The Silent Sentinels As the day dawned, smoke curled up from the ashes.  Homes and business buildings dating from the earliest days of the settlement were gone, destroyed in a conflagration of horrific proportions.  It was Saturday, May 4, 1872, the day after the infamous Black Friday Fire. The fire had started on the second […]

                       It was the early days of the Civil War and the Union was in turmoil.  The North had expected to easily smash the South and preserve the Union but something had gone terribly wrong.  The Confederates, buoyed by the bravery of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, had routed an unprepared, overconfident army of Union blues […]

Everyone has one, the junk drawer.  And while we call it a “junk” drawer it rarely holds true junk.  Twistie ties from bread bags find their way here as do rubber bands from the newspaper.  The odd screwdriver, letter opener or pocket knife lives here as well.  But amongst the “junk” live some good, old […]

Entering the Great Doors of St. John’s church your eyes are met with a feast of Romanesque Revival architecture and Classical religious design.  When your eyes are full, sit for a moment and wait for the ethereal sounds of the nearly century old Moller organ to fill the silence with a joyful noise. In 1929 […]

After the Black Friday Fire of 1872 the city mobilized to prevent a disaster like this from ever happening again.  The Washington Volunteer Fire Company was organized on July 1, 1872.  An engine house was built and an engine and 500 feet of hose were obtained from the city of Xenia.  In February 1873 a […]

The classified ad in the Dayton newspaper sought someone for “Plain sewing”.  Young Ida Holdgreve, an accomplished seamstress, figured she could do the job.  She applied and was hired.  However, the ad in the Dayton newspaper had a spelling error.  “Plain” sewing should have read “plane” sewing.  Twenty-nine year old Ida Holdgreve had applied for, […]