Newsletter

Looks like summer is trying hard to get here but I'm feeling fall. Cold mornings and warm afternoons. Well, it's not a foot of snow! So with that attitude our mass mailing did get beyond the choir! We have some new members and a lot of people aware we are here!! They have our web address and I'm sure they are watching us. Speaking of web…we're looking for a designer to rework our site so we can make sales from the Carnegie Shop and accept on line payments. This would also make it easier to pay dues or become a member. I call it handicapped accessible. We may be a Historical Society, caring for the past, but we need to keep looking ahead with our business practices if we are to compete for donor dollars.

Moving into the present we are purchasing a paper folding machine. I'm sure most people have no idea of the people hours involved with this never ending chore. Since we value our volunteer's time as much as paid workers and it's a never ending, time consuming search for help, this should free up valuable time and people for other ventures as well as being a possible income source if the Board of Directors wants to attach a fee for use to other groups.

Speaking of the Board, our VP is back in full stride and with the assistance of our new Treasurer, Ms. Ruby Harp, and Firecracker Bowman (It's good to be a grandparent), a new and improved Fashion Show will be forthcoming! I am very confident this will be the best yet and worth far more than the admission! Watch for this on our calendar or even better contact us and be a part of the show.

Remember when NCR employed 17,000 people? Or Frigidaire had the same (in five huge plants) almost all gone. Frigidaire plant #3 still remains as Truck and Bus but how much longer with gas prices killing their products. Where is their history? I used to know where the Frigidaire archives were kept (like our museum most items were donated over many years). Last time I saw them they were boxed and wrapped sitting on skids all alone in the south end of the empty Delphi Thermal plant on Dryden Rd. I wonder where it went. I have been unable to find an answer to that! History belongs to everyone!

Keep a close eye on us! We carry a heavy weight on our shoulders and not all people think it's important. Truly one man's trash is another man's Treasure!

If you have any Germantown or German Township items, or any family genealogy of Germantown or German Township families that you would like to donate, please call us at 855-7951.

Patt Szaruga has volunteered to chair a Yard Sale in front of the Society during Saturday night Out on June 21, 2008. If you would like to help, or have anything to donate, please call Patt at 855-7951. We also need someone to work in the Museum during Saturday Night Out - 5 - 8 pm.

The 21st annual Founders Day Antique Show will be held in Veterans Memorial park on Sunday, August 3, 2008 - 8 am - 4 pm. If you would like to have a dealer booth to sell your antiques and collectibles, please call the Society at 855-7951.

An average of 60 dealers set up in the park. Many of them return year after year. The show is widely advertised and always has a large attendance of lookers and buyers. There will be a Food Booth at the Shelter House chaired by the Fire & Rescue Dept. and an Ice Cream Social in the Depot chaired by Jim & Ruth Taulbee. Phil & Ann Case will play music from 11 am - 2 pm

We are in need of volunteers to mark off the park before the show, facilitators to show dealers to their booth spaces, and a clean up-crew after the show. Please call 855-7951 if you can help us with any of these chores. It takes a LOT of volunteers to make the Founders Day Antique show a success.

A Historical Fashion Show, chaired by Vena Estridge, is being planned for August 9, 2008 at the First Church of God. This is a fund raising event for the Society, but a price for the ticket has not been determined. Final details will be in the August newsletter. If you would like to be in the Fashion Show or help in any way, please call Vena at 855-6242.

Thanks to Linda Eckert, Sally Shaffer and Lareen Bowman for arranging the exhibit of Accessions for our May Open House. This exhibit will remain on display through the month of June and into July.

Thanks to Glen & Lareen Bowman for chairing refreshments during Open House. Thanks to Dick & Sally Shaffer and Jim & Ruth Taulbee for helping to chair Open House. Thanks to Phil & Ann Case for playing music at Open House.

Thanks to Orion Smith for talking to over 100 second graders about the history of Germantown on May 20, 2008. Thanks to Dorris Hensley for helping make up 105 folders for the students.

He was preceded in death by his father, William W. Batten of Muncie, Indiana; his mother, Margaret (McCarty) Batten-Davis of Tipp City; his brother, William Batten of Piqua; and good friends Jim Barker of Germantown and Bing Patrick of Middletown. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Marjorie (Fultz) Batten; son, Michael Batten, and daughter, Lisa Batten, all of Germantown; son, Rex (Judy) Batten of Miamisburg; brother, Bruce (Nona) Batten of Tipp city; dear friend, Hazel (Bobby) Baker of Kettering; several nieces and nephews, and many friends.

Robert served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1951-1953. He then graduated from Miami University in Oxford, with a degree in education and later received his Masters from Ball State University. Robert started his teaching and administrative career in the Camden Schools. He later moved to Germantown and spent 25 years as an administrator and later OWE teacher - until he retired in 1987. He loved the Valley View School system and all the students and staff he dealt with over the years. While at Valley View, Robert started the Valley View Middle School Guidance Program, and the sixth grade Camp Miami trips.

After retiring from Valley View, Robert spent much of his time antiquing. Going to Kramer Auctions, eating at the Eaton Place, and hanging out at Dave's Auto in Germantown, were some of his favorite ways to pass time.

Funeral services were held Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at the Dalton Funeral Home, Corner of State Toute 4 & Weaver Rd., Germantown, with Rev. Dr. Larry A Grunden officiating. Burial Germantown Cemetery.

Kenneth P. “Ken” Smith, age 88, of Germantown, passed away Friday, April 18, 2008. Ken was born November 25. 1919 to the late Paul & Nellie (Kiefer) Smith: He was a Navy Veteran radio operator during WWII; earned his Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Dayton; was employed several years at Wolpert's and Dupps before retiring from the Dayton V.A. as a civil engineer; was a past member of the Germantown Lions Club; board member of the Miamisburg Art Guild, Germantown Cemetery Association, Zoning Board and the Covered Bridge Committee.

During his lifetime, Ken was an accomplished artist/painter and also volunteered at the Miamisburg Art Gallery, The Historical Society of Germantown, and at his church.

Preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Ellen Smith (January 2008), a daughter Sharon Francis (April 1999), four sisters and their spouses, Bessie (Carl) Ingabrand, Alice (Virgil) Minnick, Martha (Allen) Blankenship, Dorothy (Harold) Judy. Survived by a daughter, Kendra (Bill) Figett, of Virginia; two granddaughters Lori (Kevin) Desch, of Germantown, and Nikolette (Chad) Wilson, of Virginia, and two great grandchildren, Emmaline and Anna Desch.

A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. on Thursday April 24, 2008 at the Germantown United Methodist Church, 140 E. Market St., Germantown, Ohio where Ken was a member and former trustee. Dr. Carla A. Stengle, pastor, officiating, followed by interment of cremains 3:00 p.m. Thursday at the Germantown Cemetery.

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: freedom is never free! It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

In the 1500's, people cooked in a kitchen with a big kittle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: “Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old”.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could “bring home the bacon”. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat”.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the “upper crust”.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait to see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of “holding a wake”.

When folks started running out of places to bury people, they would dig up coffins, take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of 25 coffins was found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized people were being buried alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus someone could be “saved by the bell” or was considered a “dead ringer”.


	The Historical Society of Germantown \| home Mission \| Board Members \| History \| Museum \| Newsletter \| Contact Us \| Membership Application \| Calendar \| Photos Newsletter 2007 Officers Trustees President Rick Campbell Lareen Bowman Vice President Vena Estridge Richard Shaffer Secretary Miriam DeGroat Johnson Corae Neff Treasurer Ruby Harp Jim Taulbee Director/Editor Barbara Wachter The Historical Society of Germantown Newsletter Volume 35, Issue 4 June/July 2008 Message from the President FHello everyone: Looks like summer is trying hard to get here but I'm feeling fall. Cold mornings and warm afternoons. Well, it's not a foot of snow! So with that attitude our mass mailing did get beyond the choir! We have some new members and a lot of people aware we are here!! They have our web address and I'm sure they are watching us. Speaking of web…we're looking for a designer to rework our site so we can make sales from the Carnegie Shop and accept on line payments. This would also make it easier to pay dues or become a member. I call it handicapped accessible. We may be a Historical Society, caring for the past, but we need to keep looking ahead with our business practices if we are to compete for donor dollars. Moving into the present we are purchasing a paper folding machine. I'm sure most people have no idea of the people hours involved with this never ending chore. Since we value our volunteer's time as much as paid workers and it's a never ending, time consuming search for help, this should free up valuable time and people for other ventures as well as being a possible income source if the Board of Directors wants to attach a fee for use to other groups. Speaking of the Board, our VP is back in full stride and with the assistance of our new Treasurer, Ms. Ruby Harp, and Firecracker Bowman (It's good to be a grandparent), a new and improved Fashion Show will be forthcoming! I am very confident this will be the best yet and worth far more than the admission! Watch for this on our calendar or even better contact us and be a part of the show. Remember when NCR employed 17,000 people? Or Frigidaire had the same (in five huge plants) almost all gone. Frigidaire plant #3 still remains as Truck and Bus but how much longer with gas prices killing their products. Where is their history? I used to know where the Frigidaire archives were kept (like our museum most items were donated over many years). Last time I saw them they were boxed and wrapped sitting on skids all alone in the south end of the empty Delphi Thermal plant on Dryden Rd. I wonder where it went. I have been unable to find an answer to that! History belongs to everyone! Keep a close eye on us! We carry a heavy weight on our shoulders and not all people think it's important. Truly one man's trash is another man's Treasure! See you downtown, Rick Accessions Rick Campbell donated a framed photo of the 1968 suburban that once belonged to the Rescue Squad. If you have any Germantown or German Township items, or any family genealogy of Germantown or German Township families that you would like to donate, please call us at 855-7951. From the Director…… Barbara Wachter Patt Szaruga has volunteered to chair a Yard Sale in front of the Society during Saturday night Out on June 21, 2008. If you would like to help, or have anything to donate, please call Patt at 855-7951. We also need someone to work in the Museum during Saturday Night Out - 5 - 8 pm. The 21st annual Founders Day Antique Show will be held in Veterans Memorial park on Sunday, August 3, 2008 - 8 am - 4 pm. If you would like to have a dealer booth to sell your antiques and collectibles, please call the Society at 855-7951. An average of 60 dealers set up in the park. Many of them return year after year. The show is widely advertised and always has a large attendance of lookers and buyers. There will be a Food Booth at the Shelter House chaired by the Fire & Rescue Dept. and an Ice Cream Social in the Depot chaired by Jim & Ruth Taulbee. Phil & Ann Case will play music from 11 am - 2 pm We are in need of volunteers to mark off the park before the show, facilitators to show dealers to their booth spaces, and a clean up-crew after the show. Please call 855-7951 if you can help us with any of these chores. It takes a LOT of volunteers to make the Founders Day Antique show a success. A Historical Fashion Show, chaired by Vena Estridge, is being planned for August 9, 2008 at the First Church of God. This is a fund raising event for the Society, but a price for the ticket has not been determined. Final details will be in the August newsletter. If you would like to be in the Fashion Show or help in any way, please call Vena at 855-6242. Thanks to Our Volunteers Thanks to Linda Eckert, Sally Shaffer and Lareen Bowman for arranging the exhibit of Accessions for our May Open House. This exhibit will remain on display through the month of June and into July. Thanks to Glen & Lareen Bowman for chairing refreshments during Open House. Thanks to Dick & Sally Shaffer and Jim & Ruth Taulbee for helping to chair Open House. Thanks to Phil & Ann Case for playing music at Open House. Thanks to Orion Smith for talking to over 100 second graders about the history of Germantown on May 20, 2008. Thanks to Dorris Hensley for helping make up 105 folders for the students. Thanks to Betty Cornett, Tate & Ruth Taulbee for working in the museum during the month of May. 2008 Schedule of Events June 21 - Yard Sale August 3- Founders Day Antique Show August 9 - Fashion Show on hold September 27-28 - Pretzel Festival October 19 - Ghost Walk November 8 - Annual Dinner & Membership Meeting Wine & Cheese Party December 7 - Museum Open House & Holiday Home Tour December 14 - Community Festival of Choirs Concert December 17 - Volunteer Appreciation Day Welcome New Members New Business Members: By-Jo Theatre Neff & Sons Lawn Care, LLC New Family Members: Jerry & Joyce Green & their children, Craig, Natalie, Jordan & Kandall Joe & Heather Knueven Corae & Michelle Neff & their two children Benjamin & Katelyn. Renewing Family Members Kevin & Lori Desch & their daughters Anna & Emmaline Charles & Diana Southard & their daughter Stacy New Individual Members: Millie Adams Johanna Forbes Jacob Kittel Renewing Individual Members: Ethel Askins Paul & Dorris Hensley Sheila Metcalf Charles L. & Phyllis Smith Flonzie B. Wright New Associate Memberss Phil & Ann Case Kathy's Kitchen New Student Members Kimberly Martin Correction to May Membership List: Robert Campbell is NOT a JR, Tim & Sue are Woodards, NOT Woodwards. Total members for 2008 is 360. In Memoriam We were deeply saddened by the loss of two of our charter members. Robert R. “Bob” Batten, age 78, of Germantown, passed away Thursday, May 1, 2008, after a brief illness. Bob was born in Lakewood, Ohio on March 20, 1930. He spent most of his younger years in Pennville, Muncie, and Portland, Indiana. He was preceded in death by his father, William W. Batten of Muncie, Indiana; his mother, Margaret (McCarty) Batten-Davis of Tipp City; his brother, William Batten of Piqua; and good friends Jim Barker of Germantown and Bing Patrick of Middletown. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Marjorie (Fultz) Batten; son, Michael Batten, and daughter, Lisa Batten, all of Germantown; son, Rex (Judy) Batten of Miamisburg; brother, Bruce (Nona) Batten of Tipp city; dear friend, Hazel (Bobby) Baker of Kettering; several nieces and nephews, and many friends. Robert served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1951-1953. He then graduated from Miami University in Oxford, with a degree in education and later received his Masters from Ball State University. Robert started his teaching and administrative career in the Camden Schools. He later moved to Germantown and spent 25 years as an administrator and later OWE teacher - until he retired in 1987. He loved the Valley View School system and all the students and staff he dealt with over the years. While at Valley View, Robert started the Valley View Middle School Guidance Program, and the sixth grade Camp Miami trips. After retiring from Valley View, Robert spent much of his time antiquing. Going to Kramer Auctions, eating at the Eaton Place, and hanging out at Dave's Auto in Germantown, were some of his favorite ways to pass time. Funeral services were held Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at the Dalton Funeral Home, Corner of State Toute 4 & Weaver Rd., Germantown, with Rev. Dr. Larry A Grunden officiating. Burial Germantown Cemetery. Kenneth P. “Ken” Smith, age 88, of Germantown, passed away Friday, April 18, 2008. Ken was born November 25. 1919 to the late Paul & Nellie (Kiefer) Smith: He was a Navy Veteran radio operator during WWII; earned his Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Dayton; was employed several years at Wolpert's and Dupps before retiring from the Dayton V.A. as a civil engineer; was a past member of the Germantown Lions Club; board member of the Miamisburg Art Guild, Germantown Cemetery Association, Zoning Board and the Covered Bridge Committee. During his lifetime, Ken was an accomplished artist/painter and also volunteered at the Miamisburg Art Gallery, The Historical Society of Germantown, and at his church. Preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Ellen Smith (January 2008), a daughter Sharon Francis (April 1999), four sisters and their spouses, Bessie (Carl) Ingabrand, Alice (Virgil) Minnick, Martha (Allen) Blankenship, Dorothy (Harold) Judy. Survived by a daughter, Kendra (Bill) Figett, of Virginia; two granddaughters Lori (Kevin) Desch, of Germantown, and Nikolette (Chad) Wilson, of Virginia, and two great grandchildren, Emmaline and Anna Desch. A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. on Thursday April 24, 2008 at the Germantown United Methodist Church, 140 E. Market St., Germantown, Ohio where Ken was a member and former trustee. Dr. Carla A. Stengle, pastor, officiating, followed by interment of cremains 3:00 p.m. Thursday at the Germantown Cemetery. 4TH OF JULY (E-mail from Rita Collins) Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery,Hall, Clymer,Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: freedom is never free! It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games. Facts about the 1500's - Continued from May Newsletter In the 1500's, people cooked in a kitchen with a big kittle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: “Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old”. Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could “bring home the bacon”. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat”. Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the “upper crust”. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait to see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of “holding a wake”. When folks started running out of places to bury people, they would dig up coffins, take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of 25 coffins was found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized people were being buried alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus someone could be “saved by the bell” or was considered a “dead ringer”. Now, that's supposed to be the truth - whoever said history was boring?!