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I was disappointed to find very little remnant of any european cultural/ethnicity/food here. It was very small compared to more northern bigger cities and is mostly gone or morphed despite the names.
Dayton got just a light frosting of that big "Second Immigration" wave, the central/southern European immigration that so heavily characterized the Great Lakes cities and the Northeast. Ironically the largest group to come to Dayton, the Hungarians, are now perhaps the most assimilated. The Hungarians were in two neighborhoods, had three churches (two Catholic and one Protestant), social clubs, and their own newspaper.
Now all that's left is St Stephens parish in Old North Dayton.
One of the smaller groups, the Greeks, have retained the most cohesive community, though it's not geogrpahically concentrated in a "greektown".
The Greek Festival is one of the more popular outdoor festivals in Dayton.
On the note of Walmart, does Dayton qualify for the new, "Real People of Walmart," commercial? In all honesty, I cave and shop at Walmart for certain items due to price. If it is on my way (which it usually is not), I try to hit Meijer.
The suburbs remind me of NOVA because they are just that, both suburbs. That said, NOVA is still vastly different from the South and East suburbs of Dayton. NOVA is still much more diverse (more in pockets in certain areas) until you start reaching out into Leesburg, Loudoun County, and past the reaches of Prince William County. Part of that is the immigrant (and closer in, diplomatic) population of the DMV.
I've noticed a wave of new immigration here in the Fairfield mall area of....middle eastern? Asia? a variety actually shopping in the Col Glenn Meijers and working in the mall.
Back to the hillybilly diaspora to Dayton - one of its most famous and successful emigre's Dayton was ground zero of the Hustler empire. I think one of the other bars was called something like Hillbilly Heaven though I can't remember where I heard that. Seem I heard you could play washers there too?
Larry Flynt was born in Lakeville, Magoffin County, Kentucky, the first of three children to 23-year-old Larry Claxton Flynt, Sr. (August 16, 1919 – July 1, 2005), a sharecropper and a World War II veteran,[3] and 17-year-old Edith (née Arnett; August 13, 1925 – March 29, 1982), a homemaker.[4]
Cut out some stuff where he moves back and forth btw KY and Indiana and does a stint in the Navy
First enterprises
In early 1965, Flynt took $1,800 from his savings and bought his mother's Dayton, Ohio bar, the Keewee. He refitted it and was soon making $1,000 a week; he used the profits to buy two other bars. He worked as many as 20 hours a day, taking amphetamines to stay awake.[14] He frequently had to break up fistfights between drunken customers.
Flynt decided to open a new, higher-class bar, which would also be the first in the area to feature nude hostess dancers; he named it the Hustler Club. From 1968 onward, with the help of his brother Jimmy and later his girlfriend Althea Leasure, he opened Hustler Clubs in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo. Soon each club grossed between $260,000 and $520,000 a year. He also acquired the Dayton franchise of a small newspaper called Bachelor's Beat, which he published for two years before selling it. At the same time, he closed a money-losing vending-machine business.[15]
His fourth wife Althea
Althea Leasure was born November 6, 1953 in Marietta, Ohio. Althea and her four siblings, Sherry, Debbie, Marsha and Richard, came from an abusive home. When Althea was eight, her father Richard shot her mother June, grandfather, and June's best friend dead, then fatally shot himself. Althea's grandmother was present during the incident, but survived by hiding in the nearby creek. Althea and her siblings were later put into an orphanage in Xenia, Ohio where she remained until she ran away as a teenager.[citation needed]
[quote=Giesela;30303271]
Flynt decided to open a new, higher-class bar, which would also be the first in the area to feature nude hostess dancers; he named it the Hustler Club. From 1968 onward, with the help of his brother Jimmy and later his girlfriend Althea Leasure, he opened Hustler Clubs in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo. Soon each club grossed between $260,000 and $520,000 a year. He also acquired the Dayton franchise of a small newspaper called Bachelor's Beat, which he published for two years before selling it. At the same time, he closed a money-losing vending-machine business.[15]
/quote]
Hustler magazine was outlawed in Hamiltion County by the efforts of then sheriff Simon Leis.
...The suburbs remind me of NOVA because they are just that, both suburbs. That said, NOVA is still vastly different from the South and East suburbs of Dayton. NOVA is still much more diverse (more in pockets in certain areas) until you start reaching out into Leesburg, Loudoun County, and past the reaches of Prince William County. Part of that is the immigrant (and closer in, diplomatic) population of the DMV.
Agreed. The similarity is in the sense of military (uniformed military, defense civilian and contractor) "bedroom community" presence in Beavercreek, Centerville and Bellbrook, vs. say the more outlying parts of Fairfax County, VA. Fairfax has urban centers such as Falls Church and very wealthy areas such as Great Falls, which not even the toniest parts of Oakwood can match. But the poorer and whiter parts of Fairfax County begin to look like the wealthiest SE Dayton suburbs (of course, housing prices are no match).
As others have said, Dayton had its share of European immigrants, especially from Central and Eastern Europe. But for some reason that influence has waned, dwindling to a few landmarks such as the Amber Rose restaurant in North Dayton.
Flynt decided to open a new, higher-class bar, which would also be the first in the area to feature nude hostess dancers; he named it the Hustler Club. From 1968 onward, with the help of his brother Jimmy and later his girlfriend Althea Leasure, he opened Hustler Clubs in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo. Soon each club grossed between $260,000 and $520,000 a year. He also acquired the Dayton franchise of a small newspaper called Bachelor's Beat, which he published for two years before selling it. At the same time, he closed a money-losing vending-machine business.[15]
/quote]
Hustler magazine was outlawed in Hamiltion County by the efforts of then sheriff Simon Leis.
Where is hamilton county? Its not ringing a bell as anywhere near Dayton........
Hamilton County is the one whose seat is Cincinnati. Ironically, one of the two counties north of Hamilton County is Butler County whose county seat is Hamilton.
I've heard all kinds of accents from deep south to Appalachian. Personally my mother's side of the family is from North East Kentucky and my grandmother had moved there from Tazwell, Tennessee. My father's side was from Wheeling, West Virginia. A lot of people's grandparents were from Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia here. With patches of Georgia, Pennsylvania and New York here and there. Due to mass migrations during different points in time after the United States bought the northwest territory. Which is basically Ohio and Indiana. The areas outside of Dayton and major cities is usually a southern/Appalachian mix of light country accent. In Dayton alone. Which personally I consider the Dayton area at least 14 -16 cities. Dayton, Kettering, Beaver Creek, Centerville, Miamisburg, West Carrollton, Huber Heights, Vandalia, Englewood, Trotwood, Fairborn, Fairfield, Oakwood, Riverside and a few smaller towns to be close enough and connected enough to be in reality one large city/metropolitan area. Which is why I'm not including Springfield, Springboro, etc. But the dialects are all over the place. Oddly enough Dayton is closer to an east coast city like New York or Boston in the variety of people and influx of migration from nearly every state near us. Mostly I think, because of the Great Miami river. Also the main established roads came directly through Dayton. Namely the Dixie Highway. Which is North Dixie Dr. Today. And was replaced with interstate 75 when the national highway system was built around World War 2. And of course the major manufacturing established during the civil war era. Dayton is a melting pot of people from various states. Mostly southern, Appalachian and New York and Pennsylvania. Along with many migrants straight from Ellis island coming to Dayton as the largest manufacturing area of the north outside of Detroit and Pittsburgh. And still kind of is. So the accent can literally vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and the cities I mentioned to city. As it's been stated the accent from East Third Street Dayton can be different than Kettering or Vandalia and in some odd ways. For instance Springboro or here in Xenia there can be what sounds like a slight southern draw or twang. Possibly Appalachian. It's very mixed and be hard to specifically identify. But it's there and most of us from the Miami Valley. Which is what all the cities I described really are all together. Don't even notice it most of the time it's just normal. Or that it's even an accent. Which is why people from the Miami Valley are confused if we're told we have an accent. We just don't hear it. And despite it being a very very subtle twang or draw. Despite a few examples of spots in the area the accent is there but with a north eastern New Yorkish ”regular” annunciation. In other words the southern or Appalachian....I'd say more Appalachian than anything draw is very slightly there. Almost unoticible. But with a normal annunciation that doesn't have the words changed by drawn out S's or letters left out like a Minnesotan accent for instance. It's kind of odd I can understand how people can immediately notice it sometimes. You're hearing a ”normal” general American accent like New York or California. But then there's just that very subtle southern draw/twang that something just doesn't sound normal. You'd expect a regular New York American or southern or Minnesota accent. But it's not really any of those. And your ears tell you that it's a fake accent trying to trick you. Except it's not. To Miami Valleyans it's normal and there's a subtle variation through the entire valley. And depending on where your grandparents or family came from it can vary wildly. To the point that there's id guestimate around a half dozen or so variations. 3 or 4 of them very close to each other and barely noticeable. A few very Appalachian or southern. Depending on the area. The what I would deem ”normal” or basic Dayton accent that I speak myself that is mostly the mid Dayton and north Dayton up to Vandalia and east to Kettering and Beaver Creek and south to Centerville accent I would consider almost the same as New York. But...... there's just a few words here and there that are different in pronunciation. And I'm not talking about ”pop”. I'd name them but I'm honestly forgetting at the moment even though I've given a list of about 20 words to people I know from here that I've noticed. It's not many words but anyone not from the Miami Valley would immediately notice. And again probably sound odd to the untrained ear because it's being said in a ”normal” American accent. But is said in a way that sounds semi to half Appalachian or Kentucky southern. But not quite and is kind of its own thing. I'll repost the words or phrases here if I can find the notepad I typed it on. I honestly immediately forget since I naturally speak that way. And anyone from the Miami Valley or Dayton literally don't notice that they're doing it. But the history of Dayton and the Miami Valley is an interesting one. As stated by a few people a literal melting pot of North East, New York, immigrant, Appalachian and north southern accents and speaking and cultures. Even the food here is varied all over the place. From square pizza to not only the usual different foods like American Asian, Northern Mexican food which is different than southern. Pennsylvania dutch/German food, English food and basically most things you could get on the east or west coast and some Kentucky and Tennessee. Not much Texas or Creole or Cuban has made it up here. But I remember my mother making both cabbage rolls and smoked sausage and sauerkraut for dinner's. To someone visiting I'm sure it's an odd mix to take in. And the accents are all over the place. And can throw you off if you're not used to it. I haven't come across any that weren't understandable or annunciated clearly. Unless the person was literally from the south or New England or deep Appalachian areas. But I've seen it be jarring to some people. Especially if you're speaking with seemingly no accent and then just say a word combination that is slightly melted together or stunted or a word in a specific way that's just slightly different. It's understandable but they just snap their neck to look at you surprised because they're not expecting it from that lack of a southern accent. It's soo all over the place but if you actually pay attention and ask people where their families are from and trace things. You can see exactly where people moved to and congregated together in communities and where people went to live almost right down to the family. And in general I've found in Ohio. Outside of the major cities the more of a southern accent and influence you get. Where a lot of German families came to farm. We even have a city called Germantown lol. But the atmosphere is just completely different in the Miami Valley. The general Dayton accent might be closest to Columbus or Cleveland. But Dayton is nothing like Cleveland even though we speak nearly the same accent. And even Cleveland's accent is different in subtle ways. And the culture is very unique and nothing like Cleveland. Or even Cincinnati really. Although that's closer. Yes I'd agree that there's an extremely large Southern and Appalachian influence in Dayton. Especially Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. And I know that's not just my own family influence talking. A heavy German influence. And even Italian and some English. It can be a difficult area to describe. That stretches the entire Miami Valley. That's its own thing. Completely unique to Ohio and this area of America. Like an Ohio New York City. Or Dallas or Atlanta or San Francisco. But completely different and not like any of them. But it's all normal to us that were born here and live here. It's hard to describe unless you see it for yourself or live here. And not just that small little downtown chunk that's central Dayton. But the whole Valley. Maybe that's why I never left. There's literally no where else in the United States like it. And the culture, food, community and even accents are stew of almost everything. An alive and breathing feeling with parts all over the place in every combination. Very unique. And can be confusing to people not from here that are expecting the black and white of the east coast, west coast, plains or south. Especially since the rest of the world and especially the rest of America think all Ohio is, is nothing but farms and Cincinnati and Cleveland. And just one big corn field and some tree lines.
I've heard all kinds of accents from deep south to Appalachian. Personally my mother's side of the family is from North East Kentucky and my grandmother had moved there from Tazwell, Tennessee. My father's side was from Wheeling, West Virginia. A lot of people's grandparents were from Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia here. With patches of Georgia, Pennsylvania and New York here and there. Due to mass migrations during different points in time after the United States bought the northwest territory. Which is basically Ohio and Indiana. The areas outside of Dayton and major cities is usually a southern/Appalachian mix of light country accent. In Dayton alone. Which personally I consider the Dayton area at least 14 -16 cities. Dayton, Kettering, Beaver Creek, Centerville, Miamisburg, West Carrollton, Huber Heights, Vandalia, Englewood, Trotwood, Fairborn, Fairfield, Oakwood, Riverside and a few smaller towns to be close enough and connected enough to be in reality one large city/metropolitan area. Which is why I'm not including Springfield, Springboro, etc. But the dialects are all over the place. Oddly enough Dayton is closer to an east coast city like New York or Boston in the variety of people and influx of migration from nearly every state near us. Mostly I think, because of the Great Miami river. Also the main established roads came directly through Dayton. Namely the Dixie Highway. Which is North Dixie Dr. Today. And was replaced with interstate 75 when the national highway system was built around World War 2. And of course the major manufacturing established during the civil war era. Dayton is a melting pot of people from various states. Mostly southern, Appalachian and New York and Pennsylvania. Along with many migrants straight from Ellis island coming to Dayton as the largest manufacturing area of the north outside of Detroit and Pittsburgh. And still kind of is. So the accent can literally vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and the cities I mentioned to city. As it's been stated the accent from East Third Street Dayton can be different than Kettering or Vandalia and in some odd ways. For instance Springboro or here in Xenia there can be what sounds like a slight southern draw or twang. Possibly Appalachian. It's very mixed and be hard to specifically identify. But it's there and most of us from the Miami Valley. Which is what all the cities I described really are all together. Don't even notice it most of the time it's just normal. Or that it's even an accent. Which is why people from the Miami Valley are confused if we're told we have an accent. We just don't hear it. And despite it being a very very subtle twang or draw. Despite a few examples of spots in the area the accent is there but with a north eastern New Yorkish ”regular” annunciation. In other words the southern or Appalachian....I'd say more Appalachian than anything draw is very slightly there. Almost unoticible. But with a normal annunciation that doesn't have the words changed by drawn out S's or letters left out like a Minnesotan accent for instance. It's kind of odd I can understand how people can immediately notice it sometimes. You're hearing a ”normal” general American accent like New York or California. But then there's just that very subtle southern draw/twang that something just doesn't sound normal. You'd expect a regular New York American or southern or Minnesota accent. But it's not really any of those. And your ears tell you that it's a fake accent trying to trick you. Except it's not. To Miami Valleyans it's normal and there's a subtle variation through the entire valley. And depending on where your grandparents or family came from it can vary wildly. To the point that there's id guestimate around a half dozen or so variations. 3 or 4 of them very close to each other and barely noticeable. A few very Appalachian or southern. Depending on the area. The what I would deem ”normal” or basic Dayton accent that I speak myself that is mostly the mid Dayton and north Dayton up to Vandalia and east to Kettering and Beaver Creek and south to Centerville accent I would consider almost the same as New York. But...... there's just a few words here and there that are different in pronunciation. And I'm not talking about ”pop”. I'd name them but I'm honestly forgetting at the moment even though I've given a list of about 20 words to people I know from here that I've noticed. It's not many words but anyone not from the Miami Valley would immediately notice. And again probably sound odd to the untrained ear because it's being said in a ”normal” American accent. But is said in a way that sounds semi to half Appalachian or Kentucky southern. But not quite and is kind of its own thing. I'll repost the words or phrases here if I can find the notepad I typed it on. I honestly immediately forget since I naturally speak that way. And anyone from the Miami Valley or Dayton literally don't notice that they're doing it. But the history of Dayton and the Miami Valley is an interesting one. As stated by a few people a literal melting pot of North East, New York, immigrant, Appalachian and north southern accents and speaking and cultures. Even the food here is varied all over the place. From square pizza to not only the usual different foods like American Asian, Northern Mexican food which is different than southern. Pennsylvania dutch/German food, English food and basically most things you could get on the east or west coast and some Kentucky and Tennessee. Not much Texas or Creole or Cuban has made it up here. But I remember my mother making both cabbage rolls and smoked sausage and sauerkraut for dinner's. To someone visiting I'm sure it's an odd mix to take in. And the accents are all over the place. And can throw you off if you're not used to it. I haven't come across any that weren't understandable or annunciated clearly. Unless the person was literally from the south or New England or deep Appalachian areas. But I've seen it be jarring to some people. Especially if you're speaking with seemingly no accent and then just say a word combination that is slightly melted together or stunted or a word in a specific way that's just slightly different. It's understandable but they just snap their neck to look at you surprised because they're not expecting it from that lack of a southern accent. It's soo all over the place but if you actually pay attention and ask people where their families are from and trace things. You can see exactly where people moved to and congregated together in communities and where people went to live almost right down to the family. And in general I've found in Ohio. Outside of the major cities the more of a southern accent and influence you get. Where a lot of German families came to farm. We even have a city called Germantown lol. But the atmosphere is just completely different in the Miami Valley. The general Dayton accent might be closest to Columbus or Cleveland. But Dayton is nothing like Cleveland even though we speak nearly the same accent. And even Cleveland's accent is different in subtle ways. And the culture is very unique and nothing like Cleveland. Or even Cincinnati really. Although that's closer. Yes I'd agree that there's an extremely large Southern and Appalachian influence in Dayton. Especially Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. And I know that's not just my own family influence talking. A heavy German influence. And even Italian and some English. It can be a difficult area to describe. That stretches the entire Miami Valley. That's its own thing. Completely unique to Ohio and this area of America. Like an Ohio New York City. Or Dallas or Atlanta or San Francisco. But completely different and not like any of them. But it's all normal to us that were born here and live here. It's hard to describe unless you see it for yourself or live here. And not just that small little downtown chunk that's central Dayton. But the whole Valley. Maybe that's why I never left. There's literally no where else in the United States like it. And the culture, food, community and even accents are stew of almost everything. An alive and breathing feeling with parts all over the place in every combination. Very unique. And can be confusing to people not from here that are expecting the black and white of the east coast, west coast, plains or south. Especially since the rest of the world and especially the rest of America think all Ohio is, is nothing but farms and Cincinnati and Cleveland. And just one big corn field and some tree lines.
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Dayton was ground zero of the Hustler empire. I think one of the other bars was called something like Hillbilly Heaven though I can't remember where I heard that. Seem I heard you could play washers there too?
