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By Paula Pyzik Scott

On October 11, Lee Crouse invited the community to visit his private Ada museum on State Route 81. The museum's walls, ceiling and rows and rows of shelving display several decades of collecting. When asked, "When did the Ada history bug bite you?" Crouse points to a c. 1876 advertisement for the Star Clothing Store: A top hat is among the illustrations.

Crouse's display ranges from things we routinely throw away, such as print ads and flour bags, to obsolete technology including a stovetop steam canner and early phonograph, to keepsakes such as class rings and (on loan) an early 20th-century commanding officer appointment certificate from the Battalion of the Ohio Normal University.

Most of the afternoon was punctuated by conversation with visitors except for when Crouse played "Give me a smile and a kiss" on a Carryola Master portable phonograph. The accompanying literature promotes the instrument as perfect for summer cottages and motor tours.