Pauline—or Peanie as she is known to friends and neighbors has lived in University View since 1950 making her one of the longest residents and giving her a unique and long view, of, well, the View.

When she and her first husband, Frank first moved into their home here in the View, the area was still under construction. Many of the homes were not completed as of yet. Initially, it was required that you rent the houses in the View. Time has forgotten the reason for this, but her house was completed in 1941. Many veterans and young families were moving into the rural area.

Peanie and Frank had two small children, Jeffrey and Jeanne. From time to time babysitters were required and she recalled that one of her fondest memories of living here was the “neighbors helping neighbors”. Money was never exchanged, it was just everyone helping each other as needed. Babysitters, rides around town, building projects, yard work, etc. Everyone pitched in to help. Even neighborhood businesses were “Good Neighbors” She recalled as the neighborhood kids would walk to Kingswood School the local trucking company (Commercial Lovelace Motor Freight) would hold all their trucks off the roads while the children were walking to and from school to avoid any accidents.  After school the neighborhood kids would play in Norman’s Creek under the bridge or go up to Kinnear (now Kinnear near the rail tracks) where there was a sheep barn run by the OSU agricultural department. This area was still very rural and OSU had not expanded to the current level we see now. There were lots of outdoor activities to keep the kids busy.

That same Creek was a source of regular flooding in the View. One New Years Eve many years ago, there was a massive flood. Friends on Gerard had flooding into the kitchen. It wasn’t rain water, it was sewage. Peanie’s flooding wasn’t as bad but a neighbor did have to come over with a pump to get the water out. The flooding was so bad that much of the land on 8^th to King was washed away.

She recalled that Tree House Bar (Formerly Andyman’s Treehouse) used to be John’s Little Grocer. Kids could run up there for Penny Candy and the men could get a cold beer or soda. The “Apple” family property along Chambers and Kenny (now the new apartments) had a beautiful brick house and landscaped gardens. There was a gazebo in the garden where people would get married and take photos.

Her sister Kathy and her husband Bill Burnside lived in the neighborhood for a time as well. Bill was a square dance caller and many evenings friends would come over to their basement for square dancing and socializing. Bill was also a past-president of the UVCA before moving out of the View in the 1990’s.

Sadly, Frank passed away at a young age, leaving Peanie and the kids on their own. Fortune smiled on her, as she struck up a friendship with another neighbor who was recently divorced. It was 1960. Walter was a dashing paratrooper that saw service in Europe during WWII. He was

Peanie and Walter

a founding parishioner of St. Luke’s Methodist Church and served as their treasurer. His passion was flying.   Walt was an active pilot keeping his J-3 prop plane out at what is now Bolton Field. (One of Walter’s original wooden propellers hangs in her living room). They would fly off to Springfield, or Indianapolis for lunch. Any excuse for a short trip.  While she was never a big fan, she did it because she knew how much pleasure it brought Walter. She much preferred the larger commercial planes, which they got to frequent as they kept active with Walter’s 517^th Parachute Regimental Combat Team reunions traveling all over the US and overseas.

Peanie also talked about the festivals held in the View. Summer Festivals had Pony Rides where her daughter would always want to help the smaller children get their rides. Years later, as an adult, her daughter now keeps her own horses and several dogs with her own family. Back in the early days, she said, the festivals were very large. Lots of people and children would come. A “Queen” would be crowned at the festival and like any important royal personage, the queen would have her court of young ladies.  (One year, that included her daughter Jeanne.)  The local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts would parade through the neighborhood and neighbors would come out to watch and wave. “It was a quite and safe neighborhood—we never locked our doors”, she said. The adults were active as well. Ladies would go Door-to-Door to raise money for various funds—Heart, Cancer, etc., and it was a great way to not only meet your neighbors but become friendly with them as well. So friendly, in fact, that one time some neighbor friends surprised Peanie and her family with a couple of ducks in their tub when they came home on evening!

Some good friends of Peanie’s, David and Mildred, who lived on Rhoda, moved up to Dublin years ago. Years later, they would recall that living in the “View” was some of their “fondest memories”.

The View has certainly changed over the years and Peanie has seen most of it. From her children to her 3 grand daughters and 6 great-grandchilden, the View has been a part of all of their lives and clearly, some of their fondest memories as well.

If you or someone who know that has lived in the View for 20 or more years would like to share your memories, please contact Tom Snyder at trscmh@gmail.com.