The College Hill eNewsletter
Telling the story of "A Diverse and Neighborly Community." October 9, 2008
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In This Issue ...
Hundreds Huddle Here to Enhance Town Hall Playfield
Aiken Football Thursday (Today)
Another Homesite Cleared on Ceda
Facades Refurbished on the Avenue
Winburn Church Up for Sale
A Bit of College Hill History:Baseball and Swimming at Town Hall
First Craft Bazaar of Season at House of Joy
District 5 Police Department Serves Up Spaghetti!
Buy Your Feast of Love Pies from AHG
Pumpkin Patch Saturday
Oral History of Business District Available
St. Clare's Evening for Excellence Returns
Coming Events
Dear Reader,
 
It's been a busy week, and it's not over yet!  Check it all out in this week's eNewsletter.

Ken Lyon, co-editor.
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Hundreds Huddle Here to Enhance Town Hall Playfield

Hometown Huddle 2008

Hundreds of volunteers, including more than 35 Bengals, worked all day here Tuesday as part of the nationwide NFL Hometown Huddle.  Volunteers from Home Depot, Best Buy, and many other companies came from as far as Louisville to paint, dig, mulch, and build a play area/exercise course at College Hill Town Hall.

The Home Town Huddle was was the culmination of two weeks of work at Town Hall Park, during which local companies installed landscaping, poured concrete, and prepared the site for the one-day blitz. 

Sponsored by the Marvin Lewis Community Fund and United Way, the improvements to Town Hall Park are the second Hometown Huddle to take place in College Hill. It's also the second project at the park this year sponsored by a Cincinnati sports team. Earlier this year, the Reds Community Fund made improvements to Heitzler Field and the park's batting cage.  

See lots of photos of the work here.

Next week: A look at the equipment and the new youth basketball court. 
Aiken Football Thursday (Today!)

Aiken Falcon LogoSteve Rossi, Athletic Director at the Aiken High Schools, writes to report that the Aiken Falcons are playing a rare Thursday night game this week at Stargel Stadium.  That's at Taft High School, 420 Ezzard Charles Drive.  

"The Aiken Falcons will face Woodward High School on Thursday at 7 pm," he says. "The Falcons are coming off a 20-6 victory over Clark Montessori on Saturday and have a short turnaround to get ready for the undefeated Bulldogs!"

In more football news, Aiken junior Antuwon Rozier is now leading the city in tackles, with 81 so far this season. Congratulations to Antuwon!
Another Homesite Cleared on Cedar

The Sylvester and Sylvia Busken family took one last look at the white clapboard house their family lived in since 1923 in a tour last month. It is with great sadness that the old family home at 1429 Cedar Avenue just east of St. Clare Church has outlived its usefulness. St. Clare Church bought the house out of foreclosure. The copper was stolen and the house vandalized. The church determined that it would take too much money to fix it up to rent or sell.

Cedar Avenue House Before & After

The Busken family were members of St. Clare Church since 1923. Syl and Syl and raised ten children in that house, all attending St. Clare School, Roger Bacon and McAuley. (These Buskens are related to the famous bakery Buskens.) The architectural design of this house is similar to its twin, the Ibold Family house across from College Hill Elementary School.

Theresa Busken was there when the house came down.  She helps clean up at St. Clare--a job she started when she was four!

Joe Gorman contributed this article. Before & after pictures by Gail Finke and Ken Lyon.

Facades Refurbished on the Avenue

Don't look now, but many of the businesses on The Avenue are looking better and better. 

Matching grants from the city have helped refurbish 19 building facades on Hamilton Avenue this year, in a program facilitated in College Hill by the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation.  

LaRosa's New Facade

The first Facade Program project completed was the LaRosa's building at the southern end of our business district. Owner Bruce Soldano had the building repainted, got new awnings, and had the signs for LaRosa's changed.  Later, he replaced those signs with the new, custom shaped LaRosa's signs. Later this year the shoe repair store will get new signs too.   

We'll report on the rest of the facades improved as part of the Facade Improvement Project in future issues.

More Improvements on The Avenue  

Not all the improvements are part of the official Facade Program. Improvements spur on more improvements, and a lot is happening on Hamilton Avenue.

Papa John's New Paint Job

Papa John's Pizza got a new paint job this fall, inside and out, and sharp new window graphics.   











Sister's Facade Gone


Further up the Avenue, Hurricane Ike provided its own incentive for improvement by blowing down part of the Sister's Restaurant facade.  Workmen have since completed what Ike started; they've removed the front of the building completely. It appears that Sister's is well on the way to having a completely new facade.

What's that saying?  "It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good."
 
Winburn Church Up for Sale

The Encampment ChurchThe things you run across while surfing the net!

Your editor was perusing College Hill real estate listings last week and came across a listing for The Encampment Church on North Bend just north of Belmont, of which Charles Winburn is founder. For only $3.8 million, you can have both buildings and the four acres they sit on. 

This offering does not include the adjacent former St. Richard's church and property, although we understand that that, too, could be available for the right price.
A Bit of College Hill History:
Baseball and Swimming at Town Hall--Then and Now

Since its construction in 1866 the College Hill Town Hall has been the center for recreation in College Hill.  

Baseball has been played at Town Hall for over 100 years. The field was originally set up in the opposite direction from what it is today.  Home plate was located in what is now center field and the ball was hit towards Town Hall.  It is thought that the field was changed to its current layout shortly after the swimming pool was opened to prevent fly balls from hitting swimmers in the pool.

Town Hall Swimming Pool in 1953Local residents constructed the original swimming pool in 1921. The pool was located between Town Hall and the bathhouse where the basketball area is today.  It was a shallow pool with no fencing and was sometimes used as a dance floor in the evenings. The original pool contained no filtering or water circulating system and was drained and refilled on a daily basis. The photo shows the old pool in July, 1953.

The current swimming pools were constructed on the rear side of the bathhouse in the mid 1950's.  The original bathhouse was also modified to serve the new pools. 

Article contributed by Terry Lindsey.
First Craft Bazaar of Season at House of Joy

House of JoyThe House of Joy will hold the first area craft bazaar of the season on October 25.  The Joy Bazaar will run from 10 am to 7 pm and will feature choir performances throughout the day as well as face painting, food, and more.

It will be held next door to the church at the McCracken Center of Peace, 5920 Hamilton Avenue.  There is still time to rent a booth. For information call Francine Ford at 513-541-4600 for information. 

Check the College Hill calendar for information about more upcoming craft bazaars--the Gingerbread Shoppe at College Hill Presbyterian Church (November 22) and the Holiday Bazaar at the College Hill Recreation Center (December 6).  
District 5 Police Department Serves Up Spaghetti!

District 5 held a spaghetti dinner  last month at the Recreation Center for Police Officer Jamie Spurling, who is dealing with a serious illness.

Police officers and Llanfair Retirement Community staff assisted in preparing the dinner and a number of volunteers took part in the actual event. Nearly three hundred dinners were served.

An event of this magnitude was only possible because of the donors, many from College Hill:  Kroger, Kenard Ave.; Piazza Discepoli, Hamilton Ave.; CVS Pharmacy, Colerain Ave.; Keller's IGA, Ludlow Ave.; Mac's Pizza Plus, West McMillan Ave.; Buffalo Wild Wings, Calhoun St.; LaRosa's, Hamilton Ave.; BaCall's Café, Hamilton Ave.; Goodies BBQ , Hamilton Ave.; Perkins, Colerain Ave.; Panera Bread, Calhoun St.; CVS Pharmacy, Ludlow Ave.; CVS Pharmacy, Winton Road; McDonald's, Beekman Ave.; College Hill Coffee Co., Hamilton Ave.; Marvin Lewis Community Fund; Roy Tailors Uniform Co.; Llanfair Retirement Community; and College Hill Recreation Center.

Officer Spurling and his family were present and express their thanks to all who made the event such a success. On behalf of the Cincinnati Police Department, thank you to everyone for your generosity!

Article contributed by Captain Dave Bailey, District Five Commander.
Buy Your Feast of Love Pies from AHG

Feast of Love LogoA troop of American Heritage Girls that meets at College Hill Presbyterian Church is making it easy for you to donate food to the Thanksgiving Feast of Love. If you buy a pie or Honey Baked Ham gift certificate from their fall fundraiser, they'll deliver it to the Feast of Love for you.  

The Feast of Love, an ecumenical ministry of several area churches, holds free dinners for hundreds of people at the CHPC campus on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. They also serve dinners to area shut-ins and at food kitchens around the city. 

The deadline to order is October 13. For information call the church at 513-541-5676.
 
Pumpkin Patch Saturday

Beth McLean writes to tell us not to forget the annual Pumpkin Patch Festival is this Saturday at Town Hall Park.

Pumpkin Patch CollageEnjoy performances and storytelling all day, on stage and in the Pumpkin Tales tent.  You'll see more animals than ever before--petting zoo, ponies to ride, adoptable cats, dogs and bunnies, too.

Of course there will be food-food-food, from Belgian waffles to soft pretzels to pulled pork and pizza.  Come hungry and dress for fun and active play! Games, games, games -- "Catch a flying gourd and put it in your pocket!"  All the pumpkins, straw bales, mums and corn shocks you'll need for your harvest display at home!  BIG SCARECROW BUILD--you know how much fun that is.  Great selection of crafts--something for everyone.

Come enjoy the improvements to Town Hall Park made this week at the Hometown Huddle; take in the Contemporary Dance Theater Open House. And while you're at it, stop in the Firehouse on Marlowe and shop Twin Towers Craft Fair, too.

ENJOY SATURDAY IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

Pumpkin Patch 08 presented by College Hill Gardeners in partnership with Arts Revival of College Hill, College Hill Business Association and The Forum Events Team and is partially funded by an Invest in Neighborhoods NSP grant. Special thanks to Cincinnati Recreation Commission for the use of Town Hall Park and Heitzler Field.
Oral History of Business District Available

Bill Angert, Jr., writes with an exciting offer:

My Father, Bill Angert, Sr. started Victory Radio Shop in his basement on Teakwood Avenue at the age of 13 in 1941.

In 1944 he moved his business to 6124 Hamilton Ave. and renamed it Angert Radio & Appliance Company. Angert's Appliances is Cincinnati's oldest appliance store and is still operating to this day--67 years later--at 6120 Hamilton Ave.

In 1992 my father walked Hamilton Avenue from Groesbeck Road to Wittlou Ave. with a member of the College Hill Historical Society, and recorded an oral history of the College Hill Business District. I recently discovered the tape of this event and have transferred it to CD. It is called "College Hill As I Remember."

My father passed away in 2003, at age 75. His recollection of the history of the College Hill Business District in an incredible resource from our past. I am making this CD available to all persons interested in the history of our wonderful community.

The cost is $5, including mailing to your home address. I will make a donation of $4 for each CD purchased to The College Hill Historical Society. To order, send a check payable to Bill Angert to:

Bill Angert
7605 Greenfarms Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45224

St. Clare's Evening for Excellence Returns

Kate and Marty WeldishoferSt. Clare Church invites the community to its annual fund raising dinner and auction, the Evening for Excellence. This year's theme is Roaring 20's.

Event Chair Marty Weldishofer (pictured with wife Kate) says, "You'll know you've gone back in time when you come upon 1920's vintage cars parked outside "Clare's Ice Cream Parlor"--which is a front for the  Speakeasy in the back.   Shhhhhhh...

Inside you will be greeted by two suspicious waitresses who will direct you to the back door where "Big Louie" stands guard. No one gets past "Big Louie" without the secret password. You'll have to buy a ticket to find out what it is.

Once inside the Speakeasy, the fabulous club decor sets the stage for a first class night on the town. Have a drink at  the Speakeasy Bar, then take a stroll and check out all the prizes and fun.  Enjoy a feast fit for any king or queen of the Silver Screen, dazzling entertainment with Charleston and swing dancers, and dance yourself to a live band.

By popular request the Oral Auction is back, so get your bid paddles ready for some dueling. Also enjoy the Grand Raffle, the Silent Auction, and the popular bouquet raffle with sparkling jewelry prizes. You can be a Speakeasy Raffle winner just by being an event attendee.

Admission is $75 per person ($50 for first-time attendees). Plan on being there Saturday, October 25, at 6 pm. Dinner is served at 7 pm. Dress is formal or 20's-themed. Questions? Call Marty at 513-681-4210, or click here.

Coming Events

Here are a few of the coming events in College Hill from the College Hill Calendar. To see all listings, go to the Calendar. To get an event you know about listed, click on the
"Submit an Event" link below or on the Calendar page.

2008
Community Calendar

Submit an Event

October

Every Friday in October: The Rock Cafe Game Night. Bid whist, spades, and tonk players -- gather at The Rock for fellowship, food, and fun. Cards arent' your thing? Bring your own game! $5 donation suggested; begins at 7 pm every Friday except Oct. 10 (9 pm). For information call P. Ann Everson-Price at (513) 236-9589.
 

10

Gabe Wright Gabe's music is part electric, part acoustic. This young singer/songwriter, pop-rock talent bring lots of vocal harmonies and a disregard for stylistic boundaries. Gabe grew up in Lima, Ohio where he played in bands and with friends and recorded a few CD's that are no longer available. Gabe graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and was the frontman for a rock band and a metal band there, which played across New England and New York City. Gabe spent several years songwriting in Nashville and teaching at the National Guitar Summer Workshop. We're just glad he's relocated to Cincinnati and we get to bring him to you!  Gabe's most recent CDs are "If No One Knows My Name," "I'm Not Who I Am" and "This is Life"
 

11

The Clazels The Clazels have been entertaining folks in the tri-state area for the last decade.  Joanie Whittaker and Jason Erickson are at home in just about any musical setting from acoustic shows to raucous full band electric sets, delivering classic covers ranging from Frank Sinatra to Johnny Cash to Neko Case.  But it's The Clazel's original music that sets them apart.  Their unique blend of dueling guitars and soaring harmonies will get you higher than an Eagles/Beatles/Simon and Garfunkel cocktail.  Mike Breen of CityBeat said of the pair "The songwriting and production is top notch.  The music is amazingly performed."


Engine 51, College Hill: City of Cincinnati Fire House Day. All city firehouses will be open for this special day. Visit as many as you like, but be sure to stop by 1654 Marlowe to meet the officers of Engine 51, see the firetrucks, tour the firehouse, ask questions -- and thank the firefighters who keep us all safe! Refreshments will be served. No fee; 1-5 pm.


College Hill Town Hall Park: Pumpkin Patch Festival. Enjoy a full day of entertainment, art and craft sales, children's activities, a petting zoo, and the famous Scarecrow Competition. The College Hill Farmers Market will hold its last sale of the year -- get your vegetables, plants, gourds, and baked goods! Free parking at Aiken High School. No fee for general admission; $4 per child for activities and games, pony ride and petting zoo, treat bag, prizes, and mini-pumpkin; $2 per child for pony ride only; 10 am - 4 pm.


Contemporary Dance Theater (Town Hall): Open House. Stop by during the Pumpkin Patch festival and see historic Town Hall. While you're there, check out the classes and performances at the Contemporary Dance Theater.


Twin Towers Retirement Community: Northside/College Hill Kiwanis Fall Festival and Craft Show at Twin Towers. This annual arts and crafts sale will take place at Gulden Community Center at Twin Towers. Concessions and baked goods will also be available. No fee; 11 am - 2 pm.
 

12 LaBoiteaux Woods: Vermicomposting Workshop. Recycle your kitchen waste with an indoor worm bin. A grant from the Solid Waste Management District allows Hamilton County residents to start vermicomposing for a fraction of the usual cost. $10 (covers book, bin, worms, and the class); 2 - 4 pm. Call 542-2909 for reservations. Reservations due Oct. 3.

First United Church of Christ: Church-a-Palooza. Several United Church of Christ churches will meet at FUCC (5808 Glenview) for this annual event. Donations benefit the Mission Priority Board and the Mission Partners of the United Church of Christ in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Entertainment includes singer/ songwriter Dave Hawkins, Muslim rap artist Rashid Mumin, Christian Gospel group the Ascending Quartet, country duo Brothers First, Bishop Todd O'Neal of the House of Joy, and members of the Nouveau Chamber Orchestra. Children's games and a basket raffle will also be offered, and you can enjoy a spaghetti dinner. No fee for festival --4 - 8 pm. Tickets for the dinner (4-7 pm) are $8.50 for adults and $4 for children. For information call (513) 541-7302, ext. 17
 

17

Dave Sams Guitar and vocals. A mellow solo performance of folk, Americana, blues, classic rock and world music.  Dave has his  guitar and voice teaching studio at The Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton, Ohio. A long-time player and singer, Dave has traveled and performed in Europe and much of the U.S , sometimes solo, sometimes as part of the popular "Bittersweet" duo with Jen Reid here at College Hill Coffee Co. and sometimes with the trio known as Luna Tanz. Come join us and see where the music guides him.
 

18 Sonshine House Consignment Store (1607 Llanfair): Storytime. Young children and their families can enjoy free storytime at the neighborhood consignment store (sales benefit 3Cs nursery school). No charge; 10:30 am.

Ryan Adcock returns!  Don't miss this one! Ryan's a native Cincinnatian who been making quite a name for himself across the nation and in several foreign countries! He's a favorite of ours and we couldn't be happier that he's finally taken a short break from touring and running marathons and is  here to entertain you! He's been voted "Best Rock Vacalist" and "Best Singer-Songwriter" in Cincinnati. Whether you call it folk-rock, indi-rock or rockin' folk, Ryan pounds it out and tells a story - funny, sad or soulful - his music hits the emotions, and creates the excitement as only the great ones do. In 2002, Ryan made an impressive debut on Mitch Albom's nationally syndicated radio show, playing to nearly 2.5 million listeners.  He likes small coffee shops, too! And he's great in any venue. His debut CD, "From Silence and Joy," is a best-seller.  If you missed him on the Acoustic Stage at Summerfair,  now's you chance!


LaBoiteaux Woods: Runs through November 1. Adult Plein Air Art Lessons. Join Mary Provosty for observation and rendering using wet and dry media. All skill levels welcome, each student will receive individual guidance. Bring a lunch for mid-class break. 10 am - 2 pm Saturdays; $40 city residents/$50 outside residents. Call 542-2909 for reservations. Reservations due Oct. 10.

 

19 McAuley High School: The Greater Cincinnati Performing Arts Society presents The California Guitar Trio with Fareed Haque and April Aloisio. This fundraiser benefits three inner-city Catholic elementary schools. It features an acclaimed trio that has released 11 albums in many different musical genres. At the brand new performing arts center. $25 in advance, $30 at the door; 7:30 pm. Buy tickets at www.gcparts.org.

The eNewsletter is published every week or two by the volunteers listed below. Our purpose is to help make College Hill an even better place to live, play and do business by publishing a broad spectrum of news for and about College Hill, with an emphasis on stories of College Hill people working together to improve our community.

The eNewsletter is independently prepared and published by neighborhood volunteers.  It is not affiliated with the College Hill Forum Community Council.

Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of any College Hill or other organization--or even of the editor. The inclusion of an article is not necessarily an endorsement. The fact that something isn't in the eNewsletter is not necessarily a lack of endorsement--it's most likely because no one told us about it.

eNewsletter photos are often edited to remove extraneous material.

Send us news that you think would be interesting to your College Hill neighbors--and we'll very likely publish it. Email to eNewsletter@CollegeHillOH.net.

  • Co-editors: Ken Lyon and Gail Finke
  • Contributing Editor: Sarah Mann Wolf
  • Backup Editor: Tom Strothers