The Quiz

 

    I have downloaded, photographed, scanned, and otherwise accumulated thousands of items related to Fairfax history. A lot of them can be neatly divided into topics that I can use to compose a blog article. Other topics are interesting, but I don’t have enough information for an entire article. So, rather than just listing a bunch of random Fairfax history facts, I have created a quiz. I will share (and elaborate on) the answers after the quiz. Good luck!

1.    Fairfax has had only six mayors in its 67-year history. Who was the first mayor of Fairfax?

2.    Let’s step back in time to 1932. You and a friend have plans to take the street car from Madisonville to Downtown for a day of window shopping. You are going to meet your friend at the corner of Washington and Dresden and then walk to the streetcar stop. Using modern-day street names, where are you planning to meet your friend?

3.    In the early days, Fairfax had a somewhat unflattering nickname that street car operators would sometimes announce at the Bramble and Whetsel stop (the stop closest to Fairfax). What was the nickname and why was Fairfax called this?

4.    Fairfax is comprised of a few different subdivisions. Some people refer to the subdivision that includes Chickadee Court, Nightingale Drive and Court, Meadowlark Lane, and Oriole Court as the “birdcage.” What is its official name?

5.    Speaking of subdivisions, what is the official name of the area south of Wooster Pike? (Hint: One of the street names in that area is part of the subdivision name.)

6.    The American Legion building on Southern Avenue was previously home to some churches. Which church built and originally occupied this building?

7.     For several years, before Fairfax was an incorporated village and before the Firemen's Festival or the FairFAX FESTival, there was an annual festival at the corner of Southern Avenue and Wooster Pike. What organization held this annual festival?

8.    Prior to the municipal parking lot, what was located at the corner of Germania and Hawthorne Avenues?

9.    In May 1972, a group of college students, including an owner/manager named Jim, opened Farm Fresh Produce in a lot at the corner of Wooster and Carlton. Whatever happened to Jim?

10.    There is construction at the corner of Wooster and Watterson that will soon be home to Bryan Medical, Inc. It previously housed a bank, but was originally built as a restaurant. There are still two locations of this restaurant in the Cincinnati area. What was the name of the restaurant?

11.    During primary season in 1984, Fairfax received a visit from a Democratic candidate for president. Who was the candidate and where exactly did he visit?

12.    This isn’t strictly a Fairfax question, but when Plainville High School became Mariemont High School in the 1949-50 school year, the sports teams’ name also changed. In 1949, we became the Mariemont Warriors. What was Plainville High School’s team name?

ANSWERS

1.    John R. Dinkel (1903-1976) was the first mayor of Fairfax, holding office from July 28, 1955 to December 31, 1959. At the time of his election, Dinkel was an estimator at Cincinnati Milling Machine. In his inaugural speech, Dinkel said “May our work bring us our share of life, freedom, truth and love into our community. May we work in harmony with one another toward the fulfillment of the aims set.” He was defeated for reelection in 1959 by Ralph Mitchell.

John Dinkel, from January 2, 1956 Cincinnati Enquirer

2.    You would meet your friend at the corner of Watterson and Murray. In May 1933, the Hamilton County Commission renamed 56 county roads that had duplicate names or more than one name leading in the same direction. In Fairfax, Washington Road was renamed Watterson and Fairfax Avenue was changed to Simpson. At some point, Central Avenue became South Whetzel. Dresden Avenue and Ruth Avenue (a block long street that ran parallel to Dresden) were renamed Murray when village council passed a resolution in June 1960.

3.    Fairfax had the nickname “Dogtown” because so many residents had dogs. According to the June 30, 1970 Cincinnati Post and Times Star, “Legend has it that two youths walking through the village from downtown Cincinnati, seeing all the dogs, scrawled ‘Dog town’ in the dirt road.”

4.    The official name is Audubon Park Subdivision. Named in honor of ornithologist and artist John James Audubon, the streets were named after birds, with the exception of the western block of Grace Avenue. The first section of the subdivision, which included Meadowlark, Oriole (originally named Robin Court), and Grace, was platted in 1940 and building began in the 1940s. The other sections, which included Nightingale Drive and Court and Chickadee Court, were developed in the mid-1950s to early 1960s.

Audubon Park Subdivision Plat from November 10, 1946 Cincinnati Enquirer

5.    The Dublin Springs Subdivision was platted in 1913. It includes Spring Street, Eleanor Street, Arrow Point Way, and Mary Street. By the way, there was once actually a spring on Spring Street near Wooster Pike.

6.    Fairfax Church of the Nazarene started in a tent on a corner on Wooster Pike in March 1929 with services conducted by 20-year-old Reverend George Galloway. The church was formally organized on March 24, 1930 and the congregation purchased land on Southern Avenue and built a church. The building now houses Edward C. Gehlert Post 554 of the American Legion.

7.    Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Mariemont held an annual festival at the corner of Wooster Pike and Southern Avenue from 1948 to 1953. The festival included a reunion for former patients, “homecoming” for babies born there, a parade, a flag raising, games, booths, rides, food, and some impressive prizes. The festival moved to St. Margaret of Cortona Church in 1954.

Ad for Mercy Hospital Festival from July 17, 1953 Catholic Telegraph Register

8.    As a kid, I hit up Lucky’s grocery store to buy my favorite “candy”, cherry-flavored Smith Brothers’ Cough Drops. I have never seen the store referred to as “Lucky’s” in print, but that’s what we called it in my neck of the woods and I discovered that a man named Lucke once owned the property. The formal name of the establishment was Fairfax Food Shop. I miss the little grocery stores we had in Fairfax when I was a kid!

Fairfax Food Shop ad from April 19, 1946 Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph Register

9.    James Bonaminio, now better known in the greater Cincinnati area as Jungle Jim, was the owner and manager of Farm Fresh Produce. There are now two Jungle Jim’s International Markets in the area, one in Fairfield and one in Eastgate, each with more than 200,000 square feet of shopping space. I have heard someone claim that Jungle Jim’s got its start in Fairfax, but this isn’t accurate. At the time the Fairfax location opened, Jim already had a market on a lot in Fairfield.

Farm Fresh Produce coupon from May 24, 1972 Eastern Hills Journal

10.    The Bryan Medical building, in its original form, was built as a Sugar ‘n’ Spice restaurant in 1957. It operated in that location for around 15 years, closing in 1973. As I recall, the building was pink. I never ate there; my dad was horrified at the thought of his kids eating in a restaurant after a particularly messy spaghetti dinner at the Howard Johnson’s in Kenwood. These days, you can visit Sugar ‘n’ Spice on Reading Road or in Downtown Cincinnati.

From the December 8, 1957 Cincinnati Enquirer

11.    On April 27, 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Gary Hart visited Probity, Inc., a small, woman-owned defense contractor located in the old Berling Dairy building on Lonsdale Avenue. Fairfax Elementary staff walked third through sixth grade students up Hawthorne Avenue to see a presidential campaign in action. Hart lost the Democratic nomination in 1984 to former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Fairfax Elementary School children awaiting Gary Hart's arrival, from May 2, 1984 Eastern Hills Journal

12.    The Plainville High School team nickname was the Blue Devils.

The 1945 Plainville High School Blue Devils baseball team, state champions.

From the 1946 Plainville High School yearbook.