Robert Ohaver (b. 1920) lived most of his life in Clintonville and on West North Broadway. He had many stories of old Clintonville to share with us. On September 12, 2003, several community members (Ann and Alan Woods, Barbara Hotchkiss, Nancy Kuhel) interviewed him and preserved the conversation on tape. Now you, too, can listen to Mr. Ohaver’s oral history.

Sadly, Bob Ohaver passed away on June 11, 2009. You can find his obituary here. There is another small entry about his aunt on this web site here.

Bob mother was Laura Ohaver and his father was Walter Harvey Ohaver. Bob also had an older brother named Jack Ohaver who lived in Clintonville at 116 E. Dunedin with his wife Clara Ohaver. Clara passed away May 24, 1993, and Jack passed away on June 14, 2000. Jack and Clara had two daughters. Sue Bowman was born May 8, 1940; she passed away January 4, 2000. Sandra Urban born July 30, 1945. [This family information came to me from Jack’s granddaughter and Sandy’s daughter, Lisa Adkins. Thanks, Lisa!]

Each file is about 30 minutes long.

Contents

Track 1.
Brief Ohaver biography; origins of his family moving to West North Broadway; his World War II years; Clinton Theatre; businesses and homes at the interesection of North Broadway and North High Streets; drugstores and candy stores in Clintonville; the house behind 3391 North High Street; Dispatch carrier’s substation; Olentangy Park; the streetcar storage barn at Arcadia.

Track 2.
Olentangy Park cont’d; street fair at North Broadway and High to celebrate Clinton Theatre, the opening of Clinton School pedestrain subway, and the paving of North High Street after a new sewer line had been installed; the Olentangy River; 3 canoe clubs; development of West North Broadway (“the Broadway Extension”) and the Scott farm; development of the area along the adjoining river bank; the Herron [spelling uncertain]/Zinn home at 285 West Kenworth; Bill Moose AKA “Indian Bill”; Chief Leatherlips.
Note: the “Dr. John Scott” is William H. Scott, president of OSU 1883-1895. See my book, page 17, for a photo of his house.

Track 3.
Chief Leatherlips cont’d; house at 273 Erie Road and excavation of nearby gravel pit; the Fuller farm/Whetstone Park; rambling through the woods; Indian Springs golf course; Bill Moose AKA “Indian Bill”; Olentangy Park; North Columbus including the Ramlow Building; Picadilly Theatre; streetcars and interurbans.

Track 4.
Southwick funeral home; Joy Hunt home; Graceland Shopper’s Mart and Patrick Murnan; Clinton Theatre; the Great Depression; Ohaver family; Brighton Road development; Ohaver’s WWII and postwar years.

Track 5.
Ohaver’s return to Columbus from California in 1962; bombing of the Clinton Theatre in the 1930s.

Our Lady of Peace is another church that met in the Beechwold Theatre before their building was erected.

The new parish was decreed on January 17, 1946. In the earliest days, weekday masses were said in the apartment of the new pastor, Father George H. Foley. Sunday mass was held in the Beechwold Theatre and later, at the A.A. Schroyer funeral home (now Weir Arendt). The church purchased land on the northeast corner of Dominion Boulevard and N. High Street, which at the time contained two buildings: an old farm house that was torn down, and a second building that served as a rectory and convent. The first church consisted of a barracks (side view of which is shown above) obtained from the Army Supply Depot at Marion. Prisoners of War constructed the kneelers. A double barracks was used for the first school, which opened September 3, 1947. An old mobile voting booth was used by the nuns as a kitchenette.

It’s customary for Catholic churches to build a permanent school first, followed by the church. Cornerstone rites were held in 1951 and the school opened in 1952. The present church was built in the late 1960s. (Photo from Our Lady of Peace dedication brochure)

These children are a little stiff, and obviously no one told them to “say cheese”. But the children are cute and some of my readers may be in this photo. These are Our Lady of Peace students in the late 1940s, taken by photographer Ken Hauer. (Photo courtesy of Marge Hauer)

Here’s a very nice Columbus Dispatch article about Chester Nicodemus.

The Ohio State School for the Blind was built in the 1950s on land that had previously been a renown golf course, Wyandot Country Club also known as the Elks Country Club. This picture and its caption are from a brochure for the school published in the mid 1950s. (Photo courtesy of the Ohio State School for the Blind)

He was the second bishop of Columbus, occupying the episcopacy from 1880-1899. He was born in 1844 in Blairsville, PA and was ordained in 1868. He was president of Mt. St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland when he was selected to become Bishop of Columbus. His special interest was development of parochial schools. (Photo courtesy of Bishop Watterson High School)

North High School was a top ranked high school; alumni are rightfully proud of their alma mater. Here is a string ensemble from 1957-58: Tom Lange, first violin; Carol Lowry, second violin; Dorothy Neban, viola; and Mary Anne Brown, cello. (Photo courtesy of Leeann Faust)

Another picture that I was unable to acquire for my book was one of Bliss College, which moved to 3770 North High Street Clintonville in September 1973 from 131 N. E. State Street. Today the building is occupied by COVA. Since Bliss College folded, I have been unable to fix on a source for photos of the school while it was in Clintonville. Are any graduates out there?

I wonder how long school children have been parading in their costumes on Halloween day. Certainly they were doing so early on at Glenmont Elementary School. In the early days, neighbors probably turned out to watch the parade; nowadays they are more likely to watch from inside their houses. (Photo courtesy of Indian Springs Elementary School)

Here are a few photographs of schools that I was unable to fit into my book.

Colerain School, which is located at 499 East Weisheimer Road.



Calumet Elementary School, at 2774 Calumet Street.



Dominion Middle School, located at 330 E Dominion Blvd.