Dayton937

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

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

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.

Luminaries of Dayton: Frederick P. Beaver

By

Frederick P. Beaver was founder and president of the Beaver Soap Company. He was born in Dayton on November 29, 1845. He was the son of J. N. F. and Caroline (Snyder) Beaver, both natives of Pennsylvania. For some years J. N. F. Beaver was one of Dayton’s active business men, first engaged in the manufacture of candy, and later in selling coal and wood. Still later he became engaged in the wholesale notion business with Jacob Coffman, under the firm name of Coffman & Beaver.

Frederick was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and at the age of sixteen was a paper carrier. Afterward he took a business course, and in 1863 accepted a position as bookkeeper with Chamberlain & Parker. On May 12, 1864, he enlisted in the 100 days’ service during the Civil War, and, after serving his time in the army, returned to Dayton, re-entered the employ of Chamberlain & Parker, and remained with them until 1869.

In the early 1870s, he purchased the interest of Edward Sweet, in the firm of Chadwick & Sweet, furniture dealers, and changed the name to Chadwick & Beaver, remaining in this business for five years. Mr. Beaver then established the Silver Star baking powder business, which lasted but a few months, and in which he lost most of his earnings; but, not daunted by failure, he then in 1879, started the Beaver Soap Company. The company proved successful and manufactured the brands: Grandpa’s Wonder, Beaver’s Pine Tar and Grandma’s Laundry Soap. In 1885 he accepted as a partner W. D. Chamberlin and the firm name then became Beaver & Co. In September 1893, the business was incorporated under the name of the Beaver Soap Company. Mr. Beaver was married, November 29, 1893, to Miss Emma J. Thompson, daughter of Ralph and Mary J. Thompson, of Terre Haute, Indiana.

Frederick P. Beaver died on January 4, 1936 at the age of 90. He is located in Section 113 Lot 107.

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: Harry S. Price

By

Harry S. Price, the son of Robert and Mary Price, grew up on his parent’s farm in Michigan. His first job was that of a carpenter and he would eventually find himself involved in the business of “contracting.” His business in Michigan proved to be highly successful while working with his brothers for a period of twelve years but then he made the decision to move to Dayton, contracting in bridges, water mains and hydroelectric plants. Work at the Price Brothers Concrete Plant included rolling long metal cylinders that would be filled with freshly made concrete. The end product after being kiln dried would turn out to be highly professional concrete water drainage tiles. Harry S. Price served as President and Senior Partner of the firm. He also served on the Board of Parks Commission, was a Member of the Engineer’s Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Bicycle Club and the Masonic Order.

 

In a 2007 press release, Hanson Pipe & Precast announced the purchase of all outstanding shares of Price Brothers Company. More than 500 Price Brothers employees would be affected. “Price Brothers has some of the best trained, most knowledgeable people in the industry and we are very fortunate to have them join the Hanson family,” said Clifford Hahne, Hanson’s South Central region president. “We plan on continuing Price Brothers prestigious reputation.”

Harry S. Price founded Price Brothers Company as a construction company in 1899. From the beginning, the company worked on such notable projects as Dayton, Ohio’s Island Park Dam, producing prestressed concrete cylinder pipe and fittings for a power plant in Indonesia and in 1996, building more than 43 miles of pipe for a pipeline in Virginia that now supplies 60 million gallons of water from Lake Gaston to the City of Virginia Beach per day. The salaried employees of the company bought Price Brothers Company from the founder’s family in 1998.

 

 

Harry Steele Price was born May 27, 1876 and died September 23, 1958. He is located 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: George Newcom

By

George Newcom was born in Ireland. In 1775, his parents came to America and lived for a while in Delaware. They then traveled on to Pennsylvania where George met and married Mary Henderson and took her on to Cincinnati. They lived there for two years before coming to Dayton.

Soon after his arrival in what was to be Dayton, he built a log cabin. This structure served for him and his wife as shelter and later for a kitchen. Not long thereafter, half of Newcom’s tavern was built with one lower room and one upper. In the winter of 1798-99, two more rooms were added. The first well in the vicinity was drilled nearby. A barn was erected to take care of Newcom’s horses and those of travelers.

Robert Edgar, a woodworker, was employed by Newcom at six shillings a day to build the tavern from hewn logs. Edgar’s board and lodging were not included. However, Newcom indicated that one deer a week would take care of the matter. So Edgar would wait at the river’s edge where the deer came to drink and there shoot his animal early in the morning, so as not to interfere with a day’s work.

Newcom’s tavern was located in the town’s center and was a gathering place for villagers and strangers passing through. In 1810, Newcom purchased the land adjoining his and built the county’s first brewery. The size and output of the brewery are unknown but it was likely a very small facility producing common beer for travelers and a few locals.

When Newcom took part in the war of 1812, Robert Graham assumed operations. Newcom died in 1853 and the tavern building  remained standing, although it has now been moved to Carillon Historical Park.

George Newcom died on February 25, 1853 at the age of 82. Mary, his wife, died April 3, 1834 at the age of 69. Mary was removed from one of the downtown cemeteries and was laid to rest with her husband in Section 16 Lot 53 on February 27, 1853

 

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: Frederick and David Rike

By

Frederick Rike (1867-1947) was President of the Rike-Kumler Department Store Company in Dayton. He began at Rike’s as a salesman and a buyer of notions, handkerchiefs, hosiery and gloves. He eventually worked his way up to the post of President, which he held for 40 years, seldom missing a day at work in the store. It was Frederick Rike who moved the store to the corner of Second and Main Streets that it anchored for so long. He was active during the recovery efforts from the 1913 Flood and served on the charter commission which reorganized Dayton’s government under the city manager format. He had worked for the establishment of the Miami Valley Conservancy District, and served as president of the Dayton Boy Scouts and Community Chest.

Frederick Rike died on November 19, 1947 and is located in Section 37 Lot 1226.

David L. Rike (1904—1982) carried his family’s legendary Dayton department store into the 20th century. Rike’s Department Store, a long and storied Dayton institution, was founded by David’s grandfather in 1853. David’s father, Frederick, inherited the family business and upon his death in 1947, David was elected president. In 1965, he became board chairman and chief executive officer.

As Rike’s expanded and progressed and flourished under David’s tenure, he maintained a staunch humanitarian mindset, even creating a special employee fund for families experiencing financial distress. In turn, he always encouraged his employees to give back to the Dayton community.

A graduate of both the Princeton School of Business Administration and Harvard School of Business Administration, Rike used this business acumen for the betterment of the Dayton region. His dedication to Rike’s historic Second and Main location exemplified his love and belief in downtown Dayton.

David L. Rike was born on October 24, 1904 in Xenia, Ohio and died on January 16, 1982 in Dayton, Ohio. He was married to Margaret Craighead Shaw. He is located in Section 37 Lot 1226.

Visitors take in the holiday window displays at Rike’s department store in 1945, the first year they were on display in Dayton after being relocated from the NCR offices in New York City. Photo courtesy of the NCR Archive at the Montgomery County Historical Society
Photo taken 12-20-1945

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 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: Mitchell “Booty”Wood

By

Mitchell “Booty” Wood studied trombone at Dunbar High School. After graduation he joined the Lionel Hampton Band and later played with Duke Ellington and Count Basie. By his count, he traveled more than 2 million miles on the road playing jazz in Sweden, Japan, South America, Mexico and France. In each band he held the position of first trombone and won high praise from the band leaders and their enraptured audiences. After his travels, Booty returned home to Dayton and Dunbar High School and Central State University to teach jazz, using it as a vehicle to promote the benefits of constant practice, discipline, and the joy of music.

Mitchell “Booty” Wood died on June 10, 1987. He is located in Section 300 Lot 40.

 

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: Jeraldyne Blunden

By

Jeraldyne Blunden was the founder and artistic director of the esteemed Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, the world’s largest repository of reconstructed dance works by African American choreographers. Ms. Blunden also founded Jeraldyne’s School of Dance. The school has given many Miami Valley youth the opportunity to learn about modern dance and pursue a dancing career.

Ms. Blunden received significant recognition for her work, including a 1998 Dance Magazine Award, an Individual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellows Award. In 1997, she was named one of five Dance Women: Living Legends, “for keeping dance alive.”

Jeraldyne Blunden died on November 2, 1999. She is located in Section 146 in the Woodland Mausoleum.

 

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: George C. Cooper.

By

George C. Cooper was a member of the “Golden Thirteen,” the first thirteen African American officers commissioned by the U. S. Navy. Throughout his career, he faced considerable prejudice because of his race, yet maintained an unshakable commitment to treating everyone the way he wanted to be treated himself.

Paul Stillwell’s book called “The Golden Thirteen” chronicles some of the episodes of racism that these pioneering black officers faced, such as sailors crossing the street rather than offering the appropriate salute to an officer.

During his time in the Navy, and later working for the city of Dayton as the first black department director, he served as a valued mentor for other African Americans. Mr. Cooper believed in the responsibility to help others. He was able to use his interaction with others as an opportunity to lead them to judge him not by the color of his skin but as a human being.

George Cooper died on May 20, 2002. He is located in Section 102 in the Woodland Mausoleum.

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: Leslie C. Mapp and Mikesell’s Potato Chips

By

Mike-sell’s Potato Chips. A Dayton Favorite!

Mike-Sell’s was founded in 1910 by Ohio native Daniel W. Mikesell. Mikesell was born in Miami County, Ohio, in 1883. In 1906, when he was 23, Mikesell moved to Dayton with the desire to start his own business. He started out working for a wholesale and retail dry goods store before serving a short stint as a collector for the Home Telephone Company. Finally, in 1910, he started his own venture. He saw advertised in the newspaper a used dried-beef slicing machine. He bought the contraption and set up a makeshift meat shop in two rooms next to his home. He started selling dried beef and sausage snack foods that he processed with his machine. He delivered his products to customers via bicycle. Mikesell upgraded his delivery system to a horse and buggy after a few years. At about this time, Mikesell became engaged in the potato chip business when he took advantage of an opportunity to purchase equipment designed to manufacture chips, which were relatively unknown in Dayton at the time.

According to legend, a chef named George Crum invented the fried food at an upscale resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, when railroad baron Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt sent his french fries back to the kitchen, complaining that they had been sliced too thick. Disgusted, Crum sliced thin shavings from a potato and threw them into hot oil. After they had fried to a crisp he sent them back to the table, to Vanderbilt’s delight. “Saratoga chips,” as they were first called, became popular throughout the eastern United States. With help from his wife Mikesell began producing the chips with a few cooking kettles, baskets, and stirrers. The operation was truly vertically integrated, with Mikesell and his wife peeling, slicing, frying, packaging, and then delivering the tasty potato chips to customers.

Customers who tried Mikesell’s unique fried potato chips loved them. Mikesell continued to deliver snack food products other than potato  chips, because most people considered the chips a seasonal picnic item, but it was clear that the chips were a big hit for the fledgling venture. Indeed, the Mikesells eventually employed their four children peeling potatoes to keep up with demand. Mikesell marketed the chips through county and state fairs, and the entire family traveled during the summers to operate the D.W. Mikesell Co. booth at such events. The Mikesells lived in a tent while traveling and sold the chips out of a glass case, scooping them into nickel bags. In 1913 Mikesell purchased a Ford delivery truck. Evidencing Mikesell’s penchant for innovation, his was the first delivery panel truck in Dayton. The side of the truck was embossed with a new, more descriptive moniker: D.W. Mikesell Co. Food Specialties.

Fast forward to 1965. After the death of Dan Mikesell, leadership of the chip company fell to Leslie C. Mapp. Under Mapp’s direction during the next 30 years, Mike-Sell’s expanded geographically, retained its quality focus, and continued to be an industry innovator.

Les Mapp’s rise to the presidency of Mike-Sell’s was the embodiment of the American dream. His parents had immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s with the dream of owning farmland. They achieved that dream in Ohio, where the elder Mapp became a successful dairy farmer. Mapp received his education in a one-room schoolhouse near Springfield, Ohio, and then attended Bliss College in Columbus for two years before completing his degree at the Dayton Young Men’s Christian Association night school (later named Sinclair College).

Early in his career Mapp was an administrative officer of the Miami Valley Milk Producers Association in Dayton. He helped that organization multiply several times in size during his tenure. It was also through that job that he became involved in numerous trade associations. Mapp, with a broad food industry background, eventually joined Mike-Sell’s and in 1952 was named chief administrative officer. He oversaw the construction of a new manufacturing plant in 1955 and was integral to the implementation of modern manufacturing and marketing techniques during the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to updating and expanding production facilities during the 1970s and 1980s, Mike-Sell’s reached out into new geographic markets on the perimeter of its established customer base. In addition to his success at Mike-Sells, Mapp was a leader in the snack food industry. In 1977, for example, he was elected head of the Potato Chip/Snack Food Association, International, for which he established several new programs including key legislative initiatives in Washington, D.C.

Leslie C. Mapp was born September 15, 1912 and died April 2, 2005 at the age of 92. He is resting peacefully in Section 61 Lot 1624 at Woodland Cemetery.

Daniel W. Mikesell was born March 12, 1883 and died May 19, 1965 at the age of 82. He is resting peacefully at Dayton Memorial Park in Section 2 Lot 490.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is ocated 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: David A. Sinclair and Mary Belle Eaker

By

David A. Sinclair was an early supporter of the YMCA movement. He came to Dayton in 1874 to represent the Hamilton, Ontario YMCA at a conference and was so impressed with the leadership of the Dayton branch that he accepted a position here. He could not understand why Dayton had so many jobless men. After asking local employers for their opinion as to the cause of the problem, the answer would be the lack of skills and training necessary to do the job. David became determined to do something about it. Under his leadership, the YMCA began to offer vocational training classes which eventually grew into Sinclair Community College. Sadly, David Sinclair did not live long enough to see it. Exhausted from efforts to build the first YMCA building at Third and Ludlow Streets, now Dayton City Hall, he died six years before the first college building opened.

David A Sinclair has a sidewalk plaque on Dayton’s Walk of Fame  on Third Street near Broadway Street in the Wright-Dunbar Historic District. He was inducted into the Walk of Fame in 1996.

David A. Sinclair was born in 1850 and died in 1902. He is located in Section 113 Lot 54.

A friend helps out to see the project completed.

The Young Men’s Christian Association was probably Mary Belle Eaker’s greatest interest. It was her recreation.  She left the Eaker homestead as a site for the proposed new building, explaining her gift as follows: “Much of my life has been passed in this home, and I gladly give it for this purpose, believing that it could be consecrated to no better use, and that the people of Dayton will build upon it a suitable Christian home for our young men.”

It was Mr. Sinclair, as a friend and source of information about the Y. M. C. A. that probably decided the matter. Their friendship was most close and sincere, and through him she followed step by step the growing needs of the Association, and its advance in usefulness.

In 1902, Miss Mary Belle Eaker left her home on the northwest corner of Third and Ludlow to the Association. The new building that was constructed there was the second largest YMCA building in the world and opened in April 1908. It contained six stories and was valued at $500,000. 

Mary Belle Eaker died on May 30, 1902 at the age of 80. She is buried Section 65 Lot 35.

Luminaries of Dayton: The Dog as a Cemetery Symbol

By

The dog symbolizes loyalty, fidelity, watchfulness and vigilance.

The most famous dog at Woodland is the one found atop the monument of Johnny Morehouse, one of the most well-known and visited monuments at Woodland.

There are more than one hundred thousand of Dayton’s finest citizens buried at Woodland Cemetery, but no tombstone or monument commands as much respect and attention as “The Boy & Dog.”

The monument, with 5 year old Johnny and his large canine friend, has been at Woodland for over 155 years. The stone is still in excellent condition. A number of years ago, a large tree nearby fell during a storm and knocked the head off the dog. It was quite an undertaking but the head was re-attached by then Woodland horticulturist, Jim Sandegren, and the monument was once again, as good as new.

For visitor attraction, perhaps the “Boy & Dog” has caused more tears and aroused more interest than any other at the cemetery. The monument, faithful in detail, shows Johnny’s top and his ball, his mouth harp and his little cap. On the base of the monument is the inscription, “In Slumber Sweet.” The monument stands about five feet high, has the dog, perhaps an Irish setter, watching over his sleeping master and Johnny’s head is gently resting against the body of his pet.

Little Johnny Morehouse lived at the SW corner of East Third and June Streets. The truth concerning the death of Johnny and his pet are not known. Two accounts have been speculated. One account speaks to how Johnny, who was five years old, had fallen into the river and the dog jumped in and saved his little master’s life by pulling him from the river. Walter W. Morehouse, a relative of the little boy, and former Director of the City Water Department, believed that the story was true, at least that he always heard it was true. The second account, whether truth or legend cannot be said, is that the boy was drowning and the dog also perished trying to save him, and that the ball, jacks, toy top and the and the mouth harp that are represented on the stone in granite, supposedly were in the boy’s pockets when he was recovered from the water. Investigators trying to trace the truth of this legend, in spite of their detailed search, have found no evidence to support either account. Friends of the family interviewed during the later 1890s say merely that the monument only symbolizes the deep love between the child and his pet. Johnny Morehouse died on August 14, 1860 at five years of age. He is located in Section 82 Lot 546.

Another story passed down is that the dog, still faithful to his master, would come to the cemetery and lay at the grave site of Johnny. Local artist and sculptor, Daniel La Dow, who is also buried at Woodland was the creator of the beautiful and peaceful monument. Many people who come to visit “The Boy & Dog” bring a gift for both Johnny and his canine friend such as small toys, pennies, candy and even biscuits for the dog.

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: Leaving Pennies on a Grave

By

There are many traditions that involve placing objects, specifically money, on graves. These traditions  are usually regional or customary practices and do not necessarily have religious connotations.

Large amounts of pennies which are thrown onto Benjamin Franklin’s grave by visitors each day are a symbol of good luck, and a nod to Franklin’s motto that “a penny saved is a penny earned.”

Some people hold to the tradition of leaving something of yourself when visiting a grave. If nothing else, a coin from your pocket serves as a marker of the passage and your esteem for the departed. It also signifies to any that pass by that the grave was visited and that the deceased is well loved and esteemed and has not been abandoned or forgotten. Coins are also an older form of leaving flowers, a practice prompted by the heavy Romanticism of the Victorian era.

Some believe that to leave a coin on a grave brings good luck. Students in some areas are known to leave pennies on the graves of their school’s founder in the hopes of good luck with exams.

Some are, perhaps unwittingly, mimicking the ancient tradition where gold coins were buried with the corpse in order to pay the toll charged by Charon, the boatman of the Underworld, for passage to the other side of the river Styx. It was considered sinful not to leave this toll with the dead as it would condemn them to forever wander the shores without end.

It is an old tradition to leave a penny at the grave site of a loved one as a gesture of deep love and understanding. Some coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America’s military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin.

A coin left on a tombstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier’s family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect.

Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited. A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together, while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the solider when he was killed.

In the United States, this practice became common during the Vietnam War, due to the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than contacting the soldier’s family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable argument over politics relating to the war.

No matter what type of item you leave at a grave site, it is seen by others that the person is not forgotten.

At Woodland Cemetery, you will find that the grave sites of the Wright Brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar receives the most coins. The coins are picked up periodically and are deposited to the Woodland Arboretum Foundation to care for the grounds and gardens of the cemetery.

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: The Beehive as a Cemetery Symbol

By

The beehive was often used by the Freemasons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It symbolizes human industry, faith, education and domestic virtues.

Daniel Beckel has one of the most unique monuments at Woodland. We affectionately call it the “Beckel Beehive.”

Who was Daniel Beckel?

Daniel Beckel was born in England on September 14, 1813. In 1829, when Daniel was just sixteen, he was an assistant to his step-father, a civil engineer, who worked on the construction of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Afterward they became the contractors for, and constructed the great St. Mary’s Reservoir, for the Miami Canal. After the completion of that work, Mr. Beckel came to Dayton building the Beckel Opera House, the Beckel House (Hotel), and other valuable structures. He was also engaged in the manufacture of woolens and of flour, in the lumber trade, and in the construction of railroads and turnpikes. In connection with William Dickey and Joseph Clegg, Beckel established a private bank and was almost the sole owner of the Miami Valley and Dayton Banks. Mr. Beckel additionally served in the following capacities: elected to the Ohio Legislature; Secretary of the Dayton Hydraulic Co. in 1845 and President of the first gas company, The Dayton Gas Light & Coke Co. in 1849. Daniel Beckel was married to Susan Harshman. Mr. Daniel Beckel died on February, 26, 1862. He is located in Section 52 Lot 1167.

In 2016, a group of high school students participated in a Work, Earn and Learn program at Woodland. Eight girls worked 16 hours per week for 10 weeks and did the care and upkeep of several gardens, established a new garden in a highly visible area of the cemetery with a focus on design and plant selection, learned the workings of the cemetery from the front office to grounds maintenance, received several tours learning the history of Woodland, its establishment and the people resting peacefully within and also worked on the restoration of several monuments, including the “Beckel Beehive.”

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.