Columbus, Ohio USA
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Dis 'n' Data
By Margaret Marten, Editor
email margaret@shortnorth.com
September 2008
Contrary to our report last month, Starbucks remains open and in business at 601 N. High St. Loyal patrons could be seen in the window sipping coffee and staring out into the street every time I drove by last month, and I actually lost sleep over this and decided to go in and find out what the delay was. One of the clerks there suggested that the corporate folk had taken note of the developing nature of the neighborhood and were weighing the options – the dynamics of development, the increase in population and ensuing profit. In other words, they’re still thinking about it.
Wonderful name: Violet Rose Bredl, earthy, old-fashioned, feminine. The new gardening and accessories store in the Short North, Rose Bredl, is thus aptly named. Dear Violet, who happens to be the grandmother of Mary Ernst McColgan, 41, who opened the store in June, was an inspiration to McColgan while she grew up in the small town of Hamburg, New York. Her grandparents’ property was adorned with gardens and greenhouses and everything lovely a name like Violet Rose Bredl would suggest, so the legacy lives on in the Short North Shop at 664 N. High St., offering fresh garden-inspired flowers (pickup or delivery), beautiful handmade pottery, and other vessels to display unique arrangements offered through the store. Garden gear like boots and gloves are also available. McColgan moved here from Boston eight years ago with her husband while working as a district manager for Abercrombie & Fitch. She says there were flower shops back in Boston so extraordinary and delightful that she became infatuated with the art of flower arranging, and when she arrived here and discovered the former Leaves of Grass in the Short North, it was like “Wow this is so cool.” The “big-city feel” of that shop made it a regular Saturday destination for McColgan and inspired her to begin her own business which began in her home, later expanding into a Powell-based store before moving to the Short North. Her service includes help with weddings and special events. The majority of the products in Rose Bredl are made by female artists in the U.S. For example, the personal line of k. hall, including soaps and candles, and the pottery of Frances Palmer, who partnered with Buffalo China where McColgan’s great grandfather worked as one of the original potters and designers. Store inventory varies with the season and the holidays, so look for fall flowers including bittersweet and rosehips, and a collection of pumpkins and gourds. The store is open 12 to 5 on Sundays, 10 to 6 Tuesday through Saturday, closed on Mondays. Rose Bredl’s number is 614-222-0930.
Speaking of flower arrangements and weddings, Sharon Dougherty and Dan Connor were married July 26 at Our Lady of Victory Church in Marble Cliff. Over a hundred people attended the ceremony. Well known to the Short North arts community, Sharon began exhibiting her large abstracts in the mid-80s after graduating with a MFA from The Ohio State University. Her work has shown at Spangler Cummings Galleries, the Roberta Kuhn Gallery, and Gallery V in the Short North. Currently, Art Access in Bexley is representing her work and has scheduled a show for June 2009. Her husband Dan Connor is a defense attorney with Connor, Evans and Hafenstein in Downtown Columbus. The couple spent their “honeymoon” at a little bed and breakfast resort in Wisconsin at Canoe Bay. It’s the second marriage for both. Sharon says life really begins after 60. “We’ve been having a great time together.”
While researching and writing about the Victorian Village Tour (p. 13), Pat Lewis encountered some interesting trivia on the history of Hubbard School. Hubbard was the last Columbus school built with a tower. After 1894 (when it was built) all schools were designed “plain, neat, and substantial” because of increasing costs. Before construction of the school, the property had been part of the 30-acre baronial estate of Willliam Blackstone Hubbard for whom the school and street are named. Some famous alumni are Thomas Midgley, a chemist who invented ethyl and freon gas, Robert Levy, Sr., of the Union Co., and Warner Baxter, Academy-Award winning actor.
The Landmarks Foundation’s tour of Goodale Park last month was “phenomenal,” according to Doreen Uhas-Sauer, one of the guides. “People were just walking out of the woodwork. It was wonderful.” Attended by over 40 people, it was the largest Landmarks Foundation tour turnout to date. Terry Sherburn, an authority on Goodale Park, gave a compelling presentation, along with Kathy Mast Kane, director of Landmarks, and Pat Lewis, vice-president of Friends of Goodale Park. According to Uhas-Sauer, there were a number of people who had never really been in the park before, and they seemed enthralled by Sherburn’s talk and the beauty of the area. The tour included the park and its periphery as well as surrounding architecture.Another large turnout in Goodale Park occurred last month with the Blessing of the Animals event, organized by King Avenue United Methodist Church. Pastor Linda Middelberg who conducted the ceremony on August 24 said there were at least 375 attendees and that they ran out of food. The pets were predominately cats and dogs. “I tried to walk around and meet everybody’s pets as much as possible,” Middelberg said, “I don’t remember meeting anything but cats and dogs.” There was quite a line of people who came up to the front with flowers to give to the pastor, which were placed in a communal vase to memorialize deceased pets.
News about upcoming events in the neighborhood can be found in Community Events and the Bulletin Board.
Email the Editor margaret@shortnorth.com
©2008 Short North Gazette, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.
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