A Dayton native, Leet retired from the Dayton Daily News, where he served in several roles as a retail advertising salesman and graphic designer. Leet has found romance not just in books, but with his wife, Priscilla, who is also a collector, especially of children's books. They and their daughters own and operate the Book Shoppe at 1844 S. Smithville Ave.
The importance of the Dunbar collection and all things relating to Dunbar becomes more important in the new year, when the world will honor Dunbar, who lived close to the family home of Orville and Wilbur Wright, as part of the centennial of flight. They went to school together, including to the city's first high school, Central.
Leet is a student of Dayton history. As a West Dayton youth, he was especially drawn to Dunbar and the Wrights, who brought fame to that area.
Dunbar was one of the first blacks to live by his writing. He was also one of the first to gain national, even international, recognition from his writing.
He was born in 1872 at 311 Howard St. He died on Feb. 9, 1906, at 219 N. Summit St., in a house he bought for his mother and in which she lived until her death in 1934. This house is now being remodeled by its owner, the Ohio Historical Society.
Dunbar graduated from Central High School in 1891, the only black student in his class, which included Orville Wright.
At Central, which was at Fourth and Wilkinson streets, where the Senior Citizen Center now stands, he was named to the Philomathean Literary Society. Later he was elevated to its presidency and to editorship of the school paper, The High School Times .
Dunbar grew up in poverty, and he and his two half-brothers took odd jobs to help his mother, Matillda. He finally got a job as an elevator operator in the Callahan Building. There he was often seen on duty, hunched over his stool and scribbling his verses.
He started to write poems when he was seven. It was from his mother that he got many stories from her past (she had been born a slave as was his father) and a love of song and poetry.
Samuel Wilson, principal of Dunbar's intermediate school, first discovered his ability to write. High school principal Charles B. Stivers encouraged him to make the most of his talents. William Watkins, a high school teacher, tutored him in American literature. Another teacher, Helen M. Truesdell, introduced him to the literary world by presenting him to the Western Association of Writers in 1892 when that group was meeting in Dayton. Two of his poems were published in a Chicago paper, which syndicated them.
In 1893 his first book, Oak and Ivy , was published by the United Brethren Publishing House, one of the outstanding publishers in the country with headquarters in Dayton.
Dunbar had to pay $125 for his first publication of 300-400 books. He had a box of books in his elevator cab. He pushed them hard to friends and passengers, and soon all were gone. He paid off the loan in a couple weeks and purchased and sold more.
That was the beginning. Years later it also was a beginning for Leet, who started his Dunbar collection with the purchase of Oak and Ivy from a Columbus man.
Leet cherishes his collection, but he is negotiating with the Dunbar organization for its sale. He reasons that with 2003 less than a month away `it seems selfish for me to have them alone in my shop and home. They belong somewhere where everyone can take a look.'
As a collector, Leet has finished his job. The collection can now become a monument to the words that Dunbar wrote before he died from tuberculosis.
Contact Jim Nichols at 225-2333 or by e-mail at jnichols@coxohio.com.
[BOX] Paul Laurence Dunbar's books
The author's 24 works include poetry, novels, short stories and musicals. Some were published after his death in 1906.
Oak and Ivy , 1893
Majors and Minors , 1895
Lyrics of Lowly Life , 1896
Folks From Dixie , 1898
The Uncalled , 1898 (His middle name was spelled Lawrence on the cover.)
Lyrics of The Hearthside , 1899
Poems of Cabin and Field , 1899
The Strength of Gideon , 1900
The Love of Landry , 1900
The Fanatics , 1901
Candle-Lightin' Time , 1901
The Sport of the Gods , 1902
The Lyrics of Love and Laughter , 1903
In Old Plantation Days , 1903
When Malindy Sings , 1903
The Heart of Happy Hollow , 1904
Lil Gal , 1904
Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadows , 1905
Howdy, Honey, Howdy , 1905
Joggin Erlong , 1906
Chrismus Is a Comin , 1907
A Plantation Portrait , 1911
The Complete Poems , 1913
Speakin O' Christmas , 1914
About the Author