Apple butter and jugs of cider were sold during the Ned Mosher Apple Butter Festival, with profits going towards repairs of the Knox-Metzger cabin, located on the grounds of McVay Elementary School.
The annual Ned Mosher Apple Butter Festival, hosted by the Westerville Lions Club, was held on Sunday, October 4 at the Knox-Metzger cabin, which is located on the grounds of McVay Elementary School. The event featured apple butter making and tasting; old fashioned games and crafts; banjo playing by Gary Puckett; and tours of the 1860 era log cabin. Donations were accepted for the sale of pulled pork sandwiches, apple sauce and cider, and jars of apple butter, with profits going towards cabin repairs. The event sponsor was A Gal Named Cinda Lou, located in Uptown Westerville and owned by retired McVay educator Debbie Bennati.
The log cabin, built by Maryland native and blacksmith John Knox between 1840 and 1850, has a rich history. It was originally located where the Calvary Bible Baptist Church is now, across the road from the present Everal Barn/Heritage Park. Knox, who became instrumental in helping Otterbein College end its indebtedness, lived in the cabin for a few years.
Squire Fouse and his wife, Sally, were the next occupants. The illiterate former slaves bore a son named William in 1868, who became the first African-American to graduate from Westerville’s two-year high school. He went on to graduate cum laude from Otterbein College. Fouse Elementary School is named in his honor.
After the Fouses moved into the house formerly occupied by Bishop William Hanby, the property was sold to the Metzger family around 1911. They lived in a farmhouse located 50-60 feet from the log cabin, which was used for storing grain and miscellaneous farm tools. They farmed the land until 1984 when Paul S. Metzger died. The family arranged for the City of Westerville to use a portion of the farm for a city park and the remaining acreage was sold for housing development. The Calvary Bible Baptist Church purchased the land where the cabin sat, and decided to donate it to Westerville Schools instead of tearing it down to make room for a parking lot.
The Lions Club of Westerville, under the guidance of District Science Coordinator Ned Mosher and Mac McVay, both Lions Club members, painstakingly disassembled and moved the structure in 1980 to its present location in McVay Woods. They restored it and hosted a “cabin raising” on World Lions Service Day. For many years the structure has served as a learning center for children throughout the community. The Westerville Lions Club has raised thousands of dollars to maintain the cabin, including the recent replacement of the cedar shingled roof.