January 2019 newsletter

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VOLUME 21, ISSUE 1 JANUARY–MARCH 2019

Officers
President: Doris West
Vice–Pres: Doug Allen
Recording Sec’y: Kay Dawson
Corres. Sec’y: Wilma Schroeder
Treasurer: Robin Perkins

Directors
Cleva Collar (2019)
Glynn Marsh (2019)
Ivan Clark (2019)
Shirley Whiting (2019)
Barb Eller (2019 & 2020)
Bill Gothard (2019 & 2020)
Monty Mercer (2019 & 2020)
Ron Papp (2019 & 2020)
THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER by Ivan Clark
I want to thank all of the officers and directors of Randolph Township
Historical Society for making my year a great one! I feel we accom-
plished much during the year, but we have a lot more to do in the
coming year.
We still need volunteers. Help with planting flowers, weeding, and
watering will be needed in the spring. General maintenance inside the
building sometimes needs attention, such as emptying waste baskets,
sweeping floors, and dusting.
Donations of artifacts continue to come in. These enable us to create new
displays and add to existing ones. Our next display, now in the planning
stages, will be “Toys of the Past.” To be located in the lower level, it will
be of interest to the young ones and the young at heart. We are focusing
on very early toys up to and including those of the 1970s vintage. Please
contact us if you have something for consideration.
We continue to add to our police and fire departments displays.
As you can see, I am rambling on about different happenings here at the
History Center.
It has been a rewarding year for me, with many new experiences. Thank
you for letting me serve.
2018 Corporate Members
Carra Builders Comm. Const.
Inc.
City of Clayton
City of Englewood
City of Union
Kindred Funeral Home
Landes Fresh Meats, Inc.
Mill Ridge Village Retirement
Community
Thank you!
We list our valued sponsors
on our website.
UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS
All functions are at the History Center unless otherwise noted.
Meetings on 2nd Wednesdays
Jan. 9/business meeting, installation of new officers/
miniprogram: TBD
Feb. 13/business meeting/
Dave Evans, former Clayton Police/Fire Chief
& Randolph Twp. firefighter/paramedic
March 13/business meeting/miniprogram: TBD

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

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QUARTERLY SUMMARY
OCTOBER 2018: The Center had 13 visitors last month. The October newsletter was delayed so the slate of
officers could be mailed with it. The City of Union has agreed to provide a base for the toolmaker statue that
used to stand in front of the Te-Co building. Union’s City Manager John Applegate contacted the Society
about the house he owns on N. Main Street in Union. This was the second brick schoolhouse in Union, and
he and the owner of the first brick schoolhouse, on E. Martindale Rd., would like to get plaques on the houses
designating their history. Glynn said they are not eligible for National Historical Buildings because of struc-
tural changes but suggested the owners could have plaques made on their own. The board of directors voted
to accept the offer of Lot #31 from the City of Englewood, free of any costs or restrictions. [See p. 6.] The
RTHS should get two trees on the south lawn trimmed before winter weather comes, and the Center needs
better lighting and security in the front. Glynn Marsh suggested the RTHS look into hiring Jennifer Woods,
who helped set up the PastPerfect system, to catalogue acquisitions for RTHS. The 2019 slate of officers was
presented.
NOVEMBER 2018: Wilma Schroeder reported that the Society has gained four new memberships. The
History Center had 20 visitors in October. Officers for 2019 were elected. [See p. 1.] The City of Englewood
has turned over the deed to the lot north of History Lane to the RTHS, paying all the fees involved. There is
no increase in the RTHS insurance, and the mowing will only cost an extra $35. The trash dumpster serving
the adjacent apartment has been moved. Tree trimming will have to wait because Chris’s Tree Service is busy.
Ivan asked for volunteers to help update the maintenance manual to list new vendors. The History Center
passed its fire inspection. Jennifer Woods has been working on office matters in PastPerfect. After the
business meeting, Gerald Peters of the Brookville Historical Society presented a miniprogram on Model A
cars. His own restored Model A was parked outside the History Center.
DECEMBER 2018: Before the meeting, several members enjoyed a holiday carry-in dinner on the lower
level. The RTHS has received 10 new memberships this year. There have been nine visitors during the past
month, despite no public hours. These people possibly came because Doug Allen has been publishing on
Facebook when he will be working at the Center and welcomes people then. The No-Bake bake sale brought
in $130.00. The RTHS is still on a waiting list for the installation of the Te-Co statue and the tree-trimming,
and no progress has been made on the lighting. (Neither the city of Union nor the tree company is giving poor
service; they are both very busy and we’ll just have to wait our turn.) The paperwork transferring the front lot
to the Society has been completed, but any discussion of landscaping can be postponed until closer to spring.
Ivan ended the meeting by saying it had been very rewarding to serve as president. After the business meet-
ing, Mark Brownfield, Public Safety Director of the City of Englewood presented a miniprogram on his years
as an Englewood official.

AREA NEWS AND NOTES

In Memoriam
Glen Wagoner, a lifetime member since 1999, died in October. Members of the RTHS extend their
sympathy to his family.
Even if you are not able to attend meetings because of health or distance, the RTHS is very grateful
for your support, and we miss each member we lose.
Volunteers wanted
Too many organizations rely on one person to do a task, and if that person is incapacitated, no one
else knows what to do. Our maintenance and procedures manuals are supposed to prevent that, but they
haven’t been updated lately.
If you would like to help update it, which is largely checking names and numbers and recording them
on the correct page, please leave a message at the History Center.

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THE FAMILY TREE
by Kay Dawson
Communications of the past
How many of us grew up with telephone party
lines and rural route mail delivery?
I suppose the best way to explain a party line to
youngsters is as a family plan for several houses.
Each home had its own ring. People in one house,
for example, would answer when they heard two
short rings and a long one, and another family would
answer one short and one long. Everyone on the line
could hear every other conversation, and there was
an accepted (but not always observed) etiquette. If
you picked up the phone and heard conversation,
you either hung up and waited or, if it was urgent,
interrupted and politely asked to use the line.
My parents once discovered my older brother
and his friends not only listening to a phone call
between one boy’s sister and her boyfriend but also
taping it. Party line etiquette was sternly enforced
that night by the various parents!
Long distance calls were special events, and
unless it was a holiday a long-distance phone call
was likely to be bad news. The call was especially
frightening if it arrived during a weekday or if it was
a person-to-person or collect call. Rates were sig-
nificantly lower in evenings and on weekends You
made a station-to-station call if you wanted to talk
with anyone at the recipient’s household, but if you
needed to talk to a specific person, you paid more
for a person-to-person call. (A familiar “scam” was
for a family to agree on a code name indicating
something, such as safe arrival at a destination. The
caller would place a person-to-person call for that
name and the recipient would say the person wasn’t
there. The caller avoided charges, but the recipient
got the message.)
Collect calls, charged to the recipient if he
agreed, were reserved for extreme emergencies
or when someone had no money to call home.
When my father called his brother in Florida on
Christmas, he called the operator in the morning and
gave her the number. If all circuits were busy, as was
usual on holidays, the operator put him on a list.
Sometime later in the day, the operator would call
to say the call was ready to be placed, and if this
happened during dinner, everyone waited. If you
passed up your chance, the call might not go through
for the rest of the day.
Until the 1970s, Brookville was a long-distance
call from most of the surrounding towns, except
Trotwood. Many Brookville businesses paid for both
a Brookville number and a Trotwood number.
There were even people who had to call long
distance to reach a neighbor across the road!
The mail was no less complicated. Some
people rented a box in the post office, but most
rural homes were on a Rural Route delivery.
Rural areas lacked street numbers until 1973,
and your address was the route number and the
box reflecting your position on the carrier’s
route. (Ours was Rural Route #1, Box 272.)
People who lacked a stamp could fasten the
correct amount of money to the envelope, and
the carrier took it to the post office and bought
the stamp for them.
This, by the way, explains some of the odd
addresses in the area. For years Englewood had
no motorized carriers, so when the town started
expanding, some of the new houses had to get
their mail from Clayton or Dayton.
[Ed. note: While substituting for a teacher in
an elementary school, I had to explain a party
line to the students. I’m not sure they believed
me.]

Membership Report by Wilma Schroeder
All memberships except lifetime ones expire
in January. If you join in October, November, or
December, your membership expires in
December of the following year, giving you a
few bonus months.
Please check the date in the upper right-hand
corner of the mailing label on this newsletter.
We dislike losing readers, but it is unfair to send
the newsletter after your membership has
expired.

Memberships Processed
October–December
Family: Cory, Jess, & Adeline Paul (n)
Individual: David Brust (r), Sally Carles (r),
Cleva Collar (r), Kay Dawson (r), David Evans
(n), Shirley Frick (r), Nancy Pfeiffer Katowik
(n), Judy McDowell (r), Pat Mulso (n), Nancy
Oren Smith (n)
Sustaining: Catherine Springer (n)
The Society is fortunate to maintain a very
high membership renewal rate. We continue to
add new members each year, but lose some of
our valued older members to death and
relocation. We value each and every member
and work hard to make the Society a valuable
resource for history in the community.

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ACQUISTIONS

From Anonymous Donor: Law Enforcement award to Terry McCrary, former Englewood Police Officer,
1969.
From Sandy Benton: Picture of Randolph High School, all students and teachers taken on lawn, 1923;
Picture of Salem (Clayton) School #8, taken 1911 showing all elementary students and two teachers in front
of school building (stamp on back identifies this as Edwin Sinks photograph).
From Bonnie Dodge: Randolph Township School Report Card for 1893–1894 for Effie Reed, possibly at
Happy Corner School (#6).
From Sandy Freeman: Various issues of “New Spirit,” the Northmont High School newspaper, from Oct.
10, 1975 (Vol. I, Issue 1) through May 20, 1981, with some issues missing; Various issues of “The T-Bolt
Tribune,” the Northmont High School Newspaper, from Sept. 25, 1981 (Vol. I, Issue 1) through Feb. 26,
2010, some issues missing.
From Shirley and Glen Frick (many items from the collection of Shirley Frick’s mother, Mary
Stump): Dayton & Northern Utilities bus schedule between Dayton and Piqua through Englewood and
Union, ca. 1932; News article about possible merging of Englewood and Union; Picture of Farmers State
Bank, Englewood, in 1965, showing ladies who worked there and machines they used, with two women
identified; Newspaper clippings and or photos: farm of Dwight Ullery on Kimmel Road, John Westerman
farm on Montgomery-Preble County Line Road, John Harms farm at corner of Clayton and Amity roads,
Walter H. Caylor farm at corner of Talmadge Road and Route 40, farm owned by Dr. Price on Westbrook
Road west of Diamond Mill Road, Herschel Price farm at corner of Diamond Mill and Westbrook Road, farm
of Albert Marshall on Sweet Potato Ridge Road just west of Brookville-Phillipsburg Road, farm of Herman
Peck (also known as the old Noah Swank farm) near Route 49, Russel Brumbaugh farm on National Road
two miles west of Englewood, Elbert Balsbaugh farm on Route 40 just west of Englewood, picture of Lloyd
Metzger farm on Hoke Road one half mile south of Route 40, picture of Levi Landis farm/Klepinger farm on
Sweet Potato Ridge Road east of Arlington Road, picture of Frank Brown/ Everett Hayes farm on Millers
Fork Road; Auction bill of Dick Oldham farm at 3598 Sweet Potato Ridge Road.
From David Hoke: Plate with picture of the Hoke Meeting House built in 1720; “The Progressive Music
Series,” book 3, by Silver, Burdett and Company (note inside front cover: “Property of Randolph Twp.
1922.”)
From Jack Honeycutt: Various patches (Haz-Mat, Fire & Rescue, EMT; 1964 Randolph Township Fire
Department shield for helmet from station #1 in Union; Fire Department pocket watch; June3, 1990 photo of
Jack Honeycutt at an accident scene.
From Myron Mann: Third-and fourth-grade class picture, (probably Clayton Elementary School, 1940–
1941), with Miss or Mrs. Turner (the teacher) and with Myron Mann standing in middle row, third from right.
From Marianne Miller (collection of Helen and Ruth Miller): “The Bolt,” (Northmont), 1967;
Randolph High School class of 1946, 50th-year memory book; Randolph High School Alumni Directory
1881–1959; Randolph High School class of 1949, senior class photo; Randolph High School Class of 1949,
45-year reunion photo; Ceramic airplane (“Time Flies 1951–1986,” “R.H.S. 35”); Ceramic mini-airplane with
aviator (“Time Flies 1951–1986”); Green and white silk flower corsage; “R.H.S. 50” velvet ribbon.
From Luann Robinson: Painted glass angel with display case and light which used to hang in Fairview
Brethren in Christ Church across from the cemetery.

“Gone but not forgotten” is the old expression for forgotten heroes.
But if not forgotten, they are not gone.
–David McCullough

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Ron Papp dreams of yesteryear,
admiring Gerald Peters’ Model A Ford
outside the history center.
RECENT HAPPENINGS AT THE RTHS HISTORY CENTER
Miniprograms
At the November meeting, about two dozen people listened to Gerald Peters describe the history of
the Model A Ford. A member of the Brookville Historical Society and a former Northmont teacher, Peters
owns a restored 1930 Model A. He has driven it through Chicago and as far as Kill Devil Hill in North
Carolina.
“I drove it over the causeway and was taking a picture
of it next to the Wright Brothers’ Memorial,” he said. “A fel-
low came over and, when he saw the Ohio license, he asked
how I got it there. ‘I drove,’ I answered. ‘Well, how will you
get it back?’ ‘Drive it.’”
Peters said Henry Ford was not the first to manufacture
a car, but he made two significant developments. He adapted
the assembly line to decrease costs and production time. And
he paid his workers $5 a day for an eight-hour day, twice what
most workmen earned for a nine-hour day.
“This made the car affordable to his workers,” Peters
said.
Before this, cars were mostly playthings for the
wealthy rather than means of transportation.
Peters and his wife, Lynn, arrived at the Center in his Model A, and many audience members
inspected the car after the talk. When one asked how fast it traveled, Lynn Peters replied, “It depends on
whose foot is on the pedal!”
The Model A and the Model T were produced and sold all over the world, and Peters said today there
are over a million of them maintained by enthusiasts in many countries.

Mark Brownfield told members at the December meeting about his 35-year career in Englewood
government. When he first arrived, he and Caroline Bergman began interviewing older residents for the
sesquicentennial in 1991. This was an eye-opener for him coming from California and Kettering, Ohio. The
interviews introduced him to terms like “slop jars” and “honey dippers.” (Noting that Englewood maintains
the wastewater plant, he joked, “I guess we still are honey dippers!”)
He interviewed Polly Leiber, who was amused to go into homes and find people proud of a slop jar
they had bought and were keeping on their mantle, with no understanding of what it had been used for.
He talked of senior citizens talking about the trolleys.
He remembers that Union Boulevard used to be two lanes and often drifted over in snowstorms.
“Sometimes we couldn’t even find it to plow.”
When he started on the force in 1984, he said, officers only had a radio, a gun, and a stick. “Now we
have all kinds of guns, tasers, pepper spray, body cameras, in-car cameras.”
But the biggest change has been in professionalism. “I was right on the transition,” he said,
remembering that he was unusual in that he had a college degree (in accounting). Some of his colleagues took
pride in not needing backup to handle a suspect, accused him of being “too nice” to criminals, and told him he
believed in “killing them with kindness.” This was one motive he cited for moving on to the positions of
personnel director and finance director before returning to the police force as safety director.
Now, he said, college degrees are normal for officers and they see their task more as peacekeepers
and public servants than one of attacking criminals. He quoted other police chiefs as telling suspects, “Why
did you commit that crime in Englewood? You know they’ll get you.”
Glynn Marsh credited Brownfield and Bergman with accumulating many of the interviews and
pictures the RTHS has in the archives, and Brownfield promised to send to the Center the PowerPoint
presentation he has made of all the Englewood police chiefs.
He’s never lost his interest in history.
“When I drive past older houses in town, I want to know who built it and who lived there.”

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HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCREASES ITS PROPERTY
The RTHS is very appreciative of all the help received from the local cities over the years. Without it,
we would have had much more difficulty surviving the early years and paying off the Center. Recently we
received a donation from Englewood that left us stunned.
The City of Englewood offered us Lot #31, the vacant area
between Valleyview and Main Street north of History Lane. This was
given at no charge, with no restrictions on use other than the ordinary
zoning laws. After a discussion and some research into insurance and
maintenance costs, the board of directors determined the insurance will
not increase and the extra mowing will not be significant and accepted
the offer. The deed was transferred on Oct. 24.
Until 2008, the county tax records show, the lot was owned by
George and Helen Farrier, and since then it has been owned by the
city.
The 0.2-acre lot increases our property by about one third, and
gives us a large flat area. Possession also guarantees no house or busi-
ness will be built there that would block the view of the Center by
passersby on Main Street or who would be an unpleasant neighbor.
President Ivan Clark asked the owner of the apartment building to the north to have the trash dump-
ster moved off the grass. The owner was more than co-operative, but explained the trash haulers kept moving
it. Ivan spoke to Rumpke, the trash haulers, who immediately agreed to move the object. There was a little
confusion, as the first crew moved it south, farther onto the lot, instead of north to the apartment’s property,
but after this was straightened out the view of southbound traffic on Valleyview is no longer impeded for
drivers arriving at the Center via History Lane.
Next spring the lot will need some landscaping, and it
should probably be surveyed.
But what uses can we make of it? It might serve for parking
for events, or possibly a future program could make use of old-time
craft demonstrations or classic car shows. At the Tri-fold event last
summer, at which the mortgage was burned, the city of Englewood
showed some fire equipment there. (But only briefly because the
department received a call and had to leave.)
It’s a nice problem to have, and one that doesn’t need to be
addressed immediately.
If anyone has suggestions for use or landscaping, email the
RTHS at rths@frontier.com or write to RTHS, 114 Valleyview Dr.,
Englewood, OH 45322.
EVENT FROM THE PAST
This event has no connection with the area, but it seems too significant to let go unnoticed. As this is
being written, the media is mentioning the flight of Apollo 8 a half century ago, when humans first saw the far
side of the moon. And the summer of 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first steps on the moon.
Those of us who remember it should leave our recollections for those of our relatives too young to
have any memories of an event that we all knew was not only historical for this country but occurring for the
first time in human history.
For me, Walter Cronkite’s reaction said it all. Having covered the space program since its early days
and going through some of the training the astronauts did, he did a lot to make the technology comprehensible
to the rest of us. He was well prepared for the landing.
He had also covered assassinations, funerals, riots, and conventions, often ad-libbing for hours with
very little hard information.
And when the lunar module touched down on the moon, what did he tell viewers?
“Oh, wow! Boy!”

The house that stood on the lot years
ago is now gone.

The RTHS property now extends from
Main Street back to the bluff above the
river and on both sides of History Lane.

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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 partici-
pating organizations according to each organization’s
percentage of the total spending by members of all
the organizations. Reports sent to RTHS only show
the customer’s KrogerPlus Card Number, name, and
the donation amount.
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 your donation. Last year the Society earned
about $500 through this program.

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RAPP JEWELERS CLOSES
Englewood has lost another landmark with the closing of Rapp Jewelers after 64 years in almost the same
location.
In 1954, Joseph Rapp opened a watch repair service in the Farmers’ State Bank, on the corner of National
Road and Main Street. For years watches had been very valuable objects, given as graduation gifts and in
some cases handed down through generations, so watch repair was a profitable business.
In 1958, when Dr. Furnas retired, Rapp moved into the white frame building next to the bank. He began
to sell jewelry and watches as well as repair them.
Time passes, of course, and eventually Joe Rapp wanted an easier life. In 1988, his son Ken took over.
Ken Rapp admitted that online shopping has had its effect, but said the main reason for closing was that
“after 31 years, it’s time to move on.”
For many of us, Rapp Jewelers was the place not only
to get expensive watches and jewelry repaired but to get
watch batteries replaced, to have a new charm attached to
a bracelet, or to have a new chain put on a medical tag. It
was also a good place to have new watch bands put on
without having to hunt in our carpet for the little post that
was supposed to fit into the holder on the watch
but somehow always flipped out and sprang across the
room. The company still cleaned and repaired watches.
Many people are wearing jewelry or telling time by
clocks sold there.
The company was also a loyal sponsor of many area teams and a regular advertiser in local media.
Membership Information
Yes! I want to become a Member of the Randolph
Township Historical Society.
Date _________________________________________
Name(s) ________________________________________
Address_________________________________________
City/State/Zip ____________________________________
Phone__________________________________________
Email___________________________________________
New ________ Renewal ___________Gift______________
Membership Level (Check One)
_____Individual @$15.00/year
_____Family @ $25.00/year
_____Sustaining @ $35.00/year
_____Sponsoring @$75.00/year
_____Individual Lifetime @ $250.00 (one-time)
_____Corporate @ $150/year
Extra Cash Donation: $________________
Enclosed is my check for ___________________
Total______________
Please send completed form with check to:

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

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SOME DATES TO REMEMBER REMAINING IN 2018
All events are held at the RTHS History Center, 114 Valleyview Dr., Englewood, Ohio, unless otherwise noted.

Monthly Meetings:
2nd Wednesdays
Jan. 09, 1:00 p.m.
Feb. 13, 1:00 p.m.
March 13, 1:00 p.m.
April 10, 7:00 p.m.
(note time change)
May 8, 7:00 p.m.
June 12, 7:00 p.m.
July 10, 7:00 p.m.
Aug. 14, 7:00 p.m.
Sept. 11, 7:00 p.m.
Oct.9, 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 13, 1:00 p.m.
(note time change)
Dec. 11, 1:00 p.m.

Work Sessions:
Wed. and Sat. afternoons
1–4 p.m.

Visitors’ Hours At The
History Center
First and third Sundays,
2– 4 p.m.
April–October

Also open during scheduled
work sessions when the flag &
open sign are out

Open other times by
appointment
Call 836-6751
Special Events:
Feb. 13: Miniprogram—talk
by Dave Evans, former Fire
and Police Chief of
Englewood and former
Randolph Twp. Firefighter

Upcoming Exhibit:
Toys of the Past