1950's - 1960's

    In September 1950, the first full-time Catholic Elementary School in the Walton-Verona area was opened at All Saints Church under the direction of the Sisters of St. Benedict. When the Sisters of St. Benedict were recalled from All Saints, the superiors at Nazareth were asked to send four Sisters to staff the School. Because of the small enrollment, the Sisters of Charity recalled the four Sisters after only three years and All Saints School was closed.

     The Ladies Auxiliary of the Walton Fire Department was formed in 1952. These ladies did a great job of assisting the Volunteers by providing hot meals, coffee and soft drinks during emergencies. One of those times was in 1957 when there was a train derailment that took five days to clean up. During that time the Ladies served meals to the Department, the train crews and others helping. The Ladies were also on the job at all the Firemen's Picnics. They served the food and made cake and other goodies for the Bingos and other functions.

     One of the worst disasters ever to hit the City struck Friday, July 13, 1956 at 4:00 p.m. and was over in about two minutes. The tornado started at the M. L. Carey farm on Beaver Road (Hwy. 1292) and ground its way through town out Locust street, finishing at the Chapman barn. In between these points, Walton received an estimated loss of $500,000 in property damage. The miracle of the tornado was that not a single life was lost. Beaver Road (Old Beaver Road) was hardest hit, with five homes completely destroyed and others badly damaged. Roofs were blown off and windows were broken at the Walton Feed Mill, the Tie Factory, and the Walton Skating Rink along North Main Street.
     Walton was declared a disaster, and traffic was rerouted around town so clean up crews could work. The Red Cross arrived on the scene and later established headquarters in the City Hall. At the Sunday Services, Rev. Joe Tackett of the First Baptist Church, and Rev. Atkinson of the Methodist Church suggested setting up collection stands for collecting money to help the victims. Councilman D. H. Vest counted 16 cars per minute passing through at the collection points. Mark Meadows, Editor of the Walton Advertiser, expressed in his column the overall generosity of the community, organizations and neighboring communities contributing money, time and labor for the restoration of the City.

     "Top Stars of Country and Western Music Booked At Verona Lake" were the headlines in the Walton Advertiser in April of 1957. Verona Lake Ranch was a 100 acre park, located behind the (old) Verona School and owned by Thurston and Georgie Moore, with a good fishing lake and a great entertainment all summer long. Fishing at the lake was $1.00 during the week, and $1.50 on the weekends. The outdoor amphitheater had new seating which seated 1,500 and the acoustics were perfect. Admission to the Sunday shows was only 75 cents, and children under 10 were free. Entertainers for the summer included: Jimmie Dickens, Ferlin Huskey, Jim Reeves, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Lonzo and Oscar, Bill Monroe, Hank Snow, the Louvin Brothers and more. The shows were hosted by Miss Georgie whose amiable personality, cutting up, and dances made her a favorite with thousands of folks.  

      In June, 1957, the Beighle Brothers, Charles "Sam" and Paul, opened a small grocery store of approximately 2,000 square feet at 67 N. Main Street. They, along with nine other Greater Cincinnati grocers, became the Charter Members of the Independent Grocers Alliance, creating one of the first IGA stores in this area. The Beighle Brothers prospered and in 1959 they doubled the size of their store. In the years that followed, their brothers, Truett, Edward and Monty Beighle,  joined them.
    In 1964 they sold their business to Stan Jones and Dale Dowery. Jones operated the IGA store at 67 N. Main for several years but needed more room. After remodeling the James Theater, Jones moved the IGA to 51 N. Main Street (currently Walton Food Mart).
    Prior to this, the brothers operated a country store they  purchased from Harold and Florian Lusby in 1947 located at 104 N. Main Street (currently Main Street Cafe). During those days, items were kept behind the counter and the grocer waited on each individual customer.