HEREABOUTS beth anspach
While growing up in Huber Heights, Mark Bruns developed an interest in the history of the area that was originally known as Wayne Twp., named for Gen. Anthony Wayne, a man who was instrumental in clearing this once densely forested part of the Northwest Territory.
“Most people don’t realize how rich in history this area is,” Bruns said. “Gen. George Crook, who was there in the Civil War when Lee surrendered to Grant and later pursued Geronimo in the Arizona territory, was born right here on Chambersburg and Endicott roads.”
Bruns graduated from Wayne High School in 1974 and eventually became a police officer for the city of Huber Heights and though he and his wife, Lori, moved to Miami Twp. about 10 years ago, he remains actively involved in the community and is working on the bicentennial celebration, slated for the weekend of Sept. 25.
“As far as the records show, Wayne Twp. never had a centennial event in 1910,” Bruns said. “They held their first election for the township officers and justice of the peace on Jan. 20 of that year.”
Bruns and his wife, along with Huber Heights residents Pat Stephens and Karen Caleps and about 10 others, have formed an historical society and have been working together since 2006 to preserve the storied history of Huber Heights.
“The celebration is going to be a two-day event,” Bruns said. “It will feature Civil War encampments, old-style cooking demonstrations, school children in period dress and community vendors. It will be held at Titus Elementary School, which is the oldest school in the community.” Built in 1916, Titus, which once housed all 12 grades, is still operating today and will not be torn down during the new school renovation project. That’s important to note, according to Bruns, since the society works hard to preserve historical buildings in the community.
Five years ago, Bruns and his wife purchased what is now believed to be the oldest remaining building in Huber Heights, the former Country Squire Restaurant and Booher family farmhouse built in 1809 on Bellefontaine Road.
“We didn’t want the community to lose another historical structure like the Tall Timbers,” Bruns said. He and his wife plan to renovate the structure and reopen it as a banquet facility.
Recently, the oldest building in Huber Heights, the former Tall Timbers Restaurant, which was built by Benjamin Van Cleve in 1916, was razed. “It became a liability and no one was able to save it,” Bruns said.
To volunteer with the centennial celebration, visit huberhistory.org.
Contact this columnist at (937) 475-8212 or banspach@woh.rr.com