Who was Andrew Tuttle? What did he actually do? Defiance man’s collection from six continents featured in exhibit By JACK PALMER palmer@crescent-news.com The unique collection of a Defiance man who remains an enigma more than two years after his death is on display at Defiance College now through Sept. 30. “Andrew Tuttle is really an oxymoron — an extremely, private person who traveled the world,” said Ashley Dally, who has inven- toried and catalogued the mammoth 5,000- plus-piece collection. 4 { “It’s a strange combination,”’she explained. “He wasn't afraid to go out ay meet with people, but he never opened up. ie was very close to his mother, but basically spevt his lifé alone.” Tuttle, who was killed in a car accident in Georgia on May 3, 2003, bequeathed his historical collection to the city of Defiance on condition it be displayed publicly. Tt is currently on display at the Women’s Commission Art Gallery at Defiance College through Sept. 30, weekdays from 8 a.m-10 p.m. ‘A reception commemorating the exhibit is slated for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., prior to the opening program at 7:30 p.m. of the “Town and Gown Series” on World War I. “There are over 3,000 coins,” said Dally. “Most are from Europe and Asia, but there are also some from Africa, Australia, North America and South America.” Tuttle’s collection also features sculptures and artifacts from around the world, includ- ing American Indian artifacts. It also con- tains several original documents from the late 1800s, including two signed by William McKinley when he was governor|of Ohio. ' “There is also a huge amount jof stamp! added Dally. iy The exhibit is divided into four Major parts: “A Collector is Born,” his backyround and family information and items from Defiance; “Early Ohio,” local American Indian artifacts; “On the Battlefront,” items from his World War II years; and “Relics of a Nomad,” col- « TUTTLE, Page A10Areception commemorating the Andrew Tuttle exhibit will be held Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Defiance College Women’s Commission Art Gallery in Dana Hall. The exhibit, which features items the late Defiance man collected during his world travels, includes coins, sculptures, artifacts, Bill Wison/C-N Photo stamps and old documents. Looking at pictures of Tuttle are Ruth and Kenneth Armstrong (left), who reside in the home where Tuttle lived, and Ashley Dally, who. inventoried and catalogued the 5,000-plus- item collection.TUTTLE From Page A1 lected objects from his trav- els around the world. Tuttle was born in Defiance, served in the U.S. Army 36th and 85th Infantry Divisions in North Africa and Italy from 1942-45, and was a 1947 graduate of Ohio State Halsey, He received a master’s degree in- business from Harvard University and completed further “gradu- ate work toward a doctorate degree at the University of Florida. He was a real estate and mortgage analyst, work- ing around the world, and retired from Ford-Bacon- Engineers, New York. “When he traveled, he would send letters home either daily or every other day,” said Dally. “He told his mother to keep the enve- lopes, and she did. Some still had the letters in them. “The neat part was read- ing the letters, and hearing about his travels,” she con- tinued. “He took three major world excursions between 1958-64, and also went to South America in 1972. Despite the frequency of letters home, Tuttle never mentioned what he was sore “There was never any indi- cation of his occupation,” noted Dally. “Sometimes he would say, ‘I have a meet- ing’ but never mentioned the subject. “People who knew him used words like ‘extreme- ly private, ‘peculiar’ and ‘recluse’ to describe him.” Tuttle’s residence was 211 High St. (where his moth- er, Sara, resided until her death), although he was not there often. “He was an only child and really close to his mother,” stated Dally. “It’s clear he worked at various times in several U.S. cities, includ- ing St. Louis, New Orleans, Florida, Cincinnati and Detroit.” Kenneth and _— Ruth Armstrong, currently own the former Tuttle property. “The Armstrongs were friends of Mr. Tuttle and they were a big help with my research,” said Dally. “They received his house in his will and are fixing it up.” ‘Tuttle was born in 1918 according to his birth cer- tificate and war papers, but his obituary and cemetery monument both say 1920. “He wrote his own obit- uary and made his own arrangements for the cem- etery marker,” said Dally..“I have no idea why he decided to change his birth date. “Some people think he was some sort of government spy, but that’s just specula- tion,” she added. “The most important part of this exhibit is that it gives insight on who ‘Andrew Tuttle was through his artifacts. But there are still many unanswered ques- tions.” Dally started her work almost a year ago. “Everything was in old boxes at the former city- county jail,” she stated. “My first task was to put every- thing into archival storage, which required special boxes to avoid deterioration.” Dally, a 2004 graduate of Ohio ‘Northern University, used a special software pro- gram for cataloguing which she learned in college. “The first step is called accessioning, where every item is given a number with the year of accession,” she remarked. ‘Once that is done, it officially becomes the eperty of the city. “There is still a lot of cata- loguing and research to be done with this collection,” she added. “We're still look- ing for any information we can find about Mr. Tuttle.” Persons who knew him or anything about his life are asked to contact the city historian’s office at 419-784- 2249, Dally is also avail- able for talks to community groups regarding the collec- tion. “This has been a neat expe- rience,” she stated. “I am discovering new things each day. “It’s almost like a puzzle, ring to piece together his Tied whe he wa. ope people read what is written in the exhibit. They will miss a lot if they don’t read what is there.”