http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/articles.sec--21-1-reflections-of-the-past.html Athens wasn't always the peacenik enclave that it is today. OK, so maybe it isn't exactly that today either, as evidenced by some much-publicized rowdy behavior around town in recent years. But there sure aren't any gunfights going down on Court Street.]]> In 1977, Guy Philips started as a freshman at Ohio University. Coincidentally, that was also the year that The Athens NEWS started publication. While still in college, Philips took a job selling advertising space in The NEWS. Today, 30 years later, he is still an ad salesman for the paper. He is also, however, a part owner of the business, and has been so for many years.]]> An Athens business that's been a constant for over 50 years will soon disappear from the city. It's a small, utilitarian place. It was open later than most bars. It had wall-to-wall merchandise, cheap cigarettes and a calm, weary dog. A half-lucid voice at the counter never failed to ask, "You want matches?" If you haven't already guessed, it's the Campus Sundry on West Union Street, and by 2012 it will be a memory.]]> Two locally situated books have been published in this year, both unique stories of counterculture, plenty of drugs, and vivid scenery.
]]> There is a photo on the final page of the 1969-1970 edition of the Ohio University Athena yearbook that features a group of Ohio National Guard troops marching single-file past the Athena Cinema like armed ducklings below a marquee that reads simply "Z."]]> Despite its name, Radar Hill may seem like just another place to hike, enjoy nature and observe an impressive view of Athens. Located on Ohio University’s Ridges property, Radar Hill has a unique past. ]]> In the 1940s and into the ’60s, Ohio University’s College Green accommodated more than studying and hurrying students. The Kissing Circle tradition began and evolved through the years.]]> Athens and Ohio University have come to expect a variety of floods, even welcoming some of them at times. Whether it’s the yearly influx of thousands of people for the Halloween celebration, the numerous beer-laden musical festivals that draw large crowds, or just the annual back-to-school deluges, the area handles floods well.]]> To hear it from some sources, giants once roamed these parts. That’s right, giants. Giant Indians. Whole tribes of them. Seven to eight feet tall. ]]> Over the years at Ohio University, countless students have formed bands. Often these outfits break up at graduation; sometimes, they stick together and try to make it in the music business.]]> The Ridges campus looms high above Ohio University. The complex has added to the mystique of OU for more than a 100 years. It entrances many onlookers with its 19th century architecture.]]> In any discussion of the Founding Fathers of Ohio University, the name of Manasseh Cutler probably looms larger than that of anyone but Rufus Putnam.

According to a retired OU professor whose family has ties to the Cutlers, however, Manasseh's oldest son Ephraim (1767-1853) was actually far more of a benefactor than his father to both the university and the region, and has been unfairly neglected by historians.

]]> They were young, they were idealistic, they were high on peace and love and groovy music. They were, in a word, hippies.

A whole bunch of them lived in Athens in the 1960s "“ many in big communal houses "“ and a surprising number have stayed here to raise families, build businesses, pursue careers, and help give this place a flavor like no other.

And if you think they're looking back on their barefoot flower-child days with any embarrassment now, think again.

]]> Once upon a time, before the big Halloween block party in Athens, before Palmer Fest, before theme weekends, before Court Street, before Ohio University, even before Athens, this area was still thriving with life and culture.

In fact, it had been for thousands of years. But these days it takes a keen observer to identify those traces of our southeast Ohio predecessors. The evidence of these ancient cultures lies literally under our noses, or, more accurately, under our feet and tires.

]]> Though the early winter frost covers the grassy infield, the same pounding of hooves on the rock-dust track that has been heard for over 100 years at the Athens County Fairgrounds jolts through the brisk morning air. With the temperature barely reaching 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Charlie Schoonover sits in a cart whizzing around the track behind one of his horses, just as he has for the last 20 years.

]]> One century ago in Athens County, physicians were still delivering babies, operating, and caring for the critically ill within the confines of their own homes.

But in 1921, Charles and Delia Breinig of 17 Clark St. changed all that when they invited women of the community to use rooms in their home for delivery. And thus was also born a community hospital here in Athens.

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