Grove City (Images of Modern America) - Softcover

Lanese, Laura

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1467114375 ISBN 13: 9781467114370

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

Carved out of Ohio's wilderness in 1852, the village of Grove City welcomed industrious laborers, farmers, and German immigrants. The arrival of the railroad and the interurban brought commuters willing to travel from Grove City into Columbus. The 1960s saw the construction of Interstates 71 and 270, which spurred the community's growth. Though its population has surpassed 37,000 residents, Grove City has retained its small-town appeal while offering residents and visitors a revitalized town center, a major arts festival, and the "world's largest" alumni softball tournament.

About this title

About the Author

Laura Lanese has coauthored three Arcadia Publishing books, as well as a book on Ohio State University football; she currently serves on the Grove City Council. Janet Shailer is a Grove City native whose family established roots in the community in 1848; she is an established author and the former editor of the Southwest Messenger. Kelli Milligan Stammen is a freelance writer and the former editor of the Grove City Record. The images in this book were selected from the Grove City Library's Attics to Archives collection.

Review

Publication: Columbus Local News

Article Title: Women document Grove City history

Author: Kristin Campbell

Date: 11/12/2008
After more than 150 years, Grove City has accumulated plenty of history, and two local writers have taken on the task of cataloguing some of that history in narrative form.
Janet Shailer and Laura Lanese, co-authors of Images of America: Grove City, detail Grove City's history, from its days as part of the Northwest Territory, through its use as land grants for Revolutionary War soldiers, and on into modern life in the city.
The book goes beyond the brick and mortar of the city's historic buildings to give readers a peek into what life was like for the many generations of living, breathing people who inhabited this space in the decades that have gone before, the women said.
Both women share a deep interest in history, particularly of the Grove City area.

Shailer is a lifelong resident of Grove City who can trace her family's connection to the area back to the 19th century.
"My mother's family has lived here since 1848," she said. "Both of my parents graduated from Grove City High School as did all my aunts and uncles, my brother and sister, and most of my cousins."
Grove City is home to Shailer in every sense of the word. She is the author of The Dutch Pike Trilogy, a collection of children's stories based in Grove City.
Shailer has worked in broadcasting and print journalism for most of the past 35 years, and is now working on another children's book.
Lanese moved to Grove City as an adult, but said she has formed a strong connection to Grove City and its history.
"It's hard not to drive through the downtown historic area or by the beautiful old churches such as St. John's and not wonder about their previous lives," she said.
Lanese is a former U.S. Justice Department attorney and the author of Game of My Life, Ohio State: Memorable Stories of Buckeye Football. She is currently working on another book in the same Arcadia Publishing series as the book she and Shailer wrote about Grove City. This book will focus on her hometown of Wilmington, Oh.
Shailer and Lanese had a scant three months to do the research, write the book and submit it to their publishing house.
Along the way, they came across countless stories of hardship in the early days.
"I think most of us understand how hard life was for pioneers, but it's not until you read the details of every day life that you begin to appreciate how easy and comfortable our lives are today," Lanese said.
"For example, Grove City's first pioneer was Hugh Grant, who owned a business in Pittsburgh. When he had excess goods to sell, he would sail down the Mississippi River to sell them and then walk the entire distance back home.
"On one of these trips, he must have stopped in what is now Grove City and liked what he saw, so he brought his wife here on an ox with all the goods they could carry and started completely fresh here without knowing a soul, because the only ones in the area would have been Native Americans."
She said Grant's house still stands in Grove City today.
Lanese and Shailer worked as a team, each writing five of the book's 10 chapters and working together to contact local residents sift through mountains of historical information and edit the book before their deadline.
They both say the working relationship was wonderful, and Shailer attributes it to the shared goal of leaving something of value for those who come after:
"We both felt it is important to follow the Southwest Franklin County His --Columbus Lcoal News

About this edition

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1467114375
• ISBN 13: 9781467114370
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96