By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
Bob Hill (left) and Jeff Walt, members of the Hocking Valley Chapter of the Ohio Society Sons of the American Revolution, pay their respects to John Hoover at a wreath-laying ceremony on Oct. 18. The event was put on by the local John Hoover Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution to celebrate their namesake’s life as well as their first year as a chapter.
The grave site of John Hoover, one of the first settlers of Jackson Township, is not hard to miss.
Located near the woods, by a bustling business district, a goose-filled pond and a busy street, thousands pass by his resting place each day none the wiser. But occasionally, a motorist will catch a glimpse of a stone marker, a fence, a tall tree and wonder what it is up there on that little hill on Gantz Road.
Ginger Thrush is one of those motorists whose curiosity got the better of them.
“After traveling down that street and past that site for the hundredth time, I decided I had to get out of my car, walk over and see what was there,” she said.
As a history buff and a long-time member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, she was intrigued when she discovered that Hoover was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. And then she decided, upon standing at his grave site, that she had to know more about this man and his life and embarked on a quest to find out everything she could.
She spoke with Mike Lilly, the Jackson Township administrator, and gathered all the information he had, which was quite a bit, Thrush said. Then she talked to local historians and shared her newfound knowledge with her fellow DAR members.
Then, when her sister Lora Yank decided it was time to establish a local DAR chapter to serve this part of the city, she suggested it be named in his honor. And so, when they were accepted as a member last year, the John Hoover Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was born.
But that is not all that happened thanks to Thrush’s bout of curiosity and the DAR members’ mission to honor the memory and lives of veterans who have served. In September of last year, Thrush went on the website Find a Grave and discovered that one of Hoover’s descendants, Paulene Coen had written a message seeking more information about his life. She got in contact with Coen and told them about DAR and what they were doing to honor her ancestor.
The two remained in contact and Coen even inquired as to whether she and her family could join the John Hoover Chapter even though they lived out in Arizona.
Then, a few months ago, Coen told Thrush that she and her family were going to make the journey from Arizona (and one even came from Missouri) to Ohio to take part of the wreath-laying ceremony at their ancestor’s grave site on Oct. 18.
There, a few of the descendants of John Hoover gathered and spoke about how thankful they were for his life and for his contributions to this country. They also said how grateful they were to DAR and to the city for working so diligently to honor and preserve Hoover’s legacy.
And as they spoke, as they laid a wreath at the grave site, hundreds of cars passed slowly by with motorists likely wondering what was going on up there on that small hill on Gantz Road. And maybe someday, they too will do as Thrush did and discover a part of history that they didn’t know was there.
