[PHOTOS] JD Vance’s Family, Supporters Gather for Sign Dedication in Middletown

City leaders, supporters and family members of Vice President JD Vance gathered on Feb. 1 to unveil new road signs that honor the newly inaugurated Middletown native.

Surrounded by politicians, community members and leather-clad “Bikers for Trump” members, Vance’s mom, Beverly Aikins, cut the ribbon in front of a new sign on Cincinnati Dayton Road. She requested the signs during a Middletown City Council meeting in December.

“It is truly a significant moment for our family and for all of us who have watched him dedicate his life to public service and the betterment of our great country and city,” Aikins told the crowd. “[These signs] will serve as a reminder to future generations that dedication and hard work do not go unnoticed.”

While Vance himself was not in attendance, Aikins was joined by her daughter Lindsay Lewis Ratliff, who is Vance’s sister. Lori Vance, known by her family and Hillbilly Elegy readers as “Aunt Wee,” was also in attendance.

“So many people, including my family, resonate with his,” said U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, who serves Ohio’s 8th congressional district. “Hillbilly Elegy is his story personally, but it’s a story that resonates with an awful lot of people here today.”

Vance was born and raised in Middletown and graduated from Middletown High School in 2003. He released his memoir in 2016, titled Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.The book reportedly sold more than 3 million copies and inspired a Netflix adaptation staring Amy Adams as a young Aikins. The best-selling book tells the story of Vance’s upbringing in Middletown, chronicling his mother’s opioid addiction, being raised by his “Mamaw’s” Appalachian values and how abuse and poverty shaped his view of white, poor, working-class people. Critical reception for Vance’s memoir was mixed, even in Middletown; some thought the story was inspiring, others exploitative. CityBeat explored the tension surrounding Vance with Middletown natives in a limited-series podcast, “Elegy: The Many Myths of JD Vance.“

During the 2024 election, 62% of Middletown voters cast ballots for Trump-Vance.

“There’s an expression we have here in Middletown: If you can see it, you can be it,” said Middletown 

Mayor Elizabeth Slamka. “I don’t know him personally, but I did read his book, very personal book, and in it he talks about how he couldn’t be where he is today without the help of so many people — mentors, kindness in his life — and that’s what I see as well.”

The signs started going up around Middletown on Jan. 21, according to the City of Middletown Facebook page.

In all, the city has installed seven signs that read: “Hometown of JD Vance, 50th Vice President of the United States of America.”

• Central Avenue at Carmody Boulevard
• Southbound Ohio Route 4 at Germantown Road (near the Middletown Regional Airport)
• Westbound Ohio Route 73 at the Franklin-Middletown city limits
• Westbound Ohio Route 122 and Interstate 75
• Northbound Ohio Route 4 and Lafayette Avenue
• Northbound South Main Street and Oxford-State Road
• Northbound Cincinnati-Dayton Road at the Monroe-Middletown city limits

Photos by Tavish Sweeney