greentownshipbook@gmail.com
Local Author Joe Flickinger was a guest of Radio Host Brian O'Donnell on WVXU 91.7 FM's Around Cincinnati program on September 23rd, 2011.
This article, by Kurt Backscheider of the Western Hills Press, appeared in the 6/25/2011 Cincinnati Enquirer and will run in the Western Hills Press the week of 6/27 as well.
Green Township man pens community’s history
| Written by kbackscheider |
Joe Flickinger said it’s important people know about the history of the community in which they live.
“It’s just neat to be able to see everything, and understand how things have changed and how, in some cases, things have stayed the same,” he said.
The lifelong West Sider has written a book to help his fellow Green Township residents learn more about the history of the township.
Flickinger, who grew up in Bridgetown and graduated from Oak Hills High School, recently published “A Bicentennial History of Green Township: Uncovering a Jewel in the Crown of the Queen City.”
“It was definitely a labor of love,” said Flickinger, who teaches history at Northwest High School and lives in Bridgetown with his wife, Kathleen, and daughter, Erin.
“There were a lot of late nights for me when I was writing it.”
He said he was inspired to write the book after reading a book Green Township resident Jeff Lueders released in late 2006 titled “Hamilton County’s Green Township,” which gave a history of the township through photographs and short vignettes.
“That was the thing that made me say, ‘What else happened,’” Flickinger said. “What was the full story?”
Like Lueders, Flickinger said he worked closely with Paul Ruffing of the Green Township Historical Society, researching old documents, photographs and newspaper clippings.
Flickinger said it took about two and half years to research and write the book.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I think it’s great finding out where we came from and how the community was shaped.”
“That was one of the big things that surprised me,” he said.
He said the airport, called Frank Airport, was an airstrip with two runways that opened in 1929. Its use decreased when World War II started, and he said it closed in 1945.
“Probably the biggest action the airport ever saw is when it served as a staging area during the flood of 1937,” he said.
Flickinger said he hopes his book will give residents a sense of where they live.
He said the book, which is filled with photographs and even delves into the meaning of the word “Kuliga,” celebrates the history and heritage of Green Township and its journey from an isolated frontier wilderness to being one of the largest townships in the state.
“My biggest goal for this book is for people to have it on their coffee tables and be able to tell their friends, relatives, children and grandchildren about Green Township,” he said.
Published by Heritage Books, it is available online at www.heritagebooks.com, www.joeflickinger.com or www.amazon.com. It is also available at Bridgetown Finer Meats and Dragan Barbering & Styling.
