view - Pickerington Violet Township Historical Society

Website: www.pickeringtonhistoricalsociety.com ~ Email: pickhistsociety@hotmail.com
Fall, 2012
OFFICERS
Elected officers for the
Pickerington-Violet Township
Historical Society for Jan 1, 2012
thru Dec 31, 2013 are:
President
Gary Taylor
Vice President-Administration
George Hallenbrook
Vice President-Education
Jack Whitaker
Secretary
Mary Herron
Treasurer
Judy Stingel
Board Members at Large
Carolyn Boetcher
Chris Reale
Patsy Woodruff
Appointed Officers:
Membership Chairman
Barbara Taylor
Historian
Peggy Portier
Curator
Rita Ricketts
Librarian
Joan Heft
Publicity
Maggie Arendt
Pickerington-Violet
Township
Historical Society
15 E. Columbus Street
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 732
Pickerington, OH 43147
You’re Invited to
Founders’ Day 25th Birthday Banquet
Thursday, September 13 ~ 6:30 PM
Pickerington Senior Center
150 Hereford Drive
$17 per person
Reservations required by Sept 8
Invite your friends and family to join you for this year’s Founders’ Day Banquet where
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you can help celebrate the 197 birthday of the founding of Pickerington and the 25
birthday of the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society.
An entertaining program entitled “An Evening of Conversation with Early Fairfield
County Settlers" will delight you! Our speakers will feature a comparison of our 2012
presidential election campaign with the 1812 presidential competition between
incumbent, James Madison and his rival, DeWitt Clinton.
The evening’s home-cooked dinner will include Golden Chicken Breast accompanied by
tossed salad, scalloped potatoes, green beans, dessert, and a selection of beverages.
Dinner will be prepared and served by members of our Senior Citizens Center.
The cost to attend the Banquet is $17 per person. Advance reservations can be made
by mailing a check to Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society, PO Box 732,
Pickerington, OH 43147. Reservations and payment must be received by Saturday,
September 8. Any questions about the Banquet may be directed by email to
pickhistsociety@hotmail.com or contact Joan Heft through our website contact page .
Time is Running Out!
Now is the time to buy your tickets for a chance to win the “Baby
O” quilted wall hanging offered as the prize in the Historical
Society’s Fundraising Raffle. Tickets are only $1 each or 6 for $5.
The winning ticket will be drawn during the Founders’ Day Banquet
on September 13. The winner need not be present to win.
Tickets are available from any of the Historical Society Board members listed on the
left side of this page; or purchase your tickets at Fairfield Federal Savings, 1515 Cross
Creeks Blvd in Pickerington.
If you would like to help support the Historical Museum by selling some Raffle tickets
between now and September 13, please contact Mary Herron by email at
PickHistSociety@hotmail.com.
Proceeds from the Raffle will help pay for new window coverings and carpentry work
in the Museum’s Lower Level as well as binding old magazines and books to make
them available to Museum guests.
Guest Article
The following article was written by Roger Burnard, a previous long-time resident of Pickerington. Roger graduated from
Pickerington High School with the class of 1952 and later graduated from The Ohio State University. There he became a tenured
professor and was in charge of the largest individualized instruction computer based testing program in Biology in the United
States. He taught at OSU for 26 years. He was very active while in Pickerington in many areas, had the longest perfect attendance
record at Peace United Methodist Church for some time and also did a lot with the Boy Scouts and Volunteer Fire Dept. In addition,
he became a nationally known outdoor photographer. Roger was asked to remember some of his early Pickerington years and has
written this article. Roger Burnard currently lives in Maple Valley, Washington and Sarasota, Florida.
~ Gary Taylor, President -- Historical Society
THE GOOD OLE DAYS,
AS I REMEMBER THEM
By Roger Burnard
I think for each of us, "the good ole days" represents something
different. I was born at home, in our house on Church Street.
Although I don't personally recall the event, I was told that June
27, 1934 set some kind of high temperature record. My father
told me years later that Dr. W. B. Taylor was dripping wet with
sweat after my delivery.
Life was fairly simple in the late 30s and early 40s. As I recall, we
did not have running water in our house -- just a pump by the
kitchen sink. We also got water from a cistern in back of the
house. Down the walkway, toward the garage, we had a wooden
outhouse ... a two-seater, and a thick Sears catalog hanging from
the wall.
Inez Burnard was Pickerington’s chief telephone operator from the
mid-1930s until December, 1940 when the Pickerington office was
closed because of the conversion to a dial system.
At that time, my father had an Essex coupe with a rumble seat. It was a real treat for us to go to Cummins’ Dairy in Hebron to get ice
cream because I got to ride in the rumble seat. Ask kids today if they ever heard of a "rumble seat?"
When the feed mill was still operating, there was a very tall, brick chimney that set off to the east of the mill, and on many a warm
summer evening I would sit on the steps in front of my grandparent's house, (Perry, & Minnie Boyles) and watch the Chimney Swifts
circle above that giant chimney. As dusk approached, their circling would get closer and closer to the opening in the top and, as light
faded, they would dive, one by one into the top of that chimney, returning to their nests for the rest of the night. Even after these
some 70 years, I can still see that event in "my mind’s eye." Isn't the brain a most wonderful organ, when it works?
There were no video games in those days, so catching lightning bugs and putting them in a mason jar filled many an evening. In the
summer I used to play marbles with my buddies. We had two favorite spots that offered the bare earth that we needed to draw our
circles, or squares. One was in the vacant lot just south of the old train depot, and the other was on the east side of the library.
I recall the building that stood to the south side of the train depot. On the lower level was Charlie Exline's grocery store; upstairs was
the local office of the Ohio Bell Telephone Company. My mother, Inez, was Chief Operator during those years. When she had night
duty, I would often spend the night with her and sleep on a cot off to the side of the switchboard. Mother slept on another cot. When
a call would come in during those wee hours of the night, she would get out of bed and answer that call. And always with the same
pleasant tone to her voice, "number please?" Oh my, how the world has changed.
On special days, my mother and I would catch the train at the Pickerington station and make the long journey into Columbus. Those
were steam engines in those days, and they burned coal. I remember that the smoke and the cinders would drift into the open
windows of the passenger cars. I can still see those small cinders alighting on me and on the seats. When we arrived at the train
station in Columbus, we would get on one of the trolley cars that ran north and south in the middle of High Street. There were tracks
that ran down the center of the street, and the trolleys got their power from the electrical cables that ran above the tracks -- long
poles with round wheels on the ends would run from the trolley to those wires above. Every once in a while one would come off the
wire, the trolley would come to a stop, the operator would get out, go to the rear, pull down on a line, and reattach the connection to
that overhead power. After shopping at Lazarus, and a BLT at the "5-n-dime store," we would board the train and make the long
journey home. (Cont’d on the bottom of page 3)
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… around the Historical Society Museum
Museum Repairs – by Gary Taylor
During the last two years a lot of work has been done on the museum building. This building will soon (in 2015) be one hundred
years old and has started to show its age. Probably the most serious aging problem is that of the deteriorating mortar joints
between the bricks. This necessitated the need for “tuck pointing” the entire building. While doing this process, it was found that
most of the steel lintels above the windows had rusted so much that they no longer were capable of continuing to hold the brick
above them and needed to be replaced. Also, two of the brick corners at the top of the building had to be torn apart and redone.
After the tuck pointing process, the entire exterior of the building is to be power washed with the proper chemicals and then sealed
with the latest kind of coating that is expected to keep everything sealed for many years into the future. A number of minor repairs
were found to be needed to the rubber bladder on the roof and how it is attached to the building.
In addition to these exterior repairs, and with the Food Pantry moving from the lower level, it is necessary to paint and recarpet the
entire lower level.
A lot of work has been completed, and the building is being repaired/restored in many ways. The cost to do all of this work is
$52,870. This is all being made possible by generous contributions by the City of Pickerington, the Violet Township Trustees, our
Historical Society and a special grant by The Fairfield County Foundation.
We are very grateful for all of this financial assistance to keep this museum building in very good overall condition for many years to
come.
Museum volunteers now can sign up online to help with Saturday Open Houses or special events.
Just log onto: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409094FAFA72FA46-museum/4423997.
THE GOOD OLE DAYS (cont’d from page 2)
Today if kids go swimming most will swim in fancy, sterile, swimming pools -- many with lifeguards. When my buddies and I wanted
to go swimming, we would walk east along the railroad tracks to the second trestle. There was a place where the creek came close
to the tracks, and there was a great swimming hole there. It was great until someone threw a roll of fence wire into that hole and
ruined our swimming hole. I wonder just how many mothers today would allow their kids to swim in such a place? In those days, we
learned to be careful and take responsibility for our own actions. When we got hurt, it was usually because we did something stupid.
We accepted that, and we learned from the mistakes we made. There was never a thought of "suing someone" for our own
carelessness. My, how times do change.
Prices were very different in the "old day." Yes, I am aware that people made far less, but what I seem to remember more was that
we could get a loaf of white "Wonder Bread" for 7 cents, and the long loaf was 9 cents. Pop was a nickel, and if you took the bottle
back you would get a penny, or two, refund. But what I remember with the greatest pleasure was that I could get the biggest, most
delicious, cherry-nut ice cream cone on the planet, and it was only 5 cents. Such a deal. My mouth still "waters" when I think of it.
Just a few days ago I bought a double dip ice cream cone, and the price was $7.19. My, how times do change.
It was a long time before we had an electric refrigerator, and we kept things cold in an "icebox." Bud Badger was our iceman, and on
those hot summer days when he made his rounds, I followed his ice truck. He would give me little chips of ice to suck on. He wore a
leather shield over his shoulder, an ice pick in a holster on his belt. With a pair of ice tongs, he would heft a big chunk of ice onto his
big shoulders, carry it into the house, and put it into the icebox.
Those were indeed simpler times. Parents did not worry that something bad was going to happen to their kids if they were out after
dark. Unless you lived "out in the country" and took the school bus to school, you walked or rode your bike. Maybe a few of the Jr's,
or Sr's had cars, but not us lowly kids in grade school. Teachers were respected, and "smarting off" in class got you a trip to the
principal’s office. Discipline was far better then, than it seems to be today, and I think that we learned more. I have a fond memory
of Mrs. Tope reading a poem to our class just before the afternoon bell rang. I can still remember, "Casey at the bat," the "Village
Blacksmith" and others. Oh well, those days are all gone, but not forgotten. These are just a few of my memories of the "good ole
days." I do hope that yours are as pleasant as mine.
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Pickerington-Violet Township
Historical Society
P.O. Box 732
Pickerington, OH 43147
Find Quality Gifts
in the
Historical Society
Gift Shop
Porcelain logoed
merchandise has been
marked down. Stop by to
shop and save!
Historical Events
◄Historical Society members, Mary Herron
(left) and Maryann Macioce rode in the
th
July 4 Pickerington Parade to advertise the
Civil War History Hop held July 6 in Olde
Pickerington Village. Society Historian, Peggy
Portier, organized the community event
which featured Abe Lincoln, a Fife & Drum
Corps, Civil War re-enactors, displays,
demonstrations, food and more!
Be sure to participate in
these upcoming fall events:
Sept 8-9 (Noon-5:00 PM):
Annual Covered Bridge and
Heritage Festival, sponsored by
Fairfield County Historical Parks.
See the installation of Rock Mill’s
new wheel. Our Museum also will
be open these two days.
Sept 13 (6:30 PM): Founders Day
Banquet – Pickerington Senior
Center. $17. Advance
reservations required. Contact
Joan Heft through our website.
►Nearly 50 Historical Society members
attended our early August Picnic and
Tour organized by John and Rita Ricketts.
Six historic buildings, which had been
relocated to the Fairfield County
Fairgrounds, were seen. One of the tour
groups, shown outside the Joe Arnold
General Store built circa 1885 in
Dumontville, OH, included (from left): Anita
LeGrand, Polly Houser, Betsy Alt (one of the
tour guides), Lynn Boetcher, Mary Herron
and Carolyn Boetcher.
Oct 4 (7:30 PM): General
Membership Meeting - Museum
Lower Level. James Miller
(Pickerington ARTFRAME) will
speak about photo and
document preservation.
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