|
|
Those present at dedication were Dr. Clay Johnson,
President & CEO of Garst Museum; Darryl Mehaffie,
emeritus board
member of DCHS; Keith Faber, Ohio Auditor of State; Jim Buchy, retired
member of Ohio
House of Representatives; Pete Hemer, Project Manager;
Tim Flora, Flora Construction; Darren Reeves,
Mote and Associates.
|
|
Remembering the Past—Embracing the Future
Something new in the neighborhood? Indeed there is!
On Friday, August 14, 2020, Garst Museum celebrated the near completion
of its new parking lot by recognizing the people who helped make it a
reality. Invited guests were Jim Buchy, Eunice Steinbrecher, Keith
Faber, Darryl Mehaffie, Pete Hemer, Rodney Oda, John Marchal, Steve
Gruber, Darren Reeves, and Tim Flora. Keith Faber, Ohio Auditor
of State, presented Dr. Clay Johnson, President and CEO of Garst
Museum, with a certificate of dedication for the new parking lot and
also recognized Darryl Mehaffie, emeritus board member of the Darke
County Historical Society, as one of Ohio’s finest citizens, for his
many years of devoted service to his community and the state of Ohio.
Garst Museum will be forever grateful to all those involved because it
is clear that the scope of the project took many hours of planning from
start to finish.
But, when did the project actually begin? Standing vacant, the
century-old Buchy’s plant was razed in 2012. On March 23, 2015, five
years before the pandemic brought activities to a standstill, John
Marchal and Pete Hemer met with Louis Bergman at Mote and Associates to
“get down and dirty” about a parking lot at Garst Museum. And hence,
the project is launched. Garst Board Committee members led by
Pete Hemer, Darryl Mehaffie, Steve Gruber, and Garst CEO Dr. Clay
Johnson prepared for the project and secured funds from grants and
donations to finance it. The Ohio Facilities Construction
Committee awarded $150,000 to partially fund the project; a private
benefactor, who wished to remain anonymous to direct the focus to the
future of the community and the Museum, donated monies; and the Buchy
family made a valued contribution to the project adhering to their
decades of commitment to the community. The Museum worked closely with
the Darke County Park District and County Engineer’s Office to
assimilate the parking facility into the surrounding lands to benefit
future generations through calculated foresight and employed local
businesses to bring the project to fruition. The comprehensive plan
will make efficient use of the property and enhance the aesthetics of
the North Broadway thoroughfare. Today, just a few final touches need
to be added and then the parking venue will be an essential part of the
Museum’s operations and events.
But thinking back, many of us remember the presence of the Buchy Food
Service plant on that same North Broadway property—the iconic rooftop
sign, the red brick building, and the trucks parked ready for the next
day’s deliveries. But, beyond what we can remember is a
fascinating history of growth and five generations dedicated to
quality, service, and community.
In 1870, George Buchy fled the Alsace-Lorraine region when it was
invaded by Germany and immigrated to the United States with the
equivalent of $.85 to his name. He continued his travels from New York
to Pittsburgh along the Ohio River then to the Miami Valley while
working as a butcher, and eventually he was employed in Greenville in
1871 by his relative Albert Klee, who was operating a
slaughterhouse. Seeking the entrepreneurial experience a few
years later, George ventured out on his own in 1878 and eventually
expanded his business, the George Buchy Slaughterhouse, with the brick
building. But, upon his death in 1897, the business was sold to
Albert Bailey.
Wanting the business to remain in the family, George’s son Charles quit
school, saved money, and borrowed additional funds to buy the business
back in 1901 subsequently changing the name of the operation from the
George Buchy Slaughterhouse to the Charles G. Buchy Packing Company.
Before the advent of refrigeration and automobiles, Charles spent long
days delivering meats by wagon to customers in surrounding communities.
Lacking modern refrigeration for the warmer months, he cut ice from a
pond behind Vine Street and stored it at the plant. In 1918, the
first gas compressor for refrigeration was purchased, and then 15 years
later, the business’s first refrigeration truck was on the road.
Upon the death of Charles Buchy in 1963, his son George J. became the
third Buchy to steward the company. The company continued to
evolve with the addition of a freezer, a computer system, and a more
diverse customer base. But, the dynamics of the business showed George
and his son Jim that buying cuts of pork and beef was cheaper than
slaughtering their own. Economics dictated that the slaughter
operations cease in 1968.
Jim, the fourth-generation Buchy to be involved with the business,
started doing odd jobs at the plant when he was 12. Through the
years, he swept floors, drove a delivery truck, cut meat, and advanced
to company president in 1978. While still at the helm of Buchy Food
Services, Jim also served Greenville and the state well as a 12-term
member of the Ohio House of Representatives. He has stated, “I firmly
believe there will be a revitalization of downtown Greenville. If
patience prevails, I envision businesses growing on Broadway. And
we have a beautiful park. Gosh, I love that park…[and] Garst
Museum is a great asset to our community.”
By the late 1980s, the labyrinth of government regulations for
manufacturers made distributing more profitable than processing, and
the business changed to a wholesale distributor of food items by 1991.
In 2006, the business moved to a new building in the Greenville
Industrial Park but maintained the desire to develop the North Broadway
lot. Ultimately in 2012, ownership of Buchy Food Service was
transferred to Sysco Cincinnati—thus, ending an era.
Buchy’s North Broadway plant has evolved from a slaughterhouse to a
meat manufacturing facility to a distribution center to finally a
much-needed landscaped parking area to serve Garst Museum and a
biking/walking path that is an essential link in the Darke County Park
District’s recreational trails throughout the county. Nostalgically,
the four-acre tract is remembered as a meat-packing plant; presently, a
section of the property will be appreciated by the nearly 12,000
visitors to the museum annually and the adjacent trail will be
dedicated as the Buchy Mile to be enjoyed by walkers, runners, and
cyclists daily.
The Garst Museum is located at: 205 N. Broadway, Greenville, OH
45331 phone: 937-548-5250 website: www.garstmuseum.org
email: www.information@garstmuseum.org
|
|
|
|
