a feature hunting day

Ron Brabon sweeps off the entry rugs to the Buckeye Town Hall while preparing the hall for a party on Saturday. Brabon's father, Fred Brabon, was a carpenter and helped build the hall, completed on June 6, 1938 for the cost of $11,800, Brabon said. After being raised on a small farm about a half-mile down the road, Brabon spent 34 years in the machine shop at Dow Chemical Company, retiring 9 years ago. Five years ago, he began caring for the building as the hall coordinator, keeping up with maintenance and renting the building for anything from small gatherings to weddings. "Feels good to be the guy doing the maintenance on it," he said. "Our family has had hundreds of weddings, open houses and events." Recently, the hall's roof and clock were replaced. When the clock was taken down, Brabon said he counted 42 bullet holes that had been shot through the clock. "I can't completely restore it because the gears are shot up," he said with a smile. After the clock was taken down, he brought it to his garage where he has been working to restore it for the historical society.