Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Dayton Ohio

Werksgiving is the biggest party of Thanksgiving weekend!

By

The Werks, who started their musical journey right here in Dayton, are always happy to come for the holidays and host their annual “Werksgiving” show. This year is even more exciting, as the band shifts locations to directly downtown, at the newest music venue: the Brightside! For years music lovers have longed for a big room to see music in Dayton, and that time is finally here!

Kicking off this special celebration is a massive group of special guests who are performing with local band Kommunity Service. The featured special guests include:

Johnny K AllDay guitar/vocals
Dino Dimitrouleas bass/vocals
Rob Brockman drums/vocals
Stephen Buttree Sax/keys/samples/vocals
Nathan Springhart keys/vocals
Megan Fitzpatrick fiddle/vocals
Aaron Armstrong percussion
Chris Houser guitar/general awesomeness
Bob Maltby guitar/genius
And many more of your favorite musicians!

This is guaranteed to be the biggest party of Thanksgiving weekend – especially for music lovers!

How to Go?

What: The 11th Annual Werksgiving

When: November 21, 2018 from 8pm-1am

Where: Brightside Music & Event Venue at 905 E 3rd St, Dayton OH

How: Tickets are $12.50 and available for advance purchase here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/werksgiving-the-werks-brightside-dayton-oh-tickets-51051330905

Luminaries of Dayton: Harold K. Omer

By

L to R: Harold Omer, Ray Danner and Lee Cummings. Danner was the owner of Shoney’s, which at the time owned the Famous Recipe franchise.

The founding of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken.

Lee Cummings, the nephew of Colonel Harland Sanders, spent his childhood in the kitchen of his Henryville, Indiana home. Lee hit the road with his Uncle Harland in 1952, selling their own special blend of spices along with their famous pressure cookers, which later became part of KFC’s “secret Recipe”. In three years, Lee and the Colonel opened over 800 KFC stores. In 1962, the Colonel sold KFC to John Y. Brown.

After the sale of KFC, Lee Cummings started developing his recipe later to be known as “Famous Recipe.” In 1966, Lee along with Harold Omer started “Harold’s Take-Home” in Lima, Ohio where Lee first introduced Famous Recipe Chicken.

By 1967, Lee and Bob Burick in Springfield, Ohio opened the fifth franchise store. Later that year, stores followed in Dayton and Cincinnati as well as in Michigan.

In 1972, Famous Recipe had 100 stores and by 1979 the number had doubled to 200. In 1981, Lee Cummings sold the chain to Shoney’s Restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee and in 1995, it was sold to RTM Restaurant Group in Atlanta, Georgia.

Locally, there are two major franchisees in the Miami Valley that keep the tradition of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken in the community.

Harold Omer was also a manager of aerospace engineering at Lima’s Westinghouse plant. Sometimes he would leave the office and go straight to his second job of frying chicken.

Harold K. Omer died in 1999. He is located in Section 100 of the Woodland Mausoleum.

The Brightside Celebrates its Grand Opening

By

The renovated Vodvil Ballroom will be revealed at The Brightside’s Grand Opening on October 12, 2018.

The much anticipated grand opening of The Brightside Event & Music Venue is happening this weekend, Friday October 12th, 2018. Lots of love and labor has gone into this once forgotten space near the corner of 3rd & Keowee. Now this renovated industrial event space is ready for parties, weddings, concerts, art shows, and community events, right in the heart of downtown Dayton.

Owners and artists Carli & Hamilton Dixon started this project a decade ago, drastically transforming the space into multiple businesses, The Brightside being the final installment. They are ecstatic to invite the community to celebrate with them as they reveal their finished Vodvil Ballroom, in addition to the cozy bar space that has been open for events the last year. (To learn more about their story, click here)

The grand opening party will kick off with a two-hour VIP party, from 5:30-7:30pm, which requires tickets and will feature a ribbon cutting! Then the space is open to the public from 8pm-12am. Please feel free to drop in to check out this newest multi-use space in downtown Dayton!

HOW TO GO?

Where: The Brightside Music & Event Center, 905 East Third Street Suite B, Dayton, Ohio
When: Friday October 12, 2018. VIP Party 5:30-7:30pm (tickets here). General public 8pm-12am.
More Info: https://www.thebrightsidedayton.com/
https://www.thebrightsidedayton.com/video-the-brightside-story

Luminaries of Dayton: Frederick and Otto Euchenhofer

By 1 Comment

Frederick H. Euchenhofer was born in Switzerland about 1812 and came to American when twenty years old. For a few years he lived in one of the eastern states and then moved to Miamisburg in 1836. Frederick opened a bakery and confectionery store there, running a successful business until 1848, when he came to Dayton. He purchased the old Columbus House and ran it as a hotel until 1863.

In 1861, Frederick opened the Third Street Lager Beer Brewery on 1513 East Third Street. The brewery was made of brick, two stories high and had a cellar. In addition, there were three individual cellars, separate from the main building that were capable of storing 1,200 barrels. The brewery was bought by Miller and Ritzler in 1867, but Euchenhofer rebought the brewery five years later.

Frederick later changed the name of the brewery to Third Street Brewery about 1887. In 1888, over 3,500 barrels were being produced each year, most of them being consumed in the home. The annual trade for that year was in excess of $25,000.

Frederick was a charter member of, and a director in, the Teutonia Insurance Company of Dayton, which was one of the most successful financial institutions in the city. Fraternally, Frederick was an Odd Fellow and a member of the Harugari. The German Order of Harugari, sometimes called the Ancient Order of Harugari or by its German name, Der Deutsche Orden der Harugari, was a mutual benefit and cultural association of German Americans founded in New York City in 1847 that was at one time the largest German secret society in the United States. The objectives were mutual protection in a time of high German immigration and anti-German sentiment in the U.S., and preservation of German language and culture. The order forbade discussion of religion, politics, or social issues. The name Harugari comes from the old German word Haruc. It may be roughly translated as “The Teutonic spirit (or priest) of the oak tree.”

Frederick was a Lutheran and in politics a Republican. He was married twice. His only child from the first marriage, Albert, died in February, 1892. His second marriage was to Caroline Disher. They were married in Dayton and had ten children.

Frederick H. Euchenhofer died on February 3, 1891. Caroline died on November 22, 1938. They are located in Section 103 Lot 1619.

Otto Frederick Euchenhofer was born about 1857 in Dayton, Ohio. He belonged to the St. Luke’s German Lutheran Church. He was the father of four children.

Otto Euchenhofer took over the Third Street Brewery on 1513 East Third Street in 1892 and changed the name to Third Street Ale Brewery. Unfortunately, records show that the brewery slipped in business under Otto’s management. By 1895, the brewery’s yield was only 1,000 barrels, down from 4,000 in 1890. He sold the business to Henry B. Pruden and Peter J. Altherr in 1896.

Otto Frederick Euchenhofer died on May 20, 1912. He is located in Section 103 Lot 1619.

Sound Valley Summer Music Festival at Yellow Cab Tavern

By

The inaugural Sound Valley Summer Music Festival is being held over Labor Day weekend, at the Yellow Cab Tavern on Saturday, September 1st. This festival has a dual purpose: one, to showcase talented rock bands from across the Miami Valley, and to raise awareness and funds to help combat the heroin epidemic through the local non-profit, Brigid’s Path.

“Dayton has been considered the heroin capital of the United States. We want to shift the national perspective and reclaim our reputation as a place for innovation, creativity and artistic expression through music,” Zac Pitts, co-owner of Sound Valley said.

With a full day of live music, Sound Valley Summer Music Festival will feature local rock, indie, and alternative bands, including: Life In Idle, Knavery, Beesly, Yardboss, Weathervein, NOVAGOLD, Seth Canan And The Carriers, Crosley Court, Isicle, Flee The Valley, Dave Zup, ThunderTaker, and A Voice of Your Own.

“This event is meant to connect those who want to take Dayton’s music scene to the next level.” Pitts said. “There will be two stages, both indoor and outdoor, and some amazing local food trucks throughout the day to keep hungry fans happy!”

In addition to great music, half of Sound Valley Summer Music Festival’s proceeds will benefit the Dayton organization, Brigid’s Path. This local non-profit provides inpatient medical care for drug-exposed newborns, non-judgmental support for mothers and education services to improve family outcomes. “The heroin epidemic has hit our community hard,” Pitts said. “We want to work alongside those that are taking away the stigma and standing with our neighbors who are struggling.”

Life in Idle is one of the bands set to perform at Sound Valley Music Festival at Yellow Cab Tavern on September 1, 2018.

HOW TO GO?

Sound Valley Summer Music Festival

Saturday, September 1 at 4pm

Yellow Cab Tavern 700 E 4th Street Dayton, OH

$10 in advance / $13 at doors

 

 

 

PorchFest – 40 Mini-Concerts In One Day

By

Play Music on The Porch Day started out as an idea…“What if for one day everything stopped…and we all just listened to the music?”

Even though this seems like a simple idea, if it worked, it could produce profound results. So in 2013 the organizers of the first “Play on a Porch Day” decided to share this idea with the world and to their surprise the idea spread even faster than they could have ever imagined.

In 2017 thousands of musicians from at least 40 countries and over 400 cities – including Dayton for the first time – participated and the movement continues to grow every day. Musicians from across the globe, regardless of their differences, are finding common ground through music.

This year Dayton again participates in this growing international music phenomenon as the now annual event known as Dayton Porchfest, a free, family friendly event for all ages. The festivities take place in the historic St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood, just east of downtown. There you will find over 40 live Dayton musical acts performing on home owner’s porches. Not only do you get to listen to music all afternoon, you get to experience one of Dayton’s most charming neighborhoods!

This event celebrates Dayton’s rich and diverse music scene, with musicians and bands covering funk and blues to indie rock and jazz, classical and country, to bluegrass and old time muisc that has deep Appalachian roots here. This event also celebrates our “Welcome Dayton” spirit that has contributed to a significant influx of immigrants and refugees over the past decade.

Dayton Porchfest is organized by The Collaboratory, a non-profit incubator for community enterprises and initiatives, located on Courthouse Square. Proceeds from Porchfest go to benefit The Collaboratory. Tips for the musicians are appreciated!

St Anne’s is home to the Fifth Street Brew Pub, who will be open during the festivities. Four food trucks will also be on site, including: McNasty’s, Courtland’s Mobile Grill, Pa’s Pork, Chi-Dogs, and Gary’s Italian Ice. Be sure to scroll below for map and music schedule.

How to Go?

When: Saturday August 25th from 1:30pm – 7pm aka “International Play on the Porch” Day. See schedule below.

Where: Throughout St. Anne’s Hill Historic District located between 4th and Josie St. Please do not park in the neighborhood. Parking is available at the Liederkranz building, Stivers High School, Becker Electric, RSC Graphics, and Miami Valley Gasket. Signs will be present. See map below.

Cost: Free!

Ages: All ages welcome

Remember to bring: Sunscreen, chair, and umbrella (just in case!)

Take photos? Please use #DaytonPorchfest #MusicOnTheHill #DiscoverDayton

Luminaries of Dayton: David D. Albritton

By

David D. Albritton was an Olympic medalist, state legislator, and longtime Dayton businessman. He won a silver medal in the high-jumping competition at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, competing alongside his lifelong friend and Ohio State University teammate Jesse Owens. He established the world high jump record, at that time, with a leap of 6 feet, 9 and 7/8 inches. He later became a teacher and coach at Dunbar High School, where he led the team to three state track championships and broke the segregation barrier, leading the way for Dunbar to compete in the Public High School League. In 1960, Mr. Albritton was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. The Ohio Amateur Athlete of the Year award is named in Dave Albritton’s honor.

Mr. Albritton died on May 14, 1994. He is located in Section 300 Lot 86.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the UD Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland website.

Luminaries of Dayton: August Becherer

By Leave a Comment

August Becherer was born in Germany. He served as a Captain in the Fourth Ohio Cavalry during the Civil War. He was a member of nearly every soldier’s organization in the city of Dayton at the time of his death.

John B. Wager, August Becherer and Henry Hilgefort opened the Lager Beer Brewery about 1854. It was located on the southeast comer of Hickory and Brown Streets. In 1859, August decided to try it alone and bought out his partners. In 1861, Becherer took on Henry Hussmann as a partner and changed the name to Ohio Brewery. Three years later Hussmann had had enough and left to open a grocery store. August tried again, taking on Phillip Ritter as a partner in 1868, but it only lasted two years. He finally found a lasting partner in Frank Becherer, who became part owner in 1870 and stayed with the company until it was sold to Michael Seubert and Otto C. R. Wilke in 1879. August went on to open the Oakwood Brewery that same year and Frank went to work for August.

August Becherer died at his home on Brown Street on May 11, 1885 at the age of 50. He is located in Section 111 Lot 2324.

Luminaries of Dayton: John F. Edgar

By

John F. Edgar was born October 19, 1814 on the farm that Robert, his father, had established in 1811, on the hills east of Wayne Avenue in Dayton. John received his formal education mostly on his father’s farm and the “Old Red Schoolhouse,” the former tavern of William VanCleve. Mr. Edgar lost his appeal for farming and eventually turned to the trade practiced earlier by his father, that of building contracting. His father helped provide him with all the secrets of the trade and by the year of 1832, he became a sole agent, becoming extremely successful at his craft. In 1838, because of his building contracts, he worked on railroad and turnpike construction projects and soon became an incorporator and secretary of the Dayton-Springfield Turnpike. By 1842, he was one of the organizers of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad and was appointed superintendent. John F. Edgar was an original subscriber to the 1841 Woodland Cemetery Association.

About the time of the Civil War, Mr. Edgar left the construction business and opened a family grocery on Main Street.  It was while conducting business and conversing with the various citizens that he was able to learn firsthand accounts from those directly involved with the city’s development. He soon became so apt in his knowledge of local history that he was considered by many as the official historian and received much acclaim. His history book, “Pioneering Life in Dayton & Vicinity,” was published and available when the Centennial of Dayton was observed for one week, beginning on September 14, 1896. Needless to say, it met with instant success. Today his work is still being read and borrowed from by so many of us who are caught up in the study of our city’s history.

John Farris Edgar died on August 15, 1905 at the age of 90. He is located in Sec 57 Lot 44.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum website.

Luminaries of Dayton: Swords as a cemetery symbol

By

Crossed swords are often see on the gravestones of veterans, especially officers and symbolizes that the deceased died in battle.

 

G. A. R. – stands for Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for men who fought and were honorably discharged from the Union Army during the Civil War.

On Capt. Curtis’s head stone we find quite a bit of information. His rank, his regiment and state served from, where he died in battle and date and his age at death.

Capt. D. K. Curtis of the 11 REG ONG fell at Mission Ridge, Tenn. November 25, 1863. Aged 23 years, 11 months, 17 days.

John S. Downs was a Civil War Union Army Officer. He served during the Civil War as Captain and commander of Company B, 4th New York Volunteer Infantry. He was killed at the Battle of Antietam during his regiment’s participation in the Union assault on the Sunken Road. His name is inscribed on the 4th New York Infantry Monument that stands in the Antietam National Cemetery, and on the New York State Monument in the Antietam National Battlefield.

Captain Downs died on September 17, 1862 at the age of 38.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the UD Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. Fore more information call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland website.

Luminaries of Dayton: John C. Cline

By

John Cline died from a stroke of paralysis in 1922 at 78 years of age. He had served his tenure of 53 years at Woodland Cemetery of Dayton, working at the cemetery from the age of nine. His parents, John and Teresa Cline, had arrived in this country from Switzerland in 1844, the year John was born. They moved to Dayton soon after arriving, but one year later John became an orphan after his father died of cholera and his mother died the same year. Mr. Cline was adopted by George Lane, the third sexton of Woodland Cemetery. When John was a boy of 12 years, Mr. Lane gave him his first employment as a gate attendant, opening and closing the gates, and perhaps it was there he learned reverence for the dead, as horses and buggies solemnly entered and exited the cemetery. At the age of 25, Mr. Cline took upon himself the job of Superintendent of Woodland Cemetery on May 14, 1869.  He attended 38,377 burials before his death in 1922. Many of the improvements of the cemetery were attributed entirely to the efforts of Mr. Cline, especially the original surveys of Woodland he did for John W. VanCleve, the founder of the cemetery. At the outbreak of the Civil War, John enlisted in the Union Army, serving three years with the First Ohio Volunteer Regiment.

John VanCleve successfully set up the cemetery, with paid Sextons and they were: Benjamin Hughes, (July 1, 1843 – July 1, 1848), William Myers (July 17, 1848 – March 1, 1853), George Lane (March 1, 1853 – Sept. 5, 1860), and being succeeded by his son, William W. Lane (Sept. 5, 1860 – June 14, 1869). A new position of Superintendent was filled by John Cline, his son Luther and his grandson John C. Cline. The Cline Family remained in the position of superintendent for well over 100 years.

John C. Cline died on August 22, 1922 and buried in Section 46 Lot 190.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum website.

Luminaries of Dayton: Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth

By

Lorenzo L. Langstroth (1810 – 1895)
Father of American Beekeeping

Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth was born December 25, 1810, in Philadelphia. He became pastor of the South Congregational Church in Andover, Massachusetts in May of 1836 and was a teacher at Yale University. In 1852, he moved to Oxford, Ohio and took up the work of bee keeping for which he is best known. The world of insects held a fascination for Lorenzo from a very early age but the one that turned out to be his life-long ambition was the bee. It was while visiting the home of one of his church members, who was a keeper of bees, that his interest in bee keeping was once again revived. Mr. Langstroth tried his hand at beekeeping and quickly became dissatisfied with the primitive methods of harvesting the honey. He read the latest books of his time, but their methods were crude, resulting in the death of a large amount of the bee population, so in order to attain the honey he constructed a beehive which contained a baseboard where the bees entered. What was the main difference between his beehive and the rest?

Patent No. 9,300 Bee Hive L. L. Langstroth 1852

Before Mr. Lanstroth’s invention, the bees attached their combs to the walls of the hive and the only way to get the comb out was to cut them out, which spoiled the comb and wasted much honey.

Mr. Langstroth’s hive housed a removable frame, a place to store the excess honey and a roof. He left a 3/8″ space between the hive wall and the frames in which the combs were built. The bees did not build across the space, leaving the comb frames free to be easily removed by the bee keeper.

His book, “Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee” written in 1853, was reprinted, revised and translated into various languages before and after his death. Though his invention was used throughout the world, he made little money because of infringements of his copyright, Patent No. 9300. He did not have the financial resources for attorney fees, court costs, etc. Mr. Langstroth lived in the East End of Dayton in 1894 with his daughter, Anna L. Cowan. Lorenzo Langstroth passed away at the podium while addressing the Wayne Avenue Presbyterian Church on October 6, 1895 at the age of 84. Mr. Langstroth is located in Section 103 lot 2634 at Woodland Cemetery. Cemetery records reflect the name on the file card was Longstroth but someone had later hand written the name Langstroth and added “Bee Man”.

Lorenzo L. Langstroth Monument at Woodland Cemetery

The following is the inscription on the front of Mr. Langstroth’s monument:

Inscribed to the memory of Rev. L.L Langstroth, “Father of American beekeeping,” by his affectionate beneficiaries who, in the remembrance of the service rendered by his persistent and painstaking observations and experiments with the honey bee, his improvements in the hive, and the literary ability shown in the first scientific and popular book on the subject of beekeeping in the United States, gratefully erect this monument.

The back of his monument reads:
“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord,
that they may rest from their labors, and their
work do follow them.”

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s five oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio as you will see as you read through this new MostMetro.com series. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the UD Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland website.

 

Luminaries of Dayton: Dr. Dagobert Anton Scheibenzuber

By

Dr. Dagobert  Anton Scheibenzuber was devoted to the practice of medicine and displayed considerable power in coping with the intricate problems that continually confronted him as a physician. He was born near the Danube in Austria on December 5, 1868. His father, Anton Scheibenzuber, was also a doctor and brought the family to Hamilton, Ohio in 1870. Anton moved his practice to Dayton after a few years and died in Dayton in 1891.

In 1886, Dagobert became a student at the University of Vienna, where his father had previously been a student. There he attended lectures for four years and spent six months studying his profession in Prague before moving back to the states. In 1891, he graduated from the Cincinnati School of Medicine & Surgery and practiced in Dayton. He was a Professor of Pathological Anatomy and Histology at the Cincinnati School.

Dr. Scheibenzuber was the first pathologist appointed at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Dayton and served in that capacity for five years. He served as physician and surgeon for St. Joseph Orphans Home in Dayton and was Medical Examiner for the Cleveland Life Insurance Co.

Dr. Dagobert Anton Scheibenuzber died on February 25, 1936 at the age of 69.He is buried in Section 113 Lot 101. Anton Scheibenzuber died on August 11, 1891 at the age of 49. He is located on the family lot in Section 113.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum website.

Luminaries of Dayton: Charles Russell Greene

By

Charles Russell Greene was born in Newport, Rhode Island on December 21, 1785. His family moved to Marietta, Ohio in 1788 with the Ohio Company. Mr. Greene’s sister married Daniel C. Cooper, who influenced Charles to settle in Dayton in 1806. Charles entered into partnership with Cooper and soon after had a store on his own. In 1822, he was appointed to succeed Benjamin Van Cleve as Clerk of Montgomery County, Court of Common Pleas, holding that office until his death. He was one of the first to serve on the Board of Directors of Dayton’s first bank. His position as Dayton’s first fire warden was what led to his death. 

Mr. Greene had ordered Matthew Thompson into the line to pass water buckets during a fire. The man refused and Mr. Greene used his authority to force him to comply. The next day Mr. Thompson made complaint and had Mr. Greene summoned before the Squire. During Mr. Green’s inquiry, Mr. Thompson, while under the influence of alcohol, struck Charles on the head, which resulted in his death.

Charles Russell Greene died on September 10, 1833. He was one of those that was removed from the Old Fifth Street Cemetery and re-interred at Woodland on December 11, 1844.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum website.

Luminaries of Dayton: Nathan M. Stanley

By

Dayton Daily News, March 18, 1942
Funeral For N. M. Stanley To Be Friday

Funeral services for Nathan Myer Stanley, 76, of 1719 Radcliff rd., founder of the Stanley Manufacturing Co., whose death occurred late Tuesday night, will be held at the Boyer mortuary, 609 Riverview av., at 10 a.m. Friday. Officiating at the services will be Dr. Phil Porter, rector of Christ Episcopal Church, and Dr. C. Lee Scott, minister of First Unitarian church. Friends may call at the mortuary after 4 p.m. Thursday.

Mr. Stanley had been ill for more than a year but his death was immediately due to a heart attack. At the time of his death he was chairman of the board of the Univis Lens Co. Mr. Stanley was active in the Dayton Philharmonic association, was a member of the First Unitarian church and of the Dayton Bicycle club and Dayton City club. He is survived by his wife, Minnie J. Stanley; two sons, George F. Stanley, president of the Stanley Manufacturing Co., and Myer Hewson Stanley, secretary-treasurer of the Univis Lens Co.; five granddaughters; one grandson and one sister, Mrs. Eve Weiner.

Born in Exeter, England, Mr. Stanley as a youth became connected with the optical business, which his family followed in Exeter. When he was 18 years old, Mr. Stanley went to Canada with a cousin, Barnet Laurence, who was a wholesale optician in Montreal. During his early years, Mr. Stanley traveled the United States as a representative of the Laurence Company. On a visit to Dayton, Mr. Stanley was convinced by John Breen, then proprietor of the railroad station restaurant, that Dayton had fine prospects as a city.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Stanley opened up an optical department in the H. D. Carnell drug store at Third and Main streets. He followed this venture by opening up more optical stores and eventually becoming engaged in the wholesale optical business. Experimenting with glues in order to paste metal letters on glass doors, Mr. Stanley discovered processes that resulted in the establishment of the Stanley Manufacturing Co.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley visited England during World War I and there Mr. Stanley learned of a new type of bifocal lens. He purchased the American rights for the lens. In 1926, he started the Univis Lens Co., located in one room in the Third National bank building. The Univis Lens Co. had a plant on the old McCook Field site. The company was recognized as one of the nation’s principle manufacturers of high-grade bifocal lenses. This company and the Stanley Manufacturing Co., both monuments to the creative energies of Mr. Stanley, at one time employed 600 workers.

Nathan M. Stanley died on March 17, 1942. He is located in Section 121 Lot 262.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum website.

Luminaries of Dayton: Nan C. Kennedy

By

Miss Kennedy was hired by the Dayton Board of Education in 1900 as a teacher for the deaf. When she died in 1935, after 34 years of teaching, the deaf school (then located at Longfellow) was named the Nan C. Kennedy School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. As a newspaper account wrote, “It was largely through her persuasion that the school board authorized the first classes for deaf and hard of hearing children in 1900. Miss Kennedy started the school with seven pupils and taught them herself for several years until the membership increased and the board gave her some assistance.” (Dayton Journal, April 19, 1935). Later, the school moved to Patterson, and it became the Patterson-Kennedy School. Though deaf education was removed elsewhere, the name remained the same until the school was demolished in May 2012.

 

Dayton Daily News – February 25, 1935, Pg 6, Col 4
NAN KENNEDY IS DEAD AT 79
Funeral arrangements for Miss Nan Kennedy, 79, of 17 Edgemont av., who died Monday morning, were being completed Monday.
The eldest child of John and Martha Darst Kennedy, she was born Feb. 5, 1856, at the old homestead on the Frederick pike, in Harrison twp. She was a member of the Third Street Presbyterian church and later of the Westminster Presbyterian church and an active member of the mission societies. She was educated at the Cooper Female academy. She is survived by one brother, Harry D., Columbus, and several nieces and nephews.

Nan C. Kennedy died February 25, 1935. She is located in Section 35 Lot 750.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum website.