Eldora Brogan

A Fun Fact About Eldora

When Eldora was 16 years old in 1954, she starred in a locally produced short film titled Eldora – The Awakening of a 16-Year-Old Child. The filmmaker was her next-door neighbor in Maumee, Ohio and a teacher at Bowling Green State University. He later received a short-story award for the film from an organization in Paris, France. Eldora has also been told that the film is shown once each summer in Hollywood, California, reportedly as a learning tool.

At 88 years of age, Eldora (Pappas) Brogan has spent much of her life helping others learn. A retired teacher and longtime tutor, she taught reading and English to students from sixth grade through high school and operated her own tutoring business in the Toledo, Ohio area.

After her husband suffered a stroke in 2018, Eldora and her husband moved to Hilliard to be closer to family. Following his passing in the summer of 2025, Eldora moved to Verena of Hilliard Retirement Community. Looking for a meaningful activity and a way to become involved in her new community, she joined the Hilliard Ohio Historical Society in 2026.

Eldora first learned about the Historical Society through her neighbor and historical society member, Dick Argo, who encouraged her to become active. She soon discovered that the Historical Village offered something she especially enjoyed—people, stories and opportunities to share her knowledge.

Today, Eldora volunteers as a docent at the Grand View one-room schoolhouse, a particularly fitting role given her long career as a teacher. The one-room schoolhouse immediately appealed to her because she had spent her career teaching students of many different ages and abilities.

“I like the one-room schoolhouse best,” she explains. “Because I taught so many grades, the one-room schoolhouse concept was very natural to me.”

One of the things Eldora finds most fascinating about the schoolhouse is how different everyday life was for students in earlier generations. For example, she points out that the children all drank water from the same water bucket—a simple detail that helps visitors appreciate just how different school life once was.

Eldora has also been impressed by the dedication of the Historical Society's docents. She admires how they remember the history of the village and can tell visitors about the people who lived here during pioneer days. Her favorite volunteer experience has been meeting fellow volunteers, especially Karla Woodruff, whom she describes as a wonderful person and someone who does an exceptional job talking with visitors.

Outside the Historical Society, Eldora has discovered a new creative interest: still-life painting. A self-taught artist, she says painting has provided her with a great deal of comfort.

If Eldora could spend one day in Hilliard's past, she would choose the era when the trains were actually running through Hilliard. She would also like to meet John Hilliard, the founder of Hilliard, Ohio, and learn more about the man whose name became the name of our community.

When asked what younger generations can learn from local history, Eldora observes that young visitors often see the displays and listen to the stories but may understand them only superficially. She believes that experiencing history through the village, its buildings and the stories of the people who lived here can help make the past more meaningful.

Her advice to someone considering becoming a Historical Society member or volunteer is simple: “Be open to what they want from it. I just want to be a part of it.”

And that spirit of simply being a part of something meaningful is at the heart of Eldora's stewardship. She is proud to live in Hilliard and grateful for the opportunity to help preserve and share its history.

From the classroom to the Historical Village, Eldora Brogan has spent a lifetime helping people learn. Today, she continues that tradition by welcoming visitors to the one-room schoolhouse and helping bring Hilliard's past to life.

Thank you, Eldora, for becoming a steward of Hilliard's history—and for sharing your time, experience and enthusiasm with all of us.