Finneytown: A Story Worth Sharing

By Rick Kennedy 

Creating a pictorial history book of Finneytown first came to mind after my wife Jane and I visited a mid-century modern architecture exhibit in Sarasota, Florida. Halfway through the displays, I whispered to her, “Finneytown wipes this out!” 

Then I took the idea to my neighbor, Mark Evans. Mark (a P&G retiree) and I (a GE retiree) have collectively lived in Finneytown for more than 60 years with our wives. Our kids attended Finneytown schools. And we are both fascinated by its unusual history and architecture. I would do the writing and research, and Mark (a photographer) would take the modern images and digitally restore historical materials.

We proposed our book project to Arcadia Publishing, and they signed us up. For decades, Arcadia has produced the high-quality book series “Images of America” – those sepia-toned, paperback photo histories of local communities sold on-line, in drugstores, supermarkets, and specialty shops across the country.  Arcadia published photo books about College Hill, Mt. Healthy, and Wyoming. So why not Finneytown?  Following Arcadia’s format and guidelines, we set out to tell Finneytown’s “creation story” from its pioneer days in the 1800s to its post-World War II boom of 1946-1969.

By 1955, Ohio law required public school districts to provide high school education or face a school merger. In 1956, Finneytown citizens voted to build and staff a new middle school and high school. The district hired Woodie Garber & Associates to design the new secondary campus. This ultra-modern look complemented the new homes of the Brentwood Village subdivision.

We had always planned the book release to coincide with the new Finneytown Alumni Network (FAN), which is driving the fundraising effort to renovate buildings on the secondary school campus. From the onset, we planned to donate our author royalties to the project. We are thrilled that FAN is using the book in its membership and fundraising efforts, and that retired GE chairman Jeff Immelt, a Finneytown HS alum and longtime school supporter, wrote the foreword.

While Finneytown is most strongly associated with its public schools, which comprise a large portion of the book, we present the entire community’s past: Early settlers and surviving landmarks, Warder Nursery, Girl’s Town, the creation of subdivisions, early churches, school buildings, businesses, the volunteer fire department, the arrival of St. Xavier High School, artist Charley Harper, and other notable residents, such as Rod Serling and Charlie Keating.

Finneytown’s mid-century architecture (the book’s original inspiration) is also well-represented with numerous photos of residential, commercial, and school buildings designed by prominent architects of that era.  Because the community’s post-war subdivisions were created in such a relatively short period of time, these mid-century houses define an era and visually give Finneytown a certain “cool factor.” Today, these mid-century homes are an enduring community asset and are attracting new generations of homeowners.

Because Finneytown doesn’t have a historical society or local library, finding vintage photos turned into a treasure hunt. Many people and institutions eagerly came to our rescue, including the public school district, Springfield Township, St. X High School, and Cincinnati Parks Board. Special thanks go to Steve Battistone (FHS ’73), Rob Leininger (FHS ’76), and Brett Harper (FHS ’71). Friends were made along the way. Gail Hauer, who has lived for more than 80 years on the historical property immediately south of the site of Whitaker Elementary School, provided wonderful photos and vivid memories of a rural Finneytown now long gone. Leslie Weisner shared photos and details about her late father, Henry Strecker, Finneytown’s most decorated World War II veteran. And Bill Swartzel, the high school’s first band director, offered us photos and memories in his kitchen on Brent Drive, where he and his wife Janet have lived together since the 1950s.     

Eighth-grade graduation in 1957 (pictured) at Finneytown School was bittersweet. Like all Finneytown students before them, they had to attend high school outside of the community. However, soon after they graduated, construction began on the new Finneytown High School, which was built in stages. The 1957 eighth-grade class never attended Finneytown High School, while the succeeding class attended the new high school for all four years.

The book’s timing proved opportune. As it was being prepared, Brentwood Bowl became HighGrain Brewery, the old strip mall on Winton Road was replaced by a new chain restaurant, Whitaker Elementary fell to the wrecking ball for condominiums, Springfield Township opened the Warder Nature Reserve and erected the Charley Harper sculpture, and preparations continue on a new public high school near the new elementary school.

With so much change underway in Finneytown, this little photo history book is coming at exactly the right time.

You can get your copy at the History of Finneytown Book Signing event on Friday, May 23 from 6:30–8:30 PM at ArtsConnect (9158 Winton Road, Building A). Meet the authors, purchase signed copies, and enjoy a night of stories and community.

Whether you grew up here or just recently joined the neighborhood, this book is for you. It’s a love letter to a community with a rich past and an exciting future.

All proceeds benefit the Legacy Project. Let’s build the future—one story at a time.