A few surprises and many thanks

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

The Highland County Historical Society's Hall of Fame never ceases to amaze. With each class of new inductees, I am almost always surprised that a new inductee wasn't already a longtime member.

A few years ago, I was asked to write a nomination letter for my friend Ernie B. Blankenship. My first reaction was this: Isn't he already in the Hall of Fame? Well, that oversight was rightly corrected, and Ernie is, indeed, a Hall of Famer.

This year's Highland County Historical Society's Hall of Fame inductees, as reported by HCP columnist Steve Roush, include Brad D. Nelson, Ph.D., Dinah Phillips, Leslie Ramsey, Dr. Robert T. “Rob” Sharp and the late Paul Turner. All good selections, without a doubt.

Once again, though, I was surprised to see Dinah Phillips' name on the list of new inductees. I just assumed she was already a member. That, too, has been corrected.

After a half-century in leadership roles with the Highland County Democratic Party, Dinah announced her retirement from an active role as head of the party in May of this year.

She was elected president of the Highland County Democratic Women’s Club in 1976 and served continuously until 1999, when she was elected chair of the Highland County Democratic Party, succeeding Zelma Furnish. Dinah also was elected chair of the Southern Ohio County Chairs Association, which consists of 16 southern Ohio counties, and served in that capacity for 20 years.

During that tenure, she met former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore; former first lady and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton; former President Joe Biden; former first lady Rosalynn Carter; and current U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The Highland County Democratic Party has announced a retirement celebration for Dinah from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 19 at the Hi-TEC Center at 1575 North High Street, Hillsboro. She will be honored for her “50 years of dedication, service and impact.” The community is invited to “celebrate this incredible milestone for Dinah and the amazing journey ahead.”

Congratulations, Dinah, on a well-deserved recognition.

And congratulations to Dr. Brad D. Nelson, Leslie Ramsey, Dr. Rob Sharp and the late Paul Turner.

The Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at the First Presbyterian Church on Sunday, Aug. 16, at 2 p.m., with a reception and social hour immediately following at the Highland House Museum. The Highland County Historical Society cordially invites the public to attend and honor this outstanding group.

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• Thanks are in order this week to my friend Ron Coffey for sharing a story on Greenfield native son Chuck Shonkwiler, who was installed as Rotary District 6670 District Governor on June 25 at the Beavercreek Golf Club, thus becoming the highest-ranking Rotarian from Greenfield since George M. Waddell was District Governor in 1951-52.

“We wanted to show our support for Chuck because he’s a longtime friend, and we admire him for taking on the district governorship,” said Ron, who is a former president of the Greenfield Rotary Club and attended the installation ceremony with his wife, Dianna. 

“Becoming District Governor is a great honor, but also involves a lot of time and effort on his part, as Chuck will be visiting all 45 of the clubs in the district and generally will have a very busy year,” Ron added. 

Current Greenfield Rotary President Quincey Gray also attended the event to show support for the new District Governor, and a congratulatory card signed by many of the Greenfield Rotary members was presented to Chuck Shonkwiler.

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• On July 18 at 6 p.m., the Revolutionary War monument on the south lawn of the historic Highland County Courthouse will be officially unveiled during the America250 celebration in Hillsboro.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to bring a chair for this program.

(Thanks to Jane Stowers, DAR)

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• While I knew my friend Bob Brown had been ill, I had not realized just how serious it was. Bob and I are the same age and have known one another since our high school days. He passed away today.

The Highland County Historical Society posted this on its social media site: "As many of you have probably heard, the world has lost a great source of light, joy, and laughter. Bob Brown, a familiar face in our Gift Shop and actor in our annual Ghost Walk, passed away early this morning. Bob had fought his health battle with the bravery, grace, and courage few others are capable of doing. Bob will be remembered as a true friend, a kind soul, and so many other things. His presence will be missed by so many in the community. We send our thoughts and condolences to his family and many, many friends."

The Southern State Community College Theatre Department added this: "Today, we lost one of our closest friends, Bob Brown. For more than 20 years and 23 roles with Director Rainee Angles, and many more under Ed Daniels, Bob was the best of us all. A talented actor and an ornery friend, when you needed help, someone to lean on, or just a laugh, Bob was the right person to go to. Bob loved this theatre, his town, his community, and knew everyone (and maybe a little gossip about each, as well). For many years, Bob threatened us all with his retirement, claiming ‘this one’ as his final show. Well, Bob, you’ve earned your retirement, your curtain call, you will be so deeply missed… we just wish we could convince you to come back for just one more show, for one more bow, for one more laugh."

My oldest daughter was in one of Rainee Angles' SSCC productions with Bob Brown. Being the father that I am, I reached out to Bob and asked him to keep an eye on my daughter and help her in any way he could. 

He did, and they became friends.

Bob was truly a "kind soul," and he will be missed. We especially enjoyed waving to Bob on those walks around town with Dexter. Godspeed.

Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.