URBANCREST

Ellen Walker Craig-Jones was elected mayor and served from 1972-1975. She won the election by 11 votes resulting in a recount but the election results were confirmed in her favor. Mrs. Craig and her husband, James Craig were a working political team very interested in improving the community for its residents. Born June 5, 1906, in Franklin County, Ohio, she entered the political arena when only 20 years old and appeared before the Franklin County Commissioners seeking support for municipal water service for the village. She wasn’t successful but in 1960, as an Urbancrest council member, she and Mayor William Johnson went to Chicago seeking help for water and sewer service. In 1970, she worked closely with U. S. Congressman Chalmers P. Wylie making her dream a reality. The village water and sewer system became reality. She and others also worked to improve the community with new housing, street lights, signage and street improvements. During her years of community service, she received nearly 100 awards and honors.

The Rev. Dr. Nelson Wesley Trout grew up in Urbancrest and graduated from Grove City High School in 1939. He was born in 1921 and died in 1996. He was the first African American elected bishop to serve the American Lutheran Church which included the 144,000 member South Pacific District. That district included California, where he made his residence, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii and portions of Texas. Before becoming a bishop, he was a professor and director of minority ministry studies at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus. Following his death at age 76, Trout was commemorated in the Lutheran Church Calendar of Saints. Trout was considered a powerful preacher in the Lutheran Church serving congregations in Alabama, California and Wisconsin. He was also a friend and colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also once served as the executive director of Lutheran Social Services in Dayton. No doubt he was also proud of his niece, famed jazz singer, Nancy Sue Wilson. She was born in Chillicothe and was a West High School graduate in Columbus. She was a major figure in the national civil rights movement.

Gary Steven Burley of Urbancrest, is a graduate of Brookpark Middle School and Grove City High School. He is an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh and played professional football as a defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League. He also played in Super Bowl XVI. After his professional football career, Burley worked with gifted and talented middle and high school athletes across the United States. In 2006, he founded the Pro Start Academy for students 12-17 in Birmingham, AL. The organization encouraged young people in athletic abilities, academic achievement and life skills.

Robert (Bob) Hitchens was another outstanding athlete. Born in 1952, he also grew up in Urbancrest and was a graduate of Grove City High School in 1970 where he excelled in football, basketball and track. Hitchens also earned a full scholarship for football at Miami University in Ohio. He received honors as a tailback in the Mid-America Conference while attending Miami University. He was honored as most valuable player, offensive player of the year and named All- American by the Associated Press. He played professional football with the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was inducted into the Miami University Hall of Fame. He was an assistant football coach at Carnegie-Mellon University and
at Miami University.

Lonnie Carmen of Urbancrest was a mechanic by trade and inventor by choice. He loved flight and according to Arnett Howard, Lonnie was the first black aviator in Central Ohio. Unable to purchase his own airplane in 1926, he built one in his backyard with a salvaged motorcycle engine. He had no written plans but was able to construct an airplane that he flew. It was reported he would take flight and land on a village street but that is not a known fact. For some reason, he feared vandals would damage his aircraft so he kept it out of sight inside a barn on his property when not in use. By the 1930s, Lonnie had purchased his own Piper Cub and every Saturday, weather permitting, he took his family in his Franklin motor car to a nearby airport for rides in his airplane. It’s possible he might have used one of the early air fields in Grove City. The one nearest Urbancrest was located on the east side of Broadway between Parlin and Addison. On Sundays, Carmen and his family headed for Port Columbus, now John Glenn Columbus International Airport, to watch commercial aircraft take off and land. Known as a family man, he and his wife, Anna, raised their family in the village. He is remembered as a man who was able to solve most any mechanical problem.