If you’ve ever needed to organize a meeting in the Grandview Heights area, you likely know the Grandview Heights Public Library has a meeting room and a conference room available for reservation.
What you might not know is how many organizations take advantage of the space.
Here are just a few of the groups that rely on the library for regular meet-ups.
Service with a Smile
The Grandview Civic Welfare Club has served the Grandview community for 94 years.
“Our goal is to do things in the community – to promote fellowship and community, and to be engaged in general welfare work,” says Nappy Hetzler, club vice president.
The club’s most popular event is its holiday luminary sale, held at the library. The money the sale raises, and money raised through donations and fundraising, goes to scholarships for Grandview Heights High School students. The club also administers a community fund and a Christmas fund to help community members in need.
“We will work with as many families as we have funds for,” says Hetzler.
The club meets monthly from September to May. For more information on meetings, email civicwelfareclub@gmail.com.
“We meet at GHPL because it’s a key part of the community, and we serve the community,” Hetzler says. “It makes sense to meet at one of the centers of community activity.”
All Bottled Up
Milk bottles, ink bottles, soda bottles – all are fair game for the Central Ohio Bottle Club.
The group meets on the last Thursday of each month and plans to use one of the library’s display cases to show off some members’ collections.
“The library has been so gracious to us during the years,” says Rojer Moody, club director.
Each meeting consists of bottle talk and an informative show-and-tell featuring members’ finds. One set of items that has enjoyed popularity among Columbus collectors has been Peter Schille Soda Company bottles, made by a bottler in German Village for almost 100 years starting in the late 1800s.
Though it won’t happen at the library, the club’s 44th annual Columbus Bottle Show is Feb. 8 at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in northwest Columbus.
Highlights will include a handful of displays, including a local milk bottle display, as well as collections of Columbus bottles and bottle paraphernalia. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own bottles.
Preserving History
Though it makes the area’s distant past its business, the Grandview Heights Historical Society has some history of its own – it’s been active 40 years and meeting at the library for much of that time.
“We are in a partnership with the library,” says society Vice President Win Keller. “They gave us a room around 1980, and we’ve had that room to put our files and collections in. We have a story time in the library for people to come in and talk about their times and provide any old pictures or stories.”
Among the society’s endeavors are protecting historical sites, such as the Prescott Bush home and Lindenberg home. The society hosts a triennial historical home tour, keeps extensive records of the area’s history and provides publications that can be picked up at the library.
“Our goals are much like other historical societies: to educate, promote and protect Grandview and Marble Cliff history,” says society President Tracy Liberatore.
The society recently launched an online timeline that spans from the first settlers of the area in 1797 to present. The timeline can be found at www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/348060/Grandview-Heights-Timeline.
Getting on Track
Train enthusiasts and advocates unite at the Columbus chapter of All Aboard Ohio.
The chapter has been in operation since 1975, and the current group has met at the library for six years. About 30 members comprise the club, which meets the second Saturday of every month.
Its goal is to promote passenger rail service. The statewide organization’s current goal is to help bring about a passenger line between Columbus and Chicago, a service that would cut travel time to about four hours, says Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio.
The group is also interested in a light rail line between Port Columbus International Airport and downtown Columbus. In addition to its advocacy, the club gets together to share information, talk about trains and do rail trip reports and critiques.
“Our people who attend are from all walks of life,” says Larry Robertson, Columbus coordinator for the group. “We have ex-railroad workers who still have a love for trains, teachers, engineers and a variety of people from all other fields.”
Baby Bonding
Columbus Babywearing has been providing support to mothers and caregivers in central Ohio since 2004.
The practice of “babywearing,” as the group defines it, involves using a sling or carrier on the body to transport a baby, hands-free. Meetings are held on the second Sunday and the third Wednesday of each month and are generally attended by regulars and caregivers who come for support with their own babywearing or to see demonstrations the group holds. All adults are welcome, as are babies and older children.
“Babywearing is a wonderful way for caregivers to bond with a child,” says Jennifer Lawson, a group leader. “The community as a whole is comprised of supportive caregivers who end up forming friendships and organizing play dates with other children.”
There is also a Facebook page for those who wish to be a part of the babywearing community but live too far away to participate, or who just want to keep up with the support and advice.
“We meet at the Grandview library because it’s free, somewhat central, and booking for group meetings is allowed six months in advance,” Lawson says.
Taylor Woodhouse is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
