061224_GYS_2024_WEB

2O2 4 – 2O2 5 GU I D E to Y E L LOW S P R I NG S 55 Moriah Johnston said. “That pushed them to look for a place that really embodied community.” As they raised their families in Yellow Springs, the Daven- ports were active in sports, with Jackie playing for the Rob- inettes, a Springfield softball team that traveled around the country for tournament play. “It was amazing to watch when I was little,” Joretta John - ston said. “I enjoyed going on trips and staying in hotels with my mom and Aunt Yvonne.” At home, the sisters sup- ported their family by working in the village; Yvonne was a longtime employee at Antioch, where she was said to be more like a mom. Andrea Guskin, whose father, Al Guskin, was the president of Antioch Col - lege, called her time spent with Yvonne “very significant.” “[Yvonne’s] warmth and caring spirit in our home made such a difference to me,” Guskin wrote in a Facebook message to Moriah Johnston. That sentiment was echoed by Osterholm and Moriah and Joretta Johnston, who said the Davenport home was a place where people from all backgrounds gathered and felt safe, including members of the LGBTQ community. “With Grandma Jackie being a part of the LGBTQ commu - nity, they created a whole new social circle,” Moriah Johnston said. “It was really powerful.” “Many of the women who joined the softball league joined for [Jackie],” Joretta Johnston said. “[Jackie and Yvonne] were very supportive of people’s sexuality, especially of Black women, so there were lesbians and women married with kids all on one team. “Because Davenport rules meant you respected every- one,” Joretta Johnston said. In addition to her time as a coach and mentor, Jackie Dav- enport worked for the Village of Yellow Springs, becoming the first female water treat - ment plant operator in the Village. She also ran a volley- ball league at the John Bryan Center for 40 years and was integral in the longevity of the youth center that is housed at the Bryan Center. “They did so much,” Moriah Johnston said. “I don’t think that they were aware of what they created in terms of a family, a household or community, having started from nothing.” Toward the conclusion of the dedication ceremony, April Wolford and other attendees spoke on how they could carry on the Davenport’s legacy in the village. “Jackie and Yvonne orga- nized baseball, volleyball and the Halloween bonfire at the Union Schoolhouse. It’s the kind of organization we’re missing, not just here, but in lots of places in our country,” Wolford said. “To fill those shoes, all of us will have to step in.” ♦ both sisters were respected around the village as they raised their children and worked. The sisters grew up in the Ohio Veterans’ Children’s Home in Xenia until their respective graduations — Jackie in 1963 and Yvonne in 1965. According to Joretta Johnston, her mother and aunt were some of the first students to live in integrated dormitories, which played a large role in their formative years, teaching them tolerance and acceptance of diverse groups of people. Both sisters would go on to have children and decided to move to Yellow Springs in a home together to raise their family. “Growing up in that time period, people were not as friendly towards single moms with biracial kids,” Joretta John - ston said. “Being in the village made them feel safe.” “They grew up so poor and in what I call an orphanage,” WELCOME HOME. Jo Dunphy, Broker ..................................................937-767-1140 Sheila Dunphy-Pallotta, Broker ..........................937-767-2100 Teresa Dunphy, Rentals & Property Mgr/Broker...... 937-767-1140 LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1960 937-767-1140 DunphyRealEstate.com 251 Xenia Avenue,Yellow Springs, OH