STRIKING GOLD IN THE HISTORIANS VAULT: GOING FOR THE GOLD IN THE GROVE - We’ve known for a long time that Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum is an award-winning destination. I think that anyone who visits would agree that its history, art, architecture and landscape are worthy of a gold medal. In 1900, Spring Grove was indeed awarded the gold medal for the “best landscape design in the United States” at the Exposition Universelle in 1900. It was a world’s fair held in Paris from April 15th to November 12th to “celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next.” Art Nouveau was very popular at the time which explains the beautiful design of Spring Grove’s gold medal. France invited countries from around the world, including the United States, to showcase their achievements and lifestyles. And by that time, Spring Grove had definitely achieved excellence in landscape design and beauty. In addition to Spring Grove’s gold medal, guess who else received one at the fair? Campbell’s Soup! Mmmm mmmm good! In fact, the image of the medal still appears on some of the company’s products. So what are some other “golden” connections in Spring Grove? The father-in-law of Captain August Rudolph Basson (Section 53, Lot 59) took a piece of bone removed from his son-in-law’s arm after he was wounded in the Civil War, carved an eagle on it, mounted it on gold and gave it to him as a memento. August is reported to have been the first man to “raise Old Glory on Lookout Mountain” and as a result, the piece of the flag that was given to him by President Lincoln was placed in August’s casket when he died. Somehow, the image of a bone mounted on gold intrigues me as much as that piece of flag in a casket! Another Civil War gold connection was Thomas Cleneay (Section 16, Lot 286). He was an early collector of Civil War tokens and U. S. gold. Cleneay Street in Norwood is named for his family. A piece of artwork by artist Julie Morrow DeForest was titled Golden Mules and Mirrored Sails. Her husband, Cornelius, is buried in Section 118, Lot 107. He died in Washington, D.C. in 1949. A couple of Spring Grove residents actually owned companies that dealt with gold. William Schwartz founded the Cincinnati Gold and Silver Refining Company in 1880. He studied in Zurich, Switzerland at the Polytechnic Institute. David Kinsey (Section 46, Lot 1) went in search of gold when it was proclaimed “there’s gold in them thar hills” out West. But his interest turned to silver when he started making utilitarian and “fancy” silver in the late 1800s. He and his brother Edward’s Good Samaritan Pitcher can be seen in the Cincinnati Art Museum. One of Cincinnati’s most beloved philanthropists, Frederick A. Hauck (Section 61, Lot 3) donated money for Tyler Davidson Fountain restoration back in 1971. Hauck was always interested in minerals and formed the Hauck Exploration Company. On his mining expeditions, he found many rare coins, including Spanish pirate gold pieces which were donated to the Smithsonian Museum. Fredrick lived to the “golden” age of 102 and before he passed, he took the bus to work every day. He was quite a remarkable role model. And speaking of the “golden years,” Thomas Yeatman (of Yeatman’s Cove fame at Sawyer Point Park in Cincinnati) and his wife celebrated their “golden” wedding anniversary at their home in Riverside in 1877. They treated their guests well by having the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad run a special train out to their home, charging only the regular fare. Some of the Yeatmans are buried in Section 51, Lot 71). John Wilmuth Hill (Section 87, Lot 26) was a hydraulic engineer who worked at the Niles Tool Company in Hamilton, Ohio in 1876. He became another gold medal winner when he received a special gold medal from the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition for conducting expert trials of steam engines. I end the “gold connections” with two female sports stars. One obtained gold. The other narrowly missed it. Lida Scott Howell (Section 95 Lot 81) was America’s first female to win a gold medal in archery. Lida won 17 national championships and won two gold medals in the 1904 Olympics. The second star is champion swimmer, Lenore Kight Wingard (Lakeside Mausoleum.) More than thirty years after Lida Scott Howell participated in the Paris Olympics, Lenore swam in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. She was regarded as “America’s Supreme Distance Swimming Star.” In the 1932 Olympics, Lenore won the silver medal at age 17 in the 400-meter freestyle. But it was a narrow victory for her gold-medalist competitor, Helene Madison. The officials took 15 minutes to determine a winner as both swimmers broke the world record. So close! Lenore went on to break many of Madison’s records, setting 25 national and nine world records. At the United States championships in 1933, Lenore won every freestyle event from the 100-meters to the 1500-meters. And guess what, ladies? Lenore was the first female to be pictured on a Wheaties cereal box! (Lenore’s full story can be found in my new book, Phil Nuxhall’s Stories in the Grove by Orange Frazer Press) There are thousands of stories from Spring Grove’s inhabitants and I hope you found these worthy of a “gold star.” - Phillip J. Nuxhall, Historian
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 22:54:33 +0000
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