# Tales of Old Columbus ## Posts - [A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled](https://rickhetter.com/a-columbus-attorney-takes-the-path-less-traveled/): “When I was in high school in Columbus, Ohio, there was this civic teacher named Patty Gableman. For some reason, she took a special interest in me. She once shared with me her dream of attending law school, a dream she had to forgo due to marriage and children. She encouraged me to pursue law, saying I’d do great. I’d probably mentioned my inclination towards it, and her belief in my potential left a lasting impact. Her words still resonate with me.” Erin Moriarty was born in Cincinnati in 1952, the youngest of four girls with a twin. She grewRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The brilliant business tycoon and his sports toys](https://rickhetter.com/the-brilliant-business-tycoon-and-his-sports-toys/): In the early 1970s, John W. Galbreath was an advisor to Nationwide Insurance. They were looking to move. He advised them to move downtown. “As you know they located on North High at what is now Nationwide Blvd,” said prominent Columbus businessman Robert Weiler. “They were thinking of looking elsewhere. So, if you could just imagine what Columbus would be like had they not been advised by John. Downtown would not be what it is today.”  In 1929, at the age of 32, John W Galbreath was broke, like everyone else. The U.S. stock market had crashed, bringing on theRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The young bishop and Columbus’ Catholic explosion](https://rickhetter.com/the-young-bishop-and-columbus-catholic-explosion/): Young Earl Fernandes was going to be a doctor. His father was a doctor. Three of his four brothers would become doctors. His life’s path was laid out before him. Raised in Toledo, his Indian American family attended St Thomas Aquinas Church, prayed the Rosary and regularly went on pilgrimages to the Basilica and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. They were devout Catholics. Earl became an altar boy at his church growing up. He felt an ease being around the church. His mother told him to work hard, pray hard and study hard. HeRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [John Corby reluctantly answered his calling – radio](https://rickhetter.com/john-corby-reluctantly-answered-his-calling-radio/): One of the most popular radio personalities in Columbus was going through a midlife crisis in 1994. John Corby was 38 and still unsure if radio was his calling. Corby did afternoon drive at WTVN-AM from 1984 to 1994. He also hosted ‘Team Talk’ with sports director George Lehner. KDKA in Pittsburgh had an opening for an afternoon sports talk host. John was going through some personal issues, and the new WTVN program director didn’t like him much. The timing couldn’t be better to take another job. Right? According to Corby, his ratings were tremendous in Pittsburgh. By this pointRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The GOAT and the Masters forty years ago](https://rickhetter.com/the-goat-and-the-masters-forty-years-ago/): After a big drive off the par 5 fifteenth tee, Jack Nicklaus was now looking at an opportunity to get on the green in two. The question was, could he clear the water and still keep the ball on the green. It was Augusta National. The final round of The Masters, April 13, 1986. Forty years ago next month. Jack was chasing golfers ten to fifteen years his junior. No one had ever won the Masters at age 46. “I consider my sixth Masters victory the most fulfilling because it came at a time when not many people expected meRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Columbus welcomed to the Union with the War of 1812](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-welcomed-to-the-union-with-the-war-of-1812/): Virginia native William Henry Harrison was governor of the Indiana territory for twelve years. His main job responsibility was to fight Indians. Legendary Shawnee Chief Tecumseh was busy building a coalition of Indian forces to fight the expansion west of the Euro-Americans. And the British Royal Navy was encroaching upon American maritime rights to control the world’s oceans and therefore its trade. With tensions & violence increasing, Governor Harrison marched an army of one thousand men to Prophetstown, Indiana in November 1811 with the plan of attacking the Native American headquarters near the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers.Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The rise & fall of the CBC](https://rickhetter.com/the-rise-fall-of-the-cbc/): Clinton DeWeese Firestone got a letter from his nephew Harvey in 1887 asking for a job. At the time Harvey was 19 and lived on a farm in rural Columbiana County. His Uncle Clint was president and co-founder of a light vehicle manufacturing company in Columbus, Ohio. Clinton found Harvey a job as a bookkeeper in the coal yard of his business. By 1892 Harvey was in sales and in charge of the company’s Michigan sales district. Soon thereafter, however, young Harvey – inspired by a demonstrator sulky he had come across with rubber tires – was off to findRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The Terminator’s loyalty and his partner in Columbus](https://rickhetter.com/the-terminators-loyalty-and-his-partner-in-columbus/): Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most recognizable human beings on the planet. ‘Conan the Barbarian’ was released in 1982, grossing $100 million and was the hit of the summer. Arnold followed it up with the blockbuster movie and sequel ‘The Terminator’ and ‘The Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ in 1984 and 1991. In 1989 Arnold decided to attach his name to bodybuilding competitions he had been hosting in Columbus, Ohio for almost twenty years. Columbus and Arnold go way back thanks to Jim Lorimer. The World Weightlifting Championships had never been held in the United States prior to 1970. ThenRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The space race and an American Cold War hero](https://rickhetter.com/the-space-race-and-an-american-cold-war-hero/): The Soviet Union surprised the world in April 1961, sending up a manned rocket around the Earth for one complete revolution. That had never been done before. Then, later that summer, they did it again. The second time, Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circled the Earth seventeen times, three times flying over the USA 125 miles up. 41-year-old Mercury 7 astronaut John Glenn’s mission became clear. He was to circle the Earth – like the Soviets – propelled by the still unreliable and massive Atlas rocket. There was a space gap. The Soviets were winning. The world was watching. A year earlier,Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The meteoric rise & magical life of Nancy Wilson](https://rickhetter.com/the-meteoric-rise-life-of-columbus-nancy-wilson/): By 1970, Nancy Wilson was at the top of her profession. Over forty musicians – the crème de crème of Hollywood – played on her album ‘Now I’m a woman’. As Nancy arrived for her recording session, she announced she had just come from a steam bath and felt great. She then put on her earphones, “her bell-bottomed, bra-less being swayed to the beat,” as the orchestra began. Nancy, at 33, had sang her way into America’s heart and its mainstream.  The average middle class suburbanite who drove an Oldsmobile now had Nancy Wilson on their turntable, alongside Andy Williams,Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The Tuskegee Airmen and the Columbus connection](https://rickhetter.com/the-tuskegee-airmen-and-the-columbus-connection/): All aviation cadets were required to have at least two years of education and to pass a physical exam. Harold Sawyer from Columbus, Ohio, who was a quiet & gentle man, was under weight. After two failed exams, the doctor said “next time, get a sack full of bananas. Eat them on your way here and drink all the water you can.” He passed his next physical. Harold Sawyer graduated from Central High School in 1938, the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1942 and became second lieutenant after successfully completing the CPT (Civilian Pilot Training) program. There were 926 BlackRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The hard and beautiful life of Salvatore Presutti](https://rickhetter.com/the-hard-and-beautiful-life-of-salvatore-presutti/): Salvatore felt the pull early in life to make his way to America, despite growing up an ocean away. After surviving a treacherous Atlantic Ocean boat trip here, his life challenges were just beginning. Sal landed in New York and lived on the streets as a teenager. He survived a career choice fraught with danger, a deadly generational flood, Prohibition that killed a business, and the Great Depression. At 13, despite his father’s strong objections, Salvatore Presutti purchased a $15 ticket on the aging French steam ship Politio for the four thousand mile trip to the United States. His motherRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [A seasoned frontiersman and the Columbus story](https://rickhetter.com/a-seasoned-frontiersman-and-the-columbus-story/): “The 250th gives us all this once-in-a-generation opportunity to lean into this thing we continue to aspire to – to be united in these states,” says Todd Kleismit, America250 – Ohio Executive Director. “We should use it to find ways to build more bridges and initiate friendships with strangers.” The events calendar surrounding America’s 250th anniversary celebration in Ohio and Columbus at this point is still fluid, but all eighty eight counties have signed on, including more than three hundred communities. Columbus and Ohio were not yet part of this great union in 1776. At that time, this area wasRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [MLK Jr stayed with the Hales when he visited Columbus](https://rickhetter.com/mlk-jr-stayed-with-the-hales-when-he-visited-columbus/): Phale Hale was introduced to an 18-year-old southern beauty named Cleo Ingram by a friend at Spelman College. That fall, Phale would visit Cleo at school while other boyfriends were visiting. He was undeterred, often eating the candy they had brought her. Phale graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1940. While there, he met Joel King – the younger brother of Martin Luther King sr. King was a pastor of a local church and Morehouse alum. Hale would eventually meet Martin Jr and develop a lifelong friendship with the entire King family. Phale and Cleo were married a coupleRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Woody’s cousin columnist brought smiles and history to Columbus readers](https://rickhetter.com/woodys-cousin-columnist-brought-smiles-and-history-to-columbus/): “Ben was everybody’s next-door neighbor who leaned over the back fence to tell us the latest in our Columbus neighborhood,” said Fred Holdridge, a past president of the German Village Society. “He always had something interesting to tell us.” Ben Hayes was a writer and columnist in Columbus Ohio for forty three years. The most difficult story Ben ever covered came in 1938 – the Ohio Pen execution of 32-year-old German-born Anna Marie Hahn. Hahn – the first woman ever to be executed by the state of Ohio – poisoned & robbed five elderly men in Cincinnati to support herRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The dream journey of a high school coach at his alma mater](https://rickhetter.com/the-dream-journey-of-a-high-school-coach-at-his-alma-mater/): Legendary football coach Dick Walker led Bishop Watterson High School to its first state championship in 1966, twelve years after the school opened. Watterson shut out Upper Arlington, led by the great coach Marv Moorhead, 32-0. The schools sit six miles apart. Despite there being no state championship game at the time, this one was decided on the field on the last game of the year (Nov 1) between two unbeatens. Watterson was voted AP & UPI state AA champion. Coach Walker then moved on. He would eventually replace Lou Holtz as DB coach at Ohio State in 1969 beforeRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Feeling Divinity doesn’t just happen at Christmas](https://rickhetter.com/feeling-divinity-doesnt-just-happen-at-christmas/): Things happen in our lives that some people would try to explain away as a coincidence. Feeling divinity can be subtle, it can just be a connection, or it can be something as powerful as a life saving event that has you on your knees kissing the ground. Here are a few from our fair city and one of my own: March 1964 On her flight from Bone Algeria to Tripoli Libya, Columbus housewife Jerrie Mock caught a whiff of something burning. This was the ninth leg of her astonishing journey around the world. It was March 31, 1964. JerrieRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Christmas holiday parades in Columbus were a big thing](https://rickhetter.com/christmas-holiday-parades-in-columbus-were-a-big-thing/): On Dec 1, 1922, F&R Lazurus Department store decided to sponsor a Christmas holiday parade with horse drawn floats in downtown Columbus. The parade pre-dates the huge Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade which didn’t start in New York until Nov 27, 1924. Macy’s & Co. had gone public in 1922 and grew to encompass a full city block in Manhattan’s Herald Square. A one million square foot retail store opened just in time for the holiday shopping season in 1924, so they decided to throw a parade on Thanksgiving morning…for Christmas. The six mile parade route started in Harlem, ended atRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - ['Christmas Vacation' co-star’s crazy life and loves](https://rickhetter.com/christmas-vacation-co-stars-crazy-life-and-loves/): Growing up, Beverly D’Angelo wanted to be a cheerleader at Upper Arlington High School. She tried out but was named first alternate, despite in her mind, being a shoo-in. “I think the reason that I was made an alternate cheerleader, and not the big deal cheerleader, was because, statistically speaking there’s always a cheerleader that gets knocked up,” she told Columbus Monthly in December 2020. “They probably looked at me like, ‘that’s the one.’” Her father Gene was a first generation Italian American. He was a musician (trombone & stand-up bass). Her mother Priscilla was not only beautiful but bornRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The Franklin Park Conservatory is a Columbus jewel](https://rickhetter.com/the-franklin-park-conservatory-is-a-columbus-jewel/): When my wife brought up the idea of getting tickets to go to the Conservatory for their Winter Wonderland happy hour, I got grumpy. This event was not on my radar. Plus, it was cold outside. Somehow, she won. We got tickets and went. It was a cold Thursday night in mid-January. Temperatures were in the 20s. And it was an indoor / outdoor event. Surely there is not gonna be a crowd tonight, I thought. We arrived ten minutes before they opened. We’re retired so 5:20pm is doable. People were waiting in their cars. We finally got out andRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Two Buckeye legends a century apart brought greatness in Ann Arbor     ](https://rickhetter.com/two-buckeye-legends-a-century-apart-brought-greatness-in-ann-arbor/): Winning in Ann Arbor has never been easy for Ohio State’s football team. In my lifetime (since 1961) Ohio State is a pedestrian 16-15-1 in the Big House. Taking Michigan lightly, particularly in the mitten, is never a good idea. Early in the twentieth century, Michigan was a dominant football powerhouse. They were one of the few midwestern teams able to compete with the east coast schools. Ohio State started out 0-13-2 vs the vaunted Wolverines, having been outscored 21-369. UM was the largest school in the west with 2000 students. Their rival was Chicago. Ohio State only had 400ishRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The legendary Columbus housewife and her solo flight around the world](https://rickhetter.com/the-legendary-columbus-housewife-and-her-solo-flight-around-the-world/): By the time Jerrie Mock reached Manila, she was twelve legs into her historic around the world flight and trying to become the first woman to do so. She was hitting the home stretch. Just seven legs to go. It was April 1964. Jerrie Mock was a 38 year old Columbus, Ohio housewife flying an 11-yr-old single engine Cessna 180 that was jointly owned by her husband Russ and a friend. ‘The Spirit of Columbus’ – as it was called – was fitted with a new engine, a new long range radio system and, to be able to cross oceans, itsRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The remarkable coincidences and life of Michael Feinstein  ](https://rickhetter.com/the-incredible-coincidences-and-life-of-michael-feinstein/): When he was 15 years old, Michael Feinstein heard George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ for the first time. He called it a transcendent experience. A connection. A sense of finding something to which he belonged that was unique in his life to that point. He started collecting every Gershwin record he could get his hands on. He became obsessed with Gershwin. The coincidences that followed and his storybook encounter with American show music icon, and George’s brother, Ira Gershwin are too numerous to ignore. Michael was born on Sep 7, 1956, in Columbus, Ohio. His parents remember hearing him hummingRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Korean War love letters home to Columbus](https://rickhetter.com/korean-war-love-letters-home-to-columbus/): In June 1950 Communism was on the march. Again. North Korea – with the support of Russia and the Chinese – crossed the 38th parallel. Seoul, South Korea was captured by June 28. Comparing North Korea expansionism to Hitler helped sway U.S. public opinion to enter the war. Unfortunately, President Truman had cut back support of the military. We were woefully unprepared. The 24th Infantry was one of the first to arrive in Korea and they took heavy casualties. Former General Dwight D Eisenhower won election as president in November 1952 and visited the U.S. troops in Korea on DecemberRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The incredible life & legend of entertainer Esther Craw](https://rickhetter.com/the-incredible-life-legend-of-entertainer-esther-craw/): One night 23-year-old Esther Bilek and her roommate Doris noticed a lot of gunfire and flares outside their hotel. It was March 1944 in Naples, Italy during WWII. They could see the harbor was smoked out by German flares. At 1AM Naples was lit up like it was daytime. The girls hesitated to go to the bomb shelter because they didn’t want to overreact and hear it from their GI friends later. Then a plane dipped low and dropped a bomb near the corner of their hotel throwing the iron from the streetcar tracks against the hotel. The building shook.Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Dimitrious Stanley was a Rose Bowl champion and great teammate in life  ](https://rickhetter.com/dimitrious-stanley-was-a-rose-bowl-champion-and-great-teammate-in-life/): With the game on the line in the 1997 Rose Bowl, Buckeye WR Dimitrious Stanley caught three first down passes in the final two minutes to get Ohio State to the Arizona State 20 yard line. It was 17-14 Sun Devils thanks to Jake ‘the Snake’ Plummer’s short touchdown dive a couple of minutes earlier. With :28 seconds remaining, Buckeye QB Joe Germaine threw to Stanley once again. This time, however, he was grabbed and pushed. No call from the refs. Incomplete. “I don’t know what that is. Those guys down there, those officials should donate their checks to charity.Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Tales of Sellsville and the Columbus-based Sells Brothers Circus](https://rickhetter.com/tales-of-sellsville-and-the-columbus-based-sells-brothers-circus/): Owners of the ‘Circus House’ off Goodale Park in Columbus over the years have claimed that the house is haunted. One former owner told the Columbus Dispatch in 2018 that he tried to set up his office in the former bedroom of Mary Sells. “I realized I just couldn’t focus in the bedroom,” he said. “She wanted me out of there.” He moved his office. “I do things when the house tells me to.” He didn’t stay long. Late in the nineteenth century, the Sells Brothers Circus – with headquarters here in Columbus, Ohio – was the second largest inRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Columbus baseball family surpasses major league dreams](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-baseball-family-surpasses-major-league-dreams/): The last game of the 1998 baseball season in Yankee Stadium was ‘Joe DiMaggio Day’. Paul Simon was brought in to sing ‘Mrs Robinson’ during the pre-game and the whole stadium of 55,000 sang “where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.” DiMaggio was on hand and received replacement World Series rings for his eight that had been stolen thirty years before. The Yankees went on to win the World Series that fall. Joe DiMaggio passed away the next spring. It is undeniable that magic happens in some iconic venues, particularly those whose richRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [A missed moment and the Columbus Italian Festival](https://rickhetter.com/a-missed-moment-the-columbus-italian-fest/): My wife and I got married in 2017. I was 56 years old. Long story short I wanted to give my cousin Glenn and his wife Nancy a shout out at our wedding. I had broken our family record held by him for getting married the latest in life. His record was 53. It certainly wasn’t meant to be a boastful thing, but I know what you’re thinking. My response – life happens. Anyway, I bought him and his wife a glass heart and I got it inscribed. The plan was to say a few things halfway through the receptionRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The legendary career of a homegrown concert promoter](https://rickhetter.com/the-legendary-career-of-a-homegrown-concert-promoter-and-the-columbus-music-scene/): The rise & fall of Columbus’ 20,000 seat Polaris Amphitheater was quick. In a blink, it was gone. The venue – on the city’s north end – was owned by a joint partnership of PromoWest Productions, Sunshine Promotions, and Belkin Productions. It opened in 1994. Scott Steinecker, who owned PromoWest, spent seven years bringing the project to fruition. Then – suddenly three years in – there was an offer to sell. Robert Sillerman of SFX Entertainment had purchased controlling interest in the eighth largest promotion company in the nation, which included Sunshine. He now wanted to buy both Steinecker andRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [We’ll be studying Charlie Kirk’s life and words for years to come](https://rickhetter.com/well-be-studying-charlie-kirks-life-words-for-years-to-come/): “I’ve been asked at press conferences ‘when I die who is gonna take my place?’ You! And you’ll do greater things than I ever thought of doing because you are gonna have new electronic things at your fingertips to reach the world that we never dreamed about. Hallelujah!”      Words from the great Billy Graham in 1983. Charlie Kirk hosted a very popular podcast ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ consistently ranking among the top ten shows on Apple Podcasts. The show surpassed 130 million downloads in 2023. His social media following exceeds 14 million. Charlie spoke in Columbus, Ohio on August 25Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Ohio's fifth U.S. president regarded as an effective leader](https://rickhetter.com/ohios-fifth-u-s-president-regarded-as-an-effective-leader/): The crowd for the unveiling was overwhelming. Too many people crammed onto a lawn – though big – not nearly big enough. A real sense of an ensuing calamity was in the air. The crowd was dense. Tensions grew. On September 14, 1906, an overflow crowd of 50,000 onlookers showed up on the west lawn of the Ohio Statehouse. This was to be the unveiling of the William McKinley Monument. McKinley was the popular former U.S. president and Ohio governor, who had been assassinated five years before. President Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Alice Roosevelt Longworth would do the honors and pullRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [One of the great moments in Columbus history](https://rickhetter.com/one-of-the-great-moments-in-columbus-history/): In the fall of 1888, Columbus, Ohio was about to host the last great march of the Union Army. According to Columbus historian Ed Lentz, “it was one of the great moments in the city’s history.” Life expectancy of a male at that time was 53 years. Twenty five veterans of the great Union Army passed away every day. The Civil War had ended over two decades prior. Do the math. Union Depot bustled with energy as Civil War veterans and their families arrived in Columbus from every corner of the country. It was the week of September 10, 1888.Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The chance meeting & storybook life of Melia McEnery](https://rickhetter.com/the-chance-meeting-storybook-life-of-melia-mcenery/): In early 2003, 10TV news anchor Andrea Cambern and her husband were contacted by a realtor friend who had a mysterious buyer interested in purchasing their German Village home. Despite not being for sale, they decided to hear the buyer out. Rumors began flying around Columbus. Everyone by this point knew that 26-yr-old Columbus native and Bishop Watterson High School graduate Melia McEnery had married legendary guitarist Eric Clapton the year before. Looking for property in Columbus made sense. Cambern, a very recognizable figure around Columbus at the time, was getting stopped and asked everywhere she went. “Is Eric ClaptonRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Columbus native & Apollo 7 crew renewed hope in space](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-native-apollo-7-crew-renewed-hope/): Imagine arriving back in your hometown – Columbus, Ohio – and you are not only greeted by a downtown parade in your honor complete with speeches from both the governor and the mayor but it’s also announced that you have been selected as ‘Man of the Year’ by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce. And it’s the same year as your twentieth high school reunion. Donn Fulton Eisele was born June 23, 1930 in Columbus, Ohio. Eisele graduated from West High School in 1948 and was voted ‘most likely to succeed’ in his school’s yearbook. His classmates remember him asRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The rich history and fabulous life of Union Station](https://rickhetter.com/the-rich-history-and-fabulous-life-of-union-station/): 28-year-old Eddie Rickenbacker stepped off a train at Union Station on Monday morning, February 17, 1919, and America’s hero was barraged with kisses by a swarm of ladies. From the train steps to the upper platform Rickenbacker passed through a gauntlet of lovesick women. An armistice had been signed between the Allies and Germans in November 1918 officially ending World War I. Rickenbacker, born on Columbus’ east side in 1890, recorded twenty six aerial victories. He was one of the most successful and decorated U.S. flying aces of the war. Waiting patiently to welcome him home that winter morning wasRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [The endearing legend of Jesse Owens](https://rickhetter.com/jesse-owens-an-endearing-legend/): To qualify for the semifinal in the broad jump, competitors needed to leap 23 ft 5.5 inches. Jesse Owens did that in high school. This, however, was the Olympics. Its August 4, 1936, Berlin, Germany. Jesse had won his first gold medal the day before in the 100 meters by four yards with a world record tying 10.3 seconds. Now at hand – the broad jump. Because Jesse jogged down the runway to get a feel for the track, he was given a foul. His first jump of three – in other words – was disqualified. His second jump wasRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Lima legacy - courage, pride, honor, sacrifice](https://rickhetter.com/lima-company-legacy-courage-pride-honor/): Artist Anita Miller, formerly of Columbus, happened to call U.S. Army veteran Brian Zimmerman on the day he told her he was gonna end it all. Brian had visited the ‘The Eyes of Freedom: Lima Company Moving Memorial’ exhibit that Anita had created to honor the lost veterans of Lima Company (Ohio) during the Iraq War. The exhibit stop in Minnesota was near Brian’s home and he relayed to her a vision. She followed up. Timing is everything. Brian’s vision was a re-occurring dream of a soldier in army fatigues bent over holding the dog tags of his lost buddy.Read More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Alice Schille - an influential American watercolorist](https://rickhetter.com/alice-schille-one-of-the-most-influential-american-watercolorists/): On October 14, 2021, local filmmaker and Dennison University grad Kurt Vincent along with Irene Kim Chin premiered ‘Cactus Tree’ at the Columbus Museum of Art, a critical reappraisal of twentieth century Columbus painter Alice Schille. The film is about the widely acclaimed watercolorist who traveled the world and painted in the early 1900s while teaching art in Columbus, Ohio. Then she fell into near obscurity. Through its incredible craftsmanship – the 30-minute film also showcases the beautiful relationship between art lovers Jim and daughter Tara Keny and their shared passion for bringing light to such a deserving artist. AliceRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Columbus' favorite Italian grandmother Teresa Marzetti](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-favorite-italian-grandmother-teresa-marzetti/): Teresa Piacentini was only 13 when her mother sent her from Florence, Italy to America to live with her aunt & uncle in Columbus, Ohio. Teresa’s father Joe had come to the United States to pave the way for the family, but tragedy struck. He had been killed in a streetcar accident. He worked in her uncle’s saloon. Unfortunately, Teresa did not get along with her aunt when she arrived and went to work for a friend of her father’s named Joseph Marzetti. In 1896 Joseph opened a restaurant across from the Ohio State University campus on the corner ofRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Columbus' most celebrated minister - Washington Gladden](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-most-celebrated-minister-reverend-washington-gladden/): It was your typical cold, gray and sleety February morning in Columbus. Charismatic former president Teddy Roosevelt arrived by train at Union Station to deliver a speech to the members of the Ohio constitutional convention and more than a thousand people were on hand to greet him. Roosevelt’s host that day – February 21, 1912 – was Reverend Washington Gladden who greeted him when he got off the train, sat next to him in the state capital chambers as he delivered his speech and hosted him at his home for a luncheon afterwards. Dr Washington Gladden was “the most celebratedRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [A long love affair with baseball](https://rickhetter.com/a-long-love-affair-with-baseball-in-cincinnati/): My love affair with baseball began on July 26, 1970, and unfortunately it had nothing to do with the Columbus Clippers. I was nine years old and living in Hilliard with my mom, dad, three sisters and a younger brother. And our loveable dog Nat. We rode our bikes and played kick-the-can. My best friend David Caspole lived right across the street. He was my age but much smarter. He had three older brothers who were into sports. I was developing my love of sports despite our family not having a TV. David got me mailing baseball cards of myRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Epic Doo Dah Parade water battle of 1993](https://rickhetter.com/epic-doo-dah-parade-water-battle-of-1993/): It was early June 1993, and a friend put out an invitation to help with his ‘float’ for the upcoming Fourth of July Doo Dah parade. Despite not being terribly excited by it, I showed up at his townhouse on Kossuth Ave downtown. Because of a new Columbus suburb called New Albany and because of the size & big price tag on the new homes going up there, Fred decided to mock the wealthy. That’s what the Doo Dah parade – an annual tradition in Columbus – does. They spoof. Fred’s idea was to have people walking around dressed asRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Deshler Hotel was the host of Columbus](https://rickhetter.com/deshler-hotel-was-the-host-of-columbus/): In 1916, the social event of the year in Columbus, Ohio was set for Wednesday, August 23rd. Columbus’ newest hotel – the elegant 12-story Deshler was opening and throwing a party in the heart of downtown. Local department stores had been running sales on evening gowns leading up to the big gala. Lew & Adrian Wallick – well known in the hotel business in Cleveland and New York – were the management group. The new $1.5 million hotel’s main attraction was the spacious Pompeian style second floor ballroom. Five hundred VIPs would gather for the formal opening, mingle, dine, andRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Our Park of Roses is ageless](https://rickhetter.com/our-park-of-roses-is-ageless/): The Park of Roses has been a Columbus jewel since it opened to the public in June 1953. The park’s signature rose garden features more than 12,000 roses and some 350 different varieties tucked deep inside Whetstone Park. Weddings are a common occurrence this time of year with the roses’ beauty on full display. As you drive down from High Street to get to the rose gardens, tall oaks, maples and honey locust trees cast their shadow. The seasons enhance their beauty. Time marches on. Families immersed in the park’s beauty embrace each other. Time stands still. The dichotomy isRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Dave Thomas' legacy is adoption and compassion](https://rickhetter.com/dave-thomas-legacy-is-adoption-and-compassion/): Wendy’s old fashioned hamburgers jumped into the ‘Burger Wars’ between McDonald’s and Burger King in 1984. The debate between the industry’s two giants was flame-broiled vs frying. Wendy’s hired an 82-year-old grandmother from Chicago named Clara Peller who blew up the debate by simply uttering the famous words “where’s the beef?” Wendy’s consumer awareness of the company shot up from 37% to 60%. Clara, who died in 1987, took in more than $500,000 in royalties for one of the most memorable tv ad campaigns ever. By the age of 8, Dave Thomas was already dreaming of opening his own restaurantRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Local anchor makes her mark in New York City](https://rickhetter.com/local-anchor-makes-it-a-career-in-nyc/): New York City is America’s #1 television market. It’s nineteen licensed television stations enter 7.4 million households in twenty nine counties across four states. Television news journalists dream about getting to New York. Dana Tyler was a news anchor at WCBS-TV in New York, the local flagship station of the CBS TV network. Their studios are in the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Dana was born in Ft Lauderdale, Florida but grew up in Columbus, Ohio. At eight years old, she appeared on “Lucy’s Toy Shop”, a popular children’s program in Columbus in the 1960sRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Great industrialist S. P. Bush](https://rickhetter.com/great-industrialist-s-p-bush/): While Samuel Prescott Bush was busy working in Columbus in the early twentieth century, his wife Flora and their four kids would summer at Cape Cod. Flora would write Samuel love letters all the time, mostly when he traveled for business but also when she and the kids were away. And she didn’t hold back. “I should like to have you down here for a week after everyone has gone – we should lead an Adam & Eve existence – bathe and roam about. We could have a very happy time near to nature’s heart.” Samuel had taken over asRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Barbara Nicklaus - 50th Memorial honoree](https://rickhetter.com/barbara-nicklaus-memorial-honoree/): As you walk through the Jack Nicklaus Museum here in Columbus, Ohio you see pretty much what you expect – a lot of trophies. Jack is the greatest golfer of all time. However, about ten minutes in it hits you. This museum is also about a love story. Jack and Barbara met freshman year at the Ohio State University. He was playing golf. She was initially studying nursing but then switched to education. He was a Golden Bear from Upper Arlington. She graduated from Columbus North High School. According to Jack, Barbara upon being asked out, couldn’t work him inRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Ohio State professor and the Underground Railroad](https://rickhetter.com/ohio-state-professor-and-the-ugrr/): Shortly after being hired in 1893 as history professor at the Ohio State University, Wilbur Henry Siebert assigned one of his classes a project to gather information on the Underground Railroad. The class was to gather names, addresses and/or stories from their relatives and friends who might have had connections to the Underground Railroad. He sent letters to any names and addresses he received which brought responses, more information and more questions. That prompted another round of letters and another round of responses which expanded the study to cover the entire United States. The timing of what would turn outRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Columbus soccer legend](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-soccer-legend/): Unfortunately, in the eyes of the world, the MLS is not the ‘big leagues’ in soccer. Columbus Crew legend Juan Camilo “Cucho” Hernandez knew that when he agreed to join the team in July, 2022. As a city, however, we got to admire his skills & spirit up close for two and a half years. The opportunity and timing was apparently right for Hernandez to move on to one of the top two leagues in all of soccer – La Liga – and to a team Real Betis that plays in a 60,000 seat stadium in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. HeRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Columbus' Cultural Historian](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-cultural-historian/): In 1976, fresh out of Miami University with a degree in Urban Planning, Wil Haygood moved back to Columbus. His family was here, but his 2.1 GPA wasn’t exactly making the phone ring. He started filling out job applications, knew he loved to write and decided to put in an application at the Columbus Call & Post. Wil recounts the story of his first job interview with Amos Lynch, the newspaper’s legendary editor: “Didn’t you work for your college newspaper?” Lynch asked. “I told him I did not work for my college newspaper, and right then and there I wantedRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Prohibition & the Irish Buckeye](https://rickhetter.com/columbus-prohibition-the-irish-buckeye/): In the early twentieth century – legend has it – a young man was on his way to work (night shift) and on a lark walked into a gambling house in downtown Columbus. Lady luck was with the ‘Irish Buckeye’ that day – so much so – that he walked out as the new owner of said establishment.  And so began the saga of Columbus’ most famous gangster. Prohibition began on January 17, 1920. By 1925 – five years in – the demand for illegal liquor in Columbus had reached such heights that it was being shipped in by railRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled ## Pages - [Contact](https://rickhetter.com/contact/): Contact I would love to hear from you! Have a question, comment, or need assistance? Please fill out the form below and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Name Email Comments/Questions Send - [Test subscription form](https://rickhetter.com/test-subscription-form/) - [Blog](https://rickhetter.com/blog/) - [Home](https://rickhetter.com/): Tales of Old Columbus History & stories of a great American city Columbus’ Cultural Historian April 29, 2025 RJH In 1976, fresh out of Miami University with a degree in Urban Planning, Wil Haygood moved back to Columbus…. Read More Prohibition & the Irish Buckeye April 29, 2025 RJH In the early twentieth century – legend has it – a young man was on his way to work (night shift) and… Read More No posts found About Us Columbus, Ohio has been blessed with a number of people destined for greatness here or who found greatness upon arriving here. SomeRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [About](https://rickhetter.com/about/): About Columbus has been blessed with a number of people destined for greatness here or who found greatness upon arriving here. Some have changed the world. Some became unquestionably the best in their field. Most exuded undeniable passion while others literally came out of nowhere to achieve greatness. And still others aligned with great mentors early and simply outworked their competition to achieve greatness. At the dawn of the nineteenth century, Columbus did not exist. At the dawn of the twentieth century, former Ohio governor William McKinley was president; Union Station was a bustling confluence of rail; Columbus Buggy CompanyRead More »A Columbus attorney takes the path less traveled - [Privacy Policy](https://rickhetter.com/privacy-policy/): Who we are Our website address is: https://rickhetter.com. Comments When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment. 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