Betty J. Murphy has reached a wonderful milestone — she will celebrate her 95th birthday on October 8. Due to COVID-19 precautions, there will not be a public gathering or big party that she deserves. However, a card shower during the month of October would be a great blessing. Please send her a card at: 949 Arcanum-Ithaca Road, Arcanum, Ohio 45304. Thank you in advance for joining in this special celebration and making her milestone birthday a great one!
The Arcanum-Butler School District needs substitute bus drivers for the 2020-2021 school year to cover regular routes as well as athletic trips. If you have a CDL-B driver’s license, with a school bus endorsement, and wish to apply, please contact Mr. Kevin Stanley at 937-692-5174 extension 1256. If you do not currently have bus driving credentials but would like to discuss the possibility of training to get them to drive for the district, contact Mr. Stanley. Starting pay for driving a route is $17.49 an hour.
Congratulations to our AHS Boys’ Golf Team and Coach Jordan Greve for their second-place finish at the OHSAA Sectional Golf Tournament. They will compete at district contest on October 8.
The Arcanum Public Library is conducting a strategic planning and would like patrons to fill out a short survey to help them understand the community’s needs, what they are doing well and what they can improve to serve Arcanum better. The survey can be found online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/ZQSN88M. Please share and spread the word.
Do not forget to get your tickets for the Arcanum Fire Company is hosting a Pork Chop Dinner Fundraiser on October 25 from 4 to 7 p.m. Dinners will be available for pickup at the firehouse, 208 South Main Street. See any Arcanum Fire Department member for tickets. The dinner will include pork chop, chips, applesauce, and a dinner roll. Tickets are $10 each.
The Village of Arcanum has announced Trick-or-Treating in the village for Sunday, October 25 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The community is reminded to practice safety and use precautions as noted by the ODH’s Halloween Safe Practice Guidelines. All are encouraged to practice social distancing and parents are encouraged to carry along hand sanitizer.
More Arcanum Trivia — did you know that the Arcanum Wayne Trail Historical Society house used to be a saloon? The Lewis Dietrich Saloon was a brick home that was built in 1894. Per Anita Short’s Arcanum Business book, we read “The old Peter Siler property was sold last week to a Mr. Deitrich of New Bremen, who proposed to erect a hotel thereon,” and “The Deitrich house is now completed and will soon be occupied.” In six months’ time the house was completed and was the Deitrich saloon until June 29, 1899. Today it is the home of the Arcanum Wayne Trail Historical Society located at 123 West George Street in Arcanum.
From Mr. Deitrich’s obit found in The Arcanum Times dated February 2, 1939, it states that Lewis was born July 29, 1845, to John and Elizabeth Dietrich. His birthplace was Mechlenburg, Germany. In 1850, his parents and six siblings came to Ohio and located in the New Bremen area. Until 1880 he worked for the government agencies in building canals in western Ohio. In 1880, he married Christina Roh at Piqua, Ohio. To this union were born nine children: Nero Henry, Caroline, Charles, Otto, Alma, Walter, Julius, Luella, and Oliver. He moved to Arcanum in 1893. In 1913, he retired from farming and moved to Pitsburg. In an interview with family of Don Dietrich, it is learned that he had a house near the old Pitsburg School which was located on the north end of Pitsburg near the Jefferson Street and Pitsburg-Laura Road intersection.
The Deitrich farm was found on the 1910 plat map and was on Grubbs-Rex Road in Monroe Township and was around 126 acres. It was also on that farm that a Germany one-room schoolhouse stood upon. On the map it shows three houses on the tract of land and is located before the S-curve on Grubbs-Rex Road. Lewis Deitrich died January 20, 1939, at 93 years of age. He is buried at Mote Cemetery along with another Dietrich’s including his son Otto and grandson Glen.
There are also different spellings of Lewis’ first and last name as well as his wife’s in researching the history of the AWTHS house as well as his obit and tombstone. According to Don Dietrich, each family decided on the spelling of their last name. The AWTHS has two souvenir school programs for Germany School. The first is the year 1903. Several of Lewis’s children attended, and their names are listed as (note spelling) as following: Oliver Diedrich, Elma, Walter, Julius, and Luella. The teacher was Oscar Stuhlman. In 1908, attending from the Dietrich family were: Luella and Oliver Diedrich. Their teacher is listed as Alfred Oakes.
The Darke County Animal Shelter needs some help. If you have ever thought about donating to the shelter but were unsure as to what to donate or what was needed to help the dogs, they need puppy food. They have puppies at the shelter but not enough puppy food to last until they will be ready for adoption. If you would like to donate, they are located at 5066 County Home Road, Greenville. The shelter’s phone number is 937-547-1645. The shelter is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
