Springfield: An Intimate History

Explores Springfield’s rich history and the stories of its colorful citizens, from sports figures to gangsters, highlighting its past and present.

Springfield was once a pinnacle city, coined the “Champion City” and “City at the End of the Road,” among its many monikers. Today it retains a great portion of quintessential Americana, and though no longer a major player in commerce as in its early days, the congenial familiarity of its streets and residents remains. This book lightly touches upon the well-known history of Clark County’s seat and delves more deeply into stories told by several of Springfield’s most colorful and popular citizens—most of whom grew up in the 1920s through the 1960s. Springfield families who share their stories herein include those from the famed Heaume Hotel, the once-popular retail outlet Meek’s Sporting Goods, a Lagonda neighborhood resident, one of Springfield’s finest restaurant entrepreneurs, a “Blizzard Bowl” participant, and the more-modern success story of agricultural industry giant Sweet Manufacturing. Numerous sports figures, artists, musicians and the uber-famous Jonathan Winters are also spotlighted, as well as noted gangster John Dillinger and banker John L. Bushnell—all of whom have clear ties to the Springfield community.

KIMBERLY A. RINKER is an award-winning journalist, Ohio State University graduate and trainer-driver of Standardbreds, representing the United States in the 1995 International Drivers Championship in Moscow, Russia. Her features have appeared in Horsemen & Fair World, Hoof Beats, Sports Eye, the Chicago Tribune, Midwest Thoroughbred, and Illinois Standardbred. She is the author of Chicago's Horse Racing Venues, Arlington Park Racetrack, An Adventure Guide to Switzerland, and Immigration from the Dominican Republic. Currently, Rinker administers the Ohio Standardbred Development Fund, supervising the $8 million Ohio Sires Stakes program, and is president of the United States Harness Writers Association.