On several occasions the Fringe Paranormal team has investigated a local business which has a reputation for unexplained activity. This building, one of the oldest and most interesting spots in the area has proven to be one of the teams most perplexing cases. Join the team as we document some amazing activity at one of Holland, Ohio’s most active locations.
What follows is a conglomeration of three investigations at this historic location
History of the Building and Area
by John Hartsock of the Holland-Springfield Historical society
The following information represents what is presently (2009) known about the history of Front and Clark Streets. As new accounts are discovered they will need to be added to update or change what is written below.
We know that in 1887 there were 5 businesses and a post office in Holland. Thomas Sage had opened an implement store selling farm equipment and hardware. It was possibly located on the northeast corner of what is now Front and Clark streets or somewhere in that vicinity (it has been proposed that it was where the Antique Store use to be and where the present novelty store is located). A blacksmith shop was operated by Charles Naitzka and was probably located in the Hall addition south of the railroad tracks. The “Temperance Inn” was located on the corner of what is now Railroad and Holloway where the Lee Irons family lives.
The Milan Perkins Grocery was possibly located at the corner of Second and Erie Streets where that family had operated a grist mill in 1885. This business was discontinued because of a boiler explosion that caused the death of their child, Floyd Perkins. The post office was probably located in the John Walker house on Railroad Street since he was the village constable and postmaster during this period.
At this time Harrison Wood, a Civil War veteran and the son of Springfield pioneer, Thomas Wood, operated a grocery on the corner of Front and Clark Streets. This may have been the same location where Robert Clark opened a merchandise business with his two sons, Nathan and Cyrenius, in 1862, but it is not known for sure when that building was erected. Robert Clark owned much of the property in this area of Holland where he built houses in what has since been named the Clark addition. So it is not unreasonable that he would have wanted his son’s business to be located near the railroad depot and other areas of business.
Arthur H. and wife
The Harrison Wood grocery was operated by him until he died in 1899. In 1900, his son, Arthur Harrison Wood, began operating a grocery, meat market and school book sales in the same building previously used by his father. Sometime before 1928, A.H. Wood sold the property to Perry Hall who had also been the town marshal during this same time.
The building was not used by Mr. Hall and in 1928 Albert E. Lormer opened a hardware store and office for his coal company in the building. Around 1932, O.J Simpson (Orlin), opened a barber shop directly to the west of Mr. Lormer’s hardware store. In 1940, the pine tree that had stood for years by the building was cut down and a sandwich shop was built next to the Simpson barber shop that was called The Lone Pine, by Mr. and Mrs. Mahlon Tibbets. A year later that business was taken over by Mrs. Harunah McDarr and her daughter, Mary Jane. This business was sold in 1951 to Charles Dorcas and had ceased operation by 1960.
The building when it was used as a coal company 
Outside The Lone Pine
The Lormer Hardware was later owned and operated by Edward Holman and Carroll Leonard. Edward Holman had been an employee of the Lormer Hardware since its beginning and kept using the name after purchasing the business. When he sold the business in the 1980s he had worked there for more than 40 years.
Elmer and Carol Fink purchased the hardware store in the 1980s and changed the name to Springfield Hardware. Their new sign on the store showing a train running on its tracks became a focal point in the village. After operating the business for a few years it was sold to Dave Miller, who ran it until the early 2000s when it was sold to Firenation, a glass art store.
Claims
In the past, employees of the studio have reported a hinge resting atop a file cabinet shooting across the room of the office and almost hitting a person. The current owner reports that while working in the building one recent morning that he heard someone whistling. Thinking it may be his protege he asked the man if indeed he had been whistling. The man stated that it was not he who had been whistling. This left both men perplexed as they were the only two people in the studio. Past personal investigations by Fringe agents produced several interesting EVPs which have led those investigators to believe that some type of activity may be occurring at the location.
What follows is a common scenario for equipment placement
- Rempods – one in the main gallery and one in the glass heating hallway
- Motion detector – directly across from the rempod in the glass heating hallway
- Audio recorders – one stationary recorder in the main gallery and one in the shipping and receiving room as well as several roaming recorders
Camera Placement
- Cam 1 – viewing out the office into the main hallway
- Cam 2 – viewing the glass heating room
- Cam 3 – viewing the cold/work room area
- Cam 4 – viewing the gallery and the main hallway
- Cam 5 – viewing the gallery from the opposite direction with a focus on glass orbs hanging from the ceiling
Investigation 1
October 17, 2009
Investigation duration: 9:00 pm-2:00 am
Agents Present
- Don C
- Kelly S
- David T
- Jake K
- Scott S
- Ray (guest)
The Investigation
The team arrived at the studio at 9:00 pm. We started with an inspection of the site (both interior and exterior) to note any irregularities or environmental factors which could influence the investigation. We also noted that the Firenation mascot, a cat, was not present in the building. After the walk through the team performed an equipment check and went over the game plan for the evening. David, Jake and Ray formed Alpha team and Don, Kelly, and Scott formed Omega team. Alpha team took the front gallery while Omega team concentrated on the cooling room and shipping/receiving area. Both teams maintained a rotating schedule for conducting EVP sessions. While one team conducted their session the other would maintain silence. The purpose for this procedure was to prevent audio contamination.
At around 11:00 pm Omega team received communication from Alpha team in the gallery that they were experiencing some activity. Upon arrival on the scene the Don, Kelly, and Scott witnessed the activity that Alpha team had picked up on. Connected to the ceiling is a type of metal “grate” from which is hung several glass orbs suspended by string. Each orb is suspended by its own string. The string loops through an “eye” atop the glass orb and is tied to its other end. This looped string with attached orb is then hung on an “S” hook which is attached to the ceiling grid. The orbs are hung on varying lengths of string. One orb was swinging and rotating on its own while the others were motionless. There was no air movement within the room at the time and this area was away from any vents. An adjacent orb which hung from the same height was immobile during our observation. As the studio is directly across from railroad tracks with trains passing by quite often, we thought this might be a factor. Later, as trains passed by, we noticed that this had no effect on any of the hanging objects anywhere in the studio. We also examined the string by which the objects were hung. The string of the “subject” orb was not twisted, which could have caused movement had that been the case. Twisting was also unlikely due to the loop created by the method of suspension. The motion of the glass orb lasted for about twelve minutes.
Later in the evening at around 12:30, after both teams had switched areas, Omega team noticed a KII meter surge and a ten degree temperature spike while they were in the gallery. At 2:00 am the Fringe team ended its investigation..
Analysis
On previous personal investigations, members of the current Fringe Paranormal team have picked up interesting audio phenomena at this same location. This occasion did not turn up any type of audio anomaly. During our time in the studio we did witness and capture on film some unexplained movement of an inanimate object. Looking at the environmental data we see that on this night there was a new moon. Whether or not moon phases play a part in regard to alleged paranormal activity is not proven. This is a point to note given the activity of the night. By keeping accurate logs of such data perhaps we will notice a trend linking environment and unexplained activity at this location. Perhaps we will notice NO correlation.
Investigation 2
July 27, 2013
Investigation duration: 8pm-2am
Agents Present
- Don C
- Kelly S
- Al
- Fred
- Ray
- Val
The Investigation
The Fringe team arrived at Firenation Glass Studio in the early evening. We spent one hour setting up all of the equipment for the evening. At the start of our investigation we split into two teams; one team began in the front of the building in the main gallery and the other team began their exploration in the rear of the building in the cold room and shipping and receiving area. In addition to EVP sessions we experimented with something new. One of our agents acquired some dowsing rods. Dowsing rods are basically “L” shaped wires held in ones hands by the short end. The long end is free to swing to and fro. In the past, dowsing rods were typically used to find water. The dowser would walk a plot of land, waiting for the rods to cross. At that point the dowser would dig in the hopes of finding water. In paranormal investigations, dowsing rods are used in an attempt to communicate with any unseen entities. Said entities are asked to make the rods cross or swing in a certain manner or in response to questions. During our experiment the dowsing rods did cross and move as we asked questions. Later in the evening Agent Fred thought he may have felt something touch or brush against his leg. The remainder of the evening was quiet. The team did get several isolated KII hits in the cold storage and shipping & receiving areas. Towards the end of the evening both teams banded together to investigate in the basement. As we performed our EVP session our KII meter went off several times in succession. At 2 am the team wrapped up the investigation.
Analysis
While we did notice activity with the dowsing rods we can not say that the activity was significant. The movement of dowsing rods can be caused by involuntary movements of ones hands. This same principle has been used as a possible explanation for the movement of the planchette on a Ouija board. We also have no synchronous evidence to go along with any movement of the dowsing rods such as audio or video. We also can not attribute paranormal influence to the isolated KII hits. The KII hits that occurred in the basement are a bit more interesting. We can not explain why the KII went off the way it did. The meter did not seem to go off in an intelligent manner in response to our questions. We asked several opposing questions and got hits. ( “Do you want us to leave?” KII hit; “Do you want us to stay?” KII hit) Analysis of our digital voice recorders did find some interesting audio.
Interesting though they may be, dowsing rods do not seem to be a reliable tool in and of themselves. In order to be considered credible the rods must be paired with some sort of corroborating evidence. This location was somewhat quiet during most of our investigation with a bit of unexplained activity towards the end of the night. This underscores one of the few accepted-as-true facts regarding the paranormal: you can never predict when or if there will be activity at a location. Unexplained phenomena at the glass studio does not seem to be associated with any one area. The Fringe team has noted activity in many different areas. The unexplained audio we collected during our investigation bolsters our interest in this particular location.
Investigation 3
March 16, 2019
Investigation duration: 8pm – 2am
Agents Present
- Don C
- Kelly S
- Rhonda
- Lisa
- Andy M
- Renee
The Investigation
After setting up the surveillance cameras the team split into two small groups. This investigation saw the use of a new piece of equipment; a trail camera. Trail cameras are commonly used by hunters to capture footage of animals in the wild. We opted to try out our trap cam due to the ease of set up and its motion detection capabilities. The Fringe team conducted sweeps of the area with our equipment to note any fluctuations in EMF fields or other anomalies in the building. Several members carried voice recorders for use during EVP sessions. The evening was relatively quiet, with our KII meters only picking up one hit in the basement. Agents manning the surveillance monitor did note some flashes on two of the video cameras . We were able to explain these flashes as emanating from the trap cam snapping photos. At 2 am the team shut down the investigation.
Analysis
This investigation, while interesting, did not produce any evidence of paranormal activity. Audio analysis of the voice recorders found nothing of note. Analysis of the video from the surveillance cameras and the trap cam did not find any anomalies.
Conclusion
While our last investigation produced no activity, previous investigations have produced concrete audio anomalies. One investigation produced our first ever documented visual anomaly. Taking into account possible evidence from Fringe Paranormal’s investigations and from its members’ personal investigations. Paranormal activity is not predictable. Certain locations that have been deemed active may produce evidence on one night and yet produce nothing on another night. Firenation Glass Studio appears to have some type of activity occurring that cannot be explained by natural means at this time.
Evidence Links
https://fringeparanormal.wordpress.com/fn-7-27-13-voice-9-secs-in/
https://fringeparanormal.wordpress.com/fn-7-27-13-moan-at-10-and-17-secs/
https://fringeparanormal.wordpress.com/fn-7-27-13-noise-4-5-secs-in/
https://fringeparanormal.wordpress.com/fn-7-27-13-moan-4-5-secs-in/
Firenation
Eidence Video
Trailer
Full Length Firenation Evidence Video
Report prepared for Fringe Paranormal Investigations by Don Collins
Fringe Paranormal 
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