"Put in a penny, turn the crank, and voila, a handful of peanuts would appear."
John Cooper bought the NV Milling Co., from McMillen Feed Mills in 1957, the year his son, Ed, graduated from High School.
John Cooper bought the NV Milling Co., from McMillen Feed Mills in 1957, the year his son, Ed, graduated from High School.
New Vienna Ohio Farmers' Exchange: Grain - Seed - Feed - Coal c1950.
Photo courtesy of Carolyn Collier Taubenheim
Photo courtesy of Carolyn Collier Taubenheim
Previously John had managed two mills (Richmond & Fountain City) in Indiana for McMillen. The family lived in Rushville IN before moving to New Vienna, although previously they had lived in the Xenia area. Marie worked for a Dr. after high school who was into horses and met John's brother who was a feed salesman. John and Marie first met on a blind date.
John 1912-1980 and Marie 1914-2004 had three sons, Ed who now lives in Dayton area and is retired from J.C. Penny's; Bob graduated from NVHS in 1959 and now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Tom, NVHS Class of 1964 although thanks to consolidation he graduated from Simon Kenton. He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona and has a Dairy Queen business.
Mill Workers, New Vienna Milling Co. c1958.
Left to right: Bob Cooper, Harry Everhart, Bud Storer, Phyllis Tilton White, Burdette Edgington, John Cooper. Photo courtesy of Phyllis Tilton White.
Left to right: Bob Cooper, Harry Everhart, Bud Storer, Phyllis Tilton White, Burdette Edgington, John Cooper. Photo courtesy of Phyllis Tilton White.
Coopers sold the mill in 1970, John went into full time pig farming, raising piglets in a building specially built for 500 pigs on Clark Rd. In 1967 and 1970 Marie is listed in the City Directory as being a clerk at the Stitching Post Store in Wilmington. Ed, although he never attended school in NV, spent much time with his parents and with his Mom in her later years and has made many friends in New Vienna. Coopers were also active in the NVUMC and Marie used her culinary expertise in running the kitchen at the NV Senior Center.
John bought 100 acres from Brumley on SR-350, sold 50 acres to Stan Hannah who built a house there and Hannah later built the new NVUMC. After John died, Marie moved back into town and enjoyed her final years living in New Vienna.
Harry Everhart 1905-1973, lived in Penn Township, Highland County. A farm laborer in 1930, wife Bessie and daughter Anna, brother-in-law John Edwards [related to Cornelia Edwards Carey?, she was Ralph Carey's mother, and lived next to them.]
Homer "Bud" Storer 1925-1976, father of Buddy (1947-1967, Donald who is now married to Burdette Edgington's daughter Carolyn, and Dana. Divorced from his wife Mildred in 1971. Mildred worked at Wells as did Carolyn.
Phyllis Tilton White - Graduated from NVHS in 1946 and began her working career with a brief stint at Wells Mfg. in 1947, then located in Dayton. In 1948 she went to work full time for Eagle Specialties, a subdivision (?) of Carter Engineering, which made metal folding baby strollers. When they went out of business she became a bookkeeper in 1949 at the NV Milling Co., which was then known as Farmer's Exchange owned by R.P. Barrett, with Elroyd Collier* as manager. She worked at the mill 10 years, quitting when her mother was in very poor health. After the death of her mother she returned to Wells, which had moved to New Vienna in 1948, where she was a dedicated employee for close to 40 years.
Burdette Edgington 1919-2011, father of Linda Lunsford, Ronald, Carolyn Storer (married Bud Storer's son, Donald), and Terry. As well as working at the mill he was a WWII Army Veteran, a Clark Township Trustee and a longtime farmer in the Martinsville area. He married Goldie Mae Alexander on December 16, 1941.
*Carolyn Collier Taubenheim remembers: "I wasn't very old when Dad worked at the mill, but I do have some fond memories. He took his daughter to work before it became so popular to do so years later!
I loved riding in the big truck because it occasionally backfired, and I thought that was REALLY COOL! I also remember going into the office where Phyllis Tilton worked. She was such a nice lady. Anyway, there was a gumball machine filled with peanuts, not gumballs. Put in a penny, turn the crank, and voila, a handful of peanuts would appear. Customers would come in to settle up with Phyllis, and I'd have myself parked next to that little machine. When they'd turn to go, they'd see me me and ask, 'Oh, are you Elroyd's girl?' I'd nod my head and more often than not, end up with peanuts!
Another interesting thing is even though 'flour' is painted on the side of the building, I never saw any. I think it was predominately a 'feed mill' selling feed for cattle and hogs. It also sold some other things, like coal."
*****
A future mill story will delve more deeply into the "flour" mentioned in the paragraph above.
Click here for Mill story #1 which focuses on the Shoemaker/Collier Family.
Homer "Bud" Storer 1925-1976, father of Buddy (1947-1967, Donald who is now married to Burdette Edgington's daughter Carolyn, and Dana. Divorced from his wife Mildred in 1971. Mildred worked at Wells as did Carolyn.
Phyllis Tilton White - Graduated from NVHS in 1946 and began her working career with a brief stint at Wells Mfg. in 1947, then located in Dayton. In 1948 she went to work full time for Eagle Specialties, a subdivision (?) of Carter Engineering, which made metal folding baby strollers. When they went out of business she became a bookkeeper in 1949 at the NV Milling Co., which was then known as Farmer's Exchange owned by R.P. Barrett, with Elroyd Collier* as manager. She worked at the mill 10 years, quitting when her mother was in very poor health. After the death of her mother she returned to Wells, which had moved to New Vienna in 1948, where she was a dedicated employee for close to 40 years.
Burdette Edgington 1919-2011, father of Linda Lunsford, Ronald, Carolyn Storer (married Bud Storer's son, Donald), and Terry. As well as working at the mill he was a WWII Army Veteran, a Clark Township Trustee and a longtime farmer in the Martinsville area. He married Goldie Mae Alexander on December 16, 1941.
*Carolyn Collier Taubenheim remembers: "I wasn't very old when Dad worked at the mill, but I do have some fond memories. He took his daughter to work before it became so popular to do so years later!
I loved riding in the big truck because it occasionally backfired, and I thought that was REALLY COOL! I also remember going into the office where Phyllis Tilton worked. She was such a nice lady. Anyway, there was a gumball machine filled with peanuts, not gumballs. Put in a penny, turn the crank, and voila, a handful of peanuts would appear. Customers would come in to settle up with Phyllis, and I'd have myself parked next to that little machine. When they'd turn to go, they'd see me me and ask, 'Oh, are you Elroyd's girl?' I'd nod my head and more often than not, end up with peanuts!
Another interesting thing is even though 'flour' is painted on the side of the building, I never saw any. I think it was predominately a 'feed mill' selling feed for cattle and hogs. It also sold some other things, like coal."
*****
A future mill story will delve more deeply into the "flour" mentioned in the paragraph above.
Click here for Mill story #1 which focuses on the Shoemaker/Collier Family.
