Orlin D. and Tillie Frank were early Ogden Dunes residents, building their home at 8 Lupine Lane in 1933-34. They named it The Hour Glass, after the sands of time, and carved the decorative hour glass shape into the front door and interior staircase. OD believed in nature’s permanence: nature may change and transform, but it did not end.
Born in 1879 in New Amsterdam, Indiana, Frank was a botanist who developed the BETO teaching method (biological experiences, thoughts and observations). He applied these principles in several locations before learning and teaching at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, beginning in 1919. The Franks visited Ogden Dunes frequently to study nature and in 1933 purchased their lot from Sue Mechtersheimer, building the Hour Glass later that year.
O.D. retired from the University of Chicago in 1942 and the Franks expanded the Hour Glass that same year to include a garage and an additional bedroom. Long before farmers’ markets were fashionable, the Franks were known in Ogden Dunes for selling vegetables grown in their garden. They also used it as a way to teach children and adults about growing food and a love of nature. Tillie died in 1960 and after O.D.’s death in 1963, the Hour Glass passed to relatives, who eventually sold it back to Sue Mechtersheimer, bringing the Hour Glass ownership full circle. Sue donated the Hour Glass to the founders of the Historical Society of Ogden Dunes as its permanent home and the community’s museum.
The Historical Society has preserved much of the Hour Glass in its original form, including the main floor Friendship Fireplace consisting of stones from every country in the world, as well as the bedroom lofts and kitchen. The Hour Glass houses many of the original architectural drawings of homes built in Ogden Dunes prior to 1957 and has hosted an annual Holiday Tea since 2013. In 2023, the Hour Glass was renovated to install a lift and handicapped bathroom, making it more accessible to everyone. Today, the Hour Glass Cottage is the only building in Ogden Dunes that is on the National Register of Historic Places and one of 36 in Porter County.
