New Book on Cincinnati s Legendary Citizens Holds Many Ties to UC

In a new book just off the press this month, the University of Cincinnati is prominently represented in its ties to the people who shaped and defined the Queen City. The book, “Legendary Locals of Cincinnati,” is only the second book to be part of Arcadia Publishing’s new Legendary Locals series, which reveals – in words and pictures – the people who shaped their communities.

Author Kevin Grace, university archivist and head of UC’s Archives and Rare Books Library, says the book exposes the educators, politicians, civil rights leaders, medical pioneers, philanthropists, entertainers, sports figures, beer barons and characters – some well known and some unknown – that defined the city. Out of the 150 people featured, more than 70 were connected to UC. “I think that’s mainly because the city and the university are entwined so much that you really can’t separate the two,” Grace says.

Grace says he started out with a list of around 500 people who could be called legendary locals and then narrowed down the list in reviewing the publisher’s requirements for the book.

“The publisher wanted people who had done something interesting or who had made some contribution to how we perceive Cincinnati. Plus, only 20 percent of the people featured could still be living. So in writing the book, I wanted readers to remember familiar faces and be pleasantly entertained by the others,” says Grace.

The stories of Cincinnati’s legendary locals unfold in six chapters: Building the Queen City, Creating Cincinnati’s Identity, Cincinnati Ebbs and Rolls, A Future for the Basin and Hills, Service and Innovation, and The Cincinnati Quality of Life.

Featured UC education pioneers who had a significant impact on the city include the creator of the McGuffey reader, William Holmes McGuffey (former president of Cincinnati College), cooperative education founder Herman Schneider, kindergarten pioneer Annie Laws, College-Conservatory of Music founder Clara Baur and her niece, Bertha Baur.

Civil rights pioneers with ties to UC include Cincinnati’s first African American mayor, Theodore Berry; Donald Spencer, the first black member of the Cincinnati Board of Realtors; and his wife, Marian Spencer, who became the first African American woman elected to Cincinnati City Council.

Albert Sabin, the inventor of the oral polio vaccine, and Benadryl creator George Rieveschl are highlighted among the Cincinnati’s (and UC’s) medical pioneers.

Legendary Cincinnati philanthropists with ties to UC include Carl Lindner Jr., Louise Nippert and UC alumnus and former UC president Henry Winkler.

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Cincinnati sports legends who are featured in “Legendary Locals of Cincinnati” include Paul Brown, Marge Schott, Pete Rose, boxer Ezzard Charles and UC alumnus and basketball legend Oscar Robertson.

Cincinnati was also a pioneer in the entertainment industry, so the book highlights personalities such as Paul Dixon, Ruth Lyons, “Uncle Al” Lewis, silent film star and UC alumna Theda Bara and Dick Von Hoene, better known to “Scream In” fans as the Cool Ghoul.

The book features an opening photo of prominent businessman and politician Jim Tarbell in his signature top hat and closes with a photo of a celebrity of sorts among UC students – University of Cincinnati spokesman (and UC alumnus) Greg Hand, the name on e-mails to students announcing such things as weather delays, closings and university policy.

“The Queen City has faced the major urban problems that every other American city has: racial disharmony, infrastructure decline and renewal, economic ups and downs, population shifts and struggling schools. But Cincinnati has also been a vibrant place of achievement and innovation, a place where problems are solved,” Grace writes in the book’s introduction.

“Discover Cincinnati’s Legendary Locals” costs $21.99 and is now available at UC Bookstores, area bookstores, independent retailers, online retailers or at the publisher’s website.

Book Signings

7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25: Joseph Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Cincinnati

2-4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4: Barnes & Noble, West Chester, Ohio

11 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11: Barnes & Noble, Florence, Ky.

Noon-1 p.m., Tuesday, March 27: UC Bookstores, Tangeman University Center

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