MANSFIELD — A little more than a year ago Dick Baker asked me to sit in on a committee seeking to organize a Richland County Hall of Fame.
Baker is a U.S. Navy veteran, a Lexington resident and a historian at heart. He found about 10 like-minded people from the community to share his vision and we’ve met informally for about 15 months.
Now that 501c3 group has a fairly simple question to ask. How many Richland County residents, from Plymouth to Lucas, Bellville to Shelby and all points in-between, would have interest in a Richland County Hall of Fame?
“I think there are things in (the community) we should be proud of,” Baker said. “We have (eight) Medal of Honor winners from Richland County. The guy who built Ohio Stadium, Thomas French, is from Mansfield. A nurse in the (book) Flag Of Our Fathers, was from Mansfield.
“We just want to see if people from the community think these people should be recognized.”
Baker said one of the things that would make this Hall of Fame unique is its broad scope. While there are athletic and business hall of fame exhibits, this would encompass personalities from the military, entertainment, business, public service, government, athletics, politics, etc.
“We’re looking to showcase the cream of the crop,” Baker said. “We would like for the historical societies and museums in Bellville and Shelby and Plymouth, and all over the county to be involved, too. Let us know who should be part of this from those communities.”
Names like John Sherman and Louis Bromfield and Harold Arlin and Roeliff Brinkerhoff all have schools or buildings or even farms memorializing their memories. But there are far more, too.
Baker’s group has kicked around the idea of launching a dinner, where to post pictures and biographies, or perhaps just to begin with a website and take it from there.
Potential honorees could include:
Louis Bromfield (author), Sylvia McNair (2 Grammy Awards), Lee Adams (Songwriter Hall of Fame), James Lapine (Pulitzer Prize winner), Jacob Brinkerhoff (politician), Roeliff Brinkerhoff (Civil War general and politician), Sherrod Brown (politician), Pete Henry (Pro Football Hall of Fame), Prince Charles Williams (world champion boxer), Mary Hulda (female women’s professional baseball league player), Don Nehlen (College Football Hall of Fame), Harry Mehock (Founder of Mehock Relays), Les Griebling (Indianapolis Racing Hall of Fame), Jimmy Crum (Sportscaster), Albert Allen (Military hero), Mordecai Bartley, Bill Hartnett, Ralph Phillips, Harold Arlin (first radio announcer to broadcast baseball and football game), Frank Lahm (pioneering aviator) and Medal of Honor winners: Matthias Day, John F. Rowalt, David L. Cockley, Joseph S. Hedges, Smith Larimer, John H. Ricksecker, James Wiley, David F. Winder and many more.
Still, Baker and his committee wants to see if local interest will support the idea. So, feel free to contact Dick Baker at richlandcountyhalloffame@gmail.com and offer your thoughts. The committee is anxious to hear them.
