Author: Bill Boyd

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. ––– I went to the Ohio State fair for the first time when I was somewhere around 12 years old. I went with a cousin of mine named Tom Lockwood. A lot of Tom’s life involved horses. He was in charge of the stables at OSU, and he kept a few horses of his own on his small farm North of Worthington. At One…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. ––– On cold winter evenings during the 1930s, our family often gathered in our living room where we could sit in front of our fireplace. We spent a lot of time sitting there as we played cards and board games. We also listened to the radio. There were a lot of great radio shows – Lum and Abner, Fibber McGee and Molly, Amos ‘n…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– During the early ‘80s I had an office in Columbus. Not far away was a great little restaurant where I often went for lunch. I loved their food and I got to know the owner pretty well. He…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. ––– At the end of my sophomore year in high school, I got a summer job working at the Scotts grass variety plots on West 6th Street. They also hired a couple college boys for the summer. One of them was a boy named Bob Turner. Bob was a friendly kid, and he had a really special sense of humor. I mean, that guy…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. ––– It was sometime in the early ‘40s, when a carnival came to town and set up in the Union County Fairgrounds. I went to that carnival with a friend of mine named Bill Porter. We went on a few rides, threw some darts and pitched a few pennies. Then we spotted a small tent that seemed to be pretty busy, so we went…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. ––– In the fall of 1953, about a year before I left the Air Force and returned to Ohio, I met a young man named Dewey Tiller. We would spend the next 12 months or so working together, rewriting the training manuals for the radar school where we both taught. Dewey and I worked together in the same small room, eight hours a day,…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– In late summer of 1923, Marysville’s Superintendent of Schools had a problem. His athletic director had just resigned to attend law school, and a replacement would soon be needed because a new school year was about to start.…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– When I was 13 or 14 years old, I had a friend and fishing partner named Bob Patterson. One day we were cleaning fish in his backyard when his dad told us we both could get a job…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– When I was about five years old, I saw the MHS marching band for the first time. It marched in a parade past our house on West 5th Street. Boy was that exciting! The music was great, and…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– In the late 1930s, I spent quite a bit of time at the playground on East Eighth Street. It ran along the Big Four railroad track, between Walnut and Plum streets. There was a softball diamond at one…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– Sometime during the late 1940s, I had a job at Butler’s Restaurant. I got there in the morning, before it opened for business. I swept the floors, filled the soft drink cooler and things like that. I also…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– Do you remember the pep rallies you had when you were in high school? I loved those things. They got all of us kids together in the high school auditorium on West Sixth Street. The band played, the…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– When I was a kid during the late 30s, I don’t think you could find an artificial Christmas tree for sale in Marysville if your life depended on it. You might find a few in Columbus, but artificial…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– I was somewhere around 12 years old when I first met a boy named Tom McCracken. He was in high school, maybe 17 years old. He had what I thought was the best job a boy could have…

Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years. ––– When you were a kid, I bet your mother was a good cook, wasn’t she? That’s what just about everyone tells me. I have never heard anyone say, “My mother was a lousy cook.” But consider this: There…