Happy Anniversary to our little Village.  Now 77 years old.
The Greenbelt Communities are still being imitated 9as we imitated other before us0 but we live here and our very proud of it.
Greenhills offers so many things for us to be proud of like our  Pool, Golf Course, Library,  Post Office, Restaurants and Bars, Small Business, Bank, Liquor Store, and Summer Concerts.  All for us to enjoy.
I am so glad we moved here in 2008 from California.  Just to know my neighbors is refreshing.
Greenhills folks are not just proud of their Village but also of the area they live in.  The B's . the H's and all the letters. We have our street communities that make us great people.
I work in the Post Office and have been their for 3 years now.  I get to hear lots about the community and what they like and dislike and to be honest most folks really like living here (politics aside).
Some folks never leave and other return later in life because they remember the good times and good people that surrounded them.
We moved here because Robert remembered playing in Winton Woods as a kid, and like Walt Disney and his boyhood home, it stuck with him, he never forgot.
I plan to start writing my blog again and more important to keep it up. And this is April 01 and this is no joke.
So please follow me and let me know your best stories of whats going on in your part of Greenhills.
Thanks
Stephen

Pioneer Day Festival
July 5 2014
Sorry for no pictures but well I didn't take any.

Greenhills had another Pioneer Day Festival on July 5, 2014.
The festivity were started with the Kiwanis 5K Pioneer Run / Walk,
The long standing tradition of our Parade around the village was once again a big hit with folks lining the parade route.  We had a nice view for our booth at the festival. We saw our Police and Fire men, along with boys and girls clubs and lot of cars with people in them,  we were to far back to read the signs and banners.
We enjoyed ourselves very much. We plan to join the parade next year. but what kinda
 float should we have?
After the parade the festival began. There were rides and slides for the kids, games of chance and
sweets all for the kids.
This year offered a petting zoo for everybody to enjoy.  It was a big hit.
It was a simple turnout but compared to last year it was a win for the Community.
The Historical Society was there selling T-shirts and Post Cards.  The Museum was also open for anybody who wanted to see the history of our little village.
The Gold Course was present selling golf balls and hats, and tell folks about the course and classes they offer. Some people still don't know we have a  great Golf course.
Our booth, MaiRo & Co - Dog Treat Bakery, did a great deal of business meeting our old friends and making  new ones.
Our entertainment for the day was Clare on the mic welcoming everyone to the festival and letting know what was going on and she played music throughout the day,  She even sang for us with the Karaoke machine provided. In the evening the youth of the village entertained us with the musical styling of new and old songs.
A Cutest Baby contest held with a winning baby receiving a $40 gift card from Babies"R" Us
Our Food offerings were a big hit, all the folks I spoke with had said they enjoyed Destiny's Catering (Molly's on the Green) food, and Taj Mahal was the great Indian food. Creamy Whip and But Shack were open and folks enjoyed our regulars restaurants.
The Greenhills Library Branch offered events for the kids to enjoy.
FREE Games for the Kids were also available with fun prizes and everybody was a winner

There are some folks who think this festival has run its course and should be stopped.
The new people who are managing this event now seem committed to its success and I applaud them,  I believe this festival can bring our community together and inform them about who and what we are as a  Unique Village and how if we work together we can make this the best possible place to live in Ohio
With a little hard work next years Festival can be twice asgood. Did you enjoy yourself? Think the Festival could have been better?  We welcome you to volunteer to make your dream come true.
If you wish to assist or volunteer with next years Pioneers Day Festival or the upcoming Harvest Fest (2nd year) Please contact Clare Gray at Cgray@greenhillsohio.org or call 513 825 2100

Reprint 

Greenhills birthed 75 years ago

Greenhills housing under construction in April 1937. Enquirer file

DID YOU KNOW?

Built by government as New Deal project

By Jeff Suess

jsuess@enquirer.com

The village of Greenhills, a greenbelt community in northern Hamilton County built by the federal government as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, has turned 75 years old.

The first residents moved to Avenell Lane on April 1, 1938.

Nestled within Winton Woods, surrounded by forest, Greenhills still has the look of an early suburban town. Most of the original buildings are still in use, and the historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wendel Fisher has been living in Greenhills since nearly the beginning. His family moved to a house on Bachman Street in June 1938, when he was 2 years old.

He recalls bygone days of ice cream socials and the whole neighborhood partaking in grillouts of blue gill that some of the men had caught in Sharon Woods.

But, times change, people change. Neighborhoods aren’t as neighborly.

“It doesn’t seem like it was when I was growing up,” Fisher said. “We didn’t have television in the ’40s, and, of course, the war was going on.”

April 7, 1937: Greenhills housing project.

Back in 1935, the Resettlement Administration planned to build 25 cooperative towns surrounded by greenspace of forests and farmland, hence the term “greenbelt.” It was an experiment in community planning that also provided work and middle-income housing during the Great Depression.

Greenhills was the third village completed, after Greenbelt, Md., and Greendale, Wis. Then the program ran out of money.

Greenhills alone cost $11.5 million, which included purchasing 5,360 acres of land in Springfield Township. About 3,300 workers spent 4.3 million man-hours constructing the town, and many of them became its first residents.

The land north of town was divided into large farms, where residents would come for fresh milk and produce.

In 1939, the forest to the south was handed over to the Hamilton County Park Board to form Winton Woods.

Fisher remembers his mother talking about the application process to join Greenhills. Government officials came out and interviewed their neighbors in Westwood to determine their moral character and make sure they would maintain the property.

The government required residents to have a steady job, making between $1,000 and $2,500 a year – that would be $16,000 to $40,000 today. This stipulation kept many of the poorest in Cincinnati from moving in.

Income was checked every year, and those who exceeded the maximum were asked to leave.

Only white families were accepted, though that was in an era when segregation was common.

Most of the 676 dwellings were apartments or multifamily townhouses, with only a few stand-alone homes. Many apartments had a modern style with flat roofs for easy maintenance.

All units were rented, not purchased, with an average rent of $27.62 a month ($441 in 2013 dollars).

Planners Justin Hartzog, who also helped plan Mariemont, and William Strong had the roads follow the natural rolling topography, with housing on dead-end side streets to cut down on traffic and make it safer for children to play.

December 21, 1959: Greenhills' Shopping Center
 was one of the first strip malls in Ohio. Enquirer file

Everything a town needed was near one street, making it a walking community. The shopping center was one of the first strip malls in Ohio.

The Greenhills Community Building housed a library, gym and movie facilities, as well as two Works Progress Administration murals by Paul Chidlaw and Richard Zoellner.

After World War II, Uncle Sam decided to sell off the greenbelt towns, ending the community experiment. On Dec. 9, 1949, the Greenhills Home Owners Corp., a nonprofit tenant group, purchased 610 acres of Greenhills for $3.5 million. The tenants then bought the properties they had been renting.

New one-family houses of the typical suburban style were built, turning Greenhills into a bedroom community. The northern farmland was sold in 1952 to create New Greenhills, which was instead named Forest Park.

Fisher bought his own home in the “newer section” of town in 1962. After 37 years at Cincinnati Bell, he now volunteers at the Greenhills Historical Society sorting through the archives.

The population in 2010 was down to 3,615, about what it was in 1950.

In 2009, longtime residents protested when officials tore down 52 of the original flat-roof apartments that had been neglected, even though they were on the historic registry.

Now, for its diamond anniversary, Greenhills is celebrating its past with community events all year long.

“We have a pretty engaged community,” said Greenhills Mayor Fred Murrell. “A lot of people are proud of the village and happy to celebrate it.”

Greenhills, perhaps, hasn’t really changed that much.

Harvest Fest -- What a SUCCESS

Oct 19, 2013 saw the Village of Greenhills community come out for a fun day of harvest-themed events.

The day started off with some showers, but we were lucky to have it miss our event time. The first event of the day was the Mutt March, a longstanding tradition in the Village but forgotten in the last few years.  Even with the rain in the morning we had eight dogs dressed in costume, and had a total of fifteen dogs marching.  We had a Bunch of Grapes, a group of cowboys, Super Dog and Super Girl, Fairy Queen, Waldo, a scout,  a Hot Dog and ?  Our Grand Marshal was Paxon the Village K-9 police dog. Paxon lead the march around the Village Commons and back to the gazebo for prizes.

Prizes were awarded for:

Best Costume, small breed - Bunch of Grapes

Best Costume, large breed - Fairy Queen

Best Couple (Pet and Owner) - This was a tie, Cowboy Family & Super Dog & Girl








Most Creative -  Waldo who we lost...but we found him!!

Our judges were  Greenhills Mayor Fred Murrell, Councilwoman Maria Waltherrs-Willards and Stephen Drace, Village business owner.

Each pet had their picture taken by Kimberly Kennedy Photography.

We would like to thank MaiRo & Co - Dog Treat Bakery, Forest Park Vet Clinic, and Ark for their donation of fabulous prizes.

After the Mutt March we all went down to the Farmers Market area and enjoyed the second event of the day: a full evening of food, music and booths.  The community came out to celebrate Fall both in the booths and as customers.  Harvest Fest offered three food venues, two local food trucks, Pizza Tower and Red Sesame Korean BBQ,  and  our American Legion with hot dogs and hamburgers. The vendors were plentiful and provided a very wide selection of goods.

Most of our local candidates had booths so they could meet with their constituents and secure their votes in the upcoming election. The Greenhills Volunteer Fire Department had their truck and medic.

Village Troubadour Coffee, Food & Music

During the event the Fireman had to leave for an emergency call. Pampered Chef was hosting a "show" for the firemen so they could get some top quality product for the fire house kitchen.

Local business came out: Curves, MaiRo & Co - Dog Treat Bakery, Arbonne Int, Usborne Books & More, Thirty One, Alicia Whitaker - home, crafts & more, Stuff a Buddy and Beaded Jewelry, and the newest business "The Troubadour Coffee House." Look for them in spring of 2014 in the old bank office, next to the Greenhills Dentist.

Straw Boss 

Our Music for the evening was STRAW BOSS and they were the boss, playing a slice of Americana.They kept my toes tapping all night long. We saw the Kiwanis Club selling the traditional Grapefruit and Oranges boxes, and nuts for the Holiday Season. The Cub Scout Troop was also selling Popcorn. 

The third event of the night was in the form of a Hot Air Balloon on the Commons. Folks got to get a birds-eye few of their Village from sixty feet in the air.  There were games for the kids to play, pumpkin Bowling, Harvest Corn-hole  a ball toss and others.  The Winton Woods High School young adults sponsored a lollipop pull and a Pumpkin Toss. Everybody was a winner that evening and I believe this is the beginning of a great year for the village,  75 years young and getting better all the time. 

Usborne Books

The Historical Society Selling Hot Apples

Fun Games for all the kids

Curves

Dinner offered by our American Legion Post

Some of the Pumpkin decorations

Our doggie hats

The Greenhills Historical Society

What to know more about Greenhills?  Want to know what we looked like in the begining?

Just visit the Greenhills Historical Society's Facebook page. 

 www.facebook.com/pages/Greenhills-Historical-Society/92516072529. 

See what history has happened and is happening in the unique little Village.  

Also learn about our sister city Greendale and the first one Greenbelt.  

Stop by, Friend the page and become a member.

Thought this was funny 

"Pray for the kids..."

Are they bad kids, so we need to pray for them to be good?

Are we praying for the teachers, because they are not very good ?

Or 

are we praying for the VBS  because they have to teach the kids? 

So what are we praying for?

Just struck me as funny.

Hope everybody has a good time. 

Pioneer Days

July is the time for us not only to celebrate our Independence from England but to

 celebrate the beginning of our little village.  

July Fourth weekend is Pioneer Days, 

A Celebration of Greenhills, Its Founders, Its Citizens,

 Its Community, and Its Business. 

WELCOME to PIONEER DAY 2013



Overview of  Pioneer Days 2013

The Pioneer Days Commitee went all out to showcase all the best of our little community in
celebration of our 75th year.

Sadly, our weather was not agreeable at all this year, or most of the summer so far. 

The turn out of booths and food was minimal, and a band played. I did not see a listing for 

entertainment so I don't know who they were.
 

At least this year we had a larger offering of rides, we had five.  This year we had  a super roller coaster, kiddie train, twirling octopus, and swings, something for all ages.  We even had a couple midway-style games.
 

Fly Copters for the Kids



Take a ride on the Octopus

 Food was available from American Legion Post 530. A long-standing community tradition, the Legion  hosts the Brats, Hot Dogs and Burgers Booth every year.


Post 530 American Legion 

Jim Dandy's Family BBQ had some wonderful BBQ to eat. A large tent was provide for dining and for the rain. Where there is food, there is drink and they had that too.
 



Jim Dandy's Family BBQ,
The 75th T-shirts and Drinks booths.

This was the first time you could get your 75th Anniversary T-shirt from the Beautification Committee. If you missed out on getting your shirt there, just visit the Village website or Post Office for a order form.
 

Two additional booths rounded out the Greenhills Village Community offerings. One was "You are not Alone, a Voice for the Innocent," a community support group for rape and sexual abuse victims. There was also a supervised area for the little kids to have a place to sit and play.
I saw no signs above the tents so I am not sure what really was offered, whothe groups were, and if anybody was doing any type of donations for community clubs.
 



You Are Not Alone booth, and children's play area

Saturday was the big 5K run and our parade. The 5K went on, but the parade was cancelled due to rain. 

Greenhills has its own book now, and the Historical Society had a sale and signing of the book by the authors. If you missed out on getting a copy, you can call the Historical Society, I am sure they will gladly sell you a copy.

With the bar set so high, let's try to top this event next year.
 

See you next year.
Remember folks, this is Your Village, Your Celebration.
Volunteer and make 2014 even better.