25 Unique Things

Our daughters on Facebook wanted to know 25 unique things about us, as their parents that they do not know, so I thought I would share 25 unique things about Hallauer House Bed & Breakfast that you will not find on our website! So here they are!

1. The house was built in 1830 and the bark is still on the basement and attic tree beams!
2. The attic tree beams are attached with wooden pegs!
3. The basement walls are constructed of field stone which is about 12 inches thick!
4. The front door and the door bell were installed around 1860!
5. The wormy chestnut floors in the Music Room and Dining Room are original to 1830 and in excellent condition!
6. The floor in the Mason/Dixon Suite is made of six different woods - cherry, poplar, pine, black walnut, walnut, and oak.
7. One of the main beams of the house runs through the Suite and is really unique!
8. One of the buffets in the Dining Room was made from the felled black walnut tree in the back yard. It was kilned, planed, and constructed by local Amish in Medina County!
9. In the Music Room we have a walking cane which is actually a sword made to look like a cane!
10. The upstairs hallway has a courting candle. Now this is a candle used by a young girl's father when her suitor came "a courtin' ". If he liked a particular suitor, the father might set the candle on one of the higher rings, giving the couple a long visit in hopes that this lad might become his son-in-law. If the young man wasn't a favorite, the candle would be set on a lower ring allowing just a short visit. When the candle burned down to the metal, courtin' time was over! Oh, those were the days!!
11. In the Music Room there is an extensive collection of 1930's and 1940's sheet music. Guests can have fun playing our a tune on the digital, baby grand piano!
12. Guests can also read through a book written in 1882 about the first 50 years of Oberlin College. A real eye opener about life in the past!
13. The front stairway has one squeaky step that signals when someone is going up or coming down. Now this was a great signal that one of our four daughters might be trying to sneak out! And no one, daughters or guests, can seem to remember exactly which step is the one that squeaks!
14. Some guests have said they have gotten a 'spirit feeling' in one of our guest rooms. I won't say which one! Come and stay and see if you agree!
15. Just this past weekend our granddaughter counted 38 teas in our tea selection! And the collection keeps growing! Something for everyone. Come and enjoy!
16. 'Duke' is our resident yellow lab. He is 12 years old, loves guests, and especially loves bacon! He's not real fond of visiting vegetarians since they have no left over meat! He actually belongs to our daughter who is in the Coast Guard and when she gets her permanent station in July, he may go to live with her and then we will cry.
17. Our 20 X 40 foot in-ground swimming pool was constructed in 1984 (25 years ago) and still looks like new! We have the original building receipt but we have replaced just about everything from liner to pump, to filter, to underground pipes. Can't wait for spring to get that winter cover off! Maybe we should have a silver anniversary party for it!
18. During a stroll through our garden you will find six - 3 foot tall old letters that were taken from an old DRIVE-IN sign. The only letter missing is the V and the other letters are scattered through the garden. The R E D letters are being used to call attention to Red Hill!
19. We are in "The Dead Zone"! You know those Verizon commercials which show the people using their Verizon cell phones even in the "Dead Zone". Well Verizon is the ONLY cell phone that has a problem working in our house! Now that is really weird since we have Verizon DSL, and a Verizon land line! No one at the Verizon cell phone stores has been able to help with the problem so I think I will call AT&T and volunteer to do a commercial about living in "the Verizon Dead Zone!"
20. In our large pond there lives a koi fish named Goldie who appears to be about half a yard long and about 12 pounds, or so Joe thinks! She loves to float on the surface in the sun and you can usually catch a glimpse of her when you walk by.
21. There are many other fish in that pond and if you start to feed them they will remember you and when you approach the edge, they will swim over to see what you have to feed them! They love hot dog pieces!
22. Some people love to go for walks around blocks. Well, the block here at Hallauer House is exactly 4.2 miles in distance! Can you walk it in less than 60 minutes?! Come and see!
23. In the summer and fall we've been known to have a bonfire back by Goldie's Pond. You know the kind like you used to do as kids at camp. We sit around and toast marshmallows or roast hot dogs, tell campfire stories and ghost stories, and some of us sip our glass of red wine!
24. There are many unique things in the garden: hanging windows and mirrors, a flying witch, a glass block pyramid, hanging chandeliers and glass bottom mugs, fairies and little children, a tree with a face and a top hot, a tree spigot, and much, much more! Come and see!
25. There is a room with your name on it! We would like to meet you, have some tea with you, share some Oberlin stories, and serve you a great breakfast! We know you want to come! And we know you won't be disappointed!

Are You A Photographer?

Are you a photographer? Do you like photo exhibits? If you answered yes to either one or both of those questions then you might want to schedule a visit to Oberlin.


From March 1 until April 10 amature and professional photographers are being welcomed to Oberlin to attend the 29th annual Firelands Association for the Visual Arts regional juried photography exhibition. Photographers from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia will be chosen to display their photographs. This years juror will be Christopher A. Yates (Assistant Professor of Art at Columbus College of Art and Design. Independent Art Critic and Contributor to the Columbus Dispatch).



The opening reception will be held on Sunday, March 1 from 2:00 - 4:00 P.m at FAVA located at the New Union Center for the Arts, 39 South Main Street, Oberlin, Ohio. Their phone number is (440) 774-7158. Hours to visit FAVA and view the exhibit are Tuesdays through Saturdays 11 am - 5 pm and Sundays 1-5 pm. They are CLOSED Mondays.


So make your plans now to visit Oberlin. Stop at the New Union Center for the Arts and view the exhibit, stroll down town Oberlin, have lunch or dinner at one of our fantastic restaurants, and then come out to Hallauer House B & B for some relaxation and recharging! Be sure to make reservations ahead of time. Check our website for availability calendar. You know you want to come! And we know you won't be disappointed!

What do you think of my four photos on the left? Do I stand a chance for a prize?!!!

A Bit of Oberlin History!

Did you know that an inexpensive process to produce aluminum happened right here in Oberlin, Ohio?! That's right! It actually happened 123 years ago when Charles Martin Hall made his claim for the U.S. patent and next week on Feb. 23, the American Chemical Society's Division of the History of Chemistry will present Oberlin College and the Oberlin Heritage Center plaques in recognition of this achievement.

Hall graduated from Oberlin College in 1885 and then set up shop in his home and began work on the purification of aluminum. It was on that Feb. 23 date that he found the solvent that he needed and so he produced his first small globules of aluminum. When he was unable to find local funding, he moved his process to Pittsburgh and began the American Aluminum Company (ALCOA).

At the Oberlin Heritage Center, visitors can tour the Jewitt home and see the display of this very important aluminum discovery.

So when you make plans to come to Oberlin, be sure that you plan time to visit the Oberlin Heritage Center where you can learn all about our famous son. And plan a stay at Hallauer House B & B where you can view our aluminum tray collection and explore the history of the Civil War.

More pictures of the Mason/Dixon Suite

In recent weeks, we have had several potential guests calling for more information and explanation of how our Mason/Dixon Suite is laid out so I thought it might be a good idea to give more details on a blog post.

The Suite received it's name from a neighbor who, after she saw the Confederate and Union Rooms, just popped out with the Mason/Dixon name! We thank her as this name has fit nicely with the layout and theme of the B & B. The Mason Dixon Line was a name used to acknowledge a separation of the north and the south during the Civil War.
At the B & B it doesn't actually separate our Union and Confederate Rooms but it does run the entire width of the house and comprises two separate rooms.

The entire living space that guests will have is approximately 550 square feet with a view out of 20 casement windows! On the northern side of the room the view is of the pool and gardens and on the southern side your view will be of the treetops, the driveway and the wildflower garden. On this side also in the spring there is a fantastic view of the flowering magnolia tree where you can almost reach out and touch the petals! I would take a picture of this beautiful tree but it will have to wait until spring arrives! At that time I will post an addendum to this post with that picture so do come back!


The first room of the Suite houses a queen canopy bed, antique furniture, a satellite TV in a corner cupboard, a mini refrigerator in the closet, a leather like swivel chair and a very comfortable wing back chair. In the corner of the room we have placed the antique dresser plumbed with an above bowl sink.

Beside the dresser/sink is the sliding door leading into the actual bathroom which houses the corner
whirlpool tub, the toilet, and the free standing shower. For those romantic occasions, the Jacuzzi tub is surrounded by mini lights hidden in green ivy.

In order to separate the bed from the view of the bathroom and the sink area, there is a full curtain that affords a guest in the queen bed complete privacy from the side of the room with the sink


Moving through the door and into the connecting room, you will enter a space that is so large that it houses a queen bed, a full bed, a sitting area, a desk area, and a reading area!

The double or full brass bed is situated on the southern side of the room with a reading light on each side and a Birdseye maple dressing table next to it. This is a great place for applying makeup with lots of light

On the opposite side of the room with a garden and pool view, is located the queen bed with a checkerboard patterned padded wall used as a headboard. Tall lights allow reading on both sides of the bed.

The conversational sitting area is in the middle of the room separating the two beds. The sofa converts to a single sofa bed for either a 4th or 7th person. From this area, one can converse, read, or watch the satellite TV.

And the room is still large enough to have a bookcase full of antique and modern books with another lounge chair to relax in while reading or move it over to expand the conversational area.

Sitting at the antique desk, a guest can look out over the pool and garden while working at a wireless computer or doing other business.

Because each room has a closet, there is plenty of room for hanging up clothes or storing luggage. Or slide the luggage under the bed. Who wants to trip over suitcases when you're trying to relax!

And the tour of the Mason/Dixon Suite comes to an end. We hope you enjoyed it and can get a better visualization of the space that will be yours when you book accommodations for yourself and friends or family in what is also known as 'The Blue Suite!' We are looking forward to your visit. Give us a call. You won't be disappointed!