Christian L. Reiff and Barbara Zeller (1850-1890) were the parents of Art's father, Fred Reiff.
Christian L. Reiff and Anna B. Kriegenhoffe (1860-1932) were the parents of Ray's father, Carl Reiff.
Return to Events / Miscellaneous / Sports
Return to Baseball Sponsors
There is no evidence that Arthur Sylvester Reiff (1904-1972) ever lived in or near Darrtown.
HOWEVER, there are at least THREE CONNECTIONS between Art Reiff and the Milford Township village that Conrad Darr created.
First, both men were entrepreneurs; with Darr selling real estate (i.e., the lots that he platted in Darrtown) and Reiff selling a variety of items - some of which are cited in the business section below.
Second, there is a Reiff family connection to Darrtown. During the 1950s and 1960s, Raymond Reiff, a cousin of Art's, lived on and operated the second farm south of the Four Mile Creek, on the west side of State Route 177 (Darrtown Pike). Ray Reiff and his wife Ada are the Darrrtown Pioneers for the Reiff family - thus, the Reiff bloodline ties Arthur Reiff to Darrtown.
Third, there is an amateur baseball connection. As explained, in more detail in the baseball section below, Art Reiff's late-1920s Dayton Tire team included four Darrtown men (two Alstons, one Popst, and one Neanover).
Return to Events / Miscellaneous / Sports
Return to Baseball Sponsors
From: Adrian Reiff
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 11:01 AM
To: Frederick Lindley <webmaster@darrtown.com
Subject: Darrtown Website
Hi , I have a photograph of one of my father's local baseball clubs, the Dayton-Thorobred Tires Baseball Squad from Hamilton, Ohio . My father's business, Bargain Tires, sold said tires and got the Dayton-Thorobred Tire Company, as the sponsor. The photo is from around 1930. One of the team members is a young Smokey Alston. I would guess it is an unpublished photo. Would you like a copy of it for your web site?
Yours, Adrian Reiff
Webmaster note:
I soon learned that Adrian was a son of Art Reiff, who I recall as a Butler County commissioner in the 1950s/1960s.
Adrian's thoughtfulness and generosity led to an exchange of several emails and additional photographs - which have been posted below. This is a example of how artifacts can be shared online - for the enjoyment of an untold number of viewers. If you have items from your family that relate to Darrtown history, please use the webmaster link in Adrian's email (left) to contact me.
Here is some background information about how this Art Reiff Profile page evolved.
The photo referenced in Adrian's email (above) appears below. This photo has also been posted to two other locations at this website: (1) the "Early Years" section of the Walter Alston biography and (2) the "Amateur Baseball Sponsors" section.
Player/manager Art Reiff is seen at the right in the front row.
In a follow-up email, Adrian Reiff shared a second photo (below) of an Art Reiff baseball team, sponsored by the "Bargain Tire Shop." In this photo, Art Reiff is the third man from the right, in the back row.
The caption to this photo indicates that the year was 1930. This date suggests that the photo at the left was taken before 1930, given the youthful image of Walter Alston.
Newspaper coverage
A bit of research revealed that the Hamilton-based "Dayton Thorobreds" baseball team received an ample amount of coverage in the local newspaper.
As seen in the image above, the Newspapers.com website reported 225 matches with the team's name, during a ten-year time period (1928-1938).
CLICK THE LINKS ON THE BALL DIAMOND AT THE RIGHT TO SEE NINE NEWSPAPER ITEMS.
As mentioned at the top of this page, Art Reiff was an entrepreneur and this section identifies a few of the businesses that he operated. Newspaper advertisements (see links below) verify that Art ran the businesses cited here; however, it may be that he operated additional businesses. It any others are found, they will be added to this section.
Click the following link to see a 1931 newspaper ad for Art Reiff's Bargain Tire and Service Station business located at the corner of North 3rd and Black Street.
The following link opens a 1935 newspaper ad for the Wright Ice Cream store (located at 514 High Street), which Art planned to run like his Island Sandwich Shoppe .
This 1936 ad promotes the Grand Opening of the newly remodeled Island Sandwich Shoppe. Located at 808 Central Ave., the shop was jointly managed by Art Reiff and Durb Tuley.
This 1936 ad announces the name of the person who who won the contest to name Art Reiff's new business at 514 High Street. The new shoppe became ... the Ace-Hi Inn.
Click the following link to see a 1931 newspaper advertisement for Art Reiff's Bargain Tire Shop at its "new location" - 1212 High St. in Hamilton, Ohio
The following link connects to a 1934 ad for the Island Sandwich Shop, at 4th Street and Central Avenue - run by Art Reiff and his father, Fred Reiff.
Art Reiff's son, Adrian, provided the following photos that relate to Art's businesss. Click the link beneath each image for a larger view.
This following image shows Adolph Reiff, a brother to Arthur, in a pick-up truck advertising "Horseshoe Tires," at the "Bargain Tire Shop." The address is 5th & High - a location not mentioned in the above advertisements.
This image below shows Art Reiff's Island Sandwich Shop ...so named because the building was located inside the juncture of three streets (see the two maps at the right).
Click the "Auto 1" link below to see the photo with part of the image obscured.
An interior shot of the Art Reiff club on Main Street appears at the link below.
Adrian Reiff contributed this image and its caption, which identifies some of the people in the picture and provides additional information.
The neon sign above the front door of his new club is the same sign that hung from the Island Sandwich Shop.
Front Entrance of Art's Club
A photo of the front entrance of Art's club is available at the following links; however, the photo involves some imagery that may be bothersome for some. Presumably, the picture was taken after Art Reiff and a friend returned from a successful deer hunt. Two deceased deer are positioned on the front fenders of the car.
Inside Art's Club
Sometime in the 1940s, Art Reiff opened "Art Reiff's Club" in the 500 block of Main Street.
Arthur S. Reiff served as a Butler County commissioner for 16 years, according to a 1974 news item reported in the Hamilton (Ohio) Journal News. Art's son, Arthur R. Reiff, also served on the commission.
CAUTION: The "Auto 2" link below shows an unobscured view of the image, with the deceased deer visible.
As previously noted, Art Reiff is connected to the Darrtown Family Tree through Ray Reiff. During the 1950s and 1960s, Ray and his wife Ada (Terry) Reiff operated a farm located about a mile south of Darrtown.
Art and Ray were half-cousins, because their fathers were half-brothers.
The half-brother relationship (shown in the image below) stemmed from the fact that Art and Ray's grandfather, CHRISTIAN L. REIFF (1846-1916) was twice married.
The above image was taken from the Derr-Smolinski family tree at Ancestry.com (late March, 2022). The image is too wide for this website; therefore, it appears at these links as two separate images.
...an unexpected message from Adrian Reiff arrived in the webmaster's in-box.
Art stands at the left. Art's son, Sylvester, is the boy sitting on the car hood. The man at the right is unknown.
Fred Reiff, Art's father, stands behind the bar, alongside Art.
After contributing the two photos above, Adrian Reiff shared another. The link at the right opens a Thorobred photo, with Art Reiff standing fourth from the left. Art holds an object that appears to have a base, which might be a trophy. The taller man standing beside Art, in this image, looks like the taller man in the photo above/right - who is identified as "Dawson, scorer."
