Feature articles in Grandview ThisWeek Newspaper
Weekly Moment in Time Column

February, 2015 - August, 2015

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August, 2014 - February, 2015

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	Clarence Salzgaber
	In the early 1900s, the land east and south of Grandview Avenue played an important part in the food market that supplied Franklin County. The members of the Columbus Vegetable Growers Association marketed approximately $400,000 worth of vegetables annually. Clarence Salzgaber, living on his farm with his wife and family, was one of the 126 "truck farmers" in Franklin County. These farmers farmed over 2000 acres, producing fresh vegetables for the Columbus area. Salzgaber, a Grandview Heights resident, was president of the Columbus Vegetable Growers Association. His home was and still stands on the North East corner of Grandview and First Avenues. The Salzgaber family began selling off parts of their farm in the 1920s and the heart of Grandview Heights was developed in 1927 by Don Casto. He built the first side walk mall with parking provided for 400 cars in the rear of the building, a first of its kind. The Salzgaber family members still live on Grandview Avenue. (Inset: Clarence Salzgaber)
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	Eagles Homemade Candies
	George Eagle started a chocolate business in Columbus in 1919. The business originally operated out of Eagle's townhouse located behind the Columbus Dispatch building. In 1937, the George and his wife Elsie Eagle opened a store on West Fifth Avenue, and in 1939 moved into a home next door at 1943 West Fifth. At various times Eagle Candy stores operated in locations downtown, at Kingsdale Shopping Center, near campus, and in Clintonville. This photo shows the crowds lining up in front of the "Eagles Homemade Candies" store at 1941 West Fifth during the Christmas season sometime in the 1940s to get their hands on the wonderful candy sold there. There were often so many people lined up in front of the store, a security guard was hired to control the crowds. The Eagle's home is next door to the right of the store, and at the far left is a vacant lot where Trinity United Methodist Church would later be built. In November of 1972, the store was purchased by Thomas Zanetos and re-opened as Anthony-Thomas Candy. The Eagle Candy store in Clintonville still operates within the Eagle family.
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	Anna Louise Williams
	May 16, 1919 Anna Louise Williams graduated from Grandview Heights High School. In 1902 she moved to the home at 1383 Lincoln Road built for her father and mother, Grant and Grace Williams. It was her mother's "dream home". Grant Williams was the first superintendent of the Casparis Stone Quarry, and Grace Williams was one of the founders of First Community Church. Anna was married to Francis Wendell Paddock, and they also lived and were active in Grandview Heights. Francis and Anna's daughter, grandsons and great grandsons all graduated from Grandview High School. The diploma pictured here is the oldest diploma in the GH/MCHS Archives (Anna's photo is inset.) It was donated to the Historical Society by the Paddock heirs.
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	Cold Springs Exchange Trip
	On a rainy March afternoon in 1965, seven students started a week long visit to Cold Springs Harbor High School on Long Island, New York. The exchange students were Kelly Kahler, Jill Smith, Dave Royer, Kathy Flanagan, Donna Sheets, Tim Murphy and Ray Stegmeier. The students, three seniors, two juniors, and two sophomores, were sponsored by the Student Council and sent to observe classes, teaching methods, and extracurricular activities at the host school. They were charged with comparing advantages and disadvantages of the school with Grandview Heights High School. Cold Springs Harbor High School was selected because it offered a preparatory curriculum comparable to Grandview. The trip to New York City was highlighted by visits to the New York Stock Exchange and tours of the United Nations Building and Rockefeller Center. Upon returning to Grandview High School, the students reported events and evaluations of their trip to the student body at an assembly held in the high school auditorium. As one of the most active organizations in the high school, the Student Council, advised by the principal , Ralph Berry, led the way in money making projects and activities.
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	The Lookout House
	The Lookout House restaurant was located on the northeast corner of Dublin Road and Grandview Avenue. It was run by Eddie Frecker, who also had a restaurant on the ground floor of the Grand Theater building on State Street between High and Third. Frecker also started the famed Frecker's Ice Cream Co. which was located on Northwest Blvd. just east of North Star. The Lookout House opened in the late 1940s, and later became the Explorers Restaurant in 1955. Explorers (inset) closed around 1973, and it became the Jasmine before the building was razed for the current Metropolitan Grandview, LLC development in 2010.
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	TraveLodge Motel
	This aerial view is of the former TraveLodge Motel, which was located on the corner of Dublin Road (bottom right) and Grandview Avenue (bottom left).It is looking to the Northeast over the woods bordering the quarry, which is currently being redeveloped. This motel was a highly regarded property in the TraveLodge portfolio, but was purchased and rebranded as a Knight's Inn. It fell into disrepair, and in the final phase of its life was boarded up and declared uninhabitable until it was torn down. The building at the bottom center of the property was the Explorers Restaurant, which was featured in the Moment in Time last week. The 36 acre tract of land was purchased for the Grandview Station development by Bear Creek Capital, and was to feature two "big-box" stores. The plan was dropped because of opposition, and Wagenbrenner Development is now planning a mixed use development on the former landfill (to the top of the photo) called Grandview Crossing.
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	French Loaf Bakery
	In 1977, with the original recipes pictured here, the French Loaf Bakery was opened and operated using directions for the beating and baking of bread. For 38 years the bakery has operated under this name, producing primarily bread, then expanding into making sweet rolls, and later pies and cakes. Ninety-five percent of the baking has always been done on the premises. Now under the ownership of Marijon Lococo, the bakery operates as a full time bakery and eatery with a full lunch menu. Serving the Tri-Village area for 38 years, located at 1456 West Fifth Avenue, the French Loaf was selected as the recipient of a project by the Grandview Area Chamber of Commerce called the Chamber Challenge. In February of 2014 Lococo was approached by Michelle Wilson, Chamber Director, and asked if she would participate in the Challenge Project. The Chamber's mission was to give back to the community,and they selected French Loaf to undergo a complete makeover. Wilson and Chamber members worked together to help a fellow business owner and in 5 months and one week-end the job was completed. A totally new store interior, complete with new marketing material and logo. was presented to Lococo.The Grandview Chamber of Commerce was rewarded for their volunteer work by keeping the French Loaf bakery providing the bread of life to the Tri-Village area for the future.
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	Star Beacon
	In the early days of the Great Depression, circa 1930, patent medicine and cosmetics were sold by the H. T. Maloney Company. Pat Maloney and Dave Schirtzinger saw an opportunity to promote and distribute this line of medicines and cosmetics along with other merchandise, and H.T. (Ted) Maloney agreed to sell the line of products to his son Pat and Dave Schirttzinger. From this beginning the Star Beacon Product Company was born. The first store started as a distribution center for the merchandise but quickly took on other products. Located on Long Street in the Old Faith Mission Building, the company grew and relocated to 1104 Goodale Boulevard in 1954. Being in the distribution part in the chain of sales, Star Beacon was able to purchase large quantities of products, repackage and sell for lower prices. The mix of merchandise grew and prices remained low. After the move to Goodale Boulevard the business continued to purchase and distribute supplies for schools, arts and crafts,party supplies, and more. This family-owned business continues to supply families, schools and businesses at the low cost available. The Maloney family has maintained its business for over eighty years, sixty four years in the same location on Goodale Boulevard in Grandview.
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	GAA - 1930
	"Any girl who has played on an intramural team is entitled to membership in the club." The year is 1930, and the club is the Grandview Girls Athletic Association. During this period, all of the intramural tournaments were taken care of by this organization. With a constitution, officers, and an executive committee, the club operated with the motto "To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight." Two different size letters were awarded to each girl - it entailed acquiring one thousand points for large GAA letters, or 500 points for the small GAA letters. The officers of the club for this year were Gladys Sargent, president, Dorothy Crepps, secretary, and Edith Churches, treasurer. Pictured here in the Highlander is the Grandview Girls Athletic Association membership for 1930.
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	Grandview Theater
	It was 1926 when Warner Brothers debuted the first sound film in New York City. It was developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories, and the "talkie" was to replace the orchestra and organ as background music for silent movies. It was this same year that Carl Shafer had the Grandview Theater built on Grandview Avenue south of the newly developing  "Bank Block" of Grandview Heights. The new theater, a structure of brick and terra cotta, was built for $75,000 and with a seating capacity of 600. It had the latest projection machines and a pipe organ to accompany silent movies. The marquee was built by the Richard Yaeger Sign Company. The new theater opened on Saturday, September 4, 1926 and the first attraction was a comedy, " Behind the Front" starring Wallace Berry. The next movie shown was " The Untamed Lady" featuring Gloria Swanson. That same year saw the first completed and credited film of Alfred Hitchcock, "The Pleasure Garden". Among other popular films of the day were "The Great Gatsby" with Warner Baxter along with "The Son of the Sheik", a sequel starring Rudolph Valentino. Greta Garbo, Douglas Fairbanks and John Gilbert were all stars of the era. 1926 was a good year for the movies, and Grandview Heights has a new theater.
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	The Gloria Night Club
	The Gloria Night Club was located on Riverside Drive, at the corner of Trabue Road. Originally called the Gloria Barbecue, it was started in 1925 by two brothers, Sam and Rocco Delewese, and Rocco's brother-in-law Guy DeVictor. Several years later, a dance hall was added and the name was changed to the Gloria Night Club. For many years the night club was a destination for famous acts, from big band to jazz, and in the 1960s was known for teen dances and college night concerts. This photo shows a vintage postcard (with the origin mistakenly shown as 1922) showing the expanded night club structure. The inset at the bottom right is a photo of a matchbook from the restaurant. The CityScene Columbus magazine recently published an article by Rocco's granddaughter Lucia, What Was the Gloria Like? and an article titled The Gloria Years describing the original club. Fire destroyed the Gloria in about 1970, and the property on which it was located was divided into three lots. The restaurant part of the club was rebuilt on one of the three lots, and a gas station was constructed on the corner. Interestingly, the gas station was recently converted to a diner, the Skyward Grille, operated by Lucia's goddaughter and her husband. According to Lucia in her article, "People came from all over for Gloria Fried Chicken ('takes 35 minutes to cook,' it said right on the menu), Gloria sauce on spaghetti, and lasagna, veal scalopini and shrimp salads."
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	Clyde Williams
	In 1929 the U.S. was at the beginning of a 15 year depression. Clyde Williams (pictured here) had ambitions of becoming an executive in the steel business, and with every talent for doing so was offered a position as assistant to the director of Ballelle Memorial Institute in Columbus. Battelle was a newly formed organization for the purpose of serving the metallurgical and coal industries in research and education. Clyde refused the offer. Later as the dire financial climate loomed, he was persuaded to accept the offer from his friend, Dr. Horace W. Gillet, then director of Battelle. The Williams family thus came from California to the midwest and bought a house in Grandview Heights. Williams went on to become the director of Battelle, leading it through the early years of World War II to become the man, more than any other, who was responsible for a privately endowed research institute becoming globally recognized for research and development. Clyde Williams was with Battelle from 1929-1958. Members of his family have lived in Grandview to the present day. Clyde died in 1988.
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	1975 Cross Country Team
	It was 1975, and the Bobcat harriers were on the run, for the 6th time in as many years, to win the league championship. The Grandview Heights High School Cross Country team was led by Captains Jerry Guy, Al Roberts and Steve DeCarlo. They had the league champion, Jerry Coleman representing the school in the State finals by finishing 2nd in the District behind the eventual State Champion. After being seeded 6th in the District, the Bobcats surprised everyone but Coach Ed Bozeman, by finishing in the District runner-up position behind a powerful Granville Squad. Bozeman, coach for these winning years, credited his team with a fine performance throughout the season. Bozeman also coached the track team with Jerry Guy and Jerry Coleman as individual league champions.
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	Pennsylvania Railroad
	This photograph shows a locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad (first known in this area as the Columbus, Chicago, Indianapolis Central Railroad) traveling south near the Village of Marble Cliff. The railroad had a "flag stop" depot on Grandview Avenue, near where the NAPA store is currently located, and the busy Marble Cliff station, originally called the Scioto Depot, at Fifth Avenue and Dublin Pike. The steam locomotive is approaching the footpath and crossing which allowed golfers from the Arlington Country Club to traverse the first fairway from the tee to the hole, located between Dublin Pike and the tracks.
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	1931 Girl Reserve
	Dedicated "to find and give the best" the Girl Reserves of Grandview Heights High School had a very interesting year under the leadership of President Helen Motz, pictured here in the front row (fifth from the left). In the fall of 1930 a membership campaign was organized, with Ann Hoffman in charge assisted by Martha Willard. Many interesting meetings were planned and several parties were held to create interest in the club and to increase membership. The most successful endeavor was the craft group that was started this year and proved to be a great success with many enthusiastic members. A play, "Why the Chimes Rang", was given around Christmas, and the year ended with an Easter meeting to which all the girls in GHHS were invited. The year's accomplishments were satisfied by hard work and caring to find and give the best to the school life of Grandview High School. GH/MCHS recently received a collection of memorabilia of Helen Motz Hively, given by her daughter Katherine "Kit" Schmauch. Helen Motz was a 1934 graduate of Grandview Heights High School.
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	Columbus Motordrome
	This postcard, from the Columbus Public Library collection, was mailed from Columbus to a couple in Greenville, Ohio in January of 1913. The image depicts the Columbus Motordrome, which was built and opened in 1912, by the Columbus Motordrome Company. An article in the 1912 Motor World magazine contained an entry that the Columbus Motordrome Co. was established in April, 1912, with $20,000 capital, by William Snyder, George Baughem, Philip Vogel, and others, after they were approached by famous Chicago bicyclist and racetrack architect Jack Prince. It was built entirely of wood on the site of the Arlington Gun Club, near Fifth and Cambridge, and could hold up to 100,000 fans (including 5,000 in grandstand seats) of high speed motorcycle racing. Motorcycles could reach speeds of over 90mph on these short (1/4-1/3 mile) banked tracks. The Arlington track closed in 1913 after a fiery motordrome crash in Cincinnati killed a racer and 9 spectators, and injured 35 more, on a similar 30 degree banked track. The accident caused these facilities to be referred to as “murderdromes” because of the number of fatalities across the country, and most were closed over the following several years.
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	Spring-Sandusky Interchange
	This 1958 aerial photo shows the newly completed Spring-Sandusky interchange, which joined State Route 315, Route 33, and Spring Street and Sandusky Avenue. The project began in 1952, and as a result of the 1956 National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, required modifications almost immediately after it was completed. Budget and environmental problems intervened, and the final interchange wasn’t actually done until 2003. This photo, looking t the southeast corner of Grandview Heights at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers, shows the main post office, the WBNS tower and the Coca-Cola company buildings at the center left, and the old Big Bear headquarters north of Goodale (now Grandview Yard) at the upper left. Sears had planned a distribution center and retail store, which was never built, near the post office. Early community gardens, developed near the turn of the century, occupied a piece of land that would become Gowdy Field, and later a landfill shown here at the top of the photo. The landfill was developed as an office park, with Time Warner Cable building the first structure on the site in 2005.
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	Denison Engineering Company
	The inset in this photo was from an advertisement in the September, 1942, Flying magazine, for the HydrOILics line of hydraulic presses developed by Denison Engineering Company. Denison Engineering was founded in 1900 in Delaware Ohio as Cook Motor Company, and was resurrected from near bankruptcy by Bill Denison at the end of WWI. Its facility in Grandview, located at 1160 Dublin Road, was purchased near the beginning of WWII to serve as a military research center. According to the company history, they "tested complete aircraft hydraulic systems while the airplanes were on the ground, and tested hydraulic operated fuel transfer valves for military airplanes." After the war the Denison company established an R&D division to take the war accomplishments to the commercial market. The company was sold in 1966 to American Brake Shoe company, which was later called ABEX Corporation. The building on Dublin Road was razed to provide the site for a commercial office development at the corner of Urlin Avenue and Dublin Road.
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	Swim Club
	Kicking off each summer in the 1950s were swimming pool activities, featuring bathing beauties such as these pictured here at pool side of the Grandview pool. The pool was newly purchased, remodeled and operated by the Grandview Parks and Recreation Department. Originally called the Grandview Swim Club, it was the place to be. The girls in this picture are from left: Ann Dunn, Nancy Pickett, Jackie Shifflette, Mary DeCessna and Ann Terrier, and the photographer was Peggy Purkey Eagle. The pool was the gathering place for swimmers and sun worshippers alike. It was the place to display the latest bathing suits and suntans. he days at the pool were filled with swimming lessons, team competitions, weekly juke box dances and even romances that developed under the hot sun and full moon. Summer was just beginning, with plenty of time before school started again. This was summer, 1950s style!
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	Jimmy Massey
	Even though it was sold in such places as Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Chicago, few people in Ohio had ever heard of the bubbly, crusty pie called pizza in the 1940s. Jimmy Massey was a baker and was in partnership with his friend Romeo Sirij, who was in the restaurant business. Together they opened Romeo's, the first restaurant to serve pizza in Columbus, at N. Star and Fifth Avenue, near Grandview Heights. Romeo's opened in 1950, and by 1951 people were talking and reading about the new dish and many had to be told how to pronounce it - "Pete-sah". Massey also introduced pepperoni as a topping. When asked if he knew what he was doing, his response was,"Sure I do! Nobody in Chicago, New York or anywhere ever used pepperoni!" Before long word of his take on the dish spread like wild fire. He pointed out that pizza was not just food to have after an event, but it was in fact the EVENT. Massey opened pizzerias with relatives in Cleveland, Lancaster, and on Columbus' east side. The long term love affair that Columbus area residents have with pizza was up and running. Hundreds of pizzerias have opened since Massey introduced it, and Columbus now claims to be the pizza capital of the world. Columbus pizza is known for thin crusts, and square pieces, rather than the triangles offered in other cities.
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	Barbershop Quintet
	Four members of the Grandview Singers from Grandview Heights High School attended Harmony Camp, a four-part a capella work shop for young vocalists held during the summer of 1995. Their mutual interest in music and their talents brought them together to form Grandview's own barbershop quintet called "Batteries Not Included". The Columbus Buckeye Chapter of SPEBSQSA, the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, sponsored the Harmony Camp to encourage both singers and listeners to respect the art form of barbershop music. The student singers caught on and had a positive impact on the school music program, while also performing at local shopping malls, civic events and churches. The members of "Batteries Not Included" pictured here are (front) senior Joe Swary, (standing l-r} freshman Dan Marshall, and junior Mike Burkey and (in tree) junior Andris Bjornson. Quintet member Ian Kaufman is not pictured. While a couple of these students were considering majors or minors in music when they were planning to attend college, they all agreed they wanted to keep music as a significant part of their lives.
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	GH Police Activities
	With the presence of numerous dignitaries at the memorial service for Woody Hayes, Grandview Police Chief Keith Armontrout, was called on to provide major security for the attendees and the public in Grandview Heights. The Memorial Service was held at First Community Church on March 17, 1987. With only two days notice, forces were gathered and focused on the church and the arrival and departure of guests. Among the dignitaries was former President Richard Nixon, Governor Richard Celeste, Columbus mayor Dana Rinehart, Ohio State University President Edward Jennings and OSU football coach Earle Bruce. Security officers had to have the complete understanding of where the church rooms were and where people would be sitting. "We tried to anticipate where problems might occur during the service," said Chief Armontrout. Things went smoothly as Grandview Police worked to provide safety and security for the residents of Grandview and its visitors. Pictured here is President Nixon as he leaves the memorial service, watched over carefully by Chief Armentrout and Nixon's own security personnel.
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	Area Drug Stores
	A popular spot to gather in almost every neighborhood in the early 1940's, 1950's and 1960's was the local drug store. The Tri-Village area had it's share of pharmacies to serve the public. One such store was the Wyandotte Pharmacy. "One of the community's newest and up-to-date drug stores opened this week”, read a fall 1928 news article. It was located in the newly completed Carmack and Armstrong building at the corner of Wyandotte Road and West Fifth Ave. and was owned and operated by Mr. B.G. Calabrese and his wife, Agnes. Other pharmacies in the area followed, with owners and operators becoming a part of the neighborhood family, caring for their health needs. The fountain counter had a life of its own, as pictured here. It became the teenage center of social life, as depicted by the teens admiring the local boy who served as fountain manager. This photo is from a full page advertisement in the Highlander of 1968,  the yearbook for the Grandview Heights High School. The ad reads “Your Health is Our Concern. These are ‘Registered Pharmacies’ - Have Your Doctor Call Us”, and listed McKinley Lane Avenue Drugs (1579 Lane), Wyandotte Drugs (1828 W, Fifth), McKinley First Avenue Drugs (1089 W. First), and Fifth Avenue Drugs (1260 W. Fifth). These businesses supported the community, families and the schools with their services and friendly atmosphere.
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	1968 Track and Field
	The largest track team in the history of Grandview Heights High School competed under the direction of Coach Robin Priday in the spring of 1956. Grandview’s stadium was referred to as the finest school track facility in the state, and the team members were rewarded with an enthusiastic home crowd at every meet. Veteran team captain Bob Franks competed in the dashes and broad jump, and along with Rich Williams in pole vault, they provided many thrills for the spectators as they achieved multiple honors. A host of underclassmen rounded out a young and  promising team for Coach Priday in the fine new facility. Pictured here are Jim Noble, jumping, Wilbur Biemesderfer, Chuck Mattews, and Harry McCabe watching. Victories were scored over Ciecleville, London, Franklin Heights, St Charles and Hilliard. Losses were to Bexley, North, and Worthington.
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	School Safety Lights
	Safety planning between the school P.T.A. and city officials resulted in a win-win solution in 1970. Mrs. Ross Murphree, left, Grandview P.T.A. Health and Safety chairman, is pictured here with Carla Furness, captain of the Safety Patrol of R.L. Stevenson school and Mayor Joseph Wyman standing in front of the newly installed flashing school safety lights. The lights, located on each side of the intersection of Oxley Road and Northwest Boulevard, and the "Walk" and "Don't Walk" lights at First and Grandview Avenues were part of a joint effort of the city and schools for the safety of the Grandview school students. Mayor Wyman served Grandview Heights from 1966 to 1971. He was recognized for his efforts to make Grandview a family city. Parks were developed with modern equipment in play areas, baseball fields and tennis courts were built, and the city's Parks and Recreation Department was formed. The name of Grandview Woods was changed and renamed Wyman Woods in 1968 in honor of the mayor, who truly fashioned Grandview Heights to be the Friendly Little City and one that was safe for its children.
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