MILFORD VIGNETES
Vignettes—Milford History  
VIGNETTES FROM MILFORD HISTORY
   Stories We're Researching For Future Elaboration

 
When Things Go THONG, They Go So Very THONG! 
               Milford's Brush With Championship Volleyball

Long time Milford residents will recall that the sport of volleyball was invented in the Milford area.  Originally called Valleyball, it was named after the Little Miami Valley.  The local founding team eventually saw its prominence relegated to cult status and eventually found itself ignored by historians.  Even the name was eventually changed to "Volleyball" in an attempt to cover-up an era most locals find embarrassing.

Dr. Freudlick Potemkin operated a local psychiatry clinic that soon found itself specializing in the treatment of men obsessed with exhibitionist tendencies.   Dr. Potemkin apparently had a long standing interest in the activity.  He encouraged his patients to find an outlet for their energy in an attempt to have them sublimate for the problem.  The sport they invented  became popular but also unfortunately gained the region an unwanted exposure, so to speak.

A Milford player returns a serve during a heated match. A local player leaps to block a ball at the net. A Milford "valleyballer" turns away while receiving a hard serve.

Of course the first thing you noticed was the uniform.  Dr. Potemkin's patients claimed that this "thong", as they called it, gave them the correct freedom of movement they needed.  In any event, opposing players were so flustered at seeing Miami Township's players sometimes leaping free of the loose fitting garment that they could not perform athletically.  The locals often shut out their opponents en route to declaring themselves World Champions in the new sport.
A Miami Township server prepares to strike the ball. A local player follows through after a serve.   Proudly flaunting his thong, a Milford player poses for the camera.

You can imagine the uproar in the surrounding counties when the Milford team attempted to play in their communities.  It was the late 1800's and while Milford and the surrounding areas were a "wide open" environment for such things, America just wasn't ready for such activity.  Valleyball faded from the scene and was replaced by a more acceptable game called Volleyball and it wasn't until modern times that the original game came back in the form of something called Beach Volleyball.

 
Milford German School Celebrates 60 Years 
       of Service In The Area

Bismarck Academy has marked its 60th year of serving the area.  Bismarck was founded shortly after WWII by German citizens who fled Germany at the close of the war.  Similar schools were opened in Argentina, Brazil and Paraquay.
 


Herr Smith and Herr Jones, of the original faculty, arrive for their morning classes.
 Herr Johnson, founder and first principal.  Little is known of his background.
 Herr Brown, first football coach and AD.  Largely because the players can only run in goose step fashion and wear lederhosen, the team has managed only 60 victories (all against Milford) over the years.

Bismarck Boys Unit,  Class of 2006 Officers
 Class Motto: "We came, we saw and at least we beat Milford."
 Bismarck Girls Unit, Class of 2006 Officers 
Class Motto:  "Behind every good man is a behind."

  Bismarck fans cheer as their team defeats Milford 85-0 for their only victory of the year.

 
Miami Township's Drug Tolerant Reputation as "Little Holland" 
           Didn't Always Go Smoothly
 

Two young visitors sample some of the legally available cocaine in the '60s.
"Oh, the colors,"  mumbles a visitor to one of the area "needle parks" in the '70s.		 A young woman displays a "shotgun Milford bong"  along Route 28.

Workers begin the poppy harvest along Route 131 in the '50s.
A defiant Milford visitor lights up circa 1980.

Legalized drugs all but eliminated scenes such as this rum soaked Milfordite passed out on Main Street.  Today this scene is often repeated—especially after a Milford sporting event.  Local officials are considering a return to legalized drugs if Milford doesn't soon begin winning an occasional game.

 
Circa 1960, Chubby Potemkin's New Dance Craze, "The Twit," 
        Almost Sweeps The Country.


 
Milford And Miami Township Briefly Experiment With Joining Together 
        To Form Metro Government, 1990s.

   Officials meet at a local tavern to air grievances.

 
Greg Potemkin Is Honored With A Parade 
       As He Leaves Milford And Moves To Florida

  Certainly a modern day Mark Twain, writer Greg Potemkin serves as parade marshall as he leads a  parade of grateful residents to the edge of town.  Along the way, Potemkin was presented with tomatoes, eggs and fruit for his journey.