Right here on Main Street – in a late-19th-century landmark – a pair of local art lovers are working in someplace old to create something new: a place where area artists can show their work, and where Hagerstown residents and visitors can discover a pool of talent that has too long been hidden.

The three-story brick building at 96½ Main Street – built in 1880 as the local IOOF hall – is now home to the Nettle Creek Cultural Center. Next spring, thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers led by Hagerstown native Jeff Thalls and his wife Mary, that building will house a newly renovated first-floor gallery that will display the work of local artists who have banded together to form a cooperative.

“We have a group of about 10 artists who are committed to the project,” said Thalls, a local glass-blower. “And the Cultural Center board is committed to it, too.” The board has set aside money to convert the space, Thalls explained, and the artists will all pay a monthly fee to support it going forward.

The Cultural Center has already been the site of three local shows, Thalls said, and their success has helped sell the concept of creating a more suitable, permanent gallery there.

“We have a show in there right now of 10 or 12 local artists,” Thalls said. “And in recent months we’ve had a real nice mix of different items. We’ve had pottery, photography, paintings, beaded jewelry, fused-glass jewelry, fine wood-turnings, wood sculpture and furniture, blown glass, graphic arts.”

But with a better space, he said, artists will be able to show more and show it better. Hence the renovation plan. The building will close from January through March, as always, Thalls said. During that time, Thalls and his group will work to convert the space into a more art-friendly environment. In addition to fresh paint and new flooring, “we’ll have to come up with some sort of central kiosk arrangement.” Thalls said, “some type of free-standing units to create a vertical space in the middle of the gallery.”

Creating space for cultural projects is nothing new to Jeff Thalls and wife Mary, a local potter who and displays her wares here and in Indianapolis. The pair also helped found the Across the Street Antique Mall. “We have a small gallery upstairs there,” Thalls said, “a place where we show and sell antique Indiana art. I set up that gallery, and it’s doing well.”

Even before those projects, though, Thalls created “space” in his own life for creative pursuits, leaving a successful dental practice to follow his heart to art.

“I was born and raised here in Hagerstown, but went away for 10 years,” Thalls said, “first to college at Ball State, and then to the IU dental school in Indianapolis. I came back in 1989 and set up my practice here in town.”

Five years ago, worn from the stress of his work as a health professional and seeking a quieter, more fulfilling lifestyle, Thalls sold his dental practice and signed up for a glass-blowing class at the Indianapolis Art Center (IAC). “I really enjoyed it,” Thalls said. “It’s something that demands your attention, but not in a stressful way. It occupies the hands and the mind, but it’s something you can do without your mind racing.”

Since that first class, Thalls has continued his studies, working steadily under Lisa Pelo-McNiese, director of the IAC’s glass program, to hone his skills. In the IAC’s studio, Thalls creates both functional items (such as paperweights) and those that are purely decorative.

Having improved his skills, he now hopes to bring his work closer to home. “Right now I’m working to open by own glass-blowing studio here in Hagerstown,” he said. “It would be the only studio between Indy and Columbus, Ohio, which means it’d be a great draw for people in this area who love glass art.”

When Thalls is asked to describe his hopes for Hagerstown’s arts scene, the glass-blowing studio is one he mentions, but it’s not at the top of his list. The Cultural Center and its artists’ co-op occupy that space.

Thalls says that, at this time next year: “I’d just like to see 12 to 15 local artists with their work in there, giving the public a chance to see it and buy it. People need to know that we really have talented people in this area. Their work deserves to be seen.”

In fact, Thalls urges anyone who wants more information about becoming involved with the Cultural Center – especially those who feel they may have works that might merit a public viewing – to e-mail him at jctmk555@aol.com.

“It’s important for me to encourage others in art,” he added. “It’s been such a wonderful road for me in the last five years, and I just hope I can help open that avenue for others. Art is so important.”

“It really has been an eventful year,” said Warner, who was hired by the town council in November 2007 to keep Hagerstown’s basic services running smoothly. “We had a big ice storm in early March, floods in early June, we had the big Model T event in July (which was a challenge for different reasons), and just last week we had hurricane-like winds knocking out power.

“We’ve been busy, no doubt about it.”

As supervisor of the town’s utility crews, Warner is the man responsible for managing the eight-person team that provides the town’s residents with critical services such as electricity, water and sewer service, street repair, and snow and leaf removal.

That role presents obvious challenges – in part because the work is often dictated, not by Warner, but by Mother Nature. For example, Warner says: “I started last November. You would’ve thought leaf removal wouldn’t have been a problem, that most of the leaves would be gone by then,” Warner said. “But we wound up picking up leaves all the way into January – so you just never know.”

The reactive aspect of his work – hauling away leaves, clearing snow-covered roadways, restoring electric power after outages, etc. – is important to Warner. “I really do like helping people, and that part of the job lets me do that,” he said. But the job also encompasses a proactive role that is just as meaningful.

“The other side of the job is keeping the infrastructure of the town upgraded and improving the town’s image and future prospects. It’s planning and foresight as well as maintenance and repair,” he said. “My background is in engineering, so I’ve always enjoyed that.”

In fact, it was his penchant for planning that attracted Warner to the job in the first place. After a 25-year career as a structural engineer with firms in Connersville, Richmond, Lynn (and even a yearlong stint with a company in Pittsburgh, Pa.), Warner decided to take on the role of town manager.

“I’d been on the planning commission for about 10 years, and as an engineer, I really liked that work,” Warner recalled. “I like looking forward, trying to prepare for the future of the town. So when the job came open, I just decided to go for it.”

Except for that one year in Pennsylvania, Warner and his wife Lisa (a nurse for the Nettle Creek Schools) have lived in Hagerstown since 1982 and raised three sons here. With deep ties to the community, Warner’s decision to serve the town full-time was no real surprise.

When asked about his hopes for Hagerstown’s future, Warner cited ideas both bold and conservative – again, no surprise, given his engineer’s penchant for combining creativity with down-to-earth practicality.

“Well, we’re working now to develop a sustainable, ‘green’ office park near I-70, and that’s exciting,” Warner said. “It’s got me thinking that I’d like us to try some more environmentally friendly ideas – maybe some kind of wind-power option. I know those kinds of things are extremely costly right now, but it’s certainly something I’m interested in looking at.”

The key, he said, is to take a balanced approach – a concept he also applies when considering business and commercial ideas for the area: balancing the need for economic development with an ongoing desire to preserve the town’s quality of life.

“Hagerstown is a quiet, quaint community, and we certainly want to hang on to that,” he said. “But at the same time, we need to make sure that we keep employment going and bring more jobs to the area.”

Dutro Pool, at 611 E. Main Street, is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday (weather permitting). With reasonable fees (see below) and plenty of space to splash or sunbathe, the pool is the perfect antidote for the summertime blues.

You can even rent the facility for private parties between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Call ahead at 765.489.5048 to schedule your event. Cost is just $95 for two hours.

Another hotbed for warm-weather fun is the park, west of downtown at 15940 Turnpike Road. It’s the site for local Little League baseball and girls’ softball games, and for numerous special events throughout the season. Park shelters can be reserved for picnics and family reunions by calling Hagerstown Town Hall at 765.489.6171.

Click here to see a slideshow of the event! (opens in a pop-up window)

Denny Burns, a local business owner who supervised a massive organizing effort for the party, said the day was everything he hoped it would be – and more. “We were absolutely prepared,” Burns said. “More than 150 volunteers were helping out, and we had about 100 law-enforcement people on hand from nine different agencies in this area. They all did a great job.”

Not only did hundreds of Model T aficionados flood the town’s shops and restaurants that July day, Burns said, they also flocked that afternoon to the Hagerstown Airport, where 22 vintage aircraft – including World War I fighters, pre-1930 planes, and stunt biplanes – took wing for an air show.

“We had more than 4,000 people out at the airport, along with 600 Model Ts and about 1,000 other vehicles,” Burns recalled, pointing out that the guest list also included some 50 news media representatives from organizations all over the world, including the BBC, ESPN and France’s largest newspaper, Le Monde.

“Oh, it was a big day for us,” Burns said, adding that Hagerstown’s hospitality made a huge impression on visitors.

“Everyone was raving about that,” Burns said. “One man told me: ‘You guys are the nicest people I’ve ever met – and I’m from Iowa!’ And another lady asked: ‘Do you people take nice lessons, or is this natural?’”

And with so many first-time visitors in town, local entrepreneurs say, opportunities for niceness came one after the other.

Visitors came from California, Minnesota, Canada – even as far away as Australia, recalled Shirley Rueter, co-owner of the Logo Shoppe. “We’d never done anything like this before, so we really didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “But it turned out to be a phenomenal day. The weather was perfect, the crowds were great, the people were so friendly. It just couldn’t have been any better.”

“I couldn’t actually be here that day, but I heard business was just great,” said Heidi Hauck of the Across the Street Antique Mall.

“Oh, it was nonstop,” interjected Mary Thalls, a local potter who volunteers at the mall and experienced the rush first hand. “We don’t normally even open on Tuesdays, but we were there all day that day, and it was one of the best days we ever had.”

And the payoff went further than mere cash register receipts. “It was just such a fun day,” Thalls said. “The people who visited were in such a good mood and so excited to be here. They all kept saying how nice the town was and how welcomed they all felt.”

According to Hauck and Thalls, those good feelings may bring lasting benefits. “We’ve already had several people come back to the store and make some purchases,” Thalls said. “A lot of those folks live fairly close by, but just never knew about us before,” she pointed out, adding that some of those new customers plan to return on October 11, when the antique mall will hold a special, fall-themed event.

For Rueter, though, Hagertstown’s “T party” was a unique and bittersweet event – one that will always be with her.

“I’ll never forget standing on the street and just watching all those cars come into town,” Rueter recalled. “It was an experience I never had before and probably won’t ever have again.

“My uncle had a Model T, and I was very close with my uncle and aunt. Seeing those cars just really took me back to those days.”

Schuette, 40, grew up in Hagerstown, graduating from Hagerstown High School in 1986.

“My family has always been in retail – some sort of business where we work directly with the customer,” said Schuette, owner of Nettle Creek Ace Hardware, 485 East Main Street. “When I was growing up, my folks rain the local grain elevator, so we were always serving customers. And that’s what retail is all about,” Schuette added. “It’s not about selling stuff. It’s about meeting the needs of the customers.”

Those early lessons went with Schuette when he left home to attend Purdue University. Working in the local hardware store during the summers to help pay his way, Schuette finished college in 1990, having earned a degree in (what else?) retail management.

“And then I worked in a few different places around the state,” he recalled, “always in retail hardware or in retail or wholesale lawn and garden. What can I say? I just always loved hardware.”

In 1996, Schuette followed his love and opened an Ace Hardware franchise here in Hagerstown. That business served him well enough that, by 2000, he had bought out his local competitor, a TrueValue franchise housed in what soon became Schuette’s current location on Main: a 16,000-square-foot structure that had once served as a bowling alley.

Without doubt and without apology, Schuette is still doing a labor of love.

“We’re open 70 hours per week, and I’m here virtually every hour we’re open,” he said.

Rex Bell, an area builder and a longtime customer of Schuette’s, is quick to verify that claim. “Oh, Gary’s always there.” And even when he’s not there, Bell says, Schuette is still eager to serve. “If you call him after hours on a Sunday, he’ll go out of his way to get you what you need. His work ethic is unbelievable.”

“Gary is one of a kind,” agreed Rhonda Cornils, another longtime patron. “Number one, he has just about everything you could ever need in that store; we probably go in there at least once a week. But more than that, he is just extremely helpful,” Cornils added. “His service is awesome. I can’t say enough about it.”

For Schuette, service isn’t just a way to conduct business; it’s a calling – one he says he is can properly answer only in a setting such as the one Hagerstown provides.

“Again, we’re not selling just a product,” he said. “We’re selling our service and our knowledge. And I love doing that in a small-town, hometown business.”

In fact, Schuette insisted: “You couldn’t give me a store in a big town like Richmond or Indianapolis. In those places, it’s all going to be about price; it’s not about helping the customer. That’s just not me. I am not a sit-in-an-office person. I have to be hands-on.

“It’s like I tell people: In a ‘big-box’ store they usually just give you the finger – you know, just point you to the paint department or to lawn and garden or whatever you’re looking for. That’s not what we do. We’re actually here to help people.”

For Rex Bell and Schuette’s legions of other loyal customers, such help is a rare and valuable commodity.

“I’m glad he’s here in town, I’ll tell you that,” Bell said. “And I hope he stays here as long as I’m in business.”