WAITING FOR THE OTHER FOOT TO FALL: Nay, nay. It's not the greatest photograph in the world but it speaks plainly. The weather in Vermilion has been unusual - although according to reports it wasn't much different a year ago. It's been relatively mild (high 40's and 50's) until this very morning. We now have a whisper of winter outside. Weather-wise it's been one of those periods where you keep expecting to walk out the door and get slapped in the face with an icy breeze that freezes the mucous in your nostrils and, instead, local landscapers are catching up on things they were unable to accomplish last Fall.
That's not a complaint. But waiting for the other foot to fall can be unnerving.
Those unfamiliar with present day Vermilion may want to know that this photo (taken yesterday 1-13-06) was taken look northwest from about the site of the old watertower. The "bait/tackle shop" in the pic was for a very long time the Vermilion Package Store located just above Parsons Marine. Note the Mystic Belle tour sign at the entrance to Parsons' facility. Also note that the houses one sees above the building (in the background) are not as close as they appear. Those are the tops of homes located on Main Street a sizeable distance away. I assume that the lens on my Nikon D70 distorted the view a bit.
BUDDY & BILLY: These shadows were froze in nineteen and thirty-two. These are the Tarrant boys that year: Phil on the left and Bill on the right. And that's likely as quiet as they got that second, that minute, that hour, that year. Our family always knew them as "Buddy and Billy.
They, being my older brothers, were always my heros.
Both served in the Army during the Korean Conflict (it was never a war).
Bill was in an armor unit and Phil was infantry (the "Big Red One"). Both were in country at the same time.
For a while Phil was M.I.A. He got caught behind enemy lines when the Chinese invaded Korea. He told me some about that experience. It weren't something I envied. When he came home he was very sick for awhile.
Bill contracted malaria during his service in Korea. I doth recall the times when the fevor struck him. It was summertime - and he would be in his bed on Perry Street covered with a ton of blankets, sweating; and complaining of being cold.
Bud worked for the U.S. Postal Service and retired after 30 years of service. He was married and divorced. He and his wife had four great children (3 girls and a boy). He died of cancer several years ago at the youthful age of 71.
Some time before he died he made me a clock that chimes every 15 minutes (and on the hours) which we keep on the mantle. I have the feeling that he did that to bug the hell out me. I remember him every time the clock chimes.
Bill was a journeyman printer and (like our grandfather) a decent photographer for the family newspaper and printshop. When the shop closed he went to work for Firelands Floors and retired when he was 65. He married Lois (Stockman) and they have 3 pretty girls.
Bill likes to camp and to travel. (At heart he's just an old cowpoke.) He's always been an avid reader and as cruel fate would have it macular degeneration has now stolen most of his eyesight. But fortune stepped in and now there a numerous "talking books" available.
I feel altogether fortunate to have had these fellows available to me throughout the majority of my years. I believe that there are many other folks who might have similar feelings.
THE PARK EVOLVES: This,again, is not the greatest photo on earth - but hopefully folks will get the general idea of where the new park at the foot of the old watertower is as of yesterday (1-13-06).
The concrete wall at the left of the photo runs along the riverbank (for obvious reasons). While it wasn't precisely clear when it was being poured it is a barrier to keep unthinking people away from the edge of the bank. And tis far enough from the very edge to make it less dangerous for the idiot who thinks it's a good idea to do gymnastics on it.
The weather (as previously mentioned) has been cooperative so it appears that this park will be set to go by late Spring or very early Summer. Right now it's just a muddy lot with a concrete barrrier on one side, a sidewalk on the other, and the tower in the middle. How it evolves into another pretty park of the city will prove to be very interesting.
And while we're at it Vermilion expatriots may find this bland pic of the West River Road rail underpass interesting as well.
This illustrates the work the railroad accomplished in the reconstruction of the concrete railbridge at the underpass. Considering the fact that train traffic was not stopped while the abutments were being constructed this was not small accomplishment and/or improvement. Large "jacks" were used to reinforce the rail bridge as the abutments were being reconstructed. The old abutments were not removed entirely - but the old decaying concrete was blasted away and reinforcing cement was poured into forms and joined with the old. It required about two months time to accomplish. Note also the new walk on the left (east) side of the underpass and (as previously mentioned) the newly reconstructed walk on the west side.
DANCING IN THE STREET: This Dick Koontz photograph of a Vermilion Street Dance brings back a ton of wonderful memories for (I'd wager) a ton of wonderful people.
The dances were held, usually on Friday and Saturday nights, on Main/Division Street between what was then the New York Central railroad tracks and Liberty Avenue during the months of July and August in the late 1940's and 1950's. Generally they were sponsored by either the Vermilion Fire Department and/or the local chapter of the American Legion.
This photo looks as though it was taken from a 2nd floor window of the Miller Hardware Store (now Winterstein Realty).
Across the street is the much beloved and widely known Schwensen Bakery. Next to it is "Lefty's" Elands Cafe before Dick Macklin inherited it and turned it into the Lemon Tree Lounge (a psedo-sophisticated beerjoint with a curved bar and men standing around with suits, ties, and cocktails). To my knowledge Eland's had always (and I mean always) been a bar since the day it was built.
Just up the street (to the left of the cafe) in the Fischer Building was Fergie's Bowling Alley/Poolhall.
One memory I have of those times has to do with a fellow named "Slim" Backus who was a fisherman. He lived on one of the tugs. And during one of these dances Slim got a snoot full of booze and went back to the tug to sleep it off. Unbeknownst to him someone had intentionally or unintentionally turned the boat around during his absence. So when he returned he stepped off the side of the dock to enter the boat and fell into the river. Hitting his head on the boat on his way into the water he was drowned.
But back to the dances. They were, in effect, the precursors to that which became the Festival of the Fish - albeit the fact that they were not intended to attract crowds from out of town so much as they were to provide locals with a party of sorts. In some respects one might looks at them as a celebration of the harvest - fish and farm products. The Fish Festival was originally intended to be a forum to showcase local businesses. In the beginning there were very few outside vendors.
Some of the dances also coincided with the South Shore Regattas sponsored by the Vermilion Boat Club. The point is that there were times when there were several street dances during a summer; some coordinated with the Ragatta - some not.
Music was provided by the American Legion band on the back of the specially constructed band truck that sat near the tracks. Folks danced on sawdust. Along either side of the street the legion and firemen ran games. All were games of chance. Some for adults and some, like the "penny-pitch" were for kids. Across Liberty Avenue entrance to the activity the ladies from the auxillary groups of those same organizations sold sandwiches and other refreshments. The harder refreshments (as is obsious) could be gotten in either "Lefty's" or "Fergie's".
These were fun times.
THE BEACH: There are still some beaches in Vermilion, but there ain't nothing like that which one sees in this photograph. This pic is courtesy of Vermilion native Frank Homitz and comes with a lengthy article written by Sarah Welker that appeared in The Lorain (Ohio) Journal on Tuesday, July 10, 1956 (Vermilion Revolves Around Waterways).
This photo was taken from the sands of Linwood Park looking over the wide beaches of Nakomis Park and Crystal Beach. Those who recall the photograph taken by Jill Martin which appeared on this page last week now have some idea of exactly how much beach was lost between the time of this pic and 1971 (a period of only 15 years). Most of the beaches disappeared after the Great Flood of July 4th, 1969.
This photograph also explains the reason that so many people have great memories of Vermilion. While many can certainly recall those days only a picture (like this) can bring pangs of longing for those days to the heart.
The Journal article itself was very well researched and written. In a nutshell it is a pretty history of Vermilion, Ohio.
One rather amusing feature of the article comes at the very end when Sarah writes:
It may not have come by the year 1960 - but it came shortly thereafter. The Ford Motor Company was (probably at the very time she wrote the piece) in the process of planning to build the largest automobile assembly plant in the U.S. on the edge of this beautiful village by Lake Erie.
WHAT'S A FOOT: Because local newspapers will not likely make note of this, and I believe it is important, I'd like it known here: On Wednesday, January 11th Virginia Fischer Ohler went to her final rest in California. Mrs. Ohler was the daughter of Ruth and Elton Fischer and granddaughter of Elizabeth and George Fischer of this place (Vermilion, Ohio). Her daughter, Roberta "Bobbi" Riley, of Santa Maria, CA sent the news to us on Thursday. Bobbi is the person who's been kind enough to share her family photograph collection of the Fischer and Wilbur families with "Viewers" and the VAAS during the last few weeks. We should keep her in our prayers.
The Vermilion Area Archival Society 2006 Historic Calendar featuring Vermilion's fishing industry is now only available from myself and Sandy Neiding. While noting that these are calendars - please also note that they are collectors' items. This means that they're good for 100 years. These are new calendars that feature Vermilion's fishing industry. Anyone interested in one of the calendars can also contact me. Shipping and handling costs run about $1.35.
Also note that there are (unfortunately) some mistakes on the calendar. The name of Sue Backus under the "Business and Corporate Sponsors" heading is spelled incorrectly. And the month of March is listed incorrectly as being "2005". The days of the actual month, however, are correct for 2006.
I also have a few historica calendars from 2000. However; they're numbered and cost a great deal more than the VAAS calendars.
Please take the time to visit (or re-visit) the Hope Children's Home site linked below because there are some additions there that you might find interesting. With all the bad things happening on the "dark continent" it's really nice to know that there are some places where the light does shine brightly. Please keep in mind that the needs of Hope Children's Home are on-going. Contributions to that home may be made to Larry Hohler in New York.
Please note in addition to the above that Larry's organization is actively looking for used text books to send to children in Kenya. Yo! Yo! You school teachers and officials out there! Don't toss those books. Get them to Larry so they can be applied to good use in Africa. For more info e-mail me and I'll get you in contact with Larry or someone else involved in this project.
Also Larry sent me some pix taken in Kenya a few weeks back. I don't know if they're on their webpage yet - but they've got chickens!!now. And that's a big deal when you don't have much of anything.
CLASS REUNION UPDATES: There is absolutely, and unconditionally nothing different in this area that hasn't appeared here for the last six weeks. If something changes you'll see it here.
Since last week I did note that some folks use this page to access the Classes of '60 to '62 webpage I'm placing the link back here. But it would be a very wise move if folks involved with that page made a note of its URL and posted it in their notes as well as those contacting their classmates.
I was unaware of it but more than just a few folks do use this site as a link to their respective class sites - so - here's the VHS Class of 1959's site back for your convenience too: Remember that site is located at: Class of '59 and it'll be updated it as Roger (Boughton) receives enough new pictures and information from classmates to make it worth reading. So send him any information that you would like to share with other classmates and he'll put it up for all to see and view.
It is my understanding that some of these links are not working, or not working well. If so it is a technical problem belonging to the respective parties operating those webpages.
If you're waiting for changes here - a piece of advice: Don't hold your breath. But stay close anyway.
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 43, January 14, 2006
© 2005 Rich Tarrant