Category Archives: Things to do in Dayton

Dayton Codebreakers – Sir Dermot Turing’s Visit

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Did you know Dayton played a big part in World War II? Local electric engineer and inventor Joseph Desch was the Research Director of the Navy’s program to design and build a bombe – a machine to read coded communications from Germany (coded by the Enigma).

Desch and his team worked in one of NCR’s buildings decoding the messages using the American Bombe Machine and would then send the messages to Washington D.C. as intelligence. While working with the American Bombe Machine, Alan Turing – known for cracking Germany’s Enigma code – visited Joseph Desch in Oakwood and at the NCR building.

Retired RAF Captain Andrew Lloyd, along with the organization he founded, Oakwood Unsung Heroes, have been working to showcase this piece of history by having a City of Oakwood proclamation for the month of May to be Codebreaker Month, and they have an exhibit on display at Wright Memorial Public Library in collaboration with the National Cryptologic Museum.

On May 8th, the nephew of Alan Turing, Sir Dermot Turing, will be speaking at the Dayton International Peace Museum and at Carillon Park. For both events, tickets are free, but limited.

  • May 8th at 11am @ Dayton International Peace Museum
  • May 8th at 7:30pm @ Carillon Park

If you’re interested in reading more about this topic:

Dayton Area Book Crawl

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Celebrate National Independent Bookstore day with local bookstores! All stores listed will be open from 10am-6pm on April 26th for the event.Stores:

  • Jay and Mary’s Book Center
    1201 Experiment Farm Road
    Troy, OH 45373
  • Browse Awhile Books
    118 East Main Street
    Tipp City, OH 45371
  • Around About Books
    8 West Main Street
    Troy, Ohio 45373
  • New and Olde Pages
    856 Union Boulevard
    Englewood, OH 45322
  • The Cozy Booknook
    4720 South Dixie Avenue
    Moraine, OH 45439
  • Rabbit Hole Books
    29 West First Street
    Dayton, OH 45402
  • Star City Booksellers
    55 South Main Street
    Miamisburg, OH 45342

Start your journey at any location and pick up a passport. Get the passport stamped at each location and be entered to win prizes! Make sure to stop in at New & Olde Pages for author speed dating from 1 to 3 pm. Sit for 3 minutes with each author and let them pitch their book or series to you.

Local Author – Meredith Doench

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Author Meredith Doench has written many titles, including Forsaken Trust, Deadeye, and Whereabouts Unknown. Her book Crossed was published in August 2015 and was the runner-up for the 2015 IndieFab Awards in the Mystery Genre. It was also awarded the Nancy Dasher Award in 2017 from the College English Association.

Meredith holds a Bachelors in Special Education from Ball State, a Masters in English from University of Dayton, and a PhD from Texas Tech in English/Creative Writing. She lives in Dayton where she is a principal lecturer of creative writing, literature, and composition at UD. She is a member of the Golden Crown Literary Society, Sisters in Crime, and Mystery Writers of America. She also serves as a board member of Mystery Writers of American Midwest Region.

Huffman Prairie & Simms Station

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Did you know that if you go to Huffman Prairie to the location of the trolley stop station (Simms Station) and look at the sign, you can see a tree in the picture from over 100 years ago in both the picture, and right in front of you?

K12 Gallery and Tejas

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The K12 Gallery and Teen Educational and Joint Adult Studio (TEJAS) located at 341 S Jefferson Street is a visual arts center inspiring people of all ages to create art in an encouraging environment. There are over 400 on-site art classes and exhibitions and over 1000 off site classes at 15 urban locations. The center was created in 1993 by teacher Jerri Stanard. Through her dedication to engaging people through arts, she has turned the non-profit into the leader for visual arts in the Dayton area.

One avenue of community engagement is introducing the healing power of arts to low-income students, youth on probation, adults with disabilities, and survivors of domestic violence. K12 Gallery & TEJAS continues to organize public art projects to further reach the community.

For information on art classes at K12 & TEJAS, please visit their website at: https://k12tejasgallery.org

Upcoming Events for Sara’s Books

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It’s that time of year again when you can find Sara all over town selling her books for Spooky Season! Come out and see her!

  • Fairborn Halloween Festival
    October 11th – 13th
    Friday 4pm-11pm
    Saturday 10am-11pm
    Sunday 12pm-6pm
  • Centerville Washington History Speaker Series
    October 16th, 7 pm.
    Washington Township RecPlex West
    895 Miamisburg Centerville Road
    Dayton, 45459
  • Behind Urban Legends
    October 19th, 12pm
    Dayton Metro Library, Downtown Branch
    215 E 3rd St,
    Dayton, OH 45402
  • Behind Urban Legends
    October 28th, 6pm
    Dayton Metro Library, Northmont Branch
    700 W National Rd
    Englewood, OH 45322

Upcoming Sara Kaushal Author Events

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More events are likely to be added, but here is the current list of events where you can meet Sara, hear about her books, and buy a few!

  • Murder & Mayhem in Dayton and the Miami Valley Book Talk
    August 29, 10 AM, Charles Lathrem Senior Center in Kettering
  • Dayton Ghosts & Legends Book Talk
    September 24, 6 pm, Jamestown Library
  • Spooky Presentation
    October 3, 330, Brookville Library
  • Huber Haunts Truck or Treat
    October 6, 1-4, Thomas Cloud Park
  • Urban Legends Presentation
    October 10, 11 AM, Vandalia Senior Center
  • Fairborn Halloween Festival
    October 11-13
  • Dayton Ghosts & Legends Book Talk
    October 15, 7 pm Centerville Washington Township RecPlex
  • Urban Legends Presentation
    October 19, noon, Dayton Metro Library Downtown
  • Dayton Ghosts & Legends Book Talk
    October 23, 2 pm, St Leonard’s Community
  • Urban Legends Presentation
    October 28, 6 pm Northmont Library

More Summer Events

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  • What: Dayton Celtic Festival
    Date: July 26-28
    Where: Riverscape MetroPark, 111 E Monument Avenue, Dayton

  • What: Demolition Derby
    Date: July 29
    Time: 7 pm
    Where: Greene County Fairgrounds

  • What: All Ohio Balloon Fest
    Date: August 8-10
    Where: Union County Airport, 1500 Weaver Road Entrance, Marysville

  • What: Germanfest Picnic
    Date: August 9-11
    Where: 1400 E. 5th Street, Dayton

  • What: Taco and Nacho Fest
    Date: August 24
    Time: 3-10 pm
    Where: 10400 Innovation Drive

Collins School

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For the purpose of building a school, Samuel and Rebecca Collins deeded 1.28 acres of land to Beavercreek Township in 1854. Two brick school houses were built with stone, including fireplaces for heat. Until decreased enrollment forced the school to close in 1944, children were educated from first through eighth grade in the red brick building still standing today.

Thirty eight years later, Helen Bryson Brantley (great granddaughter to Samuel and Rebecca Collins) and her husband Virgil purchased the property to restore the schoolhouse, which had deteriorated and been vandalized. They rebuilt the pony sheds and privies on their foundations. Collins School was rededicated on August 30, 1986.

Two teachers were enlisted to research and organize a curriculum. Later that fall, students were invited to attend to experience a day of the 3 Rs; “readin’ ritin’ and rithmetic’” as it would have been experienced during the schools operating days. Today, roughly 2,400 students and adults experience Collins School each year. They learn citizenship, read from McGuffey Readers, practice writing on slates, and play period appropriate games in the school yard. Collins School is located in Xenia at 2804 West Enon Road.

Fun Fact: Sara and Bethany both went on field trips to Collins School when they were in elementary school!