Miamitown Memorial Day Parade

119 Years Strong

          Yes, for 119 years, Miamitown, under the sponsorship and leadership of our Miami Historical Society, has honored our fallen heroes.  This years Parade and Ceremony was a continuation of honor and duty, of small town America showing that those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice were not forgotten. 

          Our Grand Marshall and Honored Guest was Howard Gieringer, the Master of Ceremonies and organizer of every Miamitown Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony for the last 55 years.  This year’s Master of Ceremony was Hubert Brown, Whitewater Township Trustee and former President of our Historical Society.  Our speaker was Harrison Mayor Joel McQuire, who served as an Captain in the Army Airborne Rangers.  Heather Borntrager and Kim Anders were our vocalists, singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”.  The Harrison High School Band marched and played at both services, at the Gazebo and Cemetery.   Our Harrison Service Organizations, American Legion, VFW, and AMVETS, placed the Wreath on the War Memorial and conducted the services at the cemetery, complete with Rifle Salute and Taps.  Also in the parade was the Whitewater Township Fire Dept., WestJad, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Patrol, Miamitown Elementary Children, and John and Tom Eisele, with his Ford Model A with the Historical Society logo on the side.   The weather was pleasent, with storms coming but holding off until after our ceremonies.  For pictures of the parade, please click on the 08 Memorial Day Parade Photos on the right.  If you have photos of the day in Miamitown and would like to add them, e-mail them to Trusteebrown@aol.com and I will add them.

 

 

Miamitown War Memorial

You are Invited to the Memorial Day Parade

          Every year something really wonderful happens in Miamitown.  The town looks great, the weather is warm, and many good people come out to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our Country.  The Miamitown Memorial Day Parade and Honor Ceremony is a special event not seen many places in America.  It is one of the longest running parades in this part of the country.  We are in our 119th year, 55 of which have been held under the leadership of one of our own great Americans, Howard Gieringer.  Howard just celebrated his 90th birthday, and has passed the reins to the next generation to keep the legacy of honor for our fallen heroes in Miamitown and our nation.  He will be our Grand Marshall and our Guest of Honor. 

          The Parade starts at noon (sharp!) by the siren at the Fire Station.  If you have in interest in participating in our parade, please call Diane Bachman (353-2877) or me (Brownie 353-3111). We invite most all walkers and riders, we only ask that you march for our fallen heroes and not for political or business reasons.  Participating will be the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Patrol, Whitewater Township Fire Department, Miamitown Elementary, Miami Historical Society, Harrison High School Band, The American Legion, The Knights of Columbus, The Masons, people on horses, kids on bikes, people walking and waving, and more.  You are invited to join us.

          The staging area is on Mill St. at Miamitown Elementary School.  Be there by 11:30.  Diane Bachman will be in a golf cart to align everyone.  At noon the siren will start the parade, going North on 128 to Harrison, left on Harrison, left on Hill, left on Main St. and end at the Gazebo in front of the Historic Town Hall.  We will gather there for a prayer, and words about honor and duty by Harrison Mayor Joel McGuire, a decorated officer and veteran.  We then will walk to Miamitown Cemetery for a military salute by the American Legion. 

          This event is sponsored by the Miami Historical Society.  We will open the Historic Town Hall from 10 till 2 and invite you to come in for coffee and cookies, visit Ken and Elsie Milton (your host and hostess) and see some of the interesting and historic artifacts in our Historic Town Hall.

          There are many who work hard to make this annual event memorable and a perfect way to honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day.  Please join us in the parade or be one of the many who stand proud on the streets, waving and saluting those who work so hard to make our town and our nation show our support to our men and women in uniform.  See you there.  

May 2008 Newsletter

            Have you purchased Howard’s book yet?  Have you seen our Blog on the internet?  No?  A lot has happened in the last month, and it’s all good.

            Howard’s book is selling well in Miamitown.  We have sold over 200 so far, and more people are asking for it.  As a huge fund raiser for our Society, Howard’s book has been a profitable gift for us.  And it’s a heck of a read.  I read it one night cover to cover without stopping, it was that hard to put down.  Its local, its people you know, it’s enjoyable to read.  And it’s Howard.  Gerald Wirthwine may have authored the book, but it is Howard’s true life stories as told by Howard, and there is no question who is telling the story.  It’s like Howard was in the room telling you about parachuting into a pig pen.  Its real, and its real funny.   The books are selling because it is a good book, and also because everyone who knows Howard wants one, and a lot of people know Howard.  I have been a salesman at meetings, explaining to everyone that when they purchase a book, they are donating to our Historical Society.  As I said before, the sales are brisk.  Make sure you have your copy.  Call me (513-353-3111) or Howard (513-353-1929) to get your copy.

            At our last meeting, we discussed the book, a sign out in front of our building, and the Memorial Day Parade, which is coming soon.  We decided to have an open house on Memorial Day, from 10 AM to 2 PM, before and after the parade.  Elsie and Ken Milton said they would be hosts.  I will be the Master of Ceremonies for the event, a large set of shoes to walk in after Howard has done the job masterfully for 55 years.  I am honored to follow such a great man.  The Parade, the speeches at the Gazebo, and the Ceremony at the Miamitown Cemetery will look the same as previous years.  I hope Howard will be proud of our efforts as a spectator.  He has been at every meeting to make sure everything is done properly, making the transition easy and successful. 

            We hope to see you.  Memorial Day is more than just a day off work with a picnic.  It’s a day to recognize and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to thank those in uniform who defend our way of life.  It’s a great small town parade, with the Harrison High School Band, Whitewater Township Fire Department, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Patrol, Miamitown Elementary, horses, bikes, kids, dogs, and a Model A Ford with our Historical Society Logo on the side.  Our speaker will remind us why we should care about these brave men and women, and our Color Guards will present our Flag, give a 21 gun salute, and blow Taps in honor of our fallen heroes.  I feel that it is my duty, as small a task as it is, to be there to honor these great men and women.  I hope to see you there.

                We have a blog.  We are on the World Wide Web (WWW).  We are on the internet.  Are we big time or what?   It’s a work in progress, it will grow each month and if you have internet access, or have a friend or relative with internet access, you can visit our Blog site and get news, see pictures, get information, and even write a comment and be published on it.  On your computer, type in: miamihistoricalsociety.wordpress.com   and it should come up on our blog site.  You should see the Historic Town Hall.  If by some chance you don’t get in, e-mail me at Trusteebrown@aol.com  and I will send you an e-mail you can click on.  Put it in your favorites when you get on and you will easily have it from now on.  If all this is gobblygook, I either didn’t explain it very well or you are not on the internet.  Whatever, check it out if you can.  It’s pretty cool, it should turn out to be an information tool, and the pictures alone will be worth going to see.

            We have a speaker for next month.  Virginia Bryant, author, will come and tell us about the book she wrote called Letters to Eliza.  It is the true story of Eliza Smith who lived on Mt. Hope Rd. in Crosby Township  (across from Jane) who wrote letters and received letters from her brother in the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865.  These letters were discovered and Virginia Bryant put them in her book for us to read.  She will be our guest in June. 

            Don’t forget to come to Miamitown on Memorial Day.  Join in the parade, or enjoy it from the sidelines.    Hope to see you there. 

            Our meeting is this Thursday, Rita and Richard Schalk are bringing the refreshments.  Please bring a small gift for a door prize if you can remember it.  See you there!

Quotable:     Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reason.        Robertson Davies  (1913-), Canadian Author  

Do you have Howard’s Book yet?

          There is nothing better than a good story.  You know the plot, great kid grows up to be a great man with a happy ending.  At our Historical Society, we have that great story–in paperback.  Miamitown’s favorite son, Howard Gieringer has lived that storied life, and with writer Girald Wirthwine, he has written the book.  Its a great read about a great man from Miamitown.  Its full of local history, pictures, and adventures. 

          The book was unveiled at Howard’s 90th birthday party, held on March 15 at The Meadows in Addyston.  It was the only hall in the area that was big enough to hold such a large crowd of family and friends.  If you weren’t invited, its only because we couldn’t find a place big enough for all of Howard’s friends.  It was a grand evening, a night of eating, drinking, dancing, toasting our great friend, and….we sold a lot of books!   Our Society hosted the event, I was the Master of Ceremonies, our President Diane Bachman started the affair with the Pledge of Alliegence.  Diane also was a greeter along with Rita Schalk.  Geri LaCalamento, Patsy Hermes, and JoAnn Partin sold the books.  The food was great, the music was a three piece band playing 40s tunes (very good), and everyone was primed for a great evening.  Howard introduced his family, friends told funny stories about times they had with Howard, and we had several speakers who spoke about Howard.  Howard summed up the evening with a gracious word of thanks.  I sang Happy Birthday to Howard, inviting our 300+ guests to help drown out my terrible singing.   It was a wonderful evening.     

          The great ending is Howard’s doing.  Howard has donated the entire proceeds from the sale of his book to our Historical Society.  The entire $20 (the cost of the book) goes to our Historical Society.  So far we have sold over 200 books and raised over $4,000, all to the Miami Historical Society.  If you haven’t bought yours yet, its available at Miami Savings or Sonny and Doris’s in Miamitown.  You can also call me (Brownie 353-3111) or Howard (353-1929) and we will see that you get one.

         

     

Welcome to our new Blog

          Call it a new day.  History is made when the Historical Society steps into the 21st Century.  Welcome to our weblog, a place to find out what we are doing, when we are doing it, and where we are doing it. 

         Here’s what we are doing.  In a great little town called Miamitown, Ohio, a small group of concerned citizens get together at the Historic Town Hall and work to preserve our local history and promote community activism through community events and projects.  Sounds like a lot of work, but its really a lot of fun with a lot of good people. 

          Because this is our first entry into a 21st Century medium, we will start slowly, blogging each week or so to tell our history and our plans for the future.  We will have information on who we are, where we are and what want to do for the community.  We will have our history, how we came to be, and why we are what we are.  We will have pictures–lots of pictures of events, people, meetings, and more.  We want to be informative, pleasurable to read, and worthy of the time you spend to read our blog.

          So add us to your favorite list, check in with us once in a while, and leave a comment.  We want to hear from you.  We hope that your visit to our blog will induce you into a visit to our Historic Town Hall, and, maybe even you might join with us to preserve history and enjoy spending some time in Miamitown, Ohio.

                                        Keep in Touch,

                                                       Brownie, your humble Blogmaster

The Historic Town Hall