Rittman Historical Society

09/03/2026

It seems hard to fathom, in today’s modern world, that there was ever a time when we weren’t connected to friends and loved ones by that small electronic device that most of us fear leaving home without.

It’s not unusual to see a grocery shopper standing in an aisle conferring with their family regarding which products to purchase for that evenings dinner. It’s also not a big deal these days when we have a flat tire, or we’re running late for work, because we know that we can inform the correct parties with little to no effort.

The cell phone has changed our world in many ways. And while we love the convenience that this little device gives our lives, there are times when we miss the stretched out phone cord that tugged all around the house as we chatted, sometimes for hours on end, with our school mates about who knows what.

Gone are the days of picking up that heavy receiver only to hear that a neighbor was already making use of that party line, requiring you to patiently wait your turn or where a flat tire required the kindness of a neighbors phone and maybe a sturdy walk to a phone booth where you could insert a dime or make that collect call to alert the helper of your choice in the hopes that they could come to your aid.

Yes, it seems like eons ago, but just this week we were thumbing through the September 1973 Rittman Press, when we came across an editorial note that talked about the fact that there were far too few payphone booths in the small town of Rittman.

It seems so foreign to us now, but there was a time when not every home had a phone. Kids couldn’t text or be texted to tell them to arrive home on time, instead they had to locate a booth and make the call to say that they were safely at so and so’s house, and that they would be home at such and such time.

We can’t help but remember the peacefulness that came with the lack of instant connection. However, one forgetful moment where we leave that cell phone at home to run to the IGA and we panic until we make the 10 minute roundtrip, as though being untethered to our phones will cause the earth to wobble off its axis and tumble on a collision course through deep space!

Technology, of course, is a wonderful and sometimes saving grace for us-but we every once and a while, we wish for just a minute that we could lift that receiver off it’s cradle and hear the pleasant voice of the operator as we asked her the time, or the weather, and relied on her speedy cabling to get us to the party we desired to chat with.

Instead we ask Siri or Alexa these questions, even though that “robotic human voice” sounds familiar, it lacks the small town feeling of home and comes with none of the pleasantries that the operator gave to us way back “in the day….”

08/27/2026

Just a few days ago, we found ourselves driving down Industrial…and while our sight and senses were focused on the safety of our journey, our minds were reeling through memory after memory as we thought about local traditions of days gone by.

The Rittman Press, often acting as the diary to the life of this town, shared with pride that in 1936 what would become a more than 40 year tradition, kicked off here in this small town.

We’re talking about the Labor Day Softball Tournament.

Maybe you remember?

Teams would pour into our little town to battle one another on the diamond-knowing that there could only be a single team crowned as best of the area.

In 1976, it was Miller’s Pipers from nearby Wooster that managed to bring home the title of “undefeated.”

Sure they were tired, and we are guessing sore as they celebrated in their dusty uniforms-posing for that picture that gave them their claim to fame right here in the Rittman Press.

While we still have traditions, like the parade, there are some like the Softball Tourney & Donkey Baseball that simply dwindled and fell by the wayside.

As we enjoyed the sweet smell of the very last of this summer’s warm air, we closed our eyes and for a moment…or maybe longer we heard the c-r-r-r-rack of the bat followed by the yells and screams both for and against the challenging teams who did their best to outplay the man on the mound winding up for that all important pitch.

Popcorn, hotdogs, and the last of the warm summer rays filled the air, as our chests swelled this one last time in remembrance of the fun and joy that America’s Favorite Pastime offered our young lads.

Do you remember the softball tournaments? Were you a part of a winning team?

We remember them well-and long for the days of our youth when running around the diamond to secure a win or suffer a loss meant more than just playing a game.

Instead it meant small-town camaraderie, sore muscles, and dusty grins-followed by the promise and brags of ensuring that if this wasn’t our year-next year we would show them all and be “top of the heap” in the heyday of The Rittman Softball Tournaments.

08/20/2026

As we enjoy refreshing slumber with the coolness of the air these last few nights, our minds are reminded that change is afoot.

The daylight seems to be sneaking away, leaving us with darker mornings and dusky shadows earlier each evening than what we had just a day prior.

While bells no longer adorn our schools, we hear them in our hearts, calling the tiny pupils back to order. It’’s not hard to see smiles a bit less bright as little ones exchange their busy days of play for yet another school year complete with learning and disciplined schedules.

Fall is around the corner, but fall, school, and daylight availability are not all that’s changing right now.

If you were about town, as we were this week, you might have also noticed curious activity down by the tracks on S. Main Street.

As preservers of the past, The Rittman Historical Society, couldn’t help but to remember a similar feeling that occurred way back in 1975.

Dr. Rose, then president of the Rittman Rotary, happily purchased the “Old Gish Homestead” directly from the Gish family.

The house was more than the oldest example of our Western Reserve Architecture, it represented work and a life that made this town the bustling town it had become. The Gish family figured out how to grow to***co in this colder northern soil, and in doing so, arguably ushered other entrepreneurs to give this small village a chance.

As populations grew and businesses like Rittman Salt and the Boxboard came to be, the mighty railroad followed. After all, how else would we bring both the needed supplies in and the finished products out, without the mighty iron horse?

The Gish House, after purchase by the Rotary Club, needed a new home. So with great discussion with Lindsay Williams (then president of the Rittman Historical Society)-the now resting place seemed just right.

Today it stands, almost as a protector, of some of Rittman’s wonderful citizens of the past, who now call the Pioneer Cemetery, home.

The Rotary would go on to gift this house to the city, fully restored, in a fitting final tribute of the celebration of America’s Bicentennial, they transferred this important piece of our history to the Rittman Historical Society.

The house was finally moved, in 1977, and placed on a basement as grounds were smoothed and beautified.

This story tugged at our brains this week as we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of our country, as this community proudly accomplished the goal of saving our beautiful B&O Railroad Depot.

It’s only fitting that on the last two American milestone birthday’s we preserved pieces of our own small town with a big heart.

Just like the Pioneer House, soon, we will welcome you to the returned splendor and glory of our very own B&O Railroad Depot.

While the shorter days, and cooler temps remind us that we almost have yet one more summer to remember in the books, we can’t help but to be excited to bring another wonderful piece of this towns past into the future.

Thank you for all the donations, hard work, determination, and most importantly passion to not only keep the historical places like Knupp, the Pioneer House, and now the B&O Depot as treasures for our whole city to adore for many days to come.

08/06/2026

We can’t help ourselves sometimes.

There’s something nostalgic about those old black and white movies that draws us in, each and every time.

If aliens were to land on our planet and watch one of those wonderful Jimmy Cagney gangster movies, they would see and hear things that simply didn’t represent humans then or now.

The language was, albeit sometimes funny and strange to our ears, very different from how we talk now, and arguably given the time spent with our moms, dads, gramps and grams, not how our population ever spoke!

Other funny trends abound in these old glimpses of a life that maybe never was, with the ex*****on of magic through the lens of “art for arts sake” completely distilled and capsulized forever in those wonderful clicking and clanking movie reels that used to create life itself on the screens of our little Diana Theater, and others that we fondly recall as we dream of yesteryear.

Other things you see in these movies from times gone by are faithful to the Americana we know and love.

For example, the female infatuation with wearing fur stoles, coats, gloves, and even hats.

We found ourselves reading the Rittman Press from way back in August of 1926, and low and behold were shocked to see that local businessmen Shook and and Branigan (who if you look closely you will find these family names forever etched on the facia of our grand buildings on S. Main) were opening what the Press called yet another sliver fox fur company right here in our hometown.

It’s not a shock to see a fur company, especially given that if you turn your Ohio History books back several pages. You will find that many of the battles over Lake Erie and Detroit involved the desire for the fertile hunting grounds that lined the pockets of early Ohioans with silver coins and notoriety, all at the expense of fox, deer, bears and other plush animals that called this midwestern location, home.

As fashions changed and fads came and went, the fur of the sliver fox could be found for decades on ladies wear. From mink and other furs that made the entire garment, the fashion world would soon switch and use this luxurious and soft fur from this small little animal to create fancy trims for the collar, sleeves and along the hemlines.

While faux fur can still be found in the fashion world, on behalf of our silver foxes, minks, and other little furry friends-we can’t say we’re upset that this fad has now, mostly, passed.

But in the days of Garbo, Gable, and Cagney-the silver screen reminds us that there was a time, even in this our little hometown, where it was not safe to be a cute little silver fox!

07/30/2026

Just this morning, as we savored the last sip of warm black coffee that is so required to start our day right, we realized how some traditions have changed throughout our lifetime.

As the hot and hazy summer days of July quickly fall from the calendar, we will soon quickly be on the back end of summer. Soon we’ll shop for school supplies and start to think about where we left that sweater that got us from spring to summer.

As a community, we’ve always come together not only for fun, but of course in times that matter.

The month of July placed our small town with a big heart on the news map, for sure, but it also reminded us to hug those loved ones a bit tighter-and of course brought out the love and charity that this town holds as it’s number one quality.

While we would have preferred to not be in the news for such a tragic event, we are now left on the other side and continue to support one-another as we look for whatever the new normal will be.

A bright spot, of course, to every Rittmanite was the wonderful parade. There’s something magical about the hurling of shouts, smiles, and of course, candies from atop hay wagons floating like magic carpets down Ohio Ave.

Smiles from children aged 1 to 100 could be seen as our hearts swelled with pride not only for America’s 250th, but also beat with a tender togetherness that you just cannot find in any other small town in the world.

As the parade wains in our memories, we remain thankful for each and every one of you. While the events of July are something that this community will overcome, our memories and love for those no longer with us will forever tug at our hearts.

Thank you for carrying the big heart of this small town in your hearts and hands each and everyday.

07/06/2026

Our hearts are heavy as we learn the news that today families will grieve an unimaginable loss.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

BREAKING UPDATE | A Rittman police officer is dead after a shooting in Wayne County. Three others are dead, including the suspect. Officers were responding to a disturbance at a home when they “immediately started taking fire,” the sheriff said. Two other officers were injured: https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/northeast-ohio/intense-active-police-situation-in-rittman-residents-warned-to-stay-indoors/95-b2ade4dd-60ff-40c8-9c8b-82538d1d996e?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WKYC_Channel_3_-_Cleveland

07/02/2026

History has tugged at our minds for the last several weeks, driven mostly by the beautiful displays of freedom that adorns almost every thoroughfare of this, our hometown.

We wondered out loud, just the other day, about not only the significance of our nation’s 250th birthday, but more importantly what that first year of freedom must have felt like.

Looking back to July 4, 1776 requires us to journey all the way into the colonial and bustling town, Philadelphia PA.

We can almost see the state house and we can only imagine the stuffiness and heat of the warm summer heated room, made even more stifling by the woolen clothed forefathers of this brand new nation, who gathered here to author what would become the DNA of this new country.

Most of that day, in 1776, was spent by the 56 delegates making revisions to what would become the yellowed parchment of documented freedom.

There weren’t grand gestures or events to mark the shift to independence, and honestly most delegates would not physically sign the document until August 2, 1776.

The streets of Philadelphia did not burst into celebration until the first anniversary of our nations birth, July 4, 1777.

We can almost hear the cannons firing overtop the sounds of patriotic tunes played by a band from the ships adorned in red, white, and blue.

That night, colonial America would celebrate with the brilliance and crackle of fireworks as they pierced the night sky, loudly proclaiming the joy of freedom.

This year, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the land we call home.

Our hometown, like many, will enjoy barbecues, family laughs, and of course mark the occasion with the boom of fireworks-meant to remind each and every one of us that

“And the rocket’s red glare,”

“the bombs bursting in air,”

“Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;”

“O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

“O’er the land of the FREE”

“and the home of the BRAVE!”

God Bless America & Happy 4th of July Rittman!

06/25/2026

There’s a saying that says “Charity begins at home….”

Back in 1954, in small town Rittman that was not only true, but something that every citizen and small business took seriously.

A store, back in the day, told you a lot about the people who kept it.

Some stores were all polished windows and carried the absolute latest in fashion and technology, while others were practical places, with shoes neatly lined up in boxes, dresses hanging with floral and durable prints, and it seems that there was always a bell over the door that rang whenever we stepped inside.

Artrip Clothing & Shoe Store was that kind of place.

On a Friday morning in June, the windows carried a hand-lettered promise: specials for two days only.

“10% of each purchase will be given to the church of your choice.”

Back in 1950’s Americana, Mr. Artrip simply understood that money spent in town ought to do some good in town.

A woman buying a Sunday dress could name one of our many and wonderful little churches where her family worshipped.

The idea was ahead of its time because the customer was invited into the giving.

And in a town like Rittman just like today, the churches were more than Sunday buildings.

10% from one pair of shoes might not have seemed like much.

10% from a dress, a shirt, and a pair of trousers still would not rebuild a roof or stock a pantry.

But added together, purchase by purchase, neighbor by neighbor, it became something larger.

In Rittman, for those two June days, shopping was not only about finding a bargain.

It was about making sure a portion of every good thing found its way back home and stayed local.

06/18/2026

Sometimes, when driving through town, we think about the businesses that have come and gone over the years. While it’s been some time since Rittman had durable goods type stores, like Conley’s, we remember back in the late 1960’s that there was another store that served all our needs.

For many years, RDS was more than just a department store, it was a familiar part of life in downtown Rittman.

Located on the right here in the city square, it was the place where families shopped for back to school clothing, and being our hometown, the comfort of the owners knowing our names.

The store first opened in 1925 as the Rittman Department Store, making it Rittman’s first and only department store.

Over the years, several local families helped keep it going, including the Spade, Grella, Moore, Ambrose, and West families.

By the time Kenneth and Kathleen West took ownership, the store had already been serving the community for more than four decades.

Then came the exciting announcement: RDS was moving from the city square to the Rittman Shopping Center.

The new location would offer about 4,000 square feet of shopping space, with a larger men’s department, an expanded ladies’ wear section, and many new lines of merchandise.

The move also brought a new name. Rittman Department Store, known to many simply as RDS and a bit later would become West’s Department Store.

It must have been quite a change for local shoppers, leaving the old downtown location behind for a bright new store at the shopping center.

But one thing stayed the same: it was still a hometown business, owned and operated by local people who had deep roots in the community.

Who remembers shopping at RDS, or later at West’s Department Store?

What did your family buy there?