Historic Huffman

In the 1950s, jobs were easy to get in Dayton. So two brothers from Kentucky moved to this city, found work in factories, and settled down in this small neighborhood east of downtown.

Joe and Bill moved into next-door houses on June Street, owned by their sister, who worked at Wright Patterson AFB. Raised by their grandparents, the siblings had all grown up on a farm in Kentucky, where “the yellow mud was so thick, your feet would get stuck” on the walk to school, recalled Bill.

After serving in the armed forces, the two brothers came to Dayton in the early 1950s. They found work in the tool and die and manufacturing industries. With the help of a G.I. loan, Joe was able to buy the house from his sister and has lived on June Street ever since.

He thinks this is a great neighborhood. Recalling the first decade he lived here, he says, “Everybody knew everybody.” On warm evenings neighbors sat outside, talked, and played cards.

During the 1960s and 70s, the Huffman neighborhood experienced some tough times. More people moved to homes in the suburbs – as automobile ownership increased travel opportunities and desegregation of local schools sparked “white flight” – leaving the houses in Dayton’s inner core vulnerable. Houses turned into rental properties, some run roughshod by motorcycle gangs and drug dealers. Some houses burned down.

But Joe and Bill stuck through it all. In the early 1970s, Joe married a woman he met at his workplace and brought her home to Huffman. Gerema has been by Joe’s side through the neighborhood’s tough times and as it gradually improved. They both say that the neighborhood now has many of the good qualities it had five decades ago.

Gerema recalls helping longtime June St. resident Hilda with errands and house chores after Hilda’s husband passed away. One time Hilda asked Gerema to dust a particularly elaborate crystal chandelier. When Gerema climbed up on a chair to reach it, she discovered that is was hanging precariously by a few wires and encouraged Hilda to find a more experienced handyman to come to the rescue. They would also walk to neighborhood meetings together.

After 50 years in the neighborhood, Joe and Bill are some of June Street’s most senior residents. Gerema, too. On recent warm evenings, they walked up and down the street’s sidewalks — Bill with his dog — stopping to chat with various neighbors. Lately health issues have kept them closer to their homes. Now we see them in their front yards or we knock on the door to be invited in for a chat in their living rooms.

As an 13-year June St. resident, I must say that I always enjoy my conversations with my neighbors. We exchange news, tell stories, and usually have a good laugh. Gerema, one of the sweetest women I know, often tells her neighbors that she loves them. What a great neighborhood to be a part of!

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