^{As Kent noted in our previous newsletter, 2025 was a fruitful year, culminating in our triennial Tour of Homes. As we go through 2026, we will continue to conduct the 100+ Year-Old Home Marker Program, as more of our communities' homes reach the century mark. We will continue the popular History Walks tour, our library display, our participation in the Memorial Day parade, and our annual meeting (in September), where we hope to engage an impactful speaker. Tom DeMaria will continue to post his historical Vignettes on our Facebook site. We are also engaging with Ms. Lisa Sullivan, principal of Robert Louis Stevenson School, to preserve documents and artifacts as the school is being razed this year. Over the last several months, we have developed a close relationship with the Grandview Heights High School Alumni Association and are now exploring some common interests. And there will be other activities and events added based on our reassessments and the results of our survey.} 

Audra Wheeler

Audra Wheeler is originally from Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo. After completing her master’s degree, she moved to Columbus in 2009 to pursue a career in school counseling with the New Albany–Plain Local School District. She spent seven years living in Italian Village, where she became actively involved in the neighborhood and eventually served as President of the Italian Village Society, helping support the area’s continued growth and community engagement.

In 2014, Audra and her wife, Lacey Wheeler, became licensed Realtors and began building their real estate business in Central Ohio. The couple moved to Grandview Heights on Mulford Avenue in 2017, where they welcomed their two sons, Shepard (6) and Tiernan (3). In 2021, Audra transitioned from education to real estate full-time to help Lacey with their growing real estate business. Today, she continues to serve clients across the Columbus area while remaining deeply connected to the community. The Wheeler family now resides on Urlin Avenue in Grandview Heights.

How It Began

In 1980, five California women formed an educational nonprofit organization, the National Women’s History Project (NWHP), to launch a grassroots effort to write women back into the historical narrative, which had largely been missing from American history scholarship. Within its first year, the NWHP successfully lobbied the White House, leading President Jimmy Carter to issue the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week.

National Recognition

After the NWHP petitioned Congress in 1987, legislators passed Public Law 100-9, officially designating March as Women’s History Month. Since then, every U.S. President has issued annual proclamations for the month.

Over the years, some remarkable women have come from Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff. Here are some of their stories.
(courtesy of Tom DeMaria).

Carolyn Harnsberger

Grandview resident Carolyn Thomas Harnsberger wrote in her book, The Life and Times of J. Oscar Thomas, that "early rattlings [sic] of Women's Liberation took place in Grandview in 1916 when the high school girls decided to give a co-ed party all their own wearing male attire of great variety". The participants are shown in this photograph. Carolyn (front row, fourth from the right) went dressed as Charlie Chaplin and won a prize for the most original costume. Adventurous and ahead of her time, Carolyn's request to take manual training classes with the boys was summarily denied by Mr. Waltz, the school principal. She lamented having to take domestic science instead and continued to learn carpentry on her own. She went on to a successful career as an author and wrote the flying manual A Pilot's Ready Reference, which sold over 30,000 copies under the name C.T. Harnsberger, because the publisher didn't feel that pilots would take a reference book on flying by a woman seriously.

NOTE: Carolyn Thomas Harnsberger was the first person honored as a GHHS Distinguished Alumni by the GHHS Alumni Association.

Laura Titus

Laura Titus, co-founder and the last founding member of the Tri-Village unit of the Blue Star Mothers, passed away on June 5, 2010, at the age of 91. This copyrighted photograph was taken by Ken Frick and is featured in his book, “43212-2000 Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff, Ohio at the Turn of the Millennium.” Mrs. Titus was photographed in front of framed medals belonging to her husband and her son, Sergeant James Elroy Titus, who was killed in action while serving with the 9th Infantry Division in Kien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, on February 25, 1969. Mrs. Titus was the driving force behind the annual Memorial Day service held each Thursday before Memorial Day.

NOTE: Sergeant Titus’s story is told in the Society’s publication The Final Salute: A Tribute to the Men of Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff Who Died in the Service of Our Country.

Ohio Representative Doris Jones

Robert G. Jones served in the Ohio House of Representatives until his untimely death in December 1968. He was only 38 years old. In 1969, his widow, Doris Jones, was appointed to replace him, even though she had not served in an elected capacity before. The following year, she ran for office and was elected to the General Assembly, where she served on the Commerce and Labor and the Health, Education, and Welfare Committees. She remained in office until 1973. Mrs. Jones is shown here with her children, Lance, Lydia, and Grace Ann (left to right) at their home in Grandview Heights. She was also a member of the Grandview PTA and several civic organizations. The Jones family resided at 1165 West First Avenue, at the corner of Palmer and West First Avenue, from 1967 until 1974. 

Grace Martina 

Grace Martina was a “Renaissance Woman” and a prominent figure in the Italian community in Grandview Heights and beyond. She was the oldest daughter of Joseph and Catherine Montanero. In 1919, she married Anthony Martina and lived on Glenn Avenue, where they raised six children. She was active in her church and community, where she organized pasta dinner fundraisers. She and her committee prepared 7,000 meatballs and 200 gallons of tomato sauce for one fundraiser at Bishop Watterson High School. During the 1930’s, Grace started a Citizen School for Italians who could not travel downtown for citizenship classes. Her first class consisted of 47 members and was held in a storeroom where the Red Door Tavern is today. In 1980, Mrs. Martina was named Woman of the Year by the American-Italian Club. Grace loved acting and is pictured here in her costume for the play, “The Blind Girl of Sorrento”. She would even fill in occasionally for an Italian-speaking part in the Romance Language Department at the Ohio State University. A complete biography of this remarkable, accomplished, and generous woman can be found in the Historical Society’s The Italian Heritage publication.

Gloria Zerbe (Sally Stuart)

   Gloria lived on Mulford Road and graduated from GHHS in 1941. After graduation, Gloria joined the Sammy Kay Big Band and, at his request, changed her name professionally to Sally Stuart. Her professional glamor photo is shown here. Sammy Kay collaborated with Sally Stuart and others to produce V-Disc. V-Disc (V for Victory) was a record label that the U.S. Government formed in 1943 to provide recordings containing well-wishes, music, and the latest songs for U.S. military personnel. The program was a huge success during World War II. The late Bob Keitz, a 1939 GHHS graduate, was at a USO (United Service Organizations) Club with his Marine buddies, where Sally was performing. She walked up to the group during her break. Bob did not recognize her until she told him that she was Gloria Zerbe, who grew up in Grandview Heights. Bob’s scrapbook is part of the GHMCHS archives. 

   Check out the Society's Inspiring Women Walking Tour at History Walks

Our current board members:

Trustees:

  Jill Kuyper 

  Brian Kuyper

  Renee Heydinger
 Audra Wheeler

  Ruthanne James

Active Emeritus:

  Wayne Carlson

  Tom DeMaria

  Kent Studebaker

Officers:

  Carlye Bills – Secretary

  Geli Young – Treasurer

  Teri Alexander – Vice President

  Mike Young – President  

To sign up and become a part of our volunteer team, simply shoot us an email at ghmchs.1@gmail.com. Don't forget to include your name and contact information and let us know if you have events you're interested in helping with.

Want to learn more about Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff and help preserve our communities' heritage and desirability?

Responsibilities of a Trustee include:

• Attend a monthly Board meeting
• Assist with Society events
• Promote the Society’s mission

An in-depth knowledge of Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff history is not essential; however, an interest in learning about our communities’ history is important.

If you are interested in becoming a Trustee, please send an expression of interest, contact information, and a short biography of yourself to Mike Young, President, at ghmchs.1@gmail.com.

1685 W. First Ave.

Grandview Heights, OH 43212

ghmchs@gmail.com