STATEHOUSE NEWS

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As part of the Governor’s annual Wreath Laying Ceremony in honor of Memorial Day, military aircraft will conduct a flyover of downtown Columbus and the Ohio Statehouse on Friday, May 26 at approximately 11 a.m. The aircraft are from the 121st Air Refueling Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard.

The public event will include a rifle salute at the Ohio Statehouse on the Third Street Veterans Plaza. The rifle salute is provided by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Since these sounds and the low flying aircraft can be startling, we wish to give advance notice to our Statehouse residents and neighbors on Capitol Square.

This event is part of honoring Ohio’s fallen heroes on Memorial Day weekend. The Governor’s Wreath Laying ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. on the Third Street side of the Ohio Statehouse and may be viewed live on OhioChannel.org.

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In accordance with the order issued by the President of the United States of America and the proclamation by the Governor of the State of Ohio, and in remembrance of the victims of the shooting in Allen, Texas on May 6, 2023, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio until sunset on May 11, 2023.

The flags in Ohio were at half-staff on May 7, 2023 to honor the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service.

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(COLUMBUS, OH) — Members of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will meet Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus. The business meeting will be held in the State Room (room #108) and will begin at 4 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

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(Columbus, OH) –The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will commemorate the Repose of President Abraham Lincoln in the Ohio Statehouse on Friday, April 28. The day will include Civil War reenactors, a historic 36-star flag, artifacts and a replica coffin. The event is free and open to the public.

UPDATE: Cannon firings are canceled due to rain. All events will be inside the Ohio Statehouse.

In 1865, the funeral train for Abraham Lincoln traveled more than 1,600 miles in 13 days from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illinois. The train stopped in Columbus, and Lincoln lay in repose in the Ohio Statehouse on April 29, 1865. An estimated 50,000 people passed through the Rotunda to pay their respects to the fallen President, the “Savior of the Union.”

Artifacts and a large flag from that time will be displayed at the Ohio Statehouse. The Rotunda exhibit includes educational descriptions and a replica coffin. Items from the 1865 funeral train trip will be on loan from the family of General John Curtis Caldwell, including a mourning badge and a lock of Lincoln’s hair.

A giant 36-Star flag that flew over Capitol Square during President Lincoln's 1865 repose will be displayed. The flag originally was presented to David Nevin Murray of Portsmouth, Ohio for his contributions to the war effort on behalf of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Murray’s descendants, the Van Tilburg family, donated the historic flag to the Ohio History Connection.

In conjunction with the Repose of Lincoln, the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A will hold the 2023 Civil War Encampment inside the Ohio Statehouse. Historical reenactors will demonstrate Civil War life and provide interactive experiences such as meeting soldiers and helping the Ladies’ Aid Society care for the troops. The festivities will also include music and games, inside the Atrium of the Ohio Statehouse.

The Statehouse Museum Shop offers a special one-day Lincoln Sale on April 28, 2023. Lincoln merchandise will be discounted 20% off on the day of the Civil War Encampment and Repose of Lincoln.

The Ohio Statehouse invites the public to remember Civil War history on April 28 with historical reenactors, cannon firings, artifacts and exhibits.

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(Columbus, OH)—The Ohio Statehouse invites families and friends to a FREE fossil tour on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22 from noon until 1:30 p.m. During this special tour, visitors will see fossil specimens, and then find similar fossils in the limestone walls and floors of the Ohio Statehouse.

The tour starts on the ground floor of the Ohio Statehouse. Fossils will be displayed by Dale M. Gnidovec, Curator of the OSU Orton Geological Museum. Mark Peter, Paleontologist at ODNR Division of Geological Survey, will lead the group inside and outside the Ohio Statehouse.

This special tour is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but individuals or organizations that want to schedule a group to attend the tour, should contact Katie Montgomery at 614-728-3726 or kmontgomery@ohiostatehouse.org.

The Ohio Statehouse tour begins and ends in the Governor Thomas Worthington Center, where an exhibit on loan from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History shows replica fossils of Dunkleosteus terrelli and a shark. Dunkleosteus terrelli became the official State Fossil Fish in March of 2021.

Each visitor will receive a free copy of the booklet, Statehouse Fossils: A Guide to Fossils of the Ohio Capitol, by Mark E. Peter. An informative poster of Fossils of the Columbus Limestone is available for purchase online at https://ohiodnr.gov/buy-and-apply/gifts-and-mechandise/ohio-geology-publications.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 every year to encourage global conservation efforts and environmental protection. These events encourage young learners to explore the natural world and engage the public in efforts to care for our planet.

Photos are available on the Ohio Statehouse website: http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/galleries/geology-fossil-tour

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In honor of the life and service of Springfield Township Police Officer Tim Unwin and the life of William Dunson, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Hamilton County and at the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center, and Rhodes Tower today, and will remain until sunset on the day of the second of the two funerals.

All other public buildings and grounds throughout the state may fly the flags at half-staff at their discretion for the same time.

Update, 4-13-23: The funeral for Springfield Township Police Officer Tim Unwin took place on Thursday, April 6, 2023. William Dunson’s funeral service will take place this Saturday, April 15, 2023. Flags may be raised back to full-staff at sunset on Saturday.

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In accordance with the order issued by the President of the United States of America and in remembrance of the victims of the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, by the authority of the Governor of the State of Ohio and by the Ohio Constitution, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio until sunset on March 31, 2023.

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(Columbus, Ohio) –The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) and the Capitol Square Foundation announce the commission of an artwork to recognize the accomplishments of Ohioans in space. Artist Bill Hinsch was chosen to create a new painting for the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda.

The painting will honor Ohioans in space. Ohioans have achieved many firsts in flight and in space exploration. Twenty-five NASA astronauts were born in our state, and many Ohioans have advanced space technology in supporting roles. The painting pictures astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Judith Resnik, four of the Ohio astronauts noted for real firsts. An image of Flight Director Gene Kranz of Toledo represents the engineers and scientists without whom space travel would not be possible. Their spacecraft, the moon and the Earth are part of the artwork.

The choice of Bill Hinsch to paint the picture was announced at the CSRAB board meeting this week. Hinsch is from Hicksville, and now lives in Perrysburg, Ohio. Hinsch started creating art in the newspaper and magazine fields. Some of his painted portraits hang in the Air Force Museum in Dayton and the Pentagon. He also creates Learning Maps to illustrate health and education.

The artist was selected by an art committee appointed by then-Speaker of the House Robert Cupp, when he was chair of CSRAB. The art committee is chaired by Charles Moses, of the Capitol Square Foundation, and committee members include Aristotle Hutras, Richard Hillis, Donna Collins, Kelly Falcone-Hall, Jim Dicke, Vincent Keeran, Brad Young, Tom Katzenmeyer, Paul Thomarios, Michael Hall and Stephanie McCloud. The committee reviewed the initial 36 responding artists and narrowed the list to a group of three finalists. They presented Bill Hinsch to the CSRAB board for approval.

“This artist’s vision of honoring Ohioans who have gone above and beyond exceeded the hopes of the committee,” said Charles Moses, chair. “This commissioned artwork, the first in 66 years, will be a fitting addition to the historic Ohio Statehouse – a celebration of four Ohioans’ remarkable firsts in space exploration.”

The painting will be funded by private donations. The Capitol Square Foundation will oversee the fundraising for the artist’s commission for making the massive painting. More details are available on the Foundation website, ohcapitolsquarefoundation.org.

The painting is scheduled to be unveiled in 2024. It will be the first major painting commissioned for the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda since 1957. The last painting hung in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda was “Wilbur and Orville Wright and Their Accomplishments,” by Dwight Mutchler, unveiled in 1959. The new painting is intended to pair with this nine-foot by 12-foot artwork, and will be hung facing the Wright brothers picture on the opposite wall in the East stairway of the Rotunda. The permanent display will remind Ohio Statehouse visitors that brave Ohioans reach for the stars.

Astronauts Recognized with the Great Ohioans Award

At the same meeting, CSRAB announced the recipients of the 2023 “Great Ohioan Award.” The individuals were selected from nominations submitted by citizens and organizations from across Ohio.

The 2023 Great Ohioan awardees are astronauts Jim Lovell and Judith Resnik.

Jim Lovell, a pioneering astronaut in NASA’s Gemini and Apollo programs, is the first to fly into space four times, and the first to fly to the moon twice, although he did not walk on the moon. He was commander of the Apollo 13 mission, when he said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” After overcoming the emergency situation, the Apollo 13 crew returned safely to Earth. Lovell was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

Biography: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/lovell_james_0.pdf

Judith Resnik, born in Akron, Ohio, was an astronaut, pilot and engineer. She was part of the first NASA astronaut group to include women. She flew on Space Shuttle Discovery, and was a crewmember on the Space Shuttle Challenger when it exploded in 1986.

Biography: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/resnik_judith_with_photo_0.pdf

“Ohio is recognized as being the first in flight, and the people of Ohio are very proud of the firsts in space made by Ohioans. These awards and this painting recognize the famous Ohio astronauts who made historic advances in space exploration in the face of incredible danger,” said Senator Kirk Schuring, Chair of CSRAB.

The Great Ohioan Award commemorates Ohioans who have played a significant role in an event or series of events of lasting significance in world, American or Ohio history. To be selected for the Great Ohioan Award, the nominee must have resided in Ohio for a minimum of five years. In addition, at least 25 years must have passed since the event in which the nominee participated is being commemorated.

Since 2003, 57 Great Ohioans have been recognized with the award for the special roles they played in history.

“The bravery of these astronauts is remarkable,” said Laura P. Battocletti, CSRAB executive director. “Both went above and beyond in advancing our frontiers in space. The Ohio Statehouse Museum is an appropriate place to remember their stories.”

Great Ohioans Exhibit

The Ohio Statehouse Museum exhibit allows visitors to have a greater understanding of the recipients of the Great Ohioan award and discover how they affected local, national and world history. The exhibit uses videos, photos, facts and web based technology to explore the life and legacy of each Great Ohioan. The Ohio Statehouse Museum is open every day of the week, but closed on state holidays.

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