Roycroft Campus

It is with heavy hearts we must share the news of the passing of a dear friend, and Elbert Hubbard’s great niece, Dr. Brenda Heath Jacobsen. We first met Brenda, along with her daughter, Brenda Thurman, a few years ago by a stroke of fate when a chance meeting occurred on an airplane with one of our Board Members. The family knew of their connection to the Roycroft and had recently found some old boxes marked do not throw away containing items they thought might be of inter...est to the Campus. It was to everyone’s great surprise the treasure trove of family history that had been hidden away in storage for decades, including the infamous last correspondence from Mr. Hubbard himself; a postcard he sent from the Lusitania the day it departed on its final journey, taking the lives of nearly 1,200 people, including Hubbard, when it sank from a torpedo on May 7, 1915. Brenda Jacobsen had visited Roycroft as a little girl in the 1930s; pictured is a letter she sent to her father on The Roycroft Inn stationery during her stay. It was of great pride and joy for her to donate her family heirlooms to the Campus, and through her incredible generosity, she also helped fund the creation of our Museum inside the Print Shop. The Lusitania postcard, Brenda’s letter and many more items from their collection remain on exhibit. In addition to her historic family legacy, Dr. Jacobsen was a proud graduate of The John Hopkins University School of Medicine. She spent many happy years working for Gowanda Psychiatric Hospital, where her ward was known as the Angel Ward. We invite you to click on the link in the comments to view a special segment called Gifts from the Heart filmed in 2017 by AFP of WNY, which features Brenda’s story and a heartwarming interview with her daughter. We will greatly miss Brenda’s visits to the Campus; her glowing smile and warm heart were a testament to the kind and generous woman who gave us so much in the short time we got to know her. Her story will forever be part of the Roycroft’s legacy : Brenda Thurman (left) with her mother, Dr. Brenda Jacobsen, at the Roycroft Campus Museum with Lusitania postcard.

Enjoy some laughs with us as we work on filming a mini tour of the Campus for the National Arts & Crafts Conference, which will be virtual this year! We promise the actual video will include lots of information on the original The Roycroft Inn

Happy first #MottoMonday of 2021! The best part of our job is caring for the historic Campus and helping to keep the Roycroft spirit alive for all to enjoy Our staff will be getting back into the office this week after the holiday break to work on our plans and programs for the New Year, so stay tuned for details!

A Happy New Year Greeting from our historic collection! This card recently came to us from a collector in Minnesota, who was a student of Ralph Hubbard (Elbert Hubbard’s middle son) during his time as a teacher at Minot State University in North Dakota. The card appears to have been drawn and signed by Ralph, with a handwritten message on the reverse to an unknown group of three.

We are in full clean and reset mode at The Copper Shop Gallery! After gathering up all the remaining holiday merchandise we have decided to offer 30% off decor and ornaments, in-store only, through January 15th. Come on by and stock up for next year! The shop is open Tuesdays-Saturdays 11am to 5pm.

Our doors may be closed until January 5th, but our online store is open 24/7 AND all our non-artisan holiday merchandise is 40% off when you use code Holiday40 at checkout. Enjoy free shipping too!!

Anyone else feeling this today? #mottomonday