A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

his residence from Norwood to College Hill and saw that the needs of Catholic African-Americans inWest College Hill were not being met. A piece of property was purchased on North Bend Road and theSociety of the Precious Blood established the mission.The red brick chapel was begun in the summer in 1945 and was completed in 1946. Thecongregation started to grow. Rev. Jerome B. Wolf, C.PP.S. was the first administrator, replaced by Rev.Florian Hartke, C.PP.S. in 1948.In 1950, Archbishop McNicholas died and Archbishop Karl J. Alter was appointed. In that year St.Richard’s became a full-fledged parish. The parish did not have its own rectory and Rev. Hartke lived atSt. Clare’s parish house.The boundaries of the parish were extended in 1953 west to Banning and Pippin Roads, to includethe Golfway Acres Subdivision. The Church had 300 parishioners at this time.There was a need for a parish school by 1955 and construction began. The eighth grade faculty wasfour Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Sister Agnes Cecelia was the first principal, followed by SisterAdele and Sister Philip Mary. By 1960 the school was enlarged again. In 1965 the Sisters of Notre Dameleft St. Richard and the Sisters of Mercy assumed the responsibility of the education of the children underthe guidance of the new principal, Sister Mary Timothea, R.S.M.In 1966 the teaching staff was expanded to three Sisters and four lay teachers. It also was amemorable year for the youngest ladies of the parish, as the girls changed their school uniforms fromplain green to green plaid, and the Sisters changed their traditional black habit to one of modern blue. In1971 at St. Richard’s 25th anniversary the staff was Sr. Mary Timothea R.S.M. principal, Miss KathleenRyan, Miss Karen Forbes, Mrs. Anna Lee Rosen, Mrs. Joan Dempsey, Sr. Mary Adelma R.S.M., and Sr.Marie de Lourdes R.S.M. Eventually, the school was closed and a shortage of priests led to the merger ofSt. Richard and St. Therese in 1992.College Hill Christian Church 9The Campbellite or New Light movement of the American frontier was the root of the Disciples ofChrist/Christian Church. Drawn primarily from Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist churches, thefoundation of this faith was the elimination of various creeds and practices and to believe in no creed butChrist, and no book but the Bible. 10 They were lead by Alexander Campbell.In 1909 Rev. Harviout met in College Hill Town Hall with a small group of seventeen people toform the College Hill Christian Church. Rev. Justin Green, pastor of another Cincinnati church, served asthe first minister. Officers of the church were: Louis Askew, president; Richard Roller, vice-president;Mrs. Carl Kammerdeiner, treasurer; Lillie Barnes, secretary.Other members of the congregation were: Mr. and Mrs. Steinbeck, John Steinbeck, Lillie Steinbeck,Barbara Steinbeck, Ella Barnes, Walter Askew, Mrs. Louis Askew, Mrs. Richard Roller, Mrs. Huber,Mrs. Ault, Mrs. Nancy (Barnes) Simons, Mr. George Barnes.A church history written by Bruce Martin states; “At first the young congregation met in homes.Later it worshiped in a storeroom and then over a florist’s shop - both on Hamilton Ave. In 1911 thecongregation purchased 11 the present lots on Marlowe Avenue. On July 4 of the same year, assisted bymen from Christian Churches throughout the Cincinnati area, the men of the church erected the woodframebuilding that housed the church for the next 48 years. hey completed the basic building in one day,including the exterior walls and the roof. The first worship service in the new building was held that samenight, with the congregation sitting on the floor joists.In 1959 the College Hill church became fully self-supporting, no longer dependent uponfinancial support from The Ohio Christian Missionary Society. During the course of this year the basic9 Source: Rev. Larry H. Pigg, Mr. Artie DistlerThe Dedication of the College Hill Christian Church, June 28, 1964. Historical Highlights 1909-1964 prepared by Bruce Martin.10 Discover the Disciples College Hill Christian Church11 To raise funds, members hosted paid dinners at their homes.200