April 2025 newsletter

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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 APRIL–JUNE 2025

Officers
President: Dave Evans
Vice–Pres: Craig Falknor
Recording Sec’y: Kay Dawson
Treasurer: Kathy Allen
Op. Dir.: Kristina Balside

Directors
Mary Geiger (2025–2026)
Dave Evans (2024–2025)
Teresa Greer (2024–2025)
Jeffrey Harding (2024–2025)
Monty Mercer (2024–2025)
Ron Papp (2024–2025)
Wilma Schroeder (2024–2025)
Drew Smith (2024–2025)
THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER Dave Evans
Hope my first message finds you all well and looking forward to
warm weather, family outings, festivals, and your favorite summertime
event.
Keep some space on the calendar for the Randolph Township His-
torical Society. Our Fundraising Chairperson Teresa Greer has lined up
the first event on April 2 at Buffalo Wild Wings, 891 S. Main St. in
Englewood. RTHS gets 10 % of the proceeds between the hours of 11
a.m. and midnight. All you need to do is turn in a yellow ticket with your
bill. A print or a screen shot of the Facebook page will work.
Also from Teresa’s committee is the Englewood City Garage Sale.
The RTHS sale will be at the History Center on May 30 and 31 from 9
a.m. until 5p.m. Members can donate items at the History Center starting
April 9. We will have signup sheet for workers available.
Aug. 2 is the annual RTHS Car Show at Hardscrabble Park in Old
Clayton. More details will come, but we know it will be a full day of
cars, trucks, music, food, and fun. Again, volunteers will be needed.
On March 15 we had a work day at the Center. We rearranged
the lobby and the office areas cleaned the basement. We had an infesta-
tion of Box Elder Beetles: one, then two, and then hundreds. As fast as
they appeared they seemed to die. The basement seemed to be a prime
area for their demise.
We have changed some displays, dismantled some items for
better storage, secured storage areas, and installed security cameras in
the museum area. We would love to see you at our meetings.

It's spring! (Sorry.)
But how many of us had a
Slinky when we were
young?
UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS
All functions are at the History Center unless otherwise noted.
Meetings on 2nd Wednesdays
April 9, 7:00 p.m./ business meeting
May 14, 7:00 p.m./ business meeting
June 11, 7:00 p.m./ business meeting
Special Events
April 2,11 a.m. to midnight: “Eat and Raise Funds” at Buffalo Wild
Wings (See p. 6.)
May 14, 7:30: talk on the restoration of the
Overfield Tavern in Troy
May 30 & 31, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Garage sale at the History Center.

Office Phone: 937-832-8538
Email: info@rths.org
www. rths.org

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QUARTERLY SUMMARY
January 2025: Teresa Greer raised the problem of the outside lights being burned out, and Dave
Evans announced that two estimates have been given for replacing them. Drew Smith said he would
find an electrician for a third estimate. Vital Signs has said that they would replace the lights if
RTHS buys the fixtures, and they would provide free labor. All agreed with Drew that the building
needs electrical outlets outside. A Junior Membership for students was addressed with no conclusion
at this time. Dave announced that all 2025 meetings and programs will be listed on a dry-erase cal-
endar in the meeting room. There will be board meetings every other month, with the first to be held
in February. Programs are reserved for months when there is no board meeting. There will be stand-
ing committees with a board member chairing each committee and other members of the Society can
volunteer to be on any committees they are interested in.
February 2025: The meeting was postponed from Feb. 12 to Feb. 19 due to illnesses among the
officers. There are now mailboxes in the lobby for officers and board members to receive memos
and announcements. Dave Evans announced committees and their heads: Craig Falknor will head
the finances and tellers committee, Mary Geiger will take charge of the programs committee, Drew
Smith will supervise the maintenance of the building, Ron Papp will continue as the groundskeeper,
Kris Balside will take charge of tracking and entering the donations, and Teresa Greer will take
fundraising projects. Several members suggested possible programs. Kay Dawson suggested the
RTHS try to reschedule some of the speakers whose programs had to be cancelled due to the 2020
pandemic. Kris said a police officer was available to speak on scams, and Mary said she wanted to
get an official from the Overfield Tavern to speak. There were also fundraisers suggested or sched-
uled; there will be an ice-cream social and concert by the Englewood Civic Band on July 8, and the
annual car show will be at Hardscrabble Park on Aug. 2. Kris has also set up a table in the basement
for donations for a garage sale to coincide with Englewood’s annual garage sale, and Kay and Mary
explained how the “No-Bake” Bake sale worked (see p. 6). On Feb. 5, twenty-one people from
Empowerment Community Services, a facility for disabled adults, visited, and the members present
said it was very successful. Kris explained the history behind two oil paintings the RTHS recently
received (see p. 3).
March 2025: Dave Evans reminded those present of the workday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sat-
urday, March 15, and said there would be food available. The insurance has been paid, costing
$2,894.00 per year. The terrorism clause was removed, and the event insurance, costing $600.00 per
year, has been removed. If a future event should need insurance the RTHS could buy single-event
insurance. Dave said several security cameras had been donated, which give alerts of activity to cer-
tain members’ cell phones. Teresa Greer was absent but sent word she has applied to Buffalo Wild
Wings for a donation day. (See p. 6.) If the RTHS is chosen, on a specified date 10 percent of all the
profits will be given to the RTHS. The RTHS will join in Englewood’s citywide garage sale on May
30 and 31. There is a table in the basement for donations, and Kris suggested if enough people vol-
unteered to help no one would have to work more than two or three hours unless they wanted to.
Craig Falknor suggested holding it in the front yard for better visibility to the public. There was no
miniprogram due to scheduling problem, but members enjoyed cake for Monty Mercer’s 80th birth-
day and cupcakes and refreshments in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

Don't fire unless fired upon. But, if they want to have a war, let it
begin here."
–Major John Pitcairn of the Lexington Militia, as the British troops advanced on the Lexington
green on April 19, 1775.

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Randolph Ramblings
By Zelma Roth Studebaker

(ED: Zelma Roth Studebaker donated
paintings of Colestin and Elnora Leiber to the
RTHS, along with the following letter, written
in 1984.)

My maternal grandfather, Colestin Leiber,
was born in Niedereschach, Germany in 1832,
and came to America in 1850 at age 17, with a
sister Theresa, and
brothers John and
Anthony. They left their
homeland, their parents
and two sisters and two
brothers, because of
severe stress and eco-
nomic pressure due to
Prussian oppression.
Sailing from Rotter-
dam in July, their sailing vessel was blown back
toward Europe twice, and delayed by severe
storms, until they reached New York harbor in
early October.
Grandpa stayed at a boarding house in New
York for a few weeks in order to get his bear-
ings, and lay plans to head west on Old National
Trail. A fellow traveler tried to convince Grand-
pa that he needed a wife before setting out and
suggested that he consider a certain German
waitress who worked there. In spite of Grand-
pa’s reluctance, the gentleman persuaded him
to cooperate in a little scheme: when this certain
waitress would come through the door to serve
food, the man would wink at Grandpa. Grandpa
would observe her and if he liked her, he was to
wink back and the man would introduce the girl
to him.
Grandpa winked, and two weeks later he and
Elnora Sunkle were married and came west, set-
tling at Harrisburg (now Englewood) Ohio.
Both lived in the same house on the corner of
National Road and Walnut Street the remainder
of their lives.
Grandpa was trained as a veterinarian as
a youth, and followed that profession until he
retired. He and his youngest son, Less [ED:
apparently a nickname for Colestin] also had
a woodworking shop where they made farm
wagons and carriages. There were ten chil-
dren in this family, of which my mother,
Nora, was the youngest.
Grandpa’s family was Catholic. When
the children came to America, their father
encouraged them to align themselves with
a church as soon as they found a home,
whether or not it was Catholic, he would
leave to their individual decisions and con-
science. Grandpa became a member of the
German Baptist
Brethren (Wolf
Creek Congregation)
and Grandma is
listed as a member
of Happy Corner
Church at the time it
was German Baptist
Brethren.
Grandpa’s older
brother, Fredolin, was an artist of some note
in Germany, and he painted Grandma’s and
Grandpa’s portraits in oil, from a
photograph of them.

(ED: Niedereschach, Germany, is on the
eastern edge of the Black Forest. Germany
was unified in 1871; before that the town
was part of the Duchy of Württemberg, con-
trolled by Prussia in the 1840s. The political
and economic turmoil that followed numer-
ous revolutions in Europe in 1848 led many
to come to the United States.
The RTHS has several Edwin Sinks pho-
tos of the Leiber family at their home on
North Main Street. A picture of the black-
smith shop operated by Colestin’s son
Augustus [“Gus”] has long been part of a
display of early Englewood businesses. Sev-
eral Leibers, including Colestin and Elnora,
are buried in Fairview Cemetery, although
the names are spelled differently. But in
those days, people often paid little attention
to the spelling of names. The Leiber name
lives on in the area, most notably in the
Christena Leiber Community Center in
Golden Gate Park in Brookville.

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ACQUISITIONS
History, of course, is more than just wars and politics and settlers. It is residents’ everyday
lives, including their recreation.
The History Center is lucky to have quite a bit of memorabilia of local sports.
There are mementos, pictures, and reminiscences of the Northmont and Randolph High
schools. Glenn Brumbaugh, for instance, remembers that during World War II gas rationing, the
Randolph basketball team had to find someone with enough gas to drive them to away games, and
with the speed limit at 35 to save gas, it took a while to get anywhere. And he remembered that in
his senior year the baseball team won the county tournament.
But there were nonschool activities also. The Clayton Little League is supposedly one of
the oldest Little League organizations in Ohio. And in the past, the developments of Morgan Place,
Irvington, and Greenview were all separate neighborhoods, each with its own social life, which often
included baseball. Bill Kern, who grew up in Irvington, told the RTHS, “We played Greenview
probably three times a week. We’d ride our bikes up to Greenview or they’d come down to Irvington
and play.”
Many of the players undoubtedly dreamed of becoming professionals. One did.
Jesse Haines was born in Clayton in 1893 and grew up in Phillipsburg. He pitched on his
grammar school team, and after the eighth grade, he played for the Phillipsburg All-Stars (hiding the
uniform in a neighbor’s corncrib, since his religious parents objected to him playing on the Sabbath).
He also played semiprofessionally on teams organized by Standard Register and National Cash
Register, and in 1913 he pitched on game for the Dayton Veterans of the Class B Central League.
In 1914 he earned $135 a month playing for the Fort Wayne Railroaders of the Class B
Central League. This started what Gregory Wolf, of the Society for American Baseball Research
(https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jesse-haines/), described “a grueling and frustrating six-year
odyssey which included injuries and league closings with stops on at least eight minor-league teams,
tryouts with major-league clubs, and a return to semipro ball.” At one time his salary with the
Saginaw Ducks was $115 per month. He was on the roster of the Detroit Tigers for two months in
1915, but health problems kept him out of official games. He credited Ty Cobb with encouraging
him to remain in baseball.
His major-league debut was on July 20, 1918, as a relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds but
was let go shortly after. He returned to Phillipsburg but signed with another semipro team, and in
1920, Branch Rickey borrowed $10,000 to purchase him for the St. Louis Cardinals. Haines was
a three-time 20-game winner and retired at the end of the 1937 season at the age of 44 as the big
leagues’ oldest player. He was the only St. Louis Cardinal to play on the first five National League
pennant winners in franchise history, in 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, and 1934.
Two of the RTHS’s artifacts are a woolen baseball uniform from Phillipsburg during Jesse
Haines’s era and a baseball autographed by him (items pictured below).

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RECENT HAPPENINGS AT THE RTHS HISTORY CENTER
Visitors
Between the weather and various officials getting sick, the RTHS has not been as busy in the
first quarter as we would hope. But we have managed to keep the Center open most Sundays (when
there weren’t four inches of snow on the streets) and have had many visitors.
On Feb. 5, a group from Empowerment Community Services, a facility at the corner of
Union and Overla boulevards that serves disabled adults, visited the Center. Kris Balside and several
other members volunteered to show them around, and they reported the visitors were very interested
and asked many questions about the exhibits.
The RTHS is hoping to be available for similar visits by other groups in the community, such
as senior citizens groups or people from local nursing homes.
Improvements
Like a lot of organizations, the RTHS took a hit during the pandemic. (Was it really five
years ago?) In addition, we had a turnover of officers right afterwards. But we have been working
to get back up to speed.
The outside lights need replacing, both for building security and visitors’ and members’
safety. A major drawback has been that the fixture at the peak of the roof is impossible to replace
without special equipment; our building committee chairman is asking electricians for alternative
suggestions. We also are hoping to install outlets on the outside of the building. At the Englewood
Trails festival, we had to leave the front door ajar, run extension cords out to portable lights, and try
to tape a mat over the cords! Obviously, another solution must be found.
Work Day
Kris and Dave scheduled a work day for Saturday, March 16, and ten people agreed to work
at various times.
They rearranged the furniture in the lobby and the office and vacuumed the basement (which,
miracles of miracles, is staying dry).
They took the dolls out of the display and are replacing it with new material.
One person with knowledge worked on Kris’s computer because it seemed to be slower to
deliver information than the Pony Express. And she now has more memory in it.
Kris treated the volunteers to a platter of Firehouse subs, chips, and soda. She also served the
birthday cake left over from the observance of Monty Mercer’s birthday after the March 12 meeting.
(See what goodies volunteers often get?)
While work days are not officially scheduled, we try to have one once a year, sort of like a
spring cleaning.
Volunteers needed
The board has revitalized the committees, naming chairpersons. (See p. 2.) In most cases
(building maintenance, for instance), the chairperson cannot do the job alone and needs help.
Please consider offering some time. We can use volunteers on a one-time basis or for a regu-
lar stint. For example, if we get enough volunteers to help with the rummage sale, people can put in
two or three hours at the sale and then leave. Or someone could show up ahead of time to help put
items out and then go home. Or maybe you know someone who has an interesting program and you
can help Mary Geiger make arrangements. Maybe you could donate an afternoon to helping Kris
address and mail the newsletters.

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UPCOMING EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Fundraising proposals
On April 2, the RTHS will be the recipient of “Eat Wings and Raise Funds” at Buffalo Wild
Wings, 891 S. Main St., Englewood (next to the UPS store and Tim Horton’s). Teresa Greer, fund-
raising chairwoman, has filled out the forms explaining the RTHS’s mission and the need for funds.
All the profits from that day will be donated to the RTHS.
The RTHS will participate in the Englewood areawide garage sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
on May 30 and 31 with a rummage sale of our own. This will take place on the lawn in front of the
History Center (weather permitting, of course). A table in the History Center has been designated
for donations of clothing, books, knickknacks, etc.
The Englewood Civic Band will entertain at an ice cream social on July 8 at the History
Center. This will be free to the public, although of course donations will be welcome.
The annual car show will again take place at Hardscrabble Park on Aug. 2. With any luck,
the weather will be a bit less muggy.
At a recent meeting, Kris Balside asked about the “No-Bake Bake Sale” mentioned in old
newsletters. Long-time members explained that the RTHS had tried holding a conventional bake
sale and found it was not too profitable. First, a lot of organizations held bake sales around the same
time, and our location off the main highway hurt us. (All too often, explaining that we are on Valley-
view Drive brings a blank look and the question, “Where’s Valleyview Drive?”) Also, bake sales
lost popularity as people became more concerned with allergens and less willing to trust items made
by strangers. Many of our members simply aren’t bakers and donated cookies purchased at stores.
Too often the bake sale merely involved members buying cookies to donate and purchasing others
at the sale. About a dozen years ago, Sue Cummings proposed that people should estimate what they
would spend on supplies, time, and purchases and donate that amount of money instead of baking
something or donating purchased goods. This also permitted more distant members to participate.
We made more money this way than we did selling real baked goods! So the RTHS will probably
hold a similar event this year.
There will be more details about the last four projects in later newsletters as the dates are set
and become more current.
Programs
The board of directors decided recently that board meetings will follow immediately after the
business meetings in February, April, June, August, October, and December. After the business
meetings in the other months, there will usually be miniprogram. This will be a talk by someone on
a topic of interest to the members or possibly a discussion in which members share memories of the
area. Mary Geiger is the program chairwoman to arrange for these programs and any larger general
programs (such as the ice cream social), but any suggestions of an interesting speaker can be sent to
the RTHS by email or telephone. These programs will start about 7:30 p.m. on the second Wednes-
day of the month.
Anyone, member or not, is welcome to attend the business meetings and miniprograms, so if
you know someone who is interested in a program, be sure to mention it to them. All members are
also welcome to attend the board meetings, although only officers and board members can vote on
the issues dealt with.
Glynn Marsh was fond of saying, “It’s not our (his and Sue’s) historical society, it’s yours.”
The officers still feel the same way; all suggestions for fundraising or programs are welcome and
will be considered.

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Membership Information

Name(s) _______________________________________________________________________
Address________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip ________________________ Phone_________________________________
Email address (optional) __________________________________________________________
Date _______________ New membership________ Renewal ___________ Gift____________
Membership Level (Check One)
____Individual @$20.00/year
_____Family @ $30.00/year
_____Individual Lifetime @ $250.00 (one-time)
_____Corporate @ $200/year
Extra Cash Donation: $_________ Enclosed is my check for _______________
Please send completed form with check to:

Randolph Township Historical Society
RTHS History Center
114 Valleyview Drive
Englewood, OH 45322-1324

COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM

One way to donate to the Historical Society without hurting your budget is to link your
KrogerPlus card to the Kroger Community Rewards program.
Each quarter, Kroger allots a certain amount of money for the Rewards budget and divides it
among participating organizations according to each organization’s percentage of the total spending
by members of all the organizations. Only the check is sent to the RTHS; the organization receives
no information about the customers or their purchases. (But the RTHS is grateful to all who do
designate the society as the recipient.)
To register your KrogerPlus Card, go to www.krogercommunityrewards.com and follow the
instructions. Link the card to RTHS (NPO #81403). Those without computers or email can set up
accounts at the public library or through another member. You can also register at 1‐800‐837‐4483,
with your KrogerPlus card and the RTHS number shown above. The bottom of each receipt should
show the organization. Last year the Society earned about $500 through this program.

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Dates to remember
All events are held at the RTHS History Center, 114
Valleyview Dr., Englewood, Ohio, unless otherwise noted.
Monthly Meetings: 2nd Wednesdays
April 9, 7:00 p.m.
May 14, 7:00 p.m.
June 11, 7:00 p.m.
July 9, 7:00 p.m.
Aug.13, 7:00 p.m.
Sept. 10, 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 8, 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 12, 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 10, 7:00 p.m.
The History Center is open for visits from 2 p.m.
through 4 p.m. on Sundays when the OPEN sign is
out at Main Street and other times by appointment.
Call (937) 832-8538 and leave message
Special events
April 2, 11 a.m. to midnight: “Eat Wings and
Raise Funds” at Buffalo Wild Wings. (See p. 6.)
May 30 and 31, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Garage Sale at
History Center
May 14, 7:30: talk on the restoration of the
Overfield Tavern in Troy
2025 Corporate Members
Carra Builders Comm. Const. Inc.
City of Clayton
City of Englewood
City of Union
Gem City Pawn and Loan
Kindred Funeral Home
Vital Signs
Wagoner’s Power Equipment
Thank you!
We list our valued sponsors on our website.