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In her home in Troy Township, Norene Drewicz recalls the times at Christmas when her she and her dad watched guests enter the Westmoreland home of her father's boss, Herman H. Doehler.
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Residence in Westmoreland sparked child's imagination

jetta fraser / toledo blade

Residence in Westmoreland sparked child's imagination

Norene Drewicz fondly recalls the elegant Christmas Eve balls of the 1940s held in the Westmoreland neighborhood home of Herman H. Doehler, the Toledo industrialist who founded the former Doehler-Jarvis Die Casting Co.

Not that she or anyone in her family were invited to the annual society affairs -- her father, Walter Drewicz, was just a die-marker for the Doehler firm.

Ms. Drewicz and her dad were voyeurs at the boss's parties, watching from car windows as the well-dressed guests arrived at the Doehlers' French Normandy-style house at 1960 Mount Vernon Ave.

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It was a regular stop on her family's annual holiday lights tour the night before Christmas.

Those scenes of glamour sparked young Norene's childhood imagination. Many years later, that house on Mount Vernon would enter her life again.

"We just sat in the car and looked through the window at what was happening," recalled Ms. Drewicz, now 70. "We saw a butler open the door, and we could see the big crystal chandeliers [inside]. The women had such huge smiles on their faces, and there was dancing and everyone looked so happy. It was so different from our lifestyle. We lived on a farm and had an outhouse."

Ms. Drewicz was in her 40s and going through a messy divorce when the old Doehler house re-entered her life. It was 1983 and Ms. Drewicz had just met Dr. Greg Thomas, a fellow member at the time of the Toledo Opera Chorus. Dr. Thomas and his wife needed a nanny, and Ms. Drewicz needed to supplement her income as a special-education teacher with Toledo Public Schools.

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Ms. Drewicz was astonished to learn that the Thomases lived in the Doehler house in Westmoreland. Her first day on the job, she fulfilled a childhood dream: She got to see inside.

The house didn't seem quite as big or castle-like as when she was a little girl, though it was still very impressive. She admired its unique design, interior oak paneling, and chandeliers that looked as beautiful up close as they did from outside.

But most important to Ms. Drewicz was the support she received from the Thomas family during the roughly six years that she worked for them in the house.

They helped her emotionally regroup from a divorce that had left her depressed and financially destitute, she said.

"It was such a wonderful house," she said. "When I was young it gave me dreams of what could be in my future. And it turned out to be a place that could actually help me when I grew up. It gave me warmth and food and family."

Ms. Drewicz went on to spend many holidays in the house with the family, including Christmas Eves. She has especially fond memories of Thanksgiving, 1988.

That year she and her mother, Helen, shared in the holiday meal with the Thomases and others.

"It turned out the be the best Thanksgiving that I ever had," said Ms. Drewicz, a resident of Wood County's Troy Township.

The old Doehler residence is now home to a different family. Though its mysteries have been unveiled for Ms. Drewicz, she still drives past the house about once a month when visiting a friend in the same neighborhood. She may even pass by this Christmas Eve.

"How many times does a childhood magical moment last you a lifetime and become reality?" she asked.

Contact JC Reindl at: jreindl@theblade.com or 419-724-6065.

First Published December 22, 2010, 5:59 a.m.

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In her home in Troy Township, Norene Drewicz recalls the times at Christmas when her she and her dad watched guests enter the Westmoreland home of her father's boss, Herman H. Doehler.  (jetta fraser / toledo blade)
The Normandy style residence at 1960 Mount Vernon Avenue in the Westmoreland section was a stop on the Drewicz family tour.  (The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth)  Buy Image
jetta fraser / toledo blade
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