historical homes of greater cincinnati best...september 2010: the homes & people of indian hill...

BEST6 GREAT HOUSES& THE PEOPLEWHO BRING THEM TO LIFE

A CLIFTON CLASSIC

H I S T O R I C A L H O M E S O F G R E AT E R C I N C I N N AT I

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Issue No. 15Est. 2005

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insideBEST

BEST / HISTORICAL HOMES8

Editorial DirectorMARIANNE SANDHAGE

[email protected]

PhotographersREBECCA WORPLE

owenemma.com

CRAIG THOMPSONcraigthompsonphoto.com

DesignerSTEPHEN SULLIVAN

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About BestBest Magazine is published 3X each year: January, Mayand September. Its editorial focus is on featuring fami-lies in their homes: who they are, what they do, whatthey like. Its advertising focus is to present products /services most likely desired by its readers and providedby Cincinnati’s top businesses. The location topic ofeach issue changes from issue to issue.

If you would like to nominate a family for inclusion inBest, or tell us about an advertising client you wouldlike to recommend, call us at 513-708-3849.

Distribution of BestEach issue of Best is mailed to 10,000+ selected home-owners living primarily on Cincinnati’s eastside. Singlecopies are available for $7 each through Joseph-BethBooksellers in Rookwood, and by mail from the publisher.

AccuracyBeing human beings, we are far from perfect. Whileevery reasonable effort was made to be accurate andclear, we apologize now if something got past us. Weappreciate your understanding.

Coming Up Next in BestMay 2010: The Homes & People of Hyde Park &

Mt. LookoutSpring 2010: Being Green in Cincinnati, a special

edition of BestSeptember 2010: The Homes & People of Indian Hill

Best is Published ByMaverick Productions, Inc.41 Locust Hill RoadCincinnati, Ohio 45245Tel. 513-708-3849email: [email protected]

Publisher / WriterDOUGLAS E. SANDHAGE

Tel. 513-708-3849 / dou [email protected]

© 2010, Maverick Productions, Inc.

Issue 15: Historical Homes of Greater Cincinnati

Cover Story

66 The SammarcosOakwoodJim and Ruthann Sammarco love playing Scrabble in oneof their favorite niches in the home that Henry Probascobuilt during the time of Lincoln. Every room in this castleis spectacular, but wait till you see the staircase.

14 The McElwainsA Night in the Artist Studio

28 The Daniels Vintage Neighborhood Welcomes Modern Family

46 The WeddlesThe Ws: What the Wiedemanns started, the Weddles aimto carry on

84 The LeonesIt Doesn’t Matter Where You Live

98 The RuthvensJohn & Judy: A Closer Look

Off the Top of My Head: Short Columns10 Marianne Sandhage / You are Invited44 Michael Mauck / Building An Historical Legacy62 Kate Hawkins / Bad Girls Reading Bad Books97 Paul Daugherty / Man Caves111 Doug Sandhage / Storytellers

www.bestmagazinecincinnati.com

Established 2005

Featuring 125 Families…So Far

Best Magazine is printed on recycled paper


Oakwood

HISTORICAL HOMES / BEST 67

The Sammarcos of CliftonStory by Doug Sandhage / Photos by Craig Thompson

Frequently mentioned as one of the most beautiful custom- built stair-cases in the U.S.A., Jim Sammarco says it is probably the biggest reasonwhy he was convinced to buy the house. He wanted to see his daughterswalk down the stairway in their wedding gowns. No such luck… yet, headds. The staircase has a “Ruskinian style of freedom” to it. John Ruskinwas an art critic and social thinker who proposed in the 1800s, saysRuthann, that “design should never allow the eye to get dull. Make thingsso that you can always keep people’s interest. That’s how Henry Probascowanted the staircase to be: ornate, interesting and non-repeat. It’s likegiving an artist a palette to see what they can do with it.” The staircasewas hand-carved in Cincinnati from Oak and took 3 ½ years to complete.

HE WAS, AS THE SICILIANS SAY, “STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.” Jim was in his 40s, eager

as a I want-to-be-a-very-successful orthopaedic surgeon could be, to see patients, to help

them walk better, or, in some cases, again. He has always been driven, he says, a Type A.

There was one day he was particularly rushed at Cincinnati’s Deaconess Hospital. Always

particular and precise in preparing his patient’s charts, he was busy writing instructions

when he happened to glance over at the nurse’s station to check the time.

A


tall, beautiful nurse caught his eye, just as she was removingher cap, having had a long day herself on the hospital floor.Ruthann’s long blonde hair dropped over her shoulders,the light catching the side of her face as she stretched herarms to greet a patient. It was as if she was casting a net,perhaps to catch someone who could share her enthusiasmfor people. Jim was caught – lightning fast.

For nearly 30 years the romance has continued, but for17 of those Jim and Ruthann have shared a partner, a reallybig one – a castle. They are the 7th stewards of the homebuilt by Henry Probasco, once one of Cincinnati’s mostwealthiest persons.

This is a house you HAVE TO LOVE to live here. At151 years since construction began, there is not a stone, nota room, not a creek in the floorboard, not a moulding, nota richly detailed carving that doesn’t need tender lovingcare. And lots of time well beyond the means, or the inter-est, of most of us.

Ruthann would never have dreamed – growing up inthe northern Kentucky suburbs of Ft. Mitchell and Ft.Wright – she would one day live in a castle. Nor probablydid Jim, an import from the Garden State, though he mighthave had some aspirations to such from his days as a boyopera singer.

Best Magazine spent two full days with Jim and RuthannSammarco touring their 8,500 sq. ft. mansion in Clifton and sitting down for this interview in their ornately adornedliving room. Into one of the capitals in the archway is carvedthe date 1862, the year the builder finished this room de-signed by architect William Tinsley. Jim served our foursomea bottle of Chambolle-Musigny burgundy taken from hisnearly 2,000-bottle collection, housed in the temperature-controlled wine grotto in the basement.

The first question, we wondered, is where do we start,other than to enjoy the wine. Jim suggested we start slowly,to allow the wine time to breathe.

Why? was our first question. After they married in 1982,Jim and Ruthann purchased a 2-story “classic Tudor” inClifton. “We were very happy living there,” says Ruthann,fondly remembering raising an entourage of five children. Jimwas often away, traveling around the world lecturing on theins and outs of feet and ankles, his specialty.

But then they saw the house. Ruthann had been toProbasco Castle – better known as Oakwood – on several oc-casions for some teas. Jim recalls saying: “It’s a nice place tovisit, but we wouldn’t want to live there.” Oakwood owners#6, Carol and Bill Nagel, lived here for 23 years but it wastime to move on. They left behind a magnificently restored


Mention the Probasco Castle, and most people know it is in Clifton. Dances, parties, andfundraisers have been held here by the hundreds, and now historical groups from all overthe country visit the 150-year-old home that Henry Probasco built during the time of Lincoln.William Tinsley, whose initials are carved in the portico, was the first known architect tounite limestone and sandstone in the construction of a suburban residence. The 8,500+square foot home is two stories, topped with a belvedere, topped with a weathervane withthe initials HP. Some of the neighborhood kids think it stands for Harry Potter.

Page 66: Since there appears to be few written de-scriptions or photos of the Oakwood’s unique rotunda,one can only imagine the elegant parties and dancesthat took place here. “It is an architectural delight,”says Ruthann Sammarco, noting that it is a round room,not detectable from the outside. The home’s four bed-rooms – including one they named the Lincoln Bed-room – emanate from the rotunda. Niches in therotunda once housed marble statuary that the Probas-cos purchased in Europe in the 1860s giving it the feelof an art gallery. Photographer Craig Thompson shotthe image from the minstrels’ gallery .

HISTORICAL HOMES / BEST 71BEST / HISTORICAL HOMES70

When Jim and Ruthann Sammarco have fundraisers in Oakwood, theMusic Room (so named based on musical instruments carved into thefireplace mantle) usually comes alive with sounds from the Steinwaygrand piano, in the family since Jim’s childhood. The room also servesas a “great morning room,” says Ruthann, “because of all the morningsun filtering through the windows.” Bev Hafemeister, of Vintage Va-lences and who also works with the Taft Museum, did the window treat-ments based on drawings of arched windows and how they weretreated in the 1860s when the home was built. Ruthann restored andpainted the plaster cornice which depict species of ferns and ivy s fromthe original gardens of Mrs. Probasco.

home that somehow changed Jim’s feelings. He and Ruthanntook ownership in 1994. Perhaps, says Jim, the final decisionto buy was based on his vision of seeing his two youngest girls“walk down the staircase in their wedding dresses.”

Oakwood was completed in 1865. The cost: about

$500,000 in 1860 dollars, says Jim. It took five years tocomplete; 3½ of that to finish what Jim says is one of thefinest staircases in the U.S.A.

“There is so much history here you don’t have toscratch deep to find it. This home has integrity. It is what itis,” says Jim, who grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey.“You have to like old homes to appreciate them.”

We wondered, as has every kid on the block who seesthe HP initials carved into the weathervane, high above thebelvedere – thinking they stand for Harry Potter, if thereare secret passageways in the home. Ruthann says her ownsearches, explorations by the couple’s five grandchildren,


The living room, once housing floor-to-ceiling shelves for more than a thousand books from Henry Probasco’s rare collections, is whereJim and Ruthann Sammarco spend most of their time. The ceiling was originally frescoed by Frances Pedretti, an Italian artist well knownfor his work in public buildings, and later recreated by a prior owner after it had significantly deteriorated. The corbels around the ceil-ing were carved from oak and each reflect a non-repeat naturalist design, such as flowers, fruit, ivy and grains. Jim and Ruthann oftenplay Scrabble in the living room niche (shown on the cover of this issue), one of four similar niches in the home.

It took more than nine months to restore Oakwood’s master bed-room. When cutting through the dropped ceiling, an aging plas-ter cornice decorated with acorns and cherries was discoveredand recreated by Ruthann Sammarco, who learned the techniquefrom books, and by talking with an expert in Columbus who doesmould making. A local artist hand-painted the Hydrangea borderto replicate the home’s original design. “Old homes like this canhandle multiple colors and patterns,” says Ruthann.


and historic descriptions suggest not. Sometimes a GreatHorned Owl will roost on the weathervane says Jim, wherethe initials really stand for Henry Probasco.

Visitors are frequent to Oakwood. The estate hasserved as host to hundreds of parties, fundraisers and fam-ily get-togethers in its century-and-a-half of existence. Reg-ulars also include members of assorted architectural historyassociations, including the Smithsonian Institute and theVictorian Society in America.

If you visited Oakwood as a fly on the wall, you wouldprobably see Ruthann on a ladder or on her knees main-taining or further restoring some aspect of the couple’scontinually aging home. Much of the work she has alreadycompleted herself – from painting, to fabricating new plas-ter mouldings. “I learned from my Dad; watching him doit. He was a handyman. I like the challenge and knowingthat I can do it.” About Jim she says: “He can pin a hip, butdon’t give him a paintbrush.”

Someday Jim and Ruthann will leave Oakwood. Jim, wholikes to kid, says he will be looking for a “place with all white

walls and nothing on them, very modern, with all large win-dows.” The new owners of Oakwood may need to be hand-picked, he adds, noting that he is fairly certain he and Ruthannwere personally chosen by previous owner Carol Nagel. “Theychose us; they didn’t call anyone else. They knew of no othercouple who would be so attendant to its needs.

“The next owner of Oakwood will need to be someonewho will respect the integrity of the house and property,”says Jim. “Someone who has sensitivity, who recognizes thehistorical significance to appreciate it, and be a good stew-ard so that, over time, when they pass it along, it will be inits present state or improved upon. And someone whowon’t paint the woodwork.”

Many children were raised in Oakwood, including thefab-five of Ruthann and Jim.

The couple, who clearly enjoy sharing Oakwood’s stun-ning history and architecture, have certainly done their partto keep it as it was meant to be – a family home. HenryProbasco would be proud.


Oakwood has seen many changes over its 150 years of existence, but none more than this room, originally Mrs. Probasco’s par-lor. It was later converted to look like a hunting lodge with a massive natural stone fireplace and trophy heads of elk, deer, moose;suits of armor; and Indian artifacts. Current owners Jim and Ruthann Sammarco, making use of an inherited pool table, made itinto a poolroom and art gallery, featuring many objects found on their trip to New Guinea in the early 80s. Behind the huge doorleading to this room, the Sammarcos enjoy the following words carved into the wood: Old wood to burn, old wine to drink, oldfriends to trust, a truce to care.

One can never have enough corkscrews, and once you start a collection, everybody contributes, says Jim Sammarco. “Itstarted in the 80s when we visited a restaurant with a corkscrew theme,” says Ruthann. “This room is Jim’s. He loves to re-search wine.” When the Sammarcos moved into the home, the basement was a “dungeon. It was filled with a coal; it wasmorbid looking.” Fortunately, the herringbone designed brick floor was salvageable, the rotting stairs were replaced, anda good cleaning job made the space a fun get-a-way. By last count, more than 1,000 corkscrews and nearly 2,000 bottlesof wine inhabit the wine grotto. Jim personally applied the wallcoverings with wooden wine boxes.


• Henry Probasco came to Cincinnati in 1835 to work forTyler Davidson, who then owned a dry goods store. Hebecame a partner in 1840. He and Davidson did well andbecame quite wealthy.

• In 1859, Probasco chose some land in Clifton – then aburgeoning “bedroom community” – to build an estatehome. The land was accessible only by horseback or car-riage from downtown.

• Several architects were consulted. Probasco chose WilliamTinsley who had come to America from Ireland only eightyears prior. Cincinnati historian Walter E. Langsam calls thestyle chosen by Tinsley “an outstanding American exampleof the rare Mid-Victorian Norman Revival – a branch of theGothic Revival – applied to a large scale residence.” It hasalso been called Norman Romanesque. The view from thethen 30-acre grounds included the Miami Erie Canal andthe Mill Creek Valley.

• Oakwood – its name derived from its massive use of redand white oak interior features – was completed in 1865,the same year in which Probasco’s partner Davidsondied and Probasco sold the business they together built.Probasco and his wife, Julia – a half-sister of Davidson –moved in. A year later they traveled extensively to Eu-rope where marble statues from well know sculptors andrare books for the library were purchased.

• Four of the rooms in Oakwood are dated, via carving,with the year in which they were completed and the ini-tials of architect William Tinsley.

• Not wanting to forget his partner Davidson, Probascocommissioned a foundry in Germany to design what isnow known as the Tyler Davidson Fountain on FountainSquare in downtown Cincinnati. It was unveiled in 1871.

• In the years to follow, Probasco served on the boards ofthe Public Library and the Orphan Asylum; as mayor ofClifton; and benefactor for Calvary Episcopal Church inClifton (of which is still in use). Architect friend Tinsleydesigned the tower for the church. In 1886 Probasco’sfortunes turned, wife Julia died, and he started to dis-pose of the home’s many collections. He did remarry –Grace Sherlock, a neighbor’s daughter 30 years his jun-ior, and together they enjoyed two children; Grace andHenry Jr. By 1890, things turned significantly downhilland the couple moved to a smaller house in Clifton.Henry Jr. died of lead poisoning in 1901; Probasco diedin 1902.

• Llewellyn Bodman Reakirt, a native born Cincinnatian,was Oakwood’s second owner. He changed the appear-ance from Victorian to English Baronial. Radiators wereadded for heat. He, and two wives (he divorced both)lived here for 23 years.

• Evangelical Synod of Northern America, a training centerfor Christian Services, owned Oakwood from ’23 to ’29.

• Elmer J. Niemes, owner of a local heating and plumb-ing company, bought it in 1929, just prior to the GreatDepression. In order to make ends meet, Niemes soldoff all but one-acre of the 30 in the estate. The lots werenamed Oakwood Subdivision.

• Next Up: William Dammerall. He purchased Oakwoodin 1938 and was appointed an Assistant U.S. District At-torney. He and wife Elizabeth raised five children and apair of Irish wolfhounds in the home. World War IIcaused hardships for nearly everyone and the Dammer-alls found it hard to manage such a big house, butstayed until the marriage of their youngest daughter.

• Oakwood then stood empty for about five years. Cincin-nati contractor William Carroll, doing work nearby, res-cued the house in 1965 and presented his wife, MaryJane, the key to the castle as a Christmas present. Thecouple, their five children, and parents moved in and sig-nificant restoration began.

• In 1970, the Carrolls sold Oakwood to William Nagel whoowned a flour mill. Carol Nagel, William’s wife, had grownup the Clifton area. They moved in with two kids and a cat.

• In the 23 years the Nagels lived here, they restored Oak-wood to incorporate features of the original estate andto provide for modern day living.

• Jim and Ruthann Sammarco purchased Oakwood in1994. It was one of Cincinnati’s first homes to be placedon the National Register of Historic Places.

Oakwood The Short Story Version

Above: Over the 150 years since it was built, thousands of curi-ous individuals, families and groups have toured Oakwood andbeen entertained by its massive hand-carved wooden features,mammoth fireplaces, ornate cornices, and hand-painted details.Today, Jim and Ruthann Sammarco enjoy the dining room nichefor their morning coffee and breakfast. The antique chandelierwas originally fueled by gas but was converted to electric in 1870.

If you really want to get someone’s attention, bake them a loafof bread, says Ruthann Sammarco (right). “A loaf of freshlybaked bread makes people happy. It’s something that tastes re-ally good and you don’t get everyday. It’s more personal.”Ruthann says her mother taught her beginning at age 10 how tobake “and I just carried it over into my adult life. I bake aboutevery three days now; four loaves at a time and I’ll usually dropsome off to our neighbors as a treat.” Ruthann was the subjectof a recent newspaper article in Chautauqua, New York, wherethe couple have a summer home. Because she is known for per-sonally giving a loaf of bread to Chautauqua Institution donorsshe calls on, the headline on the article read: It was the yeastshe could do.


Professions / extra-curricular passions

Jim: Born Giacomo James Sammarco. Presently he is on the staff ofCincinnati Sports Medicine as an orthopaedic surgeon, specializingin diseases of the foot and ankle; is a Volunteer Professor of Or-thopaedic Surgery for the University of Cincinnati Medical Center;serves as a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery for Tulane UniversitySchool of Medicine; and since 1985 has been Co-Director of Fellow-ship In Adult Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Orthopaedic Surgery.Want to know more? Check out Jim’s 57-page Curriculum Vitae atwww. cincinnatisportsmed.com/pdf/GJSCV.pdfRuthann: Formerly an orthopaedic nurse for Cincinnati’s DeaconessHospital, she turned to being a full-time mother and a go-to volun-teer after she and Jim married in 1982. “I loved staying home withmy kids, but I had to do something else too. I needed an outlet.”Ruthann volunteers for numerous organizations, including theAlzheimer’s Association of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Opera, and Dea-coness Hospital.

Children and the “two words” Ruthann uses to describe them

Alissa: Attorney for O’Connor Acciani & Levy in Cincinnati. “Focused and competent.”Jim: Orthopaedic surgeon for Cincinnati Sports Medicine. “Skilledand experienced.”Alex: Analyst for Stark Investments, Milwaukee. “Gentle and ac-complished.” Annie: Third year medical student at Tulane. “Inquisitive and caring.”Natalie: Living in Nanjing, China; graduate of John Hopkins Busi-ness School. “Creative and adventurous.”

Jim’s favorite orthopaedic joke

“If it doesn’t fit, force it. If it still doesn’t fit, force it some more.”

What Jim learned from Ruthann about doctoring

“She instructed me on how to be polite to patients. How to listen.People need time with their doctor.”

Ruthann’s first fundraiser

“I was on a parent’s committee for Mercy Montessori in East Wal-nut Hills. Sister Jacinta, the principal of the school, said she neededa 15-passenger van costing $14,000 – there were about 15 kids ineach class at the time. ‘Well, let’s do a fundraiser’ I said. I had neverdone one before so we put our heads together. We decided to doa western themed, square dance sort of event. We made our owncenterpieces on a no budget budget. We ended up making$18,000. I thought we were going to have to pick Sister Jacinta offthe floor. That started my emphasis on fundraising. I got the confi-dence I could do this.”

Jim’s favorite of the four books he has written to date

The Foot in Diabetes, a medical textbook.

Title of book Jim and Ruthann would each like to write

Jim: My Life as a Rodent, preceded by the Great American Novel, he kids.Ruthann: If I Had Only Listened to My Mother.

Honestly, how many people does it take to keep Oakwood clean

“Everyone who comes through the door I give them a dust rag,”laughs Ruthann. “With just me and Jim here, it’s no big deal. Butwhen the kids were here, I had live-in help.”

Something few know about Jim

Jim was a member of the Boychoir School of Princeton, a boardingschool with a national touring group of soprano voices. He onceplayed Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and even served asthe under-study for the TV production of the one-act opera.

Sunday morning routine

Jim: “We go to church on Saturday evening, so that means wecan hang out on Sunday morning. We have our coffee andbreakfast, an egg beater omelet or French toast. We’ll read thenewspaper and sit in the dining room or the parlor. We sit andtalk about an hour about various things. We have a pretty activelifestyle and often we’ll have been to a fundraiser the night before. We then call the children and see if the grandchildrenare available to come over. We are spur of the moment type ofpeople; ask any of our friends.”

Two weeks each month Jim…

Teaches at Tulane, supervises free clinics, and performs orthopaedicsurgeries in the New Orleans area.

Travel time

Jim has lectured on the six of the seven continents in the world dur-ing his 37 years as an orthopaedic surgeon. Today he prefers totravel only in the accompaniment of Ruthann. “People in othercountries have been very kind to us,” says Jim.

About his thought of a daughter coming down the staircase in herwedding dress

So far, one of the couple’s three daughters has married, and she did sobefore Jim and Ruthann moved into Oakwood. Jim’s vision of seeingone of his daughters walk down the castle’s stunningly carved staircasestill is on his mind. “And by golly, she better,” he adds.

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