
For their final project, students in the Writing Cincinnati course had to create a digital oral history project (Digital ‘Nati) involving some event in the history of the city. The sample piece tells the story of the Ohio Bus Line Company, which was founded in 1925 to provide interurban bus service to the southwest Ohio and southeast Indiana region. They ran many routes on a regular scheduled service throughout the region until the Interstate Highway system put many mass transit companies out of business. The bulk of the video is an interview with John Niehaus, a retired engineering professor from the University of Cincinnati and a daily Ohio Bus Line rider in his younger days. John not only rode Ohio Bus line coaches, but also volunteered with the company to aid in ticket-collecting efficiency during high-load runs. The interview provides valuable historical insight into a piece of Cincinnati history that might otherwise be lost.
