Distinctive Museums 2: The Museum of Spiritual Art (The Malhotra Collection)

The charming town of Franklin, Ohio, situated on the tranquil Miami River, is home to the Museum of Spiritual Art: The Malhotra Collection. (See http://www.spiritualitycircle.com/museum.html and http://www.spiritualitycircle.com/spiritual-art-gallery.html.) Benefactors Ramesh and Chris Malhotra have placed their extensive art collection on exhibit within a historic mansion facing the river.

The Museum of Spiritual Art in Franklin, Ohio

My dear friend and co-author Eleanor Y. Stewart and I were surprised to discover so many galleries of fine art, ably explicated by docent Laureen Catlin. Many three-dimensional pieces, including sculpture and furniture, accompany the extraordinary range of two-dimensional paintings and prints. Throughout the rooms on both stories of the home are items pertaining to the spiritual quest of the human being. By clicking on the links given above, readers can view many of the works, but seeing them within the context of the lovely mansion leads to a meditative state of mind that makes a visit to the museum a spiritual experience in its own right.

Buddha Painted on Cloth

From radiant Buddhas, through telescoping Tibetan horns, through singing bowls that perform as bells, through depictions of birds such as geese and storks, through paintings representing a variety of religions, to portraits of Mother Teresa (a saint in the Catholic faith), the collection is as inspirational as it is educational.

Statue of Ganesha, Son of Parvati, Who Was Shiva's Wife

I found myself lingering over certain pieces, permitting them to move me beyond my petty concerns into realms of reverie. Over the years, I have urged myself to welcome tranquility whenever possible. The Museum of Spiritual Art is a place of such serenity that inner peace can easily be reached.

Tibetan Horns That Can Telescope

Ramesh Malhotra has dedicated himself to offering the possibility of spiritual understanding to as many lives as he can touch. Exploring the links above will convey what I am expressing better than I can express the concept verbally. His outreach to people at home and abroad is remarkable.

Portrait of Ramesh Malhotra

In the Museum of Spiritual Art, many of the works—but not all—are contemporary. At first, I thought the collection would resonate more profoundly by the inclusion of additional historic pieces, but, after the tour was complete, I began to reconsider that the art may be intended to guide present-day viewers through our world that presses in upon us in so many complicated ways. Too much art from ages past might distract viewers from such a meaningful purpose.

Mother Teresa

As the museum offers classes to artists, the facility has an active role to play in the community.

Leaded Glass Window in the Museum of Spiritual Art

When we left the mansion at the end of our tour, the world outside looked lustrous. … and is that not what a fine museum should do: namely, strengthen perception?

Singing Bowl, a Type of Bell

Statue of Bodhisattva

Painting of Storks

Symmetry in Flight

Painting Depicting the Nature of God

The Tranquility of Buddha

Water Buffalo

        

Distinctive Museums 1: The Daniel Gebhart Tavern and the Old Log Post Office

Judy Wuerstl, tour guide at the Daniel Gebhart Tavern Museum in Miamisburg, Ohio, has an uncanny knack of knowing when to talk about the fascinating artifacts on display and when to wait quietly while visitors discover items they want to know more about. Nestled beside the tranquil Miami River, the tavern is a large, fully restored log structure. It even has its original stairway, with deep depressions worn in the treads from many years of foot traffic.

The Daniel Gebhart Tavern in Miamisburg, Ohio

When my dear friend and co-author Eleanor Y. Stewart and I visited the tavern, Judy entertained our many questions and listened intently to our observations. Our visit took place on a perfect day with summer breezes wafting through the windows from the river. We could readily imagine the boatmen from the river and from the canal stopping at the tavern in the early 1800s.

Judy Werstl, Heritage Village Coordinator

Among the numerous displays is a coverlet with the year 1835 embroidered in the design. In that year, Mark Twain (his real name: Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was born in the now-inactive town of Florida, Missouri, thirty-nine miles from Hannibal, where his family moved when Sam was four years of age. In the same year, Obed Hussey tested the first successful reaper in Springfield Township of Hamilton County, Ohio.

Interior of Daniel Gebhart Tavern with Eleanor Y. Stewart

The tavern may predate 1811, the year when its license was approved in Dayton. A scant sixteen years earlier, the Treaty of Greenville was secured, ending Indian resistance in the Northwest Territory. Members of the Miami tribe continued to live on the west side of the Miami River for some time after the treaty was signed.

Upstairs at Daniel Gebhart Tavern

The tavern stands where it was built—that is to say that it has not been moved to the location, known today as Heritage Village. On the same grounds stands the Jacob Kercher Pioneer Home, which has been moved not far from where it originally stood. The home is another log structure, but it boasted lap siding and interior walls of plaster. The first floor replicates a nineteenth-century schoolroom, and the upper story features a children’s museum.

Model Log Cabin, Upstairs in Jacob Kercher Pioneer Home

The Miamisburg Historical Society deserves tremendous credit for rescuing and restoring such significant buildings, and the community shares the credit for donations of time, displays, and monetary gifts.

General Store and Old Log Post Office in Franklin, Ohio

Just to the south of Miamisburg in the town of Franklin stands another important log structure, the Old Log Post Office, or Log Cabin Post Office, which also served as a general store that was established in 1802 by John Noble Cumming Schenck. When Eleanor and I visited the post office, we were pleased to meet Harriet E. Foley, author of several books on the history of the area. Several years ago, she graciously helped me to research my article on the 1913 flood. Volunteer guide Mary Nenninger gave Eleanor and me the background on the two-story building, which we then toured.

The Great Miami River Side of the Old Log Post Office

Fresh air wafted through the open windows as we examined the structure, which gives visitors insights into life within log cabins long ago. We recommend that readers time their visits so that both the Daniel Gebhart Tavern and the Old Log Post Office can be toured on the same day.

Dear Friend and Co-Author Eleanor Y. Stewart Seated Near Historic Post Office