By Regina Villiers. Originally published April 30, 1997 in The Suburban Life, added April 14, 2016.
James Thomas DeMar and his wife, Elizabeth Rimpler DeMar, in 1953. She died in 1955, after 60 years of marriage. He lived to be 102. Their grandson, Russell, still lives in Madeira.
Harold DeMar, son of Clyde, who was the youngest of the 17 children of William and Cely, lives in Florida today. Now 95, he’s celebrating an anniversary with Emily, his wife of five years.
(This is the second of three columns about the DeMar family.)
Of the 17 DeMar children of William M. and Synthelia “Cely,” several remained around Madeira for much of their lives.
Three of their names – James Thomas, Clinton and Clyde- get the most recognition today from old timers and from people who’ve been boned up on Madeira history.
The DeMars are part of the fabric of Madeira, since they, for the most part, were farmers (orchards) and carpenters, responsible for many Madeira buildings, including the old Presbyterian Church.
They also were responsible for a lot of Madeira’s music. The DeMars, down to the present generation, have always been a musical family.
Several DeMars were members of Madeira’s early community band, the Jefferson Cornet Band. Throughout the notebook of the band’s minutes, owned by former mayor Dan McDonald, DeMar names, such as George, Zachary Taylor, Clason, Clint, and Clyde, appear.
In addition to band instruments, Cliff also played the bass fiddle and ukulele. He married a girl who played the piano, and they played everywhere they could draw a crowd – even captive crowds like nursing homes.
Cliff was so popular that it’s reported that there was a traffic jam at his funeral. He lived to be 92.
His son, Cliff Jr., also became a musician and bought a bar in Montana, where he provided the entertainment.
Clyde DeMar, the 17th and youngest child of William and Cely, also is mentioned in the old band minutes, around the turn of the century, as being an important member and officer of the group. Clyde lived to be 85.
Clyde’s son, Harold, is still very much with us. Now 95 years old and still full of life, he lives in Englewood, Fla., with his new wife, Emily. Actually, they’ve been married five years now.
Harold is the only living great grandson of the original DeMar settlers, James T. and Jane Rawlings.
Harold also holds the distinction of being one of the six graduating seniors in Madeira High School’s first graduating class in 1923.
During Harold’s senior year, a new teacher, Helen Moore, came to Madeira High. She was young, fresh out of Ohio State University, and Harold must have become “teacher’s pet.” They married two years after Harold’s graduation and had 63 years of married life, until she died in 1989.
Instead of farming, carpentry or music, Harold’s career followed the business field. He spent 20 years in banking, then joined the Sacrete Company, where designed and managed a marketing program that made this packaged cement a household name.
Harold says that while he prefers the sunshine of the south, he’ll always love Madeira.
“Early in this century,” he said, “Madeira was a great place to grow up in.”
Of William and Cely’s 17 children, the sixth oldest, James Thomas, is the best known around Madeira today. That’s mostly because he lived all his life here. All 102 years of it.
In late October 1961, as he celebrated his 100th birthday, he was quoted in a Cincinnati Enquirer news story as being willing to try for another 100 years.
“If I could live the second hundred as well as the first, I’d give it a whirl,” he said.
At that time, only three of the 17 children remained-James, his sister Clara Simonton, and his brother, Clint.
During his long lifetime, James saw many changes to Madeira. He was quoted as saying that he could remember only 10 or 11 houses in Madeira when he was a child.
He could also remember his father’s coming home to tell the family that President Abraham Lincoln had been shot.
“He’d been down in Cincinnati,” James said, “and came home to tell us right away.” There was no CNN News, or even radio, to transmit news in those days.
But James did become a big fan of radio when it came along. An avid baseball fan, he never missed a game broadcast on radio.
His love for baseball began when he was very young and played on the “DeMar Nine,” a team made up of James, seven of his brothers, and a cousin.
The music strain flowed in his veins too. He recalled how his father and his brothers – Bill, Clint, and George – would “burn up the fiddle” at family reunions. James played cello, though he insisted that he played “very little cello.”
James was a carpenter-contractor for 49 years, and he always carried the first silver dollar he ever earned, dated 1861.
He was one of those who helped incorporate Madeira in 1910, and he served on Madeira’s council.