CITIZEN STAFF REPORT
INEZ — Evelyn Cassady from the Martin County Historical Society updated the Martin County Tourism Board on the Himler House project in a tourism meeting Monday.
Cassady said the historical society is constantly pursuing government and private funding to reach the $1.7 million needed to reconstruct the Himler House and restore the 2-acre grounds surrounding it.
According to Cassady, the Martin Himler House in Beauty is under evaluation by the National Park Service for United States Landmark designation. She believes it is Kentucky’s most prominent site for Holocaust history.
Cassady said that in June, the U.S. Holocaust Museum hosted a two-day signing event for the Martin Himler autobiography, “The Making of an American.” Seven states and the District of Columbia were represented at the meeting. Attendees included Himler’s great-great nephews, goddaughters and the Jakab family of Himlerville.
Upcoming Himler House events include welcoming Hungarian exchange students and cultural ambassadors to Morehead State University for the 2023-2024 academic year; Polish Sausage Fundraiser at the Harvest Festival Sept. 15-16; book signing event at Maltz Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 10; and another signing event at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in the spring of 2024.
Cassady shared that the Himler Project maintains partnerships with RC Television out of Virginia, Morehead State University Cameden-Caroll Library Special Collections, Elizabethtown Community and T3echnical College and the University of Kentucky/Louisville Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence.
She pointed out HB 128, passed in 2018, requires Kentucky middle and high schools to provide Holocaust education.
Finally, Cassady stated that local volunteers and businesses are needed to assist with fundraising, write grant support letters and help maintain the Hungarian cemetery and Himler House in Beauty.
