historic Homes Tour. It has been owned by Gilbert and Jan Knoop since 1985. [[In-content Ad]]