Dietsch Brother's Chocolate

Chocolate is an important part of life. Findlay is lucky enough to have it's own chocolate shoppe. Dietsch Brother's Chocolate began in the 1920s when Edward Dietsch (pronounced Dets-is) purchased the C.W. Wickham Candy Co. He and his two younger brothers started a chocolate and ice cream company with their own family recipes. In 1934 Edward and his wife passed away forcing the business to close. In 1937, the younger brothers Chris and Don purchased a local bakery shoppe. They then transformed the bakery into the Dietsch Brother's Chocolate Shoppe which is currently in business.

Dietsch's is one of the signature institutions in town. Anyone who has lived in Findlay long enough knows about Dietsch's. In middle school I remember taking a tour of the chocolate factory behind the store front. Most of the chocolates and ice creams are made on site. One of the things that is very old fashioned about this landmark is the fact that women only make the chocolates, women only sell the chocolates and only young men dish up the hand dipped ice cream. Some say it is to fit the 1940s feel of the establishment. However, I'm sure that is not 100% the case. As I understand the company is still being run to some extent by one of the brothers, which could contribute to the 1940s feel of the store. I have only seen one girl work the ice cream counter and she was not their very long. I was told that only guys were allowed because they weren't strong enough, which I don't necessarily believe either.

This Findlay institution has been giving the community smiles and delicious treats for decades. I still have many wonderful memories of going to both locations and have a lot of fun. However, no business is without its faults.The Sexism which has perpetuated the business is in some ways a reflection of the expectations of the town and the people that inhabit it. Women are expected to cook and smell like chocolate while men are needed to do the heavy scooping. I am never really sure what to do with this information due to the fun times I have had at Dietsch's, but it is surly a business that shows no signs of slowing down.

Source: http://dietschs.com/about-us/our-story/

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

During the field study in October, I had the opportunity to tour and learn about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Which, interestingly enough, is not technically located in the city of Indianapolis,. It is actually in the small town of Speedway about six miles from downtown Indianapolis.

While other races are held there, the track is best known for the Indianapolis 500 which has been held there every year since 1911, with a few exceptions in which the race was cancelled due to the world wars. I find it particularly striking how racing has changed between 1911 and today. The first Indy 500 winner was Ray Harroun in 1911 who won with an average speed of 74.6 mph. The 2014 winner was Ryan Hunter-Reay with an average speed of 186.5 mph.


The track has been resurfaced several times over the years, with one surface being piled on top of the last. When the 3.2 million bricks used to pave the track in 1909 were covered with asphalt in 1939 and 1961, part of the original track was left deliberately unpaved. Today, the only portion of the original track still visible is a small strip of bricks at the start/finish line on the track. The tradition here is for race fans to kiss the bricks, but that didn’t appeal to me during the tour, so I did something different. 

My hand on the bricks

 

One tradition about the 500 that had always puzzled me before the trip was explained on the tour. Namely, the winning driver drinking milk after the race. This began in 1936 with Louis Meyer who happened to enjoy a glass of milk in Victory Lane after winning the race that year. A Milk Foundation executive saw a photo of Meyer drinking the milk and wanted to make this a lasting tradition. Between 1947 and 1955, it fell out of favor but the milk in Victory Lane has been a fixture of the Indy 500 since 1956.  

Source: booklet received during the tour, Indianapolis Motor Speedway: A History by track historian Donald Davidson 

Mead Paper Company in Dayton

Growing up, my mother worked as a travel agent in the Mead building that used to be located in downtown Dayton.  Today, the large structure remains, but is now the Key Bank building.  She was a travel agent and had nothing to do with the Mead Paper Co., but her role sparked my interest in learning more about the company.  How did this company begin?

Col. Daniel E. Mead, 1817-1891

In 1846, Daniel E. Mead opened  his first paper mill as the Ellis, Chafflin & Company.  Dayton was a prime location as the mill was located near some of the country's most important trading points and cheap water power.  The first paper mills in this area utilized rags and wheat straw as raw material rather than wood pulp.

Daniel Mead joined the firm of W.A. & J.L. Weston, creating the Weston & Mead Co. in 1859.  This company continued until 1866 when J.L. Weston sold his interest to Thomas Nixon.  The firm became Mead & Nixon at that point.  Mead bought out Nixon in 1881, establishing the Mead Paper Company in 1882.  In 1889, the plant was described as four stories high , 200 x 100 feet in size, surrounded by other buildings operated by the mill.  In 1890, Mead purchased a facility in Chillicothe.  During the first decade of it's existence, the company averaged annual profits of $22,000, peaking at $50,000 in 1891, the year of Daniel Mead's passing.  By that time, the Mead Corporation was one of the largest paper producers in the U.S.    He passed the management of his company off to his sons, Charles and Harry Mead. Poor spending and substantial salaries caused the company to fall on hard times at the turn of the century.  Management turned to Harry's business-minded son, George Mead, who left his job in Philadelphia to help the family company.  It became the Mead Pulp and Paper Company.

The Mead Pulp and Paper Co. acquired the Peerless Paper Company in Dayton in 1925.  This mill produced book paper for several years following the purchase, but was later dismantled.  The building was then leased to the Frigidaire Corp.  The company expanded significantly in the 1950s and 60s, manufacturing corrugated cardboard shipping containers and paperboard in its recycling plants.  Mead purchased Data Corporation, an electronic record keeping service, in 1958, leading to new programs such as LexisNexis in 1973.  These systems were later sold to Reed Elsevier in 1994.  The company began experiencing difficult economic times in the 1980s.  

Mead Tower, now Key Bank, in the 1970s

Key Bank located headquarters in the building after the Mead Corporation moved to Richmond, Virginia during its merger with Westvaco (now MeadWestvaco) in 2001.  Its local presence was significantly downsized in 2006.

Random fun fact:  Daniel Mead was deeded lot 59 in Dayton in 1870, along with the Music Hall Co.  Thanks to him, the Music Hall (aka Victoria Theatre) was opened in 1871 after a fire destroyed the Turner Opera House in 1869. It's been fun learning about Daniel while researching the theatre.  I'm glad I was able to find out some early information regarding his paper empire.

Sources:

http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/papertype.html

http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/3432383.htm

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/the-mead-corporation-history/

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Mead_Corporation

http://www.emporis.com/buildings/128308/keybank-tower-dayton-oh-usa

http://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/ddn_archive/2011/05/17/dayton-industries-and-inventors/

Dayton Triangles

Most locals don't seem to know this, but what would become the NFL got its start in Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton Triangles played their home games at Triangle Park in Dayton with the first game recognized as taking place on October 3, 1920 pitting the Triangles against the Columbus Panhandles in which the home team won 14-0.

The sponsors for the team were Edward Deeds and Charles Kettering, prominent local businessmen. The unusual name is said to have come from the three factories that they owned. The name of the park, on property donated by Deeds and Kettering, may have been named for the factories as well or for the triangular shape of the area. 

The game was different at that time. The Triangles and Panhandles played in front of a crowd of around 4,000 fans with $1.75 admission. Player salaries were about $50 per game. It was also much simpler, play formations were more limited and protective equipment was crude. It was the time of leather helmets and no mouth guards. Players often played more than one position as well as both offense and defense.

The Triangles were a part of the organization that would become the modern NFL, the American Professional Football Association, which had been formed that August. The Triangles were one of four with the other three Ohio teams the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs and the Cleveland Indians. The managers of these four teams met in a car dealership in Canton to form the four-team organization, which would grow rapidly and change its name to the National Football League in 1922. 

In 2005, the Ohio Historical Society unveiled a bronze marker at Triangle Park signifying the first game in 1920. However, there is no other interpretation at the park though it is still used as a public park. It is located at Ridge avenue and DeWeese Parkway, very close to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.

Sources:

http://daytontriangles.com/whereitstarted.htm

http://daytontriangles.com/markeropen.html

Thanksgiving in Dayton, 1882

Thanksgiving Day 1882 marked the 100th anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty between the United States and Great Britain after the Revolutionary War.  This gave Daytonians something else to be thankful for.  At the time, a Dayton paper published, "We were about to mention the fact that today, November 30, 1882, is the centennial of the treaty of peace by which American independence was acknowledged."  This story was ran again by the Dayton Daily Newspaper 50 years later in 1932, adding what Dayton's forefathers had to be thankful for and how they expressed their thanks.  This article was complied by DDN reporter Howard Burba, who searched through old Dayton newspaper files from 1882 for these stories.  Most of the articles discuss the traditional Thanksgiving meal, while others tell a bit more about Dayton at the time.  Here are some of my favorite quotes from the articles selected:

"We sincerely hope there will be no stomach ache in Dayton tonight or tomorrow, yet it is not our intention to give advice on the subject of diet."

"If a man drinks too much whiskey he either makes a fool or a criminal out of himself, but if he eats too much turkey and mince pie he simply contracts for disagreeable dreams and maybe to pay 50 cents for a prescription."

"It would not hurt our readers before unfolding their dinner napkins to attend some church service this morning and join devoutly in the singing and listen to an elegant summary of the blessings of the Divine Providence."

"Spiritually and socially, let every man answer for himself, and give thanks accordingly."

A Coast Guard crew about to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in the late 1800s.

One writer was thankful for the "warm winter and cool summer" that kept Daytonians comfortable that year, but called the recent Democratic victory the "great catastrophe and epidemic" of the times.

Burba learned from his research that on even this historic day in 1882, Thanksgiving was typical, similar to the one he would be celebrating that year in 1932.  He notes that church was typically attended, but not all churches were open for service.  Burba also mentions football, a Thanksgiving tradition most Americans enjoy today.  In 1882, "Football hadn't come on to monopolize attention on the national feast day, though it was not wholly unknown as a sport."  Instead of football, Daytonians on Thanksgiving day 1882 enjoyed clay pigeon shooting held at the Miami Shooting club on Prairie Street.  They even enjoyed a good show at the Music Hall, now known as the Victoria Theatre.  The Thanksgiving Day offering at the Music Hall was the great Salvini in The Gladiator.

Like the picture we saw in class, these children are dressed up for Thanksgiving.

It is clear from reading the quotes Burba included in his article that dinner was the big feature of the day.  "The turkey was then as now the piece de resistance."  Wild turkeys were quoted at a Thanksgiving market in 1882 at $3 to $3.50 each.  Homegrown turkeys were sold at 12 to 15 cents per pound.  Cheaper meats were used by some families, like chicken or pheasant.  "Rabbits were poor man's eating and so plentiful that there was no market for them." It was customary in 1882 for the man of the house to enjoy a nice glass of bourbon after his hearty meal.

After reading this article, it is clear to me that Thanksgiving traditions and celebrations have not changed much in Dayton since 1882!

Source:

http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/thanksgivingburba.html

Stucky's and Howard Johnson

While traveling to and from Nebraska this summer, I thought back to my travels as a child. When my father was transferred across country, we always stopped at Stucky's Restaurant for lunch or dinner.

It had a very family friendly atmosphere and most had fuel stations with them.  We had the chance to get out, eat and run off some energy before heading back on the road. At this time period there were few fast food restaurants easily accessible off the interstate and Stucky's was a better choice for they had better children menus. We picked up some snacks before leaving and my paternal grandmother would pick up a souvenir spoon in each state. 

There were not a lot of family friendly or economically priced hotels. The overnight choice for us was Howard Johnson. This chain was a all in one stop. Some had a restaurant attached or nearby, so the family was able to eat and sleep without having to get back on the interstate. For a family of seven, having two rooms was a must and Howard Johnson understood there were families who traveled on a tight budget.  The rooms were always nicely decorated and clean. 

Fast forward to today. There are a multitude of hotels and restaurants to choose from for a family. In more remote location there are the Pilot and Love's Travel stations, these to me are an upgraded Stucky's but do not have the family atmosphere to them.

Bill's Donuts

When it comes to donuts, I am definitely not picky!  One shop I cannot resist while in the Centerville area is Bill's Donut Shop. Where did this delicious idea begin?  In 1960, Bill and Faye Elam started the first shop in downtown Dayton. They also started to sell hot chocolate, tea, and brewed coffees.  The shop has moved numerous times with multiple locations.  In 1967, the shop was at Franklin and Main downtown.  The biggest issue with this location was the parking situation in that area of town.  This contributed to the move out of the city.

Want a donut and coffee at 3:30 am?  Bill's Donut Shop is open 24 hours a day, though this was not always the case.  As third shift became more popular with local businesses, Bill decided to extend hours. Late night workers at NCR sparked the start of third shift hours at the shop.  Before he committed to the new hours, Bill could be found giving out coffee and donuts to the workers at the back door before closing time. 

The current store front in Centerville

In the 1970s, you could get these donuts in Vandalia, Wilmington, Kettering, and Huber Heights.  As time went on, the family decided their efforts were best spent in one location and downsized. The shop moved for good in 1979 to Centerville on Main Street.  Bill and Faye sold the business to Lisa and Jim Elam, two of their children, in 1995.  Bill passed away Monday August 16, 2010, but his family has committed to keeping the business going.  

Faye with two of her children, Lisa and Jim

If you have not tried Bill's, make it a point to stop by the next time you're in the Centerville area.  While you're there, remember my favorite is the Chocolate Covered Custard! :)

Sources:

http://billsdonutshop.com/history/

http://cmhgourmand.com/2011/01/18/bills-donut-shop-centerville-the-ohio-donut-trail/

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dayton/obituary.aspx?n=Bill-Elam&pid=144771772