A Walk Through History: Learn about the history of Westerville, Ohio. This newsletter was created by the Westerville Library’s Local History Center.

1. THE WESTERVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Local History Resource Center Newsletter
Winter/Spring 2015
A WALK THROUGH WESTERVILLE HISTORY
Vera Lott: Artist and Teacher
As a young girl Vera Lott and her family moved to Philadelphia. The big city had large movie theaters,
theater productions and a wonderful art museum. Vera would visit the museum and look at all the won-
derful paintings of men, women and children. They had classes for young people at the museum! Vera
was very excited when at the age of eleven she began taking art classes at the Philadelphia Museum of
Art. She said of her art, “Drawing has always been one of my earliest memories and I cannot remember
a time when it did not give me my greatest satisfaction and pleasure.” Vera worked hard to improve her
artwork spending long hours drawing and painting. After finishing school she worked as an artist restoring
antique photographs.
When the United States entered World War II,
Vera felt it was her duty to serve her country. She
joined the Coast Guard and served for several
years. During her time in the service she met her
husband Jack. After the war they moved to Central
Ohio and eventually settled in Westerville. They
had five sons.
Vera’s love of art which began when she was
just a young girl, continued when she was an
adult. She started teaching art with just one stu-
dent but soon had a room full of students. Her
students were all ages – 6 to 70. One woman
took her classes for over 35 years! Vera said that
she learned from her students. For many years
Vera displayed her young students’ artwork at the
Westerville Public Library.
Vera’s favorite artwork involved creating drawings
and paintings of children. She used her children
and grandchildren as models. Vera loved oth-
er aspects of art – dance, music and designing
clothing. She sang with a Westerville group – The
Village Voices and even designed their choreogra-
phy.
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2. 2
Will Rannells: Artist and Animal Lover
Born in 1892, in Caldwell, Ohio, and raised
in Zanesville, Will Rannells spent the last
years of his life in his home on Central Col-
lege Road near Hoover Dam. He was known
for his portraits of dogs. Will began sketching
at a very young age while living on the fami-
ly farm. He graduated from the Cincinnati Art
Academy and began to create drawings and
cartoons for a living.
Will was hired to
draw a cover of a
pretty girl with a
dog for the Country
Gentlemen magazine. After the project was com-
pleted Will realized that his favorite part of creat-
ing the cover was drawing the dog. He had found
his specialty and began to draw only dogs. His
favorite time of the day to work was late morn-
ing and early afternoon. His illustrations appeared
in books, calendars
and many maga-
zines.
Will used his own pets as models for his art-
work. At one point he had thirteen dogs and
several cats. He named his home in Blendon
Township Briar Ridge in honor of his beloved
Irish Setter Briar.

3. 3
Will Rannells (cont.)
Will taught art to students at the Ohio State
University for many years. His desk in his
campus office became known as the home
for every stray dog at OSU. He kept treats –
bones, scraps
of food and bis-
cuits – in the
desk drawers to
feed the constant
stream of home-
less dogs who
found him and
his goodie bag.
His love of animals led him to be the pres-
ident of the Columbus Humane Society and
to serve that society for 60 years. His home in
Blendon Township was surrounded by twelve
acres of wooded land which gave his pets plen-
ty of space to roam and play.
Will’s art brought
him many honors.
He was honored
by the Greater
Columbus Arts
Festival in 1977
for his many con-
tributions to the
arts. He was listed annually in Who’s Who in
America from 1928 until his death in 1982.

4. 4
Bob Miner Sketches Westerville
Have you drawn a picture of your home or school? Local resident Bob Miner specialized
in sketching buildings in our community. His artwork can be found in homes and offices
throughout Westerville.
Bob was principal of the Westerville Junior High School in the building that is Emerson Ele-
mentary today. After he retired from his career in education, he began to spend a lot of his
free time sketching and painting. Bob’s sketches were so popular that they were featured in
the newspaper, printed on
notecards and collected and
published as a book. Bob
chose to draw the historic
buildings of Westerville as
one of his favorite subjects.
Because of his artwork, we
have detailed drawings of
some local buildings which
are no longer standing.
Jim Atwood’s Recipe for Happiness
When asked about what made him feel happy, artist
Jim Atwood listed three things – a place to paint, a stu-
dio full of friends and a dog to keep him company. Jim
loved walking in his garden with his beloved dog Fred
Jr. at his side. He loved painting the plants, animals,
and landscapes of his garden and any other outdoors
location which featured natural beauty. During his life-
time he estimated that he had painted between 15,000
and 20,000 pieces of art.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Jim was inspired by his moth-
er and great-uncle who were artists. His father did not
want him to spend time painting, but instead wanted
him to be working on the family farm or playing sports.
However, Jim began painting at the age of 4 and never
stopped!

5. Cut out these two Bob Miner sketches below and color them. Do you have a favorite
building in Westerville? Sketch one of your own in the blank space provided below.
Design your own cover of
Life Magazine, just like Will Rannells.
ART ACTIVITIES
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6. Spring local History Programs
The Local History Center is offering free guided walking tours of histor-
ic Uptown Westerville for elementary school classes. The walk takes
approximately 90 minutes, making a loop through old Westerville.
Students will be treated to stories of the founders of the community,
residents who participated in the Underground Railroad, and informa-
tion about homes and businesses. The Anti-Saloon Museum and local
history displays at the Westerville Public Library are part of the tour. To
schedule a tour, contact Beth Weinhardt at 259-5028 or at bweinhar@
westervillelibrary.org
Walking Tours
Westerville History
The Local History Center is scheduling programs for spring. Let us
bring history to your classroom. We will share stories about the early
pioneers of Westerville, show old photos of the town, and talk about
the growth of and change in the community with special emphasis on
a transportation timeline. Classroom programs can be scheduled by
contacting Beth Weinhardt at 259-5028.
NEW!
Renovated Local
Histoy Center
Ohio and Westerville played an active role in the Underground Railroad. Many
people were involved in helping runaway slaves escape to freedom. In our
community, the Hanby family, George Stoner, the Alexander family and the
Sharp family aided in this effort. Throughout the state of Ohio, others were
working to make freedom possible for runaways. The Local History Resource
Center has collected resources on this movement and would like to share the
stories and the words of runaways with your class. We will share photos of
the buildings used as part of the Underground Railroad in our community. To
schedule a 30-minute program in your classroom, contact Beth Weinhardt at
259-5028.
Underground Railroad
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