Dayton History

A Walk Through the Cemetery is Just What You Need!

March 16, 2020 By Angie Hoschouer Leave a Comment

We are living in strange times these days. Viruses are named after birds, pigs and now beer. New words for the dictionary will be added by the end of the year: “self-quarantining” and “social distancing.” Fake news. Real news. Wash your hands. And the hoarding of toilet paper! Bars and restaurants closed. Libraries and casinos closed. Strange times indeed.

There are things to do and places you can go that will allow you to be socially distanced from others yet enjoy the beauty of emerging spring. Visit the cemetery! Yes! We’re serious, visit the cemetery. Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is an open air museum that will delight you with the the visuals of greening grass and emerging flowers. We’ve seen the crocus bloom and the daffodils should be fluttering forth very soon.

If you’ve never been to Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum you just might be amazed with all of the architectural wonders and beautiful sculptures throughout the grounds. There are over 110,000 people buried at Woodland and nearly 100,000 markers and monuments ranging from rugged boulders, left here from the glaciers, to Greek statues and temples. You’ll see a full sized dog, angels and trumpeters and lambs, crosses and flowers all made of cut stone.

There are unique poems and stories etched into the stones and symbols of death from a long ago era. What’s more is that you can learn about the history of Dayton’s citizens through one of the virtual tours offered by the cemetery’s mobile app. There are three tours you can walk, drive or sit on your couch and attend. A free downloadable app is available from the cemetery’s website at woodlandcemetery.org or click here to go straight to the app site.

The Historic Tour features several of the buildings and notable residents at Woodland. This tour offers an audio feature where you sit back and listen to the narrative. There is also the Dayton’s Walk of Fame Tour and the Celebrated African -Americans at Woodland Cemetery Tour. Give it a try and learn about a few of the men and women who made it Great’n Dayton.

If going to the cemetery, there are over 200 verdant acres of rolling hills and 9 miles of paved roads. Truly a much better workout than you can get at the gym. There are at least nine remaining trees designated as “Ohio Champions.” How fun would it be to find them all. You can stop at the front office and get free brochures of several walking tours or purchase a booklet that features both walking tour and historical bios on each of the people on the tour. Bring a picnic and sit down by the pond. Dogs, bring your humans and get them off the couch. And definitely bring your camera to take in the view and a photo of the beautiful “Gem City.”

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum sits in the heart of downtown Dayton on over 200 verdant acres of rolling hills with over 3000 tress on the property. This historic cemetery, founded in 1841, welcomes thousands of visitors who tour the grounds each year to visit the grave sites of inventors of powered flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright; poet Paul Laurence Dunbar; Matilda and Levi Stanley, Queen and King of the Gypsies; writer Erma Bombeck; inventor Charles F. Kettering; and entrepreneurs John H. Patterson (NCR); George P. Huffman (Huffy Bicycles); and George Mead (Mead Paper Co.).

Street Names of Dayton: Earl, Herbert, Daniel and Kiser streets

July 14, 2019 By Angie Hoschouer Leave a Comment

Kiser, the new Motor Racing “King”

Earl Kiser was one of the early pioneers of auto racing and was one of the most noted and respected race car drivers of his day. Earl drove in the days of the dirt tracks, when the rewards were frail in comparison to the thousands of dollars that are awarded to the NASCAR and Indy car drivers of today. For Earl, a $250 cash prize and a gold medal were a big take.

The “Winton Bullet,” built by Alexander Winton was the car that made Earl famous. He was young and strong and took the wheel to victory competing with such celebrities as Barney Oldfield, Tom Cooper, Fred Loughhead, the Canadian champion, Pontecchi of Italy, Chinn of England, and C. S. Mertens of Holland.

Kiser on the right, driving his Winton Bullet and winning at the St. Paul Races

In August of 1904, the Cleveland Press wrote, “Later in the special match race, Kiser broke the record, driving the last mile in the extraordinary time of 52 and 4/5 seconds and winning the race as well. This established Kiser as the full- fledged world champion and gives him one of the many records heretofore held by Oldfield.” This of course was in the “Winton Bullet,” now housed in the Smithsonian Institution. Kiser took the World Championship racing at what was then a terrific speed of 68 miles per hour for the distance of one mile. But things changed on a track in Cleveland on August 12, 1905.

The Winton Bullet after the accident in Cleveland in which Earl Kiser lost his leg

RACE TRACK, GLENVILLE, OH, AUGUST 12 – NEWSPAPER BULLETIN: Earl Kiser’s Winton Bullet just crashed through the fence near the half mile pole. Kiser is seriously injured. His left leg was torn off and the bullet is a mass of flames. Kiser was not satisfied at the manner in which the Winton Bullet worked before he made his second run of the car. The cylinders exploded irregularly and Kiser seemed worried. Nevertheless, he took the car out for another trial. He had just turned off the back stretch when the spectators in the stands were horrified to see his car skid at the turn and crash into the fence. The rails and post were scattered in all directions. The accident occurred so suddenly that Kiser had no chance to control his machine. The gasoline and oil caught fire from the sparks and the car was immediately a mass of flames. Hundreds of spectators ran to the scene of the accident, dodging the other cars which were speeding around the track. Kiser’s left leg was taken off below the knee. Kiser was taken from under the car before the flames reached him. He remained conscious and exclaimed, “Oh, my God, my leg!” In the hospital, Kiser who had also broken a shoulder blade told a friend jokingly, “I’m still on earth Pat, but minus a leg. They will have to advertise me as the only one-legged driver on the circuit. I’ll be a big drawing card.”

The Little Dayton Demon

Later, Kiser became an auto dealer with a store on East Second Street as well as a salesman for various auto accessory agencies and worked at this before relocating to Miami Beach, Florida, where he worked in real estate development and was the owner of the Nautilus Hotel.

Earl Kiser is located at Woodland Cemetery near other great men of Dayton such as the Wright Brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar. He was the grandson of Daniel Kiser who was the name bearer of Kiser School in Dayton. Earl Kiser was known as “The Little Dayton Demon” in the days before auto racing and he was even then one of the leading names on the professional bicycle circuit.

Earl who was 5’6″ and weighing in at 155 pounds raced for the Dayton Bicycle Club and later the Stearns “Yellow-Fellow Team” which toured Europe and competed in the 1900 World Championship in Paris. Earl Kiser held the ½ mile and the one mile world record. Earl Kiser had two streets in Dayton named in his honor, Earl Avenue and Herbert Street. Daniel Street and Kiser Street are named for his grandfather and are all located near the interchange of I-75 and Route 4.

Earl Herbert Kiser died on January 19, 1936 at the age of 60. He is located in Section 101 Lot 2487.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers free of charge. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located at 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. The Woodland Office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 8 am to 12 pm. The Cemetery and Arboretum are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm and until 7 pm during Daylight Saving Time. The Mausoleum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 937-228-3221 or visit the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum website.

Street Names of Dayton: Gunckel Avenue

June 30, 2019 By Angie Hoschouer 1 Comment

The Honorable Lewis B. Gunckel

Lewis B. Gunckle was born on October 15, 1826 in Germantown, Ohio which was founded by his grandfather, Phillip Gunckel in 1804. He graduated from Cincinnati Law School in 1851 and won the first case he tried.

Gunckle was Hiram Strong’s senior partner in the law firm of Gunckel & Strong. He developed a reputation as one of the most successful jury lawyers in southern Ohio and as a peacemaker who used his influence to settle controversies.

He was elected to the Ohio Senate and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He was a member of the reception committee when Abraham Lincoln came to Dayton in September 1859.

In the Ohio Senate, Gunckle was the author of the soldiers’ voting law, of measures to send medical aid and supplies to the battlefields, and of bills to provide care for the widows and children of those killed in service of the Union.

Gunckel Avenue on the east side of Dayton

In the middle of the Civil War he introduced a bill for the establishment of a state soldiers’ home and this became his pet project. He canvassed the state as a presidential elector for Lincoln in 1864, and in that same year Governor John Brough established a state soldiers’ home near Columbus with Gunckel as one of its trustees. The Honorable Lewis B. Gunckel was influential in the establishment of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Dayton. He picked the location and rallied the local citizens to get behind the move and donated $20,000 toward the land purchase. The first winter that the home was established, 750 soldiers were moved there. Gunckel would sit on the board for its first twelve years all without compensation. Today we know the home as the VA Medical Center.

In 1871 Gunckel was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as special commissioner to investigate frauds practiced upon the Cherokee, Creek and Chickasaw Indian tribes. His report was a milestone in the history of reforms in the Indian service.

He served in Congress as a representative from the 3rd district from 1872-1875 . Mr. Gunckel served on the Military Committee and even turned down a pay raise which he was entitled to under the law. He lost his bid for re-election and spent the rest of his life in the practice of law in Dayton.

The Gunckel Family Monument at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

The law firm of Gunckle & Strong became Gunckle & Rowe, his new partner being E.L. Rowe who had read law with him and became his partner in 1869. In 1890 the firm became Gunckle, Rowe & Shuey with the addition of Webster W. Shuey. The law firm had many name changes throughout the years and today the firm is known as Coolidge Wall.

In 1860 Gunckle married the daughter of Valentine Winters. When Winters and his son Jonathan founded Winters National Bank in 1882, Gunckle became of member of the bank’s first board of directors. He served for three years as the state bar’s delegate to the National Bar Association and served as its treasurer and a member of its executive committee.

Lewis B. Gunckel died on October 3, 1903 at the age of 77. He and his family are buried in Section 44 Lot 1008.

Tornado Personal Effects Reunion Page Launches

June 9, 2019 By LIbby Ballengee

One of the most painful things about losing your home and belongings in a disaster, whether it be fire, flood or wind, is the loss of photos, personal momentos and childhood treasures. It’s the loss of those precious and irreplaceable items that cuts a particularly painful wound.

After the recent Dayton tornadoes, my friend and fellow Brookville High School alumni Ryan Wissinger, reached out from his current residence in Boise, Idaho. He was struck by stories he was hearing from in Brookville, where friends were finding family photos in fields miles away. Wanting to help in some way, but being hundreds of miles away, Ryan had an idea.

He started a Tornado Personal Effects Reunion Page on Facebook. Here people can post items that were found during clean ups or that blew onto other people’s property. People in search of treasured items can post what they are looking for as well. In the couple weeks since this page was established, local folks have posted images of historic photos, identification, stuffed animals, quilts, a wedding dress – and even a couple pets!

Our best wishes are with everyone who was effected by these devastating storms. Ryan and I hope that reconnecting people with their lost treasures will be a small reconciliation on the road to recovery.

The way this page is most effective is by joining and sharing, so please do so today: https://www.facebook.com/groups/334058030599309/

Street Names of Dayton: Artz Lane

June 8, 2019 By Angie Hoschouer Leave a Comment

Peter Artz 1792 – 1873

The Artz family made their way from Maryland with Peter Artz arriving in Ohio on horseback. Peter settled on a farm near Fairfield, Ohio but soon moved to Dayton where for years he operated a wholesale grocery business. Peter Artz died in 1873 at the age of 81. He rests peacefully at Woodland Cemetery with his wife Elizabeth who died in 1875 at the age of 77.

Joseph S. Artz 1824 – 1899

Joseph S. Artz was born on a farm in Greene County, Ohio in 1824 and grew up working on the family farm. He made his way to Germantown, Ohio and began working in the lumber and undertaking business. On account of deafness, he was rejected when he offered his services to fight in the Civil War. In 1866, he moved from Germantown to Dayton where he established a lumber business which he conducted for about eleven years. In 1877, he bought out the furniture firm of Chadwick & Beaver and continued in that line of business for a number of years until his sons took over the business. Joseph was married in Germantown to Miss Elizabeth Negley, a daughter of Captain W.H.H. Negley and together they had eight children. Elizabeth Artz died on February 11, 1882 at the age of 56 and Joseph died on December 26, 1899 at the age of 75. Both are resting peacefully together in Section 103 Lot 2016 at Woodland Cemetery.

William Negley Artz 1862 – 1934

William N. Artz had a prosperous business as a furniture dealer in Dayton. He was born in Germantown, Ohio in 1862. He was seven years old when his parents moved to Dayton and this is where he remained. William stayed in school until the age of fifteen then left to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in the Dayton yards. He spent five years with the railroad rising to the position of conductor and then moved on to the Dayton & Ironton Railroad and served that line as conductor for a year. Soon after, he left the railroad and joined his father in the furniture business at Artz & Ozias. William began delivering furniture for them at a salary of seven dollars per week. He had been receiving one hundred and twenty dollars per month with the railroad but working for the railroad was hard work and often dangerous and he wanted to learn his father’s trade and business. He also knew that the opportunity for advancement always came to the man who was willing to work for it. He earned the position of shipping clerk, then salesman and eventually became one of the three owners of the store known as Artz Brothers.

Artz Furniture Store at 110 – 112 N. Main St.

In 1904, William purchased the interest of his brother and ran the store under his own name. His store was well stocked with a variety of goods of varying prices in order to meet the demand of his customers. He was well respected for his business practices and enjoyed much success in his new vocation. William married Miss Mary Anna Baile on April 6, 1882. William died on April 1, 1934 and Mary Anna died on June 28, 1932. They are both resting peacefully together in Section 34 Lot 1306 at Woodland Cemetery.

Artz Lane in Downtown Dayton

The W. N. Artz Furniture Store was located at 110 and 112 North Main Street in the heart of downtown Dayton. To the north of it’s location were the King Brothers and Company, and the Green, Green and Co. Bakery (Victoria Theatre) and to the south was G. W. Shroyer and Co., Jacobs Business College and P. M. Harman and Co. Currently, 110 North Main Street is the current site of Premiere Health headquarters.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Golden Anniversary Celebrated with the Dayton Philharmonic!

April 30, 2019 By LIbby Ballengee

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, under the leadership of Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman, is honored to be a part of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s 50^th Anniversary celebration for a special DCDC Golden Anniversary Concert on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 6:30pm at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton.

Founded in 1968 by the late Jeraldyne Blunden, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) is the oldest modern dance company in Ohio. DCDC serves as a cultural ambassador to Dayton, the state of Ohio, the Midwest, and the nation. The company holds the world’s largest archive of classic African American dance works and one of the largest of any kind among contemporary dance companies worldwide. Noteworthy choreographers who have worked with the company include Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Donald Byrd, Bill T. Jones, José Limón, Donald McKayle, Ray Mercer, Bebe Miller, Doug Varone, and Kevin Ward.

Together, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will present a thrilling performance to honor DCDC’s 50^th Anniversary as the region’s outstanding modern dance company rooted in the African American experience. The evening’s performance will consist of three engaging pieces that celebrate the artistry and athleticism of the full DCDC company of dancers.

The first of the three pieces presented will be the World Premiere choreographed by former DCDC artistic director Kevin Ward. The new work is entitledand each day you mean one more and is set to brand new music by composer and musician Derrick Spivey, Jr. and performed by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Neal, Derrick and Kevin–conductor, composer, and choreographer–have worked closely together over the last several months to bring this work to life.

and each day you mean one more is partly inspired by the poem “The Low Road” by Marge Piercy, which addresses the challenges faced by the lone actor for societal good and how, with the gradual attraction and enlistment of like-minded individuals, a real force for change can be built that can resist destructive reactionary forces. In creating the dance, choreographer Kevin Ward was inspired by many lone actors such as Fanny Lou Hamer, David Hogg, Fred Rogers, James Baldwin, Malala, Claudette Colvin, and many nameless actors, such as the U.S. prisoners who staged a massive strike against systematic abuse, even though it resulted in the cruelest solitary confinement, and how their efforts inspired millions to follow suit.

DCDC will also perform a signature work from their history called Children of the Passage. This work was co-created for DCDC by world-renowned choreographer Ronald K. Brown and Tony-nominated choreographer Donald McKayle, who passed away just over a year ago this April. The work follows a party of decadent lost souls that are haunted and later rescued by spirits that reconnect them to their ancient and ancestral character. The composition is a cadence that is drawn from the traditional marching jazz bands of New Orleans, with the grind and groove of the contemporary jazz and soul music. The language of movements is translated from the visual poetry of African and African American dance and the celebration of cultural rituals of yesterday and today.

The third work on the program is American Mo’, created by choreographer and DCDC Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle Perkins. The dance is a celebration of triumph over adversity. Dancers express freedom, courage and joy to Duke Ellington’s “Three Black Kings,” composed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This work originally premiered on September 19 & 20, 2015 as part ofAmerican Mosaic, Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts and was performed with accompaniment by Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra at the Schuster Center. DCDC has performed the innovative piece in New York City, Kazakhstan, and the Bolshoi in Moscow.

How To Go!

Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 6:30pm at the Schuster Center

Tickets for DCDC Golden Anniversary Concert begin at $15.50 and are available for purchase by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org.

For more information on the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, including by Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.

For more information on Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, visit www.dcdc.org.

Street Names of Dayton: Home Avenue

April 27, 2019 By Angie Hoschouer

HOME AVENUE, once known as KING AVENUE until 1895, is named for William King.

William King was the son of Victor and Jane (Moffit) King born in Tyrone Township, York County, now Adams County, Pennsylvania. He served as a Private in the Revolutionary War from his home state and afterwards moved to Georgetown, Scott County, Kentucky in 1789. Because of his views on slavery, he moved his family to Dayton in 1799 and arrived in town with just one dollar in his pocket. He found few houses in the newly settled village so he and his family lived in their wagon until he could build them a log cabin to live in. In 1801, Mr. King and his wife Nancy purchased 500 acres of land in the Harrison Township area. He then purchased 1,160 acres which he sold in exchange for his payment. By this method, he was able to have his land paid off by 1807 with full title.

Mr. King then moved two miles west of the Miami River to the area of what would become Western Avenue* and Home Avenue. Mr. King took out a license in 1811 to run a ferry over the Miami River charging a man and his horse a fee of 12 ½ cents. He was a member of the Moral Society of Dayton in 1818, and was a Clerk and Elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Dayton, of which he was one of the original members. In January 1819, he became a member of a corporation that operated a toll bridge which crossed the Miami River at Bridge Street until it was washed away in 1852. In 1829, he was moderator of the Dayton Temperance Society. In 1830, Mr. King sold most of his large estate of 395 acres.

Mr. King married his wife Nancy Waugh on April 2, 1787 in Tyrone Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania. Nancy died on June 30, 1839 at the age of 67 and was buried at the Presbyterian grave yard on Fifth Street, as Woodland Cemetery had not yet been established. She received her final interment at Woodland on September 20, 1864.

William King was born January 3, 1764 and died September 19, 1863 in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of 99 years. He lived longed enough to hear that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that proclaimed that all slaves be freed by January 1, 1863.

There are eight King Family members buried side by side in Section 82 Lot 403 in Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum.

*Note: James H. McGee Blvd. was formerly known as Western Avenue.

Women of Woodland: Marj Heyduck

March 26, 2019 By Angie Hoschouer Leave a Comment

Marjorie Irene Heyduck: Columnist and Journalist

Dayton Journal Herald
October 7, 1969
Page 23

Marj Heyduck, The Journal Herald’s nationally known columnist and a journalist since 1936, was found dead September 15 at her home hear Greenville in Darke County. Mrs. Heyduck, who was 56, was found by a neighbor, and died of coronary insufficiency.

Marj was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Evers of Dayton. She graduated from Stivers High School in 1931 and majored in journalism at Ohio State University.

Marj got her start in the newspaper business in the women’s department of the old Dayton Herald in 1936. Leaving that job, she worked for the Dayton Press, a weekly newspaper, and broadcast a daily human interest and woman’s feature program over WING radio from 1939 to 1941.

She rejoined the Herald as a general assignment reporter in 1943 and began her regular column which later gained fame as “Third and Main” a year later.

It was at that time that she began a feature column on wrestling for the Herald’s sports department. Tales of her escapades as a reporter covering wrestling matches in Southern Ohio entertained hundreds of women at regular “Tea With Marj” occasions throughout the Miami Valley.

Marj was named editor of the Herald’s Women’s Department in 1948 and became women’s editor of The Journal Herald when the two newspapers were merged in 1949.

She gave up her title as women’s editor in 1966 and was named assistant to the editor, an honorary title, but she continued her daily “Third and Main” column for The Journal Herald’s Modern Living section.

Marj was best known for her sense of humor and devotion to anecdotes. She spun her tales from the thin thread of the most common, everyday occurrences, embroidering them with a bit of fancy and securing them in a bright burst of hilarity.

Marj’s affairs with hats were almost as legendary as her anecdotes. She seldom appeared in public without a hat and made a great fuss over them at her teas and in her column. She also demanded whenever possible that the picture that ran with her column be changed daily, each day with a different hat – a practice that left Journal Herald photographers sometimes fearing for their sanity.

Marj’s journalism prizes were numerous and her reputation as a columnist was nationwide. She won more than 75 prizes over the years in annual contests of the Ohio Newspaper Women’s Association; she won a National Headliners Award in 1946; was given the best column in Ohio award by United Press International in 1963; and her women’s pages won first place in the University of Missouri’s Penney Award for Excellence in 1964.

Marj was a regular discussion leader at women’s editor seminars at the American Press Institute at Columbia University appearing there

23 times between 1952 and 1968. She also was invited to lead similar discussion for the Ottoway Papers and the Press Associations of California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Marj married Emerson C. Heyduck, an insurance sales man and also a native Daytonian in 1934. Mr. Heyduck died in 1953. They had no children.

Charles T. Alexander, editor of The Journal Herald, had this to say of Marj: “She was as comfortable as home. She was as much a part of The Journal Herald as its masthead. The regard from all who knew her and read her column for her is inestimable. The depth of our personal loss is inestimable.”

Said James M. Cox Jr., chairman of the board of Dayton Newspapers, Inc.: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Marj Heyduck, Dayton’s best loved newspaperwoman.

“Her ‘Third and Main’ column brought good cheer and warm human sentiments daily for a quarter of a century. To thousands of Journal Herald readers, Marj was a welcome morning visitor. We share with them a feeling of great loss. Marj was truly an outstanding journalist, but even more a great lady.”

As a columnist, Marj traveled widely. Many of her columns were written from the scenes of national political conventions and inaugural balls where she found anecdotes and other material overlooked by thousands of other correspondents.

She also wrote her column from the decks of riverboats bound for New Orleans; from international fashion shows on New York’s Fifth Avenue, and from her stateroom aboard the SS Independence cruising in the Mediterranean.

But perhaps her best columns were written from tips and anecdotes exchanged over the phone with friends who called her regularly and strangers who overcame their awe and phoned nervously with a good story.

She also wrote frequently about her beloved Darke County and the small Ohio city of Greenville near her home at Wayne Lakes Park where she lived alone following her husband’s death.

Marj was a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, a Dayton Corps Trustee and a member of the Dayton Stivers Foundation.

Her three books, published by The Journal Herald, are The Best of Marj, published in 1962; The Anniversary Marj, 1964; and The Third Marj, 1966.

Marjorie Irene Heyduck died on September 15, 1969. She is located in Section 126 Lot 2. Unfortunately, no headstone was put in place for either her or her husband. The photo shows the area where Marj and Emerson are buried.

Women of Woodland: Miss America Marion Bergeron

March 19, 2019 By Angie Hoschouer 1 Comment

A life-long public speaker and supporter of the Miss America Pageant, Marion Bergeron still holds the crown as the youngest Miss America in history, winning at the age of 15 – 1/2.

Miss Bergeron entered the contest as the winner of a local pageant as a way to get a stash of movie theater tickets for her and her sister. She didn’t know that she would actually win and it wasn’t so easy being such a young winner. She received many prizes including a car in which she couldn’t drive and a screen test from RKO Pictures which they rescinded due to her age. The crown that had been placed on her head was stolen from her room at the Ritz Carlton the very same night she earned it.

Marion was a typical teenager from a typical family. Born and raised in West Haven, Connecticut, she attended a Catholic high school. Her father was a patrol man with the town police and her mother stayed home and took care of the house and kids and accompanied young Marion to the pageant as her chaperone.

While Marion was blessed with blonde bombshell looks, she was quite an accomplished singer by the age of twelve and after winning the title of Miss America, she went on to perform professionally with the “Miss America Orchestra” as well as famous musicians such as Ozzie Nelson, Guy Lombardo and Rudy Vallee who she once labelled “an octopus.”

As an active representative of the Miss America pageant, Marion traveled with other winners raising money for the Boys and Girls Club of America. When she was home in Dayton, she volunteered for Kettering Medical Center, Hospice and other local civic organizations including serving as PTO president and a Girl Scout Leader.

Marion married Donald Ruhlman with whom she had three children. She became a widow in 1972. She remarried and soon found herself widowed again. In 1987, she married for a third time to Mr. Fred Setzer who made her a three-time widow in March of 2002. Marion died just seven months later in October of 2002. She had been known as the youngest winning Miss America and the oldest living Miss America.

Marion Bergeron was was born on May 3, 1918 in West Haven, Connecticut and died on October 22, 2002 in Dayton, Ohio at the age of 84 from complications of leukemia. She is located in Section 123 Lot 11.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.

Women of Woodland: Betty Dietz Krebs

March 15, 2019 By Angie Hoschouer Leave a Comment

A nationally recognized writer on music, Betty began her career at the age of 15 when she wrote freelance music reviews for the former Dayton Journal newspaper. During her 53 years at the Dayton Daily News, she held the positions of women’s page editor, art critic and arts editor.

During World War II, she held brief stints in nearly every editorial post at the paper and in the 1950s, she hosted her own television show on WHIO-TV. It was in 1962 that Betty created the annual Ten Top Women Awards program that honors women who have made significant community achievements. To date, more than 550 women have the the honor as a Ten Top Women Awards recipient.

Betty Dietz married William J. Krebs who was a nationally known choral conductor and founder of the Dayton Philharmonic Chorus.

Mrs. Krebs was born on February 14, 1921 in Dayton, Ohio and died on December 31, 1999 in Dayton at the age of 78. She is buried in Section 126 Lot 398.

Woodland Cemetery, founded in 1841, is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio. Visit the cemetery and arboretum and take one of the many tours Woodland offers. Most of Dayton’s aviation heroes, inventors and business barons are buried at Woodland.