Page 6 - January-February-CBA-Report

THROUGH THE YEARS
For its centennial celebration in 1972, the Cincinnati Bar Association commissioned a dual volume set of commemorative books covering a comprehensive history of the organization. The first volume was entitled Lawyers of Southwestern Ohio, and included a written history researched and prepared by Irwin S. Rhodes and Martha Allen Stimson. This volume also includes all available headshots of then-current members. The Cincinnati Bar Association Auxiliary, a group comprising the spouses of several bar members, was instrumental in the creation of the books.
The second volume was entitled The Law in Southwestern Ohio and includes over 50 chapters – as the preface puts it, the book is “a do-it-yourself writers’ project by the lawyers, of the lawyers, but not exclusively for the lawyers. With many suggestions from the committee on Preservation of Historical Documents, we assembled a proposed list of subjects and authors. We also solicited articles from members of the bar on subjects of particular interest to them.”
Chapters from the latter will be shared on the CBA’s website throughout calendar year 2022. Below is an abbreviated, condensed, and updated version of the history of the Cincinnati Bar Association from the centennial books.
1872
The Cincinnati Bar Association formed in early 1872. On January 24, a group of local attorneys held an informal meeting to “consider formation of a Cincinnati Bar Association. On February 27, the Constitution and By-laws of the CBA were presented by Nicholas Longworth and officially adopted. Alphonso Taft was elected president. Dues were five dollars annually.
1886
“From its earliest days, food and drink were recognized as a binding ingredient of the Association. Refreshments, wine, and cigars were the order of the evening at monthly and quarterly meetings.”
1922
Hotel Gibson was the site of the
CBA’s fiftieth anniversary celebration
in 1922, an event that was transcribed
verbatim into a publication entitled,
Cincinnati Bar Association, 1872-
1922, Fiftieth Anniversary. Ten of the
CBA’s original members attended the
50th Anniversary celebration. These
members include Judson Harmon Edward Colston, Morris L. Buchwalter, and Charles L. Wilby. Province Pogue was president at the time and presided over the event.
1896
Speakers were originally engaged to “enter- tain by reminiscences, or by experiences, in early days or in other juridisctions.
“In 1896, however, for reasons unknown, members and invited guests became articu- late, and practically every meeting to the end of the period was regaled with a varied fare of oratory.”
Topics included criticism, reform, local courts, real estate, military issues, foreign relations, the role of the bar association itself, history, literary, civic and taxes. For most of the 19th Century, CBA meetings were held at the Cincinnati Literary Club, until 1914. Thereafter, with the exception of a few
meetings held at the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, the CBA met at the Hotel Gibson, which was located on Walnut Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets.
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THE REPORT | January/February 2022 | CincyBar.org