Yesterday we spent the day touring my hometown. Miamisburg Ohio. Miamisburg is celebrating its bicentennial this year. A quaint little town near Dayton Ohio. One of the amazing facts about Miamisburg is it was the site of one of the first post-war U.S Atomic Energy Commission facilities. The Dayton area had supported numerous secret operations for the War Department during World War II. As the war ended, the majority of these operations were moved to the Miamisburg Mound Laboratory, which were to monitor all aspects of the US nuclear defense stockpile.

Speaking of the Mound, across the street from the Mound Lab is the site of a prehistoric Indian burial mound, believed to have been built by the Adena Indians, somewhere between 1000 to 200 BC. According to legend it is an ancient burial site. The mound has become perhaps the most recognizable historic landmark in Miamisburg. It is the largest conical burial mound in Ohio and as of 1848, the mound was 68 feet tall and had a circumference of 852 feet, as a result of an attempt to excavate it is now only 65 feet tall.

Miamisburg is also host to the Porter Hamburger Wagon. Miamisburg sits on the banks of the Miami River and due to the 1913 flood Miamisburg was virtually under water. The Red Cross set up a tent city for the refugees at the top of Mound Hill. A Miamisburg resident named Sherman “Cocky” Porter, volunteered to help provide food for the flood victims and relief workers. He knew whatever he provided needed to be warm and nutritious. Utilizing a favorite family recipe, Porter began serving hamburgers to everyone in the camp. The burgers were a hit and as the flood waters receded and the tent city closed residents were craving the Porter burger. He started selling his burgers on Saturdays in the town square and it became so popular it is now a full-time business. We spoke with the current owner and he tells us it is the original wagon from 1913, with some upgrades. I somehow doubt that. I will tell you Fred and I were there at 10:45, they open at 10:30 and there were 6 customers in line. It’s a hamburger on a bun with an onion and a pickle. No other condiments are sold and they are cooked in an iron skillet with lard. They are fabulous!!!

As we drove around town we decided to visit the two houses I lived in. The first house was a small Cape Cod, typical one car garage with one bathroom. A little on the small side when there are seven kids and two parents. The second house was an English Tudor home that was a little bigger than the first house. Today the house is a Bed and Breakfast. Of course, mom was of the opinion she ran a bed and breakfast when we lived there the seven kids. My dad bought the house in 1959 for $25,000. The woman who lived there felt sorry for us I guess. She wanted a family to live in the house. So that is about it for the history of Miamisburg, it was fun going back a little in time.