They don’t call it Bond Hill for nothin’ (or do they?)

By tt clinkscales and Jessica Turner

Bond Hill. It’s an optimistic name. And slightly contradictory, considering the neighborhood’s current association with crime, a reputation worth running away from as fast as possible.

But we weren’t interested in crime — you can find that anywhere. What we did want to dig into was the village in northeastern Cincinnati.

Photo: Jessica Turner TT gets ready to dig into the soul food fare at Your Diner.

It’s a perplexing little town: Where, actually, do the boundaries lie? What are the origins of the Bond Hill name? And what’s up with the guy who sells socks in the parking lot of Sugar ’N Spice?

Obalaye Macharia, a local artist and community council member (aka the “Mayor of Bond Hill”), says the village has come full circle to the same ideals of the town’s founding fathers. Formed in 1871 (not officially part of Cincinnati until 1903) by “radical” Henry Watkin and a small group of men as a sort of commune, Bond Hill has transformed from farmland to an urban community whose population has changed from mostly Jewish and German to nearly all African American.

According to Bond Hill: Origin and Transformation of a 19th Century Cincinnati Railroad Suburb by urban historian/environmental planner/programmer Aharon Varady, many speculations arise as to Bond Hill’s namesake. The primary theories are that it was named after “Bond,” the owner of a hilltop sawmill, or the vague “Col. Bond.” For an extensive investigation, read Varady’s book.

Bond Hill, mostly residential and industrial, exists in the square mile or so of land inside Seymour, Section and Tennessee avenues and Interstate 75. And as Carole Douglas, Bond Hill Recreation Center’s service area coordinator, pointed out, most residents go outside of the community for everything. Not all the spots we hit are technically in Bond Hill — for example, Cincinnati Gardens sits right across the street in Roselawn — but considering some of the residents (one of them a writer of this feature) aren’t even clear on what’s what, we deemed certain locations to be within Bond Hill limits … ’cause we say so.

Best Double Feature:
Most neighborhood residents beat a hasty retreat out of the home square mile for nighttime entertainment, but those in the know go to Sonny’s lounges to put their foot down on the Hill. On California Avenue right in the heart of the community is Sonny’s All Jazz, a small, smoky cafe that features all that Jazz and more. Throughout the week there are DJs and karaoke, but the real treat arrives on Sundays, when the Art Gore Quartet takes the bandstand and stretches the grooves long into the night. Meanwhile, Sunday evening Blues can be found at the intimate and also smoky Sonny’s All Blues on Reading Road, which features different Blues acts each week. On a recent Sunday night, Lonnie Bennett pulled two women (sisters from Dayton, Ohio) up to wail with his band — a force to be reckoned with. Sonny’s All Jazz, 1227 California Ave., 513-242-4579; Sonny’s All Blues, 4040 Reading Road, 513-281-0410.

Photo: Jessica Turner Loyd Merida serves up the socks at Sugar 'N Spice Photo: Mandy Janes

Best Village Links:
Maketewah Country Club holds a link to Bond Hill’s past association as a village complete with beautiful farmland. While the area has transformed into a largely residential community, the well-tended greens of this private country club are a reminder of that free and uncluttered earlier time. Unfortunately, the secure nature of a private club creates the sense of a gated community reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village that shelters the links and keeps the Bond Hill community at bay. Besides the 18-hole course, Maketewah features an outdoor pool, bowling alley, outdoor tennis courts and two restaurants.
5401 Reading Road, 513-242-9333.

Best Beauty Shops Minus Queen Latifah:
Reading Road is the main strip through Bond Hill, and rather than playing host to tons of restaurants or entertainment spots it has to go down as one of the best places to get spruced up. On the south side there’s Roberta’s Top of the Crown Hair & Nail Salon (4860 Reading Road, 513-242-3033). Half a block up the way, you can walk into Dionne’s Hair Studio (4916 Reading Road, 513-242-3880) and step out looking like a queen on the hill. For the fellas, the barbers at Sonny’s, not to be confused with one of the nightclubs (4920 Reading Road, 513-242-9808), will line you up straight and tight. Or head up to Jordan Crossing for a visit to Image Makers (513-731-0700) or A Step Up (513-631-8300), two shops guaranteed to remain part of the foundation of this completed development. If food and health services are safe fields to be in, the beauty realm might be logical as well: After taking care of how you feel, you always need to be mindful of how you look.

Photo: Jessica Turner Independent Smith & Hannon Bookstore offers respite from the chain variety. Rohs Street Cafe Photo: Mandy Janes

Best Young Minds at Work:
Bond Hill Academy. Bearing the name of the community is something to live up to, and these kindergarten through eighth graders are up to the task. When they’ve finished up getting schooled on the three R’s for the year, they’ll take up residence at Losantiville Elementary School for two years while a new facility breaks ground at its current location. Principal Thomas Boggs’ school motto, “restoring the pride,” has never been more right on the money.
1510 California Ave., 513-363-7900.

Best Good Neighbor Developer:
While still referred to as Swifton Commons in some circles, Jordan’s Crossing is slowly transitioning into a new community development. Bought by Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1998 and renamed in honor of Rev. Donald Jordan, the space has given birth to a new church, dedicated nearly a year ago on May 23, 2004. And that’s just the beginning: Construction is underway on a new facility for Community Action Agency and there are plans for a joint project between Allen Temple AME and Tryed Stone Church in anticipation of the new Village Daybreak Community. Allen Temple Rev. Jermaine Covington stressed that these efforts will lead to the development of a mall dedicated “to serving this new community and all of Bond Hill.”
7030 Reading Road, 513-531-7539.

Best Anger Management:
Bond Hill Recreation Center. The tweens in this town blow off steam at the excellent rec facility’s art room, Internet lounge, game room and gym, and the seniors socialize on weekday mornings over donuts and coffee. In addition to providing Bond Hill Academy with gym access during the school year, the center is home to mostly youth and senior programming, community council meetings and Trick-or-Treating and will even host larger families’ holiday get-togethers if need be. Now that’s recreation.
1501 Elizabeth Place, 513-242-9567.

Best Soul Food:
The United Nation of Islam’s promise to create “a place for us to develop ideas and enjoy whole and delicious food in an environment of righteousness” might sound like they’ve bitten off more than they can chew, but Your Diner proudly serves up a menu of healthy alternatives to the usual favorites. Salmon and whiting replace the meats in the BBQ sandwiches, burgers and steak options, yet the available sides feature the down-home goodness of greens, macaroni & cheese and string beans along with salads, stir-fry vegetables and fresh cut fries. And of course there’s bean pie for dessert, and Mathematical Thinking classes every Monday to nourish the mind.
4896 Reading Road, 513-641-1262.

Photo: Jessica Turner Crayons to Computers gives underpaid, overworked teachers a financial break. Rohs Street Cafe Photo: Mandy Janes

Best Old-Time Religion in New Ways:
St. Agnes Catholic Church, one of Cincinnati’s primarily African-American parishes, has dealt with the changing community and remained a solid beacon attempting to reach out across the dividing lines of theology, race and class. “It (developing community outreach programs) is about determining the needs of the community and building programs to address those needs, not to simply develop programs in a vacuum,” says pastoral administrator Patrick Lesher. The annual Art & Fashion Show in February and summertime’s Jazz on the Lawn provide unique cultural programming open to Bond Hill residents and the entire Cincinnati region. The sign on the front lawn proclaims, “All are welcome!”
1519 California Ave., 513-242-4747.

Best Hope for the Future:
Woodward Career Technical High School. In case you somehow missed the hulking new institution right next to Woodward’s current home — one of the country’s oldest public high schools — we thought it worth mentioning: There’s a new (old) school in town, set to be completed next May.
7001 Reading Road, 513-363-9500.

Best Escape From the Bookstore Chains:
Independent booksellers are a tough breed, and Bond Hill’s Smith & Hannon Bookstore is a prime example of that quiet, steely resolve to provide a haven for the full spectrum of African-American fiction and non-fiction that gets rounded up into the ghetto sections of the big chains. This tiny treasure trove filled with books for the entire family sits across the street from Bond Hill Academy and on the same side of California as St. Agnes. What better place to reach the young minds of the community and expose them to their histories and stories? California Ave., 513-641-2700.

Best Kept Secret Summertime Games:
On hot summer days and evenings, Bond Hill Playground & Pool offers classic neighborhood battles on the basketball court and the pool provides the perfect place to cool off in-between, but the playground also has a huge playing field that’s rarely taken advantage of for football, soccer or baseball. On top of that, the recently restored tennis courts have failed to attract the old-school fans of the game that used to dream of matches they couldn’t see on the televised Grand Slams. Such dreams fueled the rise of the Williams sisters back in Compton. Rediscovering this spot could provide a prime opportunity to reclaim the past glories and point the way to a whole new set of victories.
1620 Yarmouth Ave., 513-281-6720.

Best Reading off Reading Road:
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s Bond Hill branch. Small building indeed — it would be difficult to house even a small family — but the resources are essential. It’s a shame small branches like this often don’t thrive (and in fact might close due to budget cuts). Where else could one find, in one place, books like The City Parent Handbook and Chicken Soup for the Girlfriends’ Soul plus the ubiquitous Michael Bublé CD? Well, the CD could probably be found anywhere.
1703 Dale Road, 513-369-4445.

Best Gerrymandered Attraction:
While most residents look beyond the Bond Hill community for entertainment, Cincinnati Gardens has been drawing people to the village’s fringes for sports and entertainment since its first hockey exhibition in 1949. The current run of hockey, thanks to the Mighty Ducks, can’t erase the memories of the Gardens’ glory days as a haven for basketball. Originally the home of the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals and local legend Oscar Robertson, the arena has also served as the home court for both Xavier University and UC. Oh yeah, and a few musicians like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead and Madonna have stopped by for a quick jam, too. But for old-school hoopheads here, the legacy of the Gardens is worth tampering with the boundaries.
2250 Seymour Ave., 513-631-7793.

Best Hand-out to Educators:
Crayons to Computers. With teachers’ increasing out-of-pocket spending on supplies in mind, this “store” was founded in 1996 by Shannon Carter and her Leadership Cincinnati classmates. Teachers make “payments” by volunteering three hours for each (totally free) shopping trip they make. Stocked with donations and surplus school supplies, this warehouse provides for more than 100 area schools and, through a partnership with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation, prisons and correctional facilities. Color us happy.
1350 Tennessee Ave., 513-482-7095.

Best Side at Sugar ‘N Spice:
The Sock Man. Pull up on a Friday or Saturday at the breakfast hot spot anywhere between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and in the parking lot you’re likely to find Loyd Merida and thousands of socks. “They just call me The Sock Man,” the Oakley resident says — which we’d also heard — and rightfully so: He’s been selling the foot furnishings out of his van while doing ministry work now for 31 years, which the Lord called him to do, he says. Bin after bin brims with every sock imaginable, from white and sporty to frilly girls’ anklets. And at three pair for $2 (three pair for $1.50 for kids), it’s a steal. Sugar ‘N Spice,
4381 Reading Road.
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