“I have no idea what’s special about Stewart, but I don’t want to live anywhere else,” says Kitty Church, a resident of Stewart since 1978. Here, residents tend to usually stick around in the community, and this aspect of life can still be seen represented by a few multi-generational families that are still present in the community. It’s a quiet place, where daily habits become tradition, and the, “same old thing” is the newest thing in town.
Jim Goodfellow assists with record keeping during the bi-weekly meeting for Stewart Township Volunteer Firefighter Department, in Stewart, Ohio. Jim, a veteran of the fire department and previous fire chief, is the longest running member the fire department has ever had, and has served since 1977.
Myrtle Gabrielle prays inside of the Stewart United Methodist Church in Stewart, Ohio. The circular stained glass window was originally built for a church in Washington D.C.. However, that church was torn down, and the window salvaged and saved. In 1914, when the Stewart United Methodist Church was built, the women’s group of the church raised funds for purchase of the window.
Gregory “Gilk” Gilkey, the unofficial mayor of Stewart, smiles while listening to a live band play in the Stewart Park after having posed for a portrait.
Generations of family members singing happy birthday to Lola-May Lackey as she turns 90, in Stewart, Ohio. In addition to the locally based family, The Lackeys have a large extended family with an estimated 80 of them in attendance at Lola-May’s birthday party, with many of them flying in from across the U.S. for the occasion.
A white lilac blooms around a sign for State Route 329 as spring arrives in Stewart, Ohio. Glasshouse Works, owned by Ken Frieling, is a mail-order nursery specializing in rare and exotic plant propagation, and takes up much of the block this sign is located on. Stopping to talk with community members about the types of colorful plants in their lawn will likely yield a story of Ken’s generosity in gifting plants from around the world.
Rodney Brown gives one of his and his wife Crystal’s 14 rescue animals, Maya, a kiss on the head, inside their home in Stewart, Ohio. “When you buy from a puppy mill, you’re just supporting that whole thing,” says Crystal. “When you buy a rescue Pit, it’s $300 and you get to give it a second chance.”
A decorated banjo hanging off the wall in the music lending library in what was previously the Rome-Canaan middle school, in Stewart, Ohio. Theresa Lackey started the program four days after she had retired nine years ago. “You need an instrument to play in band, and some people can’t even pay rent,” says Lackey. “And now kids are able to try out an instrument and they don’t have to have their parents purchase one.”
The Federal Hocking Lancers boys varsity baseball team exercises in a post-game run in Stewart, Ohio, after winning their game against Miller High School 14-1. Given the size of the school and number of students enrolled in athletics, occasionally different sports will have to jokey for the same player to fill their roster on game day.
Jay Withem works on repairs to one of his vehicles during the off season from his main job driving a dump truck, in Stewart, Ohio. While there is a local mechanic shop in Stewart, Jay, like many others in the community, maintains an additional level of independence by not having to rely on others for servicing his vehicles. With very limited employment opportunities available and within the community of Stewart, most residents commute to their job.
Gates to the train bed of what used to the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) railroad are seen at sunrise, in Stewart, Ohio. Over the years, Stewart has seen a slow but steady decrease in economic activity. For some communities in Ohio in similar situations, their decreased economy can be linked to the decline of coal mining. However, Stewart has never been dependent on coal, so while there are a number of events that have probably contributed to the economic situation in the community, the reason for this is unlikely to be linked to a single event, says Bill Barnhart, a resident of Stewart who has previously served as a Rome Township trustee.
Beverly Dixon, right, refills her husband Rex’s cup of coffee as they watch an Ohio State University basketball game, in Stewart, Ohio. The Dixon’s tell a tale of a haunted spirit their daughter, Lindsey, used to see growing up in their house. One time when her uncle was over to visit, Lindsey was telling him the story over dinner, when, based off her description, he recognized the ghost as the previous resident of the house who had committed suicide. While not rampant in amount, more than a few members of Stewart have stories from personal experience with ghosts.
A truck holding chopped wood drives past cornfields behind the fire department in Stewart, Ohio, on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021.
James Starr, above, pulls on the leg of his sister, Ava, as she tries to escape through a hole in the family trampoline while they play in the minutes before their bedtime in Stewart, Ohio. The Federal Hocking school, located about a mile from the Starr’s house outside of Stewart, is limited to middle and high school education. For elementary school, community members have the choice of sending their children to Coolville or Amesville, both which are 20 minutes away.
Larry Adkins inspects items on a table in the storeroom for the thrift store located in the Federal Valley Resource Center in what used to be the Rome-Cannan School, in Stewart, Ohio. Adkins and his wife, Clara Ledford, are retired and spend much of their time volunteering at the thrift store. On why she volunteers her time, Ledford said, “…it’s a sentimental thing for me and I didn’t want to see it go down. I loved going to school here.”
Nick Dailey’s commuting vehicle, a Ford Ranger, and a portion of Stewart just adjacent to State Route 144 is seen in the reflection of his ’47 Chevrolet Fleetline in Stewart, Ohio.
Brittany Jarvis leaves the Lackey Party Barn after attending Lola-May Lackey’s 90th birthday party, in Stewart, Ohio. While the Lackey’s do use the Party Barn for personal use, they also use it to support the farm by renting it out to wedding parties.