New buildings show Mad River Twp. continues to progress

Greenon Local School Board of Education members and others cut the ribbon to officially welcome crowds to Greenon Schools' new K-12 campus during an open house Sunday. Photo by Brett Turner

Greenon Local School Board of Education members and others cut the ribbon to officially welcome crowds to Greenon Schools' new K-12 campus during an open house Sunday. Photo by Brett Turner

What a big week this has been in Mad River Township.

Young’s Jersey Dairy’s big new Dairy Store opened Thursday.

Young’s has always been an important part of our community. Those who have lived here longer than me remember how the ice cream store started out in a little building next to the barn. Every few years something new like Udders and Putters, or the Golden Jersey Inn was added.

Before we knew it, Young’s had evolved into a large entertainment and restaurant venue in addition to being a great place to simply enjoy farm life.

Petting the goats was a favorite pastime and we always enjoyed arriving in time to see the milking in the evenings. Our kids loved the fall festival with hay rides, and corn mazes.

Nice thing is that Young’s has always remembered it was a part of this community and the business gave back to its neighbors in so many ways. Hundreds of teens had their first jobs at Young’s. Additionally this business encouraged many community endeavors over the years.

Today, Aug. 26, was day one of what Young’s Jersey Dairy owner Dan Young said will be the farm’s home base for decades to come.

Credit: Staff

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Credit: Staff

I think that is one of the main reasons the mere mention of Young’s makes us all smile, oh and that ice cream is pretty good as well. To the community Young’s is “ours” and we are proud of it.

Now that the new building is in use the original ice cream store will be leveled to make more parking for the big building that has been constructed behind it.

That old dairy store holds so many memories for our communities. We have celebrated birthdays there, met with friends, enjoyed that fabulous ice cream after school events.

On her 16th birthday our middle daughter was kidnapped by her friends and delivered to the store wearing her pajamas for an early breakfast. One of our granddaughters had a first date there recently. I hear the governor and his wife had their first date there also when the store was new.

However as we bid farewell to the old dairy store, that cool new building with the silo and giant Jersey cow will begin to house more fun memories. I’m also looking forward to watching the ice cream being made and the cheese too.

On the other side of the township another big transition is taking place.

The beautiful new Greenon High School-Middle School-Elementary School was dedicated on Sunday. That much-anticipated ribbon cutting was well attended.

Every student I speak to is excited about the new buildings, and the teachers are over the moon. Right now, I believe, however that everyone’s favorite part is the air conditioning.

It was fascinating watching Indian Valley be leveled and seeing the new district buildings peek over top the ruins from the back lots. The dream of new buildings has finally happened.

I’m pleased that these new buildings are on village water and sewage, and near law enforcement and emergency services. These things alone are huge improvements and smart moves for the district. It shows that we care for our environment and our students’ safety.

A couple of miles back down Rebert in the middle of the township the old high school looks sad.

Even though the lawn is still cared for, the original Greenon High School is slowly being disassembled. Yes it’s old and worn but it’s been sitting on that corner for as long as most of us can remember.

The new library for the Greenon Schools building at an open house Aug. 29, 2021

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Our daughters all graduated from Greenon. I won’t shed a tear over the old worn building but I’ll recall some interesting times as we watch each wall come down.

Today as I took a photo of the demolition I had a flashback to walking down Rebert and having our oldest daughter call out my name on a megaphone out the open window of the physics lab. Scared me out of my socks.

It will be interesting to see how much of the old Greenon is actually torn down. That gym area was built of reinforced concrete like a WWII bunker without the gun ports. I hope other uses can be found for it.

One thing that is staying the same is that the outdoor sports will still be at the old Greenon and that makes me happy too. I love hearing the football games and band camp in the distance.

Nothing stays the same. The openings of these two new buildings show that Mad River Township is progressing in a positive manner. In this crazy world we are indeed blessed.

Now if we can just folks to stay below the speed limit on Rebert Pike …

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