Optional Thursday Outings

2013 FBICC Convention Thursday Outing - July 25, 2013

This year we are trying something new: we are offering a choice of two different Thursday day trips - providing both are well attended. Both of these adventures will prove to be exciting and very interesting.

The first option is the Columbus, Ohio city tour.

The tour will feature three great stops and a short coach tour if time allows. We will have a tour guide at each of our three stops. The tour will leave at 8:30 AM from our hotel. We will arrive back at our hotel at 3:30 PM.

The first stop will be the Kelton House. This home, built in 1852 is very original and rich in Ohio history. One family built and owned the home until it was given to the Columbus Foundation to become a museum. The home is full of the original furnishings and much Ohio history. See more details on the following pages or visit the Kelton House website.

The second stop will be the Franklin Park Conservatory. This is an outstanding large botanical garden offering wonderful indoor displays of plants, landscaping, gardens and Chihuly glass. The building is divided into sections or areas - each representing various climates around the world. The beauty is wonderful, the walking is easy, the sights to be seen are very diverse. There are 6 to 7 million dollars of Chihuly glass displays among the plant life. There are also Chihuly chandeliers glistening in the sun. As we walk through one of the enclosed areas, butterflies will fill the air around us. See the attached page for more detail or visit the Franklin Park Conservatory website.

The third stop will be the "Old Statehouse". The Statehouse still serves today as the seat of Ohio government, but will be out of session when we are there. The building was built in 1861 and is of the Greek Revival architecture style. The stone work, tile work and massive oak trim is outstanding. The Rotunda, Atrium and Grand Staircases are not to be missed. Ohio was the 17th state to be admitted to the United States. This building was the largest statehouse in the US for many years.

While at the Statehouse, we will break for a late lunch in a renowned cafe located in the basement. The food is freshly prepared and receives great reviews from everyone we have asked. Sandwiches, salads, and full hot lunches will be available. NOTE: Lunch is at your expense so choose as you desire. Lunch menus change weekly - we will provide advance copies on the coach to those who choose the city tour.

If time allows, we will finish out the afternoon with a coach ride around Columbus. We will travel through the famous German village and along the riverfront. Cost of this tour is $35 per person which includes all admissions, tour guides, driver tip and transportation costs - not lunch.

The second tour option is the Wright Patterson National Air Force Museum   

National Museum

If you are a strong patriot, enjoy aviation history or the Air Force interests you, this may be the adventure you choose. The tour will leave from our hotel at 8:15 AM and return at 3:30 PM. Travel each way will be about 1 hour and 15 minutes by coach. We will tour the indoor air conditioned museum until our time is exhausted. The National Museum of the United States Air Force galleries present military aviation history, boasting more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles on display -- many rare and one-of-a-kind - along with thousands of historical items and powerful sensory exhibits that bring history to life and connect the Wright brothers' legacy with today's stealth and precision technology.

The museum is laid out in chronological order, beginning with the Wright Brothers through today's stealth fighters, making it easy for us to self tour the facility. A bonus will be that we will also tour the Presidential Hanger which is on the active Air Force base. This hanger houses JFK's plane (AF1). This is the plane that flew JFK back from Dallas on his death. The hanger also houses Truman's and Roosevelt's Presidential planes as well as the only surviving XB70 Valkyrie. The XB70 was a 1958 experimental long range strategic bomber built to replace the B52. The plane flew at Mach 3 speed, was built from titanium and brazed steel to withstand the heat generated at these speeds.

We will not have time to tour the entire indoor museum as it is so large. I would suggest you concentrate on the period of history you are most interested in - such as early 1900's planes, WWI, WWII or space travel. There are benches and chairs to rest for those of us whose legs are not what they once were. There are restaurants located within the museum. Each person will be responsible for their own lunch.

This outstanding tour cost is $30 per person which includes transportation, admission donation and driver tip - not lunch.  Please visit the Wright Patterson website for a virtual tour of the museum facility - it is impressive!  

WE MUST HAVE A MINIMUM OF 28 PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR THE AIR MUSEUM TOUR. IF WE DO NOT, WE WILL CONTACT YOU TO SEE IF YOU WISH TO TAKE THE CITY TOUR INSTEAD. WE MUST HAVE ALL NAMES 2 WEEKS BEFORE THE START OF THE CONVENTION. ALL PERSONS GOING MUST HAVE A PHOTO ID WITH THEM. IF YOU ARE NOT A US CITIZEN AND WISH TO GO ON THIS TOUR, YOU MUST EMAIL JERRY & MARGARET TAYLOR (SEE FBICC DIRECTORY) 3 WEEKS BEFORE THE CONVENTION FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / REQUIREMENTS. WE WILL BE ENTERING AN ACTIVE MILITARY BASE AND THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS FOR DOING SO.

2013 FBICC Convention City Tour Details - July 25, 2013

Stop One - The Kelton House:

A scrapbook kept by Anna Kelton from 1860 to 1870 gives a glimpse of what one young woman thought worth saving: pressed flowers from summer vacations, society page articles, news clippings and letters describing Civil War military engagements, and a telegram relating her brother Oscar’s death at the Battle of Brice’s Crossroads, Guntown, Mississippi.

The massive drapery cornices in the front parlor look suspiciously like a Victorian bed; in fact, Sophia Kelton had Thomas Lawrence, a family employee, dismantle a walnut bedstead and install the pieces above the windows. Beneath these same windows, Lawrence married Martha Hartway, one of the runaway slaves who took shelter in the home while it was a station on the Underground Railroad.

When Grace Kelton died in 1975, her will entrusted the Kelton property to the Columbus Foundation with the stipulation that her family home be preserved and used for educational purposes.  The Kelton family had owned the house and furnishings the entire time the house has been in existence. Today the Kelton House offers an ongoing program of house tours, special events, and educational opportunities.

“The Kelton House is the only ‘house museum’ in the city of Columbus,” said Georgeanne Reuter, Kelton House Director. “It is the only place in the city where Columbus history can be seen and felt. We have the same furnishings, plates, silverware, clothing, and books that were used by the actual occupants of the house. This gives the Kelton House a realistic feeling that cannot be re-created, as most house museums are.” Reuter says that the house museum concept is very effective in the education of children. Docents (tour guides), dressed in period costume, help make history come alive as they walk through the house and tell stories of the Underground Railroad, and life from 1850 to 1900.

The Kelton family was sympathetic to the abolitionist cause and assisted fugitive slaves on their road to freedom. The Underground Railroad was a route for runaway slaves from the southern plantations north to freedom in Canada, using the North Star for direction. There was no actual train and it was not underground. Underground Railroad meant people who helped slaves escape to freedom by hiding them in safe houses called “stations.” Runaways were guided by a “conductor,” a friend who knew the area and would help the slaves reach the next station.

In Central Ohio, the Underground Railroad route went north from the Ohio River through Chillicothe to Circleville, Columbus, Worthington, and Westerville, and then north to Lake Erie and on to Canada.

The Kelton House was one of several safehouses or stations along East Town Street in Columbus.

Columbus had steadfast supporters both for and against slavery. Fernando Kelton and his wife Sophia believed slavery was wrong and did all they could to aid runaways. This was dangerous work because it was against Ohio and U.S. law: Anyone caught hiding slaves, giving them food or clothing, or helping them flee north risked six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Yet, the Keltons persisted.

Fernando Kelton was a station master/conductor on this road to freedom. The Kelton House has been authenticated as a stop on the Underground Railroad through the oral history of the Kelton and Lawrence families. Although no written records exist of where the slaves hid during an impending raid by slave catchers, the servants’ quarters or the 300 gallon cistern in the Keltons’ yard, when empty, would have made good hiding places.

We will spend about 1 hour at this simple but beautiful Victorian home.

Stop 2 - Franklin Park Conservatory:

If you like diversity in plants & flowers, you will very much enjoy this visit. There is a Bonsai courtyard, a desert section, a tropical rainforest, a mountainous section, a pacific island water garden and a sculpture garden. One of these enclosed areas will have the yearly Brazil butterfly exhibit where we will walk among the butterflies. The walkways are easy to travel. To visit the entire enclosed building, one will encounter a few steps to climb. Ninety percent of the exhibits can be seem without any steps.

The Chihuly glass display is colorful, large and blends within the landscape very well. The 6 to 7 million dollar display is a permanent  fixture at the Conservatory. There are glass displays that stand on the floor and reach for the ceilings and there are chandeliers glistening in the sun. There is also a small area where Chihuly glass pieces can be purchased - bring your Visa card. We visited this winter when orchids were featured. Signs stated there were 1300 varieties of orchids on display - quite impressive indeed! This is an impressive stop that is both beautiful and educational.

We will spend about 2 hours at the conservatory.

Stop 3 - The Old Statehouse:

Our last stop of the day will serve two purposes: to allow us to visit the beautiful 1861 Ohio government center and to have a late lunch at a nice cafe. Again, lunch costs will be each person's responsibility - no lunch is provided. This stone building is located in downtown Columbus and stands proudly on a full city block of land. The outside of the building is impressive; the inside of the building is outstanding in history and construction. We will visit parts of three floors within the building - an elevator is available. The tile work, the sculptures, the massive oak trim and the stone work remain as beautiful as when it was built 150 years ago. The Statehouse also features a small hands-on museum in the basement near the crypt we found quite interesting.

The Greek Revival architecture is massive in nature. The building has had several well done additions over the years. This Statehouse remains the seat of Ohio government but will be out of session for the summer when we arrive.

We will break for lunch at this stop. A fine cafe is located in the basement near the crypt area. The cafe receives high reviews from all we have asked and read. Soups, sandwiches, salads, desserts and full hot lunches are available. The cafe menu changes each week so we will copy the menu of that week and provide copies to those who attend this adventure.

We will spend about 2 hours at the Statehouse - including the lunch break.

If time allows, we will take a short coach tour of the downtown Columbus area. We will travel through the German Village and possibly along the river front.    

All three of our stops on this city tour are relatively close together, thus minimizing ride time on the coach.