THE RM WITHOUT A VW: This is the "Views" room Hither - the computer is on, and nobody's home. I thought it might be interesting to see the clutter in which I work: piles of papers, pictures, dictionary, thesaurus, history books, computers, DSL modem, telephone line(s), cables, ethernet switch, bus terminals, cameras, speakers, cds, HP printer, Microtek scanner(s), flashlight, pens, pencils, markers, Wacom Graphire notepad, Endust, empty ink cartidges, notebooks, keyboards, coffee cup; and all - essentially all, in the dark. And out of this cave spin I this webpage. Tis a very odd/unlikely window to the world.
LISTEN CLOSELY: My friend Dale Hohler stopped by Thursday on his way to Florida and dropped off a few pix, belonging to Erie County Commisioner Sparky Wellnau, for me to peruse. Among those pictures was a rather dark photo of a crowd of people gathered for what I surmise was the dedication of a new church somewhere south (I've not determined the precise location) of Vermilion. I habitually scan photographs larger than the originals because I like to look at details in them. In any case, in this particular picture I found the above scene.
What (now) do you suppose is going on here? My guess is that the girl with the paper in front of her lips is passing along some gossip or rather snide comment about someone else present in the gathering.
In the larger photo there is a young rake at the front of the crowd standing with a friend. Very near him there is a pretty girl with her mother and grandmother. Somehow I get the impression that he is attempting to gather her attention. I get the strong impression that the girl in this picture is passing some pernicious information on to her girlfriend that is related to the reputation of either the young libertine and/or the girl whose attention he is attempting to acquire.
But that's just a speculative observation. This is simply a wonderful early 20th century candid portrait.
CHARLOTTE: Charlotte Sturges-Austin was Vermilion's premier pioneer woman. Migrating from Connecticut early in the 19th century to Vermilion - before it was Vermilion - her early years here were documented by her granddaughter, Attie Davis, later in the century.
Ms. Davis' sketch of those years has appeared in newspapers several times since it was written, but it is my parochial opinion that belongs in a more permanent environment. (It belongs in a book.) However; until that day I present it here, electronically, for readers to do with what they may. It is called Charlotte Sturges - Vermilion Ohio's Pioneer Woman.
And just a few words about the text, etc. It is a close to the original as I could get it at the moment. I scanned the text using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) which is a technology very new to me. Most simply stated the scanner read the characters (i.e. letters) in the text and reproduced them in an HTML (hypertext) format so that I could apply them to the net. This required some editing because the age of the paper on which the text appears is quite old - so the scanner read flaws in the paper as letters that did not fit. But the long and short of the matter is that the text is quite extensive and my only other recourse would have been to copy/type it by hand - which would have been an exhausting endeavor - and editing out the scan errors was a great deal easier - not to mention faster. However; there are still a few flaws in the text that will need further editing as time passes.
One other matter concerns the graphics. Because the text is so extensive I felt it wise to break it up some with a few pictures that might reflect the story to some degree. I am not satisfied with them yet, and will work on them as time passes. But the alternative of simply giving one text (however interesting) to read I did not think to be a good idea. So bear with me some until I get the graphics angle right. Presenting the text, alone, was a formidable task.
So I urge you to take a peek.
And one last thing. The story is imperfect in a number of ways. Timing, historical and otherwise, is one of those things. The other thing about Charlotte is her name - Austin. Note that her first husband died while she was still a young lady, and that she remarried. William Austin, one of Vermilion's original settlers, was her second husband. I have a great deal more information about Charlotte and her family that I will also present in the future.
SARAH: A little over two weeks ago I stopped in to the Vermilion Township Hall on an Archival matter. Walking into the room there was a little lady sitting at a table talking with the folks in the office. And, lo and behold, it was Sarah. Sarah Welker. Still involved with the business of the Vermilion Township. Amazing!
She asked me if I recognized her (she recognized me as Ritchie). I did.
She's 92 years old and going strong. She said Harry has some home care now, but was "itching" to get out in his garden (I heard he was out there a few days later). (She also told me that Miss Annie has cancer.) But Sarah remains active in township goverment. Competent as always.
I never told her (and never will) that she actually saved my life. By teaching me how to type with a great deal of expertise she saved me from walking around in the jungles of Vietnam everyday for over a year waiting to get ambushed by a bunch of guys who didn't know me. And that's not an exaggeration.
This is a photo taken last summer during the VHS Class Reunions of classes 63-64-65. I think that's Mark Williams with her in the pic. But it could be his younger brother. The picture came to me, electronically, from Carol (nee Radde?) per a request for further pix of that reunion from Jill Martin. It was an odd photo. I couldn't tell whether it was from a slide or what. They were in a BMP (bitmap) format - something I'm unfamiliar with.
But a nice friendly picture of Sarah.
A HARBOR VIEW: As a youngster I remember but one large vessel in Vermilion's Harbor. It was tied up near the Vermilion Yacht Club, and belonged (I think) to a fellow named Bill Miller. I also think he had a summer home in the Vermilion Lagoons. There is also some relationship between Mr. Miller and Linwood Park (Ruth Fussner was his daughter). It was a very large ship and it actually had a paid crew on board. Miller brought it up from Florida.(It seems that I recall that Miller owned an auto dealership or two.)
The great ship in this photo was moored along the west breakwall. I believe that my friend, Buffalo Bill Hlavin is going to like this picture. It is a PRoscoe photo taken (off the top of my brain calendar) about 1916. Roscoe took several shots of this vessel.
This one is probably taken from a location across from the waterworks in the marsh. Another is taken from Cloudy's Ferry dock.
This, needless to say, is a good-sized boat compared to most others that frequented the harbor. It would be interesting to know who owned it.
THE E&R CHURCH: Roscoe took a number of pictures of Vermilion's Evangelical and Reformed Church on the corner of Grand and Ohio Streets. This is not a great photograph, but it is of some interest. Those who know this church today can plainly see how much it is grown since this picture was taken.
What I find especially interesting here is the house (north) next to the church. It was, for a time, the church parsonage. Some time after that the Oscar Farrell family lived there. And some time after that a boyhood friend of mine, Jimmy Coleman and his family, lived there.
The Coleman's were from Memphis. Jimmy was a hoot and a half. I recall that one time he was contemplating joining Vermilion's track team. And in all innocence and seriousnees he drawled out in his best Tennessean accent, "Howhi'd'hihurdles?" It was one word.
Jimmy's dad worked at Ford (of course), and his mother was a school teacher. His father passed away shortly after they moved here. But the family stayed in Vermilion until he finished highschool. There was/is an older sister, Maryanne, who married while in Vermilion. I believe she still lives here.
I have great memories of this home.
YESTERYEAR: The book is being shipped as I write. There will be a very limited number.
CLASS REUNION UPDATES:
Ray Beursken tells me that the VHS class of 1955 has scheduled their 50th class reunion on September 10, 2005 at the Boat Club. Class members of 1955 should put this date on their calendar. They're hoping for a good turnout.
Bruce Eldridge tells me that he and John Hunter just secured the Amvets hall for their 45th 60,61 & 62 class reunion. The reunion will be Sat. July 22, 2006. John Hunter, class of 1960, will be starting a web site in May or June of 2005. Bob Wolford, class of 1961, will be sending out a letter to all the classmates who attended our 40th class reunion asking them to update their E-Mail and help find other classmates.
A gal named Shelly from the Class of 1985 tells me that "the VHS class of 1985 will be having a 20 year reunion in the summer of 2005......no further details. The name of the organizer is Kim Schultz."
From Roger Boughton comes the following note: Thanks to Gail Lyon and Pat and Glenn Owen we have some additional pictures of our reunion held last October. Take a visit to our website and see what's new. Memories of this October are only a click away. Enjoy and remember.....if you send pictures we'll share with others on our website. Mary Ann is busy writing stories for her Virginia paper. You'll want to visit the site and read her thoughts on Liberty. Keep the pictures coming as classmates who were not able to attend are enjoying seeing "old" school mates. Also, you might want to send us news from and about your family and we'll include it on our web site. Our survey clearly indicated that most wanted our reunion held in Vermilion in 2009. Thus, we'll be celebrating our "special" occasion (50th Reunion) in September of 2009. Put it on your calendar and plan to join the fun. Remember our web site is located at: Class of '59 and I'll update it as as I receive enough new pictures and information from our classmates to make it worth reading. So send me any information that you would like to share with other classmates and we'll put it up for all to see and view.
I've visited Roger's website and it's fun.
Persons interested in having their VHS (and vicinity) reunion plans posted on this site are welcome to do so. I can't provide anyone with webpages to post their activities in depth, but I can provide a link to existing pages and/or post some activity items here. All anyone need do is contact me at my email address and pass along their material electronically.
I should add that some of the people who are noted in this part of the page are good resource folks for all types of information if one should be looking for some long lost friend. I won't give out contact information unless I have permission from those named, but I will contact them on your behalf if you desire.
As news regarding VHS reunion activities comes to my attention it will appear on this web page. There's not much going on right this moment, but stay tuned folks!!!.
The Beat Goes On: The page is generated by the 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 bookmarks. 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.
Links to other sites on the Web
Vol.3, Issue 5, April 23, 2005
© 2005 Rich Tarrant