Grove City Messenger - August 7th, 2022
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www.columbusmessenger.com<br />
<strong>Messenger</strong> photos by Dedra Cordle<br />
The family of Sharon Downs, who is pictured here to the left of and slightly behind the<br />
standing bronze plaque, gathered together with friends, civic leaders, and government<br />
officials on July 29 to celebrate her selection as the <strong>2022</strong> <strong>Grove</strong> <strong>City</strong> Rotary Club<br />
Service Above Self award recipient. Members of the association said that Downs, who<br />
is a life-long resident of the city, was chosen for her business acumen, her dedication<br />
to the revitalization of the downtown area, and her tireless, behind-the-scenes work<br />
with a host of organizations who help make <strong>Grove</strong> <strong>City</strong> and the surrounding region a<br />
better place to live. The bronze plaque that bears her likeness and describes her contributions<br />
to the community will be permanently located outside <strong>City</strong> Hall alongside<br />
past recipients Leslie Bostic, Steve Jackson, Sherol Saxton Mulligan, Tiney M.<br />
McComb, and Gary Leasure.<br />
Downs honored for dedication<br />
to Town Center revitalization<br />
By Dedra Cordle<br />
Staff Writer<br />
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<strong>August</strong> 7, <strong>2022</strong> - GROVE CITY MESSENGER - PAGE 5<br />
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Sharon Downs (nee Thomas) has always<br />
been a fixture in the city of <strong>Grove</strong> <strong>City</strong>.<br />
When she was a child, she could often be<br />
found riding her bicycle up and down the<br />
streets, waving hello to everyone who<br />
would pass her by.<br />
When she was a teenager, she could<br />
often be found driving her car throughout<br />
the city’s downtown, waving hello or goodbye<br />
to the passersby in her much-loved silver<br />
gray 1957 Chevy convertible with the<br />
sharp red interior and the glasspack muffler.<br />
Admittedly, she put many miles on<br />
the odometer during this time because she<br />
wanted to give the people in her sparsely<br />
populated hometown something beautiful<br />
to look at.<br />
“My car was so hot,” said Downs with a<br />
big laugh. “I was so proud of it because I<br />
had spent years saving up by working at<br />
my parent’s place (Rush N Opal’s Party<br />
House) to be able to afford that car so of<br />
course I wanted to take it out and show it<br />
off any chance I got.”<br />
When she was an adult, she traded in<br />
riding her bicycles and driving that car<br />
throughout the city to walking in and out<br />
of Zachary’s, the restaurant she co-owned<br />
with her husband, Joe Downs. There, she<br />
would serve the food and beverages to the<br />
masses who decided to take advantage of<br />
the nice days with the area’s first outdoor<br />
seating and eating arrangement.<br />
It was during this time in Downs’s life<br />
when she began to think that there was<br />
something amiss in her beloved city.<br />
“I would look around and there would be<br />
nothing there,” she said. “I wanted to see<br />
flowers, I wanted to hear live music, and I<br />
wanted to see new businesses going up in<br />
See DOWNS page 6<br />
DestinationOutlets.com<br />
800-213-9083<br />
8000 Factory Shops Blvd.<br />
Jeffersonville, OH 43128<br />
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