Dublin Life’s storyteller series focuses on the people who make Dublin great – people who have made improving the community a part of their life, people who have been able to call Dublin home for a long time and people who have watched Dublin evolve over the years. The storyteller series tells the history of Dublin through his or her eyes, and sheds light on what living in Dublin was like decades ago. With the help of these special people, Dublin has undoubtedly become a better place.
Charles “Chi” Weber
Born in 1923 on Coffman Road , Chi graduated valedictorian of the Dublin High School class of 1941, when it was still located in the 1919 Building. After graduating, Chi enlisted in the Marine Corps after Pearl Harbor and served in World War II and in the Korean War. He rose to the rank of captain before coming back to Dublin and marrying his wife of nearly 52 years, Betty Walker, another Dublin native who passed in 2003. Chi rose through the ranks here in Dublin , too, having retired as president of Franklin Federal in 1988 after 36 years in the savings and loan business. Chi served on the Dublin Board of Education, was chairman of the Dublin Charter Commission and served as president of the Dublin Community Improvement Corporation. He was a member of the Dublin Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and is a part of the Dublin Historical Society. Chi has four children – Scott, Rich, Lynn Dee and Karen – and two grandchildren.
I have lived here all my life. My mother and dad graduated from Dublin in 1907, and both their parents lived in Dublin , too. My grandfather’s farm was where the Red Roof Inn is today. There were 10 students in my senior class at Dublin High School . We could all honestly say we finished in the top 10 in the class. We were good kids; everybody in that school – everybody – knew everybody else. If you got into trouble at school, you’d have to worry about Mom; she knew it before you ever got home.
All my kids went to Dublin High School . I was in the PTA until I was 70 years old. I’ve been a cheerleader for Dublin City Schools all my life; there’s just no question about that. I’ve always felt that this was a great place to raise kids, to raise a family. My wife, Betty, and I really enjoyed that. People used to ask us what we thought our biggest achievement was, and it’s unquestionably that we got all four of our kids through college.
I had the pleasure of serving on the Board of Education for two terms, and we bought the land on Coffman Road for Dublin Coffman High School , which included part of what had once been my dad’s old farm. We made a very wise decision in buying the land for about $1,500 an acre, but people couldn’t understand why you would need 50 acres for a school.
That combination of events took away the discussion about what do we want to change, and it became how do we change. We don’t always agree, but even today you can drive from Dublin to go to Hilliard or Westerville , and you know when you leave Dublin . It’s different – the streets, the infrastructure.
In the Marines, we were the first troops in Sasebo , Japan and Kyushu . One of the things I always remember was all the kids shouting, “Ohayou.” Of course, that’s their greeting, but I wrote back that the first thing I heard upon landing in Japan was “ Ohio !” It never entered my mind not to come home to Dublin . There are so many opportunities for kids. We get great services, we have excellent schools and there’s no question that affects the value. We’ve been very, very fortunate in having people who dedicated a good part of their lives to this town, people who have in their hearts the best interests of this town.
Sure, the feel of Dublin has changed, and you’ll hear, “It’s not what it used to be.” No, it isn’t. We’ve got libraries, we’ve got doctors’ offices galore, we have a hospital, we have a choice of grocery. We didn’t even have a grocery store – we didn’t! Has Dublin changed? Of course. Has it changed people-wise? Well, there are more of us, but we have so much talent in this town now, people who are really gifted and highly educated. I think it’s great. It used to be that we’d come into Dublin to see movies. They’d have a screen up on the wall and we enjoyed that, but when it was over, you could’ve shot a cannon down the middle of High Street and you wouldn’t hit anybody. There wasn’t anybody. Not now.
I’m not sure I look at change as unapprovingly as some do. We’re more accepting of things, not that those things are new; things have always been this way. I think that’s encouraging, I think that’s healthy. The biggest thing that I noticed in all the time that my grandkids have been in the Dublin City School District is I haven’t heard them once refer to someone of a different race or color as anything other than in a complimentary sense. What I understand is in the Bible, Jesus said, “Come to me; all people.” I think we need to learn to do that. We can’t isolate ourselves and young people; this is the world now.
Amanda DePerro is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
