The Mastodon discovery mentioned last week were found about 12 feet below ground level. The bones were identified while still in the ground by a museum curator and students from OSU. The Mastodon was an elephant like animal that lived here near the end of the Ice Age.

Two 12-foot Mastodon tusks, a few bones and partial skull were uncovered in a clay pit by workers at the old brick and tile factory once located on property behind St. John’s Lutheran Church on Columbus Street. A large crowd gathered to witness the discovery. The date was 1899 and the property was owned by Edward Darnell.

Huldah Witteman Rader liked to tell a story that occurred in 1911 about her father, Henry Witteman. He owned the first auto in Grove City. There was a big fire in Harrisburg and Henry was asked to tie the Grove City fire wagon to his vehicle and haul it to Harrisburg. The firewagon was built to be pulled by “man-power”. It was mainly a hand pump unit with hose intended for small fires. The wagon swayed back and forth behind the car and arrived too late to assist in fighting the fire.

Most residents have heard stories about the brick and tile factory once located behind St. John Lutheran Church but did you realize there was another facility that manufactured brick? Daniel Smith also had a brick factory north of Grove City Road on Elm Street according to research by Stephen L. Smith and the Rev. John Gray. Kenny Wade, pictured around 1915, stands on tile at his factory behind the church. He was a major supplier of water and sewage pipes for Franklin County.

Pure Oil gasoline stations were among some of the earliest located in Grove City. Arthur Brink’s station was known as the Owl’s Nest and he always had his dog with him at work. Virgil Bethard may have taken over that station on Broadway in 1937 switching from Pure to Sunoco Oil and Gasoline. Before that in 1932, Bill Neiswender had a Linco (Lincoln Oil and Refining Co.) station also on Broadway at Columbus Street.