1962 from Akron to its new loca-

tion in Peninsula. The original

1830s residence and barn were

utilized as the core of a contem-

porary complex of offices and

workrooms for all in-house ser-

vices for Hunker Associates.

As a result of his extensive trav-

els with his parents during his

early years, Bob continued travel-

ing throughout the world. He

observed and studied the devel-

opment and redevelopment of

old and new cities as well as

their historic background, styles,

and architecture providing the

necessary experience for his

work in preservation.

Bob was the first founder and

president of the Peninsula Valley

Heritage Association. His hard

work and dedication through the

PVHA were instrumental in the

creation of the Cuyahoga Valley

National Park, See Hunker, pg 4.

On March 23, 2009, the Foun-

dation lost its founder and

president Robert L. Hunker.

He was an environmental,

architectural, and interior

designer, responsible for the

preservation and restoration

of the Village of Peninsula

and the grassroots founder of

the Cuyahoga Valley National

Park, thus fondly known as

Mr. Peninsula.

He was born to John Dudley

and Bess E. Brown Hunker on

March 2, 1927 in Akron, Ohio.

Bob’s early years were spent in

the Portage Lakes area. He

attended Lockwood School

then Coventry High School

graduating with honors. While

attending high school Robert

was vice president of his class

and active in student-civic

activities, theater, music, and

privately studied painting,

design, color, & drawing.

Upon graduation, he attended

Case Western Reserve University

graduating cum laude with a

Bachelor of Science degree in Eco-

nomics. Bob also attended the

Cleveland School of Floral Design

& Horticulture, the Cleveland

School of Art, and studied piano &

pipe organ at the Cleveland Music

Settlement.

His first employment was with the

M. O’Neil Co. in Akron as a Senior

Designer from 1949-52.

In 1952, Bob established the de-

sign firm Robert L. Hunker Associ-

ates, Inc. He moved his firm in

The Foundation is proud to present the

“Abraham Lincoln: Self Made in America”

traveling exhibit next July 3-27.

The exhibit features kiosks of artifacts

relating to Lincoln’s life from birth to

death. The exhibit is sponsored by the

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library &

Museum in Springfield, Illinois and is

currently traveling all over the country.

The exhibit’s stop in Peninsula is the only

remaining stop in Ohio.

The Lincoln exhibit will be free to the

public and available for tours several

days a week.

Several associated events will be spon-

sored by the Foundation this spring such

as film viewings, teas, and more. Check

the G.A.R. Hall website often for the lat-

est news and events:

www.garhallmuseum.com

Robert L. Hunker in December 2008

C e l e b r a t i n g t h e L i f e o fR o b e r t l . H u n k e r

I N S I D E T H I SI S S U E :

Foundation Receives Grantfrom Jelm Foundation

2

Historic 1840s AdventService Held at

Bronson Church2

Fifty Year EmployeeRetires from Foundation

2

G.A.R. Hall Gets a Facelift 3

Meet the President 3

Docents Corner 3

F o u n d a t i o n t o H o s t L i n c o l nE x h i b i t i n J u l y 2 0 1 0

Winter 2009-2010Volume 2, Issue 1

The Peninsula RecordThe Newsletter of the Peninsula Valley Historic & Education Foundation

In November 2009, the

Peninsula Valley Historic &

Education Foundation was

awarded a $15,000 grant

from the Charles R. Jelm

Charitable Foundation, Inc.

In the letter that accompa-

nied the grant, the Jelm

Foundation stated, “With this

grant our Foundation would

like to honor Robert L. Hun-

ker’s tireless work to pre-

serve Peninsula’s history and

to educate school children

and all who visit.”

The grant was given to sup-

port various projects, includ-

ing an upcoming educational

program that will allow stu-

dents from the local

Woodridge School District

to participate in historic

preservation.

The program will train stu-

dents to collect oral histories

from the residents of Penin-

sula and Boston Township.

Students will also learn to

preserve artifacts and re-

ceive training to guide tours

at the G.A.R. Hall and Bron-

son Church.

Funds from the grant will also

be used to purchase materi-

als to preserve the artifacts

and exhibits that exist in the

Foundation’s collection in

Peninsula. Materials will be

purchased to add uncata-

loged artifacts to the Founda-

tion’s collection.

stripped furniture. Later on,

Art worked for the construc-

tion team on jobs all over the

country including New York

City, Colorado, Florida, Wyo-

ming, and Toronto, Canada.

Art became foreman of the

maintenance crews of prop-

erties owned by Hunker enti-

ties. He also continued to

On October 2, 2009, Art Gilly,

Jr. retired from Hunker Asso-

ciates after over fifty years of

service. He started working

for Hunker Associates in

1959 during the summers

with his father, Art Gilly, Sr.

Art Jr. became a full time

employee in 1961. He first

worked in the paint shop and

work on design projects in

Akron and New York City right

up until retirement.

Art’s assistant Bert Evans took

over the maintenance crew

foremanship of the Hunker

entities, including the Founda-

tion. Although he now spends

his free time playing golf, he is

missed by all!

trayed Rev. Abraham Bronson,

the original rector of Bethel

Church as it was known then.

It was the same service that

the original settlers of Penin-

sula would have celebrated

during the Christmas season

in the 1840s.

The service was well at-

tended. Hot spiced cider and

cookies were served after the

service.

Special thanks to Rev. Sunt-

ken and Dr. Jean Rhodes and

for all their time and efforts to

help make the reenactment a

success!

The Foundation sponsored a

unique historical reenact-

ment on Saturday, Decem-

ber 12, 2009. Rev. Brian

Suntken of Christ Church

Episcopal in Hudson cele-

brated a traditional 1840s

Advent service from the Epis-

copal Book of Common

Prayer used during that era.

Rev. Suntken dressed in

historical costume and por-

Art Gilly, Jr. in theworkroom in the 1960s

F o u n d a t i o n R e c e i v e s $ 1 5 , 0 0 0G r a n t F o r E d u c a t i o n P r o g r a m

F i f t y Y e a r E m p l o y e e & F o u n d a t i o nT r u s t e e A r t G i l l y R e t i r e s

P a g e 2

H i s t o r i c 1 8 4 0 s A d v e n t S e r v i c eH e l d a t B r o n s o n C h u r c h

“With this grant our

Foundation would like to

honor Robert L. Hunker’s

tireless work to preserve

Peninsula’s history and

architecture and to educate school

children and all who visit.”

~ Letter from the

Charles R. Jelm Foundation

Photo by Lois Unger

T h e P e n i n s u l a R e c o r d

backing was hand sewn by

Kathleen Young.

The floor in the auditorium

is also going to get a facelift.

In January, the Foundation’s

maintenance crew will sand

and refinish the floor to the

original coffee brown color.

The walls in the auditorium will

be touched up and all the

fixtures cleaned.

Funding for the drapes and

floor were made possible by

donations from several Penin-

sula residents. A fundraiser

selling pumpkins at the Down-

town Emporium also gener-

ated money for the repairs.

The Foundation would like to

thank the docents who organ-

ized the fundraiser.

When the G.A.R. Hall reopens

in the spring, it will feature

some improvements.

The original drapes from the

1962 restoration are being

replaced. The fabric and trim

were meticulously chosen by

Peggy Jo Whitman, President

of the Friends of the Founda-

tion committee, to match the

old ones. Each drape and

G . A . R . H a l l G e t s a F a c e l i f t

P a g e 3V o l u m e 2 , I s s u e 1

Debra Hamilton

Dave & Rita Johnson

Frank & Evelyn Kaczmarski

Judy Lahoski

Grant Leiby Jr.

John Leiby Sr.

Jane Lemmo

Jim Lockert

Bill McMunn

Rick & Paula Morgan

Becky Peffer

Polly Rutledge

Lee & Chanah Spencer

With the year coming to a close, we once again

take time to thank our tireless docents. Their

time and hard work allow the Bronson Church

and G.A.R. Hall to be open to the public on the

weekends. In addition to the Friends of the

Foundation, several members of the Cuyahoga

Valley Civil War Roundtable volunteered their

time as docents.

Here is a list of our active docents in 2009:

Kenneth Blackerby

Mary Booth

Hazel Broughton

Greg & Dawn Canda

Shirley Dickinson

Lily Fleder

Gertrude Theil

Vince Thomas

Doug & Lois Unger

Reid & Peggy Jo Whitman

Jean Wurzbacher

D o c e n t s C o r n e r

Our docents who decorated the G.A.R.Christmas trees on Saturday, December 5th

M e e t t h e P r e s i d e n t

ated from Ohio State University

with a Bachelors in Education

and taught history for eight

years at Medina High School.

Ms. Huddle has also worked as

a farmer, librarian, collection

agent, census taker, and a con-

sultant for the Ohio Education

Association. She has lived in

Ashtabula, Medina, Vermillion,

and Canton, Ohio during her

adult life.

At the April 2009 Trustees Meet-

ing, Rebecca C. Huddle was

unanimously elected to be Presi-

dent of the Board of Trustees for

the Foundation.

Ms. Huddle has been a trustee

for the Foundation since August

2002. She regularly volunteered

time to the Foundation for office

work and grant writing.

Ms. Huddle was originally from

the Columbus area. She gradu-

6138 Riverview Road ▪ Suite F Peninsula, Ohio 44264-9651

Phone: (330) 657-2528Fax: (330) 657-2901

E-mail: peninsulahistory@windstream.netWeb: www.peninsulahistory.org

The Peninsula Valley Historic & Education Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) private operating foun-

dation. It was established by Robert L. Hunker in 1997 for the purposes of preserving the historic ar-

chitecture and character of Peninsula, Ohio and the surrounding area both within and proximate to the

Cuyahoga Valley National Park; and to educate the public about the history of Peninsula and the Cuya-

hoga Valley with emphasis on economic and social development, architectural design and construc-

tion, decorative arts & crafts, landscape, gardens, and overall built environment.

Preserving Peninsula’s past for the future.

WE’RE ON THE WEB!WWW.PENINSULAHISTORY.ORG

Peninsula ValleyHistoric & Education Foundation

Foundation Board of Trustees

Rebecca C. Huddle

Doris N. Hunker

Art Gilly, Jr.

Steven Craig

John Harley

Jonathan Holody

Towpath, preservation of the mill site in Penin-sula, and site selection of Blossom Music Center.

A summary of Bob’s civic involvement includeserving on the Board of Trustees of the ClevelandRestoration Society, Hower House; FairmontTheater of the Deaf of Cleveland; Early Settlers ofthe Western Reserve of Cleveland; Vice Presidentof the Irish Georgian Society; Decorative ArtsTrust, Ohio Chapter; the Ohio Bi-Centennial Com-mittee of Cleveland; board member and advisorof the Western Reserve Historical Society andHale Farm and Village; Cleveland Institute of Art;advisory board of the Cuyahoga Valley NationalRecreation Area; Chairman of the Commission forPeninsula Village National Historic District; andas Asst. Chairman for the 1972 Cleveland confer-ence of the National Trustee for Historic Preser-vation. Bob is an Honorary Life Member of theSummit County Historical Society of Akron. Hewas also one of the founders of the Stan HywetHall Foundation and served as the first ad hoccurator for Stan Hywet.

He is a 50-year member of the American Society

HUNKER, Continued from pg. 1 of Interior Designers, and continueduntil his death in the design, restora-tion, and preservation of structuresand their interiors. He is listed inBaron’s Who’s Who in Interior DesignInternational Edition.

In 1994 Bob founded the Gully RidgeHounds, a pack of foxhounds thatwas registered and recognized by theMasters of Foxhounds Association.The hunt was a culmination of hislife-long love of horses, hounds, andequestrian activities which he widelysupported.

Although Bob is terribly missed, theFoundation is committed to continuethe work that he started in Peninsulaalmost fifty years ago. If you wish tomake a donation to the Foundationin Bob’s name, checks may be sentto the Foundation at:

Peninsula ValleyHistoric & Education Foundation

6138 Riverview Road, Suite FPeninsula, Ohio 44264

This year, G.A.R. Hall manager CarleanPerez hosted several events that wereopen to the public. The “Wine Bar at theG.A.R.” events were held in early autumnand were well attended. Free hors d’oeu-vres were served as guests enjoyed livemusic by the Acid Raincoats.

Another event called “Dress to Impress”was a Christmas dance in December. Itfeatured live music by John Chapman andDJ Mark Ritchie. Finger food hors d’oeu-vres were also provided to guests at nocost.

Due to the success of these events, moreare being planned for 2010. Check theG.A.R. Hall website regularly for more infor-mation on upcoming events!

www.garhallmuseum.com

F r e e P u b l i cE v e n t s a t t h e

G . A . R . H a l l