The interior of the renovated school building at 303 E. Sixth Ave. tells the story of a community.
The building is the Godman Guild, an organization which works to improve the lives of people in the community through a number of youth programs and adult programs that center on career preparation and employment skills. Its walls bear the plaques and documents which tell the history of the organization.
Those same walls also display paintings and pictures which vibrate with the emotion and life of the Weinland Park neighborhood the Godman Guild serves.
The Godman Guild is a settlement house that came about in the late 1800s in Columbus as a result of poor living conditions associated with Fly-Town, an area located near what is now Michigan and Goodale Boulevard. Fly-Town was so named because of the speed with which it was erected. It just seemed to “fly up” over night, said Randy Morrison, executive director of the Godman Guild.
Sherrill E. Massey, who has volunteered at the guild since the 1988, is in the process of archiving the guild’s records, said the area was once heavily populated by immigrants. One of the functions of the guild was to help them integrate into the mainstream by offering a number of educational programs.
Morrison said settlement houses originated in Victorian-era London. The idea developed in the United States under the leadership of Jane Addams, the founder of the Hull House in Chicago. The concept, he said, is that the people serving a community must live in that community if they hope to be effective in their efforts.
According to written material compiled by Massey for the Godman Guild’s 100th birthday, the guild was formed when a Sunday school teacher named Anna B. Keagle discovered that all of her 8- to 10-year-old students were in jail one Sunday morning. In 1898, she and a group of concerned neighbors joined together as the First Neighborhood Guild Association to raise funds to build a settlement house. Among the greatest of the contributors to the project was Henry C. Godman. He gave $10,000, hence the peculiar name.
“People always wonder where the funny name came from,” Morrison said.
In his soft-spoken and patient narrative of the guild’s history, Morrison exemplifies the kind of attitude one would expect from the leader of such an organization.
When visitors enter the building, they are likely to be greeted by Aretta “Peaches” Lyles, the receptionist who has not only been a long-time worker at the guild, but also attended elementary school in the building long before it was purchased by the Godman Guild. She recalled that she was attending the school when President Kennedy was assassinated.
“That was a long time ago, but I’m still here,” she said.
The Godman Guild relocated in the late 1950s when the Fly-Town area was demolished for urban renewal, Morrison said.
The guild has moved, as a result of changes to the city, and the Godman Guild’s goal has been to go where they could be of most use, he said.
The Sixth Avenue location was leased from the Columbus school board in 1990 and purchased when it came up for auction in 1993, Morrison said.
The guild continues to offer a variety of programs to members of the community. Camp Mary Orton, a summer camp for young children, is one of them.
The camp was originally founded to give low-income mothers and their children an opportunity to escape the city and experience life in the country. Even though the camp only serves children now, it still offers many of the same activities.
“We don’t do anything the kids can do at home, such as playing sports. Most of the kids learn to swim at camp, plus we hike and do normal camp activities such as crafts and music,” said KD Fuller, Godman Guild spokeswoman.
The camp assists those in the Godman Guild’s service area, which is the Short North and most of the 43201 zip code. Parents can register their children at the Godman Guild for $2. The total cost is based on a sliding scale depending on household income.
The camp’s land, located north of Worthington on High Street, is covetously eyed by developers, but the guild has no intention of selling, Morrison said.
“We, have said absolutely not. It’s too much of a treasure to sell off, and it’s kind of like selling your birthright,” Massey said. “Many generations of families, particularly children and even their children’s children have gone through camp for one reason or another.”
The camp, for children ages five to 15, is held June 16 – Aug. 15. There are two four-week sessions during the summer. The first is already full, but children can still register for the second session.
