This composite shows four views of the building on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Oakland, which was torn down to make room for the construction of condominium townhouses in 2004. Most recently it housed the offices of Celeste Realty (middle right inset). The field day parade is shown passing in front of the building in 1916 at the far left. The lower right shows the building when it housed Gutches Market. Gaudieri's Tailors and Cleaners occupied the building in the upper right inset. For a short period, the Grandview Library had resources in the building.

This 1955 photograph shows workers from the Burgess and Niple engineering firm, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Grandview, installing curb and gutter and preparing the road for asphalt on Kramer Avenue. The view is from the hill on Bluff looking south toward Goodale Blvd. The Grandview Swimming Pool building can be seen just beyond the curve. B&N was responsible for many 1950s and 1960s construction projects in Grandvie and Arlington, as well as throughout the state and region. Their headquarters were in the Lanman mansion at 2015 West Fifth, which they purchased in 1953 from the Ingram family, owners of White Castle.

Dorothy Williams Pfeifer moved to Grandview Heights with her family in 1917 and enrolled in the 8th grade at Grandview Elementary School. She was in the last class to attend high school in the "Little Red Brick Building" (Harding school) on Fairview Avenue. Her written recollections of her early classroom experiences recounted forming close friendships with the 40 students in her senior class, rigorous academics including four years of Latin, and pranks. One outrageous episode involved "the boys" hiding a dead mouse in the desk drawer of Miss Loichet, their high-strung French teacher. Fourteen of the eighteen women in Dorothy's senior class went on to attend college, and Dorothy graduated from OSU with degrees in both English and Economics. An avid and lifelong OSU fan, the OSU Marching Band performed at her 100th birthday celebration. She was one of the oldest GHHS alumni, passing away in February 2007 at the age of 101. The photo on the left shows Dorothy in front of the Field home at 1226 Lincoln, and her 1922 graduation picture is on the right.

The 1919 Grandview High School football team poses for this photo on the field north of Edison. Bradley Skeele, the team's first center  wrote 37 years ago in History of the Brotherhood of the Rooks:  "...the first few years of football at GHS were played with only 11 players. Offensive and defensive teams were not even thought of.  Our uniforms were anything but uniform, being self-bought or borrowed. Our playing field had a ravine near it and a tree stump near the goal line. A neighbor's cow foraged there and had to be chased away when we played. There were no stands and spectators stood. What we lacked in great plays and skill we made up in enthusiasm and great effort."

(Ed. note: the members of this team have been identified as:
Front row L to R: Irving Bradbury, Mal Anderson, Leslie Okert, Nor Reed, Bob Rex, Bern Jaeger, Frame Howell. Back row L to R: Leroy Hendershot, Albert Rogers, Ralph Karns, Orville Jester)

Mr. O. D. Dryer was offering two lots for sale in this ad in the Sunday, July 3, 1910 Columbus Dispatch. The advertisement does not mention any affiliation with a real estate company so one can assume that he was one of many land speculators that resided and had invested in the area. The plat shows the location of his residence at 1083 Wyandotte, shown in the inset which is from the Country Club District brochure produced by King and Ben Thompson. Lots at the time were priced at approximately $500 (equivalent to $11,000 in 2006) per acre. Note that in Wyandotte Road, south of Bluff, was named "Dale Ave" in 1910. Lincoln Road was named "Paul Avenue", and Elmwood, south of Bluff, was known as "Elmer". None of the above named streets were paved.

This photo shows ruins of the Dwyer House (built in 1915) at 1198 Lincoln Road. The circumstances surrounding this particular fire (circa 1920s) are not known but early Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff experienced a number of fires that completely destroyed the homes. The extensive damage of many of these early catastrophic fires was due, in part, to a reliance on volunteers, unpaved roads that when muddy were difficult to navigate, and inadequate equipment or hydrant pressure. Prior to the purchase of the City’s first fire truck in1924, a hose cart (inset), stored in the Henterscheid Grocery building, was hauled by horse or manpower to the location of the fire. In one early episode the team arrived at the scene of a fire only to discover that their new hoses were threaded in a reverse sense from those of the hydrant and could not be attached. The farmhouse at the scene on the east side of the city burned to the ground.

This undated photograph shows Boulevard United Presbyterian Church members enjoying dinner in Fellowship Hall sometime after the new sanctuary was completed in 1950. Note the conspicuous absence of any children and that the members are dressed formally for what must have been a very special occasion. The photograph was taken by Firestone Photography Studios, which again suggests that this was an occasion special enough to warrant a professional photographer. This photo is one of several duplicates recently donated to the GHMCHS by BUPC staff. If anyone can identify either the occasion or participants please e-mail the GHMCHS at tdemaria@columbus.rr.com

GHHS Class of 1957 held its 50th reunion last weekend. Part of their class legacy is the uniqueness and magnitude of their senior day prank. The plan called for placing a 1953 Renault 4CV belonging to Dave Handle’s dad in the high school second floor study hall (Dave and the Renault are shown in this photo). At the appointed hour, in a co-coordinated effort with his senior classmates, Dave drove the car up a ramp of planks hastily placed on the main steps and into the building. The engine was turned off and the car was carried up the west steps. Much to their chagrin they could not negotiate the landing steps. The boys then moved to plan B, which involved placing the car, with the doors locked, in front of the principal’s office on the first floor. This successful plan has lived on in class prank legend. You can read more about it by visiting the GHHS Class of 1957 web page at http://www.ghhs57.org and selecting the memorabilia link.

Continuing with a long-standing tradition, a Grandview student finishes his painting on the window of a Grandview Avenue Avenue business while bystanders marvel at his handiwork in this 1948 photo from the Karlovec collection. Stores on both sides of the Bank Block business section would display student artwork, decorate the sidewalks, and allow the window painting to celebrate the fall holiday season. Students and residents would also participate in games and other activities on the block around Halloween. The Historical Society has written and photographic materials that indicate this tradition started as far back as 1925.

Between the years 1915 and 1925, Grandview Heights, Marble Cliff and Upper Arlington celebrated what was called Field Day. This annual holiday activity, held in early summer featured a parade, food, a baseball game between GH and UA, children's games, etc. Started by the leadership of First Community Church, it provided "a cement for a more binding community spirit". Residents from streets and neighborhoods in the Tri-Village area would build elaborate parade floats and compete for the Best Float blue ribbon. One such award winning float is shown here, an entry of the Wyandotte Road residents of Grandview. The children (inset) dressed as Wyandotte chickens, and rode in a cage surrounded with chicken wire on the back of the truck. The young boy on the running board is carrying an ax, and one of the fathers is guarding his brood.

John R. Tilton was born in Knox County Ohio. The Tiltons were "Mayflower" descendants. He was one of several early developers in Grandview Heights prior to its incorporation, and along with George Urlin, Fred Croughton and Edward Denmead purchased much of the land that would be subdivided for the new town. He is listed as a realtor in early Columbus directories from 1890 to 1900. His Gladdington Heights subdivision survives as the only portion of Grandview Heights that still extends as far north as Fifth Avenue. Its borders were Lincoln Rd, Elmwood, First and Fifth Avenues. An 1898 pamphlet in the Historical Society archives states that a 41' x 155' Gladdington Heights lot cost $300. Terms included $25 down and a weekly payment of $2.

This photograph, from the Esther Koch Evans collection, shows Grandview elementary students dressed as Pilgrims and Indians standing in front of the Grandview Public School (current Edison Intermediate School) with their teacher, possibly in the 1920's. Several of the boys in the upper right are not wearing Thanksgiving costumes but rather World War I "Doughboy" uniforms. There are almost 40 students in this class and presumably just the one teacher. Esther’s father owned Koch's Pharmacy in the Masonic Temple building located on the northwest corner of Grandview and First Avenues. Esther graduated from GHHS in 1933. Happy Thanksgiving from the Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society.

There have been many accounts of "Gypsies" living near Grandview from the mid-1800s until the 1960s. Newspaper articles described the "vagabond gypsies" camping in the woods between Fifth Avenue and King Avenue near what is now Menendian's Rugs on Kenny Road, which was adjacent to the winter quarters of the Sells Circus. (Gypsies have been for many years associated with the circus life, particularly in Europe.) Accounts in the history of Sellsville discuss the bands of Gypsies and the trouble they caused in the areas along Fifth Avenue. A former Grandview resident told of throwing small stones over the hill behind Our Lady of Victory church when he was in high school so they would rattle off the tin roofs of the Gypsy encampment. The label on this 1895 photo from the Historical Society archives identifies it as a "Gypsy family near Marble Cliff."

Dorcas Truckmiller began her teaching career at GHHS in 1915 and served generations of Grandview students for almost 45 years. In addition to teaching English and Latin she was also listed in the 1915 directory as the Highlander yearbook "faculty censor". This 1922 photograph, from the Alleyne Higgs collection, shows Dorcas standing near the southwest corner of Fairview and First Avenues. The Grandview Public School (currently Edison Intermediate) is in the background. Miss Truckmiller was a graduate of OSU and received a graduate degree from Columbia. She was listed in the faculty directories as an English teacher and drama club director until 1959. Her austere sounding first name is Greek for gazelle, however, her students privately called her "Trucky".

This December 1948 photograph shows Miss Marvyth Bonham's Stevenson Elementary School first graders (left to right) Marcia Williams, Susan Greenidge, and Donnie Rhoades in front of their Christmas Party Bulletin Board. The students worked for the money to cover their party expenses by performing household chores. A tally of each student's chore and wages are listed on the board. Marcia earned 5 cents for doing dishes while Susan received 2 cents for setting the table. Donnie was paid 5 cents for preparing baked potatoes. Throughout her long career at both Edison and Stevenson Elementary schools, Miss Bonham meticulously compiled an extensive written and photographic record of her students' activities, projects, and accomplishments. The entire Bonham collection is now maintained by the GHMCHS.

Patriotism and a keen sense of civic duty permeated all aspects of the Grandview community as our nation rallied in 1917 when the United States entered into World War I. The above half page advertisement to encourage residents serve the war effort was published in the 1917 GHHS Highlander, which at the time was a quarterly high school publication. In 1918 President Wilson proposed that every school age child in America should have a garden of his or her own to be responsible for. The Grandview and Marble Cliff communities responded by developing a children's garden plot at the corner of Arlington and First Avenues, and a community "victory garden" was later established. The harvest from the gardens was used to prepare community dinners that were held on in a building on First Avenue across from the present library.

Grandview High School students have a snowball fight in the playground area at the south end of the football field in this 1960s photo. The playground, with the sandbox and "monkey bars" shown here, was used by elementary students from the Edison school before it was relocated to provide more space for the athletic fields.

Wirth Howell, shown in his cadet uniform in this undated photograph, lived with his prominent family at their 1082 Broadview Avenue estate. He was the Captain Adjuvant and an Acting Major at the Miami Military Institute in Germantown Ohio. The 1917 GHHS Highlander stated that a company of 20 high school boys had been formed and that he was actively involved with drilling them in military maneuvers at the school. In conjunction with the United States entry into WWI it was hoped that the company could be expanded to 50 boys when a regulation military uniform was obtained from the Federal Government. By 1919 Wirth had apparently changed careers. His business card appears in the advertisement section of the Highlander stating that he was a representative of the National City Company in Cleveland, Ohio. His nephew and neighbor Frame Howell, who was a 1920 Grandview graduate, presumably facilitated his interactions at GHHS.

Julius F. Stone is shown with three of his children in the yard of his home, which is now the location of Stonegate Village on Westwood Avenue. The home across the ravine was the original Eugene Gray residence, located at 1080 Wyandotte Road. Stone completed only six years of formal education, going to work for the railroad at 12, but he went on to become one of Columbus' most influential businessmen and a champion of higher education. He served on the OSU Board of Trustees for 20 years and earned an honorary doctorate from OSU in 1938. In 1900 he married Edna Andress, who was from a prominent Marietta family, and whom he met when she was a student at OSU. Stone was president of Columbus McKinnon Chain Company; Chisholm Moore Hoist Company of Canada; Case, Crane and Colborne-Jacobs Company; and Bank Ohio Corporation. He was also chairman of the board of Seagrave Corporation, a manufacturer of fire equipment. He died in 1947 at 92 years of age.

Alfred B. Howell, of 1100 Broadview Avenue, managed a number of family enterprises, including a motorcycle agency and sporting goods store at 148 South High Street. This 1911 photograph is from a Columbus Dispatch article announcing that he and other Howell family members were sales representatives for New Era, Racycle, and Harley Davidson motorcycles, and that they were opening a branch office in Marion, Ohio. Motorcycle mania was sweeping the country, with racing facilities being built across the United States. The American Federation of Motorcyclists met in Columbus July 4, 1912 at the grand opening of Grandview's new facility, a motordrome erected on the Miller Farm near the intersection of Wyandotte Road and Fifth Avenue. Nearly 18,000 spectators attended this event, paying an admission of twenty-five cents.

Grandview resident Carolyn Thomas Harnsberger wrote in her book, The Life and Times of J. Oscar Thomas, that "early rattlings [sic] of Women's Liberation took place in Grandview in 1916 when the high school girls decided to give a co-ed party all their own wearing male attire of great variety". The participants are shown in the photograph. Carolyn (front row, fourth from the right) went dressed as Charlie Chaplin and won a prize for the most original costume. Adventuresome and ahead of her times, Carolyn's request to take manual training classes with the boys was summarily denied by Mr. Waltz, the school principal. She lamented having to take domestic science instead and continued to learn carpentry on her own. She went on to a successful career as an author, and wrote the flying manual A Pilot's Ready Reference, which sold over 30,000 copies under the name C.T. Harnsberger, because the publisher didn't feel that a reference book on flying by a woman would be taken seriously by pilots.