LEBANON - For Irene McIntosh, it was like finding a message in a bottle.

But this message came pressed between the pages of an old book that she bought at the United Methodist Mountain Mission thrift shop near her home in central Kentucky.

Inside Leading Facts of American History, someone named H.W. Tate signed his name and included a sketch. He dated a note 1874 and probably forgot about it. He wrote under the sketch: "The log cabin in which I lived as a slave in Clay County, S.C."

Ms. McIntosh was hooked on the drawing's quality, age and subject. She started to wonder about the artist.

"It's a neat little sketch, very good," she said. "It intrigues me. Since I bought the book a couple of years ago, I've been wanting to know more about this man."

Aided by her daughter, she has continued to seek information. She wonders if readers can help her piece together any other stories.

"I've learned that he attended the National Normal School in Lebanon in 1873, and afterwards took a full course in the theological department at Central Tennessee College at Nashville," she said.

National Normal was a 19th-century teachers' college that educated thousands of people.

"He went on to become a teacher for seven years before becoming a pastor," she said. "From Cincinnati, where he was pastor at the Ninth Street AME Church, he went to Cuyahoga County and a bigger church."

In her research, she discovered a letter that a H.W. Tate wrote to a woman in Columbus in 1897. "I've compared the handwriting that's in the book with that on the letter and they are identical," she said. "I've also learned he became the treasurer of the African-American Republican Executive Committee while in Cleveland. He was a well-respected man."

In a story published April 18, 1899, the Cleveland Gazette reported: "Mr. Tate's characteristic feature is energy. This, combined with painstaking carefulness, is sure to place him in the front ranks of those who are advancing the Negro's condition in our midst."

Mrs. McIntosh may be reached at (606) 723-8175.

GLENDALE-The Ohio Bicentennial Commission has approved Glendale's request for a double-sided historical marker.

"With Glendale being the first planned community, we believe the addition of a marker is appropriate," said Village Administrator Walter W. Cordes.

Officials hope to install the marker in a garden planter just under the Ohio flag in the village square.

Text of the marker will include the following:

Village of Glendale

1855

Established in 1851 after the addition of the CH&D Railway, Glendale incorporated in 1855 as Ohio's first planned community and one of the nation's first planned villages. The original planning included forested greenbelts and parks, curvilinear streets meandering around established trees, large lots, and superior building standards. Glendale is now designated as a National Historic Landmark community...

HAMILTON-Main Street will see a new park next year, according to Tim Meechan, president of the board of trustees of the Main Street Area Association. With help from philanthropist Paul Armstead and the Hamilton Community Foundation, the park will be started at the corner of Main and D streets where Bond's Shell station once operated. Plans include a plaza and parking areas. The plaza will feature landscaped mounds, brick walkways, benches and a band shell.

Construction is expected to start next fall. Volunteers are needed. Call 844-MAIN.

Randy McNutt's community column appears on Saturday. Contact him at the Enquirer, 7700 Service Center Dr., West Chester, OH 45069. Telephone: 755-4158. Fax: 755-4150. E-mail Rmcnutt@enquirer.com.