With growing popularity of the multiverse reality concept, thanks in no small part to the Marvel Comics Universe, it is not too difficult to imagine an infinite number of different Clintonvilles.
In this universe, there are at least a handful of Clintonvilles. The Spotlight decided they deserve to be explored, beginning with the small town in Wisconsin a little less than 600 miles from the intersection of North High Street and North Broadway.
The city, with a population not quite hitting 5,000, is a fraction of the size of the Clintonville community in Columbus. Yet residents there were surprised to learn that the Ohio Clintonville was not a city, but a section of the capital city in the Buckeye State.
Clintonville City Administrator Caz Muske (left) and Chamber Executive
Director Emily Grosskreutz were happy to receive some Clintonville, Ohio, swag. (Spotlight photos by Cliff Wiltshire) Additional photos in gallery below.
City Administrator Caz Muske and Chamber Executive Director Emily Grosskreutz were familiar with the Clintonville here. They often field phone calls and email messages from people hoping to learn about the Clintonville in Ohio.
In fact, when contacts were made to set up visits and interviews for this story, they initially assumed the writer was confused and was seeking to make connections in Columbus.
When assurances were made that Clintonville, Wisc., was indeed the subject of the story, both women were happy to talk about their adopted city and what makes it so special. Their excitement and helpfulness led to dozens of contacts across a few days in June that revealed a great deal about the character of Clintonville.
The city was founded on a scenic, heavily wooded spot along the Pigeon River in 1855. The Norman Clinton family, from Vermont, was on its way to Madison when an ox became lame and would not move another foot.
So, family members built a lean-to for a place to spend the night and decided not to leave. It was a prime spot for river travel for the local sawmill trade and there was plenty of game.
Local legend holds that the man wanted to call the town Pigeon, because of the abundance of those birds in the area, but a postal employee could not remember the instructions, so he wrote down the man’s last name: Clinton-ville.
“It was a sick ox that determined the site of Clintonville. In such fashion are weighty matters decided,” it is written in the History of Clintonville.
Pigeon Lake
The word “pigeon” still holds a prominent place in the geography of the area, as the manmade Pigeon Lake in Clintonville was created by damming up the river. Houses line the shores of the 175-acre lake, and it offers many opportunities for recreational enjoyment, though it seems to be lightly used.
Jon Pahl is director of the Pigeon Lake District, and lives in a home on the water which he and his wife renovated.
A Philadelphia native, Pahl was familiar with the Ohio Clintonville as he lived in Bexley for several years while attending Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He is proud of what the lake has become, he said, although it is underutilized by residents.
“The water quality, the refresh rate is excellent,” he said. “It is great for kayaking, fishing, birding. But the local use of the lake is funny – we’re often the only ones out here on the water. … people have developed this idea that this water body isn’t friendly.
“This is a lovely little community. We’ve gotten woven into it.”
As a well-traveled resident who has chosen to make Clintonville, Wisc., his home, he said he sees some need for reinvestment although community leaders seem to be heading in the right direction.
That was a theme expressed by many people interviewed, whether it was a retiree moving to enjoy his or her later years or young parents seeking to move out of a big city and into a community that feels right for raising a family.
Muske, the city administrator, is not a native of the area. She is a Texas transplant who was living in the Waco area until 2020 when she moved her family to Clintonville to accept the deputy city administrator position. Her husband is a sheriff’s deputy, and they have a 5-year-old son who starts school this fall.
Small-town charm
“Time slowed down,” she said, reflecting on the change of pace they experienced when arriving. It sped up some a few months later, when she moved into top spot near the end of 2021.
Muske said she was drawn in by the “small-town charm. … a lot like Southern charm, but without the drawl. People take care of their own, knowing your neighbor will help you out.”
There is a lure about rural living, she said, adding, “It is what attracts people here. We welcome that fresh blood. There’s a feeling of revival – taking our pride back and making it the vibrant place it can be.”
“She’s doing a great job,” said Mayor Steve Kettenhoven. “Don’t think there’s a better person for it.”
He moved there in 1975, drawn by opportunities to hunt and fish. Married for nearly 40 years, now children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren live nearby.
“It’s considered more of a rural community, but there are so many nice features – aqua park coming on board, school system is good,” he said.
The aqua park being developed is an impressive project for a small town. It is a pond-like facility that will offer swimming in the summer, skating and sledding in the winter, with a dog park nearby.
The latest outdoor recreational facility is meant to complement the impressive array of other parks, recreation center and indoor pool and a center-city ball diamond with lights. It is home to several baseball and softball leagues and teams and a beloved fireworks display every Independence Day.
The site of the aqua park was one of many that town ambassador Tom Lederer made sure to highlight during a tour of Clintonville. He organized stops at a nearby dairy farm, a “you pick’em” strawberry patch, several historic structures and more.
Lederer is another transplant who found his way to Clintonville and has never left.
“I’ll go where you want,” he said to his employer when it was looking to move around some managers. “They sent me here, 40 years ago. Everything is here that you would need.”
Hearts for history
Clintonville is a town that really took off about a century ago, when machine shop owners Otto Zachow and William Besserdich invented four-wheel drive. It was a development that led to so many advancements in the transportation field, putting the city on the map like few would have ever dreamed.
As four-wheel production ramped up, “people flocked here,” said Terry Lorge, former police chief and current volunteer at the FWD-Seagrave Museum.
“There were two movie theaters, two bowling alleys, five grocery stores and 27 taverns – all selling fish on Fridays.”
Production of four-wheel drive equipment, trucks and related supplies had ripple effects on the future of the town. One was the establishment of an airfield and related airline, North Central, which eventually was part of mergers that became Delta Airlines.
While FWD was based in Clintonville, Seagrave was located for many years in Columbus – first on West Lane Avenue and then on South High Street – until it merged with FWD and moved to Wisconsin.
FWD-Seagrave’s operations remain in Clintonville, as does the impressive four-wheel drive/fire truck museum. The facility includes an amazing array of large and historic firefighting vehicles, along with other all-wheel drive trucks, including a massive snow removal truck from the Ohio State University.
Development of the four-wheel drive, which played a critical role in supplying Allied troops during World War I, is only part of the rich history embraced by current Clintonville residents. They support a number of historic sites throughout the town, including a museum in the center of town, a historic home filled with memorabilia from throughout the decades, the original machine shop where four-wheel drive was invented, and a 1916 Carnegie Library which is now a real estate office.
Owner Gerry O’Connor, a real estate broker, decided to keep the library feel while adding a diverse array of historic items gleaned from his auctioneering business. He welcomes visitors to explore the space.
Al Mueller, a host at the historic home, retired in September after a career of painting gold leaf artwork for the various fire truck companies in the area.
Last month he had his new mural dedicated at the airport, where he created paintings of the first four passenger aircraft to fly out of Clintonville. In the 1940s, the airport was larger than the one in Green Bay, he said, but passenger service ended late in the 1960s.
After growing up in Clintonville, he said, he “left for three years to find himself,” and then returned to raise his family.
That’s a story Grosskreutz would like to see repeated time and time again as she seeks to support and build up the business community. She arrived 22 years ago, familiar with the town because it was her grandmother’s favorite place to visit for all of its parades – including the popular Fireman’s Festival and Parade.
“People want to come to the community, but we need to find them locations,” she said. “The business inventory is rotating, with some people retiring and others coming in, so we’re getting a fresh start. A good refresh is happening, with people open to new ideas and motivating us to work together.”
“In the past there was a strong industrial emphasis,” added Muske. “We are shifting our focus to having living options and opportunities for those who work here. We want to provide the highest level of service.”
Old-fashion business
Some new business ventures are thriving in this 21st century. One started with an effort to can a favorite adult beverage in Wisconsin – the old-fashioned.
Artie’s Legendary co*cktails is home of the canned old-fashioned, made with brandy or bourbon, sweet or sour, and preferred by locals to be carbonated.
Owner Tim Pappin lived in Clintonville until he was 15, moved away, and returned about 12 years ago to open his business. He offered an impromptu tour of his impressive canning facility.
They started the operation after deciding it would be more cost-effective to own their own small-scale canning equipment, seeing a vacuum in the market which has exploded during the past few years. Beginning with their own brews, they now have 40 active clients.
“It was pure timing luck,” he said, with so many small producers needing a business to can a small amount of product to get out to consumers.
“Our own product got us into it, we invested in the canning equipment, now we’re seeing 70 percent growth annually the past 5 years. … There was a tremendous learning curve, years of mistakes at first, to become masters of canning.”
RANDOM NOTES:
** Travelers interested in quirky reasons to visit places might appreciate the presence of a piece of the Great Wall of China in Clintonville.
It reportedly was brought there by W.A. Olen of FWD, who visited China to strike a deal for truck purchases. He was given a piece of the wall, which was quietly brought home in a crate marked “trucks” and then put on display in his Wisconsin town.
** Both Clintonvilles are home to a Graceland, although in Wisconsin that is the name of a cemetery and not a shopping center.
n**Clintonville High School’s mascot is the Truckers.
** Businesses are invited to sponsor a large hanging basket every year which helps decorate the downtown area. More than 60 did so in 2023.
** Much like Clintonville here, the farmers market is a popular place for neighbors to gather on a weekly basis every summer.
** Local establishments patronized during the writer’s trip in June included Daisy’s Big Sal & Cheesy’s, similar to local favorites O’Reilly’s Pub and India Oak but with Wisconsin cheese a staple on everything; Philagain’s Island, one of the few waterfront eateries in town; and the Living Room Coffee Shop.
** Clintonville was home to the 1991 National Spelling Bee champion, Joanne Lagatta.
