Three new inductees to Brown County Historical Hall of Fame

The Brown County Historical Hall of Fame was started as a way for the Brown County Historical Society to honor people who have made their mark in Brown County history.

The Brown County Historical Society held its fifth Brown County Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Georgetown United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 26 with a large crowd in attendance.

This year’s inductees were the late Rosa Washington Riles, the late George A. Kennedy, and George Vogel.

Inductees are selected from four categories – leadership, sport, enterprise, and arts & entertainment.

Rosa Washington Riles

Rosa Washington Riles (March 1, 1901 – December 17, 1969) was born in Red Oak, Ohio. All four of her grandparents had been slaves. In the 1930’s she was hired as a cook for a Quaker Oats executive. Because of her wonderful personality and smiling face, not to mention her excellent abilities as a cook, she was hired as the third Aunt Jemima marketing character in the mid-1940s and continued her portrayal until the 1960s. She did pancake cooking demonstrations locally and across the country. Rosa died in New Orleans, but she was brought home and is buried in the Red Oak Presbyterian Cemetery. She was always proud of her role as Aunt Jemima. An image of her as Aunt Jemima adorns her headstone. Providing a detailed history of Riles and the Quaker Oats’ Aunt Jemima, and accepting the plaque on her behalf was local historian and John P. Parker House Museum docent, Dewey Scott.

“Unlike Betty Crocker, there was a real Aunt Jemima,” said Scott.

Scott spoke of a large plantation on the Mississippi River during the time of the Civil War that was used often as a layover for river boats, a place where a cook called “Aunt Jemima” made breakfast for the travelers. Her delicious pancakes caught the attention of many, an orginial recipe that was kept a secret and lost to history, according to Scott.

Washington Riles was employed as a cook in the home of a Quaker Oats executive. Following the death of Nancy Green in 1923, the first Black woman to portray Aunt Jemima, Washington Riles was recruited to give food demonstrations across the United States as one of the traveling women hired to portray the fictional character of Aunt Jemima.

For a number of years, Washington Riles’ depiction of Aunt Jemima was used on the product package, first as a large portrait. Washington Riles passed away in 1969 and is buried in Red Oak Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Red Oak Presbyterian Church has hosted an annual pancake breakfast in Rosa’s honor, as a fundraiser for the old part of the cemetery.

As years passed, calls for Quaker Foods to change the branding grew louder over the years. In 2020, the company finally acknowledged, “We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.”

In 2021, the company officially unveiled the new Pearl Milling Company brand, retaining the familiar red and yellow colors of Aunt Jemima.

“The Aunt Jemima trademark is the longest running trademark of any brand that we’ve ever had in advertising, and to us here in Brown County, it’s one of the best,” said Scott.

George A. Kennedy

George A. Kennedy (1851-1922) was born in Highland County, Ohio and lived in or near Sardinia most of his life. He was a man who had a vision of the future. He did not sit idly by and let someone else fulfill his plans. He worked hard, always planning and looking ahead. He was a small man in stature with big ideas. Many who knew him well said, “He lived ahead of his time.”

Kennedy was a large landowner in the Sardinia area and donated the land for the railroad yard and depot. One of his dreams was to develop a fair unlike any yet seen in the area. It would not be an agricultural fair but rather an exposition of new ideas. He produced the Kennedy Fair from 1901-1911. The fairs featured many new inventions including electric lights, airplanes, automobiles, ice cream cones and all types of new industrial and agricultural wonders.

Providing a history on George Kennedy and accepting the plaque on his behalf was Sandy Purdy.

“We would call him a ‘mover and a shaker,’” Purdy said of George Kennedy.

“During the first decade of the 20th century, each year for the first few days of September, he put on a fair. An exposition of sorts, of new ideas, thrill shows and other entertainment,” said Purdy.

For the fair, a large grandstand was constructed, a judges stand, a mile-long track for horse racing, and a floral hall.

The fair drew large crowds to Brown County for the time, many coming to see the new farm equipment, thrilling stunts, and to get their first taste of cotton candy.

“George Kennedy died in 1922, having made Sardinia a destination in his time,” said Purdy.

George Vogel

George Vogel spent his 40 working years attending high school football and basketball games, attending games of the Cincinnati Reds , Cincinnati Bengals, University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. He served those years as sports director of WLWT, appearing nightly, broadcasting the sports news from the tri-state area.

He occasionally mentioned his hometown, Georgetown, Ohio, especially when the Georgetown G-Men boys’ basketball team went undefeated at 28-0 and won the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division IV State Championship in 2007.

One of 2023’s three Brown County Historical Hall of Fame inductees, he was born, Sept. 27, 1957 to George and Luellen Vogel in Georgetown and graduated from Georgetown High, School in 1975. He took college preparatory courses and participated in baseball, basketball and track.

George Vogel’s longtime friend, Tony Ring, of Georgetown, described George as a “go to friend,” always outgoing and a friend to many with a great sense of humor.

As a youngster, Ring said, “George followed the Reds and knew the lineups, batting averages, standings, which players were doing well or injured and the team’s ‘win/loss’ record.”

Vogel was inducted into the Georgetown Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.

Vogel attended Southern State Community College two years and transferred to University of Cincinnati, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He majored in Media Electronics taking courses in sports writing, broadcasting and media.

After graduation, he joined WLWT as an intern and became producer, desk manager, sports reporter, and sports director.

As broadcaster, Vogel interviewed many sports stars around the country but says his most memorable interview was with Paul Brown, former owner and manager of the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns.

George Vogel is married to law office paralegal, Lisa Vogel, and has two children, Ashley and Tyler from his marriage to Candy Miller, of Georgetown.

He lives in the Cincinnati area, but describes Georgetown as a great place to grow up in and has fond memories of his hometown which he still visits. He served as a parade grand marshal in 2019, celebrating Georgetown’s Bicentennial.

Vogel was inducted in the category of Arts and Entertainment and related fields into the Brown County Historical Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Georgetown High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

“It means a lot to a hometown guy like me, and it means a lot to my wife and family,” Vogel said of his induction into the Brown County Historical Hall of Fame.

Vogel reflected on his year’s as a sports broadcaster – a career that put him in contact with a number of sports legends and took him to many sporting events across the country. But, no matter where his amazing career took him, he will always hold fond memories of his hometown of Georgetown and Brown County.

“Georgetown is where my heart is and where my best friends are,” Vogel said during his Brown County Historical Society Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “It’s a great honor and it’s something never to be expected, but it will always be appreciated.”

Master of ceremonies for the 2023 Brown County Historical Society Hall of Fame Induction was Dr. Ned Lodwick.

The National Anthem for the ceremony was sung by Harriett Groh.

Members of the Brown County Historical Society Hall of Fame Committee are Dr. Ned Lodwick (chair), Susan Bell, Stan Purdy, and Judith Gray.