Northend Wrench
An aerial photo of North High Street. On the top center of the photograph is Northend Wrench before that business moved to Indianola.
(Photo courtesy of David M. Wenger)
An aerial photo of North High Street. On the top center of the photograph is Northend Wrench before that business moved to Indianola.
(Photo courtesy of David M. Wenger)
January 16th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Jennifer E. Heller, 36 Glencoe Rd., was kind enough to share these memories:
“I am wondering if you remember the little store currently occupied by Harris Opticians, at Erie and High? It was called Kettler’s, and I don’t remember whether it was a pharmacy or maybe a little café, because it closed when I was 3 or 4. But I do remember the metal pipe outside was there, when Kettler’s was open, and something makes me remember that people parked their motorcycles at that pipe.
“I also remember when Smith’s was a real meat market. I lived on Amazon Place, and my mother would send me down to buy ground beef and buns for supper. I remember the man who worked the butcher counter; he always asked to see the note my mother sent with me, to make sure he got the order right.
“I remember when Kroger’s was in the yellow brick building on the west side of High between Torrence and Dunedin. Do you know what was on that lot before it was Kroger’s (and later the Toyota dealership)? A friend told me that her parents met there, and she thinks it was some kind of church, or maybe an open field with a tent, called “Soul’s Harbor.” This would have been in the early ‘50s.
“My parents, north-side residents since the 1940s, remember the area near where Henderson Rd and Olentangy River Road meet as a wild field. When they were dating, they took the street car to Henderson and then walked down to this area for picnics. Interestingly, later, my best friend and I rode our bikes around this area in the ‘70s before 315 was constructed, but by then it wasn’t mowed, and was kind of wild; long grasses and trees. My friend remembers even before that, when the area was a horse farm. She remembers seeing people ride over there; we figure that the horse people created the trails we later rode our bikes on.”
Thanks, Jennifer!
June 18th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
If memory serves me correctly this photo shows what was once one of a chain of Certified Gas Stations at High St and Erie Rd. Mr. Durrett ran it for decades and he purchased the property around 1985. He lived with his wife at 273 WN Broadway until he passed away in 1988 or 89.
The building behind the service station is Harris Optical as I write this in 2011. According to Dr. Harris it was used as a storage building by an insurance company. My memory recalls Kettler’s confectionary. There were sweets, magazines and sundry.
The parking lot adjacent to Smith’s Deli and to the north had a white house with a front porch. It was demolished around 1961. I am not sure of that date, but it seems close to the date that Jack and Gloria Smith purchased the Deli building. The current Jack Smith has a photo from 1961.
November 15th, 2011 at 11:53 am
Somehow my June 18th, 2011 comment is under and image of the North End Wrench. As of 2011 the North End Wrench is located at 4330 Indianola, which is north of Cooke Rd and on the east side of the street. My June 18th comment was regarding: Simth’s Deli is at 3737 North high Street one door north of Erie and on the east side of the street. 3729 North High Street was a Certified gas and service station. Kettler’s confectionary was in the building located behind 3729, and Dr Harris, located in the same building as Kettler’s, has 3725 North High Street as his business address. His business door faces Erie, not Glenmont. LL Lower
May 13th, 2018 at 5:18 pm
Kettle r’s was a little 5&10 with a soda fountain and a candy counter. I believe it was owned by a Kettler family. I traveled there often as a youth.
July 5th, 2018 at 3:28 pm
Yes, there was a confectioner’s by the name of Ketteler’s located at 16 Erie Road. Thanks for sharing this information!