Preserving the Legacy

Westerville honors lasting legacy of past Westervillians

By Rocco Falleti

The Westerville Parks and Recreation department had its eye on the southeastern quadrant of Westerville for years. So, once land owned by the W.B. Johnston-McVay families became available, the Westerville Parks and Recreation department jumped at the opportunity. Even if you are unfamiliar with the stories of W.B. Johnston and Dorothy and Maurice (Mac) McVay, you’ve almost certainly benefited from their legacy of immense pride for Westerville and philanthropic work.

Mac and Dorothy married in 1929 in Newport, Kentucky, and shortly after moved to Dorothy’s hometown of Westerville. The couple lived on Central Avenue and owned a furniture store where Amish Originals now stands. In the 1940s, the two purchased a farm on Hempstead Road, where the McVay-Johnston Park is today. The farm welcomed horse racing and served as a community hub for business people to come talk and groom horses and enjoy a nice picnic.

Dorothy and Mac were well-known in the community and were extremely active in their philanthropic efforts. Perhaps most well-known is their donation of 15.8 acres of land to the Westerville City School District where McVay Land Lab now stands alongside McVay Elementary.

“Their kindness, devotion, hard work, support and generosity helped to shape

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the city of Westerville,” Gail Morrissey, Dorothy’s niece, says. “They always did what they believed was right or needed.”

Dorothy and Mac wore their pride for Westerville on their sleeves, as the two made a number of contributions to Westerville including a new wooden floor for the Riffe Center’s basketball court, helping special needs residents at the Blendon Senior Center and Westerville Senior Center through the parks and recreations department, donations to the police and fire departments, as well as posthumous contributions to the Columbus Foundation.

And that’s just a brief look at the enormous impact Dorothy and Mac made.

“The community was good to them and in turn they gave back,” Bill Johnston, grandson of Dorothy and Mac, says. “A lot of things you would never know they did, (Dorothy) didn’t ever really want people to know what she was doing. I remember the minister at her funeral saying, ‘Helping others was her greatest source of pleasure.’”

The Park

The McVay-Johnston Park is open to the public for play and the official grand opening ceremony will be held this spring. The park sits on land near McVay Elementary and is deeply rooted in its connection to nature. “Both families are very important to Westerville and supportive of community efforts and charitable giving,” Randy Auler, director of the Westerville Parks and Recreation department, says. “The naming of the park would be appropriate given their history with Westerville in supporting the community and trying to make Westerville a great place to live.” The park is part of Westerville’s continued mission of ensuring each resident lives within a half mile of greenspace. It took two years of planning and capturing feedback from the community to get this project off the ground and will feature unique aspects such as hammock spaces and a storybook trail that will encourage families to not only play but learn in the space, too. The play structures will echo the wildlife around the park, including one that will be in the shape of a hawk sitting on a nest of eggs. “It just adds another unique feature to provide educational development,” Auler says. “Just another opportunity to bring the community together to enjoy the outdoors.”

Using the historic land this way is a fitting way to honor two of Westerville’s earliest philanthropists who were deeply dedicated to their community and showed their love through philanthropy.

“This peaceful green space is truly an appropriate way to honor them,” Morrissey says. “No towering buildings, elaborate architecture or overstated monuments would fit. A simple, natural preserve, which will invite people to come together, creating

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a strong community bond, exemplifying Westerville’s founding fathers perfectly.”

While both Dorothy and Mac have both passed away, the Johnston-McVay family is proud of the park and happy it’s there for the entire community.

“They would have been very happy to see how it is keeping the green space and the city of Westerville will all be able to use it,” Johnston says. “I am a history buff and being able to see what your parents and grandparents did, you appreciate it more and more as you get older.”

Rocco Falleti is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at rfalleti@cityscenecolumbus.com.

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