A Trip to Oberlin, Ohio

Over the Labor Day weekend, I traveled through Ohio to attend a nephew's wedding.

Along the way, I met up with siblings and a brother-in-law in Oberlin.

Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, founded in 1832, by Rev. John Shipherd a Congregational minister, and Philo Stewart. (Twelve years later Shipherd founded Olivet College in Olivet, MI.)

According to Oberlin's website, from early on, the college was noted for its progressive causes. "Oberlin was coeducational from its founding and regularly admitted black students beginning in 1835."

Oberlin's website also notes that in 1844 George Vashon became the first black student to earn a bachelor's degree and in 1962 Mary Jane Patterson earned a BA in education, becoming the first black woman to earn a degree from an American college.

The town of Oberlin was also noted for its progressive stands. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad before the Civil War.

I had the good fortune of arriving in Oberlin about an hour ahead of my siblings so I used the time to do some exploring - despite the drizzly skies.

One of the places that caught my eye was the town's Ben Franklin store. It featured a prominent book store, taking up about a third of the store! The books were arranged alphabetically by author, within categories. There were several comfortable seats along the perimeter of the book section, to encourage browsing. 

It was a rare opportunity. In the 1970s there were about 2,500 Ben Franklin stores across the country. But today there are only a handful.

At one time, Ben Franklin was the second largest franchise in America, next to Singer Sewing Machine.

My visit happened to occur during the Oberlin Poetry Walk, which featured poems written by middle school children in town.

One poem, titled "Light" by Aarohi Mehta, an eighth grader, reads:

Don't let the cracks in the dark seep into the light
Let peace be the only word in our vocabulary
Let Friday be everyday
Let Monday be never
Let college tuitions be free even for the rich
Let jump rope in the Olympics
Let graphite be unbreakable
Don't let the world revolve around you
Let the light shine no matter what

Mehta's poem was framed and placed on a downtown Oberlin storefront, along with several others from different teen poets.

Another plaque I came across acknowledged the life of Mary Burnett Talbert, who grew up in Oberlin and graduated from Oberlin College in 1886. Burnett Talbert led the National Association of Colored Women. After teaching in Arkansas, she married and moved to Buffalo where she helped to set up a settlement house and organize the first chapter of the NAACP.

One of the more eye-catching buildings on the Oberlin campus is the Allen Memorial Art Museum.

Since its founding in 1917, the Museum offers free admission to view over 15,000 works of art. 

The collections include: African and Oceanic, Americas, Ancient, Asian, Modern, and a collection from Eva Hesse, a post-minimalist sculptor. According to the Museum's website, Hesse is widely considered one of the most important and influential figures in postwar American art.

Between 1886 and 1919 Andrew Carnegie donated over $40 million to pay for 1,679 libraries across the United States. One of those libraries was built on the campus of Oberlin College.

Another stunning piece of work is the Finney Chapel. 

According to the college website, the chapel was built on the site of the former home of Oberlin President Finney, being dedicated in 1908. It has a seating capacity of close to 2,000. 

The building's architect, Cass Gilbert, designed the space to be used both for worship and for music performance - a key part of Oberlin College.

All in all the visit to Oberlin was truly eye-opening. With a population of just over 8,200 there's a lot to see! 

As a side note, while in Oberlin, we had lunch at The Fevre on S. Main Street, a stone's throw away from the College. We waited about twenty minutes for a table for four, but the wait was definitely worth it!

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Photos by Dan Salerno