Dynamite!

Buying Dynamite at the Bolenbaugh's
By Rich Shull 2007 from Columbus Ohio

KA BOOM! Honestly until the mid 1960s you could buy dynamite at the Bolenbaugh Hardware in Canal Winchester. Dynamite has many uses in a sleepy little town and it was used to clean out creek banks and even responsible for a few basements in town. Years ago and far away before 911 and other world events dynamite could be brought here in the Americas. There were no questions asked anyone could buy it and I'm not even sure you had to record your name or sign a thing. Bolenbaugh's kept it in a separate building out in their parking lot.

As a 3-4 year old I remember the most of the dynamite events in the warmer months when our neighbor George Shoemaker a farmer was using dynamite to clean the trees out his creek bank about 1/2 a mile from our place. Some of my first memories were of our house shaking and looking out the dining room window to see a ploom of smoke and dust and occasionally a tree flying threw mid air. You must admit he had the cleanest section of creek bank around. One got the idea more than once George enjoyed the blasting. Lockville was and still is to some degree surrounded by corn fields. Few people in town look out and see their neighbors home with in a foot or two of theirs.

Even as late as 1994 when I was down at the creek working from his under water bridge testing a boat motor I built I could look up the creek bank and see where the tree line was much younger that the rest of area a tribute to his explosive habits. His family still owns the property today.


Digging a basement!

As for basements former residents the Stambaugh's lived on Broad St. in one of Lockville's old log cabins and as part of modernizing the place a basement was added so a furnace could be installed in the building. My dad Jerry tells me of how he cleaned the dirt out of the basement a little bit at a time one summer. Howard Stambaugh would place 1/4 stick of dynamite in the ground under his house and then make sure everyone was out of the place and the good dishes were packed away and KA BOOM. When the dust settled there were several loads of dirt to be hauled out from under the house. My Dad job (he was teenager) was to get all the dirt out from under the house during the day and prepare for the next night's blasting. When Howard got home he would set the new 1/4 stick charges. It is a tribute to the structure of a log cabin that it with stood all those explosions and even still stands to this day (2007). The current owner might not realize just how strong their home really is.

Innocence Lost

About 1965 or so It became very hard to get dynamite and for sure you could no longer get it at the hardware store. I guess the age of innocence was coming to a close. These days if a terrorist wants to do a job it seems they just use diesel fuel and fertilizer or something worse and get the same effect. Still It is probably for the best dynamite is regulated these days.

I never dreamed the early morning wake up call of George blasting would ever be fondly remembered but just as the Omar Bakery Truck and the Milkman delivered Milk and bread directly to our house the blasting days also came to a close. We also had a wonderful Sohio fuel oil delivery guy named Dick McDonald and he knew everyone like we were all his friends. He would sign our delivery slips and then add his initial to our forged signature. I remember the first time I was able to sign the delivery receipt,, It was so cool I was 7 or 8 and the only one home when he delivered a load of fuel oil and he said you can sign this! I felt so grown up!