A Century of Eastmoor
Photography by Kimarie Martin Photography
Imagine a time, where if a person left downtown Columbus traveling east, after passing through a partially-developed Bexley, there’d be forest. And beyond that, forest.
This summer marks the 100th anniversary since Central Eastmoor was developed, and the story involves a few familiar names – Jeffrey and Stanbery – and a familiar blurring of lines between Bexley and Eastmoor. From 1798 to 1850, Eastmoor had been part of the Refugee Tract, lands given to Canadians who’d been forced to leave because they’d supported the American Revolution. In 1850, Henry Stanbery, the first Attorney General of Ohio, bought the land, and seventy-some years later, several members of Stanbery’s family made a whopping $1 off of its sale to Charles F. Johnson.
Johnson, a developer whose career spanned 26 developments in Clintonville, Upper Arlington, Bexley (called Ardmore and Ardmore No. 2, specifically) and more areas, planned for the centerpiece of the Eastmoor Addition to be a polo field and expected what is now Central Eastmoor to be an equestrian community. Within the community, there were five and a quarter miles of bridle paths for horseback riding. Johnson built the first home in the community for himself at 273 Eastmoor Blvd., and the home, known as the “Farmhouse” served as the clubhouse for the Polo Club he founded.
I can’t prove it, but I have to imagine Walter Jeffrey persuaded Johnson to build around a polo field. Walter was one of the descendants of the Joseph A. Jeffrey, whose home became Jeffrey Mansion in Jeffrey Park. When Walter came home from service in Europe after World War I, he brought home an interest in polo. Along with some friends (Henry J Booth, George L Gugle, Frank T. Rutherford, and F. Everson Powell), Walter was one of the founding members of the Eastmoor Polo Club on August 20, 1923. The polo team enjoyed great success and played against teams from Toledo, Springfield and Dayton with as many as 500 fans coming to watch.
Unfortunately, the existence of polo in the acclaimed centerpiece of the neighborhood came to an abrupt end in 1925, when the facilities burned down in a fire. With more and more houses being built in the community, the polo club members decided to move even further into the country, resulting in the founding of Rocky Fork Hunt and Country Club.
For some time, Eastmoor was known for being a handy stop on the National Road as it had inns and services for travelers. After World War II, remaining plats of land were developed to house returning soldiers eager to start families and at least nine of the Columbus-built Lustron homes filled those lots. Being just outside of Bexley, Eastmoor is now a haven for politicians and government officials who appreciate the local charm but can't live in Bexley for work purposes.
Though a small schoolhouse and church were dedicated by Bishop Hartley in 1931 (beloved local figure "Miss Barbara" Drugan would tell stories of walking through the woods to get to church), construction for the building we know as St. Catharine of Siena church began in 1960. Though the polo field, now known as Virginia Lee Circle, was the original center of Central Eastmoor, St. Catharine’s may have usurped the title. The church features stained glass windows and a limestone exterior. The church has at least 1,000 parishioners, many of whom have chosen to live in Eastmoor to be close. Along with Hot Summer Knights, fish fries during Lent, and spaghetti dinners and chili cook-offs, St. Catharine’s hosts the annual FunFest in June with carnival rides, food, drinks and live music.
The Allwein & Ryan Families
The Allwein and Ryan families are two such families that have made St. Catharine’s and Eastmoor the hubs of their quite large families.
Gary and Tina Allwein raised nine children: Dawn, Nathan, Anya, Heidi, Catharine, Jotham, Anthony, Dorothy and Donald. Nearly all of the Allweins are still parishioners of St. Catharine’s, though Anya lives in Pataskala with her husband Colin and four kids (with one on the way), Heidi and her husband Tim and seven kids live in Gahanna, Jotham and Maggie live on the west side with their son, Anthony, who works at Mustard Seed Catering, the family business that most of the family has worked for at some point, and Ashley and kids live in Gahanna. Dorothy works for St. Matthew.
Many still call the 43209 home. Dawn Elias, her husband Tim Smith and three children live in Bexley, Nathan and his wife Kate and their nine (almost ten) children, Catharine and Jeff Daley and their six children, and Donald live in Eastmoor.
Gary’s parents, Donald and Violet were south-enders originally. “As people pushed east in Columbus, they purchased an empty lot from Robert Weiler in 1969. Three years later, Donald built a four-bedroom ranch and moved there in 1972” with their five children – another of whom, Tim, still lives in Eastmoor with his family. Don and Violet immediately joined the St. Catharine Parish. The kids attended local schools, St. Catharine’s, Eastmoor High School, Bishop Hartley and St. Charles. Grandpa Allwein was one of the Eastmoor Pool’s founders by purchasing a bond and helping with upkeep. Donald and Violet still live on Fair across from their beloved church. Gary and Christina purchased his parents’ home on Kellner in 1997. (continued from page 15) “St. Catharine Parish is the center of our family,” Kate says. “Giving back through Chops Chicken/Homeless Meal – Gary and some buddies have done this since 1990 once a month cooking a meal. Many of us have coached sports, led a lacross program, run Virtue Clubs, VBS, Little Saints, Alpha table leaders, marriage prep groups and social events like the Father/Daughter Dance and Fall Festival.”
When Gary’s wife Christina passed away in 2007, Kate says, “St. Catharine church rose up to help Gary during this time of loss with support. After her passing, we created a fund called the Christina Ann Allwein Catholic Retreat Fund which helps aid financial assistance for youth to attend Catholic retreats for the parish. It has helped over 500 youth here at St. Catharine’s.” She says, “St. Catharine Church has been the most rewarding community,” citing events like Funfests, sacraments, youth group, and women’s ministry as ways to mesh with others in the community.
The Eastmoor Pool also remains a hub for the family, and even some of the non-43209ers continue to be members. Kate says, “The Eastmoor Pool has always been one of those gathering places to meet the Eastmoor/Bexley community. Grandpa Don was famous for doing crazy dives off the diving board. He would fall on his butt and then do a dive. Generations have followed in these crazy stunts off the diving board to this day.”
Robert “Bob” Ryan, a long-term resident, shared his family’s story. Bob moved out of a home his family loved in South Bexley and into Eastmoor 42 years ago. “We planned on sending our children to St. Catharine, so Eastmoor was the perfect choice.” His aunt and uncle lived in Eastmoor, but he was worried there’d be no other children. “Needless worry, because the first day we moved into our house on Chesterfield, we had 20 neighbor children playing in our yard, and we are now on the second generation of neighbor children!”
“We were expecting our fourth child when we moved to Chesterfield Rd. Our house was big when we moved in, but with eleven children, two dogs and even a major addition, it still kept shrinking! We still had room for three full refrigerators, a freezer and a kitchen table that could hold everyone and the usual guest. Mary Ginn always had dinner ready at 6:00pm (and still does) and everyone’s attendance was expected. It was the perfect place to raise a big family. There were lots of great neighbors, lots of children in the neighborhood, and the kids could walk to church and school, to ball practice and games, and Johnson’s Ice Cream!” All eleven of the children went to St. Catharine’s School, including their youngest, Megan, who has Down Syndrome. “St. Catharine welcomed her with, ‘we have been waiting for you!’” Bob recalls. “It was wonderful that she was able to attend the same school as her siblings. St. Catharine was so welcoming, and unbeknownst to us, also serving children with special needs. We were so moved that we started SPICE, Special People in Catholic Education. SPICE is a ministry to raise awareness of special needs, raise funds to serve those with special needs and to serve as a model to other schools and parishes. To date there are over 15 other SPICE programs in other parishes besides St. Catharine.
Two of the Ryan kids still call Eastmoor home, but “we all get together several times a year and stories about ‘the old days’ are always plentiful. Lots of great memories and lots of laughs!”
Bob and Mary Ginn say they’ve always been active in the neighborhood, from helping organize the Labor Day Chesterfield Rd. Parade led by Mary Miller in her 1934 Model A and the infamous block party that followed, to fighting undesirable development at Chesterfield and Broad. They were part of the original Eastmoor Civic Association.
Bob is the President of Egan-Ryan Funeral Homes and has been in the industry for almost 50 years. Egan-Ryan is the oldest family-owned funeral home in Central Ohio, now in its 164th year. Bob and Mary Ginn’s son, Kevin, is the fifth generation of the family owning and operating the business. Their other children have gone into education, accounting, medicine, the Marines and the Ryan Brothers landscaping, and the Catholic ministry, and they say “the world is a better place because of our children.”
“In a world where traditions are fading, and families are not the same as years ago, we’re proud of our roots and thankful for our family and its traditions. We are not sure of why we have been so blessed,” Bob says, “but are positive that some of the reasons are the grace of God, lots of hard work, and our great Eastmoor neighborhood!”
Alfred Tibor
The story of Alfred Tibor is one that'll stop you in your tracks. Alfred, born in Hungary, was a talented gymnast prevented from competing in the 1936 Olympics due to anti-Semitism, and suffered the unthinkable when WWII began. He was taken from his family in 1940, conscripted into a Nazi labor battalion. His parents, brother and 82 other relatives were killed in the Holocaust. Alfred lived for six years imprisoned in Siberia and was one of only two out of 276 prisoners to survive. He emigrated to Miami in 1957 with his wife, Susan, and two children. Recruited to Columbus in the 70s to work at Schottenstein Stores, Alfred tapped into his creativity. One of his first sculptures was for Agudas Achim Synagogue where Jerome Schottenstein was a member of the Board. Thirteen of his statues stand in Columbus now, including at St. Charles, the Governor's Mansion, Ohio Dominican and Trinity Lutheran Seminary. According to Ann Seren's interview with Alfred for the Eastmoor Civic Association newsletter, "The statue titled 'Soldier of Humanity' stands outside the doors of the VA facility on James Rd. Tibor told us he visited his son in Washington DC and they toured a sculpture garden there. Tibor was angered there was no reference to the GIs who freed so many from the Nazi terror camps. He was so moved that he sculped his vision of a GI carrying one of the “living dead” from a camp. ... He wanted to make sure we explained that his personal and artistic philosophy is the embrace. He told us, 'Hatred doesn’t work. We must embrace each other.' This perspective seems amazing for one who lost many family members to Nazi brutality." Alfred and Susan settled in Eastmoor in 2012 and told Ann they loved their "wonderful neighbors." Alfred passed away in 2017 at the age of 97.
Marty Morin
U.S. Army Major General Martin J. Morin was a decorated veteran: born in 1927, a Westpoint graduate and served under General Patton in WWII. He landed in France on D-Day +4, and his service in WWII took him to North Africa, Sicily, and Germany. He was awarded a Silver Star for his role at the breakout of St. Lo, among other awards. He later worked in intelligence, served in Korea, came back to the US to command forces in Ohio and Colorado, and then back to Turkey and Paris. After 41 years of service, Marty retired with a Distinguished Service Medal. He moved onto Virginia Lee in 1964 where his Eastmoor neighbors Joe and Mary Lou Whitlatch said, in a letter to the Civic Association, "One of our fondest memories of Marty is how he marched out every morning with the flag properly folded and raised it on the flagpole in the island in front of our houses and then at dusk took it down. They were wonderful neighbors.”
