The studio where I go to yoga is just down the street from Woodland Cemetery, Dayton's most significant historic burial ground. It is the final resting place for many of the Who's Who of Dayton. The highest point in Dayton is also at Woodland and its skyline view is visible from this peaceful spot.
The tall building on the right is the former Winters Bank Tower, named after the Winters family, early Dayton pioneers who founded Winters Bank in the 19th century. Jonathan Winters' (the actor and comedian) great-grandfather was the founder of Winters Bank. Todd worked in that building. The tall building to the left of the Winters Bank Building is the former Mead Building and I worked in that building. Mead Paper, which eventually became the Mead Corporation, was founded in 1846 in Dayton by Colonel Daniel Mead. His grandson transformed it into a massive pulp and paper empire.
The Wright Brothers are buried at Woodland in the family plot. The cemetery staff periodically collects the money left at Wilbur and Orville’s graves. These collected funds are pooled and used for the general upkeep and beautification of the cemetery grounds or put toward burial costs for indigent veterans.
Van Buren Middle School where my children attended 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and where I taught, closed its doors for the last time at the end of this school year. The building will be razed in November and a new middle school will be built at the high school campus. Last Wednesday was a final walk through for anyone who wanted a last look. My son and I went for a walk down Memory Lane.
In the early 2000s the school had a "Buy a Brick" fundraiser. The bricks were then placed in the sidewalk at the front of the school. Before the last visit, the powers-that-be had a mason dig them out and we picked them up during the open house. My oldest started school there in 1996 and my youngest finished the line of Householder kids in 2005.
Maybe collect a few bricks from the school, as it comes down.
ReplyDeleteYou read my mind.
DeleteThat's a great view from the cemetery. That is such a nice looking building. Too bad it must go.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see it go but the school was built in 1949 and needs so many repairs. Getting it up to nowaday standards would be very costly, too. Cost analyses have been made and in the end it is less expensive to to build a school that meets future needs vs. reconfiguring the old one. A lot of people in the community are quite upset with tearing the school down..
DeleteMy high school in Indiana was torn down for a new building a while back. My family being all long gone, I've not been back in several decades. I still picture the beloved old building exactly as it was as if time had stopped.
ReplyDelete