What started in a tent on factory grounds has grown into the sprawling East Toledo Family Center. Known as a place for the community to go to for services and sports programs, the center has always been a linchpin in the community.

The Rev. Harper Hoover and his wife Mary started what was once known as “Hoover’s,” a place for mission work, in 1901.

By 1902, property was purchased on Vinal Street, with adjoining lots being added. At the time, “Hoover’s” was known for religious classes as well as offering classes on sewing, cooking, etc.

Dave Alvarado started coming to Hoover’s when he was 4 years old.

“When I was 4 years old, they had religious catechism classes on Saturdays,” Alvarado said. “I went there with my older sister and I ended up pretty well living there. It was still Hoover’s then. Back in the 1930’s, they were way ahead of their time. They provided English as a Second Language back then. We had an ethnically diverse neighborhood with Czechs, Hungarians and Greeks. Hoovers had a community telephone inside the doorway. No one had a phone at that time. People in the neighborhood were able to use the phone for emergencies, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Jack Kohlhofer, Vince Donofrio, Frank Valencic, and Dutch Kohlhofer are among alumni who enjoy reminiscing and catching up with each other at the annual Neighborhood House reunions.

By the 1930’s, Hoover’s became known as the East Toledo Neighborhood House.

“When I was 10, it was a great place to ‘drop in’ but it was structured,” Alvarado said. “They had movie nights, teen dances on Fridays. You could play basketball, baseball, softball, and they had a pool table and ping pong.

Alvarado played for several years on the basketball and baseball teams.

“We used to travel to other centers to play basketball and softball,” he said. “Warren Densmore would haul us in a four-door Dodge, stacked on top of each other. I was lucky. They picked up me on the way and I was the last one in car. I got to sit on top of them and since I had to be the first one out of the car, I also got to be on top on the way home.”

Alvarado credits Densmore and the Neighborhood House with putting him on the right path.

“There were some rough kids who grew up in the area but the majority turned out pretty darn good,” Alvarado said, adding he received his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Toledo. He went on to teach at Waite High School for 29 years.

“They were great role models there,” he said. “We learned to wrestle and play nice. We also learned to compete and that helped us gain confidence. It was culturally diverse and I learned to appreciate other cultures.”

Alvarado said he also greatly appreciates Densmore, who served as the director at the time.

“Densmore was considered one of the greatest football players at UT,” he said. “They called him ‘Iron Man.’ He had the opportunity to go pro, but he decided to stay at Neighborhood House. He just cared for the community so much that he gave a lot up for us.”

At 73, Alvarado is still involved with the center, playing in the Senior Softball League.

Don Montague, 76, and a lifetime friend of Alvarado’s, started going to the Neighborhood House when he was 5 years of age.

“I lived down the street from it. It was the social gathering place for anyone who lived in the neighborhood,” Montague said. “I liked going there for the athletics. They had softball, basketball, pool, ping-pong and a foosball table. It was just a great place.”

Montague graduated from Waite in 1953 and went on to serve in the U.S. Army for two years. He then earned a bachelor of education degree from UT and a master’s in educational administration from Bowling Green State University.

He has served as the Parks and Recreation Director in Tecumseh, and then became an Assistant Recreation Director for the city of Toledo. Montague taught in Dundee and at Penta County before serving as a labor relations consultant for 25 years with the Ohio Education Association.

“I had the misfortune of losing my mom when I was 9,” Montague said. “The people at the Neighborhood House were as involved in raising me as any individual can claim to be. They taught values and social morals. Mary and Harper Hoover and Warren Densmore all had the biggest effect on me. The neighborhood was not conducive to all of that. They kept me on the straight and narrow.”

Like Alvarado, Montague also plays senior softball and both attend the annual Neighborhood House reunions.

“The Family Center is an outstanding facility and the leadership is wonderful,” he said. “Many people on the East Side would not know what to do if it were not there. If it were not there, we would have one hell of a problem. Folks rely on that facility. I am forever grateful for it.”

Jack Kohlhofer, Vince Donofrio, Frank Valencic and Dutch Kohlhofer are among alumni who enjoy reminiscing and catching up with each other at the annual Neighborhood House reunions.