The Grocers

     I originally planned this article to be a profile of several of the early business owners in Fairfax. However, in the course of my research I realized that I had found much more information about one business and its owners than I had for others. It was a business that I didn’t really know anything about until I started researching Fairfax history because Yochum’s Food Shop was out of business by the time I was born.

     Ethel Mae Carr was born in 1900 in Highland County, Ohio and Karl Everett Yochum was born in Highland County a year later. This was a rural area and both Ethel’s and Karl’s families had farms. Ethel’s father also managed a general store. In 1924, Ethel and Karl married in Highland County, then moved to the Cincinnati area. They initially lived in Madisonville, then moved to Norwood. By 1930, Karl was managing a grocery store in Madisonville.

     In October 1931, a man named William Lopacher opened a grocery at 6012 Wooster Pike in Fairfax. Within a couple of months, he sold the store to Karl and Ethel Yochum.

     Grocery shopping back then was much different than it is now. Stores were more specialized. There were dry goods stores, butcher shops, fish stores, and dairy dealers. Also, although a few self-service stores began around 1916, most stores were full-service, meaning that a customer would place their grocery order by phone or provide a shopping list and clerks would prepare the order for pickup or delivery. By the 1930s, some stores started offering both groceries and meat, and supermarket chains, like Kroger and Albers, were starting to grow in popularity.

Interior of Yochum's Food Shop from A History of the Village of Fairfax 

by Elizabeth Steele and Patricia Kuderer. It appears that Karl and Ethel are pictured

at right and the store's butcher at left.

    I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there were other groceries in Fairfax. I do remember some of the other ones. The Fairfax Food Shop (which had a number of names and owners over the years) was located at the corner of Germania and Hawthorne, where the municipal parking lot is now located. Watterson Market (known as Clark & Melvin in earlier days) was located at Watterson and Elder where Fairfax Lock and Key is now. Although it was technically in Mariemont, Brueckner’s was at the corner of Wooster and Settle. My family patronized all three of these stores. There were apparently even more grocery stores in the early years.

     Although the Yochums set up shop in Fairfax, they never, to the best of my knowledge, actually lived in Fairfax. In the late 1930s, they purchased a home on Settle Road in Mariemont. They were very much part of the Fairfax community, though. Yochum's sponsored local baseball teams and Karl even played on a Fairfax team himself. Karl was on the Plainville Rural School District Board of Education from the 1930s to the early 1940s. During his time on the Board, Plainville High School (now Mariemont Elementary) was constructed.

Karl Yochum (upper left) and other members of the Plainville Rural School District Board of 

Education from the 1941 Plainville High School Yearbook

    Now, Fairfax history nerd that I am, what really convinced me to do an article on the Yochums was having an opportunity to view some great old relics from the store. Some of these are receipts from other historic Cincinnati-area businesses with which Yochum's did business. Here are a few:

A 1937 receipt from our own Fairfax dairy, The J. H. Berling Dairy Products Company.

Do you remember Rubel's Rye Bread? 

A 1932 receipt from The Niser Ice Cream Company

Does anyone remember Mannino's Groceries in Madisonville? They were among 

Yochum's suppliers.

A Strietmann Biscuit Company receipt (for Toyland Animals and Zesta Crackers)

before Strietmann relocated to Mariemont. 

"Put it on my account!"

This appears to be a listing of Yochum's credit accounts from August 1937.

Remnants of an egg carton from Yochum's Food Shop.

Paper grocery bag from Yochum's Food Shop

    In 1946, the Yochums remodeled their store, giving it a brighter appearance. The store got a good cleaning and the walls were painted. A new 18-foot display counter was installed, giving customers a better view of and access to the merchandise. The biggest change was that the store converted to self-service. However, Yochum’s continued to offer clerk service to anyone who wanted it and still offered delivery three days a week.

Ad for Yochum's Food Shop from The Messenger, March 22, 1946

    Karl was an active member of the Cincinnati Retail Grocers and Meat Dealers Association for many years, serving as a director, vice president, and then president. Among the Association’s programs was the popular Pure Food Show that was held for two weeks at the Cincinnati Zoo each summer. The show featured booths, performances, cooking and homemaking classes, fashion shows, baby contests, and live radio broadcasts. Karl was often on the Show Committee.

     Ethel was a member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Retail Grocers and Meat Dealers Association and served as president of the Cincinnati, Ohio State, and National organizations. As a member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, Ethel participated in activities including selling war bonds on Fountain Square and delivering Christmas toys to patients at Children’s Hospital.

     The Yochums were also members of Fairfax Presbyterian Church. Karl helped to organize Boy Scout Troop 272, which was sponsored by the church. Karl was also involved in the Presbyterian Men of Cincinnati and was the director appointed by the Fairfax Church.

     After Fairfax incorporated as a village in 1955, business owners organized a Chamber of Commerce with Karl Yochum as the first president. He was also a director of the Fairfax Welfare Association. When the Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department was organized, Karl joined. Later in life he was a member of the Fairfax Senior Citizens Club.

Harry Nutick (left) and Karl Yochum (right) cleaning the fire engine

after a run. From the Cincinnati Post and Times Star Volunteer Firemen's Edition, 1960.

    In March 1957, Yochum’s had a 25^th anniversary celebration, which included giveaways. A local newspaper, The Messenger, published an article about Karl, saying "He has seen the same persons come in for a sucker or a bubble gum, later pencils and tablets for school, and eventually a basket of groceries for a new family."

Ad from The Messenger, February 17, 1956

    The grocery industry was evolving and between 1948 and 1963, the number of supermarkets in the United States tripled. Small independent local grocers like Yochum’s found it hard to compete with large chains. I’m not sure if it was a financial or personal decision, but Karl and Ethel Yochum closed their grocery store in 1960. Within the next 15 to 20 years, the other small groceries in our community – Fairfax Food Shop, Watterson Market, and Brueckner’s, also closed.

     Karl remained active in the Fairfax community and he and Ethel continued to live on Settle Road in Mariemont. In May 1974, the Yochums celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary with a dinner party at Ethel’s brother’s home back in Highland County.

     Ethel Yochum passed away on January 15, 1976. Services were held at Fairfax Presbyterian Church and she was buried back home in Highland County. In September 1977, Karl sold the home on Settle Road and moved back to Highland County. Fairfax Village Council passed a resolution of appreciation to recognize his service to the community.

     Karl remained active after he moved to Highland County, joining the Hillsboro Lions Club and even becoming the Class C champion of the Highland County Senior Citizen Eight Ball Billiard Tournament at the age of 84. In the late 1980s, Karl’s health began to fail. He passed away on March 24, 1990.

The Main Drag

     When I started writing this blog, I never thought that U.S. Route 50, comprised of  Columbia Parkway and Wooster Pike in Fairfax, would be a worthy topic for an article. After all, it has never really been the pride and joy of our community in the way that, say, Fairfax School was. Through most of our history it has been sort of unflattering, known for the proliferation of gas stations, auto repair places, and fast-food joints. My dad always called it “the main drag,” but I got the sense he was using it in a derogatory manner, like it wasn’t really much of a main street. However, when deciding on the topic for my next article, I noticed that I had accumulated a good deal of information about Columbia Parkway and Wooster Pike.

     Our story doesn’t have a definite beginning. Most accounts say that what is now Wooster Pike began as path or trail through the wilderness which developed into a wagon road that ran between Cincinnati and Chillicothe. Stage coaches, covered wagons, and livestock used the road. The Joseph Ferris family built their home, now located at the intersection of Dragon Way and Wooster, near the road. Farther east, the first school in the area and the Ferris family cemetery were built on the road. Joseph’s brother Eliphalet Ferris built his home a little north of the road. The house that is now 50 West Brewpub was built along the road in 1827.

Joseph Ferris House, Dragon Way & Wooster Pike, Fairfax, Ohio

    In the early 1800s there were few roads connecting the major towns in the State of Ohio. The young state didn’t have the financial resources to build roads without raising taxes, so the state government began granting charters to private turnpike companies that would build and maintain the roads. The turnpike companies sold stocks to investors and made money by charging tolls.

     In February 1828, the Cincinnati, Columbus and Wooster Turnpike Company was chartered with capital of $200,000. The turnpike ultimately ran from Linwood (where Eastern Avenue now ends) to Goshen. The final portion of the turnpike in Goshen was completed in 1841. The turnpike never made it as far as Wooster, Ohio. Using today’s roads as reference, going east, the turnpike roughly followed Wooster Pike from Linwood into Fairfax, Mariemont, Terrace Park, and Milford. At Five Points in Milford, the Wooster Turnpike veered left toward Goshen.

     Turnpikes were typically macadamized, a style of pavement using crushed gravel. After several decades of use and lax street repairs, by the turn of the 20^th century most turnpikes were in poor condition. Local governments began to condemn (“to declare convertible to public use under the right of eminent domain,” per Merriam Webster) turnpikes. In October 1910, Hamilton County Commissioners adopted resolutions to condemn the Wooster Turnpike from Red Bank (now western Fairfax) to Milford. In June 1911, Hamilton County purchased its portion of the Cincinnati, Columbus and Wooster Turnpike for a little over $25,000.

     So, Hamilton County became responsible for the Cincinnati, Columbus and Wooster Turnpike, or Wooster Turnpike, or Wooster Pike, or Eastern Avenue; these names were used interchangeably for the road in the early part of the 20^th century. The Fairfax subdivision was platted in 1910 and the Madison Heights and Dublin Springs subdivisions in 1913. Apparently, the road was not in great condition, since some early Fairfax residents recalled cows grazing on Wooster Pike. At some point, the street paving was upgraded with some degree of maintenance. Through the years, the road was widened and straightened to accommodate modern traffic.

     These days, there are only three structures along Wooster Pike in Fairfax that were built as houses. However, Wooster Pike once had a number of residences. This Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from the early 1950s shows the homes on the Pike between Southern and Lonsdale. Yellow markings designate dwellings, green for stores, blue for restaurants, and purple for gas stations and auto repair.

Wooster Pike in 1955, looking west from Watterson Road. The sign 

slightly left of center marks the Kream Kottage restaurant.

From A History of the Village of Fairfax by Elizabeth Steele and Patricia Kuderer

    With growing numbers of workers travelling daily between Cincinnati and the eastern suburbs, traffic became problematic between downtown and Fairfax, prompting a Cincinnati Enquirer columnist to call Wooster Pike/Eastern Avenue “a commuter’s nightmare.” The stretch of Wooster Pike between Linwood and Red Bank Road was inadequate for the volume and type of traffic it handled each day and was plagued by potholes.

     Columbia Parkway had been built as a Works Progress Administration project and opened in the late 1930s. The Parkway originally ran between Downtown Cincinnati and Beechmont Avenue. In March 1955, the Hamilton County Commission announced a multi-million dollar highway plan that included extending Columbia Parkway from Beechmont to Wooster Pike near Southern Avenue in Fairfax. 75 percent of the cost would be paid by the City of Cincinnati and the other 25 percent by Hamilton County. The extension would allow traffic to bypass the congested Wooster Pike – Red Bank Road intersection.

    I learn so much I never knew from researching this blog. Not that this is earth-shattering, but the section of Wooster Pike between Meadowlark and Southern didn’t always run where it is today. For my entire life, Columbia Parkway has run directly into Wooster Pike at Meadowlark Lane. “Old” Wooster Pike curves north to join Wooster Pike and intersect Columbia Parkway at Meadowlark. However, before the Columbia Parkway extension, it was a straight shot from Old Wooster to Wooster Pike near Southern.

1950 Map of Fairfax, from loc.gov.

     Perhaps it’s my imagination, but I can visualize where the street must have been back in the day. I took this photo slightly west of the intersection of Southern and Wooster. It seems that this would be the point where the section of road we often call Old Wooster would connect to this section of Wooster Pike:

    Below is an aerial view of the Strietmann plant (now Kellogg’s) from 1956. Wooster Pike is visible on the left side of the photograph. Part of the wooded area between Strietmann’s and Wooster Pike would later become Dragon Way.

From The Messenger, July 28, 1956

    In October 1958, Foley Construction was awarded the contract for building the Columbia Parkway extension. On October 28, Ohio Governor C. William O’Neill joined Fairfax Mayor John Dinkel and Mariemont Mayor E. Boyd Jordan at the corner of Meadowlark Lane and Wooster Pike to turn the first spade of dirt for the project.

     By December 1960, the northern side of the Columbia Parkway extension from Red Bank Road to Wooster Pike at Meadowlark Lane was open to traffic. Construction continued. Did it continue without a hitch? Of course not.

     In January 1962, the extension was complete with the exception of a 200-foot section near Southern Avenue. Seeding, sodding, and shoulder work also needed to be completed and couldn’t be done until spring. Foley Construction agreed to open the road, but only if Cincinnati and Fairfax would accept liability for structural damage and worker injuries occurring before the contract was completed.  Both Cincinnati and Hamilton County had approved the road opening. Cincinnati would pay 75 percent of the insurance premium. 

Construction of the Columbia Parkway extension west of Meadowlark Lane. 

The Frisch's Mainliner parking lot and sign are visible in the upper left quadrant of the photo.

From the January 18, 1962 Cincinnati Enquirer

    Fairfax officials did not agree to open the roadway. They feared that the traffic congestion resulting from the early opening would create a hazard. Only the two lanes on the northern side would be ready and until the project was complete, two lanes of traffic in each direction would be merging into one lane each way. The village didn’t have the money to pay its share of the insurance premium either.

This diagram from the February 8, 1962 Cincinnati Post shows the status of the

construction between Meadowlark and Southern when discussion of early opening 

of the Columbia Parkway extension began.

    Within a few weeks, though, the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, and Fairfax had reached an agreement to open the extension early with Cincinnati and Hamilton County paying the insurance premium. On February 22, traffic lights and road signs were installed and final cleanup was done in preparation for opening the following day. Fairfax Police Chief Jim Finan was expecting the worst and directed traffic himself. The project was completed within a few months.

     Most of the houses on Wooster Pike were disappearing and replaced with an ever-changing variety of businesses. Now we had the Main Drag I grew up with. My siblings, friends, and I had a lot of fun around the Pike as kids. In a family with both parents employed full-time, we made a lot of trips to Frisch’s Mainliner for carryout. The car wash was a goldmine for soda bottles, which we would cash in at the Pony Keg or Convenient Food Mart. We pumped our arms at passing truck drivers so they would sound their horns. My friends and I went to the Provident Bank grand opening and loaded up on the free food. My first and last shoplifting attempt was at King Kwik at the age of three or four, when I snatched some chocolate-covered cherries, only to have my mom march me back into the store to pay for them and apologize. So many memories – Clara Sallee ringing up our purchases at Atwood’s Pharmacy, the fixings bar at Burger Chef, the crossing guard, Mr. Lucking, helping us cross Wooster at Germania – it was great.

Wooster Pike between Lonsdale and Watterson

From The Chieftain, Mariemont High School, 1984

    Despite all of these nice childhood memories, Wooster Pike wasn’t exactly paradise. It was handy to have gas, auto repair, fast food, and convenience stores close at hand, but it wasn’t pretty. In 1976, the village initiated an improvement program, but, to my eye, the improvements were minor at best. There were utility wires running from one side of the road to the other and an unattractive tall chain link fence between Southern Avenue and Meadlowlark Lane. Not all of the business properties were well-maintained and neat. The road was also dangerous for pedestrians with sand and gravel-covered sidewalks directly bordering the busy roadway.

     In the early 2000s, village officials announced another Wooster Pike revitalization project. A committee of residents and businesses worked on the project and a consulting firm was engaged.  Over time, the project evolved. Obviously, most of the changes on the Draft Comprehensive Redevelopment Plan below never occurred. 

March 2003 Fairfax-Wooster Corridor Draft Redevelopment Plan

    The planned improvements were intended to make the road safer for vehicle traffic and pedestrians and to attract businesses. One component of the project was creation of a western gateway with trees, shrubbery, and brick walls announcing “Welcome to Fairfax.” The tentative plans also included eliminating some driveways on the Pike, requiring business signs to be more uniform, moving all utility poles to one side of the road, making some intersecting residential streets into cul-de-sacs, and extending Watterson south of Wooster and creating a town square. Mayor Ted Shannon said the project “should give us an identity we don’t have now. A lot of people don’t even know they’re driving through Fairfax.” The project was expected to take five to ten years and would be completed as funding became available.

        It took a few years for the Wooster Revitalization Project to get rolling. By 2010, state and federal funding had been lined up. At that point, plans included converting the road from four to three lanes (two through lanes and a center turn lane), a buffer between the sidewalks and street, new upgraded traffic lights, irrigation improvements, and, of course, making some residential streets dead ends or cul-de-sacs. In addition, aesthetic improvements were planned, to include benches, trash receptacles, planters, and a 35-foot bell tower in front of Frisch’s. The aesthetic improvements would be funded by resident and business donations and would be purchased and installed only to the extent that donations were received.

     This project might have been the most controversial in the village’s history. Germania, Lonsdale, Simpson, Carlton, and Camden were all being converted from streets that intersected with Wooster Pike to cul-de-sacs or dead ends with the intention of improving traffic flow on Wooster. Some residents on Watterson complained that the changes had increased traffic on their street and called for construction to be halted. Others felt blind-sided by the creation of the cul-de-sacs. Village officials said they made every effort to keep residents informed and had held at least a half dozen public meetings about the project since 2001. 

Mayor Ted Shannon posing with one of the new decorative street lights.

From the Eastern Hills Journal, February 10, 2010

    Ultimately, the cul-de-sacs and dead ends were constructed as planned. Wooster was reduced from four to three lanes, which caused long rush hour backups for months afterwards as commuters adjusted to the new traffic pattern. The speed limit was reduced from 35 to 25 miles per hour. Bus pull-offs were installed near Meadowlark, Watterson, and Camden, and a bus shelter was constructed at Meadowlark. New sidewalks were installed with pavers creating a buffer between the sidewalks and road. The western gateway was landscaped and a large stone sign proudly proclaiming “Village of Fairfax” was installed. Decorative street lighting was added. Pedestrian crossing lights were installed. Unused utility poles were removed and utility poles were all consolidated on the south side of the road. The aesthetic elements (benches, trash receptacles, planters) didn’t receive the amount of funding village officials hoped for, but some of these amenities can be found on Wooster Pike and throughout the village. The Watterson extension, town square, and bell tower didn’t happen.

     I won’t comment on whether this project improved traffic flow or pedestrian safety, but I will say that I think it achieved the goal of making Wooster Pike and Fairfax more attractive. It achieved the goal of informing people entering the village from the west that they are in Fairfax. It made drivers slow down to see what’s here. Can you tell when you have left Mariemont and entered Fairfax without a big “Village of Fairfax” sign at the eastern gateway? Yes, of course. Our Main Drag isn’t peaceful and tree-lined, but here you can fill your tank, buy a bike, grab a Big Boy and fries, and pick up the best doughnuts in the Cincinnati area. That is our identity. That’s Fairfax to me!

     What does the future hold for the Main Drag? As I write this, a new residential development is being constructed near the southeastern section of the Pike and drivers have voiced concern over increased traffic. Will the current configuration of Wooster Pike stand the test of time? We will see.

Wooster Pike facing east from Meadowlark Lane, 2023

The Burglar

    Law Enforcement is a heated topic these days. Although I typically try to keep my opinions to myself on this blog, I have to admit I feel bad for conscientious, ethical, community-minded police officers whose reputations are tarnished by the careless, unethical and sometimes criminal actions by others in their profession. This is why I hesitated to tell this story. It is the story of one man, a Fairfax police officer, who went from law enforcer to law breaker.

    David Lee Planitz was born July 2, 1928 to Robert and Grace Planitz. He had an older brother and grew up in eastern Hamilton County, living in Mt. Lookout, Mariemont, and Newtown. In 1942, Robert Planitz died suddenly of a coronary occlusion. In September 1945, David enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served until June 1947. Grace Planitz remarried and in 1950 David was living in Newtown with his mother, brother, stepfather, and stepbrother. Planitz married in 1951, but was divorced within two years.

    Planitz worked as a truck driver after his discharge from the Navy, but became a Cincinnati police officer in January 1952. By 1957, he was a motorcycle officer.

David Planitz modeling a new police motorcycle helmet

January 17, 1957, Cincinnati Enquirer

    A June 1958 Cincinnati Enquirer article reported that Planitz “wrenched his spine” and had been temporarily unable to move his upper extremities. According to the report, Planitz was removing his motorcycle from his garage when he noticed an oil spot on the pavement. He sustained the injury when he bent over to look at the spot. Planitz left the Cincinnati Police Department in October 1958.

     Planitz married for the second time in the late 1950s. The couple bought a house on Roberts Street in Fairfax in 1962. In the early 1960s, Planitz worked as a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy for several months before joining the Fairfax Police Department in 1963. David Planitz’s second marriage ended in late 1963, but the couple remarried within a matter of months.

     As a Fairfax officer in the 1960s, Planitz would have been involved in some of the most high-profile cases in the village’s history, the Debbie Dappen abduction and murder, the disappearance of Johnny Hundley and Jimmy McQueary, and the Troy Lee Carr murder. He moved up in the department and achieved the rank of sergeant. Fairfax Police Chief Paul Ferrara later described Planitz as “outspoken,” but considered him “a pretty good policeman.”

     David Planitz and his wife divorced a second time in March 1970. Planitz continued to live in his Roberts Street house.

     On November 30, 1970, a citizen reported to Cincinnati police that two men were tampering with the night deposit box at the Fifth Third Bank at Madison Road and Markbreit Avenue in Oakley. Police found two men sitting in a car in front of the bank. Three heavy duty nylon ropes with hooks attached were also found the in car. The two men were arrested and charged with entering a coin receiving device. The car was registered to David Planitz.

     Interestingly, the same bank reported the theft of $200 from the night deposit box exactly one week earlier. On another occasion, the bank found nylon rope and a hook attached to a deposit bag in the night depository.

     Cincinnati and Fairfax police conducted a joint investigation and obtained a search warrant for Planitz’s home and car. It turned out that this wasn’t David Planitz’s first involvement with theft. On December 1, 1970, Planitz was charged with possession of burglary tools and burglary in relation to an October 23 burglary at Prudential Life Insurance Agency in Madisonville in which a safe was stolen. Chief Paul Ferrara suspended Sergeant Planitz pending the outcome of the case.

David Planitz, December 3, 1970 Cincinnati Enquirer

    The following day, Planitz pleaded not guilty to both charges. The judge set bond at $500 for each charge. After court that day, he apparently went to one of his favorite hangouts, the Royal Family Billiard Lounge in Oakley Square (a hop, skip, and jump from the aforementioned Fifth Third Bank), for a little relaxation. However, Cincinnati police interrupted the fun at about 6:00 p.m. when they arrested Planitz on a breaking and entering charge filed by Milford police in connection to a November 19 break-in at Ray Steidle Pontiac. On December 14, he pleaded not guilty to that charge in Clermont County Court.

     The Fairfax Police Department was apparently taking some flak over the Planitz case. The Cincinnati Enquirer published an opinion piece titled “In All Fairness” asking citizens to be fair to Fairfax police rather than ridicule them. The same department being criticized had investigated and arrested one of their own and deserved residents’ support. The piece said, "Whenever one succumbs to the temptations of condemning an entire group or class of people because of the transgressions of one of its members, he is giving in to intolerance, bias and irrationality."

     At the beginning of the new year, David Planitz was facing three felony charges and suspended from his job as a Fairfax police sergeant. If you think he stayed under the radar for a while, you would be wrong. On January 2, 1971, Blue Ash police were on a routine patrol at 5:25 a.m. when they saw a man run from the King Kwik store on Hunt Road. The police lost the man, but saw a car pull away from the scene. They stopped the car, which was occupied by David Planitz and an 18-year-old woman. They were arrested and charged with possession of burglary tools and attempted burglary.

     David Planitz submitted his resignation from the Fairfax Police Department to Chief Ferrara on January 18, 1971, saying it was for the best of the department. I doubt that many people would dispute that.

     On February 26, Planitz’s defense attorney filed a motion for dismissal in relation to the attempted burglary at the Blue Ash King Kwik, which the judge granted. The Blue Ash police had no evidence of a crime at the time they stopped Planitz and asked to see his driver’s license. Police found what they considered burglary tools in Planitz’s car, but hadn’t found evidence of an attempted burglary until later.

     In the early morning hours of March 8, 1971, Cincinnati police were patrolling Erie Avenue in Hyde Park when they noticed footprints in the snow leading to the Saybrook Tavern. An officer went to the rear of the building and saw two men run from the tavern. The men ignored orders to stop and the officer fired two shots, missing the men. One of the men, David Planitz, surrendered after a foot chase. Police pursued the other man for three miles with a canine officer and helicopter joining the chase, but he got away. The Saybrook Tavern’s safe had been breached and $950 was taken. Planitz was charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling. His accomplice surrendered a couple of days later; he had been a suspect because his car was found at the scene.

     In March 1971, Planitz sold his house on Roberts Street. His association with Fairfax was over; his life of crime was not.

David Planitz, March 8, 1971, Cincinnati Post

    On April 9, 1971, Planitz was a passenger in a car with another man when a Clermont County sheriff’s deputy pulled them over on State Route 125 near Batavia. Planitz was charged with possession of burglary tools. The other man was also charged with driving under suspension and driving an unsafe vehicle. Planitz was freed after posting the $10,000 bond.

     On May 2, Planitz and another man were pulled over by a Fairfax officer. Planitz was charged, again, with possession of burglary tools, as well as illegal possession of an amphetamine.

     On May 4, Planitz and four accomplices, all of whom were at least 20 years younger than he was, broke into the Heber Jones auto dealership in Middletown. They took a customer’s 1970 Cadillac, a stereo set, and tools. A safe was badly damaged, but the burglars didn’t make entry. The stolen car was recovered and the five suspects taken into custody in Bellevue in Huron County, Ohio. The five suspects were each charged with breaking and entering and grand larceny. Planitz was also charged in Bellevue for the theft of $150 in tools.

     In July 1971, Planitz pleaded guilty to the charges related to the Heber Jones robbery. The Butler County judge sentenced him to three concurrent terms in the Ohio State Penitentiary. Later, during the sentencing of Planitz’s accomplices, it came to light that at least two of them were drug dealers and another admitted to being an addict.

     In early November 1971, David Planitz was returned from the State Penitentiary to appear in Clermont County and Hamilton County courts. On November 2, he changed his plea to guilty for the charges related to the Ray Steidle Pontiac break-in. His Clermont County sentences would run concurrently with the terms imposed by Butler County. On November 3 in Hamilton County, he also changed his plea to guilty for the charges related to the Saybrook Tavern burglary. The prosecutor announced that the County was dropping the charges stemming from the May 2 traffic stop in Fairfax. 

     Planitz’s defense attorney blamed his problems on “speed and pills” and said he had been reformed in prison.

     A few years passed with no word of Planitz, who was presumably serving his time in the Ohio Pen. Unfortunately, we hadn’t yet heard the last of him. By September 1974, Planitz was facing more burglary-related charges. He was charged with breaking and entering, safecracking, and theft in connection with a July 1974 burglary at the Golden Rooster in Anderson Township. $4,000 had been taken from the safe. He was implicated by the testimony of his 16-year-old accomplice in Juvenile Court. Planitz was also arrested by Norwood police in July 1974 for possession of burglary tools when he was spotted leaving an apartment building carrying a suitcase containing acetylene tanks, a pry bar, and other suspicious items.

     Planitz ultimately pleaded guilty to charges related to the Golden Rooster burglary and the Norwood incident. His sentencing was delayed in February 1975 because he was in Veterans Hospital with a neck injury. Ultimately, he landed back in the Ohio State Penitentiary.

     David Planitz died at Franciscan Mt. Airy Hospital on September 17, 1978 at the age of 50.

     The question that plagues me as I write this is . . . Why? Why did a middle-aged veteran police officer turn to crime? Why and when did he begin abusing drugs? It all seemed to begin in late 1970. I have trouble believing that he was involved in any significant criminal activity before then – he was so very bad at burglary that he surely would have been caught. I can only hope that Planitz's accomplices, most of whom were significantly younger than him, went on to live productive lives.

The Village Clerk

    People are complicated. We are shaped by our genetic composition, family, choices, and experiences to become unique individuals. However complicated people may be, though, we have a tendency to oversimplify them, especially those with whom we don’t see eye-to-eye. We often see no wrong in the actions of those we love or admire, while seeing no good in the actions of those we disagree with or dislike.

     As a child, I remember hiding from an old (to me) lady who drove through Fairfax in a large car. I don’t know who cautioned me about her, but it was generally accepted among my childhood circle that this lady was important and mean and, as such, was to be avoided. This lady was Virmorgan Ziegler.

     I knew of Mrs. Ziegler - everyone in Fairfax did - but to the best of my recollection I never had a conversation with her. I didn’t know her personally, only by reputation. Even today, mention her name to Fairfax old-timers and the most common comment is that “She ran the Village of Fairfax.” Kids of my generation told me how she yelled at or even fired a shotgun with dry dirt or rock salt at them if they trespassed or came near her property on Watterson, earning her the nickname “Old Lady Buckshot.” However, Virmorgan Ziegler was much more than her tough-as-nails reputation.

     Our story begins in 1907, when John Morgan Lucus, a widowed 31-year-old wagon driver, married Clara Virginia Duerig, an almost 17-year-old sales clerk at Shillito’s Department Store. It was over seven years before the Lucuses had their first and only child, a girl they named Virmorgan, on February 19, 1915.

     Virmorgan Lucus was born in northern Kentucky and spent her early childhood there. On December 3, 1921 (yes, she still remembered the exact date decades later), the Lucus family moved to Washington (now Watterson) Road near High Street in the Fairfax Subdivision. The first night they discovered the house was infested with mice and within the next few days Mr. Lucus trapped over twenty of the little critters. There was no indoor plumbing, but the property had a natural spring and they pumped water into the house from the spring. The household had an outhouse. Even though the subdivision got water lines in the mid-1920s, the Lucus family had grown so accustomed to pumping water from their spring that they didn’t connect the house to the water lines until 1949.

     The Lucus property consisted of four lots, two of which fronted on Washington Road and two that fronted on Bancroft Street. Like most other families in the area, they had a garden and kept chickens. There was no telephone service and no door-to-door mail delivery.

     Young Virmorgan started school in Fairfax in the fall of 1922, attending a one-room school at the corner of Wooster Pike and Spring Street. She was among the first students of the new Dale Park School in Mariemont when it opened in 1925. She later attended Terrace Park School and graduated in 1931. At this time in our nation’s history, fewer than one-third of teenagers graduated from high school.

Terrace Park High School Class of 1931. Virmorgan Lucus is fourth from the left in the first row.

From www.tphistoricalsociety.org

    Virmorgan, whose father had a sixth-grade education and mother had completed two years of high school, then continued her education at the University of Cincinnati. In 1920, UC had been the first university in the United States to admit women to preparatory programs for engineering. Virmorgan entered the College of Engineering and Commerce. She also had a job where she worked from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. She rode the streetcar to the stop at Bramble and Whetsel in Madisonville where her mother met her at 12:30 a.m. each night and walked home with her. Street lights were rare in those days, so the streets were pitch black.

     Virmorgan did quite well at UC. She was a member of Chi Delta Phi Literary Honor Society and Pi Chi Epsilon, which was an honorary scholastic and activity sorority for students of the College of Engineering and Commerce. She was secretary of Chi Delta Phi in her pre-junior year and president of Pi Chi Epsilon in her senior year. She was also a member of the Chem Commerce Club and the Co-Op Club.

Virmorgan (front row, second from left) as secretary of Chi Delta Phi.

The Cincinnatian, 1936

Virmorgan (center) as president of Pi Chi Epsilon.

The Cincinnatian, 1937

    Virmorgan graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1937 with a degree in Commercial Engineering.

Graduation picture from the Cincinnati Enquirer, July 11, 1937

    After college, Virmorgan went to work for Ohio National Insurance Company. She met George Ziegler at Ohio National, where he had been employed since 1933. He was a graduate of Miami University, where he had studied journalism and education. George entered the United States Army in June 1942. On December 18, 1942, Virmorgan and George were married at Mariemont Community Church. George was serving at Fort McClellan, Alabama at the time and remained in the Army until June 1946. While George was in the army, Virmorgan continued to live with her parents. Around the time George was discharged, Virmorgan purchased property in Fairfax, including a house on Lonsdale. Both Virmorgan and George Ziegler continued to work at Ohio National.

     I have been told that the Zieglers enjoyed dancing. They also played cards with Mrs. Ziegler’s parents, where the room was typically thick with cigarette smoke. Mrs. Ziegler didn’t smoke, but the second-hand smoke didn’t bother her.

     Mrs. Ziegler was a faithful member of Fairfax Presbyterian Church. It isn’t clear whether she was attending there when the church (then on Wooster Pike) was formally organized in 1924, but she was by the time the church moved to Southern Avenue in late 1939. She served as church treasurer and financial secretary. She attended services every Sunday, except when she was sick and she was very rarely sick.

     In the early 1950s, the push to incorporate Fairfax as a village was on, with the Fairfax Welfare Association (now the Civic Association) leading the way. Around this time, Mrs. Ziegler became the recording secretary for the Association. 

Virmorgan Ziegler (left) as recording secretary of the Fairfax Welfare Association, pictured with

Association president Howard Reitz and attorney George Weber.

From The Messenger, June 12, 1953

    When Fairfax became incorporated in 1955, Virmorgan Ziegler was elected village clerk. She later said she had misgivings about running for elected office and that her mother was “highly opposed.” She credited her position as recording secretary for the Civic Association for her election, saying “I guess that’s why I was nominated for clerk.” Among her to-do items for the village were street repairs and lighting, and developing a building code and zoning ordinance. When the village needed a municipal building in 1958, she drew up the floor plan.

     It wasn’t long before Mrs. Ziegler began butting heads with other village officials. Council passed a resolution to place a $1.4 million tax levy on the November 1956 ballot. Ohio law limited municipalities to issuing bonds that were less than five percent of their tax duplicate. Ziegler refused to certify the bond issue because it would exceed the five percent limitation. An action to force her to certify the issue was filed by Elsie Cribbet, Fairfax property owner and taxpayer (and wife of councilmember Ronald Cribbet). The First District Court of Appeals ordered Mrs. Ziegler to certify the issue, stating that the village’s indebtedness at the time the bonds were issued would determine whether the sale would exceed the limit. Another common comment about Mrs. Ziegler was that she handled the village’s money as she would handle her own.

     For the next two decades, Virmorgan Ziegler served as village clerk with no opposition for the office. She went through a number of losses and personal challenges during those years. On January 20, 1958, her father John Lucus died. George Ziegler retired as editor and educational director for Ohio National Life Insurance Company in 1968. Her mother Clara Lucus had a stroke in 1973. On January 16, 1975, George passed away after a long battle with emphysema.

     In 1975, Mrs. Ziegler faced her first opposition for village clerk and won by 39 votes. Clara Lucas had another stroke in 1976 and her daughter placed her in a long-term care facility because she was partially paralyzed. Mrs. Ziegler retired as Manager of Agents Licenses and Contracts for Ohio National in February 1976. She cared for her mother, visiting her every day.

     In June 1976, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a profile of Mrs. Ziegler. She expressed her pride in Fairfax. The reporter noted that “Talking about Fairfax brings out a warmth in her” and “She smiles easily and often, appearing so unlike the stern, stoic type of personality she often displays at council meetings. . . . Her eyes . . . are alive with awareness and intelligence.” She said she hoped that village residents regarded her with “respect and confidence and as an individual who has a deep, sincere interest in the village.” However, she also acknowledged that she wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea “because I am not a yes person and when I am on the other side of the fence, so to speak, it’s because of my consideration of what is financially beneficial to the village.” 

From the Cincinnati Enquirer, June 27, 1976

    We can see an example of her “deep, sincere interest in the village” when she confronted someone “on the other side of the fence” regarding a 1978 Cincinnati Post article about the financial challenges of the MariElders, the senior citizens’ group in Mariemont. The reporter wrote that the “MariElders draw members from lower income areas like Fairfax.” Mrs. Ziegler took exception to this statement and in a letter to the editor wrote that “to the residents of Fairfax it smacked of a derogatory nature.” She said that the MariElders asserted that they made no such statement to the Post but, regardless, had sent a letter to Fairfax village council to try to smooth things over. She said that Fairfax residents were offended by the statement in the Post article and it would “not be easily forgotten by those in Fairfax.” You messed with Fairfax and, by extension, Virmorgan Ziegler at your own risk!

     As village clerk, she burned the midnight oil, working on village business well into the night and on weekends, saying “I do whatever it takes to get everything done.” At one point she estimated that she worked 250 hours a month. She handled village mail and phone calls, answered residents’ questions, kept village records, took the minutes at council meetings, and served as clerk of the mayor’s court. She was all business at council meetings and didn’t have much patience with councilmembers’ bickering. I have had occasion to review some of Mrs. Ziegler’s council minutes, which are typed on legal-sized onion paper with very rare typographical errors. They are detailed and, despite her reputation for being outspoken, do not document her personal opinions.

     In 1979, the Cincinnati Post profiled Mrs. Ziegler. Despite her tough exterior, she acknowledged that she had struggles like anyone else, specifically in dealing with placing her mother in a nursing home and her husband’s death. She said, “I had sweared that I would care for my mother at home as long as I possibly could. And I was still having a hard time accepting my husband's death. I'm only coming out of that now. . . . You know, people carry so much inside. You may be suffering inside and no one knows it for the longest time."

     Discontent was brewing in her public life, though. In the 1979 election, councilmember Gary Hodge challenged incumbent Ronald Cribbet for mayor. Cribbet had served on council from incorporation until he became mayor in 1962 and served as mayor since then. Although Cribbet won the election in a landslide, Hodge didn’t fade into the shadows. He continued to challenge the old guard for years to come and Virmorgan Ziegler was a frequent foil.

     In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the village and Mrs. Ziegler ran afoul of the State Auditor’s office. The village’s annual reports were sometimes filed late, financial reports to council were not being made on a regular basis, accounting practices were found to be inefficient, and deposits of village funds weren’t made on a daily basis, as required by law. On at least three occasions, the village was fined $750 for the late reports. Despite these shortcomings, there were no missing funds and no fraud. The Auditor’s office recommended that someone with an accounting background handle the record keeping. They also recommended that Mrs. Ziegler not handle both the village clerk and clerk of mayor’s court positions, citing a conflict of interest.

     At the January 1982 council meeting, council unanimously passed an earnings tax increase and a wage increase for village employees. Gary Hodge didn’t attend the meeting, though, saying, “I have requested [financial] information and I have not received it. My conscience tells me I cannot vote on such an issue without my knowing complete figures which I requested . . . My absence from this meeting is also a form of protest in the way that a duly elected councilman has not been provided with the needed information." He further stated that he would ask the State Auditor’s office to investigate why he was not provided with the financial information. When a Cincinnati Post reporter asked Mrs. Ziegler after the meeting if she had refused to provide Hodge with financial information, she said, “I am not answering that question.”

     On October 23, 1982, Mrs. Ziegler’s mother, Clara Lucus, passed away after suffering a series of strokes over a number of years. She was 91 years old. During her mother’s final illness, Mrs. Ziegler had stepped back a bit from her village clerk duties.

     In early January 1983, council was scrambling to schedule a special meeting because they had not yet passed a 1983 budget. If the budget wasn’t passed quickly, village employees wouldn’t receive their paychecks. Gary Hodge was the holdout, saying "I have been calling for financial reports every month for the past 12 months, and have been refused. It would be hypocritical for me to vote this month on appropriations when I still don't have the financial report. The only thing I can do is apologize to the employees that matters have come to this." Village employees did, in fact, miss a paycheck, but the budget passed soon thereafter.

     Later that year, Hodge and other residents turned in two petitions to Mrs. Ziegler for filing with the Hamilton County Board of Elections for the November ballot. One petition would force the village clerk to prepare quarterly and annual financial reports. The other set forth procedures for handling village expenditures. Both petitions were clearly aimed at Virmorgan Ziegler and the issues found in the state audits. The petitions were delivered to Mrs. Ziegler on a timely basis, but she filed them with the Board of Elections one day late. Hodge and Michael Orchin, who was running against Mrs. Ziegler for village clerk, accused her of intentionally filing the petitions late.  The Board of Elections was split on whether to allow the issues on the ballot and Ohio Secretary of State Sherrod Brown was the tie-breaker. Brown voted to strike the issues from the ballot for late filing.

     1983 was only the second time Virmorgan Ziegler was challenged for village clerk. Her opponent, Michael Orchin, said “Current officeholders have become unresponsive. The people at the core of village government have been in power for so long that it has become stagnant and self-serving, only concerned with their own views. . . . The clerk's office has assumed responsibilities of other positions to the point that one person is running the affairs of the whole village." Ziegler defeated Orchin by nearly 200 votes.

     In June 1987, Ralph Metzger, who had served as village treasurer since incorporation, passed away. In July, Mayor Ron Cribbet appointed Mrs. Ziegler to the new position of clerk-treasurer. Later that year she ran unopposed for the position of clerk-treasurer.

     On May 3, 1990, Gary Hodge and other like-minded residents submitted four petitions for the fall ballot. They were a little more proactive this time, pushing to ensure that Mrs. Ziegler submitted them to the Board of Elections on a timely basis. In early August, Hodge accused Ziegler of waiting until the filing deadline of August 23, so if there were problems with the petitions the petitioners wouldn’t have time to address them. Mrs. Ziegler took offense and in a letter to council said that Hodge owed her a public apology, saying, "Mr. Hodge has threatened my credibility, questioned my responsibility, attacked my integrity and attempted to defame my character."

     And if those pesky petitions were not enough, the most recent State Auditor’s report was in and it wasn’t good news. There were three non-compliance citations, failure to file an annual financial report on time, not depositing public funds on a daily basis, and failure to pay fines, forfeitures, and costs from mayor’s court to the clerk-treasurer on a timely basis. The late filing citation had an associated $750 fine, which Mrs. Ziegler paid herself. When asked why she personally paid the fee, she answered, “that’s nobody’s business.” Mayor Ted Shannon said that because there had been earlier fines for the same issues, council told Mrs. Ziegler that she, not the village, would be responsible for paying the fine.

     Although early 1991 brought yet another conflict between Ziegler and Hodge over a petition issue, Virmorgan Ziegler was to face the biggest challenge in her public career that fall, when Kathy Rielage successfully ran against her for the clerk-treasurer position. Virmorgan Ziegler was the last of the original Fairfax elected officials to go, perhaps a victim of her stubborn, controlling, take-no-prisoners reputation. Although she still had a great number of supporters, most voters were ready for change.

     At the time she left the clerk-treasurer’s office, the Cincinnati Enquirer published an article about Mrs. Ziegler. Mayor Ted Shannon said, "Everybody knows Virmorgan. They either love her or hate her. She's got a heart of gold - a really good person. She'd do anything in the world for you. But there's no doubt where she stands on any item. She can be very abrupt and abrasive, and some people take it wrong. That's just her way. People who really know her, value her." He said her "good sense of humor doesn't always show." She's "very opinionated" and "will stick to her guns if she thinks she's right. But if you prove your idea is better, she'll support you all the way." He further said, "The village is her family. Her main concerns are with the welfare of the village."

     In the article, Mrs. Ziegler admitted that she doesn't "play ring around the rosy" with people. She said she didn't understand why people perceived her, as the Enquirer wrote, as "contrary, hateful, and hard to deal with.” She said, "If people think that, I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend anyone. I don't smile every time you ask me a question. But I'll give you the required answer - unadulterated. I have never let people get close to me. I was raised as an only child and I was taught to be independent and strong. Those things can have an effect on you."

     50 residents attended Mrs. Ziegler’s final council meeting as clerk-treasurer on March 19, 1992. Council proclaimed April 26, 1992 as Appreciation Day for Virmorgan Ziegler, with a celebration at the recreation center.

Cincinnati Enquirer, March 27, 1992

    However, Virmorgan Ziegler was not done serving in the Village of Fairfax and not everyone was celebrating her. On April 1, 1992, Mayor Shannon appointed Mrs. Ziegler clerk of mayor’s court. Gary Hodge and some other residents pointed out a council policy of not appointing defeated candidates to fill village offices. They looked at the appointment as hypocritical and circulated a petition to prohibit Ziegler from holding any appointed village office unless approved by voters. Mrs. Ziegler responded, "Since when can the populace control the appointment of an employee by an executive? Gary Hodge has a vicious hatred against me." Mayor Shannon agreed that he had the right to appoint whomever he wanted as clerk of mayor’s court. Village officials said the policy of not appointing defeated candidates to open offices was only for elected offices and clerk of courts wasn’t an elected position. The issue would appear on the November ballot.

     There were three other issues on the ballot that fall, including one imposing term limits for elected officials to two consecutive four-year terms with one four-year term out of office before a candidate could run again. The issue included retroactive service. In November, the term limit issue passed. The Ziegler appointment issue failed by only a few votes.

     In honor of Virmorgan Ziegler, in 1992 the village dedicated Ziegler Park at the north end of Southern Avenue, near the Swim Club. The park included a playground, batting cage, and soccer field.

Ziegler Park today

    The term limit ordinance did not dissuade Mrs. Ziegler from filing as a candidate for village council in 1993. However, the Hamilton County Board of Elections blocked her candidacy due to Fairfax’s term limit ordinance. Mrs. Ziegler filed suit and her attorney argued that retroactive term limits were unconstitutional. The Ohio Supreme Court agreed and her name was placed on the November ballot. She won election to village council by a narrow margin, placing fourth out of nine candidates.

     In 1995, Ted Shannon ran for Columbia Township trustee and didn’t pursue reelection as Fairfax mayor. The candidates for mayor that year were Dirk Hammersmith, Gary Hodge, and Ziegler. Hammersmith won the election and Mrs. Ziegler came in third with only 19 percent of the vote.

     In 1997, she ran for reelection to village council, but did not retain her seat, finishing fifth for four open positions. In November 1999, she ran again for clerk-treasurer. She was defeated by Bill Knabb. When most people would be content to live out their days in peace and quiet, in 2001 at the age of 86, Virmorgan Ziegler ran unopposed for a village council seat. She was over 90 when her final term was complete.

     Virmorgan Lucus Ziegler died on May 18, 2008 at Hospice of Cincinnati in Anderson Township. In addition to her service in elected office, she was a longtime member of the Fairfax Civic Association, Fairfax Presbyterian Church, Fairfax Senior Citizens and the Fairfax Swim Club.

     Mrs. Ziegler created a scholarship at her death to be awarded annually to a Fairfax high school senior, the John M. Lucus / Virmorgan L. Ziegler Scholarship. My niece was the 2013 recipient and our family was quite appreciative.

     I suspect that most of us have known at least one person like Mrs. Ziegler, despised by some people and admired by others. I remember a co-worker in my younger days as a sales associate at McAlpin’s. Most people didn’t want to work with her because she had impossibly high standards and was bossy and opinionated. For some reason, she seemed to like me. Yes, she would complain about, well, nearly everything, but would also regale me with stories from her interesting, colorful past. As much as her associates didn’t want to deal with her, she had a flock of loyal customers who didn’t want anyone else to help them.

     I’ll say it again; people are complicated. Although there is no excuse for rudeness or bad behavior, I wish we all would take the time to try to understand each other and show others the grace we want them to show to us.