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COMMUNITY - PAGE 6
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Emmons Alston assists with auto accident
The link at the right margin connects to a 1930 newspaper article about an auto accident, north of Darrtown. The article reports that a nearby resident, Emmons Alston, assisted a victim of an auto accident. This statement reveals Mr. Alston's HERETOFORE, UNKNOWN place of residence.
Until the discovery of the 1932 "auto accident" news item (above), there was no known record that the Emmons Alston family lived at the intersection of Harris Road and St. Rt. 177. As previously noted, Walter Alston's "A Year at a Time" autobiography does not mention the family living at the Harris Road location.
According to Walter Alston's autobiography, the Emmons Alston family lived in three locations prior to Walter's graduation from Darrtown High School: (1) Venice (now, Ross) Ohio; (2) a farm north of Jerico; and (3) the Apple Street residence in Darrtown.
In the 1950s, the Arthur Russell family lived in the house located at the intersection of St. Rt. 177 and Harris Road. In 2022, Marvin Russell, one of Arthur's sons, remembered the address as being 3351 Harris Road. The Russell family later moved to Darrtown. Marvin also recalled that his father mentioned that the Alston family had lived in the Harris Road house, before the Russells lived there.
By the way...
The 1930 newspaper item (above) which reports Emmons Alston helping at the scene of an "auto accident" prompted further investigation which revealed a 1930 Federal Census Report that confirms Emmons Alston's rental of "Dwelling number 114" on Harris Road.
EMMONS ALSTON was the father of Walter "Smokey" Alston, who became a member of professional baseball's Hall of Fame.
Click to see:
Other census reports for Emmons Alston appear at the Alston Family page.
The following thoughts address the SIGNIFICANCE of the newspaper article (seen at the "auto accident" link above), which reports that Emmons Alston lived "at the corner where the accident happened."
Passion for astronomy prompts focus on a stellar "DIY" project
Mike Titus constructs an observatory two miles east of Darrtown
Facebook page shows images captured by amateur astronomer
As Mike Titus explains it, his idea to build a DIY (do it yourself) observatory was triggered by his sighting of the moon on a particularly clear evening, when he and his wife lived just north of the Hamilton, Ohio city limits.
The clarity of the cratered orb to his native eye caused Mike to grab a field scope to take a closer look. Resting his scope on the outdoor family grill, Mike became enthralled with the view. After nearly two hours of star gazing, Mike came back inside the house and told his wife, Amber, "I'm buying a real telescope, tomorrow!"
Flash forward to 2020, when Mike and Amber moved to their Darrtown-area property - which provides an elevated and unobscured view of the sky. Mike's continuing desire to see the galaxy in greater detail evolved into his construction of a small, wood-framed building that now houses a "real telescope."
Oxford Observer article - original, with images and links - The Oxford Observer is a digital publication of Miami University journalism student content. See the original article.
Oxford Observer article - text only - The following link leads to the text of the article about Mike Titus and his observatory that appeared in the April 26, 2023 edition of the Oxford Observer. This link is provided in the event that the original article is removed from the host website.
Mike Titus has a Facebook page devoted to astronomy. See: The Chunky Astronomer.
Mike stores many of his captured images at an online repository. Some of those images are INTERACTIVE, which enables site visitors to click and drag for a closer view. See: Astrobin / Mike Titus
Published by the Hamilton Evening Journal on September 8, 1922, the article is replicated at the following three links - with extra information added.
TRUCK USED TO DRAG CANNON
PRANKSTERS UNIDENTIFIED
As of May 2023, some Darrtown-related people, who are in their 70s or older, remember the cannon that stood in the village square. There is general agreement that the cannon was four to five feet long and rested on a concrete stucture that was about three feet tall.
It seems likely that the cannon referenced in the 1927 news story above is the same one that some Darrtown "old-timers" remember in 2023.
The image at the left is offered as one that resembles the cannon remembered. If you can share a photo of the actual cannon, please use the link in the footer to contact the webmaster.
OF DARRTOWN-RELATED EVENTS PROVIDED BY ONE 1922 NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
OCT.
1927
A 1936 newspaper article (available at the link below) reported a local effort to moderate and/or eliminate the consumption of alcohol.
This program, known as "Temperance Day," resembles the anti-drug campaign of the 1980s, in that it also targeted students (Darrtown High School students, in this instance).
Click the following link to see the 1936 news item that reported the Temperance Day event.
Research shows that:
> Temperance Day originated in the 1890s and served as precursor to the Prohibition era in the United States.
> Temperance Day is observed world-wide every October 3rd.
The goals of the Temperance Day effort are consistent with those of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. See more about this organization as it relates to the history of Darrtown at Organizations/WCTU.
An October 2, 1931 newspaper item reported the closure of the Four Mile Creek bridge (south of Darrtown).
The state highway department cited bolts loosening in the bridge floor.
The repair would likely take three to four days.
Unfortunately, this same problem occurred a few days earlier and the problem was thought to have been repaired.
Click the following link to see the news story.
LOCAL GIRL DIES OF DIPHTHERIA - DARRTOWN SCHOOL CLOSED
According to a 1913 news item, Orpha Snyder, 19, died suddenly of diphtheria. In related news, a sister of a local teacher was also ill and the school was closed as a precaution. See an image of the news item at the following link.
Research found a profile of the Snyder family in the 1910 U.S. census, which appears at the following link.
Note that that the Snyder girl's name is spelled "Ortha," in the census report. Her age is reported as 16 in 1910, which aligns with her reported age of 19, when she died, in 1913.
Vintage warning card
The links at the right supplement the news story, as it mentions "Jerico" and the "second cross road north" of Darrtown.
IMAGINE ... a single newspaper article that includes information about:
... a storm hitting Butler County that washed away a bridge north of Darrtown
... the same storm forcing people to flee rising waters at a campground south of Darrtown
... the death of a Darrtown family's newborn baby daughter
... Lutheran church congregation members traveling to a College Corner spa springs
... a new minister assigned to the Methodist church
... relatives from Washington attend a Darrtown family reunion
... Methodist Church Sunday afternoon services moved to Sunday morning
... Visitors from Maryland leave for home and "expect to make the entire trip by auto"
... Josephus Ditman farm sold to John W. Smith
... Bryant, Manrod, Woodruff, Laughlin, Davis, and Gaiser families also mentioned.
A 1927 newspaper clipping reported on some unidentified persons who had some fun by "relocating" the village square cannon. The link at the right reveals the story, which includes the approximate purchase date.
A follow-up news item, published within ten days of the cannon-dragging incident, reported that the cannon had been mounted in the village square.
In December 1921, the bridge spanning the Four Mile Creek south of Darrotwn, on State Route 177, collapsed.
The 30 foot-long iron structure fell 15 feet to the creek bed.
A milk truck had just crossed the bridge, before it fell.
Work on the bridge would not begin until March, 1922. A temporary drive THROUGH the creek bed would be built.
Click the following link to see more details about this event.
...at the south end of Darrtown claimed another vehicle in 2009.
Through the years, there have been numerous incidences when motorists lost control of their vehicles, as they encountered the curve (or bend) in St. Rt. 177 (Hamilton-Richmond Road -aka Darrtown Pike), at the south end of Darrtown.
A crash that occurred August 14, 2009 was different than others - as it ended with the driver swimming to dry land, after he exited his vehicle.
RIGHT: This link leads to a newspaper account of the accident, with comments from Kelli Hansel, the owner of the pool, where the Jeep stopped.
Vintage light bulb
News broke December 22, 1923 that an Oxford, Ohio transportation company was creating a new taxi and bus route that connected Oxford and Hamilton - by way of the Darrtown pike - which meant the service would run through Darrtown.
Click the following link to see the news item.
DARRTOWN UNION SUN
DAY SCHOOL SPLITS
As 1960 ended, a unique and long-running relationship between two Darrtown churches was terminated by a mutual decision to end the practice of conducting a union Sunday School program.
Several newspapers reported the mutual decision that, henceforth, each church would conduct its Sunday School program.
Click the link at the right to see one of the news article about this decision:
Click to see background info about the Union Sunday School.
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The January 20, 1994 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer included two news items about a reported temperature of 40 degrees BELOW ZERO at Darrtown.
Click the links at right to see the news items.
