A SPECIAL MEMORIAL — The Mohican Memorial Shrine, located in Loudonville was built with funds raised by more than 60,000 members of women’s clubs throughout Ohio. The shrine was erected to honor Ohioans who died fighting for this country’s freedom. -- Contributed

WINTERSVILLE — Women’s clubs.

Those two words can often conjure up certain visions among those who do not understand.

The term may cause people to form images of ladies attending luncheons or serving tea, members chatting with one another or making social plans.

After all, these clubs were formed during the days when husbands worked and wives stayed home. The women were looking for something to do to fill their time, while trying to better their communities.

But a closer look into a woman’s club will show a far greater perspective into what these women can accomplish when uniting for a specific purpose.

PAST, PRESENT MEMBERS REMEMBER — Members of the Wintersville Woman’s Club have been visiting the memorial shrine for years, including a group who visited approximately a decade ago, including, from left, front, Tyra Timmons, Marjean Sizemore and Karen Hill; and back, Judy Ostrowsk, Mary Beth Allen and Beth Leland. -- Contributed

And the outcome can be quite historic.

An idea for a shrine

The year was 1945.

World War II was coming to an end.

More than 420,000 American lives had been lost in the fight for freedom.

SISTERS VISIT SHRINE –– Members of the Wintersville Woman’s Club visit the shrine each year, including Mary Beth Allen, bottom left, who years ago went with her sister, Pat Daily to look up their uncle’s name in the Great Book, which lists the names of those servicemen and women. -- Contributed

Households would soon be needing a way to transform their grief into mourning.

The country was in need of a place where people could go to share their sorrow with others who understood the pain of losing a son, a daughter, a husband or a father.

In 1945, women’s clubs affiliated with the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs came together and formed an idea … a plan that would take approximately two years to fund and construct.

But in the end, it was to be a part of history and a pilgrimage for mourning families throughout the state.

Cheryl Taylor, president of the Wintersville Woman’s Club, explained how 60,000 club women who were members of the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs formed an idea to build a shrine.

The shrine would take approximately two years to fund and construct, but in the end it was where Ohioans would turn in the aftermath of war.

The women chose a serene and peaceful location in Ashland County along state Route 97 between Columbus and Cleveland for the shrine to be built. This 4,500 acres of wilderness is known as the Mohican State Forest in Loudonville and is the site of the Mohican Memorial Shrine.

The building can be found far from the business of today’s world, in a park setting reclaimed from ruined farmland.

Wintersville Woman’s Club member Pat Ketzell has been a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs for 57 years.

She has served as an Ohio Memorial Forest Shrine trustee off and on for many years, including the last four years.

Ketzell explained all of the materials at the shrine, including the stone from which it is erected, to its wooden beams and stained glass was made in Ohio.

The woman’s club members required all of the materials and labor be from inside the state.

The walls are constructed of sandstone blocks and were made in a neighboring quarry.

Zanesville is responsible for the shrine’s floor tiles and New Lexington manufactured the roof.

The forest’s trees is where the timber was acquired for the making of the roof and a Columbus art glass company was in charge of the stained-glass windows.

These windows depict cardinals, Ohio’s state bird, and buckeyes, Ohio’s state tree.

In 1947, the shrine was completed. There were 2,000 people from throughout Ohio who visited the shrine when it opened.

In the years following World War II, thousands of Ohioans have visited the park, arriving at the shrine to mourn their loss and express their pain.

Because inside the shrine is what keeps Ohioans coming to this particular spot. Inside is the shrine’s purpose.

The shrine’s purpose

The shrine is the state’s official monument, housing what is known as the “great book,” which sits within an enclosed glass display.

This book contains 20,000 names of Ohio’s military personnel who were killed while serving in war, beginning with World War II.

Names have been added to include those who fought during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the Afghanistan and Iraq operations, Taylor said.

Women’s clubs help to maintain the shrine and record a list of the updated veterans’ names to be added.

There is a set of eight binders that are located in the center of the shrine. These are duplicates of the “great book” listings and are arranged alphabetically.

Entries are by county and by war for the convenience of visitors who are looking for a particular name, officials said.

All of the names are penned using calligraphy, which is done by those capable of doing the art.

Currently, Richmond resident Gina Judy writes the veterans’ names in the book once she receives a list of names to add.

Judy stated each page is encased in a piece of plastic, so the book itself needs to be taken apart and unbolted from its case when adding a name to the list.

Once the name has been added, the plastic covering is placed back onto the page and the wooden lid of the book is affixed and then stored in its case once again.

“It doesn’t happen every year, but when they have a list of names, they get the books to me from the shrine,” Judy commented. “I do the names by hand-dipping a calligraphy pen nib into permanent India ink. I also did a little embellishment in the books.”

“While I’m a pretty-decent calligrapher — I know there are probably many artists who are better at it and who are specialists in it — it is an honor as an Ohio artist and as a volunteer member of the women’s clubs I’ve belonged to since the late 1980s,” Judy added. “The late Shirley Mitchell and Stephanie Rouse first invited me to do this service for our deceased servicemen in Ohio.”

The great books are the centerpieces of the shrine.

Between 3,000 and 5,000 people visit the grounds annually, although this number reflects a much lower attendance rate than in the year’s following its construction after World War II, officials said.

This was also the time prior to the construction of Interstate 71, which accelerated the pace of modern life.

A special day

While the shrine is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., there is one particular day of the year that has been set aside for a special event.

This takes place on the last Sunday in September and is an annual pilgrimage which unites members of women’s clubs throughout Ohio, along with thousands of mothers from across the state.

Families of those who had someone serving in the military during World War II would let their community know by placing a patriotic symbol in their home’s window or door.

A blue star shown on a field of white surrounded by a band of red was displayed for each member of the family in the service.

If the family suffered a loss during the war, that blue star was taken down. In its place, families put a star in the color gold. These women who had lost either their son or their daughter soon became known as Gold Star Mothers.

This year, on Sept. 28, Gold Star Mothers will again “meet on the lawn at the Mohican Memorial Shrine for services, ceremonies and mutual consolation.”

Ketzell explained at least 200 acres of the forest has been set aside to accommodate the shrine, as well as a president’s grove, where trees have been planted for past club presidents.

After all, it was the women’s clubs that came up with the concept of the shrine and obtained the funding and construction for the project.

Ketzell said there are more than 10,000 brick pavers lining the walkway at the shrine. All of the bricks were made at the Belden Brick Co. in Canton, in keeping with the promise that all of the materials and labor at the shrine would be made within the state of Ohio.

Each brick or paver, can be purchased in honor of or in memory of someone, Ketzell explained.

There are five stone benches at the shrine, with one bench purchased by each of the five women’s clubs districts in state. An engraving was placed on each bench stating the district it represents.

Ketzell said a white tablecloth is always set up during the program, with officials informing visitors about what it symbolizes.

The white tablecloth symbolizes the purity of the veterans’ intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms and represents the everlasting concern for those who have served and are missing, with the table being round to signify this concern, according to officials.

“I have been going to the shrine for years,” Ketzell said. “It is a very sentimental experience and one in which you really appreciate what these people have done for us and the sacrifices they have made.”

As a board of trustees member, Ketzell said the board will meet prior to the Gold Star Mother’s service and then review the subjects they will be going over during the event, along with the necessary upgrades needed in maintaining the building and doing as much as it can. Those attending the ceremony in addition to Ketzell will be Wintersville Woman’s Club members Marilyn Crew and Marjean Sizemore. Additional members may attend, it was noted.

Sizemore is the club’s parliamentarian adviser and served as president of the Ohio Federation of Woman’s Clubs during the years 2020-22.

Sizemore’s state leadership role was one never experienced before, as her term occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taylor explained Sizemore’s job entailed several Zoom meetings since clubs could not attend meetings in person.

“This was definitely a first,” Taylor said of Sizemore’s reign as president during a pandemic. “But I believe she navigated it well, in my opinion.”

Unbeknownst to Sizemore, the club made the decision to purchase a brick in her honor. While a ceremony is not held when a brick is purchased in honor or memory of someone, it is put on display for visitors to see prior to its being placed and added to those in the walkway.

A local monuments dealer in Belmont Country did the engraving on Sizemore’s brick, which she will see on Sunday when she arrives at the shrine.

Ketzell stated Sunday will also feature the shrine receiving a marker to signify it is recognized as a historical place of significance and part of a broader effort to preserve and educate the public about its importance.

The marker serves as a tangible reminder of the site’s history and the efforts which the Ohio Federation of Woman’s Clubs has made in an order to protect it and keep it updated.

“The great books are only taken out on special occasions,” Taylor concluded, noting “there are duplicate three-ring binders which contain all of the same names listed in the pages of the great book.” “These serve as protectors so that the public can look through them for veterans’ names,” she added. “Those binders are maintained by the trustees during their two-year term and changes which are needed are addressed. Sometimes you may even find heartfelt notes left behind and tucked away in the pages.”

She said finding these notes are very touching and truly makes one think.

It has been 80 years since the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs decided to erect a shrine. And it came following a time of war to help family members perhaps find a little bit of peace.