Maumee's Fort Miami Elementary School will be the site of a new Ohio historical marker commemorating the former Lucas County Children's Home.
An unveiling ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. next Thursday at the school. It honors the orphanage that operated at 2500 River Rd. from 1887 to 1986.
The elementary school, directly across the street, is on the site of the former orphanage's gymnasium.
The unveiling is open to the public. Sylvania Township resident Jack Paquette, who lived at the orphanage from 1933-39, is expecting a significant turnout, especially from former residents like himself.
"Every time we have some publicity about the orphanage, we get a lot of calls, especially from southern Michigan and Toledo," he said. "I've been trying for years to recognize some of the adults who went through there as children. I've heard from a lot of people who are really excited about this. One lady called me from Florida who was one of several children in her family who lived there. We anticipate a lot of these people coming."
The marker will be in a mound in the center of Fort Miami's driveway turnaround, a location that will put it almost directly across from the entrance to the former orphanage.
The caption on the marker will read:
"For nearly a century, this 98-acre site was occupied by an orphanage that, over the years, cared for several thousand destitute children. Founded in nearby Toledo in 1867 at the Protestant Orphans Home, the orphanage became the Lucas County Children's Home shortly after it was relocated to this former farmland in 1887. It was renamed the Miami
Children's Center in 1960 before closing permanently in 1986. The main campus, across River Road, was sold for residential use. The playground, on this side of the road, originally connected to the main campus by a tunnel, was given to the Maumee school system in 2004 as the site for the current Ft. Miami Elementary School. On these grounds, the laughter of a new generation of children at play is being heard once more . . . a fitting tribute to the disadvantaged boys and girls who formerly lived here."
The guest of honor at the ceremony will be Dolly Kleinhans Saxbe, whose late father, Charles Kleinhans, was superintendent of the orphanage from 1927 to 1946.
Mrs. Saxbe, 91, is the wife of former U.S. Senator and Attorney General William Saxbe. She and her family lived on the top floor of the orphanage, and she attended Libbey High School, Mr. Paquette said.
"We're going to ask her to unveil the marker, assisted by Fort Miami Principal Dwight Fertig," Mr. Paquette said.
The $2,200 cost of the marker was raised through contributions to the Maumee Valley Historical Society, he said.
Mr. Paquette lived at the orphanage with two brothers. He entered at age 8 and left when a family in Fremont adopted him. After their grim family life in East Toledo, "My brothers and I looked on it as a haven," he explained. "It was the best thing that ever happened to us."
Mr. Paquette, 83, served in the Navy during World War II, worked as a journalist in Columbus, and had a long career with Owens-Illinois, where he ended up heading the glass manufacturer's corporate relations department.
A few years ago he published A Boy's Journey through the Great Depression, a memoir that included his years at the orphanage.
First Published May 21, 2008, 5:20 p.m.
