Vermilion Ohio, A Good Place to Live
SHOPTALK: On the shop desktop this week is (presumably) a play that took place in Vermilion around 1933 / ’34. After taking a long look at the pic it appears to have been a Mother Goose a skit pertaining to the poem There was an old woman who lived in a shoe…. I recognize only two of those in the old photo.
The little guy just to the right of “Old Woman” is my oldest brother Billy. And the little gal at the foot of the “Old Woman” player is Betty Lindsley. Both Betty and Bill were born in 1928.
My brother died in January of 2015. Betty has also passed away. Both were cuties. (Actually all of them were cuties.)
I’ve no real idea as to the site of the pic. It appears to have been in a fair sized room – so it very well may have been the stage in the Town Hall. (But I wouldn’t take that to the proverbial bank.)
This photo was developed from a glass negative.
On my home desktop this week is what I would term to be an unusual photograph of the Vermilion River that was probably taken from the river bridge looking to the northwest.
I’m really at a loss to assign an exact date to the photo. (Perhaps the late 30s or early 1940s?) The building and boardwalk on the right belong to Helfrich / McGarvey restaurant. And the boats across the way may have been part of the Parsons fleet.
The building further up the river on the right was (again I’m just guessing) a pumping station. It was there before many of the homes in the Vermilion Lagoons were constructed, and remained well into the 50s and very early 60s.
I was surprised when making use of one of my photo filters to acquire some color in the pic. I acquired the photo from a film negative some time ago. Though I don’t believe it was a color negative I cannot explain why it developed the coloring. But I liked it – so I kept it.
SHARING WORKAROUND SOFTWARE FOR LONG TIME MAC USERS: One of the problems I encountered when Apple upgraded its operation systems some time ago was that they no longer used Appleworks for word processing, etc. I was aghast when I discovered it gone from my computer’s OS because I’d been composing documents for years with it. And suddenly, not only was it missing from my computer, I was unable to open all the things I’d written in the past. No matter if I’d placed them on disc to preserve them. I could not access them.
Almost immediately I acquired Microsoft Office – and that solved the composition problem. But I still was confronted with the problem of not being able to acquire all the documents I written and saved for years and years.
For a time I was able to open them with Pages software from Apple’s iWork collection. But as time progressed even that became impossible. I did some work-arounds to retrieve those files but they were, by and large, cumbersome. Finally I found an easy solution.
There’s a freeware software program called LibreOffice that I now use to retrieve the Appleworks documents to edit and / or to transfer to Microsoft Word. It can (obviously) also be used in place of Office if you choose.
I realize that this workaround only applies to old geeks such as myself who are long time Mac users. But I’m sure there are a few of us who might benefit by having this knowledge.
WEATHER OR NOT: The weather in this part of the country has been pleasant most of the summer. It was hot – yes, but there’ve been no big storms to fret about. It, in fact, has been way too dry.
In the spring I went around our yard with what I thought to be weed killer and sprayed spots all over the place. When I took the time to look at the container I discovered that I had actually sprayed a product that would eliminate both weeds and grass. As a consequence I ended up with a dead grass polka-dotted lawn.
I tried replanting (several times) to no avail. Without rain the chemical I’d used just kept working. Now – if I could convince my neighbors to follow suit the lawn would not look so bad – weather or not.
FIVE-OH-ONE-CEE-THREE: The museum is a 501(c)(3) organization. Consequently, all donations and memberships for the museum are tax deductible. This is retroactive to November of 2011.Memberships for the VERMILION NEWS PRINT SHOP MUSEUM are always available. Funds generated will go toward the aforementioned renovations and maintenance of the shop.
A single membership for an adult is $15 a year.
A couple membership is $25 a year.
A student membership is $5.
And a lifetime membership is $100.
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK:Take the time to visit us on Facebook. Click on the badge below and stop in. We'll keep adding pix as we go along. If you're in the area come on in. I try to be there in the a.m. most everyday. If you see a Chevy Silverado in the drive with the plate "MRCOOKR" stop by and see what's cooking.
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Historically,
ANDY MARKS: Accompanying this brief essay is a nice photograph of Andrew J. Marks. I know not the date it was captured. Nor do I recall from whom it emanated.
Mr. Marks (some long-time Vermilionites will recall) owned and operated his own business (the Marks Welding Company). Actually (and - again - I don’t recall precisely how I know this) the business began in the garage behind the family home on Perry Street. As the business grew it was relocated to a building on the west side of Douglas Street just south of the Nickel Plate Railroad tracks. The Gross Brothers Plumbing and Heating Company currently occupies the building.
Marks was born Andrew Joseph Marks on the 27th day of November in 1898 in Berea, Ohio. The family moved to Vermilion about 1907. In 1924 he married Vermilion resident Elizabeth Mayer and together they had six children: Helen (Sciarini), Eloise (Tyren), Betty (Gioffredo), Theresa (d.1937), William, and Edward.
I believe the sons worked with their father in the family business. And over the years business flourished. Mr. Marks manufactured steel "Bum" boats that were used all over the Great Lakes [e.g. inset photo top left]. Local resident Captain Robert Trinter published a log he kept while delivering one of the boats in The Vermilion News back in the 1940's.
For persons, like myself, whose knowledge of “all things nautical“ is nigh on to “nada” it may be helpful to understand that a “Bum Boat” is a small boat used to peddle provisions to ships anchored offshore. These specialized vessels are often outfitted as floating convenience stores. Typically residing in busy harbors they tie up to larger boats that come into port. And whilst a freighter is loading or discharging cargo, the sailors can go down ladder to the “Bum Boat” and shop for convenience items; work clothes, boots, gloves, and cases of beverages (often disguised as soda-pop), etc. Some Bum Boats even deliver mail to the crewmembers. Their import to sailors is, therefore, immeasurable.
The photograph amuses me to some degree because seeing Mr. Marks behind the wheel of this vintage automobile I am reminded of his son Ed. Over the years I believe I’ve seen him driving an antique car nearly identical to this one. [Note: As near as I can tell it is a 1921 Chevrolet Utility Coupe. When new they cost about $680.]
The other thing I find delightful about the picture is the pooch at the back of Mr. Marks’ “machine”. What he was doing - whether he was just about chasing wheels - or using his nose as a virtual GPS (Global Positioning System), to track the route that had brought the auto into his territory is of course unimportant. It is simply a befitting touch to a nice portrait of life in Vermilion, O. on a very pleasant afternoon in an equally pleasant yesteryear.
In 1969 Mr. Marks, who had been ailing for several months, was stricken at work. Rushed to the Lorain Community Hospital (currently Community Health Partners) he passed on in the emergency room. It was the 18th day of March. With his passing another essential chapter of the history of our community was thereupon concluded.
ONLY A FEW YEARS: : Only a few years have passed between the capture of these shadows. This is the unspectacular parking area at the Lakeside shopping center near the Elberta Beach part of town. The anchor store here is the Giant Eagle supermarket.
The building in the background (left) was the Ponderosa Steak House in the old (upper) pic. And the building in the background (right) was and Andretti Chrysler dealership. Neither remain.
The restaurant is now a privately owned eatery called Martino’s, and the dealership has reverted to a previous owner Liberty Ford. Liberty runs its body shop from the building and uses the car lot for used and overflow vehicle from its main building down the road to the east.
The big deal to me in either pic was none of this stuff: It was the sky. Beautiful…
A MAGIC EVENING AT THE OPERA HOUSE: When I happened upon the following story I envisioned one of those old Charlie Chaplin type movies where everyone appears to be running about as though their pants were filled with hot coals. In fact, the real event appears to have been so expeditious that it may very well be that only a few folks about Vermilion Village ever realized that it took place at all. It falls under the “Bet’cha Didn’t Know That...” category in the annals of local history. And what you probably never knew is that once upon a time there was a fight in Vermilion’s Township Hall that, though it was most certainly hot, had nothing to do with politics.
The event took place on the night of April 11th in the year 1905. It had rained all weekend and the weather that Tuesday evening was no different. It was dark, and dank; a perfect night for sitting by the home fire with a book. Or, if you were so inclined, it was also a great night to hop aboard one of the special cars provided by the Lake Shore Electric interurban railway and travel to Vermilion, O. to watch two adult men beat one another silly with their fists.
The event was not highly publicized before it took place - nor was it widely advertised afterward. Initially, it was planned to be held in Lorain, O. But authorities in that city would not permit it. Then, as if by magic, [Note: What else could it have been? Because no one seemed to know precisely how nor by whom] Vermilion’s Township Hall was secured for the contest. So, at 9 PM sharp on that rainy night in April a crowd of about 450 spectators gathered in Vermilion’s Opera House, and the fists did fly.
Both men were steel workers. Both weighed in at about 145 pounds. By current weight class standards they’d both be considered welterweight athletes. George “Frazer” Fraser was a Lorain native. The other man, “Kid” Talbert was a native of New Castle, PA. who had been transplanted to Lorain. Though the contest had not been, as indicated, “highly publicized” local persons who were informed of it had been told that “the affair would only be a little sparring match”. That there was an attempt to keep this event on what folks are now inclined to call the “down-low” is altogether obvious; albeit 106 years after the fact. Certainly someone noticed 450 people getting off the interurban on Liberty Avenue and walking up the street to the town hall. But again, as previously mentioned, the entire event may have been so expeditious that no one noticed. And there was no big reason to worry because John Delker, the town Marshal, was there to oversee things.
The “little sparring match” went 12 rounds. And though someone announced that it would be a fight to the finish, Marshal Delker apparently disagreed, stopping the fight in the 12th round, and ordering the hall to be cleared. Although there was no official decision as to the winner of the fight most spectators thought that Frazer had the best of it. Both men had, however, been severely punished. Eyes were blackened and noses had been broke. But no permanent injuries were noted.
Actually, the “little sparring match” at the Vermilion Opera House that had been magically arranged by unknown parties briefly raised a few eyebrows in the community in that yesteryear. For some reason to suggest that wizardry had played any part in the affair was an inadmissible defense for having allowed it. Nonetheless; it had been accomplished. A few days later few citizens cared; and several days after that nobody cared at all. The esteemed Russian author Leo Tolstoy observed that “Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.” I bet’cha didn’t know that”.
YESTERYEAR'S NEWS: The following clips were vocally transcribed from past issues of The Vermilion News. I think you will find them both interesting and fun...
Suit has been brought in Common Pleas Court against the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co., by Harland P. Minkler, administrator of the estate of Harriet Tanner of Huron, to recover $10,000 damages for the death of the latter caused by injuries received while crossing the company's tracks at Huron September 15, 1904.
The petition states that the deceased who was attempting to drive across the track at Huron, was compelled to wait 10 minutes for the crossing to be cleared of freight cars.
When she finally attempted to cross, a car, which was being shunted by a freight engine, struck the buggy, compelling the occupants to jump for their lives which resulted in injuries to Miss Tanner from which she never recovered and finally resulted in her death.
The accident it is claimed in the petition, was the result of carelessness on the part of the company in failing to provide either gates or watchmen at so dangerous a crossing.
The case of Isaac Jarett against Frank Brownsworth has been taken from Justice Dietrich’s court to the Court of Common Pleas on appeal by the plaintiff, who lost in the lower court.
Jarett is suing for $10.80, which he claims is due him for our load of hay. He received a verdict $9.60 but was not satisfied and so carried the case to the Common Pleas Court.
In his suit for a divorce filed in the Common Pleas Court, Earl Hoffman, of East Erie Ave., Lorain, says that George Ries stole the affections of his wife Pearl, and that the couple have been meeting at a hotel in Cleveland.
The Hoffmans were married five years ago and have one child. While he was away at work in the tube mills at South Lorain, Hoffman says Ries was a frequent visitor at his home and when not there he wrote many letters couched in endearing terms to Mrs. Hoffman. A few weeks ago Hoffman declares his wife met Ries at a hotel in Cleveland. He asks for a divorce and that the custody of the child be determined by the court. – Elyria Chron.
Pursued by thugs who sought his money, Charles Yaria, an Italian age 32, attempted to enter a strange house in search of safety, and smashed the plate-glass door to get into the home of William Fletcher of Third street, the bullets of the would-be robbers whistling through the book in close proximity to his ears as he cowered inside.
Yaria was in the saloon of August Schneider about 10 o'clock when he was asked to drink by two men. He treated and pulled out $25 to pay for the drinks. When he left he noticed that he was being followed. He hurried toward his boarding house on the East Side, but was shortly overtaken by the two men, who were also Italians. He made a lunge for the Fletcher’s home and tried to get in to escape. When he found the door locked he smashed the glass and jump through. Five bullets were fired after them, not hitting him.
The police were attracted by the shooting and found Yaria cut from the broken glass. He was taken to police headquarters, where he told his story. Yaria can identify the fellows and went with offices Jennings and Ryan to locate them. Mrs. Fletcher was in police court to get paid for the damage done. Yaria says he is willing to pay for it. – Lorain News
Two plainclothes men came to Vermilion Friday to look over the Italian colony here to find the shooters but only found one who might have been connected with the fair.
Samuel Elliot of Brownhelm, who was stricken with a stroke of paralysis on the steps of Dr. Maynard's office Saturday night, died at the Tyson hospital at 7:50 Sunday evening.
The circumstances surrounding the death of the old man who is 72 years old are pathetic. He was on a trip to Dr. Maynard’s office to obtain medicine for his wife, who is suffering at the home with a second and very severe stroke of paralysis. His wife is in a precarious condition since being notified of her husband's death.
On arriving at Dr. Maynard's office the old man was stricken. He was helped into the office by the doctor and given medical attention. J. C. Tyson was notified and in order to care for the man discharged a convalescent from the hospital. The old man grew gradually worse Sunday, his temperature reaching 107. He died in the evening.
During the day the man was visited by his sister and three nephews, Charles and Frank Elliott of this city and Mr. Clark of Brownhelm.
The arrangements of the not yet been made for the funeral. – Elyria Telegram
The Wedge Bros. who have the Family Theatre at Huron, recently had a nailing contest. Jacob Burgett worn by driving 323 nails in 4 minutes and Doc Lavoo took second, driving 203 nails in the same time. The first prize was $5.00.
Although small, the Hamlet of Birmingham is determined to have some of the conveniences enjoyed by its neighbors. The mainline of the Logan Natural Gas and Fuel company passes through the town and the citizens of tried to get the company to put in local lines but the place was considered too small to make a paying proposition and the company refused.
A number of prominent citizens then organized and a three inch main was laid along Main Street and a two inch line on South Street for a distance of about 1500 feet, while on three other cross streets about 1000 feet was laid.
The improvement company owns and paid for everything except that meters, curb boxes and shut off valves. These are furnished by the Gas company.
the Gas company which will furnish the gas to the improvement company.
There will be about 50 consumers and each will be assessed his portion of the cost of the work.
BORN – to Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Warner Thursday evening, a son.
The baby girl was born to Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Schaffer Saturday morning.
BORN – to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kane of School St., September 16, a son.
The canvassers with the "dry" petitions report courteous treatment wherever they went, whether or not the petitions were signed.
The supply of water at the spring in the rear of the Townhall does not seem to diminish, and is a popular place during the drouth.
While playing in the schoolyard at recess Monday last week, Rosa Hollingsworth feel from a swing and broke her arm.
While Fred Bowman was running a drilling machine at the Ohio Quarry Saturday, he attempted to move the machine, and in some way it over balanced, and in trying to catch it he fell into the hole, about 20 feet lighting on an pump platform. Dr. Powers was called and found no bones were broken.
Adam Jaeger is slowly recovering from his recent operation.
Albert Glatz, a resident of Amherst died at his residence Saturday morning at the age of 70 years.
H. J. Sippell has purchased a fine new Marmon automobile. A four-cylinder, 40 horse power machine. [NOTE: The Marmon was an elegant and well engineered high powered automobile produced in Indianapolis, IN. Howard Marmon was the chief designer and engineer while his brother Walter looked after finance and manufacturing. In 30 years the Nordyke and Marmon Co. (1902-1925) and later the Marmon Motor Car Co. (1926-1933) produced over 250,000 American Automobiles.]
While hauling water from a creek near Henry Dute’s farm, Monday, Robert Hasenflug fell from the top of the water tank and broke his leg.
George Vibber one of South Amherst’s oldest residents who has been confined to his home for the past two months with lead poisoning is able to be out again. He is 81 years old.
Farmers who have wood lots are anxious about the safety of them. [NOTE: Not much has been said about it, but the area was in dire need of some rain.]
Ms. Madaline Howe has a new piano.
Mr. Louis Lord is putting up a cider mill at his place and expects to be making cider soon.
Mrs. Katie Nou has the bakery now. Mrs. Ennis giving up the business. We hope Mrs. Nou will be successful in her new undertaking.
Mr. Alfred Sweet is drilling rye for Mr. Hinkle.
A good rain would be a welcome relative for mother earth just now!
Mr. Robert Crumbe is helping Mr. Austin Andrews pick pictures.
Our High School opened Tuesday in the town hall at the Station until the new building is completed.
There was a watermelon social at Jerome Buckley’s Tuesday evening, quite a good attendance.
Mr. Tom Nagle took a load of grapes to Vermilion for Mr. Hinkel Tuesday morning.
It is reported that Oberlin has only about 10 days water supply.
The Ohio River is the lowest at present it has been for 40 years. Only 17 inches deep at Marietta.
Congressman Lannig has been freed of the charges of embezzlement against him and will enter the campaign for reelection with vigor.
Now the great question being discussed in Lorain County is, "Will the County go Dry?" Tuesday a petition signed by Henry Churchill King and 5,283 others, asking for an election to determine whether the liquor traffic shall continue in Lorain County was filed with judge Washburn at 9:30 AM. The judge announced that he will give until Friday at 11 AM for the opponents to prove that it is the defective. If they aren't and able to prove it so the election will be held Monday, October 19. The "wet" element must knockout 2,483 signers in order to forestall an election, which is a hopeless task. The numbers sufficient to make the petition effective this 2,755.
Two cases have been reported to the authorities of cattle being butchered at night by unknown parties. Robert Wallace living near Oak point missed a heifer and after two or three days found the unedible [sic] portions of her in a remote corner of the pasture.
A similar case is that of Henry Lapp who lives about a mile north of Amherst. The animal in this case was a full-grown bull.
What adds to the mystery is the workmanlike manner in which the butchering is done as it is done in the dark by the aid of a lantern.
Is supposed to be the work of some "unscrupulous butcher" or some foreigners.
Hazen Thompson was home from Cleveland Sunday.
The tug Will and Harry came over from Cleveland last night, but returned today.
The town looks rather dreary evenings after 6 o'clock with so many of the stores closed.
The Mayor, the Marshal, and Liveryman are enjoying the ballgames at Cleveland today, being among those who accepted an invitation extended by Mr. Royce of Buffalo, to go down in his auto.
Vermilion may be noted as being a beautiful spot but there's another thing, which might be mentioned. And that is the fruit raised hereabouts. Our friend W. F. Kneisel is another one who understands the care of the vineyard. We daresay we have never seen finer Niagaras that he left at the office this morning. Thanks.
John Wagner is clearing away the old shed just south of his place preparatory to having an addition built on his hotel. The dining room will be enlarged and rearranged. Other portions of the building will be altered in order to make it more convenient and give more sleeping rooms. This will be a much-needed improvement which all will appreciate when completed. John Gegenheimer has the job, so we are informed.
Realizing the need of more houses in town another of our townsmen has decided to build one. F.V. Pelton the South street grocer has let the contract for a dwelling between his residence and the store W.A. Tischer has the job. [NOTE:I wonder which side of the store it was because I don’t know which house Pelton used as a residence. At the moment I’m thinking the newer home was that just to the west of the store. I can’t imagine Pelton living in one of the smaller homes to the east.]
Hmmmmmm....
PATSY, FRED, BUSTER AND ALOYSIUS: In the late autumn of 2005 local resident James Aloysius “Jim” Fischer addressed an audience attending a Vermilion Area Archival Society (VAAS) meeting re: a book he co-wrote with two gentlemen, G.P. Johnson and H.A. Gear, titled “Custer's Horses”. He also speechified on the use of horses, in general, in the development of our area. T'was, to say the least, very interesting.
To be candid, until I read Fischer’s book I was myopic as to the critical role horses [Equus caballus] played in the development of our nation and, of course, our community. For whatever reason I never viewed a horse - any horse - as much more than a recreational vehicle that was, for obvious reasons, usually found at the end of parades.
Somehow the role of the horse in transportation, agriculture, and war - not to mention as a source of food, fuel, and clothing throughout the history of manunkind had totally escaped me. My lack of knowledge on the subject provided new definition for the word “duh”.
In and around Vermilion, Ohio during the 19th and early 20th centuries the horse was used mainly for agricultural and transportation purposes. Frederick G. Fischer was Jim’s paternal grandfather. Pictured here with his horses Patty and Buster, Mr. Fischer was a Vermilion, Ohio teamster. The name “teamster” is obviously derived from the fact that he was a person who drove a “team” of horses that pulled a wagon. Today we call persons who do similar work “truck drivers”.
Mr. Fischer and his team of horses were a familiar sight around our village for many years. He hauled stone from the Linwood Park area to a block-building enterprise run by the Becker family on the site of the present day Vermilion Boat Club. He also hauled lime from the kiln near the mouth of the river to the ironworks near the corner of Darrow and Vermilion-Savannah (Rt. 60)) Roads, and then hauled slag back from the ironworks. Some of that slag was, incidentally, used to form the base of Vermilion's streets.
Many persons about our pretty city are/were familiar with Hank Fischer’s immediate and extended family. There were, I’ve been told, 11 children in all. The Fischer boys were popular figures about town. One son, Fred G., served on council and later as mayor of Vermilion. The sole surviving son, Henry “Hank”, can still be found most mornings drinking coffee with his friends at a local eatery. His knowledge of the community, as one might expect, is substantial.
It may interest folks to note that when Jim Fischer - who is Hank’s eldest son - loaned me this photo to scan we were in the Ritter Room of Vermilion’s Ritter Public Library. That location - give or take just a few feet – is the site where the photograph of his teamster grandfather was taken a mere 100 years before. The houses in the background are still standing.
It surely is amazing how much has changed during that span of time. It is unlikely that much of it would have been accomplished at all without the hard work of workhorses like Patty, and Buster, and teamsters like the German immigrant Frederick G. Fischer. And persons like myself would be totally unaware of that which they accomplished in that yesteryear were it not for the efforts of Mr. Fischer’s author-cowboy grandson Aloysius.
…without the limits of the said county of Erie, except that writs and process issuing after the first of April next shall be styled of Erie county, instead of Huron or Sandusky county.
"SEC. 3. That on the first Monday of May next, the legal voters residing within the limits of the county of Erie shall assemble in their respective townships, at the usual places of holding elections, and proceed to elect their different county officers in the manner pointed out in the act to regulate elections, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election, and until their successors mare chosen and qualified.
"SEC. 4. That the county of Erie, for judicial purposes, is hereby attached to the second judicial circuit, and the first court of common pleas held in said county shall commence its session in the city of Sandusky on the second Monday of December next."
In this manner, then, and by these proceedings, was Erie county brought into existence, and thus was provision made for civil, internal government and control. But, two years later, 1840, by a further act of the State Legislature, certain territory was added or attached to Erie county, and other lands at the same time were taken from it. This change was made by the erection of the county of Ottawa, March 6, 1840, the leading clause of which was as follows:
"That a new county, to be called Ottawa, be, and the same is hereby formed out of the north part of Sandusky and Erie, and the eastern part of Lucas county, commencing at a point two miles north of the southeast corner of the surveyed township number sixteen, called Bay township, Sandusky county, running thence west on section lines to the western boundary line of said county; thence north to the Lucas county line; thence east six miles; thence north till it intersects the Michigan line; thence with said line until it intersects the line between the British and American governments in Lake Erie; thence down the lake with said line, so that a line to the mouth of Sandusky Bay will include Cunningham's Island; thence up Sandusky Bay to the place of beginning."
This act, it will be seen, took from Erie county the township of Danbury on the peninsula, between the bay and the lake; also the islands, the principal of which was Cunningham's, afterwards known as Kelley's Island, both of which were set off to the county of Ottawa.
But in order to give Erie county an equivalent for the territory so taken, a further section of the act provided, "That all the territory now in the county of Huron north of the north line of the townships of Wakeman, Townsend, Norwalk, Ridgefield and Lyme, which includes the townships of Vermillion, Florence, Berlin, Milan and Huron, and also a strip from off the south side of the townships of Oxford and Groton, one mile in width, be, and the same is hereby attached to the county of Erie."
Cunningham's Island, or, as it became known on its organization as a…
A SLUG: Pictured is a slug / a line o’ type from a Linotype machine at the Print Shop Museum. This is finished product from a machine that revolutionized the printing business across the world and which resulted in a substantial increase of literacy among the world’s population during the 20th century.
The slug came from a machine invented by a German-born clockmaker named Ottmar Merganthaler (1854-1869). First marketed by his company in 1886 it transformed the printing industry. It is interesting to note that these machines were an integral part of that industry until the early 1970s.
American inventor Thomas Edison called it the “8th Wonder of the World” when he observed it in operation at the New York Tribune in 1886. And it truly is a wonder to watch.
The Print Shop Museum has two of these machines. The first one purchased by the NEWS in 1916 cost the owners $1900. It was so expensive that they had to finance $1750 to get the machine.
Both machines are still operable. However, for safety reasons, they are (for the time being) without power. A video showing them in operation is part of the display. There are also knowledgeable tour guides there to answer any questions one might have about them.
A young man had just graduated from Harvard and was so excited just thinking about his future. He gets into a taxi and the driver says, "How are you on this lovely day?"
"I'm the Class of 2016, just graduated from Harvard and I just can't wait to go out there and see what the world has in store for me."
The driver looks back to shake the young man's hand and says, "Congratulations, I'm Mitch, Class of 1969."
LOCAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: After giving it much thought this link has been "put-down". During the last year most of the folks who used to use this page as a bulletin board have acquired their own and, consequently, no longer need this forum from "Views". I have, however, kept links (in the links section) to Larry Hohler's "Hope Homes" in Kenya - and to Bette Lou Higgins' Eden Valley Enterprises sites. They are historically and socially relevant projects. I suggest that you visit these sites on a regular basis to see "what's shakin'".
Persons interested in the history of the Lake Shore Electric Railway (which was the subject of a recent past podcast series) - "the greatest electaric railway system on the planet" may want to go to Amazon.com and purchase a book called "Images of Rail - Lake Shore Electric Railway". It was put together by Thomas J. Patton with the help of my friends DENNIS LAMONT and ALBERT DOANE. It'd make a nice gift.
Another great book with Vermilion Roots is, "Grandma's Favorites: A Compilation of Recipes from MARGARET SANDERS BUELL by Amy O'Neal, ELIZABETH THOMPSON and MEG WALTER (May 2, 2012). This book very literally will provide one with the flavor of old Vermilion. And ye can also find it at Amazon.com. Take a look.
MARY WAKEFIELD BUXTON'S LATEST BOOK "The Private War of William Styron" is available in paper back for $15.00 with tax and can be purchased locally at Buxton and Buxton Law Office in Urbanna, ordered from any book store, Amazon.com or Brandylane Publishing Company. A signed, hard back edition may be purchased from Mrs. Buxton directly for $30.00 by writing her at Box 488, Urbanna, VA 23175 and including $6.00 for tax, postage and packaging.
THE BEAT GOES ON: This page is generated by a dreaded Macintosh Computer and is written and designed by (me) Rich Tarrant. It will change weekly ~ usually on Saturday. Bookmark the URL (Universal Resource Locater) and come back at your own leisure. Send the page to your friends (and enemies if you wish). If you have something to share with those who visit this page, pass it on. And if you see something that is in need of correction do the same. My sister, Nancy, is a great help in that respect. It only takes me a week to get things right. And follow the links. You might find something you like. If you experience a problem with them let me know. Also, if you want to see past editions of this eZine check the new archives links below.
If you're looking for my old links section (pictured) I've replaced it with a pull-down menu (visible in the small box next to the word "Go"). If you're looking for links to more Vermilion history check that menu.
How the old links menu looked
1041 Oakwood Drive
Vermilion, Ohio
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- Balzac
Vol.14, Issue 29 - September 24, 2016
Archive Issue #706
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© 2016 Rich Tarrant