Pre-WWII Bond Hill (Cincinnati, Warren, Norwood: rental, houses, cinema)

[worseck]

As a young boy, I lived in Bond Hill from 1937 to 1941 - on Joseph, Oberlin, and Laconia. Streets. Am trying to locate several places in that area at that time. One was a grocery store on Paddock Road, probably a Kroger store. It was probably between Joseph and Ryland. Would like specific location. Also, lady on Joseph St. named Rose Agricola opened food shop/soda fountain somewhere in area. Do not know name of shop. Would be interested in knowing name and/or location. Another question has to with an establishment called the "Dutch Mill", probably a lounge and/or restaurant. May have been outside of Bond Hill area. Family diaries have helped me recreate those years and fond memories of the area. Hopefully someone can help me fill in a few of the blanks.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Your Bond Hill recollections precede my own by a generation, Worseck.
If no one else can help you, though, you might have a look at Cincinnati
editions of Polk's "City Directory" for those years. These old tomes
provide a sort of cross-referenced phone book, allowing the user to
look up a party by phone number or address, among other things. You
can essentially "walk" up a street numerically and identify its residents
and businesses as you proceed.

If the main branch of the Cincinnati library does not keep old copies
or microfiches from those years, they should be able to point you to
a source that does.

Good luck!

[worseck]

That sounds like a good idea. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

[unctheel]

I think Dutch Mill may have been a cafeteria. There was a great cafeteria in downtown Cinti called "Mills," with a Dutch windmill as a symbol. I don't remember any grocery store on Paddock Rd (grew up in Cinti 1954-1968). Where did you go to school & what was it like? Was the Flower Fair on the corner of Laidlaw & Paddock? Do you remember when any of the houses in the Bond Hill area were built, particularly around Laidlaw, Oakdale, Ryland, etc.? I found a history of Bond Hill written by some guy who wrote it for his PhD or masters (foggy on this), but found it online. Doesn't have a great amount of detail, but the photos were interesting.

[jkgibb1]

I have forwarded this site to my brother, the Bond Hill trivia expert. He could probably answer a lot of the questions posted thus far.

I remember Albers supermarket on Reading Road across from California. It was destroyed in a fire around 1960. I also remember an IGA or Parkview on California Avenue, closer to Paddock and on the south side of the street. Once, on a shopping trip with my mom, I picked some of the shiny yellow price tags off the shelf--the color was attractive to me. The manager said something and my mom cracked me a good one (or two) for touching the tags and embarrassing her. That was discipline in the fifties.

Does anyone remember any of these teachers from Bond Hill School? Miss Bremer, Mrs. Volkman, Mrs. Norcross, Mrs. Gibbs, Miss Heinz, Miss Fisher, Miss Mount, Miss Stoller, Mr. Landwehr, Miss Knueven, Mrs. Stoffregen, Mrs. Backs, Miss Trainor, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Dennick? Principal Clarence Warren? Assistant Principal Corlett? Crossing guard Dorothy Johnson?

I visited Bond Hill School shortly before it was torn down. It was very well-cared for inside--nothing really had changed. The paintings our Art League pennies had paid for were still there. Also, all the wonderful architectural details--the wall tiles, the glass globe soap dispensers, the Rookwood fountains, the white and black tile floors in the bathroom. The gym still had the blue velvet curtains and the parquet floors. What a shame the building was razed.

Did anyone ever go into Johnson's Cafe which was next to Albers? Naturally, I was too young to enter, but was always fascinated with the exterior when I walked by...to this day, I wonder what it was like inside. I still remember the circular glass window on the door. In fact, my search for information on Johnson's Cafe is what led me to this site!

Thanks for the opportunity to walk down Memory Lane.

[Linda Pratt]

I own a single family rental house on Lawn Ave (It's back yard butts up against the Showcase Cinemas property). It's a small house, but I'm amazed at the detail of craftsmanship that went into the building of the house. The brickwork is a work of art. In the basement is a large commercial ice box! I had The Wooden Nickel out to look at it!
Two streets over is Berkley, where the homes are much larger and even more decorative!
If you want to see a picture of the house, I have it on my website. You can see some of the brick work, but the fireplace inside is awesome!

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by jkgibb1

Does anyone remember any of these teachers from Bond Hill School? Miss Bremer, Mrs. Volkman, Mrs. Norcross, Mrs. Gibbs, Miss Heinz, Miss Fisher, Miss Mount, Miss Stoller, Mr. Landwehr, Miss Knueven, Mrs. Stoffregen, Mrs. Backs, Miss Trainor, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Dennick? Principal Clarence Warren? Assistant Principal Corlett? Crossing guard Dorothy Johnson?

I had Louise Bremer for kindergarten at Swifton Primary. My uncle had her while she was still at Bond Hill.

[worseck]

Thank you for presenting my questions to your brother. I have contacted the Cincinnati library. They say that the Williams Directory for 1940 lists a Bond Hill Fruit Market at the corner of California and Paddock (1202 California), a Kroger store at 1241 California and a Schneider Grocery Store at 1238 California between Paddock and Oakdale.

[unctheel]

I had Ms. Volkman, Miss Heinz, Mrs. Huber, Mrs. Yamguchi, Ms. Poynter, Ms. Kneven (sp?) and Miss Denick (tough lady!!). When Mrs. Backs died many years ago, there was a nice obituary in the paper. When I went there, Mr. Landwehr was the PE teacher. Everyone loved him. My grandfather was the crossing guard for a short period of time. i think Dorothy Johnson came after he had to retire. We still have his hat and crossing guard sign in my parents' garage.

[worseck]

I have answered another one of the questions by doing an internet search for "Dutch Mill Cincinatti". I got a web site "cincinatti views" with old postcards of Cincinnati. Both the "Mills" which you mentioned as well as the "Dutch Mill" had postcards. The Mills was at 39 East 4th St. downtown and the Dutch Mill was at 5203 Montgomery Rd. in Norwood. The Mills postcard had the caption "the most beautiful restaurant in America" while the Dutch Mill boasted find food, drinks and entertainment.