Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Many dream; however, few turn their dreams into reality.
In 1974, Dr. Tom Bowlus began discussions to make his dream become a reality. That dream ultimately began as Portage Valley and became Otterbein Senior Life in Pemberville, which is a facility that continues to serve the area with compassion, dignity, and forward-thinking.
Those dreams took shape with the facility’s first resident, Nellie Holgraf, moving into Portage Valley on May 1, 1981, forty-five years ago. The Bowling Green resident had been a vaudeville star who did sand art with her husband. Portage Valley’s official dedication was June 14, 1981.
Portage Valley, which merged in 1986 with Otterbein, is known today as Otterbein Senior Life Pemberville, a leading continuing care residential center in Northwest Ohio. It’s home to around 110 independent residents, 60 assistant living residents, and about 45 skilled nursing and long-term residents.
Marilyn Bowlus, the wife of Dr. Tom Bowlus, said it was an exciting and challenging time, but also a time of great stress and uncertainty in her 1987 writing, “The Building of a Dream: The Early History of Otterbein Portage Valley, 1975-1981.”
“At times I wondered if it was all worth it,” she said. “But now I see this wonderful place we have created to care for our elderly in our midst, and I am amazed at what the dedicated efforts of people with faith and a dream can accomplish.”
Dr. Bowlus, born and raised in Pemberville, had a family medical practice in Toledo and cared for many elderly patients in nursing homes. His parents needed nursing home care in their later years, but facilities were distant and visiting became harder.
Thus began Dr. Bowlus’ dream of creating a top-quality senior care facility in the rural area closer to family and friends. In 1975, he and other interested area residents visited facilities throughout the state. Those visits sparked the concept of a three-stage retirement community which would include “a 100-bed nursing home, 50-60 apartments for independent living, and intermediate care or assisted living.”
In the summer of 1975, monthly meetings began. Determined and devoted representatives came from Pemberville, Luckey, Genoa, Lemoyne, Gibsonburg, Woodmore, Bradner, Stony Ridge, and Wayne. In August, the architectural firm of Richards, Bauer, and Moorehead was selected to design Portage Valley, the name suggested by Wayne Schulte.
Portage Valley was officially incorporated in October 1975. In February 1976, an application was made for a FmHA loan of $1.8 million with five percent interest over 40 years, which would bring the total project cost to three $3 million.
To say the next several years were filled with trials and tribulations would be an understatement. Finding a site would prove challenging.
Pemberville resident Ernestine Hille graciously offered three parcels of land in the Pemberville area over two years. However, various challenges and uncertainties eliminated the first two options. Finally, a 30-acre plot located just south of SR 582 in Troy Township was selected.
Once the site was selected, multiple issues arose with the EPA, TMACOG, the FmHA loan, and inflation — which pushed the needed loan to $2.2 million. Thankfully, Congressman Delbert Latta played a huge role in aiding the group with their issues. FmHA required that 20 percent of the loan, $440,000 with $150,000 being deducted as a credit for the Hille land, would have to be raised to show community support.
The “Dollars for Dignity” fundraising drive began on Nov. 12, 1977, and resulted in $287,000 being raised from over 2,000 individuals, businesses, and organizations.
The loan was “conditionally” approved in May, which allowed the architects to begin their work, but 1978 proved to be a frustrating year filled with more red tape. Many approvals had to be obtained from the EPA, the Ohio Health Department, the state Fire Marshall, the Ohio Historical Society, and the Wood County Building Inspector, with local agencies being much easier to work with during the whole process thanks to the assistance of Ohio representatives Charles Kurfess and Robert Brown.
FmHA then sent an extensive list of additional requirements to the group in February 1979. By late March 1979, Portage Valley seemed to be on the doorstep to complete the loan closing. As such, in July, the initial Portage Valley office was opened in Luckey.
As if past trials weren’t enough, Aug. 29, 1979 may have been the most difficult day in Portage Valley’s early history. When FmHA authorized the release of bids, the lowest came in at nearly $5.1 million, double the loan amount. To salvage the project, Karl Heise offered his financial expertise, and 75 individuals signed lines of credit. Without his help and that financing, the project may have been doomed.
On Sept. 9, 1979, amid great uncertainty, the Board, on faith, proceeded with the groundbreaking. Hille turned the first shovelful of dirt and the 18 Board members followed suit.
A little more than two weeks later, it appeared that FmHA was considering not honoring the loan. With bids expiring shortly and costs expected to go up another 10 percent, the contractor, E.H. Haynes, agreed to extend the bid another month. The added time allowed six Portage Valley representatives to go to Washington D.C. on Oct. 5 to seek loan approval. Five days later, Heise and Nigel Davies returned. With the assistance of Representative Delbert Latta, the pair was able to get FmHa to agree to the loan, but with one condition — that $733,000 would have to be cut from the project to bring costs down to $4.45 million.
Painful cuts, including a chapel, a medical clinic, a physical therapy department, some common areas, AC, laundry equipment, painting, and landscaping, were made. Even so, they were still $200,000 short. Thankfully, the architects agreed to accept 14 acres of land to cover their fees, and the needed cuts were made. The loan was closed on Oct. 29, 1979.
In September 1980, Richard Fratianne was hired as Portage Valley’s first administrator.
“He strongly believed that individuals should be maintained at their highest level of capability,” Marilyn Bowlus said. “He also stressed that they have choices, as choices were important.”
With the aid of the newly formed auxiliary group, the Friends of Portage Valley headed by President Norma Kahler, additional funds were raised to restore some of the cuts and aided projects for the residents. With over 800 voting members, Portage Valley rose from the ground on the backs of many dedicated individuals, many of whose names can be found in Bowlus’ “The Building of a Dream.”
So, on May 1, 45 years after the arrival of its first resident, Otterbein Senior Life Pemberville stands as a tribute to a dream of common folks, whose undying passion and incredible staying power, built a facility for enhanced elder living in a Northwest Ohio cornfield.
