FAMILIES I-L: LEMMONS ~ John Lemmons
This Lemmons Family page originated in November 2013, after Ida Mae Lemmons contributed family information and several photographs. More information regarding the Lemmons family will be added as it is discovered and/or received.
John Lemmons
John and Elma Lemmons came to Darrtown, in the early 1950's, from Gary, Indiana, where John had managed a farm for his brother, Will. The couple had previously lived in the area of College Corner, Ohio/Indiana, where they met and were married.
John and Elma had eight children: Aletha, Myron, Dorothy, Robert, Lois, Melba, Mary, and Kenneth. When John and Elma settled in Darrtown, all their children, except Kenneth, were married and living on their own. Kenneth was in the process of being part of the U.S. military and was based in California, during the Korean Conflict.
Grandmother, Mary Abigail Agnew, lived with John and Elma, in their residence at 4281 East Street, in Darrtown. The house, which was one of the first Bufler homes built in Darrtown, still stands.
John and Elma attended the Darrtown United Methodist Church.
In the 1960's, John and Elma decided to take in orphaned children from the Butler County Children's Home - which was located on South D Street in Hamilton, Ohio. Coincidentally, Darrtown native, Helen (McVicker) Manser was a case worker for the Children's Home and Helen was assigned to John and Elma for the caring of the children. During the 1960's and 1970's, John and Elma provided care for 78 children.
In their earlier years, when the family lived in the Seven Mile countryside, son, Robert, attended Darrtown High School. That school building stood on the property where the Darrtown Baptist Church is now located.
Daughter, Dorothy, was married to home builder, Les Bufler and daughter, Melba, was married to home builder, Myrl "Corky" Gross.
In his retirement years, John Lemmons found enjoyment riding in a cart that was owned by Joe McDade, and pulled by Joe's pony - named "Buddy." Known to many as "Pony Joe," McDade lived on Scott Road - on the farm that was owned by Cecil Phares in the 1950's. It was a pleasure to see John and Joe riding in the cart, around town and on nearby county roads, enjoying "life." They also spent time at Glardon's Grocery and McVicker's Garage and gasoline station.
The Lemmons' family plot is located in the Darrtown Cemetery. John and Elma are both buried there.
John and Elma (Agnew) Lemmons
ABOVE: The Lemmons residence
at 4281 East Street in Darrtown, Ohio.
RIGHT:
Abigail Agnew
- Mother of
Elma Lemmons
LEFT: (L-R) Elma Lemmons, Kenneth Lemmons, and John Lemmons.
This photo shows Kenneth, flanked by his mother and father, on the day that he left home to serve in the U. S. Marines, during the Korean Conflict. Kenneth passed away in 2012 and is buried in the Darrtown Cemetery.
The Robert E. Lemmons family
RIGHT:
Front (left to right): Robert E. Lemmons and Ida Mae (Eiler) Lemmons
Back (left to right): Carolyn Lemmons, Stevan Lemmons, Deanna Lemmons, and Ruthanne Lemmons.
This image was taken by Hoxie Photography, of Oxford, Ohio, in 1960.
LEFT: Taken at the Lemmons home at 3150 South Street, in Darrtown, this 1958 image shows John Lemmons (left) and his son, Robert Lemmons, who owned and operated the Lemmons Bus Service.
RIGHT: This 1958 image shows Robert Lemmons in his constable's uniform. Robert served as the Darrtown constable, after Owen Kelly.
RIGHT: This family photo was taken in 1958 at the Lemmons residence, 3150 South Street. Left to right in the front: Carolyn, Ida Mae, Ruthanne, Deanna, and Bob Lemmons. Son, Stevan, appears in the back, in his Air Force uniform.
LEFT: Stevan Lemmons, at the airport, after completing basic training - May, 1964. Steve later served in the Vietnam conflict.
ABOVE: Ida Mae Lemmons and Robert E. Lemmons are seen at the October 15, 2000, Walter "Smokey" Alston Memorial celebration in the Darrtown village square.
LEFT: Steve Lemmons, son of Bob and Ida Mae Lemmons is seen wearing in his Boy Scout uniform in front of his grandparents' home at 4281 East Street in Darrtown.
RIGHT:
Robert "Bob" Lemmons and his mother, Elma Lemmons
This picture was taken in front of the Lemmons residence at 4281 East Street in Darrtown, Ohio.
Robert served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He passed away in 2002 and is buried in the Darrtown Cemetery.
A Retrospective: The Lemmons family in Darrtown
Ida Mae (Eiler) Lemmons submitted the following, in April of 2014:
"Robert and Ida Mae (Eiler) Lemmons, along with their children, Deanna, Stevan, Carolyn, and Ruthanne (Anne) came to live in Darrtown in 1954. They lived at the Uhl property, which sits across from, what was then known as, the K. of P. (Knights of Pythias) Hall. In 1958, we purchased a new "Bufler-built" home, located at 3150 South Street. Our neighbors were Lud and Harriet Durrough, Alford and Evelyn Rice, Arthur and Elinor Russell, and Jerry and Margie Quick.
Robert was employed as a machinist in Hamilton area shops and Ida Mae was employed by the Pillsbury Company of Hamilton, Ohio.
Our children, like all other children of Darrtown, could enjoy one another safely. All families knew one another and cared for each other's families. They could walk to Glardon's Grocery, which was owned by Don Beckett's grandparents, and enjoy friends along the way. We also walked to church with friends and family.
McVicker's Garage and Gas Station was able to provide gas and kerosene, and do some repairs for locals.
"Smokey" Alston, then manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, resided in Darrtown. During baseball's off-season, there was a parade that went from Darrtown, across St. Rte. 73 into Oxford, where Smokey had attended Miami University. It was a fun time for the community.
Most everyone knew about the annual Christmas party at the Hitching Post, given by the owner and operator, Earl "Red" Huber. It seemed that children of Darrtown always had something to look forward to. Also, in Darrtown, there were two active churches, which sponsored Christmas programs, hymn "sings" and special dinners. In the summertime, floats, bicycles, dressed-up pets pulled in wagons, clowns, music, little children, and all the others in the parade invited everyone to a week of Bible school, as they walked through all the streets.
Robert attended the Darrtown High School that sat along Oxford Street in the 1930's.
Robert owned and operated a parochial, small bus service for the Talawanda School District, until the year that the state disallowed the small buses. He was part of the committee, along with Arthur Russell and others, to build the original Darrtown Firehouse, which was exciting. He served as the constable, in 1968, replacing Mr. Kelly.
Steven served in the Air Force, during the Vietnam Conflict.
Robert was a WWWII veteran and served in the Mediterranean on LST 211."
