Tributes #3 - to Recognize Those Who Have Passed
The Names are in Alphabetical Order
SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE TO FIND EACH TRIBUTE
Near - James Whitney
Oldham - Paul James
Raftery - Wendy & Carl
Robinson - Jerry Wallace
Schenk & Merringer
Weltner - Daniel E.
James Whitney Near
Jim Near … Reynoldsburg's "Whiz Kid” of Fast Food ~ by Mark Myers
It was the hotspot of the east side, the Burger Boy Mainliner, and during the 50’s, this drive-in attracted hot rods with loud mufflers from all the surrounding communities, including Reynoldsburg.
Located in Berwick, just west of Route 33 (College Avenue), on the south side of Livingston Avenue, this teenage hang-out had “car hops” who hustled food and drinks on trays, which they clamped to the driver’s side of cars surrounding the restaurant. But you didn’t have to eat there; you could simply park and watch the other cars, or cruise around the lot yourself. On Saturday nights, after the movies let out, WCOL’s “Dr. Bop,” with his “stack of sh-lac,” broadcast live from the place. It got so hectic that off-duty police were hired to control traffic.
As one of the regulars put it, “This drive-in should be a historical landmark for Columbus. No drugs or alcohol were ever used or noticed; none were ever needed, and still a good time was had by all. The atmosphere of the Burger Boy Mainliner was all the ‘high’ any of us needed. It was just good clean fun and a great time to remember.”
Jim Near, from the far east end of Reynoldsburg, where the Fire Academy is now located, didn’t partake of the fun outside the Burger Boy. He was too busy inside washing dishes or filling in as a short-order cook. He could crack two eggs with one hand. Since the age of 15, he would walk to Livingston from the high school on Jackson Street or from his home, and hitchhike the seven miles to learn the business of flippin’ burgers.
Even in his yearbook, the 1956 ‘Reynolian’, one can see that the business was on his mind. Several mentions of “burgers” can be found in his class will and under his senior picture, where his “pet peeve” was listed as “dumb car hops,” an early testament to his keen interest in customer satisfaction.
After graduation, Jim became night manager at Burger Boy. He then went on to Hanover College in Indiana. According to his good friend Tom Rausch (RHS ’54), an upperclassman at Hanover, “Jim turned our Sigma Chi kitchen from a money loser with bad food to maybe the best place on campus to eat, and we made money on it!”
Jim graduated from Hanover in 1960, and after a short stint in the Ohio National Guard, he started working at the first McDonald’s in Columbus, on South High Street, where he eventually became the manager. When Roy Tuggle, his former boss at Burger Boy, co-founded BBF (Burger Boy Food-o-Rama), home of the whirling satellite, he invited Jim to become a manager and then vice-president of the new chain. To those early entrepreneurs, BBF stood for “Bigger, Better, Faster” as they strove to stave off the juggernaut that was McDonald's. Borden soon bought out BBF, however, and Jim was named President of Borden Retail Operations.
When his contract with Borden expired, Jim lent his expertise to Dave Thomas, Tuggle, and a couple of other big-time investors who had founded Wendy’s Hamburgers. Perhaps remembering that in his yearbook, he had listed one of his life goals as “owning my own drive-in.” He became a Wendy’s franchise owner, and by the end of the 1970s, he had opened over 39 Wendy’s restaurants in West Virginia and Florida.
After he sold all 39 back to Wendy’s, he became a rich man and retired early. Tom recalls, “Jim was never ostentatious about anything; you would never know he was wealthy.” But he grew tired of retirement, and was soon developing a spicy chicken sandwich, anticipating by decades the “hot and spicy” craze, and to house it, he built a new restaurant - Sisters Chicken and Biscuits, and it was wildly successful.
Scarcely a year later, Wendy’s bought Near’s concept and the Sisters restaurant for a cool million dollars, and soon opened 70 more units.
In 1982, Dave Thomas turned over the day-to-day operation of Wendy’s to a professional management group, which, in Thomas’ own words, “caused us to lose our focus,” and the business went downhill.
Four years later Thomas had had enough, and called back his old friend to lead the turnaround. Jim agreed to do it only if Thomas would return as spokesman for the company, appear in home-spun commercials, and visit with employees to bolster morale. And the rest is history.
Near became President and Chief Operating Officer and later CEO and Chairman of Wendy’s International. As Tom recalls, “I never heard a bad word about him from anyone, but he could move decisively.” Near replaced four top managers and instituted a stock ownership program for employees. He introduced value-priced menu items and specialty sandwiches and streamlined the business with computers. As a result, Wendy’s showed a five-year average earnings-per-share growth of 58% ... over four times that of McDonald’s! Management turnover dropped from 55% to 20%. Near was named “Operator of the Year” by ‘Nation’s Restaurant News’ and won the Silver Plate Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, among numerous other top honors.
In 1995, after 21 years with Wendy’s, Near turned over most of his duties to Gordon Teter and retired for good to Bonita Springs, Florida. The next year, on July 22nd, while attending the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Jim Near died of a heart attack in a hotel lobby at age 58. He left his wife, Nancy, and two sons, David and Jason.
Upon his death, there was no greater accolade than this, and it came from the Senior Chairman himself, R. David Thomas: “Jim was a great man and my best friend. He knew more about restaurant operations than anyone else I know. He loved the hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant, and his passion for the customers and employees was evident to everyone who met him. That will be his legacy. I’ll miss him dearly.”
Drive along the 2100 block of East Livingston now, in South Bexley, and you’ll find a tangle of signs, pedestrians, and vehicles near the I-70 interchange, which loops toward downtown Columbus. Look closely, and you’ll see Jim Near’s legacy. His original Sisters Chicken and Biscuits building, now Popeye’s Chicken, is still standing, and right next door, on what was once the site of the Burger Boy Mainliner, is another restaurant. It is a Wendy’s!
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Sources: Wendy’s press release July 23, 1996, Forbes Magazine January 3, 1994,columbusrestauranthistory.com, 1956 Reynolian,
with special thanks to Tom Rausch.
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James Whitney Near 1938-1996
American restaurant entrepreneur. Born to James Donald and Helen (German) Near in Columbus, Ohio, he started his restaurant career as a 15-year-old cook for a local Burger Boy Restaurant. He continued to work for Burger Boy throughout his high school and college years and late became vice president of the chain after graduating from Hanover College in Indiana. When Borden Inc. acquired Burger Boy in 1969, he became president of Borden's retail sales division. In 1974, he left Borden to become a Wendy's franchisee and developed 39 restaurants in four years in Florida and West Virginia. After selling those restaurants to Wendy's, he started the Sisters Chicken & Biscuits restaurant chain, which he sold to Wendy's in 1981. He then served as president and chief operating officer of Sisters International Inc. until 1986, when he became president and chief operating officer of Wendy's, and later became CEO in 1989 and chairman in 1991.
During his tenure as Wendy's president, he turned the struggling chain around. He focused on the core hamburgers, chicken, and salads, reshuffled its offerings, and introduced value item menus and specialty sandwiches. He also focused on store-level operations, beefing up training and operational structure while cutting costs at headquarters. For his accomplishments, he was voted MUSFO Operator of the Year in 1992. He ran day-to-day operations of Wendy's until 1995, but maintaining his chairman title. He divided his final years between homes in Columbus, Ohio and Bonita Springs, Florida, with no history of health problems. On July 22, 1996, while staying in Atlanta's Downtown Hilton Hotel to attend the Olympic Games, he suddenly complained of chest pains in the morning and collapsed while walking to a first aid station. He was taken to Crawford Long Hospital of Emory University, where he was pronounced dead at 11:25 am.
Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, whom Near had encouraged to become the company's advertising spokesperson, said, "He was a great man and my best friend. He knew more about restaurants than anyone else I know. He loved the hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant, and his passion for the customers and employees was evident to everyone who met him. That will be his legacy. I'll miss him dearly."
Gordon F. Teter, who succeeded Near as CEO, chief operating officer, and president, said, "Jim has been an outstanding leader at Wendy's and throughout the industry. His passion for restaurant operations and taking care of every customer were the driving force behind Wendy's remarkable success over the past decade. He taught all of us how to be better operators."
Paul James Oldham
March 31, 1974 ~ April 17, 2020
The Oldham family are among some of the first settlers in Reynoldsburg and Truro Township. Paul and Tammi are respected Lifetime Members of the Reynoldsburg-Truro Historical Society. Paul’s parents are also members of RTHS and we want to offer our deepest condolences to the entire family. – Mary Turner Stoots, President, RTHS
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Paul James Oldham, age 46, of Pickerington, passed away Friday April 17, 2020. He was born in Columbus and was a longtime resident of Pickerington. He was the Vice-President of the Violet Meadows Homeowners Association and a volunteer with the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office Community Watch Program. Paul loved to travel, boating and most of all spending time with his family. He worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 22 years, most recently managing his own team in Columbus.
Paul was preceded in death by his father Paul M. Oldham and two sisters. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife of 23+ years Tammi; sons Andrew (Payton) Oldham and Brady Oldham; parents Erik and Ina Turner; mother and father-in-law Richard and Deborah Fetty; sisters Eva (Brian) Simpson and Anne (Travis) Shreffler; brother Owen (Brooke) Turner; brother-in-law Clint (Kristie) Fetty; seventeen nieces and nephews: Bethany, James, Jude, Quinn, Lucy, Olivia, Eli, Alise, Isabel, Emma, Umi, Tyson, Colton, Molly, Weston and Kason; numerous family and friends.
Paul’s family received friends Saturday May 2, 2020 at Cotner Funeral Home 7369 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg. His funeral service was held privately for family members only on Sunday, May 3, 2020.
A Tribute to My Friend, Wendy
by Suzy Millar Miller
It’s difficult to write about a friend who has recently passed away, but I wanted to tell a story about my extraordinary friendship with a woman who became a Trustee for RTHS and about her experiences growing up in Brookside when it was a new housing development in the Burg.
When I first met Wendy, her name was Wanda Wheatley. She was a charter member of my mom’s Girl Scout troop and was at my house often for meetings and activities. The troop was very active and had “day camp” in the wooded area where Hibernia Apartments sits today near Main Street and Noe Bixby. One time the troop even took the train to Cincinnati for an experience. (My mom wouldn’t let me go with them because she said I wasn’t in the troop!) It was the first time Wanda had ever ridden in a train. She didn’t get to ride one again until 1969 from Frankfort to Neubruecke, Germany.
Sometime after high school Wanda changed her first name to Wendy. I had a difficult time calling her Wendy initially, but finally decided she would be Wendy/Wanda to me. She liked the nickname!
Wendy was very involved with her classmates at Reynoldsburg and worked on the planning committee for their class at their 40th, 45th, and 50th reunions. At the 50th reunion in 2014 she contacted her classmates, chose locations and events. Then she had the brilliant idea of having a special book made just for their reunion. Wendy contacted me and we worked on the 137-page book for months. She gathered biographies, checked addresses, located old photos, talked on the phone for hours, and miraculously we made a book. It was my first reunion book for a group other than my class. We had so much fun and were on the phone almost daily, sometimes more. If Wendy wasn’t available, her trusty answering machine answered the phone although it was actually her husband, Carl. He answered, “Wendy’s Answering Machine.” Carl and I then talked for hours about every topic under the sun. Wendy also helped other classes at their reunions by registering guests and giving out nametags.
One thing that came out of the reunions was that Wendy decided to hold monthly gatherings for her classmates for lunch at various restaurants. The lunch group started in 2009 and continued until 2021 when it became too difficult to get together. One of the favorite places was the July lunches usually held at Der Dutchman.
In the reunion books, classmates wrote biographies about themselves and what they remembered about living in the Burg. Wendy wrote this about moving to Reynoldsburg.
“When my parents decided to move to a suburb, they decided to have a new home built from scratch on Sunview Road in Reynoldsburg. It was an exciting time for the family, and they used to drive out every other week to check on the progress. When it reached the stage where the exterior was being painted in the fall of 1956, there was a rock and roll song on the radio charts called ‘Green Door’ by Jim Lowe. As the exterior was being finished, they were painting the house pink, and all of the trim – including the doors – was a shade of moss green. The Wheatley family thought it was hilarious that they were “what’s behind the green door” as written in the lyrics of the song.
‘When our Brookside house on Sunview Road was ready to move into, it was November 1956. Our parents and our brother, Steve, moved in after Thanksgiving. But the decision was made in our family that Cheryl and I would stay with our maternal grandparents until after the Christmas break. They lived just two blocks from our school. Then we could finish with our classes at Livingston Avenue Elementary School in Columbus, celebrate Christmas in our new house, and get registered in our new school.
‘We started in the Reynoldsburg school from January until May 1957 even though school pictures didn’t show us. The school took class pictures in the fall. Across the street from us lived Connie Boyd. (RHS Class of 1965) and her parents. Next door to us was the Ludwig family who had three kids - an infant named Glenn, John (Class of 1970) and Mardean (Class of 1966). The Ludwigs’ was the last house finished and moved into in that time period. Behind our house was only the poured concrete foundation of what would eventually be the home of The McAdow family on Warwick Avenue. And beyond that was a little cleared land and then woods. That foundation was the site of snow forts and all kinds of other imaginative play, and the woods was hide and seek and other fun games. That first winter was a childhood dream come true for kids with lots of imagination. And boy, did the six of us have a ton of imagination between us. Not counting Glenn, of course, who was an infant still. We were quite a group! Wanda was 10, Connie 9, Mardean 8, Cheryl turned 7 that February, and John & Steve were 4-year-olds.
‘That summer swing sets went up in the back yards of the Wheatley and Ludwig houses. Those of us who were school age were all girls, which also meant the Wheatley house (and yard) was frequently filled with dozens of little girls! We all walked to school together through Brookside, down Epworth, over the east foot bridge, across Main Street and up Jackson to the school. Cheryl and Wanda had transferred from a Columbus elementary school that was Kindergarten through 6th grade. We were fascinated by the idea of a school that included all 12 grades in one building! That felt SO special! We loved our new school, and our new small town so much!
‘The 1959 yearbook marks ‘the big change!’ The fourth grade grew to five home rooms of students! (Can you say Brookside?) The vast influx of new families had led to the need to build a new elementary school separate from the big 3-story ‘Knowledge is Power’ school we all loved. It was built at the corner of Epworth and Donald Streets at the entrance to the Brookside subdivision and was to be called French Run Elementary School (named after French Run Creek at the opposite end of Epworth Ave. where we all crossed over the foot bridge twice daily to get to school and back). It was finished in time for classes to start there in September of 1958 for all Brookside kids and old Reynoldsburg kids who lived north of Main Street. Everyone else continued to go to the "old" school on Jackson Street.
‘My school memories included: choir with Mr. Canter, All-County Chorus (great place to meet boys from other schools, since the altos always stood next to the tenors!), Y-Teens and two summers at Y-Teen Conference at Otterbein University, Spanish Club (Miss Morin was always a hoot), Pep squad with the purple and white mittens and shirts used to make designs, football games, dancing at lunch time, movies at lunch at the “old” school, seeing how many people could fit in the phone booth at the old school, walking to the market on Main Street to buy pickles for lunch, speaking of lunch – remember the ‘Pack a sack and stop the slop’ signs, walking to Miller’s after school and dancing to the juke box, walking back and forth to school over the footbridge across French Run Creek from Brookside, Girl Scouts with Suzy Millar’s mom, Maebelle Millar, as our troop leader (she was great!), sharing a tent at Girl Scout camp with Sue Lemert and Karen Hergesell, watching and marching in the parades, how excited we all were when they built the Reynoldsburg Swim Club and walking home with the current boyfriend, dances at the swim club with WCOL there, skating at the new roller rink, dances on Friday nights, too, at the rink (I met my first husband there at a dance!), bowling lessons and teams at the new bowling alley, but don’t forget the old bowling lanes above Connell’s Hardware.
‘As a matter of fact, all three Wheatley kids were good dancers and loved to dance!! That continued for decades for all of us, but especially Cheryl and Wendy. We went to Friday night dances at the Reynoldsburg Skating Rink, Saturday night dances at either the Cabana Club on Main Street or the Gator's Hut in Gahanna, and of course, almost every Sunday afternoon at Valley Dale.’”
Wendy started out working for the Columbus Public Library, Reynoldsburg Branch, then went to the Department of Defense, but worked as a volunteer at the Main Library once a week from 1971-1994. Wendy retired from the Department of Defense (DCSC) in 1993. After that she owned her own candle business from 1994-2000. She had eight stepchildren. She and her late husband, Donald Hubbard, raised his youngest son, Joel. Donald also had four other children. With Wendy’s last husband, Carl, she had three more stepchildren: twins Lynn and Lisa, and Carl, Jr., who passed away in June 2012. Wendy had many grandchildren.
Some of the hobbies that Wendy enjoyed when she was younger included: motorcycle riding as a passenger (which she really missed doing), dancing, camping, canoeing, scuba/skin diving, and showing and riding horses. Her more recent hobbies were: genealogy, crafts, swimming, reading, (especially history and mysteries), hanging out and going places with the grandkids (the ones who live close), and hanging out with friends.
She got married in 1969 and went to live as an Army wife in Germany for two years. Wendy also traveled to Ireland, Iceland, Hawaii, and the Bahamas. She hasn’t been able to travel much outside of Ohio in the past 30 years, but always wanted to travel again. Wendy also worked as a volunteer in hypnosis regression studies and in clinical research at the OSU Neurological Department. Wendy told me that she really enjoyed hypnosis regression and in one of her past lives she was a seamstress.
Beginning in 2008, she worked with the Huntington Disease Society of America (HDSA) support group on many of their fundraisers and providing crafts for the Huntington patients and helping them with crafts while their family members and/or care givers are in meetings. Wendy’s sister, Cheryl, died of Huntington Disease in March 2000 after being diagnosed in the mid-1980s. Wendy was a part-time caregiver for her brother, Steve, for several years before he passed away of Huntington Disease in September, 2012. Huntington Disease is a hereditary disease which runs in families. One of the reasons Wendy was so involved in genealogy was to track the disease through her family, but also because she was curious about everything!
Wendy LOVED to read. It was a passion we shared. Over the years we exchanged hundreds of books. She got me hooked on Rex Stout’s writing about Nero Wolfe. I still have a couple volumes to finish. She was also interested in the American Indian tribes around Ohio and other places in North America. She also really enjoyed black and white movies, especially musicals. One of our favorite movies was “Somewhere in Time” with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour which involved going back in time.
Wendy became our “Sunshine Committee” for RTHS and mailed many cards to encourage members to get well or express our sympathy on the passing of a family member. Sometimes she sent cards because she thought they needed some happiness in their lives. She really enjoyed connecting with people and really cared about them. Her smile was welcoming to everyone, and her generosity was overwhelming. Her husband, Carl, was our Parliamentarian and helped us with many “Robert’s Rules of Order” questions.
Until Wendy died there were four RHS high school class reunion coordinators on our RTHS board. Mary (Turner) Stoots, our president; Suzy (Millar) Miller, corresponding secretary; and trustees, Vickie (Edwards) Hall and Wendy. We got together often and researched information for our classes and had a fabulous time laughing and talking about the old days in the Burg. One of the most amazing things about Wendy was that she could recognize names and faces immediately. She could even look at someone’s second grade photo and know instantly who that was in a 40th reunion photo. She helped us figure out who our classmates were even when we had no clue! The reunion coordinators last saw one another in August 2021 and had no idea it would be our last reunion meeting.
Wendy passed away on October 21, 2021, after a heart attack. Her husband, Carl Raftery, passed away on October 24, 2021, with complications from infections. They were married on December 7, 1991, fifty years after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.
Carl was proud of his U.S. Navy service and of his service to his country. He really liked the fact that he was born on Veterans Day. He used to love riding motorcycles. After he became unable to walk a few years ago, he would talk about how he missed getting “bugs in his teeth” while he rode down the highways. He enjoyed talking about ships, boilers, and jobs he had along with his love of Wendy.
Carl and Wendy kept different hours from the rest of us. They got up in the afternoon and stayed up half the night watching TV and movies which made it difficult to call them without waking up one or the other. One thing Carl did every night is tell Wendy that he loved her right at midnight. Sometimes I would be on the phone talking with Wendy and Carl would pick up an extension and tell her that he loved her and happy new day.
May you both rest in peace. I miss both of you. – Suzy Miller
Jerry Wallace Robinson
June 18, 1938 - October 10, 2019
Jerry Wallace Robinson was born in Chapmanville, West Virginia on June 18, 1938 and died on October 10, 2019. Jerry Robinson was a loving parent, husband, grandparent, friend, coach and teacher whose sense of humor, wit and intelligence will be greatly missed. He was preceded in death by his parents Lucille (Barker) and Ted Robinson.
Jerry graduated from Chapmanville High School in 1955, played football and was a member of the state championship golf team. His siblings Dick (Sylvia) and Keith (Gloria) preceded Jerry in death but he is survived by his brother Bill. Jerry graduated from Marshall University with his AB in Education and later earned a Masters Degree. He married Ann Treacy Robinson in 1964 in Huntington, West Virginia. They had two children David (Julie) and Treacy (Jim) Cox and three grandchildren: Maria and Jamie Cox and Hugh Robinson.
Jerry taught social studies at Chapmanville High School and Lake Weir, Florida but spent most of his professional career at Reynoldsburg High School where he taught various social studies classes from 1964-1986 and was the Athletic Director from 1986-1998. Jerry’s lifetime personal passion was golf which he learned as a caddy growing up, played at Marshall University, and coached at Reynoldsburg High School from 1964-2002 winning 2 Ohio Capital Conference championships and leading six individuals and one team to the Ohio State High School Championship Tournament. He was named to the Reynoldsburg Sports Hall of Fame, Reynoldsburg Coach of the Year and Ohio High School Golf Coach’s Hall of Fame.
Many thanks for all the caring help given to Jerry and his family by the Ohio Health Hospice, his wonderful aides, nurses and doctors, and family and friends who provided him with so much support these last two years. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Ohio Health Hospice or the Jason Murphy Memorial Scholarship Fund. As Jerry requested there will be no funeral services.
50 Years Ago Blacklick Creek Claimed Two Lives
by Suzy Millar Miller
Kids growing up in the Burg often played in Blacklick Creek or French Run Creek. We waded there in the summer, skated in winter, and caught sunfish, minnows and crawdads whenever we could. No one particularly worried about us hanging around the creek. It was what kids did. We never thought about anyone drowning.
Both creeks often flooded and many basements on Lancaster Avenue were full of water. We knew the threat of rushing waters and tried to stay away from the creeks during high water events.
I grew up on Lancaster Avenue. On June 22, 1956, a flood from French Run and Blacklick Creeks rose and collapsed our basement wall and washed the sod from Budd Oldham’s front yard. I rode in a rowboat up to my grandparents’ house at 1221 Lancaster Avenue as our house filled with water. The event instilled a healthy respect for rushing water and what disasters could happen even on peaceful Blacklick Creek. Ironically, a tragedy would occur in 1969 that caused death to visit someone at 1247 Lancaster.
On June 23, 1969 Blacklick Creek claimed the lives of two men who were intent on saving three little boys who were caught in the rapidly flowing waters.
Reporter Joe Gillette of the Columbus Citizen-Journal wrote:
“A Little League baseball coach and a helpful neighbor drowned Monday night in rain-swollen Blacklick Creek in Reynoldsburg moments after saving the life of a 10-year-old boy who had fallen in the creek.
“The victims were identified as William (Bo) Joseph Merringer, 1247 Lancaster Avenue and Harold G. Schenk, 39, of 6564 Red Fox Road. Both were pronounced dead at the scene after being pulled from the water by other rescuers and the Reynoldsburg Fire Department.
“A third man, who also helped rescue the boy, was pulled unconscious from the water and revived. He was identified as David T. White, Sr., 45, of 1554 Marvin Avenue and reported in satisfactory condition at Lincoln Memorial Hospital.
“The rescued youth was Eric Ashton, 10, of 1631 Lucks Road. The incident occurred about 600 yards behind the Reynoldsburg Municipal Building at 7232 East Main Street and adjacent to a Little League baseball field.
“Young Ashton told police he was walking along the west side of the creek with three other youths when one of the boys pushed him into the water.
“Merringer, whose home borders the east side of the creek, ran to the rescue after hearing the boys’ cries for help.
“Schenk and White, whose Little League team was playing in the nearby field, joined the scene moments later and saw the two struggling in the water.
“They too went into the water and the three men somehow got the boy to shore before being pulled under water by the strong undertow.
“An eyewitness, Tim Pfautsch, 17, of 7099 Ellen Ct., a worker for the Reynoldsburg Recreation Department, said he heard women and children screaming and ran to the rescue.
“ ‘I started to walk across the dam along the upper edge. About a third of the way across, I fell in and an unidentified man pulled me to the side and saved my life.’ “
On the front page of the June 24, 1969, edition of the Little Weekly more information appeared:
“… According to Reynoldsburg Police, three Thompson boys, Donald and Ronald age 11 and David, age 9 of 1029 Pleasant Drive, and Eric Ashton, 10, of 1631 Lucks Road, had gone to Blacklick Creek above the dam with the intention of going wading. David slipped and pushed Eric into the water, the other boys joined him in the water and all four began wading downstream toward the dam where Eric and Ronald both slipped and got into trouble.
“Donald’s call for help was answered by Mr. Merringer who entered the water and picked up Donald and threw him to the bank so he could get out.
“Donald pulled Ronald out by the hand, and then got a stick for Eric to grasp and pulled him free of the water.
“During that time Merringer had become trapped in the dam’s undercurrent and Mr. Schenk entered the water to assist him.
Both men were unable to free themselves from the undercurrent.
“Dan Hitchings, 29, 1800 Steckel Road, and Tim Pfautsch, 17, 7099 Ellen Court both entered the water to assist the men. But Pfautsch got into trouble and was pulled to safety and Hitchings could not get to the men.
“David White, Sr., 1554 Marvin Drive, also attempted to help the men but was caught in the undercurrent. The current finally released Merringer, Schenk and White and they began to float downstream.
“Hitchings, Pfautsch, the Truro Township Emergency Squad, and other bystanders pulled the three to shore, but only White responded to first aid. Merringer and Schenk were both pronounced dead at the scene by John P. King, M.D.
“The bodies of both victims were taken to Rutherford Funeral Home. Merringer is survived by his wife, Mary Margaret; a daughter, Judith, 5; two sons, Joseph 10 and David, 2; his parents Mr. and Mrs. James Merringer of 1216 Lancaster Avenue; four sisters and two brothers. Schenk is survived by his wife, Patricia; two sons, Steve and John; and two daughters, Joan and Judy.”
The Columbus Dispatch ran an article entitled Dead Man’s Brother Prevented 3rd Death:
“Cool-headed first aid by one drowning victim’s younger brother may have kept Monday’s double drowning from becoming a triple tragedy.
“Witnesses said while William (Bo) Merringer, 29, lay dead on one side of the creek, his brother, John, 24, was administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to David White, 45, on the other side.
“White, the only one of three rescuers to survive a plunge into the creek, remained in good condition Wednesday at Lincoln Memorial Hospital“ ‘There is no question in my mind,’ said funeral owner, Pete Rutherford, ‘that White would never have made it if it weren’t for Johnny.’
“The younger Merringer, a Reynoldsburg volunteer fireman, was one of the first on the drowning scene north of the city’s municipal building.
“Rutherford said Merringer began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on White as soon as he was dragged unconscious from the creek.
“ ‘He called across the creek as he was working and asked how his brother was,’ Rutherford said. ‘What could they do, but tell him he was all right?’
“Not until Rutherford had taken White to the hospital in the funeral home’s ambulance did John learn his brother was dead.
“Harold G. Schenk, 39, also drowned in the successful effort to save a 10-year-old boy who fell or was pushed into the creek while playing along the bank.
“Truro Township trustees and Reynoldsburg Jaycees are reportedly considering a special lifesaving award for John.
“But John, who lives with his wife and two children at 1155 Gibson Drive, Reynoldsburg, first must attend another ceremony – his brother’s funeral at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Pius Church.
“The service for Schenk will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Rutherford Funeral Home, 7369 East Main Street.”
According to John Merringer, Bo’s brother:
“While we were driving on French Run Drive, a fire alarm sounded for a squad run. I pulled over at the footbridge by the firehouse. Mary, my wife, says not to go. We have the kids in the car. The fire alarm goes off again for a fire run. I tell Mary to take the kids to her mom’s and I’ll come and get them.
“Chief John Knight meets Larry Blake, Jim West, and myself at the squad. He says that kids are in trouble in the creek behind the Merringers' on Lancaster Avenue We reach the scene and get out. Larry has the rope. Jim and Larry head down and I get the resuscitator. When reaching the dam, Larry was starting to tie the rope around his waist. I grabbed it telling him that I know he can’t swim. He gives me the rope.
I start to tie off, but I see Dave White go under at the dam and I know where he’s going to come up. So, I jump in that area and I was right, he was right next to me. With one pull, I pulled him from the current or back tow. I pulled him up to me and started CPR right in the middle of the creek. Then I dragged him to the far bank, toward the ball fields, where Pete Rutherford met me. He thought Dave was gone, but I said no, he isn’t while I continued CPR. His pupils started to react. Pete said they needed me on the other side, I saw someone fifteen feet from there, but several people were working on him (Bo). I went back across the creek where Mr. Harold G. Schenk was located with people helping him. They gave me a change on CPR for him, but we couldn’t save him.
“On a personal note, Pete Rutherford told me that on the way to Lincoln Memorial Hospital down Livingston Avenue every time he hit a bump in the road, Dave would spit out water. So, when Pete saw a bump he hit it. I wanted everyone to know about this great man and about the good friends of Truro Township Fire Department.
“Heroes of June 23, 1969: Larry Blake, Jim West, John Knight, Pete Rutherford, Dan Hitchings, Tim Pfautsch, and Dave White. (Dan and Tim had to be the ones who pulled Bo and Harold out of the water.)
“The words of Jesus Christ: ‘This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.’
“God Bless – John C. Merringer”
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission awarded five medals for the actions that day: Dave White, Dan Hitchings, and Tim Pfautsch were each recognized for their heroism. William Merringer and Harold Schenk were awarded for their bravery posthumously:
“William J. Merringer saved Donald G. Thompson, and died attempting to save Ronald D. Thompson and Eric T. Ashton respectively, from drowning, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, June 23, 1969. Donald, 11, Ronald, 11, and Eric, 10, called for help from turbulent water below a dam in a creek. Merringer, 29, plasterer, ran to the creek, entered the deep water, and swam to Donald, who was nearest the bank. After towing Donald to safety, Merringer started toward Ronald and Eric, who were farther from the bank. He became caught in a reverse current and began spinning head over heels. Donald ran downstream to shallow water and waded to the opposite bank, where a pile of cement debris extended into the creek. Ronald and Eric managed to move to near the debris; and Donald aided them from the water. Merringer later was thrown free of the reverse current and, inert, floated into shallow water. Others removed him, but he could not be revived.
“Harold G. Schenk died attempting to save William J. Merringer from drowning, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, June 23, 1969. Merringer, 29, plasterer, who had entered turbulent water below a dam in a creek to aid three boys, became caught in a reverse current and began spinning head over heels in the deep water. Schenk, 39, mechanical engineer, entered the creek from the opposite bank, swam to near Merringer, and attempted to grasp him. He was unable to do so because of the somersaulting of Merringer's body. Schenk then also became caught in the reverse current and was spun head over heels. Both Merringer and Schenk later were thrown free of the turbulence and, inert, floated into shallow water. Others removed them, but they could not be revived.”
Another article, source unidentified, was titled “Greater Love Hath No Man”:
“Two Reynoldsburg men made the supreme sacrifice Monday evening that others might live. Both victims undoubtedly knew they were in danger when they decided to help but they didn’t question, they acted. Of such stuff heroes are made. The community as a whole joins in offering condolence to the families of the two. Their grief is great. But they may find some solace in the knowledge that William Merringer and Harold Schenk acted from their deepest feelings. Their sacrifice is proof of the basic goodness of man.”
On June 23, 1969, two families in Reynoldsburg experienced a life-changing event. Harold Schenk and Bo Merringer were both family men whose decision to save several children in peril reflected their selfless love of others.
On June 23, 2019, the families and friends of Harold Schenk and Bo Merringer gathered at JFK Park in the gazebo to celebrate the lives of these two heroes.
A Tribute to Dr. Weltner
Dr. Daniel E. “Dan” Weltner, age 90, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, passed away peacefully in January 2026. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, in October of 1935. Dr. Weltner, a devoted physician, graduated from Reynoldsburg High School in 1953, earned his undergraduate degree in pre-med from Miami University, and completed his medical education at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He served his internship at Mount Carmel Hospital Main in Columbus.
Following medical school, Dr. Weltner entered the Ohio National Guard, serving from 1960 to 1969 as a physician and attaining the rank of Major. After attending boot camp in Michigan, he was stationed in Columbus for the remainder of his service.
Dr. Weltner practiced family medicine in Reynoldsburg for 40 years, caring for generations of patients with compassion and dedication, and at Mount Carmel East Hospital, where he served four years as the President of the Mt. Carmel Medical Staff. A brilliant diagnostician, Dr. Weltner earned great respect from his colleagues.
After retiring from private practice, Dan worked at the Military Entrance Processing Station, Gahanna, and volunteered at the Columbus Free Clinic. In 2010 he was honored by the Columbus Medical Association for “50 years in the field of medicine.”
Dr. Weltner will be remembered for his kindness, dedication to medicine, service to his country, and love for his family. His legacy endures through the many lives he touched as a physician, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Dan was married twice and he was deeply proud of his family. He is survived by his four children: Susan (Phil) and their children Bo (Caitlin, son Brooks), Christian, and Bryce; Dan (Jayson); Leslie, and her children Dana and Kelsie; Kristi, and her children Taylor and Jeremy. He is also survived by his stepdaughter Judy and her children Katie (daughter Reagan) and Kyle (Ashley); his grandson Joe (Chrissy, son Joey); and his grandson Anthony (Brandi, children Evan, Remy and Ethan).
Dan also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends. Dan was preceded in death by his parents, Leslie and Faith; his brother David (Barbara); his stepsons Joe and David Merringer; and his stepson-in-law Phil Krauskopf.
Dr. Weltner’s greatest joy in life was helping others. Dan enjoyed watching Ohio State Football, reading, birdwatching, listening to music, maintaining a beautiful yard, stargazing, and traveling. Some of his favorite destinations included North Myrtle Beach, Pawley’s Island, Oglebay Resort, Great Smoky Mountains, Sedona, and Cedar Point Amusement Park.
A special thank you goes to the staff at Storypoint Gahanna North for the loving care they provided “Dr. Dan” the last four years.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, January 18, 2026, beginning with visitation at 1:30 p.m., followed by a service at 2:30 p.m. A reception with light refreshments will follow.
Sunday Services will take place at Schoedinger Margarum Funeral Home, 1051 E. Johnstown Road, Gahanna, Ohio 43230. A brief interment service will be held on Monday, January 19 at 10:00 a.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 5600 E. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43213. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions should be made to the Columbus Free Clinic at https://columbusfreeclinic.com/donate or by check to Columbus Free Clinic.