By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Saying goodbye to a member of the family is tough – especially when she’s been in the family for six generations.
But after 26 years of lovingly taking care of the “Grand Old Girl” at 307 W. Wooster St. in Bowling Green, Larry and Gail Nader are ready to move to a newer, smaller home.
The decision was far from easy. While they leave behind a home chocked full to its 12-foot ceilings with memories, they also leave behind the maintenance required for a 136-year-old home.
“There are loads of memories. As we packed, we’d run into these memory blasts,” Larry said of the home that has been a treasure trove of his family tree.
“We’ve been kind of milling it over for close to a year,” Gail said, as the couple sat on the sprawling front porch of their home at the southwest corner of West Wooster Street and South Grove Street.
Larry can easily rattle off the names of ancestors, like his Aunt Virginia Baldwin Orwig or Great Grandfather Henry Casper Uhlman. Over the years, Gail has also learned to recite the names of those who came before. They have shared their home with these family members for years.
“Larry’s handling it better than I thought,” Gail said of the move.
The Naders found their priorities have shifted in recent years from preserving the past to caring for the future. Time spent with their two grandsons has taken precedence in their lives.
The couple also want to travel more of the world – and traverse fewer stairs in their home. After a fall on one of his daily walks with the Naders’ dogs, Larry has had some difficulty climbing the nearly 50 steps in the “Grand Old Girl.”
But there are still occasional moments when more than a century of family memories and the massive home are both a blessing and burden to bear.
History of the home
The ornate home, of Queen Anne style architecture, has 16 rooms, many with the original pocket doors, elaborate red oak and parquet accented hardwood floors, a marble main floor fireplace, and a stone fireplace in the basement.
The wraparound porch welcomes guests through double front doors, to a grand staircase, parlor and living room, the charming dining room with crystal chandelier, and an historically updated modern kitchen.
The home was built in 1888 by Albert Froney, founder of A. Froney & Co., Bowling Green’s largest dry goods store of the period.
But when Larry’s ancestors, William and Del Millikin moved to Bowling Green for the oil rush in 1896, Del had little interest in building a new house. She set her sights on the “Grand Old Girl,” and her husband tracked down Froney and consummated the deal on Main Street. Froney then had to inform his wife that he had sold their home.
In 1910, the Millikin’s daughter Grace inherited the property. Grace met F.W. Uhlman at the Uhlman clothing store located in the Hotel Millikin. They were married in 1917, and F.W. went on to establish 35 stores in the Uhlman’s chain.
The ownership of the house was passed down to their daughter Virginia Uhlman Nader, who was educated at Smith College and served during WWII as a code breaker, deciphering enemy messages.
In 1952 she married Alexander Nader and resided in Beirut Lebanon. Virginia returned to Bowling Green with sons Geoffrey and Laurence in 1961.
Larry and Gail carry on tradition
In 1998 Virginia transferred ownership of the house to Larry and Gail, who returned to Bowling Green from their home in California to carry on the family ownership of the grand home.
“He had his bag packed the next morning,” Gail recalled.
“I was ready,” Larry agreed.
Larry had moved to California in 1983 to open up a radio station. “Magic Radio 99.5, KNTY,” he said in his low radio voice as if he never left the air.
At a chamber of commerce event in California, Larry met Gail, another transplant from Ohio who grew up near Youngstown.
“We just clicked,” Gail said.
Gail remembered coming back to Bowling Green with Larry for visits. The family home was spectacular – and she looked forward to shopping sprees at the family’s Uhlman’s Department Store in the downtown.
“We used to come every Christmas. I’d bring an empty suitcase,” and fill it with fashions from the store, she said.
When Larry’s mom passed the house to the young couple, it was full of memories – and old papers. Virginia made plans to move to Portage Valley near Pemberville, but hadn’t yet left the house when Larry, Gail and their young son, Alex, moved in.
With a smile, Gail remembered Virginia greeting them at the door, saying, “I cleared out a spot for you.” That spot was the size of a “postage stamp.”
“The house was in good shape. She took good care of it,” Gail said.
But the couple discovered Virginia had an “addiction to paper.” She was the “keeper of family files,” but she also stored tall stacks and boxes of papers throughout the house. An avid reader, Virginia had saved decades of newspapers, including the Sentinel-Tribune, Toledo Blade and Wall Street Journal.
Larry and Gail dutifully sorted through the stacks.
“I got to (Robert) Kennedy’s assassination,” Larry said.
There were also photographs and letters between family members, spanning the 1860s to 1998.
While honoring the history of the home, the couple freshened up the house.
“I stripped a lot of wallpaper,” including rooms of flocked wallpaper, Gail said. “It was like working in Fiberglass.” Some of the original layers held signatures of the Froney girls.
Making new memories
Larry and Gail have made their own memories in the home. The Naders are known for their exotic fundraisers, like murder-mystery dinners, which they donate to local charities – Wood County District Public Library, Bowling Green Parks and Recreation, Wood County Humane Society, American Red Cross, Schedel Gardens, and Habitat for Humanity.
They have held elaborate Halloween parties, Christmas Eve festivities, and summer bashes on their stone patio.
“I’ll miss the big parties,” Gail said.
But they look forward to heating a newer home without towering ceilings. They are anticipating fewer DIY projects, since those just aren’t as easy as they used to be.
The Naders plan to continue holding grand parties – though they don’t have the ample parking at their new home. “We’ll have to bring everybody in by bus,” Larry joked.
The couple relishes living next door to Wooster Green. While the noise may bother some folks, the Naders view it as a sign of Bowling Green’s vitality.
“We’ll miss being able to walk downtown, have a few drinks and walk home,” Gail said.
“Here I can walk out my door and go over to Ace Hardware,” Larry said.
But in a newer house, those frequent trips to Ace may not be as necessary.
Over the past 25 years, the Naders have re-roofed, insulated, painted, wallpapered, repaired, maintained and remodeled the cherished home.
“If you’ve ever watched the movie ‘The Money Pit,’ you know that Victorian homes never stop being needy. No project is done in two weeks and always costs more than we budgeted,” Gail said.
The couple recalled the repair of one rotted step on the front porch, estimated to cost $200. Nearly $26,000 later, the grand porch was ready to hold guests for decades to come.
“It’s such a beautiful home,” Gail said. “But I won’t miss how much work it takes to keep it clean.”
Passing on the history
As they move, Larry and Gail feel a great responsibility to preserve some of the family’s heritage – including many of the items in the chocked full attic.
That meant taking Wood County Museum Curator Holly Hartlerode Kirkendall on an historic tour of the sprawling third floor.
“Holly’s in heaven,” Larry said. “She was up there prospecting.”
The attic is now empty – for the first time since 1896, he said.
Among the many items making the move to the museum is the bank desk used by Larry’s great grandfather, who was the second mayor of Weston, a banker and proprietor of an Uhlman’s store.
Cabinets full of crystal are also going to the museum, as well as a 12-foot tall mirror estimated to weigh about 250 pounds. “It’s been up there 100 years,” Larry said.
Much of Larry’s superhero collection, which filled glass cases in a room dedicated to the icons, are being auctioned off. But not to worry …
“Superman and Spiderman are moving with us,” Larry said, of the lifesize superheroes. Gail acknowledged it did look a little odd to see the 6-foot 4-inch Superman leave the house in bubble wrap and black shrinkwrap.
The 12 or so skeletons that the Naders arrange in their front yard for Halloween are also going to the museum, to join the existing skeleton there.
The giant spider that clings to a web on their house for Halloween is being given to a neighborhood boy who has always admired the arachnid.
A tag sale will be held for the remaining furniture in the home.
Many furnishings have already been moved to the Nader’s new home in Arlington Woods, south of Bowling Green. Some antiques are being repurposed, like the 1870 pedal pump organ, which Gail plans to transform into a dry bar.
And both Larry and Gail hold onto hope that a new buyer can be found who appreciates the history of the “Grand Old Girl” on West Wooster Street.
