How do you get a name like Jethve?

By Regina Villiers.  Originally published November 3, 1993 in The Suburban Life, added January 14, 2015

In 1993, sisters Jean Bush, Thelma Dietz and Vera Staples stand under their street sign, Jethve Lane.  The street was named for them.

In 1993, sisters Jean Bush, Thelma Dietz and Vera Staples stand under their street sign, Jethve Lane. The street was named for them.

When I first moved to Madeira and saw the street name Jethve Lane in print, I thought it was a typographical error.  Or worse yet, the work of someone who never passed a spelling test.  It couldn’t be a real word, I thought.

But it’s not an error, and it is spelled correctly.

Jethve Lane, I was told, was named for a trio of sisters.  And after all these years, I have finally located them for the real story.

They were the three Bergen sisters.  Their father, Thomas G. Bergen, was a contractor who was responsible for the building of several streets in Madeira.  He made a habit of naming his streets after family members.

When he got around to Jethve, he named it for three of his daughters.  He took the first two letters from each of their first names –Jean, Thelma and Vera- and put them together to coin the word, Jethve.

The Bergen sisters grew up in the 1920’s and ‘30’s in Madeira on Euclid Avenue near the present site of the Madeira Baptist Church.  At one time, the Bergens owned a 48-acre farm.  They lived there until their father built Thomas Drive and they moved into one of the new houses on that street.

When their father died in 1957, their mother moved from Thomas Drive to Silverton.

Jean, Thelma and Vera have many fond memories of their childhood and teenage years in Madeira.

Their father built a German village in their backyard where fun was always happening.

They also had a ball field in their backyard, and they played soccer over in the vicinity of Osceola.

Their father also built a commercial fishing lake on their property.  They swam there in the summer and skated there in the winter.  They thought nothing of walking to Mariemont to get ice cream cones, or to attend football games.  Walking was the accepted mode of transportation in those days.

They went through grade school at St. Anthony’s in Madisonville, but all three went to high school at Madeira and graduated from there.  Jean graduated in 1937, Thelma in 1938, and Vera in 1942.

Among other things they remember about Madeira was the size of Angie Maxfield’s dahlias.  Angie, who was a cook for Madeira schools, lived across the road from the Bergens and grew dahlias that were almost dinner-plate size.

John Molloy also lived on a farm across from Euclid from them, and they remember his cows.

They remember Bauer’s Store in Madeira.  But they remember it most for the homemade candy the Bauer sisters made and sold at Easter.  “Best candy ever made,” all three agree.

Jean, Thelma and Vera all live in Silverton now, all three in the same house.  Their names now are Jean Bush, Thelma Dietz and Vera Staples.

Jean and Vera are retired.  Thelma still works part time.

Thelma, the middle sister and most athletic, walks long distances every day and still plays sports.

These days, the sisters travel a lot.  Vera spends six months a year in Hawaii with her daughter.

Few of us ever get our own monument.  And not many of us ever get a street named after us.  But these three sisters did.

And the next time you see Jethve Lane in print, you’ll know it isn’t a typo.

The Bergen sisters, dressed in hats and white gloves, on Easter morning in 1943: (from left) Jean, Thelma, Rita, and Vera.  Rita, who died just before she was 23 years old, had her own street, Rita Lane, named for her.

The Bergen sisters, dressed in hats and white gloves, on Easter morning in 1943: (from left) Jean, Thelma, Rita, and Vera. Rita, who died just before she was 23 years old, had her own street, Rita Lane, named for her.