On any given morning in this household, most thinking processes begin with a cup of coffee. As the mental fog lifted one morning, the question came up as to where or who coined the Maxwell House coffee slogan: Good to the Last Drop?

Later, how we got on to famous people in this newspaper’s readership area, I’ll never know. But we did and that opened up an entirely new search. Who did we know of that was famous and from here?

Later, after some small disagreement, the accuser issued the proverbial saying: What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Well, where did that originate?

Some days are just filled with this sort of random knowledge that tends to stick in one’s mind until an answer is found. Sometimes that would happen in conversations between my mom and me. She would end up saying she was going to wonder about that for the rest of the day. And she would always urge me to find the answer and let her know so she could go to sleep with a clear mind. It was all in fun and we counted ourselves fortunate to have each other to tease and share such fractious questions.

Back to the coffee conundrum. In 1892, Joel Cheek developed a special blend of coffee after ten years of research into the subject. He talked the proprietor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, into serving it to patrons. After the supply was gone, patrons complained about the coffee being served, noting the better quality of the previous. Needless to say, the hotel gave orders for J. Cheek’s coffee from then on. That’s how the name Maxwell House was attached to the coffee.

Some researchers swear by the story that the first person to utter the phrase, Good to the Last Drop, in conjunction with the coffee was none other than President Teddy Roosevelt. It has never been proven. In 1917, J. Cheek and his partner, John Neal, formed the Cheek-Neal Coffee Company and began using the slogan. By 1932, The Maxwell House Showboat program was being aired on radio with the slogan heard nation wise.

Personally, we don’t know any famous people hailing from our area. However, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any. Considering the wide area of readership from Troy to Enon, north, south, east and west of the central point of New Carlisle, we found many names that some of you readers might be familiar with.

Notable people from Troy, Ohio include the following:

  • Cris Carter, National Football League player
  • Kris Dielman, American Football guard (San Diego Chargers)
  • Tim Vogler, National Football League guard
  • Randy Walker, American College Football Coach
  • Pat Darcy, Major League Baseball player (Cincinnati Reds)
  • Peter Shelton, American Sculptor
  • Anne Rudloe, United States Marine Biologist
  • Martin K. Gantz, U. S. Congressman

Notable people from Tipp City, Ohio:

  • Amber Newman, Actress
  • Phillip Wampler, Actor
  • Jason Heil, Actor

Notable people from Enon, Ohio:

  • Felicia Fox, Actress
  • Barbara Schantz, Police Officer
  • Adena Native Americans Noted for Pottery, Artistic Works, Held to be builders of the Knob Prairie Mound, Enon, Ohio

Notable people from Medway, Ohio:

  • Harvey Haddix, Major League Baseball Pitcher & Coach
  • The Drapier and Ingles Families, Founders of Drapier’s Meadow located between Medway and Park Layne, 1748.

Notable people from New Carlisle, Ohio:

  • Roy J. Plunkett, Inventor of Teflon
  • Tyler Maynard, Broadway Actor
  • General Frederick Funston, Recipient of Medal of Honor
  • Patricia Barringer, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ballplayer
  • Spanky McFarland, College Baseball Coach
  • Babs Knievans, Fictional character of comedy sketch/mock radio ad by John King and Terry Dorsey of radio station WING in 1980s

This is not a comprehensive list by any means. Many more accomplished people have hailed from these hometowns. Take a minute and add some you know of.

As for the goose and gander saying, the earliest reference to this idiom has to do with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays of 1841. It refers to the negative practice of holding to a double standard.

Now that that’s all settled, we’re wondering just exactly where was the town of Spunky Puddle and how in the world did it get its name.

Contact Connie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Box 61, Medway, OH 45341

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