Benjamin Allen Bell [05984] Details

Benjamin Allen Bell [E949]
b.1902 01 Jan - Lilly Chapel, Ohio
d.1948 10 Apr - Powell, Ohio
----- Marriages -----
m01. 19 Dec - + Clara Jen Hatfield

Benjamin Allen Bell was born the same day as the first Rose Bowl game was
played in Pasadena, California. Michigan Beat Stanford 49-0. Elgar
would compose the first of his Pomp and Circumstance marches and Caruso
would make his first phongraph recording that year. Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle published "The Hounds of the Baskervilles" and Kipling the "Just
So Stories." The Ford Motor Company would not be founded until the
following year when the Wright brothers made their first flight. The
first radio program would not be broadcast for more than two years.
 
The year he died nearly every family had an automobile, telephone and an
indoor toilet; flight was common and television was begining to find its
way into middle class homes. It was the year the transistor was
invented.
 
He signed his name B.A. Bell but was known as Ben to a large number of
friends and aquaintances. People who remember him frequently comment on
how smart he was, how many things he knew or what a nice guy he was. (Vic
Bell specifically remembers these comments from Roy Renwick, Pernal
Askins, Barbara Wolford Seese and others.) He liked to kid and have fun
and never lost his desire to learn new things. He loved to recite poems
and limericks and tongue twisters. Even as speaking became diffcult
toward the end of his life, he could be encouraged to recite humorous
poems. His library included texts on electronics and physics and a
number of Edgar Rice Boroughs' Tarzan books and some Zane Grey westerns.
 
His sister, Lorna, said that Ben was a typical boy, but getting into
more than his share of trouble. He carried a scar on his side all his
life from a "carbide cannon" experiment, which went awry when he was a
teenager.
 
He may not have completed high school. Nonetheless, he was able to
accomplish a great deal. He was naturally curious and took
correspondence courses. Amoung his vocations were electrician, sign
painter, violinist, chemist, horticulurist and farmer. Early into his
marriage with Clara, he was also a projectionist at a local movie
theater. He always loved movies.
 
He played violin in the Columbus Symphony Club orchestra and according to
his sister worked for Merk in Cincinnati. According to Lorna, this was a
period when he was "into all sorts of things," implying he may even have
been in jail and refusing to talk about it. He also had his own
analytical consulting lab which he operated from his family's home at 755
Siebert St. in Columbus. This is apparently the period when he developed
Wonder Oil, which was a cure-all for burns and cuts and abrasions.
 
Ben, Clara and son Donald lived .................... in Columbus when
Victor was born. Don remembers many adult parties from those times.
Shortly after Victor was born the family moved to a farm on SR 315
(Olentangy River Road) just north of Powell Road. (That farm is now a
part of The Retreat. Before Victor began school the family again moved.
This time to a farm a mile south of Powell adjacent to The Franklin
County line.
 
Neighbors to the south, in Franklin County, were Guy Herman and Ruth
Baker (?) on the west side of the road, the Antsbergers on the east side.
To the north, the Kirkhams then the Shields on the west side and Minerva
Case diagonally to the northeast.
 
Most of his life he farmed while working for A. L. Evans at the
Commercial Paste Company as a foreman and a chemist. His electrical and
painting skills were used part time. He also did transcriptions for
musician friends and taught violin. His garage was a small machine shop
with a drill press, metal lathe, wood lathe and other tools and
instruments.
 
Some thought him crazy when they found out, or observed, that he was
spray painting the farm house. It was something not heard of then.
Visitors from all walks were frequent at the farm, whether to see the
first flourescent light in the area or to see Ben's Capucian monkey or
just the rabbits, goats, cows, chickens, guinea pigs, ducks, geese or the
lone horse. Others came to see the gardens or his flowers and to trade
cuttings, bulbs and roots.
 
Vic and Don often walked down Smokey Row Road to meet Ben when the
weather was good. Sometimes they got as far as Snoufer Road about two or
three miles distant. On Saturdays when Ben went in to work Victor often
went with him. In fact, Victor went with his father to buy feed,
groceries, do wiring jobs or whatever. Ben was always cheerful and
entertaining on those trips, telling stories and singing songs. Victor
also remembers his father working with him on homework, but only
remembers the details of a time when he showed him how an alternating
current motor and a direct current motor function. Victor was probably
in the third or fourth grade at the time.
 
He always found time to play. Victor remembers a summer afternoon when
they tried to burn a paper bag to demonstrate that it would heat the air
within and become light enough to rise into the air. Unfortunately, the
air was not still enough and the experiement failed.
 
Perhaps starting with the carbide cannon, Ben never lost his love for
fireworks. Each year he bought large boxes of fireworks. All through
the Fourth of July he and his boys set off fireworks. At night friends
and neighbors came to see the night time aerial show.
 
Ben's health deteriorated quickly after WWII. He told Don & Vic that he
did not expect to live long. He had at least one operation to repair an
enlarged aorta. It was reported that this simply involved wrapping the
aorta with a plastic-like sheet. It was a brutal operation at that time
which including removal of some ribs. Ben never got a lot better. He was
convinced that most of his health problems were related to smoking
cigarettes. Clara decided it was a severe shock he received while a
projectionist and others blamed a lifetime of contact with the chemicals
used in his trade.
 
As his health declined, it is assumed that Ben and Clara bought the
corner store in Powell from Harold Conklin so that Clara could have an
income after his death. During his illness the family moved to a house on
South Liberty St. in Powell where Ben died.
 
Ben was not a religious person, but appeared to believe in the
spiritual. His sons do not remember him ever going to church. Victor
recalls some things he said which were close to the beliefs of a
Christian Scientist.
 
Clara owned and operated the store until 1985.
 


	Benjamin Allen Bell [E949] b.1902 01 Jan - Lilly Chapel, Ohio d.1948 10 Apr - Powell, Ohio ----- Marriages ----- m01. 19 Dec - + Clara Jen Hatfield Benjamin Allen Bell was born the same day as the first Rose Bowl game was played in Pasadena, California. Michigan Beat Stanford 49-0. Elgar would compose the first of his Pomp and Circumstance marches and Caruso would make his first phongraph recording that year. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published "The Hounds of the Baskervilles" and Kipling the "Just So Stories." The Ford Motor Company would not be founded until the following year when the Wright brothers made their first flight. The first radio program would not be broadcast for more than two years. The year he died nearly every family had an automobile, telephone and an indoor toilet; flight was common and television was begining to find its way into middle class homes. It was the year the transistor was invented. He signed his name B.A. Bell but was known as Ben to a large number of friends and aquaintances. People who remember him frequently comment on how smart he was, how many things he knew or what a nice guy he was. (Vic Bell specifically remembers these comments from Roy Renwick, Pernal Askins, Barbara Wolford Seese and others.) He liked to kid and have fun and never lost his desire to learn new things. He loved to recite poems and limericks and tongue twisters. Even as speaking became diffcult toward the end of his life, he could be encouraged to recite humorous poems. His library included texts on electronics and physics and a number of Edgar Rice Boroughs' Tarzan books and some Zane Grey westerns. His sister, Lorna, said that Ben was a typical boy, but getting into more than his share of trouble. He carried a scar on his side all his life from a "carbide cannon" experiment, which went awry when he was a teenager. He may not have completed high school. Nonetheless, he was able to accomplish a great deal. He was naturally curious and took correspondence courses. Amoung his vocations were electrician, sign painter, violinist, chemist, horticulurist and farmer. Early into his marriage with Clara, he was also a projectionist at a local movie theater. He always loved movies. He played violin in the Columbus Symphony Club orchestra and according to his sister worked for Merk in Cincinnati. According to Lorna, this was a period when he was "into all sorts of things," implying he may even have been in jail and refusing to talk about it. He also had his own analytical consulting lab which he operated from his family's home at 755 Siebert St. in Columbus. This is apparently the period when he developed Wonder Oil, which was a cure-all for burns and cuts and abrasions. Ben, Clara and son Donald lived .................... in Columbus when Victor was born. Don remembers many adult parties from those times. Shortly after Victor was born the family moved to a farm on SR 315 (Olentangy River Road) just north of Powell Road. (That farm is now a part of The Retreat. Before Victor began school the family again moved. This time to a farm a mile south of Powell adjacent to The Franklin County line. Neighbors to the south, in Franklin County, were Guy Herman and Ruth Baker (?) on the west side of the road, the Antsbergers on the east side. To the north, the Kirkhams then the Shields on the west side and Minerva Case diagonally to the northeast. Most of his life he farmed while working for A. L. Evans at the Commercial Paste Company as a foreman and a chemist. His electrical and painting skills were used part time. He also did transcriptions for musician friends and taught violin. His garage was a small machine shop with a drill press, metal lathe, wood lathe and other tools and instruments. Some thought him crazy when they found out, or observed, that he was spray painting the farm house. It was something not heard of then. Visitors from all walks were frequent at the farm, whether to see the first flourescent light in the area or to see Ben's Capucian monkey or just the rabbits, goats, cows, chickens, guinea pigs, ducks, geese or the lone horse. Others came to see the gardens or his flowers and to trade cuttings, bulbs and roots. Vic and Don often walked down Smokey Row Road to meet Ben when the weather was good. Sometimes they got as far as Snoufer Road about two or three miles distant. On Saturdays when Ben went in to work Victor often went with him. In fact, Victor went with his father to buy feed, groceries, do wiring jobs or whatever. Ben was always cheerful and entertaining on those trips, telling stories and singing songs. Victor also remembers his father working with him on homework, but only remembers the details of a time when he showed him how an alternating current motor and a direct current motor function. Victor was probably in the third or fourth grade at the time. He always found time to play. Victor remembers a summer afternoon when they tried to burn a paper bag to demonstrate that it would heat the air within and become light enough to rise into the air. Unfortunately, the air was not still enough and the experiement failed. Perhaps starting with the carbide cannon, Ben never lost his love for fireworks. Each year he bought large boxes of fireworks. All through the Fourth of July he and his boys set off fireworks. At night friends and neighbors came to see the night time aerial show. Ben's health deteriorated quickly after WWII. He told Don & Vic that he did not expect to live long. He had at least one operation to repair an enlarged aorta. It was reported that this simply involved wrapping the aorta with a plastic-like sheet. It was a brutal operation at that time which including removal of some ribs. Ben never got a lot better. He was convinced that most of his health problems were related to smoking cigarettes. Clara decided it was a severe shock he received while a projectionist and others blamed a lifetime of contact with the chemicals used in his trade. As his health declined, it is assumed that Ben and Clara bought the corner store in Powell from Harold Conklin so that Clara could have an income after his death. During his illness the family moved to a house on South Liberty St. in Powell where Ben died. Ben was not a religious person, but appeared to believe in the spiritual. His sons do not remember him ever going to church. Victor recalls some things he said which were close to the beliefs of a Christian Scientist. Clara owned and operated the store until 1985.