MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — This spring, a bench with a plaque will memorialize Vice President JD Vance’s grandmother, who guided his upbringing in Middletown. But should Miami Park be designated as “grandmothers park” to include others who raised their children’s children? One council member is proposing just that.
Bonnie Blanton Vance, who died in 2005, was a native of Kentucky before moving to Middletown with her husband in the 1940s. In Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy,” he credits “Mamaw” with grounding him while growing up as his mother struggled with drug addiction.
In December, Paul Horn said Bonnie Vance lived close to Miami Park on Reinartz Boulevard, bordered by McKinley and Miami streets, and suggested a plaque as a memorial to her. At the time, the council was also finalizing the placement of signs at the city’s entrances, noting it was JD Vance’s hometown.
“Maybe we think about a memorial or something strategically at Miami Park as a token of our appreciation of her choosing to live here … if you read the book and watched the movie, that person grounded him while his mother was trying to get clean and get her life together and was close to him,” Horn said in December.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Horn asked staff about progress on the memorial. Acting City Manager Ashley Combs said the bench is scheduled to be ordered in the next couple of weeks after staff gets final approval from the family about the verbiage and exact design of the bench.
“Is that available to other grandmothers who raised their children’s children? Is that something we will all be able to (do) put benches in the park?” Councilwoman Jennifer Carter said. She noted a man who was raised by his grandmother returns to Middletown and gives back regularly, sponsoring activities for children.
“We could certainly talk about other families," Combs said.
“I think it would be nice if we put many grandmothers in the park. “We have a lot of people in Middletown who have raised their children’s children,” she said. “I thought we were going to make Miami Park the grandmother's park. I didn’t know it was for a specific family,” Carter said.
Horn noted he wasn’t sure “lining” benches in Miami Park is feasible and that other city parks might have meaning for different families.
“The reason I brought it up is one: we should feel good that (Vance) came from our city,” Horn said. “And it is a memorial to help people understand when you are going through a difficult time, and you have to raise your children’s children, there is hope for the future."
Watch Live:
