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Dayton Memories > NW of Dayton - Greenbriar YMCA Daycamp
NW of Dayton - Greenbriar YMCA Daycamp
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gomershad
2 posts
Oct 01, 2013
5:19 PM
Anyone ever go to the daycamp at Greenbriar YMCA on Diamond Mill Road? It was a wonderful facility with a pool that had a diving board section, there was a handball court, a large screened-in picnic area attached to the snack bar/locker room building. Through the 1960's and probably into the mid-70's they had a summer daycamp for 8 - 12 year olds than ran 6 weeks or so. The Y had an old rickety 1950's-vintage white "school" bus that drove all over Trotwood, Englewood, Clayton and out in the townships to pick up and drop off kids. That thing could barely make it up those big hills on Diamond Mill right near Greenbriar, it would probably be deemed not-streetworthy nowadays, LOL. So many wonderful memories there as a kid. And, I was a "CIT" (Counselor-In-Training) when I was 13. Learned about and learned to love nature from a counselor Mike Masters. Sadly, I found his obit from just a few years ago, he apparently passed from cancer in his late 50's. Now, Greenbriar is closed, all the structures are gone, it's all grown over, and it's fenced/locked. Sad, yet wonderful memories.
KennyE11
143 posts
Oct 01, 2013
10:45 PM
Trotwood-Madison High School used to have Band Camp at the YMCA. I don't know all the years they were held there, but it was in there in the 1970's.
mjr1960
92 posts
Apr 09, 2014
4:48 PM
Just North of the house at the northeast corner of Diamond mill and wolf creek at the bottom of the hill, Swam there a few times, Yes band camp was there thru the 70's as my sister was in the Rockettes Great Place!!
supersix
171 posts
Apr 09, 2014
7:21 PM
Thanks mjr1960!
KennyE11
206 posts
Aug 29, 2014
11:24 PM
I'm currently on my Ohio visit, and finally got a chance to hike at Sycamore State Park. As I noted in the Trotwood topic, you cannot pick-up the park brochure, as the park office has been closed (although photocopies of the trail map are available).

To get to the old Greenbrier YMCA location, I had to park at the Overlook Picnic Area off of Providence Road, and take the Beech Ridge Trail over to the crossing at Diamond Mill Road. There I picked up the Meadowlark Trail, which initially follows the driveway to the YMCA. It then branches off into an Upper and Lower Trail. Since I haven't been back there since 1978, I've forgotten how far off Diamond Mill Road it was until you reach the buildings. Along the Lower Trail, there is a large area of pavement that I assumed was part of the parking lot, but after discussing it with family members, I changed my assumption that the paved area was the foundation for the buildings. This area was really off the trail, so I didn't explore further into the underbrush to determine if I could find anything resembling a filled in swimming pool. But this hike answered my curiosity, with a bit of disappointment that I didn't find any relic buildings.

One bit of confusion that I hope someone can help with. The Meadowlark Trail continues on to the crossing at Nolan Road (where it connects to another trail). I turned around and took the Upper Trail on my return hike, which climbs up to a ridge line. I don't remember there being a hill in the tree line at the YMCA. I remember the buildings and the swimming pool, and the football field-sized open area (where TMHS had their band camp) before the tree line, but the area between the Upper and Lower Trails just doesn't seem large enough to contain every feature that I remember.

Does anyone remember hiking at Greenbrier YMCA back in the 1960s-70s, that remembers the land features better than I do?
tlturbo
624 posts
Aug 30, 2014
8:36 AM
Here is a aerial from 1968 hope this works. Click on ALL ROADS (under OVERLAYS) Use thumbwheel on mouse to zoom in and out and go west to find Diamond Mill Rd then find the intersection of Wolf Creek Pike. Pool is just N across the creek. http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=2000&lon=-84.29273223877&lat=39.799690246582&year=1968
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1987 Buick GN
 photo 84733bd1-62cb-4704-8457-6666af53ae8d.jpg

Last Edited by tlturbo on Aug 30, 2014 11:57 AM
gomershad
10 posts
Sep 02, 2014
3:55 AM
KennyE11 - Yes, it would make sense that the upper trail, to the north of the old Greenbriar site, would be on a ridgeline. When on Diamond Mill Rd heading north, just after passing the old driveway, there's a very steep hill (one of the hills the old daycamp bus would struggle to climb) that climbs up out of the Wolf Creek Valley. So, that topography probably generally follows the creek through that area.

Thank you so much for mentioning the Sycamore State Park trails through there. I had no idea that there were trails over there. Some day this winter, I'm going to take the trails you mentioned. Hopefully, with the all the leaves gone, there might be more features visible. I can't imagine any buildings still being there - they were all quite rickety back in the late 60's/early 70's when I went to daycamp there. The only possibility 'might' be the handball court that was at the far east end of the property past the pool area...however, I think that was just cinderblock construction, so it wouldn't have taken much to bring that down.

Thanks again. Looking forward to hiking that area this winter and maybe even channeling the counselor I mentioned in the first post, Mike Masters, LOL.
tlturbo
625 posts
Sep 02, 2014
5:23 AM
Not sure the problem. If I copy the link I posted and paste it into the http line at the top, it comes up OK. Like I said, you might have to play around with the year setting on the left side or maneuver the view around. e-mail me if still having problems and Ill sent you the link.

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1987 Buick GN
 photo 84733bd1-62cb-4704-8457-6666af53ae8d.jpg
gomershad
11 posts
Sep 02, 2014
4:54 PM
KennyE - Count me among those who enjoyed your recent post. When you paused in front of the old Vaniman's Building, you were probably in front of a building (on the south edge of Main, across-ish from Vaniman's) that dates back to the late 1800's. In the early 60's when I was a toddler "growing up" on Sparks St, Rohrer's Grocery used to be in that old building. It was about 1/4 the size of a typical nowaday's CVS or Walgreen, LOL. They home-DELIVERED groceries. I remember my mom reading them her grocery list, then in the afternoon a teenager would drive up with all the groceries in cardboard boxes. Can you imagine!?!? All that probably changed in maybe the late 1960's when the "BIG" grocery stores started moving in - Imperial Food Town, IGA and Krogers.
KennyE11
214 posts
Sep 02, 2014
11:08 PM
turbo - I'm still having problems with the link. The following message is displayed in several panels: "We're Sorry! This image server is currently restarting. It should take no more than a few minutes. Other years may still be delivering." The problem may have to do with the slow internet connection I'm using - I will try again after I'm home from my trip, and have a better internet connection.

gomershad - I'm familiar with the hill on Diamond Mill Road, and having a ridgeline there makes sense (and corresponds to the topographical view on tlturbo's link), but I'm still having a problem recalling it from my late-1970's memory, because it doesn't seem to allow for the large flat area between Wolf Creek and the tree line (at the base of the ridgeline?), based on the location of the Upper and Lower Meadowlark Trails. Maybe you will have better luck seeing the remnant features of the YMCA when the tree canopy is gone, as long as you can find the large paved area that I encountered.

I'm familiar with Rohrer's Grocery. The Rohrers had the grocery before they started R&J Tool in Brookville. My family was close friends with the Rohrers - they were our neighbors on Oakes Road, and a couple of generations later, our families were united by a marriage.
gomershad
12 posts
Sep 03, 2014
6:26 PM
KennyE11 -

Turbo's link worked fine for me with MS Internet Explorer, not so good with Mozilla Firefox. However, it is slow, even with the high speed connection I use here at home and at work. It is very, very cool. I also checked out the 1956 link and came back over the Stubbs/Sparks St. area and could see a few homes had been built, but not on the blocks north of Trudy Dr where my parents had their first home built. I think Victory Construction or something like that built-out that plat.

With regard to the big flat area between the creek and ridge line...oh yes, there was a huge flat/lawned area to the north of the creek that expanded way out past the Greenbriar campus. If you can get Turbo's link working, it's very clear. In the extreme northeast corner of that lawned area you can see what looks like a baseball diamond. In 1968 I don't remember a baseball diamond, but I suppose there coulda' been one. I do remember past that area, back under the tree line in that extreme northeast corner, there was a "Council Ring" where the entire daycamp would would assemble first thing in the morning, singing "Little Rabbit Froo Froo..." and "The other day...I met a bear..."

Finally - Rohrer's...oh....my....gosh....how random is that? Just....wow. I thought I was the only person in the world...well, me and my 84-y.o. mom....who remembered Rohrer's. Dang...all this just whisks this 54-y.o. brain back 45+ years to memories formerly vague-now-slightly-more-focused.

Last Edited by gomershad on Sep 04, 2014 3:33 AM
carlatm75
128 posts
Sep 04, 2014
4:16 PM
Count me as another one who remembers Rohrer's Grocery. I remember going there when I was little. My parents were good friends with them also. And I went to school with their son. Does anyone remember the small grocery that was next door to Keener's Florist on Union Road close to Little Richmond Road. It was there in the early 60s. My family lived at the corner of Post Town and Little Richmond Roads and we shopped at this little store. I don't remember what the name was though.
KennyE11
222 posts
Oct 17, 2014
12:00 AM
Matt - Thanks for adding a time frame to the Greenbrier YMCA destruction.

As I noted in my previous post, I would still like to attempt an off-trail hike someday on the Meadowlark Trail, if I'm ever in the Dayton-area during the winter (with no snow cover).

Since I figured out that the visible paved area near the lower trail was the handball court, and the Historic Aerials view gave me a relative location for the building / pool, I would still expect to find some evidence of where the building used to be.

If your recollection that the "whole place was bulldozed" meant that they removed all pavement and filled it in with dirt, I don't know why they didn't include the pavement for the handball court.

There is also part of the paved driveway at the beginning of the trail (off Diamond Mill Road) that ends with the dirt trail (that turns to the North), however there is also part of the pavement (off-trail to the South) that continues toward Wolf Creek. I don't remember the cabin you referenced - was it perhaps in this area, before you reached the other buildings?
MattR1977
2 posts
Oct 26, 2014
9:49 AM
Shortly after my first visit I went back and the pool area was a giant heap with a track hoe sitting on top. I never went back after that - so I don't know if they did a good job or not. I remember the cabin being before the pool house to the right near the creek - as kids we'd play with the crawdads in that creek right up behind this cabin/building. There was also a large fire ring near it. I think the log building was used as the main office - though it was so long ago I just don't recall much more.
KennyE11
225 posts
Oct 27, 2014
1:41 AM
Matt - It sounds like your recollection of the location of the cabin would be near the area I described in my previous post. I didn't see any building remains, just fragments of pavement heading south from the driveway toward the creek.

I would still expect to see some pavement fragments for the pool house area somewhere to the west of the beginning of the dirt portion of the trail (just as it splits into the upper and lower trails), however if that area was covered over with dirt when they covered the pool with the "giant heap", then my off-trail quest would probably be a wasted effort.
gomershad
14 posts
Dec 17, 2014
7:38 PM
Wow, KE11 - what a great account of your exploration. I'm looking forward to getting to that area some dry weekend in January. Thanks for the trail directions.


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