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| Fohs Hall as it appears today. |
Fohs Hall, Marion’s most iconic landmark for more than 85 years, is showing signs of its age. Aside from a face lift, she’s in need of repairs to an ever-leaking roof and plaster crumbing from the walls. Paint and new stage curtains are in need, and heating and cooling units are on virtual life support. The building has also suffered from an infestation of insects, including bees and destructive termites.
But the still-stately building, constructed in 1926 and given to the people of Crittenden County by F. Julius Fohs for community use, remains the cultural center of the county. In just nine days, she will host her ninth Fohs Hall Ball, a formal dinner and dance set to the Big Band Era sounds of the Evansville-based Temple Airs.
“It’s the premier social event in Marion,” said Alan Stout, longtime president of Fohs Hall, Inc., the organization formed in 1981 for the perpetual preservation of Fohs Hall once it was no longer needed as a school.
The ball is also the biggest fund-raising effort for Fohs Hall, Inc. The first ball was held in 2001 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the structure’s opening. It proved to be such a success, that the tradition has continued almost annually. In fact, in 2010, the elegant affair netted $8,500 for Fohs Hall, Inc. The previous ball two years earlier brought in $6,134.
But this year, the building’s oversight board is depending on the ball more than ever before. That’s because funding from the Fohs Foundation — a charitable institution headed by decendents of its namesake aimed at improving Jewish-Arab relations in Israel — has dried up due to a combination of factors.
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| Fohs Hall under construction prior to opening in 1926. |
“We need to have a very successful Fohs Hall Ball,” Stout reiterated.
For years, the endowment contributed thousands to the maintenance of Fohs Hall in order to keep the legacy of its builder alive locally. But Fohs’ name carries far beyond Crittenden County. As a child in 1890, he moved to Marion from New York with his family, but he went on to become an internationally renowned geologist, philanthropist and champion of Jewish causes.
Stout said the sour economy, a change in leadership and an ardent focus on Israeli causes have led to the Fohs Foundation to drop its annual $15,000 contribution to the local oversight board.
The foundation was instrumental in the renovations to the structure 30 years ago when Fohs Hall, Inc., took over care of the building. Its annual gift, along with individual contributions, rentals for events, memberships and fundraisers have kept the doors open all these years.
“We’re appreciative of past support we have received,” Stout said of the foundation’s generosity. “Hopefully we'll get that in the future.”
In a recent meeting, members of the Fohs Hall, Inc., board of directors approached Marion Tourism Commission looking for financial assistance, perhaps through underwriting the cost of the ball so all revenue from tickets and the auction of donated items could be deposited in the board’s operational fund. Tourism, as well as Crittenden Fiscal Court, already contribute $500 annually for the building’s upkeep. Though the tourism board would not finance the cost of putting on the ball, the the commission offered hundreds of dollars of assistance in the form of promotional materials, postage and advertising, as well as donating an hand-made cabinet item for the auction.
Tourism, headed by Michele Edwards, has also pledged to continue promoting Fohs Hall through advertising and establishing a presence online through Facebook.
“We need to be more aggressive in marketing and promotion to let people know what it is available for,” Stout of the such efforts.
He said the board has been functioning on a Field of Dreams strategy — if you build, it they will come.
That strategy is starting to fade, with donors having been tight-fisted during The Great Recession. Also, fewer people are left who went to school in the majestic building, those whose emotional attachment makes the facility more than bricks and mortar.
Fohs Hall, Inc., board members are careful to not paint the situation as dire or hopeless. But the more than $20,000 earmarked for making essential repairs, such as to the leaky roof, falls short of funding the overall needs.
“There have been a lot of band-aids over the years, and now the chickens have come home to roost,” board member Tom Crider told the tourism commission of the building's declining health.
Linda Schumann, another board member actively seeking solutions to funding woes, said the board does have money set aside in its perpetual fund for repairs, but an estimated $113,000 is needed to complete desired upgrades, which is a cost higher than can be afforded at present
And with the loss of the foundation’s funding, the board is essentially operating on a year-to-year basis as far as financing annual expenses like utilities to keep the building functional.
“The concern I have more than anything is to find out the kinds of things that make it more attractive to the community,” Schumann said. “We need to buy some time and not let the building deteriorate.”
The building was selected as a Kentucky Landmark in June of 1981 and was accepted on the National Register of Historic Places in May of 1982.
