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Dayton History

Celebrate the 150th Birthday of Alice Dunbar Nelson

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Alice Dunbar Nelson was an influential African American poet, author, and activist whose work addressed themes of race, gender, and social justice. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, she emerged as a prominent voice of the Harlem Renaissance, publishing poetry, short stories, and essays that highlighted the struggles and resilience of Black women.

Dunbar Nelson was also deeply involved in social activism, advocating for civil rights and women’s suffrage throughout her life. She was married to the famous poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, and after his death, she continued to promote his work while forging her own literary path. Her legacy is celebrated for its contributions to American literature and its enduring impact on social movements.
This summer marks the 150th anniversary of Alice’s birth, and so the Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site is proud to present two major events celebrating her life and achievements:
  • Beyond Paul: Alice Dunbar Nelson’s Life and Legacy – an exhibit of Alice’s writings and her collected works in partnership with the University of Delaware from July 19 to September 28, 2025.
  • “An Afternoon with Alice” – Alice’s legacy will be honored with a presentation by Ms. Karsyn Williams, featuring poetry and fascinating insights about Alice’s life.  July 19 from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
This event marks the opening day of a new exhibit showcasing items from the Alice Dunbar Nelson collection, and it is made possible through a collaborative effort between the University of Delaware, the University of Dayton, the National Park Service, and the Paul Laurence Dunbar House. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the life and work of a remarkable figure in American history! This event is free and open to the public.
Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site
219 N Paul Laurence Dunbar St,
Dayton, OH 45402
Open Friday – Sunday, from 10 am to 4pm Tours take place throughout the day and admission is free. Last tour of the day is at 3:30pm. You can start your visit at the visitor center entrance located on Edison Street (just around the corner from the Dunbar house) where you can view a movie and see artifacts and exhibits dedicated to the life of Dunbar

“Asylum” Nightclub Reunion Hosted at Bar Granada

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For Gen X-er’s it was a downtown staple: The Asylum nightclub on S. Patterson. Famous for pumping alternative music and goth kids dancing in cages from 1993 to 2005. And for one night a year, former patrons of the club can relive the spirit of nightclub together at an annual reunion event hosted by club DJ’s Matt Freeman, Eric Hellman, and Doug Collins.
This year’s reunion is happening over Thanksgiving weekend, on Saturday, November 26, 2022 at Bar Granada located at 5 W. Monument Ave. Enjoy your favorite 80’s and 90’s Industrial Electronic Alternative dance music with old friends! You can follow along and get in the mood with the Asylum’s own playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dXrAQe6B2nYFc4IiJpJoo

Throwback march is also available at: https://www.freemandesignco.com/products

How to Go?
Asylum Reunion
Saturday, November 26, 2022
Bar Granada, 5 W. Monument Ave, Dayton, OH 45402
9:30pm Doors
$10 cover
Must be over 21 to attend

This Summer, a Once-in-a-Half-Century Party Calls Neighbors Back to South Park

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The 2001 Rehabarama of “The Weis-Leissentritt House” at 307 Oak Street was once two houses. These 1800s-era homes were updated with a unique glass-walled passageway to create one classic home with warm, comfortable living space and bold design statements.

With music, food, storytelling, and a beer garden, South Park’s Reunion Block Party celebrates its 40-year struggle to become safe, livable and inviting.
DAYTON, Oh. July 7, 2022 – On Saturday, July 30, from 3-6pm, a massive meet-up of neighbors who live in South Park or have called it home over the past forty years will gather to mark the 40-year anniversary of becoming Dayton’s largest Historic District.

In 1981, South Park’s historic landmark designation gave neighbors powerful leverage to reverse blight, combat slumlords, and drive out crime. It launched South Park’s evolution from a neighborhood of last resort to a desirable place to live.

“It’s been quite a journey,” shares Mark Manovich, president of the Historic South Park neighborhood council. “When my wife Karin and I moved here in 1992, it was known to be rough. The parents of our kids’ school friends wouldn’t allow them to come here for playdates.”

ut even then, Mark recalls, it was unpretentious and friendly with that “we’re all in this together” camaraderie. Many neighbors have become lifelong friends after bonding over alley sweeps, beautification projects, old-house repairs, grant-writing, crime-fighting, but most of all the parties.

“We have a reputation for our parties,” says event coordinator Karin Manovich. “We’ve got great stories and before-and-after pictures to share at the Reunion, along with food and drink from South Park’s own establishments.” Even the sponsoring organizations were founded by South Parkers – Square One Salon & Spa, The Brightside Venue, and The Rubi Girls.

The sense of community in South Park has always been as unique as its built environment. It brings people closer. This 150-acre area south of downtown Dayton includes 800 structures, circa 1880 to 1900, designed for people from all walks of life. “There’s no other neighborhood that we know of with housing stock like this that attracts such interesting and diverse people. Tiny cottages next to big showy Victorians, corner storefronts, and everything in between,” says Karin.

The 2001 Rehabarama of “The Weis-Leissentritt House” at 307 Oak Street was once two houses. These 1800s-era homes were updated with a unique glass-walled passageway to create one classic home with warm, comfortable living space and bold design statements.

As with any inner neighborhood, South Park’s work continues. But it’s time to hit pause and celebrate. Says Karin, “We want everyone to enjoy their share of credit for taking a chance, investing the sweat, money and emotion it takes to create a neighborhood that feels like family.”

HOW TO CELEBRATE: Plan to meet up with old friends and neighbors, bring a lawn chair, enjoy the party, take a stroll, and congratulate yourself for helping make South Park a place to live kindly, fearlessly, and prosperously.

Who: South Parkers past and present, and all who have contributed to the neighborhood’s recovery (City staff, contractors, Rehabarama partners, AIA architects, former Community Based Police Officers, preservationists, patrons of our tours, plays and festivals) and those interested in the neighborhood today.

What: South Park Reunion Block Party is a free event presented by the Historic South Park neighborhood council, Square One Salon & Spa, The Brightside Venue, and The Rubi Girls.

When: Saturday, July 30, 3-6pm

Where:  The Gazebo and Boulevard at Park Drive (near Wayne Avenue). Park at Oak Street Health (Wayne & Wyoming), Hope Lutheran Church and Emerson Academy (both at Perrine & Hickory).

50 Years without Natalie Clifford Barney: A Celebration of Life, Art, & Friendship

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Natalie Clifford Barney

50 Years without Natalie Clifford Barney. Come celebrate her remarkable life in the place of her birth, Dayton, Ohio!

You’re invited to join us on Wed, Feb 2nd from 12-12:30pm to celebrate and honor the incredible life of Natalie Clifford Barney, a Daytonian ahead of her time. We will gather at her Ohio Historical Marker (the first in the state to recognize and acknowledge a famous Ohioan for their contributions to LGBTQ+ arts, culture, and history). This is a free, outdoor event.
 
It’s been 50 years since her death. As they remember her in Paris, her adopted home, they’ve invited us to honor her here in Dayton too. Professor Samuel Dorf (UD), author of a Natalie Clifford Barney biography Performing Antiquity is arranging this event with help from Libby Ballengee and others. We’re planning to read poetry and remember this amazing lady.
 

Natalie Clifford Barney

When? Wed, Feb 2nd from 12-12:30pm
Where? Natalie Clifford Barney Historic Marker, 31 S St Clair St, Dayton, OH 45402. *This is an outdoor event* at Natalie’s historic marker by the Main Branch of the Dayton Library in Cooper Park.

 

History, Mystery, Murder and Mayhem at Woodland Cemetery: Joseph Leslie’s Tragic Life

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Joseph Leslie gave his attentions to Mary Miranda Kaylor of New Lebanon, Ohio. Her mother, however, did not care for him and wanted to see her daughter date another young man in the neighborhood whom she did like. Joseph found out about this and it did not sit well with him. One afternoon, as he was in his upper room at the Horner’s Hotel, across the street from the residence of Miss Kaylor, he saw her return from a walk and then sit on her front porch and begin to sew. All it took was one bullet and Martha fell over and lived but just three or four minutes after receiving the shot. That was Friday, August 31, 1866.

Joseph denied the shooting but a six-shooter was found in his trunk with only one bullet discharged; burnt powder was found on the window. The neighbors had no doubt he was guilty and he was soon arrested and placed in jail.

On Friday, December 14, 1866, the Grand Jury handed down an indictment of murder in the first degree. The seating of a jury for his trial began in April 1867. It was a difficult jury to seat as most of the men interviewed had made up their mind that Joseph was guilty. The Daily Empire newspaper even wrote about the role the newspapers played in disseminating information to the public. “It seemed next thing to impossible yesterday, to get a jury on the case of Leslie… parties claiming to have made up their minds in relation to the case from what the papers had published regarding it.” They went on to say, “When newspapers publish full statements of such cases, it fixes the guilt or innocence of the accused in the public mind, and renders a subsequent trial a mere legal farce.”

During one questioning of a potential juror, he was asked if he had any “conscientious scruples regarding capital punishment,” but the man did not seem to understand the question. He was then asked, “Are you opposed to hanging?” and the man immediately replied, “No sir! The scoundrel ought to be hung up!” Evidently, he had read reports in the newspapers.

By the end of April, the trial had begun. Leslie’s defense team had witnesses testify that he was a quiet, law-abiding man that had served in the War. The Captain of his company testified that he was one of the best men under his watch.

On May 3rd, in just an hour and a half, the jury came back with a verdict of murder in the first degree for the shooting Miss Kaylor. Joseph Leslie did not move a muscle upon hearing the verdict nor did his face betray him. One of the deputy’s whom escorted him back to his jail cell said, “Joe, that’s hard!” in which Leslie replied, “Yes, that’s pretty heavy.” While it was thought that Joseph would swing from the gallows, he was sentenced to 10 years in the State Penitentiary.

In June 1881, Joseph had been living at the Soldier’s Home in Dayton and requested to be discharged on June 21st. In the early morning hours on June 27, he shoots himself in the stomach at a beer saloon on Jackson Street. It was reported in one newspaper that upon hearing that Mrs. Miller refused to marry him that he shot himself. Another reported that he couldn’t stand the warm weather. He refused to be taken to the Soldier’s Home and instead was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. He survived his wounds but soon succumbed by his own hands in December.

The headline in the New York Tribune read “A Murderer Commits Suicide” and the Dayton Journal headline read “The Final Act: In the Career of an Extraordinary Man.”  The Tribune article was a three line snippet of news that called Joseph Leslie “a worthless character” who committed suicide. The Journal wrote a more comprehensive article giving the details of Joseph’s life including his military service.

Joseph Leslie was a member of Co. A, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry under the command of Col. De Villiers in the Civil War. He served three years and was known as a fearless soldier and a very determined man. At a skirmish in Big Springs, Tennessee, the fingers of his right hand were mangled by a Minnie ball so that they hung to his hand by shreds of the skin and amputation was necessary. Unfortunately, there was no surgeon nearby so Joseph cut the dangling fingers off with his own pocket knife.

It was reported that Joseph’s behavior was often times erratic. He was a loner, not one to hang around with the other men in his company. At Shiloh and other battlefields, he dug holes in the ground and slept in them at night by himself. He was honorably discharged from the service and received a monthly pension of just $18.00.

Joseph Leslie died on December 29, 1881 of an opium overdose. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the City Lot at Woodland Cemetery on December 30, 1881.

You can visit the gravesite of Mr. Leslie and all of the other people on the History, Mystery, Mayhem and Murder Tour at Woodland Cemetery by going to our Tour page and downloading our Woodland Mobile App. 

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. It is the final resting place of the Wright Brothers, Erma Bombeck, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles F. Kettering, John H. Patterson, Gov. James M. Cox, George P. Huffman, George H. Mead, and Levi and Matilda Stanley, King and Queen of the Gypsy’s and more than 111,000 others who made it great in Dayton.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. 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.

History, Mystery, Murder and Mayhem at Woodland Cemetery: The Murder of Mamie Hagerty

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Royal Albert Fowler

Royal Albert “Roy” Fowler lived on Harshman Street and his back yard ran up to the back yard of Mary “Mamie” Hagerty. That’s where they met and where Roy became infatuated with Mamie. He bought her gifts and trinkets to show his admiration and they soon became a couple. And not long after, they began having lover’s quarrels.

Mamie had Roy arrested not once but three times. During one incident, he had threatened her life saying he was going to cut her throat so Mamie had him arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon. He served time in the workhouse and it was said that Mamie carried his meals to him and tantalized him while doing it.

On Saturday afternoon, August 18, 1906, Roy went to Mamie’s house and said, “Let’s make up.”

“Go to hell,” was Mamie’s reply.

Roy became so aggravated by her response that he pulled a revolver from his pocket and fired two shots at his sweetheart. Mamie ran from the house screaming and after she got outside, he fired two more shots at her. Mortally wounded, Mamie ran down the street and dropped dead at the corner of Second and Harshman streets at 4:30 in the afternoon.

Roy immediately left the area after the shooting and hopped on a Dayton, Covington and Piqua traction car and rode to West Milton. There he pawned the murder weapon to a man for $2. He stayed overnight there and in the morning boarded another car to Piqua where later that evening he read in the Dayton Herald the story of Mamie Hagerty’s murder. Roy went to police headquarters in Piqua and turned himself in. Dayton police traveled to Piqua and picked Roy up and placed him in the Montgomery County Jail.

Roy was represented by the law offices of attorney John Egan. Witnesses for the prosecution made a strong case against him. Mrs. Hagerty said the January before her daughter’s murder, Roy had thrown her daughter to the floor and attempted to cut her throat with a butcher knife. Jacob Donneker said he heard Roy shout, “God damn you. I’ll fix you,” and then he saw him fire two shots. Another witness, Isador Rosensweet claimed that he yelled to Roy, “Don’t run away, you coward.” Roy was indicted by the Grand Jury. His trial began on December 6, 1906 and he was found guilty of murder in the first degree on December 27. He was sentenced to die in the electric chair on May 29, 1907 at the Ohio State Penitentiary. When asked by the judge if he had anything to say about his sentence Roy replied, “Only this: That when I went over there, I had no more intention of killing her than you had.”

His attorney’s filed a motion for a new trial on nine grounds including allegations that several of the jurors had expressed opinions of the defendant’s guilt before the trial. The request was overruled.

Soon after being moved to Columbus, Roy was looking peaked and worried. He was not eating or sleeping well. The guards believed he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. They also expected trouble from him. A month later an extra guard was placed to watch over him. He acted up with prison attendants and was suspected by the guards of wanting to end his life. Less than two months after the placement of the additional guard, Roy was threatened with the “paddle and water” treatment unless he became more manageable. He was constantly causing general trouble and had threatened the life of a fellow inmate.

On May 23, 1907, just 6 days before he was to be executed, the Circuit Court suspended his death sentence from May 29 to August 20. He received a reprieve by Governor Harris until October 17 and on that day, the Board of Pardons refused further clemency and November 1 was selected for his day of execution.

In an early October interview, Roy referred to his execution as “the coming event.” He said that he feared dying and wanted to live but he had no hope of favor from the pardon board. He stated he had no inclination towards religion and spent most of his days and time into the wee hours of the morning reading novels about love and adventure. When not in arguments with his fellow inmates, he liked to engage in games of checkers and cards.

Attorney John Egan had worked hard for his client but in the end, he met death at the executioners hand and died a few minutes after midnight on November 1, 1907.

Unmarked grave site for Roy Fowler

Funeral services were held in Dayton on Monday, November 4. He was viewed by more than 3,000 people before the white plush casket he laid in was closed to the public. Only 27 people attended his grave side service. Roy’s last request, that a rose his mother gave him when she last saw him alive and the photo button bearing a likeness of his sweetheart, Mamie Hagerty, which he wore from the time of his arrest be buried with him. His request was granted. At the last minute, the rose his mother gave him was exchanged for another by his mother. She took the other rose home as a keepsake for her wayward son. Royal Albert Fowler is buried in an unmarked grave in Section 111 Lot 3009.

Mary Hagerty is buried in Calvary Cemetery.

 

You can visit the gravesite of Royal Albert Fowler and all of the other people on the History, Mystery, Mayhem and Murder Tour at Woodland Cemetery by going to our Tour page and downloading our Woodland Mobile App. 

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. It is the final resting place of the Wright Brothers, Erma Bombeck, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles F. Kettering, John H. Patterson, Gov. James M. Cox, George P. Huffman, George H. Mead, and Levi and Matilda Stanley, King and Queen of the Gypsy’s and more than 111,000 others who made it great in Dayton.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. 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.

History, Mystery, Mayhem and Murder at Woodland Cemetery: Counterfeiter Nelson Driggs

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Nelson Driggs was known as one of the most famous counterfeiters in the United States. Secret Servicemen from back in the day regarded him “as one of the cleverest counterfeiters in the country.” His life was filled with adventure and crime but there was a soft-side of him too.

Prior to Driggs landing in Dayton, he had served time in the Joliet, Illinois penitentiary for manufacturing counterfeit money. He had been sentenced for fifteen years and served nearly all of it but was released early for good behavior.

When he came to Dayton, he settled in town on South Main Street but soon moved out to the road house known as The Abbey on Home Avenue near the Soldier’s Home. It was here that Driggs is said to have dealt in counterfeit money with his notorious partner Jim Guyon. Guyon was also very well known by the Secret Service and in 1888, the G-men “swooped down” upon The Abbey one evening with Guyon fleeing but Driggs and his wife captured.

The trial of Nelson Driggs and his wife Gertie became one of the most remarkable and interesting trials in the history of the U.S. Courts. The trial was held in Cincinnati and “almost every witness called sprung a surprise in his or her testimony.” Charges against Driggs and his wife were discharged.

Nelson Driggs was also known as a generous man and a good friend to the poor. He was known to house the poor in his home giving them food, clothing and shelter during the winter months and never asking for anything in return. He didn’t like to talk about these small acts of kindness.

He was a man who always paid his bills and one time he went to the Dayton Herald office to pay his subscription bill. He laid a small sack of Mexican dollars on the counter. Of course the money was refused and Driggs vowed to never pay his bill again, but he did pay it, each and every year and promptly too. Rumor was that he made the trip to Mexico to dispose of some of his own counterfeit bills. Upon his return he had a bag of good Mexican money and a herd of ponies.

Nelson Driggs died at The Abbey on December 17, 1895. He was 84 years old. He was laid to rest at Woodland Cemetery on April 23, 1896 in Section 110 Lot 2982.

 

You can visit the gravesite of Nelson Driggs and all of the other people on the History, Mystery, Mayhem and Murder Tour at Woodland Cemetery by going to our Tour page and downloading our Woodland Mobile App. 

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. It is the final resting place of the Wright Brothers, Erma Bombeck, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles F. Kettering, John H. Patterson, Gov. James M. Cox, George P. Huffman, George H. Mead, and Levi and Matilda Stanley, King and Queen of the Gypsy’s and more than 111,000 others who made it great in Dayton.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. 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.

History, Mystery, Mayhem and Murder at Woodland Cemetery: The Case of Little Leila Mead

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Col. Harry E. Mead

Excerpts from The Dayton Herald. Tuesday, March 19, 1895.

Leila Thruston Mead, the ten-year-old daughter of Col. and Mrs. Harry E. Mead died while under Christian Science treatment at the residence of John R. Hatten and his wife at 1068 South Brown Street (now the parking lot of the Old Hickory Restaurant). The girl was given no medicine, only the “science” applied.

On Tuesday, March 19, Dayton’s Police Chief Thomas Farrell had Hatten and his wife arrested on charges of manslaughter pending an autopsy that was held on the body at the vault in Woodland Cemetery by Coroner Lee Corbin.

Dr. Irvin C. Souders who was president of the Dayton Humane Society was appealed to and urged to take action in the case of Leila Mead, both in relation to the treatment which she received at the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Hatten’s Christian Science institution, and to prevent a recurrence of wrong doing by allowing a helpless victim of disease to die without making an effort to preserve life by medical treatment. The society was forced to wait on results of the autopsy and word from the authorities.

Excerpts from The Dayton Herald. Wednesday, March 20, 1895.

The parents of Leila Mead were devout believers in the society but negative public opinion in Dayton reached a fever pitch after the death of this innocent girl.

Eliza Thruston Houk

The Herald was given the following information about Christian Science. Their philosophy is that the body and all its functions and organs are entirely within the control of the mind, and that the cause of illness is directly or indirectly the result of mental actions. To believe that you are ill or in pain is certain to produce the illness or pain, and that bodily states and mental states are the results of moral states.  The person who is free from sin is free from disease, and everyone is free from sin who persistently denies the existence of sin in himself or in others.

Col. and Mrs. Harry E. Mead, parents of Leila, and Mrs. Eliza Thruston Houk, grandmother of Leila and widow of the late Hon. George W. Houk were acknowledged leaders of the society in Dayton. Claim was made in many cases of disease, chronic and other, that they had been cured by Christian Science and by the society in Dayton.

Mr. and Mrs. John Hatten fled to Springfield after the death of the child but were apprehended, placed under arrest on the charges of manslaughter and brought back to Dayton. They claimed that they called on the Mead home to “treat” the child but later took her to their own home. No medicine was given and they fed her only beef tea and water. The pair made several attempts to secure bail without success until Mr. and Mrs. Mead, the parents of the dead child, bailed the Hatten’s out of custody for $2,000.

On the morning of March 20th, an autopsy was performed at Woodland Cemetery. Coroner Lee Corbin was present. Doctor Negley conducted the autopsy, assisted by Dr. Dupuy. Dr. Goodhue and two male relatives of the child were present although Dr. Corbin ordered them to leave the room.

The Mead Family Monument in Section 101

The autopsy was sketchy at best. While the abdomen and bowels were examined, they did not open the chest nor examine the lungs or heart. They found no trace of typhoid fever but stated they found the brain to be diseased by tubercular meningitis. In other words, a consumption of the brain. While many doctors believed that people could survive the ailment, others believed it to be incurable. Dr. Corbin was very guarded in his statements and his answers were unsatisfactory to many. Dr. Corbin believed in the diagnosis of tubercular meningitis and said that he thought she would not have had long to live anyways. On the other hand, Dr. Negley said that there were cases on record in which cures had taken effect and added that there was some doubt to the correct original diagnosis. Later Dr. Corbin admitted that the child’s life might have been prolonged had the proper treatment been applied.

Leila Mead is listed as Eliza Mead in Woodland Cemetery records. Her death date is listed as March 1895 and her burial date as April 16, 1895. She is located with the Mead Family in Section 101 Lot 1538.

 

You can visit the gravesite of Leila Mead and all of the other people on the History, Mystery, Mayhem and Murder Tour at Woodland Cemetery by going to our Tour page and downloading our Woodland Mobile App. 

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. It is the final resting place of the Wright Brothers, Erma Bombeck, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles F. Kettering, John H. Patterson, Gov. James M. Cox, George P. Huffman, George H. Mead, and Levi and Matilda Stanley, King and Queen of the Gypsy’s and more than 111,000 others who made it great in Dayton.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. 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.

An Interview with Jared Grandy- Former Community-Police Relations Coordinator

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Daytonians joined activists around the country at the end of May in rising up against police brutality following George Floyd’s state-sanctioned murder in Minneapolis over Memorial Day Weekend. All of this led to an awakening of sorts, wherein white people rather suddenly seemed to come to an understanding that racism hadn’t, in fact, been eliminated in the 1960s and anti-Black racism continues to be a driving force in every imaginable sector of American life.

In the absence of a robust organized resistance, Dayton city leadership and police were able to squash local discontent by Sunday, May 31st, when a 7 PM curfew enforced by armored military vehicles, helicopters, and eerily fascist police announcements threatening arrest cleared the streets, paving the way for Mayor Nan Whaley to declare “Black Lives Matter” even after her city government used the very tactics activists have been marching in the streets to dismantle.

It was against the backdrop that I wanted to speak to someone who’s been at the forefront of trying to solve the problem of municipal police states since well before white people began paying attention. Jared Grandy is the former community-police relations coordinator whose resignation coincided with the national unrest over police brutality. The story he told me over a nearly 90-minute talk holds stark lessons for how high the mountain is that we must climb in Dayton if we care as much about equality and justice as public proclamations and social media say we do.

Jared Grandy

Grandy was the type of civil servant every Daytonian should want out of a city worker. Born and raised in Dayton and a graduate of our public schools who found his passion for learning at Sinclair Community College before undergraduate studies at the University of Cincinnati and law school at Northern Kentucky University, he represents the best of who we can be as a city. 

What he found, however, when he assumed the community-police relations coordinator role, however, wasn’t a welcome mat rolled out for someone with deep roots, a solid legal understanding, and a passion for the city. Instead he ran face-first into Dayton’s bipartisan white supremacist foundation.

Jared Grandy: The reason I was interested in that particular position [community-police relations coordinator], is because at the time I was naive enough to think that, you know, there was a difference that could actually be made locally.

By that time, I mean, that was 2016, so we’ve seen Trayvon Martin, Alton Sterling, Michael Brown, John Crawford, on and on and on, and I just thought this was an opportunity to make a significant difference in my local community, in my hometown, the town I know and love so much, and you know over time it just became apparent that it wasn’t the case that we were there to make any significant change. 

Jason Harrison: What made you think that? Well, how quickly did you make that realization?

Grandy: Relatively quickly. Within a few months I realized that [Dayton Police] Chief  [Richard] Biehl and the Commission to a certain extent wasn’t interested in having the difficult conversation. You would hear Chief Biehl even say to this day that the CPC (community-police council) was about mutual accountability which is another way of saying that you know the community is responsible for ending its own gun violence and we’re here to help with that process. And I don’t necessarily disagree with that, right? That idea of mutual accountability, yes, we are responsible for our community but don’t make that assumption that there aren’t people working on those issues. You know there’s pastors and youth leaders and private organizations that’s been working on gun violence in the urban environment for years across the country.

Harrison: It’s the old trope about “black on black crime.” Just because you’re not aware of the work that’s being done—

Grandy: Correct. That’s exactly it. And Chief is smart enough and savvy enough to not say “black on black crime,” you know he just says “mutual accountability” instead.

Harrison: It’s rebranded.

Grandy: Yeah. It’s just rebranded. That’s my issue with Chief Biehl specifically is he’s so good about using the same old tropes, rebranding them, sounding progressive, sounding liberal, and I think the community gets confused about what they got. With Trump, we know exactly what we have. When you tweet “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” that’s a pretty clear message, right? But when you say, you know, we’re working on this issue, we care, you think you have somebody who’s listening and progressive but in reality the policies that are implemented are no different than what a conservative like Trump would implement. And that’s what we get stuck with. 

The Dayton Daily News reported Grandy’s resignation as the community-police relations coordinator on June 3rd, just hours before Mayor Nan Whaley held a press conference announcing five police “reforms.” The timing of the city’s press conference—just hours after the Dayton Daily report on Grandy’s resignation—raises questions about whether that press conference was intended not to begin a process of reform but to distract us from Grandy’s message. (Two of the five reforms are mere continuations of existing policy).

Aside from Grandy’s eloquent rage, what I found most interesting about the article was how Chief Biehl used time-honored tactics intended to silence, dismiss, and discredit. But the quotes attributed to the chief fail to puncture Grandy’s arguments and instead serve to highlight just how steeped in supporting status quo white supremacist notions of “objectivity” the Dayton city government is.

Responding to Grandy’s contention that the Dayton police have a “warrior-like” mentality—an accusation I’ve heard from other people close to police officers—Biehl didn’t offer a substantive response, and instead chose only to offer that “Grandy’s three-year experience doesn’t compare to the decade-long relationship his department has with the Community Police Council.”

This is the part of Grandy’s story that I think is worth every Daytonian considering, and it’s a story that every Black person in this country will find familiar. The city was hostile to the idea of meaningfully transforming the police, Grandy recognized this quickly, and left when his conscience wouldn’t allow him to continue giving the city cover for its anti-Black policies. Then that resignation is used as proof that somehow Grandy isn’t serious about making positive change, despite the fact that he’s dedicated his entire professional life to the uplift and security of Black people. 

Grandy simply wasn’t “objective” enough to do his job—which led to two separate write-ups in his personnel file—but the problem is how that objectivity has been traditionally defined in Dayton and around the country. White people have always been in charge of defining who is objective and who isn’t. They’ve even been able to define what data are and are not objective. 

When Grandy and I spoke at my personal training studio, the tense protests that had swept through the country were still fresh. So I brought up an infamous moment from Buffalo when police officers brazenly pushed an elderly man, causing him to fall, hit his head, and sustain serious injuries. Here’s how a police spokesman initially described the event:

“…a 5th person was arrested during a skirmish with other protestors and also charged with disorderly conduct. During that skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell.”

Tripped and fell. Thankfully there was a viral video to show otherwise.

Harrison: The passive language is how they’ve been able to get away with it.

Grandy: So, okay. While I was with the CPC, for two years in a row we commissioned and released this data report. Right? And the findings were that the vast majority of use of force incidents that were reported were investigated by the professional standards bureau and those officers were exonerated, right? You could look it up, but I think it was 847 instances of use of force and 841 of the incidents were exonerated.

Harrison: 841 out of 847.

Grandy: Yes. Meaning that, you know, yes, the use of force happened, but the use of force was sanctioned and all was good, right? 

Harrison: Honestly when you said that I was thinking it would be like 80 percent or something like that. That’s damn near 100 percent. 

Grandy: Almost 100 percent. I mean, for statistical purposes that’s 100 percent.

I did look it up, by the way. Grandy’s recollection was exactly right: 841 out of 847 exonerations. You can read the 2018 report here.

Grandy: I was no longer interested in commissioning that data report because the data itself was so biased and it told a false story. Because the data suggests that yes we arrest people and yes we use force but the force is necessary. If the police determine what force is necessary then of course there is going to be a bias.

Which is why I talked to Dr. Richard Stock from the University of Dayton who we paid to do the report, and he said “I can’t figure out how to account for that bias.” So I’m like I’m not doing it anymore because I’m not advancing the narrative that cops are using force legitimately for all practical purposes 100 percent of the time. 

Harrison: This is like the racist claim that like, well Black people commit more crime. 

Grandy: Yeah. For sure. For sure. It advances that. And if you read the FOP response to my resignation they use that in there. They say well Jared Grandy praised the police and reported that most use of force was legitimate. And that’s such a mischaracterization of what happened. Yes, I did at the time praise the professional standards bureau for the way they do their investigations. It was very transparent. It seemed to be thorough. But they left out the part, which never made it to Commission because Commission is this Disney presentation, you know, it’s not meant for hard-hitting conversation. It’s a PowerPoint slide for goodness sakes. Right? But you know, to take that presentation without the context of the conversations that had prior to that presentation and prior to that report where we discussed at length the implicit bias and favor of the police department in this data. So I was frustrated.

Harrison: Did you find that a tension between being a city employee and doing that work?

Grandy: Yeah. I mean, yes. 

Harrison: That’s a perfect example of like, that was a big part of a conversation, but then when it comes to present it publicly there’s pressure—

Grandy: For sure. For sure.

Harrison: There’s a machine here now.

Grandy: Correct. That’s what I’m getting at. There’s a machine. Everything is hunky dory coming out of the commission. Everything is hunky dory when the mayor speaks. So as a city employee, as somebody who works directly under the commission as an HRC employee, of course. Of course I feel the pressure to get on board with that culture, because if I’m the one dissenting opinion then I am the one who is, you know, you have to get rid of that right? 

Jared Grandy is one of the rare people who has been willing to sacrifice the comfort of his public service job to sound the alarm for the rest of us, all the while offering a discomfiting glimpse inside the Democratic Party machine that stands in the way of the transformation necessary to build equality for Black people in the city of Dayton.

I asked Grandy about those personnel write-ups mentioned in the Dayton Daily News article. He said that people were more upset that that was included in the article about his resignation than he was. 

Grandy: People were a lot more offended on my behalf than I actually was. I’m like “Yes! I had a problem being objective. Like, sure, I’m a Black man, of course I’m going to side with the people every time. The thing is they wanted me to be an objective facilitator of conversation. Which at times I tried to be, but over time I realized that some of these people [from the community] wanted me to open the door for more contentious conversation so as to feel like we were making some progress because beforehand, my first year-and-a-half in, I’d invite people to CPC and kid you not, I quote, “Jared this is bullshit I don’t want to be a part of this,” right? “Because why are we here? We’re not talking any of the things that really matter to the community.” 

What Grandy did was even the playing field for ideas, such that the voice of the people was elevated to be equal to those of the officials in power. He had the temerity to declare their lens of the world as critically important in a city and a country that views the white lens as normative. 

Grandy: I wanted to give them permission to talk about the issues that they really cared about. Prior to that moment what we had, was, you know, even though we had very smart courageous people on the CPC, it’s intimidating to have the chief of police, the city manager, the commissioners, sitting there, and they took advantage of that power dynamic and they really controlled the narrative.

The Dayton Daily News article about Grandy’s resignation was a case study in attempting to control the narrative. “Grandy has struggled to maintain neutrality in his role as community-police relations coordinator and serve as a facilitator, instead of an advocate, according to a January 2020 performance improvement plan in his personnel file.”

But Grandy isn’t ashamed of those write-ups. He’s proud. And we should be too. 

Grandy: That whole article to me was like, yes, indeed, I did all of this stuff. When my grandkids read this article they’ll be proud because I’m on the right side of history.

A Walk Through the Cemetery is Just What You Need!

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We are living in strange times these days. Viruses are named after birds, pigs and now beer. New words for the dictionary will be added by the end of the year: “self-quarantining” and “social distancing.” Fake news. Real news. Wash your hands. And the hoarding of toilet paper! Bars and restaurants closed. Libraries and casinos closed. Strange times indeed.

There are things to do and places you can go that will allow you to be socially distanced from others yet enjoy the beauty of emerging spring. Visit the cemetery! Yes! We’re serious, visit the cemetery.  Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is an open air museum that will delight you with the the visuals of greening grass and emerging flowers. We’ve seen the crocus bloom and the daffodils should be fluttering forth very soon.

If you’ve never been to Woodland  Cemetery and Arboretum you just might be amazed with all of the architectural wonders and beautiful sculptures throughout the grounds. There are over 110,000 people buried at Woodland and nearly 100,000 markers and monuments ranging from rugged boulders, left here from the glaciers, to Greek statues and temples. You’ll see a full sized dog, angels and trumpeters and lambs, crosses and flowers all made of cut stone.

There are unique poems and stories etched into the stones and symbols of death from a long ago era. What’s more is that you can learn about the history of Dayton’s citizens through one of the virtual tours offered by the cemetery’s mobile app. There are three tours you can walk, drive or sit on your couch and attend. A free downloadable app is available from the cemetery’s website at woodlandcemetery.org or click here to go straight to the app site.

The Historic Tour features several of the buildings and notable residents at Woodland. This tour offers an audio feature where you sit back and listen to the narrative. There is also the Dayton’s Walk of Fame Tour and the Celebrated African -Americans at Woodland Cemetery Tour. Give it a try and learn about a few of the men and women who made it Great’n Dayton.

If going to the cemetery, there are over 200 verdant acres of rolling hills and 9 miles of paved roads. Truly a much better workout than you can get at the gym. There are at least nine remaining trees designated as “Ohio Champions.” How fun would it be to find them all. You can stop at the front office and get free brochures of several walking tours or purchase a booklet that features both walking tour and historical bios on each of the people on the tour. Bring a picnic and sit down by the pond. Dogs, bring your humans and get them off the couch. And definitely bring your camera to take in the view and a photo of the beautiful “Gem City.”

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum sits in the heart of downtown Dayton on over 200 verdant acres of rolling hills with over 3000 tress on the property. This historic cemetery, founded in 1841, welcomes thousands of visitors who tour the grounds each year to visit the grave sites of inventors of powered flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright; poet Paul Laurence Dunbar; Matilda and Levi Stanley, Queen and King of the Gypsies; writer Erma Bombeck; inventor Charles F. Kettering; and entrepreneurs John H. Patterson (NCR); George P. Huffman (Huffy Bicycles); and George Mead (Mead Paper Co.).

Street Names of Dayton: Earl, Herbert, Daniel and Kiser streets

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Kiser, the new Motor Racing “King”

Earl Kiser was one of the early pioneers of auto racing and was one of the most noted and respected race car drivers of his day. Earl drove in the days of the dirt tracks, when the rewards were frail in comparison to the thousands of dollars that are awarded to the NASCAR and Indy car drivers of today. For Earl, a $250 cash prize and a gold medal were a big take.

The “Winton Bullet,” built by Alexander Winton was the car that made Earl famous. He was young and strong and took the wheel to victory competing with such celebrities as Barney Oldfield, Tom Cooper, Fred Loughhead, the Canadian champion, Pontecchi of Italy, Chinn of England, and C. S. Mertens of Holland.

Kiser on the right, driving his Winton Bullet and winning at the St. Paul Races

In August of 1904, the Cleveland Press wrote, “Later in the special match race, Kiser broke the record, driving the last mile in the extraordinary time of 52 and 4/5 seconds and winning the race as well. This established Kiser as the full- fledged world champion and gives him one of the many records heretofore held by Oldfield.” This of course was in the “Winton Bullet,” now housed in the Smithsonian Institution. Kiser took the World Championship racing at what was then a terrific speed of 68 miles per hour for the distance of one mile. But things changed on a track in Cleveland on August 12, 1905.

The Winton Bullet after the accident in Cleveland in which Earl Kiser lost his leg

RACE TRACK, GLENVILLE, OH, AUGUST 12 – NEWSPAPER BULLETIN: Earl Kiser’s Winton Bullet just crashed through the fence near the half mile pole. Kiser is seriously injured. His left leg was torn off and the bullet is a mass of flames. Kiser was not satisfied at the manner in which the Winton Bullet worked before he made his second run of the car. The cylinders exploded irregularly and Kiser seemed worried. Nevertheless, he took the car out for another trial. He had just turned off the back stretch when the spectators in the stands were horrified to see his car skid at the turn and crash into the fence. The rails and post were scattered in all directions. The accident occurred so suddenly that Kiser had no chance to control his machine. The gasoline and oil caught fire from the sparks and the car was immediately a mass of flames. Hundreds of spectators ran to the scene of the accident, dodging the other cars which were speeding around the track. Kiser’s left leg was taken off below the knee. Kiser was taken from under the car before the flames reached him. He remained conscious and exclaimed, “Oh, my God, my leg!” In the hospital, Kiser who had also broken a shoulder blade told a friend jokingly, “I’m still on earth Pat, but minus a leg. They will have to advertise me as the only one-legged driver on the circuit. I’ll be a big drawing card.”

The Little Dayton Demon

Later, Kiser became an auto dealer with a store on East Second Street as well as a salesman for various auto accessory agencies and worked at this before relocating to Miami Beach, Florida, where he worked in real estate development and was the owner of the Nautilus Hotel.

Earl Kiser is located at Woodland Cemetery near other great men of Dayton such as the Wright Brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar. He was the grandson of Daniel Kiser who was the name bearer of Kiser School in Dayton. Earl Kiser was known as “The Little Dayton Demon” in the days before auto racing and he was even then one of the leading names on the professional bicycle circuit.

Earl who was 5’6″ and weighing in at 155 pounds raced for the Dayton Bicycle Club and later the Stearns “Yellow-Fellow Team” which toured Europe and competed in the 1900 World Championship in Paris. Earl Kiser held the ½ mile and the one mile world record. Earl Kiser had two streets in Dayton named in his honor, Earl Avenue and Herbert Street. Daniel Street and Kiser Street are named for his grandfather and are all located near the interchange of I-75 and Route 4.

Earl Herbert Kiser died on January 19, 1936 at the age of 60. He is located in Section 101 Lot 2487.

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 and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. 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.

Street Names of Dayton: Gunckel Avenue

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The Honorable Lewis B. Gunckel

 

Lewis B. Gunckle was born on October 15, 1826 in Germantown, Ohio which was founded by his grandfather, Phillip Gunckel in 1804. He graduated from Cincinnati Law School in 1851 and won the first case he tried.

Gunckle was Hiram Strong’s senior partner in the law firm of Gunckel & Strong.  He developed a reputation as one of the most successful jury lawyers in southern Ohio and as a peacemaker who used his influence to settle controversies.

He was elected to the Ohio Senate and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He was a member of the reception committee when Abraham Lincoln came to Dayton in September 1859.

In the Ohio Senate, Gunckle was the author of the soldiers’ voting law, of measures to send medical aid and supplies to the battlefields, and of bills to provide care for the widows and children of those killed in service of the Union.

Gunckel Avenue on the east side of Dayton

In the middle of the Civil War he introduced a bill for the establishment of a state soldiers’ home and this became his pet project.  He canvassed the state as a presidential elector for Lincoln in 1864, and in that same year Governor John Brough established a state soldiers’ home near Columbus with Gunckel as one of its trustees.  The Honorable Lewis B. Gunckel was influential in the establishment of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Dayton. He picked the location and rallied the local citizens to get behind the move and donated $20,000 toward the land purchase. The first winter that the home was established, 750 soldiers were moved there. Gunckel would sit on the board for its first twelve years all without compensation. Today we know the home as the VA Medical Center.

In 1871 Gunckel was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as special commissioner to investigate frauds practiced upon the Cherokee, Creek and Chickasaw Indian tribes. His report was a milestone in the history of reforms in the Indian service.

He served in Congress as a representative from the 3rd district from 1872-1875 .   Mr. Gunckel served on the Military Committee and even turned down a pay raise which he was entitled to under the law. He lost his bid for re-election and spent the rest of his life in the practice of law in Dayton.

The Gunckel Family Monument at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

The law firm of Gunckle & Strong became Gunckle & Rowe, his new partner being E.L. Rowe who had read law with him and became his partner in 1869.  In 1890 the firm became Gunckle, Rowe & Shuey with the addition of Webster W. Shuey. The law firm had many name changes throughout the years and today the firm is known as Coolidge Wall.

In 1860 Gunckle married the daughter of Valentine Winters.  When Winters and his son Jonathan founded Winters National Bank in 1882, Gunckle became of member of the bank’s first board of directors.   He served for three years as the state bar’s delegate to the National Bar Association and served as its treasurer and a member of its executive committee.

Lewis B. Gunckel died on October 3, 1903 at the age of 77. He and his family are buried in Section 44 Lot 1008.

Tornado Personal Effects Reunion Page Launches

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One of the most painful things about losing your home and belongings in a disaster, whether it be fire, flood or wind, is the loss of photos, personal momentos and childhood treasures. It’s the loss of those precious and irreplaceable items that cuts a particularly painful wound.

After the recent Dayton tornadoes, my friend and fellow Brookville High School alumni Ryan Wissinger, reached out from his current residence in Boise, Idaho. He was struck by stories he was hearing from in Brookville, where friends were finding family photos in fields miles away. Wanting to help in some way, but being hundreds of miles away, Ryan had an idea.

He started a Tornado Personal Effects Reunion Page on Facebook. Here people can post items that were found during clean ups or that blew onto other people’s property. People in search of treasured items can post what they are looking for as well. In the couple weeks since this page was established, local folks have posted images of historic photos, identification, stuffed animals, quilts, a wedding dress – and even a couple pets!

Our best wishes are with everyone who was effected by these devastating storms. Ryan and I hope that reconnecting people with their lost treasures will be a small reconciliation on the road to recovery.

The way this page is most effective is by joining and sharing, so please do so today: https://www.facebook.com/groups/334058030599309/

Street Names of Dayton: Artz Lane

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Peter Artz 1792 – 1873

The Artz family made their way from Maryland with Peter Artz arriving in Ohio on horseback. Peter settled on a farm near Fairfield, Ohio but soon moved to Dayton where for years he operated a wholesale grocery business. Peter Artz died in 1873 at the age of 81. He rests peacefully at Woodland Cemetery with his wife Elizabeth who died in 1875 at the age of 77.

Joseph S. Artz 1824 – 1899

Joseph S. Artz was born on a farm in Greene County, Ohio in 1824 and grew up working on the family farm. He made his way to Germantown, Ohio and began working in the lumber and undertaking business. On account of deafness, he was rejected when he offered his services to fight in the Civil War. In 1866, he moved from Germantown to Dayton where he established a lumber business which he conducted for about eleven years. In 1877, he bought out the furniture firm of Chadwick & Beaver and continued in that line of business for a number of years until his sons took over the business. Joseph was married in Germantown to Miss Elizabeth Negley, a daughter of Captain W.H.H. Negley and together they had eight children.  Elizabeth Artz died on February 11, 1882 at the age of 56 and Joseph died on December 26, 1899 at the age of 75. Both are resting peacefully together in Section 103 Lot 2016 at Woodland Cemetery.

William Negley Artz 1862 – 1934

William N. Artz  had a prosperous business as a furniture dealer in Dayton. He was born in Germantown, Ohio in 1862. He was seven years old when his parents moved to Dayton and this is where he remained. William stayed in school until the age of fifteen then left to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in the Dayton yards. He spent five years with the railroad rising to the position of conductor and then moved on to the Dayton & Ironton Railroad and served that line as conductor for a year. Soon after, he left the railroad and joined his father in the furniture business at Artz & Ozias. William began delivering furniture for them at a salary of seven dollars per week. He had been receiving one hundred and twenty dollars per month with the railroad but working for the railroad was hard work and often dangerous and he wanted to learn his father’s trade and business. He also knew that  the opportunity for advancement always came to the man who was willing to work for it. He earned the position of shipping clerk, then salesman and eventually became one of the three owners of the store known as Artz Brothers.

Artz Furniture Store at 110 – 112 N. Main St.

In 1904, William purchased the interest of his brother and ran the store under his own name. His store was well stocked with a variety of goods of varying prices in order to meet the demand of his customers. He was well respected for his business practices and enjoyed much success in his new vocation. William married Miss Mary Anna Baile on April 6, 1882. William died on April 1, 1934 and Mary Anna died on June 28, 1932. They are both resting peacefully together in Section 34 Lot 1306 at Woodland Cemetery.

 

Artz Lane in Downtown Dayton

The W. N. Artz Furniture Store was located at 110 and 112 North Main Street in the heart of downtown Dayton. To the north of it’s location were the King Brothers and Company, and the Green, Green and Co. Bakery (Victoria Theatre) and to the south was G. W. Shroyer and Co., Jacobs Business College and P. M. Harman and Co. Currently, 110 North Main Street is the current site of Premiere Health headquarters.

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 and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. 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.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Golden Anniversary Celebrated with the Dayton Philharmonic!

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The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, under the leadership of Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman, is honored to be a part of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s 50th Anniversary celebration for a special DCDC Golden Anniversary Concert on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 6:30pm at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton.

Founded in 1968 by the late Jeraldyne Blunden, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) is the oldest modern dance company in Ohio. DCDC serves as a cultural ambassador to Dayton, the state of Ohio, the Midwest, and the nation. The company holds the world’s largest archive of classic African American dance works and one of the largest of any kind among contemporary dance companies worldwide. Noteworthy choreographers who have worked with the company include Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Donald Byrd, Bill T. Jones, José Limón, Donald McKayle, Ray Mercer, Bebe Miller, Doug Varone, and Kevin Ward.

Together, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will present a thrilling performance to honor DCDC’s 50th Anniversary as the region’s outstanding modern dance company rooted in the African American experience. The evening’s performance will consist of three engaging pieces that celebrate the artistry and athleticism of the full DCDC company of dancers.

The first of the three pieces presented will be the World Premiere choreographed by former DCDC artistic director Kevin Ward. The new work is entitledand each day you mean one more and is set to brand new music by composer and musician Derrick Spivey, Jr. and performed by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Neal, Derrick and Kevin–conductor, composer, and choreographer–have worked closely together over the last several months to bring this work to life.

and each day you mean one more is partly inspired by the poem “The Low Road” by Marge Piercy, which addresses the challenges faced by the lone actor for societal good and how, with the gradual attraction and enlistment of like-minded individuals, a real force for change can be built that can resist destructive reactionary forces. In creating the dance, choreographer Kevin Ward was inspired by many lone actors such as Fanny Lou Hamer, David Hogg, Fred Rogers, James Baldwin, Malala, Claudette Colvin, and many nameless actors, such as the U.S. prisoners who staged a massive strike against systematic abuse, even though it resulted in the cruelest solitary confinement, and how their efforts inspired millions to follow suit.

DCDC will also perform a signature work from their history called Children of the Passage. This work was co-created for DCDC by world-renowned choreographer Ronald K. Brown and Tony-nominated choreographer Donald McKayle, who passed away just over a year ago this April. The work follows a party of decadent lost souls that are haunted and later rescued by spirits that reconnect them to their ancient and ancestral character. The composition is a cadence that is drawn from the traditional marching jazz bands of New Orleans, with the grind and groove of the contemporary jazz and soul music. The language of movements is translated from the visual poetry of African and African American dance and the celebration of cultural rituals of yesterday and today.

The third work on the program is American Mo’, created by choreographer and DCDC Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle Perkins. The dance is a celebration of triumph over adversity. Dancers express freedom, courage and joy to Duke Ellington’s “Three Black Kings,” composed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This work originally premiered on September 19 & 20, 2015 as part ofAmerican Mosaic, Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts and was performed with accompaniment by Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra at the Schuster Center. DCDC has performed the innovative piece in New York City, Kazakhstan, and the Bolshoi in Moscow.

How To Go!

Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 6:30pm at the Schuster Center
Tickets for DCDC Golden Anniversary Concert begin at $15.50 and are available for purchase by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org. 
For more information on the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, including by Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.
For more information on Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, visit www.dcdc.org.

Street Names of Dayton: Home Avenue

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HOME AVENUE, once known as KING AVENUE until 1895, is named for William King.

William King was the son of Victor and Jane (Moffit) King born in Tyrone Township, York County, now Adams County, Pennsylvania. He served as a Private in the Revolutionary War from his home state and afterwards moved to Georgetown, Scott County, Kentucky in 1789. Because of his views on slavery, he moved his family to Dayton in 1799 and arrived in town with just one dollar in his pocket. He found few houses in the newly settled village so he and his family lived in their wagon until he could build them a log cabin to live in. In 1801, Mr. King and his wife Nancy purchased 500 acres of land in the Harrison Township area. He then purchased 1,160 acres which he sold in exchange for his payment. By this method, he was able to have his land paid off by 1807 with full title.

Mr. King then moved two miles west of the Miami River to the area of what would become Western Avenue* and Home Avenue. Mr. King took out a license in 1811 to run a ferry over the Miami River charging a man and his horse a fee of 12 ½ cents. He was a member of the Moral Society of Dayton in 1818, and was a Clerk and Elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Dayton, of which he was one of the original members. In January 1819, he became a member of a corporation that operated a toll bridge which crossed the Miami River at Bridge Street until it was washed away in 1852. In 1829, he was moderator of the Dayton Temperance Society.  In 1830, Mr. King sold most of his large estate of 395 acres.

Mr. King married his wife Nancy Waugh on April 2, 1787 in Tyrone Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania. Nancy died on June 30, 1839 at the age of 67 and was buried at the Presbyterian grave yard on Fifth Street, as Woodland Cemetery had not yet been established. She received her final interment at Woodland on September 20, 1864.

William King was born January 3, 1764 and died September 19, 1863 in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of 99 years. He lived longed enough to hear that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that proclaimed that all slaves be freed by January 1, 1863.

There are eight King Family members buried side by side in Section 82 Lot 403 in Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum.

*Note: James H. McGee Blvd. was formerly known as Western Avenue.

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 and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. 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.