VW native donates to Courthouse project

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Sheryl (Jerome) Stretcher may live in Midland, Texas, but the 1973 Van Wert High School graduate knows what’s happening in her hometown.

Stretcher toured the restored Van Wert County Common Pleas Courtroom on a visit to Van Wert last summer, and continued to follow news about the project online. In July, she and her husband, Keith, sent a donation to the Building Improvement Fund, writing “The Van Wert County Courthouse has always been an important fixture in the city, as well as the county, and its beauty has been a source of pride for its citizens.”

Stretcher asked that the donation be made in the memory of her grandparents, Robert M. and Floriene Jerome and Morgan R. and Gertrude Purdy — all longtime residents of the Van Wert area. The Van Wert County Board of Commissioners accepted the donation during a recent business session.

Restoration of Van Wert County’s historic courthouse has been featured in several programs and presentations about county courthouses, including a recent video produced by the Ohio Historical Society titled “Ohio’s Courthouses: Continuing a Legacy.” The video can be seen on YouTube by following this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQcoF7JZt4o or by searching the You Tube Channel of the Ohio History Connection.

A partial exterior restoration of the courthouse entrance was recently completed. Several features unique to the building were highlighted, including the 8-foot-tall zinc sculpture of Lady Justice, the tower housing the original 2,000-pound bell, and the original 1876 Graham escapement clock made by E. Howard.

The weathervane destroyed in the derecho storm of 2012 was also replaced atop the dome.

Donations can be made to the Courthouse Building Restoration Fund, said Mike Kirkendall, court reporter and bailiff for Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas.

Visitors interested in seeing the stunning restoration of the glass dome in the Court of Common Pleas are welcome to schedule a tour for any time the court is not in session, Kirkendall added. The Court of Common Pleas is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m. To schedule a visit, contact Kirkendall at 419.238.6935.