Hamiltonian Magazine December 2023 Issue

DECEMBER 2023

My Christmas Story Timeless Traditions, Magical Moments, and Priceless Memories

BY KATIE SIMPSON

Visit JustHamilton.com The

HAM ltonian OUR TOWN OUR STORIES OUR PRIDE Established 1791

LEAP OF FAITH

The inspiring journey of Justin Haire, college baseball’s unlikely coaching star

BY KEEGAN NICKOSON

HOPE FOR A

BETTER TOMORROW

Life-changing Cancer Care in Hamilton Every day, we renew our commitment to providing the exceptional care you deserve— from innovative therapies that destroy cancer with fewer side effects, to being a statewide leader in clinical trials.

Kettering Health Hamilton’s Cancer Center provides hope and healing when families need it most.

Learn how we help our patients reach better tomorrows at ketteringhealth.org/cancercare

December 2023

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Publisher One Pride Publishing, LLP Photographer Matt Grimes Graphic Design Eric Marquard Writers Shari Botts, Kyle Boomershine, Hannah Burney, Evelyn Duggins, Richard O Jones, Keegan Nickoson, Rick Pate, Katie Simpson Printing Hamilton Graphics A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED! SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 224 High Street Hamilton, Ohio 45011 PHONE (513) 499-2877 WEB thehamiltonian.store

Make checks payable to “The Hamiltonian” ($35/year)

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7 Word Play

12 Bar None

December’s Crossword Puzzler

Stumps is a classic watering hole

8 Leap of Faith

15 Spreading Holiday Cheer

The journey of Justin Haire

A tradition with a generous spirit

10 Healthy Hamilton

16 School Update

Don’t let stress ruin your holidays

News from around the district

our team >>>>>>>>> FULL SERVICE PRINT SHOP Hamilton Graphics

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BANKS & CREDIT UNIONS AllWealth Federal Credit Union

513-868-5881 allwealth.org

ENTERTAINMENT Pohlman Lanes & Family Entertainment Complex

513-795-7694 pohlmanlanesfec.com

ACCOUNTANT & CPA’S Baker & Associates

Telhio Credit Union

877-221-3233 telhio.org Cemetery

Sorg Opera House

AUTOMOTIVE Eric’s Auto Service

Greenwood Cemetery

FINANCIAL 9258 Wealth Management

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513-867-0770 Ericsauto.com

Rose Automotive

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DENTISTRY Clements Family Dentistry

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info@sorgopera.org sorgoperahouse.org

513-863-4015 9258wealth.com

FITNESS TerraLuna Pilates & Massage

Terralunawellness.net

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20 Things to Do

30 My Christmas Story

December events around town

My holiday memories

24 Little Chicago

32 Hamilton History

Going after the Wild Canary

Jacob Milders

28 Acts of Kindness

34 Fellow Hamiltonian

Logan Pickett’s generosity

Meet Peggy Bange

FOOD & BEVERAGE Gina’s Italian Kitchen & Tavern

513-889-1530

McDonald’s

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Richard’s Pizza

513-894-3296 richardspizza.com Wings on Brookwood

513-844-1312 wingsonbrookwood.com FUNERAL HOME Brown Dawson Flick Funeral Home

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HEALTH AND WELLNESS Butler Behavioral Health Services

513-881-7189 bbhs.org

Community First Solutions

513-785-4060 community-first.org

Envision Partnerships

klatta@envisionpartnerships.com Envisionpartnerships.com Kettering Health Network

513-867-2000 ketteringhealth.org/forthamilton HOME MORTGAGE

Kris Brown 513-893-6308 kris.brown@fcmhomeloans.com

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INSURANCE Hal Kresser Agency

REAL ESTATE Jeff Boyle Group

Wilks Insurance Agency, Inc.

RETAIL S.A.N.E.

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IT / NETWORK Integrated Network Systems

513-826-4364 integratednetworksystems.net LANDSCAPING Jason’s Lawn Maintenance

513-276-9290 Jasonslm.com

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 17 Strong

17StrongHamilton.org

Cincinnati Christian Schools

513-892-8500 Cincinnatichristian.org

513-275-1120 jeffboylegroup.com

Hamilton City Schools

513-887-5000 hamiltoncityschools.com

513-894-1235 Sanefcs.com

Visit JustHamilton.co

SALONS The Main Look

513-896-9456 Themainlook.com SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND EDUCATION Badin High School

513-863-3993 badinhs.org

The

HAM ltonia

Established 179

Mention us and a portion of the proceeds benefit The Hamiltonian

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5

Funetics #57

Funetics: A collection of words taken from the dictionary of the Boogies and the Woogies!

santanyms

/san-tuh-nimz/ santas that come in all different shapes and sizes!

© 2023 Marianne Reed www.boogiesandwoogies.com

December Crossword ACROSS 7 The father of baseball in Hamilton is _______.

9 The Department of Neighborhoods’ Engagement Specialist is _______.

10 Stroll or roll through the _______ neighborhood to experience 2.3 miles of glowing luminaries.

11 The Hamilton _______ was destroyed by the Great Flood of 1913.

Word Play 2 Stress triggers a _______ response, the fight-or-flight response.

5S outh _______ Drive and Hyde Park Drive.

3 Haire has led the Camels to _______ straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

6T he Paul R. Young Nativity has been a family favorite for over _______ years.

December 2023

4 _______ Smith is now in his third year teaching at Badin High School.

1

8_ ______ works with the Hamilton Dream Center to put together and pass out stockings with candy and toiletries.

2

3

4

DOWN

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1 In 1955 Carol Grubb’s friend said ‘You gotta be _______ stupid to buy that bar.

7

8

6

9

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November 2023 November Answers 1

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C H R I S T K I N D L M A R K T I M 3 R I D G E W A Y S 4 E T 5 D M O 6 7 8 D K H U T C H I N S I I R A E 9 S E R V E T R 10 F O U R T H L E Y A 11 L A U R E L N

ACROSS

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FullDOWN Service Salon Our Services

7 The father of baseball in Hamilton. * Hair 1* Facials In 1955 Carol Grubb's friend said * Waxing 9 The Department of ‘You gotta be ______ stupid to * Makeup* Nails * Neighborhoods’ Engagement buy that bar.

Specialist.

2 triggers a ______ response, Call TodayStress OR Schedule Online 10 Stroll or roll through the ______ the fight-or-flight response.

3 Haire has led the Camels to ______ neighborhood to experience 2.3(513) miles Visit 896-9456 or straight NCAA Tournament of glowing luminaries. themainlook.com (513) 896-4224appearances.

11 The Hamilton ______ was destroyed 4 ______ Smith is now in his third year by the Great Flood of 1913. at Badin High School.

Monday 10am - 3pm Tuesday - Thursday 10am - 8pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturdayteaching 10am - 3pm Sunday CLOSED 5 South ______ Drive and Hyde Park Drive.

6 The Paul R. Young Nativity has been a family favorite for over ______ years.

LEAP OF FAITH From water coolers to winning teams, the inspiring journey of Justin Haire, college baseball’s unlikely coaching star BY KEEGAN NICKOSON

AFTER HIS DAYS of playing baseball

were over, Badin graduate Justin Haire found himself going door-to-door, business to business selling water coolers and long-distance phone lines. He was making money, he was comfortable, and doing good enough for a 23-year-old to get by.

One night, Haire walked into a basketball game at the University of Indianapolis; his alma mater. He ran into his old coach, Gary Vaught, and after a short conversation, Haire would soon learn his life would be changing.

Haire picked up an interview on a whim with one of Vaught’s former assistants and the head coach of Sterling College, Scott Norwood, that Friday. Norwood’s assistant coach had left the program, leaving an opening for a young, eagerto-learn assistant.

Five days later, Haire had his Isuzu Trooper packed to the brim, ready to move to Sterling, Kansas, with no idea what was ahead of him. “This is something different, something new, it’s a risk because where I was in my life, I had no strings attaching me to anything,” Haire told The Hamiltonian.

“I just had this inherent feeling that I was going to do something cool. “I drove through the night, got there in time for practice Thursday, and was off to the races.”

step up in status, not requiring him to wear a men’s warehouse suit and cheap shoes, as he explained it.

what you want, sometimes you just have to figure it out as you go along,” Haire said.

Now, he was on the way to the middle of nowhere to a school that has around 475 students and is one of the smallest NAIA schools in the country to live in the dorms on campus.

“The money is whatever, just go and figure it out. As long as you’re doing something you’re passionate about and makes you get out of bed in the morning, the rest of the stuff will get figured out.”

Sterling was a rather successful program before Haire got there with Norwood having two years leading the program under his belt. That success continued, with Sterling reaching the regional tournament in Haire’s first year as assistant.

That Summer, Norwood took the opportunity to coach Ouachita (“Washtaw”) Baptist University in Arkansas.

Its baseball program was in a slide, posting a 9-45 record the year prior.

Norwood brought Haire with him, coaxing him with the promise of a massive nine-month, $3,000 contract for his services. It came out to $295 a month to be an assistant baseball coach. “To do what you want and get

Haire had almost quit his sales job to get into the insurance world. A slight

“Guys who know how to win and have a knack for what they are doing. When you are around guys that win at a high level, it rubs off on you to some extent.”

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Four years after that night drive through the Midwest, Haire had learned as much as one could about the coaching profession. He had gone into it with a rich background of playing underneath legends like Terry Malone and Mark Maus at Badin, Danny Schmitz at Bowling Green State, and Gary Vaught at UIndy. “I was fortunate to have been around winners,” Haire said on his time playing. “Guys who know how to win and have a knack for what they are doing. When you are around guys that win at a high level, it rubs off on you to some extent.”

Haire didn’t have all the pieces to the coaching puzzle, but he learned over time the most important part of coaching is relationships, and surrounding yourself with high-quality people that everybody can connect with and have the willingness to buy into. “It was as fun and exciting of four years as I’ve had,” Haire said on the early years of his coaching career. “It was super formative to me.”

That attitude helped him when he took his next step, which would no doubt be his most challenging.

Greg Goff had coached in the same conference as Haire during his time at Ouachita, leading the University of Montevallo baseball team. He had taken the job at Campbell University in North Carolina in the summer of 2007 and recruited Haire to come join his staff.

When he agreed to join Goff, Haire didn’t think he’d end up spending almost 17 years there.

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He told his then-girlfriend and nowwife it would be the same situation as the past couple of stops at Sterling and Ouachita. “I told her, ‘We’re going to be at Campbell for 3-4 years, and get it flipped around. Then we’ll be off to another place.’ Here we are almost 17 years later.”

Goff and Haire took over Campbell after an 11-45 season, led them to three straight seasons of 40 wins from 20122014, and earned the Camels its second NCAA Regional appearance in 2014, the second in school history and first since 1990.

After that season, Goff took an offer from Louisiana Tech and left the head job at Campbell open. Decision makers decided to keep it in the family, making then-33-year-old Justin Haire the leader of the program, and one of the youngest head coaches in the country.

Now heading into his 10th year as head coach, Haire has led the Camels to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. “We’ve been able to build something that’s really special,” Haire explained. “People from all over the country, all over the globe can come here, they can become the best version of themselves both on the field and off. They can feel really proud of putting on the black and orange. I don’t think that’s something that happens every day and everywhere in the transactional world we live in.”

Haire has used those lessons from his playing career and learning during his time as an assistant to lead him to where he is now. What Campbell has given him is basically what every coach

looks for; sustained success and a solid support system in a place you can call home. “It’s a very small, tight-knit community not unlike Hamilton,” Haire said. “You feel safe, you feel like the people care about what you are doing and care about your student-athletes.”

While Campbell is known by those who know college baseball as a solid program, it doesn’t have the Power 5 brand and prestige that some coaches look for. That doesn’t matter to Haire.

He and his wife have started a family in Buies Creek and have been there long enough to call it home. When those big schools come calling, Haire hasn’t been in any kind of rush to take over another program and relocate his family.

When he got to Campbell, he probably didn’t think he’d fall in love with the town and university. He has, and that love mixed with the effort and commitment that turned Campbell into a winner gives Haire trouble finding a reason to leave. “The Good Lord has kept us here and provided for us,” Haire said. “If He wants to move our butts somewhere else, He’ll do it.

If He wants us to stay here for the next 25 years, He’ll do that too. We want to continue to be open to what He has in store for us. Right now, He’s got us pouring our efforts, energies, and talents into the people here. We feel really good about that.

“Who would’ve thought 20 years ago that I’d be able to make gainful employment coaching baseball at a really high level? At some point, man, that’s just enough.”

DECEMBER 2023

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DON’T LET STRESS STEAL YOUR HOLIDAY JOY!

A guide to managing holiday stress and finding joy amidst the chaos • BY SHARI BOTTS, BSN, RN, CPHQ, CIC HAS THE MOST wonderful time of the

year turned into the most stressful time of year for you? If so, you’re not alone; 62% of those surveyed in 2015 by Healthline described their stress level as ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ elevated during the holidays, with only 10% reporting no stress during the season.

Do you long for silent nights and peace on earth? There are some strategies that can help you untangle the tinsel and keep the grinch away.

WHAT IS STRESS? Stress is a normal reaction that happens to everyone. When our bodies sense impending danger or threat, this triggers an actual physical response, the fight-or-flight response. Stress

Image by mdjaff on Freepik

hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, surge throughout our body, our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises, our breaths become more rapid, our muscles tense, and our digestion slows. All of these changes happen so quickly that we may not really be aware of them. Stress can help us by keeping us alert and readying us to react to danger, and motivating us to get things done; however, when we don’t get any break from it, or we aren’t able to manage it successfully, it can create problems and physical symptoms such as headaches, inability to sleep, and irritability. Chronic stress can really take a toll on our bodies and lead to high blood pressure, obesity, anxiety, depression, addiction, and increased risk of heart attack and stroke. It’s important

to recognize that stress is subjective; only the person experiencing it knows it is present and how serious it is.

STRESS MANAGEMENT We can’t always control the stressors in our lives, but we can control how we perceive the stressors and how we react to them. We can learn techniques to counter stress. Proven techniques are those that evoke a physical relaxation response and induce calm, such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga. The good news is that even 10 minutes is enough to induce calm.

CAUSES OF INCREASED STRESS DURING THE HOLIDAYS During the holidays, we have the colder weather, limited sunlight, and typically

decreased physical activity that comes with the winter season. In addition to that, the holidays can bring their own stressors, best summed up by the classic carol, The Twelve Pains of Christmas: • Finding a Christmas Tree • Rigging up the lights • Hangovers • Sending Christmas cards • Five months of bills • Facing my in-laws • Charities • I wanna Transformer for Christmas • Finding Parking Spaces • Batteries not included • Stale TV Specials • Singing Christmas Carols

your family.

• Talk with a professional or a trusted friend.

• Laugh! This is my personal goto strategy! Laughter increases endorphins, relaxes the whole body and relieves stress. You know what makes you laugh—do more of that!!

Many may be experiencing the loss of loved ones and the loss of traditions, and feelings of isolation and loneliness which can also increase our stress levels.

WHAT CAN WE DO? We briefly mentioned the proven relaxation techniques to help us manage stress, such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga. We can use reminders on our phones, or apps to help guide us through deep breathing and meditation (Insight Timer is a great free app to check out).

HERE ARE SOME OTHER SUGGESTIONS TO HELP RELIEVE STRESS AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR • Keep up your healthy habits such as a balanced diet, physical activity, hydration, and sleep; and don’t overdue the sugar.

• Practice gratitude; journaling can be helpful.

• Identify activities that you already make you happy, such as reading, listening to music, watching a favorite movie, or chatting with a friend, and rely on these activities when you are feeling your stress levels increase.

Make time for joy!

• Delegate tasks; you don’t have to do it all yourself; share tasks with Support Your Local Business!

AND SUGGESTIONS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE HOLIDAYS • Have realistic expectations, be flexible, and accept imperfection • Delegate tasks; consider hiring some help if you are able.

• Plan ahead; make a plan before the holiday season begins.

• Stick to a budget; make a list of gifts and their costs, and don’t overspend your means.

• Consider personal gifts (like a poem or framed photo).

• Give the gift of time together and shared experiences.

• Volunteer or help others—our generosity is also a gift to ourselves since giving to others has been proven to lower our own anxiety.

• Extend an act of kindness to those you know may be feeling lonely or isolated.

• Savor the magical moments.

•P rioritize those activities that are most important to you; set and keep boundaries; learn to say ‘no’.

•C elebrate your beloved traditions or create new traditions.

•B e kind to yourself; schedule time to take care of yourself.

• I f less exposure to sunshine or natural light has you feeling down, try to get outside in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest; work near a window; use warm bright lighting in your home.

•F ocus on what you can control: your thoughts and your actions.

LOCAL RESOURCES FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES We are fortunate to have many local resources to help us manage stress; here are a few: Yoga/Pilates/Massage Resources: •T erraLuna Pilates & Massage www.terralunawellness.net •Y oga • Benninghofen House Yoga Studio www.benninghofenhouse.com • One Love Yoga oneloveyogahamilton.com • ReZen Mind Body Spirit (massage) (513) 892-1777 • The Main Retreat Salon and Spa (massage) www.themainretreat.com Local Professional Resources: • Community First Mental Health Services www.community-first.org • Butler Behavioral Health www.bbhs.org • Butler County Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Services Board www.bcmhars.org • Crisis Hotline: Call or Text 1-844-4CRISIS (1-844-427-4747) Please be aware of your stress levels this holiday season. Keep in mind that the holidays also bring opportunities to celebrate love, hope, and gratitude, and I wish you all the utmost peace and joy.

DECEMBER 2023

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The best little bar in the ‘Wald’...

BAR NONE

BY RICK PATE

IN THE AGE of craft beer and microbreweries, there is nothing more comforting than the neighborhood corner bar. It’s where your grandparents met; it’s where your uncle went to get warm and watch college basketball on a cold afternoon in the winter; it’s where you went to buy your first beer on your 21st birthday. There is very little that changes in a true corner bar, and that might be what makes it so loveable.

It’s early Friday evening in the quaint neighborhood of Lindenwald, not yet dinner time. And whether you wear boots, a tie, or a dress to work, “The best little bar in the ‘Wald” welcomes you all the same. Situated on the corner of Benninghofen Avenue and Clinton Avenue, Stumps has been a reliable watering hole for over 20 years.

Like any good corner bar in Hamilton, Stumps is within earshot of church bells, and at least one railroad track. A drinkery has populated this illustrious corner for as long as anyone can remember, but it wasn’t always called Stumps.

In 1995 Carol Grubb took ownership of the bar at 681 Clinton Avenue. Once handed the keys, she decided that it was time for a name change. “I thought about calling it the Lindenwald Pub

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or the Corner Pub,” Grubb says. “But a friend of mine said ‘You gotta be stump stupid to buy that bar.’ So I went with Stumps and the name stuck.”

The first dollar Stumps earned was on June 4, 1995. Twenty eight years later, Hamilton is undergoing significant change, but Stumps essentially remains the same. “We painted the walls during Covid, replaced some ceiling tiles, and put down new carpet,” Grubb says, “but it’s still the same bar.”

Over the years a few minor changes have been made to accommodate the bar’s loyal clientele: An ATM was recently installed, a pool table now dominates the rear section of the bar, and a TouchTunes style jukebox has replaced the old-fashioned juke.

And while the ominous sign looming over the bar reads “In God We Trust All Others Pay Cash,” the bar did finally adopt a credit card machine.

It’s a challenge for any small business to keep its doors open for 10 years let alone 23. So what makes Stumps so special? “Longevity and simplicity,” says Nick Sciulli, a patron who

DECEMBER 2023

makes a point to visit Stumps at least once a month with friends. “Stumps is never trying too hard. Very seldom are there major changes to how the place looks, which I love. No matter how much the city changes, Stumps will remain the same.”

Owner Carol Grubb agrees. “It’s just a friendly bar with great people,” she says. “You never have to watch your back. You feel right at home.”

Wendell, a patron of the corner bar through the various name changes, shares the same sentiments. “It’s just good, friendly people,” he says. “People are always buying drinks for each other and looking out for each other.”

Anyone can tell you that a bar is only as good as its bartenders. The four-person rotation currently pouring drinks at Stumps is a driving factor in the bar’s ability to remain a staple in the neighborhood. Chasstidy has been bartending at the corner bar for seven years and looks forward to going into work every day.

“The faces make you feel comfortable,” she says. “The Support Your Local Business!

customers are always welcoming and friendly to us.”

The bartenders are quick to admit that they can’t take all of the credit for the longevity of Stumps; they attribute much of the bar’s success over the years to the neighborhood. Lindenwald, one of the most popular of Hamilton’s 17 neighborhoods, has championed Stumps since 1995, and the bar is grateful for it.

Unfortunately, the relationship between a corner bar and the neighborhood that houses it can sometimes get rocky. But it’s clear that Lindenwald has embraced the establishment at 681 Clinton Avenue over the years and is proud to call it their own. “A lot of the customers live in the neighborhood,” says Chasstidy. “At the end of the day it’s just a friendly neighborhood bar.”

Stumps holds a special place in the hearts of those who know it, but there is such a thing as the corner bar stigma. Many Hamilton citizens have admitted to avoiding Stumps because they were afraid of it. This begs the question: Does Stumps welcome newcomers? Absolutely!

“Even if you’re an outsider you’re welcomed all the same,” says Johnna.

“You’re treated right and always welcomed.” Sciulli couldn’t agree more.

“Don’t live in fear,” he says. “Stumps is for everyone.”

There’s no denying the fact that it’s difficult for a corner bar like Stumps to survive in today’s climate. The bar doesn’t find itself in a DORA district, and there aren’t food trucks lining up to reserve space on Clinton Avenue, but Stumps has made attempts to continue 17-712-AllWealth FCU-Hamiltonian Magazine Ad.pdf 1 10/26/2017to 10:04:42 AM crowds. draw

If you are one of the thousands of friends that Stumps has on Facebook, you’ll know that almost every Friday or Saturday they bring in a DJ to spin requests and host karaoke night. In addition, they recently started the Queen of Hearts drawing and a Bar Yahtzee game. Patrons can purchase a ticket for these games and have the chance to win big money. If that’s not enough, Stumps also has Happy Hour Monday through Friday along with drink specials during Bengals games.

There are even rumors that the famous Stumps burgers might make a return.

One can only hope that corner bars don’t eventually go the way of the mom-and-pop bookstores and local shops of old, and that the neighborhoods that house the charming watering holes that so many cherish continue to do so for generations to come.

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Introducing The Life You’ve Been Looking For Heritage Point at Berkeley Square

Berkeley Square’s Newest Neighborhood Offering maintenance-free living and the security of top rated care

Welcome To Your New Home Moving to our Berkeley Square campus in Hamilton, Ohio is about lifestyle. It’s living near your friends, going on trips, dining at our on-site restaurant, Coach House, and hitting the pool for a class designed with you in mind. Berkeley Square is the perfect home for individuals who value an independent and active lifestyle, yet appreciate maintenance-free living. Let us take care of the landscaping while you relax and enjoy the view.

Serenity Drive features 24 new construction residences. These homes feature light and airy open living— with spacious owner’s suites, two-car garages, and a variety of floor plans and design selections. We invite you to see one of these beautiful homes for yourself. Call and schedule a private tour today.

LIMITED AVAILABILITY Book Your prIVATE Tour

513-896-8080 DiscoverBerkeleySquare.org/Serenity-Drive 100 Berkeley Drive | Hamilton, OH 45013

Spreading Holiday Cheer and Compassion in the Community A tradition that creates a generous spirit at Ridgeway Elementary School BY EVE DUGGINS EVERYONE KNOWS that the holiday

season is one for giving back to your peers; a time of togetherness and making sure everyone feels as welcomed and loved as if they were a member of your own family. At Ridgeway Elementary School, a very special program is doing just that.

Ridgeway’s December Giving Project was started in 2009 by a now retired kindergarten teacher, Debbie Spencer. Her efforts have been taken over by Mindee Callahan, a student and family support specialist, and several other members of the Ridgeway holiday committee. Through this program, Ridgeway families that may be in need of assistance during the holiday season are able to apply for a donor who will provide them with some extra help. There are several donors that help in this program, including local businesses, churches, and compassionate individuals and families that want to help their community. The families that receive these donations are always very kind and express gratitude to their donors and to Ridgeway in the form of handmade Christmas cards, drawings, and thank you notes to the people that help them in their difficult situation.

In the words of Ridgeway principal, Kathy Wagonfield, “Ridgeway staff members and student families are also invited to participate in the program. Many Ridgeway parents and grandparents like to include their children and grandchildren in the shopping process which is an opportunity to teach them compassion. They have provided Support Your Local Business!

feedback that their children look forward to being donors each year and enjoy shopping for other students in the school.” Knowing that the children

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my grandkids have a very Merry Christmas! It’s a struggle to afford any extras after the bill money runs out. I couldn’t possibly have given these two the happiness that you have provided. Thank you!

— MESSAGE FROM A RECEIVING FAMILY

of these donor families look forward to being able to give back to their community every year, even if they may not understand the full weight of their actions, is incredibly inspiring: Ridgeway is helping to create a new generation that is willing to help those in need.

The holiday season can always be tough on people, especially if they find themselves in a less fortunate situation, but it is always important to remember to be kind to one another and to always extend your resources to those in need. The staff of The Hamiltonian hope that all of you can do something to give back this winter, and we wish you all a Happy Holidays!

DECEMBER 2023

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15

School District Update Smith is quick to concede that Physics is a difficult class.

“It’s very different in that it requires a structured way of thinking that we don’t learn through other methods,” he said. “It’s easy for it to be a science that students dislike. Think about it— Calculus was developed by (Sir Isaac) Newton in order to explain what he was seeing in Physics.”

JOEL SMITH was looking for a new challenge in the spring of 2021 when he spotted a job posting from Badin High School. “It was for an Engineering teacher, and it also included three sections of Physics,” he recalled of what he saw as a perfect combination.

“I thought, ‘Is the name Joel Smith somewhere on this posting?’”

Smith, 36, is now in his third year teaching variations of Physics, top level Engineering as well as Robotics at the co-ed Catholic high school on New London Road in Hamilton.

“I love the mix of classes,” he said.

“They keep me active and engaged.

I feed off the variety. And the Badin students are fabulous—a fantastic combination of invested and respectful.”

“Joel is someone I wish I could clone,” BHS Principal Patrick Keating said. “His background is extensive and he is incredibly well qualified to teach so many different courses.

He was instrumental in growing our Engineering program, aiming to ensure a rigorous curriculum that was accessible for students—something they look forward to taking.”

Smith is clearly what would be considered a “polymath.”

A graduate of Ohio University, he planned to major in Music Therapy after many years of playing the trombone.

But he also found himself taken with Physics during his days at Athens (OH) High School.

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JOEL SMITH, IN CLASS

“I had two realizations,” he said.

“Number one, I missed Physics. And number two, if I had to spend the rest of my life practicing every day, I was going to hate music. So I decided I could do music as a hobby.”

The newly minted Physics major was also fluent in French, so that he graduated with a BS in Physics, a minor in Math, and a BA in French … which he ultimately turned into a Master’s degree in French after serving as a teaching assistant for a year in four elementary schools on the border of Alsace/Lorraine in eastern France following his graduation from OU. “I started to realize that teaching was appealing to me,” he nodded, having also served as a teaching assistant in Physics labs in college.

His teaching resume includes six years of Physics at LaSalle High School in Cincinnati, where he also started the Engineering program, and then three years of Engineering at Deer Park Sr./Jr. High School before coming to Badin.

“I sent my resume to Badin and expected to wait the two weeks that it said on the posting,” he said. “The next day, I got an email from the HR person. I came in the next day, loved the interview and loved everyone I interviewed with. I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

DECEMBER 2023

Smith teaches the Engineering III and IV classes developed through Project Lead the Way in Indianapolis.

“Engineering is all about problem solving,” he said. “It’s like a mix of everything you learned in school all in one class. I come at teaching Engineering with a lot of compassion for students. They’re doing things that they’ve never done before. I try to give them space and the sense of security and comfort to explore and learn.”

Smith, who is married with a daughter in third grade, notes that his classes are “skills based” classes that are not based on memorization but rather understanding and learning the various skills involved.

“I try to give my students as much time as they need to practice,” he said.

“You accomplish skill through practice.

I give them time and space to work with each other through that practice.

It’s standards-based grading—one quiz might have three or four skills involved.”

“Joel is precisely the kind of teacher you hope to get at any school,” Keating said. “His love of learning is infectious and his love of our students is seen every day.”

“I have a real sense of fulfillment here,” Smith said. “I’m enjoying it.

Teaching six different classes gets my brain into different spaces. I go from one classroom to another and that changes the gears in my head. It works for me.”

Support Your Local Business!

Friends of CCSs have a cost-free way to make a significant contribution to CCS students

BEGINNING IN 2021, Ohio taxpayers

could claim a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for financial contributions made to an eligible scholarship granting organization (SGO). This dollar-fordollar state tax credit offsets Ohio income tax liability for donations made to state certified SGOs. Under this program, individual taxpayers can receive a tax credit of up to $750, and married couples can receive a tax credit of up to $1,500 when both spouses each give $750 to these SGO contributions. This means that taxpayers can reduce their Ohio state income taxes by the same amount they contribute to qualified SGOs, effectively making a charitable contribution that doesn’t cost them anything in terms of state income taxes.

Taxpayers who make a contribution to certified SGOs like Ohio Christian Education Network Scholarship Granting Organization (OCEN SGO) are able to make a gift that will be designated for scholarships to students attending CCS. What an opportunity to bless the school and its families without any cost. Having the opportunity to reduce income taxes and at the same time benefit students and families in the community is a welcome opportunity not just for local taxpayers, but for those all throughout the state. It is important to remember that if a person’s Ohio tax liability is less than those respective amounts, their tax credit would be limited to the amount of their Ohio tax liability, as the credit is nonrefundable. For example, if someone gives $750 to an SGO but their Ohio tax liability is Support Your Local Business!

to a Christian school that has blessed my family and my children for so many years. The great part about this donation is that I was able to get 100% of my donation back from my state taxes. This is not a write off. This applies directly to my state taxes and I was able to get dollar-for-dollar back from my state tax return. It’s a no-brainer for any family who wants to give back.” only $500, they would receive a credit of $500 and would not get the other $250 back.

Here is what some of our donors had to say about giving to CCS students through the OCEN SGO. “I was surprised by how easy it was to contribute to the OCEN SGO and receive the credit on my taxes. It’s a great opportunity to send some of my taxes to support Christian education at CCS.” “Making a donation through the SGO was one of the best and easiest decisions I made last year. I was able to donate $1,500

“Giving to the SGO is literally just moving your tax dollars from Columbus to Cincinnati Christian Schools students.”

Because of the generosity of folks who gave through the OCEN SGO last year, CCS was able to award scholarships to more than 70 students. This year we want to bless even more students through this amazing opportunity.

Would you consider donating to CCS students through the OCEN SGO rather than paying the same amount of money to the state of Ohio in your income tax obligation? To learn more or to give, please scan the QR code.

DECEMBER 2023

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As the holiday season approaches, let's celebrate the joy and warmth of togetherness with a shared commitment to safety. Whether we're raising a toast or clinking glasses, let's think responsibly to drink responsibly this holiday season.

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DECEMBER 1 thru DECEMBER 17 Hamilton’s Ornament Crawl Details & Tickets Coming Soon!

The Hamilton Ornament Crawl is back this year! Only 250 tickets are available, so you’ll have to act fast before they sell out! The ticket gives you the opportunity to collect 10–20 different ornaments from local participating businesses (each ornament is valued up to $15).

DECEMBER 1 and 2 Hamilton Christkindlmarkt Hamilton’s Christkindlmarkt is a two-day authentic German Christmas market celebrating our German heritage. It is held the first weekend in December. This year there will be 50 original vendors, a Kinderfest children’s area, and other surprises. There is a $1 admission for those 12 and over.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2: Santacon Hamilton & 1K Fun Run A delightful Holiday Open House from 1–2 p.m. Immerse yourself in the festive spirit with live holiday jazz & piano music performed by the talented Chris Comer Trio. Create festive seasonal crafts & make cherished memories.

Check out the Facebook page!

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 1–3 p.m.

Holiday Open House Lane Library A delightful Holiday Open House from 1–2 p.m. Immerse yourself in the festive spirit with live holiday jazz & piano music performed by the talented Chris Comer Trio. Create festive seasonal crafts & make cherished memories.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 Ugly Sweater Bar Crawl Details & Tickets Coming Soon!

Don your most festive and ugly sweater for a night of fun in the DORA! Get extra points if your sweater is lit—both figuratively and literally! This event requires a ticket purchased through the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. Must be 21+ with a valid ID SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 Joy to the Wald 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

An annual tradition continues at a new location! Join us at Linden Elementary School for Joy to the Wald. Every child gets a free gift! Photos with Santa are available. Everyone can enjoy free cookies & piping hot chocolate.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 Illuminate Hamilton 5–9 p.m.

Stroll the streets of downtown Hamilton by the warm glow of luminary light! This event will also feature a laser light show projected on the county courthouse, fake snow & lots of glow!

Businesses will be open late!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10 6–8 p.m.

Light Up the Loop Stroll or roll through the Washington neighborhood to experience 2.3 miles of glowing luminaries. Santa will be out & about. Carolers will be singing. Take

Cleveland Avenue to Tabor Lane to start your journey. All are welcome!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 Christmas Wonderland 10 a.m.–8 p.m.

Enjoy Christmas Wonderland at Market at Pleasant Treasures! A free event for people of all ages—craft show, bake sale, activities for kids, raffles, pictures with Santa and even a visit from the Grinch!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 12–5 p.m.

That’s a Wrap Time to get the last few items on your list checked off! Our local shops are ready for you to stop in & grab your last minute gifts in downtown Hamilton! Plus, get free gift wrapping all day with receipt from a local shop!

The wrapping station will be located at 150 High Street (Lobby outside of Alexander’s Market & Deli).

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21 ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas with Santa 6–7 p.m.

Gather around the Lane Library for a magical evening as we bring “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” to life. Put on your coziest pajamas and join us for enchanting storytelling, festive crafts & delicious cookies & milk!

ALL SEASON LONG Reindeer Games Help Santa find his elves!

This will be launching on November 17!

December 2 thru 24 Santa’s House https://bitly.ws/Z89U Letters to Santa https://bitly.ws/Z8ai DORA on Ice–Coming Soon!

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DECEMBER 2023

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Every Body is Welcome

THE LITTLE CHICAGO CHRONICLES West Fifteenth Street. She had seen a lot of rough characters coming and going from the place, so Cincinnati detective Joseph Schaefer led a squad of local and federal police on a raid on the apartment. They arrested Gervais “Moses” Ward, Marion Bates, and Charles Canary, and recovered a satchel containing dynamite fuses and caps, two loaded revolvers with ammunition, and a pair of leather gloves in a style popular with yeggs and bank robbers.

Going after the Wild Canary

BY RICHARD O JONES AT 9:10 A.M., May 11, 1926, a month after the Trenton bank job and two months before the robbery of Roy “Andy” Jackson’s cafe in Hamilton’s North End, six men pulled up in front of the First National Exchange Bank in Sidney, Ohio in a powerful automobile and proceeded to hold up the joint.

One man stayed in the machine with the engine running while one man stationed himself outside the door as if reading a newspaper and the others ran into the bank. One of the two customers at the counter was the treasurer of Peoples’ Building and Loan Association with a $4,000 cash deposit, the first bills taken by the robbers, who then herded men, along with six bank employees, into a small conference room and shut the door. A few moments later, after failing to open the vault, ordered one of the cashiers, Mr. Cummins, from the room to assist them. According to the Sidney Daily News, “Mr. Cummins

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either was too nervous, or played for time. His slowness in complying with the bandits resulted in a blow on the head which almost rendered him unconscious.” A second teller, Young, was then called to the vault and opened it for the bandits to abscond with another $20,000 in cash plus $30,000 in bonds and securities.

On June 25, two weeks before the robbery of Jackson’s cafe and three blocks away on South Sixth Street, three armed men forced their way into a boarding home owned by 70-yearold Mary G. Bates and ransacked the place while three other men kept watch in an automobile outside. They made off with a thousand dollars worth of diamonds and jewelry.

The robbery of Jackson’s cafe, July 9, sparked enough interest in the regional press that when a Cincinnati woman read the descriptions she called police about an apartment at 131

DECEMBER 2023

Schaefer’s squad kept surveillance on the apartment and arrested four other men and one woman, so police around the region were confident that they had broken up the core of a gang responsible for dozens of bank robberies and other crimes.

Some of the men were charged with outstanding warrants. Ward, 21, and Charles Daniels, 24 of Solon, Ohio, were both sent to Sidney to stand trial for the robbery there, and Canary was suspected to be the driver of the car, but first he and Bates had to face the music in Hamilton. Hamilton attorney J.B. Connaughton represented Canary.

When they faced Roy Jackson in Municipal Court for arraignment, Jackson said that they “looked like” the men who robbed him, but under cross-examination, he could not swear to the certainty. “Unless the witness can swear Canary and Bates are the men who robbed him, there is no evidence to convict. This court will not bind defendants to the grand jury without feeling that evidence is sufficient to warrant grand jury investigation. There will be no passing the buck and saddling an unnecessary expense upon the county to conduct a grand jury probe.”

Mrs. Bates did not report the incident at her boarding house until July 15, after Marion Bates (if related, only distantly) and Charles were released for the Jackson robbery. They said they recognized the men from their pictures Support Your Local Business!

in the newspaper and even went to Sidney to identify Ward in person. The search for the Wild Canary was back on.

Cincinnati Detective Joe Schaefer caught up the fugitive quite by accident on October 9. He had read in the newspaper of a man who had been hospitalized in Middletown with a bullet wound in his arm. He said he had been working on his car on the side of the road when a carload of people stopped and asked him if he wanted a drink. When he refused, the crowd turned on him and he ended up shot. Schaefer and another officer went to check out the story and ended up arresting three men for a Cincinnati hold-up in which another innocent bystander had been shot. One of the three owned an automobile that had allegedly been used in that incident, so Schaefer went to that man’s house to retrieve the machine. Lo and behold, Charles and Margie Canary were sitting in the machine. At the first sight of Schaefer pulling up beside them, Marjorie fled into a nearby house, but the officers dragged Charles Canary off to Middletown police headquarters to wait for a ride to Sidney with William O’Leary, chief of police there.

A 29-year-old native of Marion County, Kentucky, Canary had already served a six-year sentence for burglary in Toledo, and had also served time in Indiana and Missouri. His mother, Laura Long

Canary Lenham, had been a principal witness for the prosecution in the trials of Daniels and Ward for the Sidney job.

She also intimated that her son was the driver of the car that morning.

Police also suspected he was part of a gang that had robbed a bank in Chickasaw, Ohio, in late September, for $5,000, and was wanted for questioning about a bank robbery in Poland, Indiana. “For months,” the Hamilton Evening Journal quipped a week later, “alleged leader of a bandit and robber band, has been one of eluding police, being captured, jailed, locked up for short periods and then freed only to be jailed again... The cage was closed upon Canary one week ago and he was forced into a cell in the Sidney jail” with a $100,000 bond.

“Sidney authorities were confident they had ‘The Wild Canary’ caged for such a length of time that his wings would be completely shorn... Today Canary was free, at least for five hours.”

But none of the witnesses in Sidney nor Chickasaw could positively identify Canary, so the Shelby County grand jury failed to indict him for either robbery. He was released October 13, but Hamilton Detective Robert Dinwiddie met him in the Sidney jail with a warrant and a pair of handcuffs.

He was taken back to Hamilton for his third short stint in the jail there and a reunion with Marion Bates, a member

of the same gang who had been arrested earlier that week in Cincinnati.

“All the bunk,” Canary told reporters in the jail as he and Bates were being charged with the Mary Bates home invasion back in July. There was a bit of a scene when deputies delivered Canary and Bates to Hamilton municipal court for arraignment.

Canary’s older sister Regena rushed at him, fell into his arms and sobbed loudly. Both men were freed on $400 bonds and both showed up for their trial November 30.

The story in court told that a friend named Mrs. Virginia Fortner had arrived at Mrs. Bates’s home at 7 p.m. One of the lodgers, Joseph Peters, who paid $20 a month for the room and also helped out with repairs, testified that he had come from a lodge the night of the robbery about 10:15 p.m. There was a rap at the door and Mr. Peters opened it and stood face to face with Gervais Ward and a revolver. Canary and Bates were close behind, also waving handguns. Mr. Peters said: “They told me to sit down and keep quiet and I certainly did it. I was glad to do it.”

When Mrs. Bates took the stand, she said that she did not report the incident for more than a month, after the men had been acquitted for the Jackson job.

“My purpose was to prevent anyone else from being robbed by them,” she

said. She told the court that she had operated the boarding house for 20 years, taking over from her mother before her.

“Did you tell Mrs. Fortner that if she became mixed up in this thing her whole life would be searched from the time she was five years old?”

Connaughton asked.

She said that one of the men had the same stature as city detective Joe Evans. Connaughton for the defense had Canary and Evans stand for the witness.

Mrs. Bates: “Mrs. Fortner called me up and asked me to leave her out of this. I told her I would be glad to. Then I called her and asked her if she had received a subpoena and she said she had not. I told her I was very glad.”

“He does not,” Mrs. Fortner said.

Mrs. Bates and Mr. Peters were the only witnesses for the state. Both testified that they decided to report the home invasion only after they saw pictures in newspapers of the men charged with the robbery of Jackson’s cafe and the Sidney bank robbery.

They both went to Sidney to identify Gervais Ward, who was by then serving time in the Ohio Penitentiary.

Connaughton then pointed out Marion Bates’s crippled hand. “Does this hand recommend itself to you as the beautiful artistic hand possessed by the man who ransacked the house?”

When the defense rested, Connaughton moved for a directed verdict, which Judge Kautz denied. So Connaughton called Mrs. Fortner to the stand, the friend who had told Mrs. Bates that she didn’t want to get involved, and she blew the case wide open: “The man who ransacked the place was very young and very fair. He had beautiful white hands with long tapering fingers.”

“Does this man resemble any of the men who entered the house that night?” he asked.

“Was he one of the men who held up the place that night?”

“He was not.”

“It does not,” said Mrs. Fortner and denied that Bates was one of the gang.

With just three witnesses, the trial came to a close and on Tuesday afternoon, after brief closing statements, the case went to the jury after lunch. Judge Kautz ordered the courtroom emptied so that the jury could deliberate. On the way out, Charles Canary spotted his mother, Laura Canary Lenham, near the elevator. She was on hand to testify for the state about her son’s criminal record. But because he did not take the

stand in his own defense, her testimony wasn’t needed.

Canary, his wife, and his sister all rushed at Mrs. Lenham. Canary grabbed his mother by her clothing and pulled her face close to his: “You will testify against me. I’ll get you.”

Marjorie and Regina joined in the scuffle and all made threats against the older woman until Chief Otto Kolodzik came to the woman’s rescue and ordered Prosecutor P.P. Boli to draw up warrants against Canary, his wife, and his sister. The trio was arrested and arraigned before Judge Alphonse Pater, pleading not guilty while the jury was still in deliberation. Judge Pater fixed bond for Canary at $500 and $300 each for the women.

At 9 p.m., the jury reported back to Judge Kautz that they were unable to reach a verdict, and he discharged them and the defendants. A grand jury did not return an indictment against Canary, his wife, and his sister, and he went quiet for a while.

Canary’s career came to an end in June 1927 when a man named Robert Arlington who gave his address as Cleveland was found guilty of the armed robbery of a jewelry store in Lodi. On the witness stand in his own defense, Arlington admitted that he was actually Charles Canary of Latonia, Kentucky.

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Bobcat Council. This club met twice a month under teacher supervision to do projects and organize efforts to give back to the community. Through the council, he and other students were able to connect with residents at the Woodlands by making cards for them, planning visits, and playing bingo with them. When he was nine years old, he even took his own trick-or-treat candy to share with them.

ONE ACT OF KINDNESS AT A TIME Logan Pickett: A young philanthropist’s journey of compassion and generosity BY HANNAH BURNEY IN 2012, Logan Pickett saw something

that would change his life. A tornado had ravaged West Liberty, in Eastern Kentucky. He saw a woman who had lost everything crying on TV and wondered why she was sad. That moment launched him into something that would become a focus of his life for years to come: giving back to those in need.

Linda Pickett, his grandmother, remembers explaining to six-year-old Logan what had happened. He was eager to help, and that morning while Linda was getting ready for work, Logan found a shoe box and filled it with toiletries from around their home.

“That began his giving,” Linda said.

With the help of Linda, who he calls Mawmaw, he went to work. He pulled out his piggy bank, which was a giant

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crayon and emptied it, then asked for donations from friends and family.

By the end of the week, with several hundred dollars raised to go toward supplies, they went to Walmart to shop for toiletries, coloring books, and crayons to send to the tornado victims. Walmart even chipped in a gift card when they heard his story. He put together 40 shoe boxes for the Red Cross to send for tornado relief.

Around the same time, Logan’s greatgreat grandfather, Pop, was a resident at the Woodlands, a local senior living community. Logan was close to him and would visit him often. During these visits, he realized there were a lot of lonely residents. He knew he had to help.

At his school, Bridgeport Elementary, he joined with others to form the

DECEMBER 2023

As he continued to work with the elderly, Logan realized he was able to help make others happy, and that inspired him to do more. He helped organize blanket drives, book drives, canned food drives, and contributed to other efforts. “When I was younger, I didn’t realize what people were going through,” Logan said. “I started realizing as I was getting older. I saw the news every morning, and well, everything from there...it made me want to help and try to start different fundraisers or different projects at schools, to help and raise awareness.”

Early in life, Logan faced struggles. He was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and has faced learning disabilities and anxiety as well. Because Logan struggled and received the help and support he needed, he learned at an early age the importance of both asking for help when we need it and helping others. “Learning this early on may be the reason he is so giving,” Linda said.

Beginning in middle school, Logan started working with the Hamilton Dream Center, mostly around the holiday season. Usually they put together and pass out stockings with candy and toiletries, or give little presents. They do an early Christmas service that he typically attends and he spends time playing with the kids.

Logan does all of his own fundraising.

He remembers as a small child going to a craft fair with snowmen 3-2-1 mug cakes he had made using recycled baby food jars. He has also made homemade Support Your Local Business!

hot cocoa, dog biscuits, personalized solar address yard stakes, and many other things to raise funds for his different efforts.

One of the biggest ways Logan has continued to raise money is through reselling donated items from his community of supporters.“People will donate their leftover yard sale items, and then he will sell the yard sale [items],” Linda said. “It’s neat how he’s always been able to raise money to buy the gifts, then he shops for the gifts [...] you should see my house this time of year!”

One year the Reds sponsored Logan’s efforts and gave him 100 free tickets to take people from the Dream Center and the Woodlands to a game. Texas Roadhouse gave them peanuts for snacks and paid for the gasoline to get them to the game. This became one of his favorite memories.

Now a senior at Hamilton High, Logan’s outreach focuses mostly on two places.

“Every year we do the Dream Center

and the Woodlands,” Logan said. He is always coming up with creative ideas to give back to these places.

Logan has put a lot of thought into the areas he wants to focus on and how to attain his goals. Some years, things have looked different, such as during COVID, when the senior living centers were pretty much closed off. Even then, Logan persisted and was able to find a way to drop of little gifts to the seniors.

“We kept doing it and trying to do good things,” Logan said.

Linda calls Logan her Angel on Earth— an old soul with a heart of gold. “Every moment that Logan shares his kind heart is a proud moment for me, but probably the sweetest moment was when an elderly woman received a gift from him and she literally cried and couldn’t stop hugging him,”Linda said. “She said she had not received a gift in years. The

sweetest part was Logan wiping her eyes and telling her not to cry.”

It is hard for Logan to put into words the way connecting with and giving to others makes him feel, but it has definitely impacted his life. “It’s hard to really describe it as a feeling,” he said.

“It’s more like, I see them happy and it sparks something either in my mind or in my heart. It gives me more ideas to try and help people or it makes me feel good for what I’ve been doing thus far.”

Looking ahead, Logan is planning for the future and entering adulthood. He is not completely sure where life will take him after graduation. The ways he gives back may shift and change, but one thing is for sure, he knows he will still help others whenever and wherever he can.

Please scan the code to learn more about Logan’s Warm Heart.

MY CHRISTMAS STORY FOR AS LONG as I can remember, there have been few places that can make me feel the exhilaration of Christmas quite like Hamilton does. Whether it was the Christmas displays in ElderBeerman’s windows, the dazzling lights throughout the downtown streets, or the Santa Parade that kicks off the yuletide season...Hamilton always seems to come alive with the Christmas spirit year after year.

In my experience though, there’s two places in Hamilton, that decade after decade, offer a mix of timeless holiday cheer, family tradition, and memories that will last a lifetime. Since the 1970s The Santa House, or the

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Ho-Ho House as it was once called, has been a welcome sight for children throughout Butler County. That quaint little house that magically shows up in early December, never seems to lose its charm. As a little girl I remember the joy of stepping up to Santa’s House, opening the door, and feeling immersed in a warmth that always left me feeling joyful.

Standing in line with my parents, holding their hands tightly, I’d watch those before me with rapt attention. As I’d stand observing the kids before me, I’d wonder what they were asking Santa for, while also silently praying they’d put a little pep in their step. The last thing I wanted was

DECEMBER 2023

BY KATIE SIMPSON

to forget the list I’d mentally prepared in my head. It never mattered though how slow or how fast the line moved. Because as soon as Santa would call for me to step forward…I’d draw a blank, forgetting every single thing I’d planned to tell him. I couldn’t help it though! Standing in his presence was a truly wondrous experience. As a kid, the atmosphere and the undeniable sense of magic that those moments held were nothing short of intoxicating. As I stood there stunned, all I could do was nod my head “yes” or “no” when he’d present me with gift ideas, smile for the pictures being taken and then shake myself from the festive fog that had overtaken me just long enough to graciously take a candy cane from Mrs. Clause. Looking back though, no matter how my visit with Santa went, the feeling I got from stepping into his bubble and being a part of his holiday magic, that was the gift. Not only did it stoke the fires of hope within me as a kid, but the memories I made with my parents, and then eventually with my own kids, are truly special to me.

You can’t put a price tag on that. I don’t even remember most of the gifts I received year after year. Gifts that felt so important at the time. But I do remember how special it was to feel like, if even for just a moment, I was able to touch a bit of the magic Christmas holds by visiting that special little house.

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Santa’s House wasn’t the only place that made me feel the joy of Christmas though. As odd as it may seem, the other place I loved going with my family…was a funeral home. Starting back in 1935, Mr. Paul Young started to foster a craft that would grow to become an over 70-year tradition.

A tradition that has meant so much to not only my family, but families

One particular aspect of the Nativity that’s always stayed with me…is the donkey. I remember from a young age my dad pointing out the cross on the donkey’s back. Telling me how after carrying Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and then seeing Jesus carrying His cross just a week later, the donkey longed to help Jesus. Unable to, and filled with grief, he turned his eyes away

their arms around me as we prayed together as a family in front of the nativity scene. Those are the things that make me smile. Those are the memories I hope I can always remember and forever feel deep in my soul. So, this Christmas, I hope the only thing that overwhelms you is joy, that you make memories that will last a lifetime, and more than anything, I hope you always

throughout several counties. When I was a little girl, it always struck me as a bit funny that we went to a funeral home on Christmas Eve. As I got older though I began to see just how poetic it actually was.

from the crucifixion before him. God saw the donkey’s love for Jesus though and placed the shadow of Jesus’ cross on his back. Now, even today, when we look at a donkey, we’re reminded of the devotion he had to Jesus in both the good times, and the bad.

remember that the most priceless things aren’t things at all, but rather the people who make your life special. Merry Christmas Hamilton!

At Christmas there is so much emphasis put on the birth of Christ, and rightfully so. But when you step back and you really look at why He was born, which was to die… to have the Nativity be so beautifully portrayed at a place that’s typically associated with death, is strikingly significant.

I have so many beautiful memories at both Santa’s House and the Paul R. Young Nativity. But when I look back, I’m mostly struck by one thing. It was never the “things” that made Christmas special. It was all the memories I made with my family. From holding their hands in line to see Santa, to feeling

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HAMILTON HISTORY

The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Jacob Milders

BY RICHARD O JONES the Journal-News reported.

“The venture proved quite a novelty although it was not a great success.

AT THE TIME of his death in

January 1935, Jacob Milders was one of Hamilton’s bestknown citizens. Considered “the father of baseball in Hamilton,” he helped develop two popular semi-professional teams and his career as a promoter, restaurateur, and public servant gave him a distinguished place in Hamilton history.

“Mr. Milders was a keen judge of players and in his organization of both the Hamilton Browns, who played at the Lindenwald park, and the Hamilton Krebs, who played on the High Street grounds, he always had teams that were outstanding and composed of players who knew the game and played it with enthusiasm,” the Evening Journal-News noted in its obituary.

His entrepreneurial career began in 1878, when the 9-yearold Hamilton native, the son of Prussian immigrants, began delivering German-language newspapers around Hamilton.

He studied engineering while continuing in the newspaper business in the circulation department of the Hamilton Daily Democrat, where he worked for seventeen years. He also had a side hustle selling postcards and souvenirs at a number of novelty stores in town, most notably a joint called The Wedge at 11 South Third Street, “the headquarters for souvenir and holiday postcards which were then just coming into vogue,” the Journal-News wrote.

Milders became a public figure when he branched out into sports entertainment. He built four baseball parks in Hamilton, including Krebs Park on High Street where a semiprofessional team held court and gave

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many major-leaguers their start. Krebs Park was also noted for being one of the first baseball parks to play night games, even though it was reported that the first time they turned on the lights, the electrical system was so stressed that half the city blacked out.

The technology was still in its infancy, so the results were mixed. “A sort of soft ball game was played to keep the ball within the bounds of the light,”

DECEMBER 2023

In 1906, Milders became a partner in the Hamilton Coliseum, an 1,800-seat arena at North B Street between Park and Wayne avenues that featured one of the nation’s premiere roller polo teams.

“There were times when it was impossible to accommodate the crowds that came to see the exciting games played there,” the Evening Journal noted in Milders’s obituary. The Coliseum also sparked a roller-skating craze in Hamilton, served as a basketball arena, hosted dog and poultry shows, and the famed attorney William Jennings Bryan spoke there in 1912 on behalf of presidential candidate Woodrow Wilson.

Hamilton’s gem of a gym came to a tragic end when the Great Flood of Support Your Local Business!

1913 swept through town, lifting the Coliseum’s wooden frame off of its foundation to float downstream to crash into the Columbia Bridge, the last remaining bridge in Hamilton, and contributed to its demise.

Devastated by the loss, Milders went a different direction by purchasing the Village Cafe and Summer Garden, a restaurant across the street from the Symmes Tavern at the corner of Nilles Road and Mount Pleasant Pike. The area was known as Symmes Corner and was at the time a terminal stop on the interurban electric powered trolley that ran to Cincinnati.

According to family lore, related by his great-grandson Tully Milders, the tone of the legendary eatery as a dignified and family-friendly environment was established the very first night when a fight started at a pool table and one patron broke a cue stick over the head of another. After breaking up the fight, Milders dragged the pool table out into the yard and chopped it up into bits. The Milders Inn’s reputation and fame grew until people would travel to Symmes Corner from Louisville and Indianapolis to dine on “Mom” Milders’s fried chicken and listen to music provided by pianist Dud Mecum with son Ray Milders singing, a springboard to a long and equally legendary musical career for both entertainers.

The Milders Inn’s reputation and fame grew until people would travel to Symmes Corner from Louisville and Indianapolis to dine on “Mom” Milders’s fried chicken and listen to music provided by pianist Dud Mecum.

Because of Milders’s status as Hamilton’s “father of baseball,” the inn became a regular and well-known hang-out for Cincinnati Reds players.

Star Reds Frank McCormick and Harry Kraft were both such close friends that they each had their weddings in the Milder’s home.

The Milders Inn also has a small but pivotal role in Hamilton’s “Little Chicago gangster wars.” Hamilton historian the late Jim Blount wrote in his book Butler County Place Names: “During the Prohibition era, 1919-1933, some of the region’s most notorious bootleggers and rum runners patronized the spot... Turkey Joe Jacobs and Bob Zwick interrupted their meal at Milders Inn for a bloody rendezvous a few hundred yards west at River Road. Jacobs was killed, but Zwick, being shot, returned to the Milders Inn before fleeing the area.”

Zwick, it was variously reported, either hid in the inn’s outhouse or behind Mom Milders’s apron while the rival gangsters searched the area, and flagged down a passing automobile before the cops could arrive.

In addition to his sports and hospitality careers, Jacob Milders was also a dedicated public servant, “a staunch democrat and always took a rather active interest in the affairs of his party.” He served on the Hamilton board of education from 1903 to 1908.

He eased into retirement in his 60s as his health began to fade, but remained active in the restaurant’s management until his death in 1935. Even then, he was supervising extensive renovations in the joint when he fell ill. He was working at the restaurant on January 3, 1935 when he had a heart attack, his second within a year. He struggled for three days, but on January 6, he lapsed into a coma and died.

“In every undertaking, Mr. Milders was efficient and always kept in mind that service to the public was the chief element of success,” his obituary read, “aside from furnishing the best of entertainment along his particular lines of endeavor. Of an unusually kindly nature, never given to unseemly gossip about anyone, helpful in every way possible, he had a host of loyal friends who will deeply regret to learn of his death.”

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MEET YOUR FELLOW HAMILTONIAN

Peggy Bange’s love for Hamilton through 17STRONG This neighborhood engagement specialist is helping build stronger communitites

BY KYLE BOOMERSHINE HELEN KELLER once said “alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much”. A common theme I have noticed from meeting with people so that I can learn stories so I can share them with others is the sense of pride and love for the city of Hamilton. I have been told over and over again that there really isn’t any other place like Hamilton. One of things that really makes Hamilton stand out from other places and unique are the residents who live here and the love they have for their community.

In 2011, Sense of Place, was formed for the purpose of promoting civic

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involvement and fostering feelings of belonging and togetherness. Three years later, the movement had become bigger than anyone could have imagined and evolved into 17STRONG. The initial focus of the Sense of Place started small, implementing their ideas into just four Hamilton neighborhoods but 17STRONG covers all 17 neighborhoods in Hamilton.

I had heard of 17STRONG but what I thought I knew about the citizenled effort was only the tip of the iceberg. Luckily, I was able to sit with the Department of Neighborhoods’ Engagement Specialist, Peggy Bange. “17STRONG is a citizen-led effort that provides direction and guidance to all 17 unique Hamilton neighborhoods. It allows our residents to take pride in their corner of our city. For Hamilton to continue to thrive, 17STRONG focuses on safe, clean and engaged neighborhoods.

Our neighborhoods are filled with residents that want to live, work and

DECEMBER 2023

play in Hamilton. Our vision has always been to celebrate, not separate each of our neighborhoods. 17STRONG has provided a bigger table for residents to come together to make their neighborhoods the best they can be.”

Bange explained when asked about how 17STRONG got where it is today.

You might have seen 17STRONG volunteers in Hamilton doing community cleanups but the movement is about more than just being outside and cleaning up their neighborhoods.

Trying to get everyone from all 17 neighborhoods involved seems like a difficult task, but somehow 17STRONG gets it done. How did 17STRONG become so successful in just a few short years? “We place an emphasis on neighborhood events, projects, and programs. We want our residents out in their neighborhoods, meeting one another including meeting residents in other neighborhoods. Knowing your neighbor builds community and that sense of belonging. I believe Hamilton Support Your Local Business!

residents are committed to making our city the best it can be.” Bange said.

You’ve probably seen the “We > Me”, the movement’s motto, on t-shirts, bags and decals but what exactly does that mean? Bange told me about the message behind the motto. “We > Me is our motto because no one can do this alone. All of us working together will accomplish more than just a single person. It takes all of us to make Hamilton a great community.

17STRONG has a great presence in Hamilton and that is because people understand what it is all about. No one wants to be left out of something special. We see so many residents wearing the We>me logo. It makes me smile. We truly believe that 17STRONG has made our citizens more engaged with each other and within our community.”

Bange explained several of the ways that 17STRONG makes a difference and is involved in the community. “You will see us everywhere. 17STRONG is part of the neighborhood monthly meetings, community cleanups, microgrant events or projects, The Flea, Hamilton Joe’s, Hamilton Memorial Day and July 4 parades, Coffee with Council, Movies in the Park, neighborhood holiday events, Love Your Block neighborhood projects, the cleanup cube and so many other community events. It’s a snowball effect. Residents see the fun things that are happening in Hamilton and they want to be a part of it.

They bring their family and friends.

Everyone is working toward the same goal so why not do it together?”

for your cleanup. Another way that 17STRONG removes some of the barriers or pain points to make people more likely to want to be involved in a clean-up, is by providing residents with all the supplies and tools that they need for a neighborhood cleanup such as; gloves, shovels, rakes, and trash bags. Just bring your volunteers.

Reserving the cube is free. Bange explained that the most successful cleanups are those held for one to two hours because volunteers are more willing to give of their time during an evening or weekend with a definite time frame. We just try to make it as easy as possible.

MICROGRANTS AND ‘LOVE YOUR BLOCK’ GRANTS 17STRONG is the only committee or advisory board that receives funding from City Council to support the neighborhood programs and services.

The money given to 17STRONG is

used to facilitate engagement in the community and cultivate pride.

According to the 17STRONG website, microgrants serve the residents of Hamilton by providing materials or reimbursable financial support for programs, projects, or events that promote citizen engagement, enhance the beautification of the neighborhood, and improve safety within the community. Love Your Block grants provide an opportunity for three to four homes, in close proximity of each other, to have minor home repairs to the front of their homes.

This program allows neighbors to take pride in making the front of their home a place of pride and gathering of their neighbors.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED? The 17STRONG calendar on the website is the best place for 17STRONG events.

The calendar is updated weekly, if not daily. You can use the website to request or reserve the use of “The Cube” for neighborhood cleanup projects you want to do. The website can also be a place to find out more about the Microgrant and the ‘Love Your Block’ grants.

You can find this info and more at www.17stronghamilton.org.

You can also follow them on Facebook at www.facebook. com/17STRONGNeighborhoods or on Instagram @17strong.hamilton

Bange mentioned some of the services that 17STRONG provides to residents of Hamilton and how to get involved.

NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN-UPS Neighborhood clean-ups are resident led and you can go to the 17STRONG website to request a date and place Support Your Local Business!

DECEMBER 2023

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