West End Stories Project

Dorothy Blackburn lived in the West End neighborhood between where the West End Branch Library and Richie’s Restaurant currently stand. In this episode of the West End Stories Project Podcast, Dorothy discusses Washburn School, temporarily relocating to Millvale and dances at St. Joseph Catholic Church. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video serie...

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

After talking with Ella Wooten on episode 15 of the West End Stories Project Podcast, we spoke with Denise Steward about a program that would have benefited Ms. Wooten when she became a teen mother in the 1950s. In this episode, Steward, Senior Director of Diversity and Donor Relations for Children Inc., discusses the origins of VISIONS Early Learning Center in the West End. With the COVID-19 pand...

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

Ella Wooten lived a few blocks west of Cincinnati’s City Hall on Richmond Street. In this episode of the West End Stories Project, Wooten remembers her relationship with her family, attending church services in the West End, and a decision that changed the trajectory of her life. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so inter...

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email westend@cincinnatilibrary.org for more information.

Donald Coaston grew up on Barr Street, a road that would be cleared to make Interstate 75, in the West End. On episode 14 of the West End Stories Project, Donald remembers his parents, childhood in the West End, service in the Vietnam War, and a crime forever changing his family. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so inter...

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email westend@cincinnatilibrary.org for more information.

In episode 13 of the West End Stories Project, we spoke with retired nurse, Betty Connors. Mrs. Connors lived with her family on Barr Street for almost two decades and attended Harriet Beecher Stowe School. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived...

For episode twelve of the West End Stories Project, we spoke with Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Famer and Consultant, Roland West, who spent the first twelve years of his life in the West End. While in the West End, he attended Dyer School and was the school’s spelling bee champ.   With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to...

In our eleventh installment of the West End Stories Project podcast, we spoke with Cincinnati mother, Fannie Mallory, whose roots run deep in the West End.   With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time...

On January 27, the West End Stories Project podcast returns with a conversation featuring Fannie Mallory, whose roots run deep in the West End.   With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West...

In our tenth installment of the West End Stories Project podcast, we spoke with retired postal worker, Cincinnati Waterworks employee, and co-inventor of  Tide Liquid Detergent , Malcolm Allen Sr., who lived in the West End for over thirty years.  With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so int...

In our ninth installment of the West End Stories project, we spoke with Mauvis Evans, who lived near the Cotton Club in the 1940’s and 50’s. Located in the Kenyon Barr redevelopment area, her building and the Cotton Club were demolished for the construction of Interstate 75.  With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a vide...

In our eighth installment of the West End Stories project, we spoke with another member of the Moon family, Mr. Roey Moon. Mr. Moon is Ralph Moon Jr.’s ( Episode 4, Part 1 ) youngest sibling, and he disclosed pertinent details about their father’s various businesses. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shi...

In our seventh installment of the  West End Stories Project , we spoke with award-winning photojournalist, Melvin Grier who worked for the Cincinnati Post from 1974 until it ceased publication in 2007. Mr. Grier was at the top of our interview wish list, and responded to our write-up in the  Cincinnati Enquirer  where we expressed interest in interviewing him for the project. He gre...

In our 6th installment of the West End Stories Project, we spoke with Helen Shank, a retired homemaker and retail worker. She lived in the Laurel Homes Housing Project in the 1940s and attended St. Joseph Catholic School.   With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are be...

In our fifth installment of the West End Stories Project podcast, we spoke with LaVerne Summerlin, a professor at the University of Cincinnati and the author of  Gems of Cincinnati’s West End: Black Children and Catholic Missionaries, 1940-1970 . She lived in the Lincoln Courts and attended Holy Trinity School and Our Lady of Mercy High School.  With the COVID-19 pandemic...

In this installment of the West End Stories project, we follow up with Ralph Moon Jr., who we initially spoke with in Episode 4, Part 1 . With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the Wes...

In our fourth installment of the West End Stories Project podcast, we spoke with retired educator, Ralph Moon. Born and raised in the neighborhood, Mr. Moon grew up on Dayton Street.  With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a signif...

In our third installment of the West End Stories Project, we spoke with realtor and library security guard, Tim Coleman. He discussed growing up in the Lincoln Courts, being the baby in the family, and a fiasco at St. Joseph's Catholic Church.  With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over...

In this second installment of the West End Stories Project, we spoke with book lover and library staff member, Tawanda Johnson. We talked about strong women, like library trailblazer Mary Finley, her big sister at Seton High School the Honorable Melba D. Marsh, and her mother Elizabeth Caulton. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a po...

In this first installment of the West End Stories Project, we spoke with local musician Nathaniel Leroy Davis about his memories of the West End. During our call, he discussed his family and childhood home, his memories of Union Terminal, race relations in Cincinnati, and his thoughts about recent neighborhood changes.

A twist on oral history projects, Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library’s West End Stories Project podcast captures the stories of individuals who lived in the West End during the second half of the 20th century for urbanites today who want to know more about the neighborhood’s transformation. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please co...