The politics of Ruth Keating

LIMA — She had earned her political stripes through the administration of Lima’s first city manager, Clarence Bingham. And when his successor, Ira Brower, took the reigns of administration, he made certain Ruth Keating was by his side.Miss Keating had made a name for herself as a hard worker. In fact, most would claim that the real work of the city administration was handled by the assistant to the managers, Ruth Keating.So legendary were her skills that Bingham had awarded her the post of assistant for life. As the highest-ranking woman in local government, Keating used her power to promote many civic activities.She represented women on Lima’s Association of Commerce. She represented the city in building a county-wide relief agency. She made certain that more than 2,000 Allen County families received aid, and 1,200 men and women were able to work weekly to pay for that aid during the Great Depression.She appealed to the citizenry via the local newspapers for donations of baby carriages for mothers who had to work during the economic hard times and needed a way to transport their babies to child care.As the city manager title again changed names to Fred Becker, the one constant manning the city was Miss Keating.And in September 1931, she achieved something that no other woman in the city of Lima had ever done. As the paper reported, “for the first time in its history on Monday, Lima had a woman city manager.”Miss Keating became the acting city manager when Becker and his wife left for two weeks to go fishing in Michigan.By all accounts, Miss Keating did a fine job heading the operation. “When a reporter entered her office, Miss Keating was giving direction to the city engineer, approving an order for the purchasing clerk and accepting the police report practically at the same moment,” the local paper reported.But it wasn’t just in the political arena that Miss Keating was interested. She led a Girl Scout Troop. She was a charter member of the Lima Business and Professional Women’s Club, playing at one point on their basketball team. And she was one of the original members of the Altrusa Club. She was also interested in the arts, and in 1938 helped organize the Civic Dramatic Organization to bring plays to Lima.But troubles were brewing in the city for the manager-style of government. In fact, a massive campaign was launched to return to the mayor-council form of government. And while the campaign was intense — bringing 13,278 people out to vote from a potential pool of 21,000 voters, the mayoral form of government was reinstated. By 67 votes.Allen L. Metheany took office, and served in that position for the next six years.Meanwhile, Miss Keating dropped out of the political realm and went to work as the assistant director of the Federal Emergency Relief Agency. Later she was a clerk at Colonial Finance, and secretary for the Lima Community Chest. Prior to her retirement, she was an office manager for Campnell Pest Control.But the story of Ruth Keating doesn’t end there.The wife of her first boss, Clarence Bingham, had died in 1940. He occasionally returned to Lima to visit one of his three children who still lived locally. During one such trip, he and Ruth reconnected.And in September 1958, the two married. For the next several years, the couple often visited Lima, but divided their time living time between New York and Florida. They remained interested in politics, with Bingham never tiring of talking on the subject to the local Lima newspapers.Clarence Bingham died in 1970 and was buried alongside his first wife. Ruth died in 1982 in her retirement residence in Sidney. She was buried in the Keating family plot in St. Matthews Cemetery near Cridersville.Her obituary mentioned that she was a member of Christ Church Episcopal and several area groups, but nothing about being Lima’s first woman city manager.That fact was buried with her, and now lives on only in old newspaper clippings.