faces

Past, Peggy and Future

Longtime Pickerington resident maintains city’s historical roots

Though she isn’t originally from Pickerington, after decades of active involvement in the community, Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society President Peggy Portier can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Portier moved to Pickerington from Noble County in the winter of 1988 when her husband, Ralph, was hired to be one of five new police officers after the 1990 census declared Pickerington a city.

Ralph was in public service his whole adult life, and ultimately rose to chief of police in Groveport in 2009. Portier says after he took the job, they never considered leaving Pickerington.

“I am from southeast Ohio, but this is the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere,” Portier says, “so this to me is home.”

Portier stays involved in Pickerington connecting its history with its bright future.

Since moving here, Portier has immersed herself in Pickerington’s history and culture, striving to ensure that while the city continues to grow, it stays in touch with its past.

Over the course of 50 years, Ralph served Pickerington in many ways, working for the police, emergency medical services and the fire department. He died in 2021, and is remembered for always putting others first and being a great teacher and role model to those around him.

Ralph participated in Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society events by roleplaying Andrew Carnegie, an important figure in Pickerington’s development.

“He used to say that he was “voluntold” that he was going to do it,” Portier says.

Even during his busiest moments as police chief of Groveport, Ralph still participated in Pickerington community events.

Ralph was battling cancer, but stayed on the force as long as he could before retiring in April 2021. At the end of the summer, Peggy and Ralph were approached about being grand marshals in Pickerington’s Labor Day parade.

“I was speechless,” she says. “It was never even something I considered a possibility and it was a real honor to be recognized by the community.”

Still fighting cancer, Ralph and Peggy proudly marched.

After his death, Portier was faced with the decision to remain in Pickerington or return home to Noble County. But it

Ralph acted as Andrew Carnegie at historical society events with Portier.

took her almost no time to decide. She has planted her roots deeply in Pickerington and is committed to maintaining its history and using it to inform the city’s future.

“A good bit of our township is still not developed, it’s still farming,” Portier says. “That’s an important thing for people to understand, that we grew up this area on farming and we need to honor that and to preserve some of that land.”

The list of civic organizations Portier is involved with is a long one: Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society, Active Transportation Subcommittee of the Fairfield County Regional Planning Commission, Fairfield Heritage Trail Association, Fairfield County Visitors and Convention Bureau, Pickerington Village Association, as well as her local civic association for her neighborhood.

She now proudly serves as president of the PickeringtonViolet Township Historical Society, and is always prepared to launch into a story about Pickerington’s past.

Peggy’s Pickerington

Founded in 1811, Pickerington was hardly on the map before transportation networks started to put the small town on travelers’ radars.

“We were just a little town of about 300 people out in the middle of nowhere,” Portier says. “Then the railroad came and the interstate highway, and that really brought people to Pickerington.”

The first train arrived in Pickerington in 1879. Trains bringing freight and passengers continued to encourage growth in the town until its railroad depot was no longer needed in 1958 due to the passage of the Interstate Highway Act of 1956.

Though that kicked off decades of immense growth in Pickerington, something that still rings true is its ability to maintain a small-town feel without being too far removed from metropolitan happenings.

She hopes that Pickerington residents don’t forget their agricultural roots, and works with the builders association to ensure that new builds don’t get in the way of residents’ ability to enjoy locally grown produce as they have for more than 200 years.

Portier also works with the Pickerington Farmers’ Market to connect local growers with consumers who want the freshest crops grown on hometown soil.

Accessibility is also an important issue to Portier: she works with the trail association to create and maintain multi-use pathways, allowing residents to bike and walk around Pickerington and enjoy their community without a car.

Portier receives the Tri-County Realtors Humanitarian Award.

Tyler Kirkendall is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at tkirkendall@cityscenemediagroup.com.