Second Annual Christian & Timbers Run for Hiram House Set for August 19 Enter the Second Annual Run for Hiram House on Saturday, August 19, 2000! This year’s event is again being sponsored by Christian & Timbers, with co-sponsors Weatherhead Industries, Media First, and the Ferro Foundation. Registration for the 4-mile Run and 1-mile Walk begins at 7:30 a.m. The race begins at 9:00 a.m., at Christian & Timbers Headquarters (25825 Science Park Drive, Beachwood, Ohio 44122) with the course winding through Beachwood and Shaker Heights. Prize monies and plaques will be awarded to winners in a variety of divisions and age group categories, including the top male and female runners ($500 for 1st place, $250 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place), as well as master division winners. T-shirts will be presented to the first 300 runners and walkers to register. Hiram House Executive Director Russell R. Grundke (center) is shown accepting a $7,000 check to benefit the Campership Fund from Christian & Timbers Vice President Tim Smith (at right), & John Banks (on left), past President of Weatherchem, at the finish of last year’s race. Proceeds will benefit the Hiram House Campership Fund. Last year’s event raised $7,000 to help enable underprivileged children from the Greater Cleveland area to attend a two week Summer Camp program committed to promoting family values, building character, and opening new horizons. Entrance fees are: Run - $12 in advance, $15 day of race; Walk - $10 in advance, $13 day of race. To register online for the Run & Walk, visit at: http://www.ctnet.com.   The start of the race course in front of Christian & Timbers’ Beachwood headquarters. For additional registration information or to request entry forms, please contact HMA Promotions, at: (216) 752-5151. Gold ($5,000), Silver ($2,100), and Bronze ($700) Corporate Sponsorships are available. Area companies are invited to contribute to the success of this worthwhile event, by providing various levels of support and camper sponsorships. Sponsorships include recognition on promotional materials, plus registration for company teams of runners/walkers to participate. For more sponsorship information, please contact Christian & Timbers at: (216) 464-8710.
Mother Nature Offers Unique ‘Classrooms’ for Youth School Campers Explore New Environmental Lab and Weather Station
Sometimes the most memorable lessons in life don’t come from a textbook. Sometimes you just have to “see it, touch it, do it, or experience it” firsthand.    Outdoor Education Instructor Keith Varga (above & below right) shows students from Maple Heights Dunham School weather data equipment, a shark jawbone and other features of the lab. And what better “classroom” setting than Mother Nature? There were many hands-on lessons students from local schools could learn this spring during visits to School Camp at Hiram House, as part of their nature studies or other curriculum, with topics ranging from: “Stream Studies,” “Orienteering,” to “Math in the Outdoors.” Visitors were able to explore the new Evelyn Hansen Ward Environmental Center and Weather Station. The facility, built last fall, was among the first to be added as part of Hiram House 2000, the camp’s multi-phased renovation project and capital campaign. They also utilized elements of the outdoor Challenge Program, like the “Raging River”, “Trust Fall”, “Trolley”, or hundreds of others, designed to teach communication, cooperation, self-confidence, and leadership skills. Or, they learned about American history or the pioneering experience through activities at the Frontier Fort, Covered Wagons, or Teepees.    Garfield Elementary School students study plant identification at School Camp. Hiram House and its professional staff work closely with area educators to help promote character, self-esteem, teambuilding, family values, and to open new horizons for youth. Among the many student groups visiting from area school districts were: Newbury, Garfield, Raymond, Bedford, Agnon, Pepper Pike, Cardinal, and Hattie Larlham.
John M. Fulton Vice President-Treasurer by Christopher A. Vasco, Vasco Communications
John M. Fulton At each fall’s Hiram House Camp Pumpkin Festival, one of the first people visitors see is John M. Fulton. He’s typically on duty at the front entrance, greeting people and taking admission. “That’s because I don’t need a calculator - I can add up how much families owe pretty fast in my head. I guess I’m pretty good with numbers,” he said. That’s an understatement. After all, John M. Fulton, vice president-treasurer of the Hiram House Board of Trustees, is also a well-known figure in the banking industry in Northern Ohio, as Senior Vice President of the Commercial Real Estate Division of Charter One Bank. In fact, Fulton has finance in his blood. He has been past president of both the Cleveland and Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association and is president this year of the Northern Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Formerly with Society National Bank (now KeyBank) Fulton led that bank into being a major lender of commerical real estate in the Midwest. But beyond banking, Fulton has something else in his blood too - Hiram House. “I got involved about 15 years ago. I first learned of the camp from my father, Frederic, who was a member of the board many years ago,” he said. Fulton, a native Clevelander who grew up in Cleveland Heights and now lives in Moreland Hills, didn’t attend Hiram House Camp himself (he went to Shaker Day Camp instead) - but his two daughters, Catherine and Betsy did through the Orange School District. “They had a wonderful time and have many fond memories of Hiram House,” Fulton said. “I really appreciate Hiram House Camp. It’s a beautiful place, but most of all I like its mission. It’s a great place for disadvantaged kids who live in the city to get away from a somewhat frightening environment, enjoy some peace and tranquility and interact with people from different backgrounds.” “Every generation has its challenges, but these days it’s certainly not getting any easier for young people. Hopefully, with the new buildings and improved facilities coming soon, Hiram House Camp will be able to serve even more kids than ever before,” Fulton said.
Trustee Committee Raises $205,000 for First Cabin
Members of The Hiram House Board of Trustees have pledged some $205,000, representing nearly seventy percent participation to date, to build the first of several Phase I: New Cabins - $205,000 Raised new residential camp cabins, as part of Phase I of Hiram House 2000. The cabins are being designed by Cleveland architectural firm of Schmidt, Copeland, Parker, Stevens, nationally recognized experts in camp facilities design. Groundbreaking for the trustee sponsored cabin is planned for later this year. The Hiram House 2000 capital campaign committee is chaired by trustee Kevin D. Barnes and has been active since earlier this year. Other committee members include: Trustees Robert M. Benedict, Susan Cargile, Mark R. Cooper, John B. Hollister, Jr., John B. Hollister, III, Barbara L. Miller, Christina Robinson, David R. Williams, Executive Director Russell R. Grundke, and Richard Z. Ward. A special Trustee Day is planned in June at the summer camp.
The HIRAM HOUSE B.C. . . . by Nancy A. Schneider, Editorial Communications
Since the 1950s, Hiram House has been synonymous with camp. However, there was a time “B.C. - Before Camp” … a time when wooded hills and fields of green were only a dream.    Summer Camp at Chagrin Falls, circa 1899 George Bellamy and his team of workers knew there was more to life than the grit of the city. His idea was so simple that, in retrospect, it almost seems silly … why bring bouquets of fresh flowers to hungry people jammed into dirty tenements. But Bellamy felt strongly, “Who could not feel a little happy in the face of beauty.” Many notes appear throughout his Hiram House Life “Our friends from the country sent such quantities … many a home has had more beauty, and consequently more character, because of the fresh flowers.” Another time he recalled how just the appearance of flowers, “instantly drew a crowd of children crying ‘Oh, misses, give me one.’” Yet, despite their eagerness, Bellamy wrote, “it is a noteworthy fact that our canna, only four feet from the curb, are left happily undisturbed.” Bellamy felt so strongly about the importance of nature’s bounty, that packages of flower seeds were distributed in hopes, “some child will be made happier with some bright flower in her window.” “ … when will the country open?” Hiram House founder George Bellamy, responding to a knock on the door one cold February evening, was greeted by a little girl who looked up and asked, “Say, Mister, when will the country open?” In 1899, the “country” was only open in July and August at the Chagrin Falls fairgrounds summer camp. The Hiram House Orange Street neighborhood housed over 6,000 children under the age of 14, relegated to play in small back alleys or in the streets with cars, wagons and bicycles … there were no trees, and the only grass in the neighborhood was in front of Hiram House. Bellamy noted the small strips of green attracted children, as well as dogs, “who missed the freshness of nature.” Yet, “There is no sign ‘Keep Off The Grass,’ but the boys and girls are being careful to give the little blades a chance to grow.” Bellamy knew how important simple things could be and never hesitated to ask, “How many carriages not in use this summer might take some weary mother for a ride. Many … would be overjoyed with a drive. How many beautiful homes unused might be opened for a half day to some of our children?” Boarding the Trolley for the ‘Country’ Mrs. John D. Rockefeller was among the “successful citizens” to oblige. On the day of the venture, children began lining up hours before the car was even scheduled to arrive. Eventually, sixty happy children rode along Euclid Avenue, exclaiming at the beautiful lawns and flowers that lay before the grand boulevard homes. “Some children were quite surprised at the large houses … they called them schools.” The children were greeted at the Rockefeller estate and set free in “this beautiful natural park.” They delighted in picking bunches of -dandelions, and rolling in the grass. After lunch, ladies and older children tramped into the woods behind a pony cart carrying the little ones. By 3 o’clock, the happy group was in the car for the return trip … “Now and then some eyes would refuse to stay open and the nap which was struggled against had to be taken. What memories will cluster around such a trip?” “What memories will cluster around” this summer’s campers for years to come?