7th and 8th grade class at Goshen Hill School, probably taken in early 1900s

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7th and 8th grade class at Goshen Hill School, probably taken in early  1900s.

Front row, L to R, John Stein, Anna Kopp, Roberta Haney, Florence
Loveday, Doe or Doc (Byron) Moore.

Back row, L to R, Teacher Ben Core or Kuri, Lenny Gibbs, unknown, Jack
Swihart, William Carlisle and William Kopp.

Sue Rolli Kirtley Family

  Sue Rolli Kirtley resided in Goshen from 1959 to 1976.  She lived with her parents Marge and Neil and brothers Kevin and Allan.  Neil passed away in January of 1987 and Kevin in December of 2004.  They had all resided along old Rt. 4 which is currently State Route 416 across from Rolli’s Tavern which was owned and operated by her parents.  They also owned a gas station at one time.
    Kirtley now lives in Dover and has two daughters Stacy Michelle and Blair Elizabeth, sons-in-law Dwyane and Sean and one granddaughter, Johanna Jane. Sue is currently working at Lauren Manufacturing, in New Philadelphia.  Kirtley says she always felt there was something fun to do in the Goshen community.
    “I played on the girls softball team for 5-6 years,” she noted. “I can remember Jim Scott, from Strasburg, was a coach at one point as well as Ed McPherson, of Tuscarawas. Jo Ann Davis (Guy), Bubbles (Catherine) McWilliams, Arleen and Leann (Liedke) McWilliams, Susie Kennedy (Burgess), Cheryl McPherson, Candy and Vicki Casebeer, Cindy (Krocker Davis) and Teri (Krocker Stein) were teammates as best I can remember. I think also Peggy Hobart, Debbie Shroyer and Susie Goss (Sherer) may have played at one time as well.”
    Kirtley also loved sled riding and ice skating and enjoyed watching the baseball teams during the summer.  The softball team played on the field once owned by Huck and Ellen Wilson and where the little league games were held.
    In her spare time these days, Kirtley likes to spend time with her brother.
    “Allan and I are very close,” she said.  “We enjoy riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, attending drag racing events together, or just going for a ride.”
    Kirtley remembers a lot of her family’s history as well as that of the community and is anxious to share it. Here is that history in her words:
    “Mom and Dad moved to Goshen in 1954 and built what is now Gary Mangon’s house. There, they operated a Sinclair gas station.”, she explained.  “My Grandma Helen Rolli, operated a general store next door in the house that Jimmy Carlisle did live in. I don’t know if he still lives there or not.  Also, my Grandma Helen operated a rootbeer stand on the property where Gary Garabrandt’s mobile home is located. The root beer stand had the first “drive in” movie in the area. The movies would be shown on the side of the store and later she got a big movie screen. My Grandma Rolli purchased the tavern from a lady named Mary Johnson and operated it for many years until she had a stroke and died in 1967. The tavern was left to my dad, Neil Rolli and it was operated by him and my mom, Marge and George “Pappy” Szita. Pappy was my Grandma Rolli’s companion for many years. He had a sister, Agnes and a brother Louis. They lived in a house beside Kennedy’s.
    I think the rebuilding of Route 4 into S.R. 416 happened in 1974-75. (In a later e-mail, Kirtley notes that on the back of a photo of the newly built tavern it says the plumbing was completed in 1973!) The new road caused several people to have to relocate their homes/businesses. Mom and Dad couldn’t have the tavern moved because it was such a large building, so they built a new tavern that is currently some type of “gaming” place. The old tavern was torn down because the new roads’ center line would basically go straight down through the middle of the building. I can remember the road crew hauled fill dirt off of mom and dad’s hill, behind our house, to make the base for the new road.
     I can remember that Ralph Simmers moved (Bill and Betty) Kennedy’s house down over the hill to its current location. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson’s house was bought by Mom and Dad and also moved by Ralph Simmers and was eventually located right across the road from the new tavern.  After some remodeling of the Anderson house, mom and dad sold the cement block house to Gary Mangon and we moved into the Anderson house. Agnes and Louis Szita’s house was also moved down the lane by the Welshenbaugh and Reynolds families. Also the gas station and store operated by Huck and Ellen Wilson was moved down the road.  Actually, their house was moved and a new gas station and store were built and is now where Fox’s Horse Farm is located.
    My dad raced stock cars for several years, say from 1954 until somewhere around 1959 or 1960. We always had a crowd of men in our garage. I can remember John Lieser, Jerry Coletti and Bob Condo. Ironically, Bob Condo is my neighbor now.  I have several pictures of my dad and his stock car and these guys.”
    Kirtley added that she has many photos of the community as well as some Goshen School “class photos” and would like to add those to the website in the near future.  Marge Rolli is now living at the Schoenbrunn Healthcare Center, in New Philadelphia.

Steve and Sue (Kennedy) Burgess

Wilson “Bill” and Betty Kennedy moved into their house along State Route 416, in 1955. The house was moved around 1970 from the current Goshen Valley Rd. when the new 416 was built. Bill and Betty had two children, Mike and Sue.
Mike and Sue’s grandparents were Jack and Mary Kennedy, who lived in Goshen since 1939, next to the Goshen Community Church of the Nazarene. The house has since been razed. Mary’s maiden name was Wilson and her parents also lived in Goshen. Their children, besides Mary, were John “Huck” Wilson, Woodrow “Woody” Wilson and Margaret Jackson.

Sue lived in Goshen from 1958 to 1982. She now resides in Dover, Ohio after marrying Steve Burgess, on August 21, 1982. They have two children, Stephanie Ann Burgess Stevenson and Shane Phillip Burgess. Stephanie is married to Josh Stevenson and Sue and Steve are now the proud grandparents of Cy Stevenson, who was born June 24, 2011. They also have a dog named Sammie and enjoy gardening. Sue has fond memories of living in the small, close-knit community.
“I loved to visit my grandparents,” said Burgess. “And running over to see Cindy (Davis) and Teri (Stein) Krocker, Dene Krocker (Badertscher) and Sue Rolli (Kirtley)”

Burgess adds that she doesn’t remember much about her Goshen home being moved except that Ralph Slimmers was the person who moved the house.
“I remember Mom saying that, ” she said, noting she isn’t certain about the spelling of his last name. “And we had to climb a big step ladder to get into the house!”

Marvin and Cindy Davis Family

Marvin Ray and Cynthia Ann Krocker Davis moved into their Goshen Valley Rd. home in September, of 1977. They built the ranch-style house on acreage purchased from Marvin’s parents, Floyd A. and Marjorie A. Oppy Davis, also of Goshen Valley Rd. Marvin and Cindy were married on June 24th, 1977 in the Sacred Heart Church, in New Philadelphia. Prior to marrying Marvin, Cindy had lived on David Rd. with her parents Edward K. and Mary M. Mathias Krocker and siblings Theresa J. Stein, Douglas E., James A., Joseph R. and Scott R., across from the Zeisberger Cemetery. On January 29th, they had their first son, Mitchell Joseph Davis. On September 11, 1983, they had twin sons, Matthew James Oppy Davis and Marc Edward Russell Davis. Matthew married Erin R. Mann, of Tuscarawas, on August 7, of 2010. They currently reside in Tuscarawas. Mitchell married Diane M. Szymanski, from Wilmot, on May 21, 2011. Mitch and Diane live on the former Oppy farm owned by his great- grandparents, James A. and Bernice K. Oppy, also on Goshen Valley Rd. Mitch purchased the property in the fall of 2004 and renovated the home that was estimated to be built in the 1830′s.