AND THE FAT LADY SINGS: T'were inevitable. It's what happens when things get old. First they're neglected - then they're disposed. And then people sit around moaning and groaning about the loss. And so the proverbial fat lady sings a dirge for the Maud-Elton Hotel.
Built at the heart of the burgeoning Village of Vermilion, Ohio in 1876 the 3 story hotel afforded a warm safe harbor for weary sailors off the vessels that frequented the busy port, and offered travellers respite from the dusty road that ran east to west along the southern shores of Lake Erie.
But times change.
As shipping, and boat-building businesses along the river were displaced by more attractive locations in Cleveland and Lorain so was the clientel of the hotel.
In 1903 local lumberman and entrpreneur George Fischer purchased the hotel. He had it moved to the east (down the hill), and named it after his children, Maud and Elton.
Most visitors were either in Vermilion on business or on holiday. With the Lake Shore Electric Depot/Station directly across the street (to the east of the hotel), access to all lake shore recreation spots (Lake Park, Crystal Beach, Linwood Park, Ruggles Beach, Rye Beach, and Cedar Point, etc.) between Cleveland and Sandusky was readily available.
But times do change.
As the automobile afforded persons more mobility at their leisure the business of the hotel declined. And the building fell into disrepair. The upper floor was removed. It was no longer of use as a hotel. For a time it was used as a saloon, and was home to the local chapter of the American Legion. In the basement - which was added when the building was moved from the top of the hill - a few shops conducted business for a time (a short time). But times change.
And, finally, I received this e-mail on April 2nd from the current owner:
"Rich: Someone recently shared an article you wrote about the Lake House on Liberty. As the owner of the property I wanted to let you know it was very interesting and I enjoyed it. The unfortunate news is that we have recently picked up an application from the local building department to have the building demolished. No one has shown any interest in the building and it is very costly to keep up. We intend to lease out the vacant land. If you know of anyone interested in the building or land please let me know. Thank you..."
And the fat lady is singing. She is sings for everyone.
KATHLEEN & LINDA: Hither are some wonderful pix taken of Kathleen Buell and Linda Bogart at the Maritime Museum at the foot of Main Street in Vermilion. This is c. 1954 (could it really have been a half centry ago?).
I remember these girls so, so well.
Linda is the daughter of Howard and Mary Bogart (both now deceased). She lived with her mom and dad, and her brother Howard on the north side of Ohio Street between Washington and Perry Streets. They lived just around the corner from my family home.
Kathleen, like nearly everyone else in her family, was a very interesting person. She lived with her mother, Margaret, and father, Alfred "Alf" at the very west end of South Street (on the north side) right next to Mary and Sterling Smith. Kathleen has two sisters, Alice and Dana, and two brothers; Leon and David. What a fun, fun family they were.
If I remember correctly Kathleen was an artist. I've not seen her for several years - but she still comes to town now and then. Sister Alice lives right down the street from me.
When these pix were taken the museum was in its infancy. Most folks stll referred to it as the "Wakefield Museum". The fellow pictured with Linda was the cureator. It may be that his name was Metcalf. But, as in most cases, I'm not precisely certain that that is a fact. But I'm sure someone will let me know.
But wonderful pix of 2 pretty Vermilion girls.
ALONG THE RIVER: Several weeks ago a similar photo of the river from this point-of-view appeared in "Views" and I wondered (aloud in writing) what the smokestack in that pic belonged to. I do believe that this pic (also submitted by my friend "Buffalo" Bill Hlavin) answers my question.
The towering stack was apparently attached to the Vermilion Waterworks building. I enlarged this photo and gave it a bit more focus (using my AKVIS Photoshop plugin), cloned out some blurring on the edges, and added some clouds to help make the pic more presentable (given the fact that I don't have an original to work with).
Cool beans!
Just as an aside (that has nothing to do with the smokestack) "Viewers" might be interested in knowing that one of the shacks just to the south of the waterworks belonged to the Goetz brothers. They were carpenters and boat-builders. In any case, that particular building was moved. It now stands at the entrance of the Olympic Outing Club on West River Road in Vermilion.
Tis just a piece of local trivia.
JR'S TRUCK: My friend, Vermilionite Franklin Delano Roosevelt Adkins, let me scan this snap of J.R. Parsons moving a house. I was hoping that I could find the location of this particular house (today), but have not been successful in that quest.
Some folks might recall that J.R. Parsons, who lived on the south side of Liberty Street between Perry and Decatur Streets (next to today's Vermilion Police Station) was a mover of buildings. Frank helped him with this novel craft. The moving of buildings is not done much anymore. But years back it was a rather common endeavor. Today people just tear buildings down.
The house in which Mr. Parsons once lived was, in fact, split into three different homes - two of which were moved around the corner onto Perry Street.
The Green home that was once the home of Charlie Trinter, the Farrells, and Doc Ream was part of the original house. And the house just to the south of it was another part of the original. It's fun to find out which, and how many homes have been moved about town.
Below is the entire photo of the scene above. I'm not sure that this home was in Vermilion. Mr. Parsons moved homes in several area cities.
But tis a great snap all the same.
PODCAST #18: This week the Vermilion Views Podcast #18 casts some additional light on the Lake House/Maud-Elton Hotel, and provides the third in a series of readings from Vermilion historian Betty Trinter's wonderful book The Way It Was.
HAVE YE QUESTIONS (?): This link has been fixed. My friend, George Pearson, in Bay Village had been telling me for weeks that the link below wasn't working. I finally checked it, found him to be correct, and fixed the problem.
The question this week is from an anonymous "Viewer".
QUESTION:Who was the first couple to be married in Vermilion?
ANSWER: In 1814 Burt Martin and Catherine Sherod were joined together in hold matrimony. (I wonder which couple got divored first?)
WHAT'S A FOOT: The next meeting of the Vermilion Area Archival Society will be held at the Community Room of the Ritter Public Library this coming Monday (April 9, 2007) at 7 pm. Nettie Bogart Welch will be speaking about her family (Bogart and Welch families) and life of farming in Erie County (Vermilion and Florence Townships).Nettie is a true wealth of information so don't miss it.
Everyone is absolutely welcome to attend these meetings and/or to become a member of the VAAS.
Lifetime memberships are $100. Yearly memberships are $10 a person; $18.00 a couple; and $5 for a student.Our address is:
And I need to mention the projects of my friend Bette Lou Higgins, Artistic Director, of Eden Valley Enterprises. For those unfamiliar with her work - they stage historical people/events from (and) around the State of Ohio.
A great deal of research and practice goes into these productions to make them as accurate as possible.
I will attempt to keep updates on Eden Valley' programs here throughout the year. So keep coming back.
On April 17, 2007 at 7p.m. a production of THE DONAHEY FAMILY: POLITICIANS AND ARTISTS will premiere at the Kent State Tuscarawas campus. This one act play written by Jonathan Wilhelm celebrates the life of the Donahey Family which included Vic Donahey (Governor of Ohio), Hal Donahey (cartoonist for the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER), Will Donahey (creator of the "Teenie Weenies" Children's series), Mary Donahey (children's book author) and Gertrude Donahey (first elected woman official in the state of Ohio). This program will feature Rob Catalano and Kris Smith and is directed by Bette Lou Higgins. The performance is FREE and open to the public. For more information contact archives@tusc.kent.edu or call 330-330-3391 X 47494.The Theatre is located at 330 University NE in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
A performance of YOU CAN'T PLAY BALL IN A SKIRT! be featured at the Ashland Chautauqua, June 25-30. The Chautauqua is sponsored by the Ashland Community Arts Center and this year's theme is "Sport and Society." For complete information on all of the events (which are FREE and open to the public), call 419-281-9836 or e-mail: Ashland Arts Center
To arrange for this or any of their programs for your group, contact Eden Valley directly with your request (and/or to view a complete schedule of Eden Valley Events) visit their web page at www.edenvalleyenterprises.org.
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" and elsewhere it's really nice to know that there are some places where the light does shine brightly. Keep in mind that the needs of Hope Children's Home are on-going. Partially due to the horrors taking place in the Mid-East the continued suffering of the peoples in Africa go virtually unnoticed by both our nation and the United Nations - and that should not be. Contributions to that home may be made to a Vermilion expatriot Larry Hohler in New York.
I need to strongly reiterate the fact that this is an on-going project. The need is forever continuing. Please think about these children. If not with your pocketbook - at least in your daily prayers.
CLASS REUNION UPDATES:This from Shirley Williams Gleason: The CLASS of '58 is planning on hosting the reunion on the weekend of July 17, 18, 19, 2008....The Committee will be sending out information this spring in regard to the plans.
The VHS Class of 1957 are planning their Class Reunion for September 15, 2007. They cannot find addresses for the following classmates: William A. Brown, Carol L. Burkle, Eddie L. Davis, Robert W. DeLong, Jim B. Henry, Alexander J. Lutz, or Neil M. Marcussen. If anyone has that information please forward it to
And I just received the following from Alice Wakefield:
"...I just established a yahoo group for the VHS Class of 1957 so we can catch up on our classmates before our September reunion..." Here are the details: The Group home page can be found at: VHS CLASS OF 1957 The Group email address is: VHSClassof1957 Go to the home page and join today!!
Bob Ferry, is heading up the VHS Class Reunion for 1987...20 years.
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. And, incidently, I received the following communique from Roger this recently. It said in part:
JUST A REMINDER: You'll also want to place on your calendar the dates for our reunion in 2009. It will be held the weekend of September 18-20, 2009. It seems like a long way off but you'll find it will be here sooner than you anticipated.
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.
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
For Persons who would like to contribute to the cause (to keep these "Views" on-line you can send whatever you would like to me at the following address or use PayPal(It's fast, free, easy, and secure):
Vol.5, Issue 3, April 7, 2007
© 2007 Rich Tarrant