Sean V. Lehosit is is a freelance journalist and history writer living in Columbus, Ohio. In 2010, he graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in English. He has about 10 years experience reporting on small government, education, business and entertainment. His latest book documents the development of West Columbus, Ohio from its transition from open farmlands into a collective of pocket neighborhoods.
The Evening Ravens brings you snippets of history that focuses on the people, places and events that helped foster modern times in Columbus, Ohio. The name is derived from the mythological figures of Huginn and Muninn, the two ravens who toured the world to bring news to Odin each day.
Children growing up in West Columbus have always climbed the concrete alphabet letters once found at Westland Mall, and later at Westgate Park. However, for more than two decades, kids were deprived of enjoying the letter ‘B,” after it was destroyed by a runaway car in the 1980s.
Members of the West High School’s yearbook staff pose with the concrete ‘B’ outside Westland Mall in 1977.
When the open-air mall opened in 1969 it featured many art installations by Cleveland artist Clarence E. Van Duzer. The shopping center was built around one of its first anchor stores, Lazarus, the first business onsite in the form of a free-standing building seven years earlier.
Westland Mall continued to expand and in 1982, the decision was made to enclose the shopping center. In result, many installations were relocated, including the concrete letters. The letters A, B & C were moved from the entrance to Lazarus to Westgate Park and continued to be a touchstone for the community.
One can imagine the confusion felt by visitors who looked upon the letters and wondered why there’s only an ‘A, and ‘C.’ Folks would often wonder what ever happened to the missing ‘B.’
In 2013, members of the Westgate Neighbor Association worked in effort to resurrect the lost ‘B.” The restoration was approved by city officials and the two year project began underway. It took two years of planning to create a 4,000 pound replica of the lost letter.
Volunteers work together to install the 4,000 pound concrete letter at Westgate Park.
“We have a responsibility to help take care of and restore things for the young kids growing up in the neighborhood, who should have the same chance to play in the park we had,” said Tom Carrier, a resident and one of the project leaders, in an interview with the Westside Messenger.
Earlier this year, the group executed its designs and successfully installed the piece on the playground. Volunteers also painted the letters bright colors, which made the work pop against the bright green backdrop of the park’s grassy area.
The community came out in droves for a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 19 to celebrate the letter’s return. To the outsider, the resurrection of the letter ‘B’ may seem trivial, but for many residents of West Columbus, these letters are the center of the universe – they connect parents and children to a sense of timelessness.
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
One of the biggest curiosities for me as a child was a number of cowboy statues randomly found around West Columbus and surrounding communities. The fiberglass cowboys were nearly identical, except for varying colors in their western wear and bandannas.
These iconic statues were actually part of the branding for Western Pancake House, a chain of restaurants founded by Joe and Lena Skaggs in the late 1960s, which expanded to as much as three dozen locations around the Midwest by the early 70’s.
Cowboy statues like the one above greeted customers at Western Pancake House locations in the 1970s.
In 1984, the chain was sold and each cowboy was left abandoned by the roadside, stuck in time and waving their hats to greet younger generations with the mystery of their existence.
One cowboy was privately acquired and found its way to East Palatka, Florida to be used at a location utilized for children’s parties. Two other cowboys in West Columbus now sit outside the present-day businesses of Columbus Auto Resale on Harrisburg Pike and Ari’s Diner on Frank Road.
Another cowboy waves at motorists from private property off of US Route-23 in Southeast Columbus; and one more statue in Alexandria, Ohio has been re-purposed in front of a western apparel store called Wind Song Western World.
One cowboy statue, which no longer exists, found its way to Decatur, Illinois and was customized to dress like a biker and sat on the roof of a discount liquor store. A statue is also known to still exist in Mansfield, Ohio.
Founder Joe Skaggs was born March 30, 1929 in Lowmanville, Kentucky. His family moved to Ohio following the Great Depression in search of work when local coal mines began to close.
The above cowboy was re-purposed in Illinois to look like a biker and sat atop a discount liquor store.
After an initial false start in opening a restaurant – a diner called Woodhaven, which he launched near his home in Big Darby Creek – he gave the idea another go, and the Western Pancake House was born. After the second location opened the chain grew exponentially.
The Western Pancake House opened in 10 locations within the I-270 Outerbelt, and then spilled over into five surrounding states. Its popularity grew to support 36 restaurants, and it raced against Bob Evans to become the fastest growing home-style restaurant in the Midwest.
Skaggs said his goal was to franchise 50 locations before he turned 55 years old, according to a 2009 interview with The Columbus Dispatch.
His decision to retire the restaurant chain came after an unexpected heart attack in 1982, coupled with his marriage falling to ruin. Skaggs closed shop, but concentrated his efforts on helping his daughter open a bakery in Hilliard and flipping hot-dog carts to local street vendors.
The franchise experienced a brief resurrection in 2009, when Skaggs opened a new location in Grove City, but this time with no cowboy statue. Early reports of the new restaurant were strong, but the restaurant closed a year later in February, 2010.
Skaggs died on Feb. 5, 2013 at the age of 83 years old.
Update at 10:13 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015
Reader Matt Spangler submitted a memory of his family’s special outings to the Western Pancake House when he was a young child. This is what he had to share:
“When I was a young boy things were much different than they are today. Going out to eat was a privilege that my family only did on Friday nights and Saturday mornings and we used to go to the big Western Pancake House and have breakfast, so that’s how I knew about the statues.
So that was a big deal to me, being able to climb all over the statue after we ate breakfast on Saturday mornings. I also remember my dad always getting packs of matches when we went in. That’s back when you could smoke at the table inside. Things were really thriving at that time on the West Side. Kinda sad it’s not anymore.”
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
While the flooding that plagued West Columbus for the better half of a century has remained on the collective memory of the community, many folks have forgotten about another natural disaster – a tornado that tore through the Sullivant Avenue workhouse, killing two prisoners and injuring eight others.
The disaster was dubbed the 1929 Rye Cove, Virginia tornado outbreak. On a national level, it resulted in approximately 42 deaths and 323 injuries from Oklahoma to Maryland. The category-three tornado passed through West Columbus at about 3 p.m. from the Galloway area to Franklinton.
Fire Chief Allen Nice and another firefighter survey damage caused by the tornado that leveled the jail’s west wing on May 2, 1929.
When the workhouse was struck by the twister, its destructive winds ripped down a cell block on the building’s oldest wing. Men who were sitting in their jail cells had no place to take cover and were killed or crushed by brick, mortar and steel.
Efforts to locate victims were led by Columbus Fire Chief Allen Nice and local firefighters. There were also reports of some prisoners aiding firefighters in digging through the rubble to rescue the injured. The search posed its own risks, as one firefighter and a police secretary were injured while clearing debris.
The men killed were 38-year-old Derrill Devore and 47-year-old George Washington. Both men were being held on charges of intoxication, with Devore having arrived at 10:30 a.m. that morning. Washington was serving out a $10 fine for public drunkenness.
Six of the prisoners injured had to be hospitalized. These men were Otto Mallot, Frank Flay, Elmer Cox, Harry Thacher, Mile Morrissey and Harry Love. They suffered fractured skulls, broken limbs and other internal injuries.
“All of the prisoners caught in the shower of debris were in for misdemeanors and traffic law violations, while the more serious offenders, locked securely in their cells, escaped injury,” one journalist wrote.
The Circleville Herald reported there were a total of 217 men being held in the old portion of the city prison. Other media outlets later reported a total of eight prisoners were injured and eight others escaped in the chaos.
“Tons of brick and mortar were loosed upon a score of 200 prisoners that occupied the west wing of the ‘U’ shaped building. About 10 hours after the storm, when police had made a thorough check of the prisoners, they had accounted for all but eight. These, it is believed, fled in the excitement,” reported the Wilmington News-Journal.
Some additional prisoners initially vanished, but returned later and told authorities they only wanted to visit their families and assure them of their safety.
Police officials had to transfer 90 male and 15 female prisoners to the Franklin County Jail the same night; the prisoners kept in the east wing for secured since that portion of the workhouse escaped damage.
Franklinton had lost one of the last bases of government to remain west of the Scioto River. The workhouse was damaged beyond repair. Only a portion of the cell block’s walls remained standing, but they were later knocked down for safety.
The new Columbus Police Headquarters relocated east of the Scioto River at the intersection of present-day Marconi Boulevard and Gay Street.
The city has been working on the construction of a new headquarters downtown, at the area of Water Street (present-day Marconi Boulevard) and Gay Street. The storm forced city officials to hurry and finish the building, which opened March 1930.
Until the destruction of its facility May 2, 1929, the Columbus Division of Police operated out of Franklinton. The Columbus Police Headquarters and Workhouse was located at 515 Sullivant Avenue, at the corner of McDowell Street.
Today, it’s the site of the Dodge Park and Recreation Center. The city park was named in remembrance of long-time park and recreation director, Mel Dodge, when he retired after 30 years with the department.
Construction on what locals called “the old workhouse” began Jan. 26, 1896. The building initially started as a jail, but expanded to function as police headquarters from 1920 to 1930. Columbus officials demolished the building on Aug. 31, 1931.
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
Detective Robert Cline had just completed his 11th year on the Columbus police force, when he was shot in the abdomen and killed while pursuing four bank robbers on Feb. 5, 1938.
One day prior, the suspects held up the Hilltop branch of the Ohio National Bank for the alleged amount of $3,500. The four men were found hiding-out in a boarding house on Guilford Avenue, when Detective Robert Cooke led his fellow officers and cornered the suspects in the two-story residence.
Detective Robert Cline outside the Columbus Police Headquarters.
The suspects included Cleveland natives Carl Boettcher, Vincent Grinkowicz, Stephen Figuli and a gangster only known as “Mac.” They were spotted by a motorcycle officer who observed the suspicious men entering the rooming house.
Initial reports thought “Mac” was infamous bank robber Charles Bird – called public enemy No. 2 by federal agents – but it turned out to only be a case of mistaken identity after fingerprint analysis.
The early morning manhunt quickly escalated into one of the fiercest firefights between officers and bank robbers in the city’s history. The 20-minute gunfight resulted in two suspects being shot and killed and two other officers, Detective Leo Phillips and Detective William Danner, were badly injured.
Neighbors recalled the incredible sight of police detectives swarming the building, then the near immediate sounds of gunfire and pandemonium.
Danner was shot in the gut by a stray bullet, and Phillips was grazed by a bullet to the eyelid. Bystander Eva Watring was also caught in the crossfire and suffered a shot to the thigh. The only officer to leave unhurt was Cooke, according to reports.
“Everybody was shooting. I felt a stinging sensation under my eye and blood began to trickle down my face. Then I hit one of those fellows,” Phillips reported.
Grinkowicz was struck through the chest and killed, and the unidentified man known as “Mac” was also slain. Boettcher was apprehended and hospitalized for a punctured lung.
Cline, 42, was quickly transported to a local hospital where his fellow officers and the community waited anxiously as doctors attempted to save his life via blood transfusions donated by his brothers in blue.
U.S. District Attorney Francis Canny told media that if any of the wounded officers died, he’d seek the death penalty for the suspects.
Stenographer Edna Davis Proctor and police officials interview the gunman at the Ohio Penitentiary.
Figuli claimed he never fired a single round. He was the only perpetrator to walk away unwounded, mainly to the fact he spent the duration of the gun battle hiding behind a couch.
Boettcher, 24, and Figuli, 21, were charged and convicted with first-degree murder and sentenced to death by electrocution. However, Boettcher died from medical complications April 6, 1938 just two weeks prior to his execution date.
“I’m sorry I plugged those guys, but that’s all I could do,” Boettcher said in a jailhouse interview.
Figuli was strapped to the electric chair and executed at 8 p.m. on Dec. 21, 1938. His mother, Susanna, camped outside the office of Gov. Martin Davey earlier that day in hopes of convincing him to award a stay of execution, but the attempt was futile.
In one bizarre interview, Figuli told reporters the only reason he joined the gang was to get close to Grinkowicz; “The only thing I cared about was getting Vincent. I wanted to kill him. That’s the reason I joined the gang.”
The Columbus Dispatch reported the Figuli held onto a prayer book when seated in the electric chair and his face did not show “the slightest trace of fear.” He also left behind a note for Gov. Davey thanking him for reviewing the case. It was closed by wishing the governor the “Merriest of Xmas.”
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
Faith Wolfe was the first librarian for the Hilltop branch.
The long history of the Hilltop library began in 1911, when the Sunset Literary Club held a book drive for West Broad Elementary School. The group was successful in collecting around 300 books that were kept inside the school for a decade.
When a local man, Lawrence Holmes, died in 1921 he left his private book collection to the school, which was unable to store the expanded collection. So the collection was moved to the second floor of Citizens Trust & Savings Bank – a financial institution that operated on the Hilltop.
The first time the collection would move into a proper library facility was about seven years later, when the Holmes Library opened its doors Oct. 4, 1928 at 21 N. Hague Ave. where the present-day Walgreens sits across the street from West Broad Elementary School.
Holmes Library existed at this location for 22 years, until relocating once acquired by the Columbus Metropolitan Library system. When the library opened the new branch, it was the first of eight locations owned entirely by the system.
The Holmes Library included hundreds of books from the private collection of Lawrence Holmes, donated to the community after his death.
The new site was about five blocks north the National Road and cost $56,000 to construct when it opened March 14, 1950. The architect was Harry Roderick, a resident of Upper Arlington.
Interesting to note: when they laid the cornerstone on Sept. 20, 1949 a number of artifacts were preserved inside including copies of the Ohio State Journal, Columbus Dispatch and other newspapers like the Hilltop Record and a brief history of the Hilltop branch.
The Hilltop Library was the first of eight satellite branches owned outright by Columbus Metropolitan Library in 1950.
The location at 2955 W. Broad St. is now the home of VOICEcorps, formerly Central Ohio Reading Services, a medical reading service for those who are blind or visually impaired. The property is now valued at $118,673 after renovations in 1983 to fit its new purpose.
The Hilltop branches final relocation happened in 1996, when it was moved near the corner of Sullivant Avenue and Hague Avenue, located at 511 S. Hague Ave.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library hired architectural firm Schooley Caldwell Associates to design the building – who are renowned for projects like the Utah State Capitol, Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus Museum of Art and the Lazarus Building.
Elements of its design included Victorian Gothic architecture and artifacts from the areas historical sites including the Central Ohio Psychiatric Hospital.
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
One of the most prominent amenities in West Columbus is none other than Westgate Park, which is a 46.3-acre city park located in the heart of the Hilltop area. The park has existed as a major meeting place for families since the 1930s.
The park today features a fishing pond, a rain garden, walking trail, athletic courts, a playground and picnic areas. The area looks vastly different compared to 80 years ago, where it was thick with woodland including white oak, red oak,hickory, willow, walnut, ash and elm trees.
It is also the site for many of the annual community celebrations. The most attended being the Historic Hilltop Bean Dinner and most recently, the Westgate Summerjam festival. There’s also a number of public arts projects installed around the park, which honor the history and mood of the community.
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
Residents spend some quality time with friends and neighbors at Westgate Park during the winter of 1943. Children are seen skating over present-day Harder Lake, while covered by a thick layer of ice. The lake was much larger during this period in time, as it was prior to the concrete basin being constructed.Also, notice the monolith of snow in the second picture, formed from the frozen waters of the lake’s fountain. These photographs are courtesy Glenn Wedmeyer, who graduated from West High School in 1947.
Above is a vintage hand tinted postcard of a stagecoach pulling upfront the Old Four Mile Inn & Tavern on the National Road.
About two years after Camp Chase was established as a Union training camp, a married couple named Timothy and Hannah Bigelow opened a stagecoach business across the road from the encampment. The venue was a popular social hub for Union officers and weary travelers.
The innkeepers opened the doors to the Old Four Mile Inn & Tavern on Feb. 14, 1863. Timothy was a smart businessman and saw the opportunity to make money by catering to the local soldiers, who utilized the tavern as a headquarters – drinking holes were common military meeting venues during the era.
David Martin was the son-in-law of Timothy Bigelow, who began running Old Four Mile Inn a few years after operation.
It was also a convenient resting point for those journeying the National Road, since it also offered a nearby warehouse to store their animals. The U.S. Congress initiated the construction of U.S. Route-40, a.k.a. the National Road, in 1806 as the first federally funded highway.
The National Road utilized previously established routes formed by Native Americans. The government saw the project as a way to better long-distance travel. It resulted in businessmen opening blacksmith shops, taverns and inns along the route to capitalize on the increased traffic from traders and families who could now venture out and find new work opportunities.
The tavern later was handed over to David Martin, a young man who married the Bigelow’s daughter, Melissa.
Timothy would later find additional success as a world-renown horse breeder. He and his wife continued to reside in West Columbus until his death on June 10, 1876 when he was attacked by one of his prize-winning Percherons and killed.
Old Four Mile Inn, which was located at 2904 W. Broad St., was demolished around 1913. Today, a new structure has been built on the land and is operated by the law firm, Elleman & Newcome.
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
Columbus voters will usher in a new mayor this year, after incumbent Michael B. Coleman completes his fourth term in office and departs the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history. He also holds the distinction of being the capital’s first African-American mayor.
After spending about a decade of public service on the Columbus City Council, he assumed office in 2000. During his 16 consecutive years as mayor, Coleman helped create 40,000 jobs and fostered approximately $7 billion in private investments to Columbus.
M.E. “Jack” Sensenbrenner and wife, Mildred, photographed following campaign season in November 1955.
The title of longest-serving mayor previously belonged to Maynard Edward Sensenbrenner. Known most commonly by his nickname, Jack, he was a resident of West Columbus and held office for 14 years across two separate tenures – the first between 1954 and 1960, and later between 1964 and 1972.
He and his twin brother, Marion, were born in Circleville on Sept. 18, 1902. Jack was said to have a big personality, and people naturally gravitated toward him. He was quoted during his first campaign for mayor as saying, “I got confidence that everyone will be a democrat when they learn to read.”
After graduating from Circleville High School, he spent a number of years in California, where he married high school girlfriend Mildred Harriet Sexauer in 1927. The couple would go on to have two sons.
Jack even made an appearance as an extra in the silent film adaptation of Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1925. Ten years later, he and Mildred returned to Circleville, before relocating to West Columbus, where they would remain until his death on Aug. 2, 1991.
Jack is still remembered a half-century since he assumed office. That’s no shock though, as he led the city through a period of transformation after infrastructure and the economy began to decline in the 1950s.
Some of the issues he held dear were fair housing, developing community parks and he invested much time in promoting and building up the Columbus Zoo.
Mayor Jack Sensenbrenner, Wendy’s store manager John Daumeyer and a young Dave Thomas at the grand opening of the first Wendy’s restaurant on Nov. 15, 1969.
Other projects included the expansion of the Columbus airport, the installation of the freeway system and he was the figure behind the city’s heavy stance on annexation. Jack believed the only way the city could succeed long-term was to expand.
Residents often remark on how Columbus uses water and sewer services to leverage investments and developments. Most recently this was seen about five years ago when casinos were brought to Ohio.
Jack pushed to stretch Columbus’ water and sewer infrastructure, which contemporaries originally thought was a waste of money and insane. They could not fathom why they should spend money to install water lines in the middle of farmland and empty fields.
However, the end result was Columbus becoming the largest city in the state geographically. Jack knew that investors building in neighboring townships and communities would require water, and they could use the utilities to leverage businesses into entering Columbus through annexation.
He also saw how many farmlands, like those in West Columbus, began to be purchased and transitioned into suburban neighborhoods in the 20’s. By the end of World War II, more and more citizens were leaving the downtown area to live in the suburbs – and they would need water and sewer too.
“If the suburbs wouldn’t come in, I told them I’d shut off their water. And you know how that feels. If you get your water shut off, you’re out of luck,” he once said in an interview.
Columbus annexed 74,250 acres between 1954 and 1968.
Jack Sensenbrenner welcomes Anna Maria Alberghetti during her visit to Columbus in July 1967. She was a TV, stage and film actress, starring in productions including “West Side Story” and “Fanny.”
It took the capital more than 100 years to encompass 41.8 square miles. His policies resulted in the city growing to more than 146 square miles by the end of his final term.
If anything bests describes his character, it might be the term he coined – “Spizzerinctum,” a phrase he began shouting in high school. He said it’s 1,000 times stronger than enthusiasm.
A downtown corner park was also dedicated as Sensenbrenner Park on Sept. 18, 1980. The small green space is just under 1-acre and includes a flower garden, fountain, some picnic tables and shade trees; and it is a popular spot for family outings, weddings and other summer events.
Following his death, a landmark sculpture was erected for Jack on July 4, 1992. The statue is located in Glenwood Park in West Columbus, and was to honor the former mayor. The sculpture was made possible thanks to the defunct Greater Hilltop Community Development Corporation and The Hilltop ’92 Celebration Commission.
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
Sean V. Lehosit is is a freelance journalist and history writer living in Columbus, Ohio. In 2010, he graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in English. He has about 10 years experience reporting on small government, education, business and entertainment. His latest book documents the development of West Columbus, Ohio from its transition from open farmlands into a collective of pocket neighborhoods.
The Evening Ravens 