Learn how local stories are being preserved

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The Grove City Historical Commission embarked upon a posterity project several years ago in the form of an oral history activity, which is now housed at the Grove City Public Library.

And what better way to learn about a community and its history than through the retellings of its own residents?

Barbara Howison

A native of Grove City, Barbra Howison stays busy as a member of the Grove City Historical Commission, Southwest Franklin County Historical Society and Daughters of the American Revolution.

Howison recalls a gasoline station that once stood at the corner of Haughn Road and Columbus Street. She and her father, Russell Roberts, would take weekly walks there to purchase soft drinks.

“Dad would only drink 7-Up; that’s the only thing he would buy,” says Howison.

Howison also remembers spending summers at her grandfather, George Lytle’s, farm in Madison County. She worked the fields along with the guys, and said the experience was hard but a lot of fun.

George M. Haughn  

Born on South Broadway, George M. Haughn is retired from Columbus Gas of Ohio, spends time with family and is a big fan of Grove City parades.

Haughn, a former Grove City mayor, grew up on South Broadway. As a youngster, he remembers walking Greyhounds at the old dog track once located where Our Lady of Perpetual Help School sits today. Before the race track, he says, much of the area was a large apple orchard owned by Clay Neiswander.

Haughn walked dogs, primarily ones owned by Peedy Bare, and his usual pay was anywhere from one to five sticks of spearmint chewing gum. Haughn admits he tried several times to sneak and watch a Greyhound race, though always unsuccessfully. Only those 18 and older were allowed inside the track.

Leroy Geyer

Born in Jackson Township, Leroy Geyer retired recently after a 60-year barbering career and plans to continue loving life, feeling blessed to be in Grove City.

“Make beauty out of adversity, that’s the philosophy of mine,” says Geyer.

Geyer, a popular local barber, remembers his father’s stories about the 1913 Scioto River flood. His dad was down by the Scioto when the Clickenger Bridge was washed out. Clickenger Road crossed the river, intersecting with U.S. Route 23. After the flood, the road changed names and became Breckenridge County Road. It later changed names again to Isaac White Road. Today, the road that once connected with High Street is simply White Road.

Geyer also remembers, that when racing was in its heyday, there were seven bookie joints in Grove City. He also says the Grove City area once produced its fair share of moonshine.

Pauline Woda Farnsworth

Born on the Hilltop, Pauline Woda Farnsworth moved to Grove City at age 12 with a love of music which prompted her, after retirement, to purchase a violin and take refresher classes to enjoy making music again.

Farnsworth has schoolyard memories from the Jackson Township Junior High School. She remembers lunch items like baked sweet potatoes, Spanish rice and doughnuts.

“My favorite time, I think, was lunch,” she says.

Farnsworth says her future husband lived just a few doors from her childhood home. She was only 12 at the time, but she had made up her mind he was the man for her.

John and Farnsworth didn’t date until she was a junior, and he was a senior playing on the football team. After John returned from World War II, they married in 1945.

William England

Nothing slows down Grove City-born Bill England, who may have earned retirement but continues to be active in his community.

England, known as Bill to most, was born in Grove City and grew up along Park Street. While in high school, Bill worked for a brother who owned a Texaco station at Broadway and Grove City Road, where the gazebo is located today.

“I always enjoyed driving a truck,” he says.

Once, while working for the Grove City Farmers Exchange, England had to deliver a coal product known as Pocahontas coal. It was an oil-treated, very fine coal that was very dirty and messy to handle. That was one job he didn’t enjoy. England recalls he would shovel it down a coal chute and often had to shovel it through a basement window.

William F. Lotz, Sr.

Born in Grove City, William F. Lotz, Sr. spent much of his life as a city and township civil servant, also serving as an elected Jackson Township trustee.

Lotz, who goes by Bill, is well-known for his years as a Grove City zoning officer and a Jackson Township trustee. He was raised in one of Grove City’s largest homes still standing at the southeast corner of Broadway and Lotz Drive. The nine-bedroom house was a hub of activity, especially during race season at Beulah Park.

His mother, Flossie, rented rooms to jockeys, trainers and others associated with the racing industry. The house, once known as the el Nor Inn, was known for comfort and great food. His mother served lunch and dinner to the boarders who rented rooms on the first and second floors.

To review more of the oral history stories, visit www.grovecityohhistory.org.

James F. Hale is a historian with the Southwest Franklin County Historical Society. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.