There is a new gastropub at Graceland Shopping Center, cutely named Pat and Gracie’s. The tavern is named after the early 20th century gambler who owned the land upon which Graceland Shopping Center was built: Pat Murnan and his wife Grace Backenstoe. The restaurant owners are on a quest to find an image of Grace Backenstoe. (They already have pictures of Pat.) Does anyone out there have one? Let me know and I’ll post it here as well as forward it to the restaurateurs. And thanks!

[Update: my update on this topic at here.]

I assume this late 1930s picture was taken somewhere along the Olentangy River in the area of Clintonville. Note that both the trees and the stone structure are actually in the water. Does anyone out there recognize the location? [From a North High Memory Book]

Libby Wetherholt recently gave this presentation about the Zimmerman family to the Clintonville Historical Society, and has kindly agreed to share it with us.

Wendy Bayer sent us this wonderful plat map of Old Beechwold. Plats are maps, usually drawn to scale, of the subdivisions of a piece of land. with lot numbers. [Map courtesy of Franklin County Records via Wendy Bayer]

Ron Irick recently alerted me to the Historic Marker Data Base. In it are photographs of several additional markers covering Clintonville’s notable people, places and events. The database includes the marker for Rand Hollenback, on Hollenback Drive at Whetstone Park, the Nat’l Register of Historic Places marker for East North Broadway Historic District, and the marker (currently in Powell) for the Grand Carousel which was formerly at Olentangy Olentangy Park.

Ron recently posted the Clinton Township/Clintonville Historic Marker.

Though not in this database, there is also a marker for the Old Beechwold Historical District. I believe there is also some sort of marker for the former home of the Republican Glee Club at 57 Weber Road.

Kevin Parks has written a very nice article about Clintonville Historical Society’s new Historical Markers program in the March 22, 2016 issue of This Week/The Booster

Despite his lead sentence, full credit for the program belongs to Mary Rodgers, not me! Mary has done a superb job of harnessing Clintonville’s community energy to get things done, history-wise, in the neighborhood. Thanks, Mary!

And thanks, Kevin, for publicizing this program.

[My post on the topic of markers–the one to which Kevin refers in his article– can be found here. I have recently revised & updated that post.]

I love this picture of the Arcadia Ave. Apartments, located at 73-93 Arcadia Avenue. The building still exists. When they were first advertised, they were described as a two-story brick building of Georgian type, housing up to 8 families. Each apartment consists of a living room, dining room and kitchen on the first floor, to bedrooms and bath on the second, and a basement laundry. The building was constructed by Galbreath and Leonard, Inc. in 1927. [Image courtesy of Stu Koblentz.]

In November, 1977, the Klu Klux Klan held a rally in Columbus, and met at at the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge, which stood on High Street across from Graceland Shopping Center. I’m glad for freedom of speech, sad and mad for what that speech consists of.

A. B. Graham (Albert Belmont Graham) was one of the key founders of the 4-H Club, and was also a leader in developing the nation’s county extension services that are still so helpful to farmers and gardeners and cooks. In his retirement years Mr. Graham lived at 159 Clinton Heights Avenue in Clintonville. (His son lived in Clintonville as well.) The Clinton Heights house is the last surviving house known to be associated with Mr. Graham, and on this basis the house has recently been put on the Register of Historic Places.

You can find more information elsewhere on this web site

Bob Henry (North High School Class of 1957) was kind enough to share this photograph of himself in the days when he was a Columbus Dispatch carrier.

The Dispatch sub-station he was posted from was located in the alley behind the Clinton Theater on High Street. This picture was taken circa 1950 and shows a bunch of Dispatch carriers in front of the station. Earl McBlain, shown in the doorway, was the station manager. From Bob:

In those days, the carriers, ages 10 to 15, would ride their bikes to the station after school, where Earl would count out our papers to us. The station had a bench along the walls, which we used to fold and bag our papers. In the center of the room was a pot-belly stove that burned yesterdays papers to keep us warm in the winter. Once we had bagged our papers, we rode to our routes throughout Clintonville. Mine was on West Dunedin, along Olentangy Blvd, Winthrop and Weston Place, about 70 houses. Carrying papers took a couple of hours each day, including Sat and Sun morning; on Thurs, and Fri nights we collected money from each house on the route, which required another couple of hours. I believe the cost was 40 cents per week for a seven-day subscription. The Weds Star cost another 15 cents. When my mom learned I was carrying the Star, which was a risqué paper in those days, she called Earl to complain, but he could not do anything about it.

On Saturdays before noon we had to go to the station to pay our paper bill of about $20 and kept the rest, about $8.

[Photo courtesy of Bob Henry]