Monthly Archives: May 2016

Historic Places to Visit in Dayton, Ohio

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dayton ohio skyline

Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain

By Ohio Book Author, Denise Turney

It’s not the largest city in the country, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of historic places to visit in Dayton. In fact, Dayton, Ohio is big on history, tradition and achievements. Largely known for the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright, when many think of Dayton, images of the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum and the Wright Patterson Air Force Base immediately spring to mind.

That happens to me, sometimes, too. Even more, when I think of Dayton, Ohio, I think of home. It’s the city that I was born and raised in. My parents grew up there. All the festivities, delicious food, childhood friendships, family gatherings and holiday traditions that I grew up with take me back to Dayton.

Historic places to explore in Dayton, Ohio

To me, Dayton isn’t a big city, especially when I compare it to Philadelphia and New York. Yet, it is the sixth largest city in Ohio.

About 50 miles North of Dayton is the Queen City, also known as the City by the River — Cincinnati. You’ll have to drive five hours to reach Cleveland and nearby cities, home of talents like The O’Jays, writer Toni Morrison, Arsenio Hall, LeBron James and Hugh Downs.

Visit Dayton, Ohio and you can learn and be entertained while you explore historic places like the Paul Laurence Dunbar Home (this historic site is close to where I grew up), Victoria Theater, the Dayton Art Institute, Carillon Historical Park, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, SunWatch Indian Village, the Dayton Arcade and the Dayton Daily News Building.

If you venture inside the Dayton Daily News Building, give yourself the day. Research Dayton’s history through real life stories that were captured by some of the city’s insightful journalists. As a history buff, this might be one of the best ways to get to know Dayton, that and inspiring an elder to share stories of their experiences in the city with you.

More historic sites in Dayton, Ohio

Additional historic places to visit in Dayton, Ohio are the Dayton Canoe Club, the Dayton Terra-Cotta Historic District and the Dayton Women’s Club. Other historic places include:

  • Deeds Carillon (My paternal grandmother took us here when we were kids. She loved visiting this area. It was peaceful, with lots of room for kids to play.)
  • Deeds’ Barn
  • Eagles Building
  • Fire Blocks Historic District
  • East Third Street Historic District
  • Oscar M. Gottschall House
  • Graphic Arts Building
  • Jacob O. Joyce House
  • Lindsey Building
  • McCormick Manufacturing Company Building
  • Montgomery County Courthouse
  • Old Post Office and Federal Building
  • John R. Reynolds Home
  • Traxler Mansion
  • Woodland Cemetery Association of Dayton Historic District

Track and field enthusiasts may appreciate visiting Dayton and exploring areas that world champion hurdler, Edwin Moses, grew up in. Travel about thirty minutes from Dayton toward Wilberforce University and you can visit the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center.

I can’t say enough about this museum. It is truly worth visiting. They had a 1960s theme when my sister and I visited several years ago. Designs and artifacts were so good that I actually felt like I was back in the 1960s while I was at the museum.

When you think about it, isn’t it amazing how much there is in the city where you grew up or where you live now? After all, you may start to take these places for granted. There’s so much richness within your reach. I encourage you to explore great, historic places if you visit or live in Dayton, Ohio, the city that Raymond Clarke, the main character in the book, Love Pour Over Me, grew up in.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Dayton, Ohio born Raymond Clarke, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Famous Ohio Athletes

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By Ohio Writer, Denise Turney


Lebron James

Pic by Chrischappelear – Flickr

Ohio athletes have taken center stage at the local, national and international levels. You might be surprised at the numbers of Ohio state athletes who have competed in the Olympics. As a former track and field runner (I ran middle distance races like the half mile and the mile), I sometimes think that making and placing at the Olympics is the toughest sports challenge facing any athlete.

Don’t think so? Try placing in the top three of local, regional and national AAUs competitions. It is not easy.

Ohio is home to some of the world’s greatest athletes

Ranker list Ohio athletes who competed in the Olympics as Edwin Moses, LeBron James, Amanda Borden, Barry Larkin, Charles Vinci, Gretchen Bleiler, Heather Mitts and Jerry Lucas. This list is not all inclusive.

Gotta mention Jesse Owens. Although Jesse Owens wasn’t born in Ohio, he claimed the state as “home”. Few Ohio athletes may have had a larger impact on the sports and social landscapes as Jesse Owens, the track and field star aptly nicknamed the Buckeye Bullet. His records stood for years. He truly was a phenomenal athlete. Did you catch the movie based on his life?

Edwin Moses track and field

Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain

While researching for this article, I was surprised to learn that the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson, is from Ohio. Russell Wilson was born in the Queen City or Cincinnati. Other football greats who were born in Ohio include Larry Csonka and Ben Roethlisberger. You can count Ben Roethlisberger as the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Impressive.

Ohio is also the home of the first college football player to win two Heisman trophies, Archie Griffin. How I wish that his NFL career had been as illustrious as his collegiate career. Fortunately, Archie Griffin continues to serve Ohio State University. Check out his story with the OSU Alumni Association.

Time out for great Ohio coaches

I know this blog post is about famous Ohio athletes, but I have to mention some of the Buckeye state’s highly skilled coaches. There’s Don Shula. He coached the Miami Dolphins, the only team in the NFL that had a perfect regular season record.

And who can forget the great Woody Hayes, Paul Brown, Cliff Battles and Chuck Noll, the first NFL coach to win four Super Bowls. He did it in six seasons, winning twice against the great Tom Landry. Other great football coaches born in Ohio include Jon Gruden and Jim and John Harbaugh.

If I considered coaches who coached at Ohio State University, then went on to coach some of the nation’s best teams, we’d have Alabama’s Nick Saban, Pete Carroll and Lovie Smith. When it comes to basketball, Bobby Knight, born in Massillon, Ohio, may well be the most famous basketball coach from the Buckeye state. Yes. Ohio is known for producing great coaches.

Ohio athletes who raised the mark

Golfer, Jack Nicklaus, was born in Upper Arlington, Ohio. He is considered by many to be the world’s greatest golfer. Believe it or not, he’s on Twitter, in case you want to check him out on social media. Jack Nicklaus’ official website can be found here.

The numbers of famous Ohio athletes who played in the NBA or ABA are too many to mention. Leading the way is LeBron James. It’s good to see LeBron playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers again. They’re playing the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 as I write this blog post.

Love LeBron James’ official website. Hard to believe that he still has a Little Tikes basketball stand at his home. Whoever built LeBron James’ website loaded it with great content. Appreciate that there’s more than basketball at his website. After all, it’s never a good thing when athletes only focus on sports, as there is so much more to life.

Ready to check out other great Ohio athletes who played pro basketball? How about Stephen Curry? You may not believe this, but Stephen Curry was also born in Akron, Ohio, the same city that LeBron James was born in.

Talk about greatness is must mention for John Havlicek. Born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, John Havlicek won eight NBA championships with the Boston Celtics. It’s nothing short of amazing that Havlicek won his first four NBA championships during his first four seasons with the Celtics.

Other famous Ohio athletes who played pro basketball include Earl Boykins, Barry Clemens, Antonio Daniels, Matt Harpring and Tyrone Hill. Each of these Ohio athletes had a long career in professional sports, most of them competing for more than 10 years.

In baseball, there’s the great Pete Rose. Nicknames Charlie Hustle, Pete Rose was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He played first base, outfield and infield. Pete Rose played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. But, he’s most known for playing baseball for his hometown Cincinnati Reds. His team won three World Series. Pete Rose won Most Valuable Player at the 1975 World Series.

As much as I hate saying it, it’s tough finding a host of famous Ohio athletes who are women. But, I’ll keep looking. If you come across more great women athletes who were born in Ohio, please hit me up.

Annie Oakley famous ohio athletes

Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain

Women who are famous Ohio athletes (that I learned about) are Annie Oakley (Yeah! Annie Get Your Gun Oakley), Pauline Betz (tennis), Alissa Czisny (figure skater) and Sylvia Crawley (basketball). Again, please hit me up if you learn about other women who are famous Ohio athletes. We have so much to appreciate and to be thankful for!

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Dayton, Ohio born track and field star, Raymond Clarke, his soul mate, Brenda, and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.