COSHOCTON — A variety of items from the Pastime Theater and more will be up for auction at 10 a.m. Wednesd at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Coshocton County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the land bank. Items are still being catalogued and photographed for viewing online. 

Mayor Mark Mills said included in the auction will be movie posters, an old corn husker, baseball cards, some metal signs, Coca-Cola chalk board, cigarette machine, soda fountain, candy and pop machines, coffee machine, glass display cases, post office counter, bookcase, old toys and more. Mills said the auctioneer estimated merchandise at about $20,000. 

In March, the land bank acquired the property at 1802 Chestnut St. once owned by the late Jim Hale, who was owner of the Pastime Theater at 538 Main St. The abandoned house was site of the rape and murder of Brianna Ratliff in April 2021. 

The house was recently demolished and the land bank sold the property to adjacent property owners Richard and Debbie Taylor for $11,650, half the appraised value.

The land bank is looking to recoup demolition costs of $8,450 from an Ohio Department of Development program that could fund up to $500,000 worth of demolition projects by the Coshocton County Port Authority and land bank. 

Also found in the Hale home was two 35mm film canisters containing a documentary from 1940 called "The Coshocton Story." It was last screened in 1970 at the Pastime Theater, according to an old newspaper clipping Coshocton County Treasurer Janette Donaker has. It features interviews with school children, church members, service groups, Main Street business owners, city officials and others. 

The land bank is currently looking for someone to digitize the film. Mills said he would like to hold a screening of the movie once that's done as a benefit for the land bank. 

The land bank currently has $134,177 and uses funds to buy properties, raze structures and other expenses, such as a safety fence recently erected at the former Custom Glove factory. 

The old Pastime Theater building was acquired last summer by the Coshocton Port Authority and is being remodeled into the Coshocton Collaborative. It will be a unique maker space, business incubator and co-working facility, while also providing office space for the port authority and other entities. It's hoped the theater area in the future can be revived as well for plays, concerts and movies. 

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with close to 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.