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MARTINS FERRY -- Four highly regarded members of the community are being inducted into the The Martins Ferry Hall of Honor this weekend.
At 2 p.m. Sunday at Martins Ferry High School, the hall will welcome businessman Charles "Sid" Crummitt, educator Linda Heil Dowler, former mayor Carl Mamone and retired chamber of commerce director Dorothy Vargo Powell.
CHARLES "SID" CRUMMITT June 12, 1914 – May 12, 1990
"Sid" as Crummitt was known to everyone, was born in Martin Ferry and grew up in the Clark's Addition section of the city. He, along with his wife Laura, lived in Martin Ferry their entire lives.
Crummitt served with distinction in the U.S. Navy Construction Battalion, better known as the "Seabees" during World War II. In 1947, he began Crummitt & Son Vault Corp. with his cousin, Bob Schrodes, and two years later purchased the balance of the corporation in full. Thanks to the work ethic and business sense he instilled in his family, Crummitt & Son grew to multiple locations and today is in its fourth generation.
He was a member of the board of the Martins Ferry Public Library and served on the board of directors of Doric Products Inc., an international funeral supply company based in Illinois.
Always active in the community, Crummitt held memberships in numerous civic organizations, including the Elks, Shriners, Masons and Veterans of Foreign Wars, was an avid fisherman and a charter member of the Clendening Fishin Club. The Sid Crummitt Memorial Fishing Tournament is held every fall in his honor.
LINDA HEIL DOWLER
Dowler was born and raised in Martins Ferry, along with a sister, Gretchen, and a brother, Forest II, by parents Forest and Gertrude Heil. She attended Martins Ferry High School and graduated from Martins Ferry High. While there, she was a cheerleader for four years, a member of the National Honor Society, homecoming queen and winner of the Ohio Valley Queen of Queens contest in 1959, representing Martins Ferry High School.
Dowler graduated cum laude from Ohio University with a bachelor of science degree in education. She continued additional graduate courses through West Virginia University and Detroit University extensions.
She was employed by Martins Ferry schools as an elementary physical education and health teacher. After two years, she was transferred to the high school as the girls physical education teacher, dean of female students and cheerleading adviser.
She married her husband, Thomas R. Dowler, in 1969 and moved to St. Clairsville, where she continues to reside.
As an avid golfer, she participated in many Ohio Valley ladies golf tournaments, including the Kroger and Horne's Best Ball Classics, Belmont Hills Country Club Women's Club Championship, Ohio Valley Women's Interclub Team, Women's Southeastern Team and Ohio Senior Women's Amateur Internationals.
She retired from teaching for Martins Ferry schools after 30 memorable and privileged years.
CARL JOSEPH MAMONE Nov. 11, 1924 – Jan. 13, 2004
Carl Joseph Mamone was born Nov. 11, 1924, in Martins ferry, the oldest son of Joseph Anthony and Elizabeth Colombo Malone. He grew up in the Bulltown area of the city and attended Martins Ferry City Schools, graduating in 1942. Mamone was a member of the 1941 Purple Rider State Football Championship team.
After high school, he served in the U.S. Navy South Pacific Fleet during World War II as a member of LST 924.
Mamone started his teaching and coaching career at Hopedale before joining the staff at Martins Ferry in 1959. He was a member of the football coaching staff from 1959-66, serving as head coach of the Purple Riders during the 1965 and 1966 seasons. He left the classroom in 1967 to work as a bargaining agent for the Ohio Education Association. He remained until his retirement in 1988.
Mamone was elected mayor of Martins Ferry in 1988 and proudly served two terms, retiring in 1996. His public service accomplishments were many, with a few highlights listed here:
He was a long-serving founding board member of the Belmont County 911 board. He also served on the Belmont-Jefferson County Solid Waste Authority.
He had fond memories and ties to his days growing up in Bulltown. The friends he made there were lifetime friends, many of whom rallied behind him in his race for mayor. After being elected, many of his old Bulltown friends helped form the Concerned Citizens organization. This group, along with so many others who ultimately joined the group, took on beautification projects throughout the city. Along with the Chamber of Commerce, they made the streetscape/sidewalk project happen. Funding was very difficult to come by during this time, and it was many individuals and businesses too numerous to list, along with groups like the Concerned Citizens and the Chamber of Commerce, who worked tirelessly to refurbish parks, City Park fountain, Walnut Grove Cemetery and numerous recreational areas throughout the city for the enjoyment of the residents and youth of Martins Ferry.
Another project that was successfully accomplished by citizens wanting to help rebuild so many of the areas of the city is the reopening of the recreation center attached to the city's swimming pool.
Mamone's pet project while mayor was bringing McDonald's to the city. He refused to accept McDonald's original refusal to undertake the project because of the expense of building the wall that secures the amount of property needed for the project. Mamone contacted a former student-athlete of his, Ernie Renzi, from his days at Hopedale who was very high in the McDonald's organization and convinced him of the value of the project to the city of Martins Ferry. Through his efforts and resolution, McDonald's became a vital part of Martins Ferry's economic growth, which continues today.
Mamone was a member of Scotch Ridge Presbyterian Church, Rotary, Kiwanis, VFW Post 3613, Italian-American Club, American Legion Post 38, Elks Lodge 895 and the Purple Rider Boosters, all of Martins Ferry. In addition, he was a member of the Democrat Central Committee and the National LST Association.
One of the most memorable remarks made at his passing in 2004 came from the editorial staff of The Times Leader, which sums up the character of Carl Mamone: "We hope every time you look downtown and see activity rivaling that of larger cities, you will remember Martins Ferry is a far greater place because he chose to serve it."
DOROTHY VARGO POWELL
Powell was born April 11, 1934, in Colerain and graduated from Martins Ferry High School in the Class of 1952.
She served as executive director of the Martins Ferry Area Chamber of Commerce for 43 years before she retired in 2021.
Powell was one of the first females to be taken into the Martins Ferry Rotary Club, where she served as president for two terms and received the highest honor in Rotary, the Paul Harris Fellow.
She also served as president of the Martins Ferry American Legion Auxiliary Unit 38 and is a current member. She served eight years on the Belmont County Mental Health and Recovery Board and 12 years on the Martins Ferry City Schools Board of Education.
She is currently president of the Martins Ferry High School Alumni Association Board, having served at least 25 years as a member.
She is an honorary member of the Martins Ferry Lions Club.
Powell married her late husband, Dwayne Powell, in 1959. They have three children, Beth, Perry and Tom, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Dorothy still resides in the Colerain area.
Unified Bank is the sponsor for the Hall of Honor. Its support has enabled the committee to purchase plaques featuring each inductee, hold the annual induction ceremony and sustain the Hall of Honor. The plaques honoring enshrinees are on display in the Martins Ferry Public Library, and a display listing Hall of Honor inductees can be seen in front of the Martins Ferry City Building on the corner of Fifth and Walnut streets.