Alan Straus said last week he had been told the town council had voted to accept the donation of the property, which had stood empty for several years.
He said he did not know exactly what they intend to do with the site, but that it was likely to be used for additional office space.
“I told them I did not care what they did with it as long as it was not an adult book store,” Straus said.
Fosdick’s Interiors opened in 1875 and operated for 135 years. Straus said his wife began working there as an interior designer in 1972 and the owner, Lois Keppel, was in poor health several years later.
“She asked Linda if she wanted to buy the business,” Straus said. “It was very affordable at the time. We bought it and I retired from Miami.”
He said the town of Liberty plans to place a bronze plaque on the building recognizing the involvement of the Straus family in the community and Alan Straus said he will let their children, Jen and Andy, determine what will appear on the plaque.
While Liberty officials were complimentary about the business and their contributions to the community, he said he was pleased with the support from residents there. Over the years, many Oxford residents made the trip to Liberty, too, and were pleased with the results they brought here.
He said he is still proud to visit Oxford homes his wife designed and see families enjoy them.
“We had a lot of fun,” he said.
The Strauses were active in the Oxford community, most notably with the local American Field Services chapter which brings foreign exchange students from other countries to Talawanda High School. Local students have also traveled elsewhere with AFS and both their children did so, Andy to Brazil and Jen to Portugal.
Donation of the store site to Liberty officially closes the books on Fosdick’s Interiors but many homes in both Oxford and in Indiana are a tribute to the popularity of the business and the couple who operated it for 38 years.
“I’ve been told it’s the nicest building in town, but it was too nice and too big to sell. I was getting tired of paying $1,000 a month to keep it up. I decided donating it was the thing to do,” he said.
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