June 29, 2001
A convent's history
New Riegel's Morman Hall has a long history
By Vicki Hunker
Staff Writer
Morman Hall -- still known affectionately as "the convent" -- is little more than a shell now.
But "the convent" has had a long history starting almost at the same time as did the settlement that would become New Riegel.
The building that burned Wednesday was built in 1893. It replaced a log cabin that was the original motherhouse of the Sisters of the Precious Blood in the United States.
According to a history of St. Boniface Church, printed in honor of the church's 150th anniversary in June 1984, the Rev. Francis DeSales Brunner visited the settlement of Wolfscreek -- the apparent precursor to New Riegel -- in 1844.
He was a missionary who brought priests, brothers and sisters of the Precious Blood, to America from Switzerland, said Sister Noreen Jutte, a historian for Sisters of the Precious Blood archives in Dayton.
The sisters first settled in Peru, Ohio, for a short time, Sister Noreen said.
The St. Boniface Church history said the people of Wolfscreek welcomed Brunner enthusiastically and he decided to build a home there for his religious community. He acquired 80 acres near the church and erected two log buildings that were to house the Brothers of the Precious Blood.
However, in August 1844, Bishop Purcell designated the building to be a convent for the sisters instead. The first sisters arrived in New Riegel at Christmas 1844.
"We called it the cradle of our community because that was our first major settlement," Sister Noreen said. "Peru, Ohio, was first settlement, but the large convent was in New Riegel and that was our first major place."
From the New Riegel base, Sister Noreen said members of the order branched out to form other communities in Northwest Ohio. One branch was in Maria Stein, Ohio.
A replica made of wood from the original log cabin can be seen at the Maria Stein Heritage Museum, part of the National Marian Shrine of the Holy Relics in Maria Stein.
The only recorded change made to the building through the years was the addition of a wing in 1967.
The convent had 61 rooms, including 30 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms.
The building was divided into three sections -- each with its own living room and kitchen. One section housed retired nuns; another, teaching nuns; and the third, cloistered nuns.
Sister Noreen said the reasons for closing the convent and selling the building were complex.
But the decision was made.
The sisters sold their printing equipment in late 1979 -- some of them had been printers by trade -- and closed the New Riegel convent on Jan. 1, 1980.
Herman "Shorty" Clouse of New Riegel bought the building in 1980 with the intention of retaining its religious nature, as Clouse told the A-T's Rob Weaver during an interview and tour of the building in February 1987.
At the urging of the Rev. Edmund Morman, who had served as the sisters' chaplain, Clouse said he worked to find other religious groups interested in using the building.
For a short time, Morman led retreats there. And a community of nuns from the Association of Mary Immaculate lived there for a while.
The building served as the county's first domestic violence shelter for about four years beginning in January 1981 &emdash; the precursor to what's now First Step in Fostoria.
According to A-T reports in late 1980 and early 1981, the location of the domestic violence shelter was kept secret to protect the women and children who fled there from abusive families. Later reports said 78 people were assisted there during the shelter's first six months.
After the shelter moved to Fostoria, in 1984, a group of monks moved in for a short time.
From August 1984 to early 1989, the building served another religious order as Our Lady of Nativity Monastery.
During those years, Morman was killed in a traffic accident in 1986. In his memory, Clouse named the former convent Morman Hall.
After Morman's passing, Clouse decided to turn the building into a shared living facility for senior citizens.
A-T reports in January 1989 said plans were almost complete and a February 1989 report said a rededication ceremony had been planned and Clouse was looking for a few more residents.
After that, news about Morman Hall was quiet for a few years.
However, New Riegel residents say there have been a colorful array of people who have moved in and out of the home.
In January 1993, Advertiser-Tribune reports said the Seneca County prosecutor, State Fire Marshal, the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations and the Ohio Department of Health had filed a civil suit against the hall and Clouse because of fire hazards in the building.
The suit also said the building did not meet numerous state standards for housing the elderly and mentally disabled. Twenty-seven people had been living there.
Later that month, the residence hall was closed and the remaining residents were moved out. At that time, Judge Michael Kelbley ordered that the building be classified as a single-family dwelling until it was brought up to state fire code and remodeled to meet the requirements for housing the elderly and disabled.
It's not clear when people started moving into the building again. There had been no news coverage for the past eight years -- until the building burned Wednesday.