A Sense of Centerville and Washington Township
Episodes
51 episodes
Jesse Gaither - The Americana Festival, America's 250th Birthday
Jesse Gaither is the Executive Director of the Centerville-Washington Township Americana Festival. He is also owner of Minuteman Press in Centerville, a local print marketing company that designs and prints promotional products.
Jason Riley: Service to country, community and local advocacy
Originally from Millersburg, Ohio, Jason and his family adopted Centerville and Washington Township as their permanent home in January 2021 following his retirement from a 25-year career in the U.S. Army. The Army took Jason and his family acro...
Hylda Strange: Restoring Historical Houses
Hylda has been a conservator of historic homes since 1985. Hylda worked as a teacher’s aid in Centerville City Schools. In 2004 Hylda and her husband Jerry purchased the Aaron Nutt Jr house, an 1833 stone cottage on Alex Bell in Centerville. Th...
Bob and Berneta Daley - Treasured community volunteers
Bob and Berneta Daley met in New York when Bob was with the Army, stationed in Staten Island. Bob worked as a journalist and an assistant to Governor Jack Gilligan in the 1970s. In later years, Bob was with the Kettering Foundation with a focus...
Dale Ewing - 1951 Graduate
Dale Ewing grew up in the town of Centerville, graduating in 1951 at Town Hall. The youngest child of Earl and Catherine Ewing, Dale was senior class president and played both baseball and football. He also played in the marching band and perfo...
Chris and Lisa Meyer: Remembering Foodarama Grocery Store on Whipp Road
Chris and Lisa Meyer met while they were both working at Phil and Jerry’s Foodarama, an independent grocery store that was in business 1957 -1989. Chris’ father Phil and his uncle Jerry were the business owners. After being in busin...
Greg Horn - City Manager, Yankee Trace and City Beautification
Greg Horn is a native of Wooster, Ohio and has been married to Cathy for 49 years. They raised three sons who were all CHS graduates and are now married. He enjoys being a grandfather to six wonderful grandchildren. Greg Horn was the Centervill...
Emily Albright - 2025 Scholarship Recipient
Emily Albright has been active at Centerville High School with volleyball, dance, and tutoring. She has been the Varsity Captain for volleyball and received awards for the Most Improved and Best Offensive Player, while balancing her dance caree...
Kevin O'Brien - 2025 Scholarship Recipient
Kevin O’Brien is one of Centerville-Washington History’s scholarship winners for 2025. He has volunteered with Centerville-Washington History over 40 hours since 2021. In addition to volunteering with CWH, Kevin volunteers with the Miami Valley...
Mike Thonnerieux - Washington Township Administrator
Mike Thonnerieux has been the Washington Township administrator since February 2023. Prior to serving as administrator, Mike served as Director of Public Administrative Services for the City of Beavercreek. Growing up, he lived in Washington To...
Lee Snyder - Trustee, Businessman, Volunteer Firefighter
Lee Snyder owns Snyder Concrete Products, a fifth-generation family business that began in 1949 by Milton Snyder. The business continues to expand and has multiple locations around the area. Lee’s father was a volunteer firefighter in Kettering...
Tom Ovington - Community volunteer and architect
Tom Ovington was born in the country of Rhodesia which is present day Zimbabwe. He became an architect and got a master’s degree from Yale. He eventually moved to Centerville where he was employed as an architect. Now retired, Tom spends much o...
Toniya Singh - An Immigration Story
Toniya Singh was born in India and immigrated from Bombay before settling in Ohio. Toniya is a public speaker, consultant, trainer and coach for schools and Fortune 500 companies. In her public speaking she often shares the perspective of immig...
Jenell Ross - A family business - serving in the community
Jenell Ross is the daughter of Robert Paul Ross, Sr and Norma J. Ross. Her father, Bob, became the first black automobile dealer in the state of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Viginia. Bob became the first black Mercedes-Benz Dealer in ...
Dr Thomas Connair - Local veterinarian remembers 1960's Centerville
Dr. Thomas Connair owned the Centerville Animal Hospital on Franklin Street. The business opened in the early 1960s, and he began caring for cattle from the surrounding farms. He retired and closed his practice in 2001 after serving the communi...
Al Price - Unearthing history
Al Price, a retired engineer, uses his hobby as a metal detector to find historical artifacts. Metal detecting has been an interest for over 20 years. He has created many educational display cases from his local finds which he has donated to Ce...
Mayor Brooks Compton
Honorable Mayor Brooks Compton has lived in Centerville with his wife Ruth since 1979. They raised their two sons in Centerville. He has been an attorney for over 40 years and has been involved in local government for over 40 years. His parents...
Carol and John Kennard - Parks, Birds and Service
Carol Kennard was with the Centerville-Washington Park district for almost 33 years with the last 17 years as director. She started in 1982 as the first program director and introduced popular programs such as Hidden Meadows and Winter Woods Da...
Alex and Jane Pearl - Discovering a Sense of Place
Alex and Jane Pearl have been residents of Centerville for 37 years. Growing up in New York, they came to the area when Alex had a job opportunity. The area became their permanent home as they became involved in the community. Alex currently se...
Treadway Gardens in Washington Township
Janet Treadway and Stephanie Wilson are the daughters of Frank and Inez Treadway who started Treadway Gardens in Washington Township. Frank worked at NCR for over 30 years. He gardened to help pay for his children’s college education beginning ...
Jim McCutcheon - The Guitar Man
Jim McCutcheon is well known throughout the region as the Guitar Man. He plays various fretted instruments and hosts a local radio program featuring guitar music. He holds a B.S. in Physics and a master’s degree in music education. Jim has an e...
Brady Kress - President and CEO at Dayton History
Brady Kress is the President and CEO at Dayton History. Dayton History owns the 65-acre Carillon Park and several other buildings and historical attractions in the Dayton area. Kress holds a BA in Political Science from Wright State University....
2024 Scholarship Winner - Lauren Miller
Lauren Miller is the 2024 CWH scholarship winner. An excellent student, Lauren also participated in many extracurricular activities, including Key Club, American Sign Language Club, Band, and the Circle of Friends. She is co-founder and Preside...
Centerville Police Department
Sande Heck was a police officer in Centerville for 30 years. For the past 18 years, he has served the city as zoning and code enforcement inspector. Officer Edward Skinner is the community relations officer for the Centerville Police Department...
Dale Berry: Serving Washington Township and the community
Berry was a Washington Township Trustee from 2008 through 2023. A real-estate professional, Berry used that training in his role as a member of the zoning commission. Berry, also represented Washington Township serving on the board at Centervil...