'GROVE CITY' The past in photos, postcards

The Pennsylvania community got its start in 1798.
By THERESA M. HEGEL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
"Grove City," by Mike S. Adams, John H. Hummel, Marjorie J. Hummel and Bradley C. Isles (Arcadia, $19.99)
When I think of Grove City, the first thing that springs to mind is the outlet mall. But, in a new book released through Arcadia's Postcard History Series, the outlets are never mentioned.
Instead, "Grove City," written by Mike Adams, John and Marjorie Hummel and Bradley Isles, traces the industrial and commercial development of a scenic and historic Mercer County community.
The book briefly discusses the town's origins: In 1798, Valentine Cunningham dammed Wolf Creek to power a gristmill. From those humble beginnings, the village of Pine Grove arose.
By 1876, the name had been changed to Grove City, and the Rev. Dr. Isaac C. Ketler founded Grove City College, a "nationally recognized private Christian college that consistently ranks among the best in the United States."
"Grove City" is a compilation of vintage postcards and photos, chosen carefully by the authors "to represent different parts of the town and how they helped make Grove City what it is today."
No updated look
What's missing are illustrations of what Grove City is actually like today. The authors chose to narrow their focus, cutting the book off after Grove City's "industrial and educational boom in the early 1900s."
The result is an interesting, if perhaps incomplete, glimpse at the town.
As with many of the books released by Arcadia, the images presented are not always of the highest quality, which is understandably difficult to avoid when working with vintage media. This only becomes a problem when the captions indicate a feature in a picture -- such as the lettering on a store window -- impossible for the average reader to discern. Perhaps it would have been better to omit such images altogether, rather than strain the reader's eyes.
Postcards
Although the postcards depicting Wolf Creek, downtown buildings and other scenery are fascinating on their own, the authors were wise to include several novelty postcards.
For example, one postcard features an early automobile with the text "You auto be in Grove City, Pa."
Another shows a lady sleeping on a park bench. A smartly dressed young man is leaning over to kiss her. The text reads, "I'm taking things as I find them in Grove City. Wouldn't you?" According to the authors, "at the time of its printing, this racy card would have been pushing the envelope of propriety."
Proper or not, these quirky artifacts add a light-hearted dimension to a book that could easily have been little more than a dry history.
If you were like me and knew Grove City only as a retail shopping mecca or a mere blip along Interstates 79 and 80, this book shows that the town, with its rich history and renowned college, is so much more.
hegel@vindy.com