West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 147 by Charlie Miller
- March 17, 1870 – The oldest business in West Jefferson – There were two businesses that lasted 100 years in West Jefferson, Gillivan Hardware until 1966 and Murray Elevator/Grain & Lumber until ca. 1990. The oldest still surviving now started in 1870 as the West Jefferson Building & Loan Association. Its incorporators were Dr. J. N. Beach, C. F. Bliss, W. W. Fellows, and Jacob McNeal. The Board of Directors was elected on March 31st. In May, the Association paid its first installment. Its capital stock was $150,000.00 in $200.00 shares, with half the stock taken.
McNeal, who saw a need for a more permanent plan of organization, joined Jacob Martin, Jeremiah Gearing, Martin Kuehner, T.B. Fellows, W.C. Keyser, and H. C. Wilson in incorporating the West Jefferson Building & Loan in 1889.
The Building & Loan started in the residence of Jacob McNeal on the northeast corner of Main and Twin Streets; at that time, McNeal was the secretary. It changed its address several times since its first location at 44 W. Main St. Later, it moved to 5 W. Main St. Around 1916, it moved to the corner of S. Walnut and Main Streets. In 1928, they purchased offices at 2 W. Main Street from the liquidation of the Commercial Bank. This building is on the northwest corner of Main and Walnut St. In 1968, they had a new building built on the southeast corner of Main and Walnut St. In 1962, it became the Jefferson Savings Association, then First Merit, and currently (2023) the Huntington Bank. At one time, it was the second oldest Building & Loan Association in the state.
The history of the Savings/Bank was shaped by several people through the years. Among the most influential was John Murray who was elected the association’s second president in 1891. He served for 64 years until his death at the age of 98 in 1955. Another important figure in its history was Willard “Lefty” Culp. He was elected secretary in 1916 and became its first full-time manager.
-1950 – The year that a family arrived from Bucyrus, Ohio, and bought a restaurant business off of Mamie Martin located in a frame building on Main St., now the current site of the east end of the Huntington Bank. Their name was Ann and Tony Buscemi, and their three sons. They lived upstairs in the building. The business has now become famous in all of Central Ohio.
About 1950, they bought some property on E. Main St. and had the structures torn down and erected their present (2023) restaurant with living quarters above. In 1976, a porch was converted into additional seating. In 1995, a party room and gift shop were added. In April of 1976, Ann passed away. Four years later, Tony remarried Miss Mary Mooney, a local school teacher. Tony died in 2006 at the age of 93 years. Son Tom has been running the business for 51 years. The restaurant draws customers from Columbus and Central Ohio and is very popular and usually packed.