"Reesville - Cross Roads"

WrWritten by Joy Dun Shoemaker

Reesville was laid out by Moses Reese in 1857, but originally it was not called Reesville - it was called Cross Roads. The town plat consisted of twenty acres which were divided into twenty-five lots, lying along the Muskingum Valley Railroad. A post office was established soon after the railroad was completed and then businesses began opening to supply the residents with merchandise and services. There were dry goods stores, drug stores, saloons, churches and a school. By the 1920s, there were about forty houses in Reesville and just about every one of them was owned by the people who lived in them. The community was a stable one with households interacting as though they were one big family. Maxine Hinkle (Grove) grew up in Reesville. She was born in 1919 in her Grandmother Edwards' house located on the west side of the road across from what was once Reesville High School. Her mother, Laura Edwards Hinkle, was 48 years old when Maxine was born. Her sister Mabelle was nineteen, married and living in her own home, so Maxine grew up as if she were an only child, not only enjoying the love and care of her parents, but of many of the townspeople. Even before the Depression began, Maxine's mother had to work to provide the needs of her family. Shortly after her parents were married, Maxine's father, Charles, who was working at a sawmill, got his leg caught in a belt and was badly injured. After the accident, he could do a little farm work, but mostly he was unemployable. He raised chickens and kept a garden to help put food on the table. By taking in laundry and cleaning house for other families, Laura made most of the money that came in. The Great Depression began in 1930, making life difficult, not only for the Hinkle family, but for just about everyone. When the 3C Highway was being macadamized in the Reesville area, the road workers would walk to the different houses in town and buy their dinners from the housewives who were eager to make a few cents by selling a plate of food to them. When the trains slowed down after they got over the Melvin "hill," some of the local men would climb up on the open cars and throw off coal. The winters were harsh and fuel was hard to come by. Some of the open freight cars had human passengers in them. Men, women, and children, too, would ride the cars from town to town trying to find work and a place to stay. There were few automobiles in Reesville, but Willis Heironemus, the rural mail carrier, owned a car with the steering wheel on the passenger side. The car was an oddity, but when Willis and his wife Mary invited Maxine and her little friends to go with them to get ice cream cones, they thought it was great fun riding in the specially built car. John Weller who, with his wife Sadie, owned a general store where everything from food to dry goods were sold, also had a single gas pump in front of his store, the only one in town. Mr. Weller owned a Model T Ford that twice a month he would back out of the garage and drive to Sabina to the bank to deposit the proceeds from his store sales. He would ask Maxine and her friend if they would like to go. What a treat! They would climb into the back seat and enjoy the trip to and from the bank. They never got out of the car, but waited patiently for Mr. Weller to take care of his banking business and then they would ride back to Reesville. Dewey Boyer was postmaster at the post office and his wife Zella was clerk. Twice a day, Dewey would carry the mail bag to the train station and hang it on the hook near the tracks so that it would be grabbed from the hook as the train went by. Viola Boyer, mother of Dewey, was a practical nurse and was called to different households to minister to family members who were ill. If the problem was beyond her medical knowledge, Dr. Fisher or Dr. Craig of Sabina would make a house call. Many people relied on Mrs. Boyer in times of illness. The village of Reesville lacked a bank, a restaurant, and a movie house, among other businesses, but it did have several stores whose merchandise provided the needs of the local residents. James Heironemus had a store on the east side of the road with fabrics and all kinds and colors of thread, among other things. Across the street, Andy and Annie Hatfield operated a paint and wallpaper store. Wallpaper sold for 5 cents to 20 cents a roll. The Staubus brothers, Roy and Worthy, did plastering and stucco work. They were well-known in the area and beyond for their professional work. There were two carpenters in town: Charley Stringfellow, who lived on the west side of the road and Elijah Sever, who lived near the church. Tony Hess made beautiful baskets, all sizes, but the most popular ones were his large, hand-woven baskets used by farmers to hold a bushel of corn. Bill Powers ran a service station at the intersection of the 3C Highway and SR 72. Across the road, the artist, Harry Gregory, worked in his studio painting beautiful portraits and landscapes. Grover Wical was considered the main farmer around town. He owned acreage near the schoolhouse and on Black Road. The Reesville schoolhouse was built in 1914. Maxine started first grade in 1925 and went through all twelve grades, graduating in 1937. There were ten girls in her graduating class - no boys - they had dropped out to go to work. Of the ten girls, there was only one whose parents could afford ten dollars for a class ring. The rest of the girls had to do without. Maxine had a high regard for her school teachers. She considered each and every one of them as having a positive influence on her. Her favorite teacher was Nola Brindle McFadden, but others that she remembers fondly are Florence Redman, Eugene Osborne, and Bryce Bloom. Roy Liming was the superintendent and Walter "Ginty" Glass was the custodian whom everyone liked. Reesville school building was not equipped to graduate students until it was remodeled in 1929. The students who wanted to graduate and receive a diploma were required to attend Sabina High School their senior year. In 1929, seven students graduated from Reesville High School, the first graduating class. The Methodist Church in Reesville played a prominent role in the lives of the local residents. Most of the activities in the community centered around the church and the school. Sometime before nineteen hundred, the church was built on property purchased from A. Bloom and Mary Bloom for $76.75. For many years, the church membership thrived; however, because of the disappearance of businesses and many residents moving away, the decrease in attendance forced the sale of the building in 1999. Maxine had been a member of the Reesville Methodist Church since she was nine years old, so it was difficult for her to see the doors close on the place of worship that held so many good memories for her. Although Reesville was a community where the residents felt so secure that they never locked their doors, there were frightening events that left the adults, as well as the children, wondering if their village was as safe as they believed it to be. One summer evening when Maxine and her parents were sitting out in the yard, a car filled with men wearing white sheets pulled up in front of the village pump. The men got out, took a cross that was hooked to the side of the car, put it in the middle of the road and set it on fire. No one knew why they did it, but it terrified most of the people who viewed the event. In 1931, a tragedy occurred in Reesville that was never forgotten by those people living nearby or who heard about it at the time. A beautiful, young woman with everything to live for, or so people thought, shot all four of her young children and then turned the gun on herself. Maxine was twelve years old at the time and was unable to comprehend why it happened. But neither could the adults. It didn't make sense. For Maxine Hinkle, Reesville was the ideal place in which to grow up. She had few material things, but material things weren't necessary to make her happy. She seldom went out of town; in fact, she never saw a movie until after she married Russell Grove. Getting together with her girl friends for an evening of making fudge and popping corn was marvelous entertainment for a young girl. On a cold winter evening, after a big snow, several boys and girls (and a chaperone) would meet at the woods along the railroad tracks to go sledding. They would build a bonfire to warm themselves and to provide light on the hill where they would run their sleds. It was the best place known for an exciting sled ride. Life was simpler for both children and adults. No one expected to be entertained, but, instead, people found enjoyment in being with family and friends.