On the town

Jack Gallon, left, and Larry Sykes were honorary chairmen for the Manor House event.

“Everybody that lives in an old home runs from us, but we catch them!” joked Janet Russ, executive director of the Maumee Senior Center that is presenting the 7th Annual Historic Maumee Home Tour.

Dick and Ardis Dardenne, who have had two homes on tour, quipped, “We're moving out of Maumee.”

A dessert reception was held recently at the riverfront home of Carol and Bill Block, Jr., to kick off the Oct. 4 event and to present plaques from the City of Maumee to homeowners who have opened their private residences for the tour during the last six years.

The event, to showcase the preservation of historic homes and to encourage protecting the heritage of Maumee, will highlight six homes as well as the log cabin at the Wolcott House Museum complex and historic Union School. Union School was built in 1870. It is the oldest building still serving as a school in the state of Ohio.

Opening their homes for tour are Scott Cunningham and Gay Malon, Richard and Denise Hasbrook, Frank and Nancy Frey, Bill and Linda Fayerweather, and Phil and Tammy Leinbach.

Bill and Carol Block relaxed together.

Following the tour, dessert and coffee will be served in the Maumee Senior Center, where guests may view a Maumee Memorbilia display.

Among the guests who received plaques presented by Maumee Councilman Jenny Barlos were Everett and Ruby Garrison, Denny and Marcia DuBell, Ben and Martha Marsh, Linda Tallman, Art and Connie Smith, Marty and Pete Wendler, Chuck and Kathy Reynolds, Dave and Nancy Westrick, Karen Merrels, Tom and Joanne Brell, Don and Sara Becker, Daphne Kohler, and Nancy Fish.

One house has been on the tour twice by two different owners: Dorothy Herbert and Richard and Rosalee Heyman.

Guests at the dessert reception were tempted by a sumptuous array of food and the splendid view from the home of Carol and Bill Block, Jr.

ANOTHER kickoff party this month was in the home of Joan Bayer, the Krispy Kreme lady, but she didn't offer any glazed donuts. Instead, the hostess had a lavish buffet of delectable dinner edibles and desserts. The soiree announced the COSI Bash, a casual affair slated for Nov. 14 at the science center.

The event will feature the latest high tech toys for “big kids,” culinary treats, and Motown music by KGB band for dancing.

Chairmen are Lee and Terri Dunn; chairmen of the COSI board is Deke Welles.

Jack Gallon, left, and Larry Sykes were honorary chairmen for the Manor House event.

The Metroparks 75th Anniversary Gala “Diamond Jubilee” Saturday night was a step back in time to elegance, extravagance, and charm.

The Manor House in Wildwood Metropark was the setting. Classic cars, thanks to owners Ford and Phyllis Cauffiel, John Hadley, and Jon Slawson, flanked the lawn of the mansion entrance.

The Crabgrass band played as guests, all gussied up for the occasion, strolled the candlelit walkway.

Dashing butlers in tails - Orris Tabner, Don Edwards, Dan Kuna, Bill Johnson, Joe Clark, and Jim Rudes - greeted all. A champagne fountain sparkled as wait staff offered canapes on silver trays.

Upstairs, downstairs, indoors and out, in the drawing room, library, gentlemen's study, the 18th century bedroom, and more, guests roamed and schmoozed. Some stopped to buy a tiny gift box that contained either a fancy chocolate or a dazzling diamond - Elizabeth Rettig was the winner - or bid on silent auction items from fabulous vacation packages, art, and jewelry, to dining and home decor.

A historical video and memory board took us back to when W.W Knight was the first president of the board of directors for the Toledo Metroparks and the first gala benefit was 11 years ago.

Outdoors on the starlit night were giant tents decorated with lights and oodles of white flowers. Guests were tempted to feast on a scrumptious buffet dinner but leave room for dessert: cherries jubilee, creme brulee, souffle, and cheese cake.

Entertainment was continuous: The Toledo Symphony Jazz Trio and vocalist Nate Gurley on the patio, astrologer Janet Amid and handwriting analyst Maryann Krell upstairs, and Random Acts performing downstairs in Lil's Place, a speakeasy with a “flapper” mannequin at the bar and a 1939 radio show.

Metroparks Board of Commissioners president Larry Sykes was there as was president emeritus Jack Gallon. Among the community movers and shakers: Dorothy Price, Phyllis Morton, Sam and Kelly Zyndorf, Karen and Bob Lucas, and Sue and Don Speck. The vast event committee included Sue Blevins, Gail Cooper, Bonnie Little, Judy Kehrle, Janet Kennedy, Ann Miller, Don Rettig, and Sharon Simmons along with Kay Hetrick, Nancy Kintner, Lynn Ritter, Susan Slovak, Marianne Duvendack, Tanya Jensen, Bev McBride, Jo Minogue, and Brian Zientek.

Proceeds benefit the US 24 Pedestrian-Bikeway Bridge at Fallen Timbers.

Star Wayne Brady, center, posed with Linda Franklin and Jim Murray after the show. Many of Mr. Brady's fans watched him on last night's Emmy Awards.

“We are fortunate to have the most versatile man in Hollywood with us tonight - Wayne Brady!”

So remarked Jim Murray, president of Toledo Edison, the presenting sponsor for The Valentine Gala Saturday night. The show began but not before the audience brainstormed to try to stump Mr. Brady.

Jim White, credited as the theater's fund-raising guru for five years, gave a doozie of a word, “nolo contendre,” to be used in the show.

Then, lights, music, and action: Fans cheered as Mr. Brady appeared. The Emmy Award winner who is noted for his ability to act, sing, dance, and make people laugh, impressed the audience with his impersonations and impromptu and random styles of music, song, and lyrics.

After the show, it was party time at stations set up along St. Clair and Adams.

“There is no one like you ... thank you,” said Mayor Jack Ford as he presented Mr. Brady with a glass key to the city, symbolic for Toledo's glass-capital reputation.

“Now I have no choice but to come back again!” Mr. Brady remarked.

Fans hope he does, but until then they planned to watch him last night on the Emmys, knowing he was here in Toledo until yesterday morning at 6.

Among the privy to meet Mr. Brady back stage were Don and Sue Wallace, whose son-in-law is one of his producers. Board chairman Bob Anspach and his family posed for a photo with the star, and event chairman Linda Franklin presented Mr. Brady with a thank-you gift: a baby bracelet for his daughter Maile. Mr. Brady said the gift was “a key to my heart.”

The show over, the party began. Tents covered the streets for dancing and dining at grazing stations all named to match the night: Passed Punchlines, Comedy Club Cafe, Jokin Java, and Whose Buffet Line is it Anyway?

Among the full house: Lisa and Dennis Holman, Barbara Steele and Alan Kimpel, Jeff and Corinne Mann, Herb and Carolyn Metzger, Chuck and Jen Swisher, Bill and Paula Fall, Patrice and Lyman Spitzer, Elizabeth and John Gorski, Susan and Tom Palmer, Peter Ujvagi, Chuck and Cindy Dana, Bill and Vickie Souder, John and Bridget Ansberg, Barbara and Mike Berebitsky, Mark Zyndorf and Gretchen Good, Joanne and Eric Frankhauser, Tony and Anita Reams, and Jerome Hamilton with his fiancee, Crystal Perry.

Committee members were Nancy Kabat, Dee Isaac, Jean Johnson, Pat Frechette, Connie Ulmer, Kira Kline, Mickey Swigart, Holly Goldstein, Nancy Ankney, Susan Block, DiAnn Cairns, Ellen Hoover, and Sue White.

The Auxiliary to the Ability Center presented the 19th Annual Style Show and Luncheon “Illusions” Tuesday at Stranahan Great Hall.

Boutique shopping, fortune tellers, a mime, and a magician added mystique to the theme.

The inviting lunch featured crepes, gourmet salad, and strudel. The feast was set at linen-covered tables centered with clusters of mini vases of gerbera daisies, which were favors for guests. Pins from Accessorize adorned each place setting. President Sue Cardone said the proceeds benefit the independent living program and donations of furniture and household items are gladly accepted.

The runway sparkled with light as upbeat music filled the air for the show of fashions presented by Accessorize, Gallippo's Studio II, Lady C, Lily Whitestone, S & K Menswear, and Toledo Furs. Mark Schnitkey, attorney by day, singer by night, wooed the ladies with songs followed by models with kicky attitudes in feminine fashions for all sizes and shapes.

Among the more than 400 guests: Dortha Baum, Ann Welly, Carol Comer, Karen Uebelhart, Mary Flood, Sue Zemla, Barbara Bettinger, Cynthia Hoffman, Diane Sturt, Linda Stanford, Pat Eistetter, Peggy Crook, Kim Pfitzer, Sandra Seiple, Driscilla Griffin, Maria Karmol, Pat Brondes, Mary Pat Anderson, Jackie Jilek, Kay Namay, Jackie Rousseau-Werner, Barbara Baker, Equilla Roach, Jean Smith, Diane Churdar, and chairmen Theresa Andrews and Joyce Stenberg. Melissa Voetsch narrated.