Muirfield Village and the surrounding neighborhoods have fantastic amenities that make it a desirable place. Still, Muirfield is just a place on a map. It’s the people that make it special. One of those people is Sylvia Miller.

Sylvia Dornbusch grew up in Cincinnati. She earned a full scholarship to the University of Cincinnati, where she majored in Education. While in school, she met and married her husband, Harry. The Millers finished their studies before embarking on an adventurous life together for the next 63 years.

After college Sylvia and Harry, a math teacher, taught in Michigan. Harry then landed a job teaching at Wake Forest University. After a year there, the young couple landed in Monroe, Ohio, when Harry started a career with Armco Steel in nearby Middletown. In the late 70s, his job took them to Columbus, Ohio, where he finished out his long IT career with PERS.

Along the way, Sylvia earned a Master’s degree in English from the University of Dayton. Sylvia briefly taught high school before switching to elementary school. She finished her career in education after teaching in Upper Arlington for 18 years. “I was teaching when the computers came in—that’s how old I am!” she jokes. After retiring, Sylvia and Harry traveled the world. They went most everywhere except India and Greece.

One of Sylvia’s classroom constants—and a huge part of her life—was music. “I quit piano lessons when I was a child because my friends weren’t musical,” she says. Fortunately, someone recognized that she was. “Harry bought me a guitar for a birthday present,” she recalls. “He said, ‘You like to sing—I thought you might like to learn to play’.” That present unlocked a musical gift that Sylvia shares to this day. She learned to play that guitar. 

Drawing on her English literature degree, Sylvia wrote a poem for an assignment at work. Her son, Bruce, upon hearing the poem said, “Mom, you should put that to music and make it a song.” Writing her first song spurred her to start writing additional songs, and to take a songwriting course at Ohio State. In class, her instructor, Marji Hazen, had everyone sing an original song. She was so impressed with Sylvia’s song she asked Sylvia to join her band! Sylvia, along with other members of that band, formed the One More Time String Band. For the next three decades, The One More Time String Band played many festivals around the state, including AmeraFlora, and special events at the Ohio State Capitol.

Sylvia was also interested in Ohio history. She visited the National Road Museum and asked if she could do anything to better promote the National Road. The museum said that they needed someone to record an audio historical travelogue about the National Road. Sylvia applied for and received a grant from The Ohio Humanities Council to do the project.

Sylvia conducted her own research, including riding in a wagon train for two days to learn what it was like to travel the early road. Having properly educated herself, Sylvia wrote and recorded an oral history rich with period music, local lore and other anecdotes from the era. Upon its completion, she gave talks and was asked to join the Ohio Humanities Council Speakers’ Bureau and was active for a number of years. 

Later, in 2003, when the City of Worthington sponsored a wagon train trip along the National Road for Ohio’s Bicentennial, Sylvia rode as a historian. “Governor DeWine rode in my wagon for a spell on that trip,” she recalls.

Sylvia and Harry raised four kids—three sons and an adopted daughter from Korea. The boys still live in central Ohio, which is helpful. “I’m starting to get old,” Sylvia says. Don’t believe it! She still has a busy calendar, playing in two golf leagues and maintaining memberships with the Muirfield Garden Club, the Muirfield Ladies Club, the Folk Music Society, the National League of Artists, Poets and Writers, the Newcomers Club of North Columbus and Indian Run United Methodist Church. Then, to top it all off, in 2025 her original song, “The Ohio Song,” was chosen to be used in the 250 Celebration here in Ohio. She performed the song at the kick-off celebration in the Atrium of the Capitol on Jan.7. There were 400 people (the governor, senators, representatives, and friends) in attendance. She received a standing ovation and a personal handshake from the governor. “What a thrill!,” she says.

After Harry passed away in 2020, Sylvia started spending winters in her home with just a little snowbird time in Florida.

If you have a chance to spend a minute with Sylvia Miller, make the most of your time. Amid the many treasures of Muirfield, she is truly priceless.