Oakwood July 28, 2010 by Debbie LutzcloseAuthor: Debbie LutzName: Debbie LutzAbout: I am a Dayton area mom with 2 children, native New Yorker, traveler (who more than identifies with having to relocate), singer/ musician/composer, and full-time college student majoring in Communications. I also love to write, converse, help people interconnect and connect to their local lives.See Authors Posts photo provided courtesy of Christina Asad Edwards, Realtor www.DaytonOhioHouse.com Oakwood holds a great pride in its esteemed city. A 100-year-old purely established town and a “premiere and intimate residential bedroom community” of about 9,000 residents, to include the former home of the famed Fathers of Aviation, Orville and Wilbur Wright and John Patterson, “visionary founder of NCR”. Oakwood possesses all styles and fashions of homes “from Tudor, to Dutch Colonial to Craftsman, from a Cape Cod cottages to Italianate villas and Swiss chalets” to the period homes of former historical figures, all very well kept, and whose values continue to increase! It has all the feel of a small town, while being just a few miles from the fascinating inner city culture of Dayton. “Beautiful on Purpose” reads one of the titles listed in its very own hardbound book entitled Oakwood’s 2008 Centennial Celebration book. It truly does possess an attraction of country beauty that is straight out of a movie setting, and yet it is as connected as any major suburban city. So “walkable” is this community, that no child needs to ride a school bus and considering the impressively low crime rate and the general “look after your neighbor” mindset, children can feel safe to walk the town. Additionally, there are a multitude of specialty shops, an unusually high number of diverse houses of worship, and a host of community services all within blocks.” Hawthorne Hill From the beginning, Oakwood planned their city to include a public invitation to recreational activity. There are 3 main parks in the neighborhood. All park presentations are generally enchanting for children, especially Orchardly Park, to include a “state of the art accessible playground, a spray pool, a small ball field, a half basketball court, a play fountain, six tennis courts and a shelter house. And are you ready? One of these parks, Fairridge Park, even has free Wi-Fi internet access! Now that’s service!! Smith Gardens Smith Gardens is a perfectly landscaped heaven for browsers, attracting a multitude of butterflies and birds. The garden has a Koi fish pond, and a beautiful garden house. Also within minutes of anywhere in town, are the Oakwood Community Center, The Gardner Pool, three playing fields for “soccer, field hockey and baseball”, the playing field at the High School (Mack Hummon Stadium), the Virginia Hollinger Tennis Club, and the famed Dayton Country Club with a full 18 holes over a Donald Ross designed golf course. If you have an athletic, well-behaved 15 year old teenager looking for an awesome summer position as a golfing caddy, DCC is the place! My own son worked there last season and truly enjoyed the experience! Oakwood holds a Rotary Club Annual Family Festival entitled “That Day in May” including activities such as a pancake breakfast, a Dayton Country Club silent auction, 5-10k runs, a fun run, a parade, a battle of the [local] bands, a car show, games, rides and refreshments. The city holds an annual old fashioned Ice Cream Social, a “blanket series” of concert entertainment at Smith Gardens, a “Scarecrow competition in October, and many events around the holidays in December and that’s not the end of the list, but you get the idea…and the idea is for you to recreate and have fun! Oakwood High School There are 2200 students which attend Oakwood’s Elementary, Middle and Senior High schools. Much like their neighboring town of Centerville, their ranking of graduates is at 95% moving on to higher education. As well, they have earned the ‘Excellence with distinction rating”, the National School of Excellence Award, and “have met 30 out of 30 performance standards consistently”. “Oakwood’s class of 2010 ranked first in the state on the OGT (Ohio Graduation Tests) had 11 National Merit Finalists and Commended Scholars and earned 3.5 million in scholarships.” The Athletic department offers 14 different sports including all the general assortment plus field hockey, cross country and golfing! This is a dynamic town of joggers, dog-walkers, and neighbors who work hard and play hard and will encourage you to become their city’s next hero doing your part (whatever that may be) to enrich their town and “make some history of your own”! They will welcome you with a new resident breakfast, and captivate you to stay forever with their small town personal attention and charm! Oakwood is undoubtedly a city to explore, filled with culture, history, and community-minded neighbors. 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