Tim Woodruff
Tim Woodruff is a well-known face around Hilliard and at the Hilliard Ohio Historical Society. A current and past Board member, Tim is a two-term past president. All told, he’s served in leadership roles for nine years. Of his involvement Tim said, “It’s one of the most fun things I’ve done outside of my working life. I have a lot of friends here.”
Tim joined in 2000 at the urging of his parents, Ned and Ruth Woodruff. “My parents were both members and they really enjoyed it. They had some things going on where they needed younger people and I came over and helped them out,” he said. What Tim enjoys most about his activities in the Society is being a docent. “I like talking to all the people as they come through,” he said. He especially enjoys the school tours.
“I like to interact with the children so they feel a part of the event they are there for – they feel part of the process and are learning at each of the stations. Many of the kids come back with their parents,” he said. Most days when the village is open Tim can be found in the museum where his specialties are the 1930’s kitchen, dairy, honeybee, and poultry areas where he likes telling stories. His story about chickens who wear glasses is his favorite and always draws great appreciation from the children.
Tim also enjoys Heritage Day. There, he cooks up a big kettle of ham and bean soup. This day is fun for him with its crafts and contests for the visiting public.
In the future Tim would like the Society to develop more programs. “I would like to have videos and sound systems before people pass away who have knowledge of Old Hilliard. We need to get (memories) on video and audio so we capture that for future generations,” he said. One of the Society’s problems is lack of space. Tim continued, “There are a lot of things we could do if we had more area such as old-time games, different kinds of contests, and blacksmithing.”
Tim has lived in Hilliard all his life and is set to celebrate his 78 th birthday on April 10. He grew up across the road from where the Village Church used to stand in Mudsock. “I
affectionately call myself the Mayor of Mudsock – self-appointed and I was the only person who voted for me,” he said. He built his own house along with a log, party house located in woods behind the main house.
A retired asphalt estimator and Hilliard school bus driver, Tim earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Cincinnati which he attended on a football scholarship. Some 57 years ago he married his high school sweetheart, Penny, who passed away last September. The couple graduated together in 1963 from Hilliard High School. They have three children, all of whom live in Hilliard – sons Eric and Mark, and daughter Kay Richardson. They have five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Apart from his work with the Society, Tim has been active in projects for the city of Hilliard. He was twice named Volunteer of the Year. He served on the Community Center’s Advisory Board and First Community Foundation. He leads walking tours of Old Hilliard and has been active at Hilliard Methodist Church for over 50 years.
The people and the organizations in which he has served are Tim’s favorite things about the city of Hilliard. But he admits to missing the old days when the area was mostly rural. Tim recalled, “It was a farm community and the people were fairly close and helped each other. A lot of that changed when they put I-270 through.” You will still find Tim Woodruff giving tours and being actively involved with the Hilliard Ohio Historical Society.
