STEADY AS SHE GOES: Bill Shakespeare was right. Sometimes you just can't see the forest because the darn trees are in the way. I'll bet I've seen this pic ten dozen times. And I did not - until this very week - notice that Cloudy; Vermilion's Ferryman was rowing the boat.
Well, doubleDuh on me.
If one ever ponders the reason people require the services of research assistants,interns, and secretaries (whatever one opts to call them) this oversight (or under-sight) should serve as an example. Their talents are underrated - and often disregarded. These folks are, in most cases, underpaid and overworked - and I wish I had a herd of 'em.
I am currently in the process of moving my Vermilion Ohio Historic Pix site and sub-sites from their original place on the net to my "vermilionohio.org" site. This work is delicate, tedious; requires that close attention be paid to detail; and very little attention to the clock.
In some respects it is like moving your family from one house to another - except in this case everything to be moved is extremely fragile. Moreover; you don't realise how much "stuff" you've accumulated until you begin packing it up. (And the gnawing desire to dump everything and start over is - for all practical purposes - simply and unconditionally out of the question.)
Utilizing my trusty staff of "me" it looks like it is going to be a long, slow process. The upside is that when tis done managing / updating the site will be made easier.
So - it's steady as she goes. At least for now.
"in front of The Vermilion News"
VERMILION'S BOY SCOUTS: The organization we all recognize as the Boy Scouts of America was formally incorporated by Chicago publisher/entrepreneur William Dickson Boyce (1858-1929) on February 8, 1910 in the District of Columbia. Of approximately 55,062 troops now in existence in our nation it may be that Vermilion’s BSA Troop #2 was among the first organized. The first Vermilion troop was established about the same year (1910) by the Reverend Williams who was then pastor of the First Congregational Church.
Initially the troop was comprised of nearly 30 boys. Their first uniforms were impractical copies of US Army uniforms of the era and were quickly discarded and replaced by a more practical one designed by the British founder of world-wide scouting, Lord Robert Baden-Powell (1847-1941). The early scouts wore knickers with leggings, and a button-down coat with a metal insignia. Both the scouts and their leaders wore the rank they earned on their campaign (“Smokey the Bear”) hats. Scout leaders were then allowed to earn merit badges and rank along with the boys.
In the early 1920’s the BSA modernized their uniforms to a style familiar to that of todays scouts. The coats and leggings were dropped, and neckerchiefs became an additional accessory. In the summer shorts and knee socks were worn. During the colder months the boys wore knickers and knee socks - trousers replacing the knickers in 1944. The campaign hats were commonly used until 1944 when the field cap (then used by soldiers in World War ll) was added.
The uniforms on the scouts in the accompanying photo reflect the BSA dress changes which came about in the 1920’s. The boys standing at attention for Pearl Roscoe’s camera in front of the Vermilion News office on Grand Street during early spring of 1926 were likely Vermilion’s BSA Troop #2’s first Eagle Scouts. On the left is Louis Gegenheimer, and beside him is Frank Blattner.
Gegenheimer was the son of Captain and Mrs. Charles Gegenheimer and Blattner was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Blattner. Both families and their sons are/were well known and respected families in our community.
In the realm of scouting Eagle is the highest level/honor that can be achieved. To become an Eagle Scout in the 1920’s each candidate was asked to demonstrate skill and knowledge, and obtain merit badges, in 21 separate fields of endeavor that ran from taxidermy, to carpentry, to aviation, to astronomy etc. One of the benefits of mastering these skills was to enable each Eagle an ability to accept responsibility both in local and national emergencies (among other things). Attaining this rank was no small matter in 1926 - nor is it today.
I have vivid recollections of Frank Blattner in his later years (I can actually remember the sound of his voice). Frank was a well spoken, very candid, fellow who always seemed to have a pipe in his mouth. He was a master plumber with Brushaber, and lived near the tracks on Washington Street with his wife and daughter.
Of Louis Gegenheimer, I have no luculent memory. I understand that he graduated from Case University and worked for the Timken Roller Bearing Company in Cleveland. The family, forever, lived in a tidy home on Exchange Street. There were seven children in the family. One of his sisters was Edna Hull (Englebry and Hull Coal Co.) - who, incidentally, is Vermilion resident Lucile Clark’s mother. Another sister is Vermilionite Alice Jane McClurkin [ed. note: now deceased], all-around nice lady and very talented pianist.
But I digress. Frank and Louis were the first of what eventually became numerous scouts to achieve the rank of Eagle in Vermilion. It may interest folks to know that the original troop still exists. Today it is Troop #477 led by Vermilion native Larry Howell, and it is still sponsored by the Congregational Church.
(Ref: The Vermilion News; 2-1926; BSA Handbook For Boys; 1942; Appeared in the Vermilion Photojournal on 3-31-05)
3/27/05
7:13 AM
"More Friends"
OHIO STREET KIDS:
This snap may have appeared in "Views" before. It is courtesy of Milanite Dale Hohler whose Uncle and Aunt, Larry and Margaret (Tansey) Shafts, were both prominent Vermilionites.
Once upon a time Mr. Shafts owned a home several doors east of Vermilion's St. Mary's Catholic Church on Ohio Street. He also owned the Vermilion Bottling Company - Vermilion's own pop factory.
These shadows were captured c.1949 near the aforementioned Ohio Street pop factory and home. Pictures are Larry & David Hohler & Butchy & Sharon Stark. The Stark home can be seen in the background.
Larry and David are (of course) Mr. Shaft's nephews and Dale's brothers. Some folks will recognize Larry for his work with Hope Childrens Home in Kenya.
And some folks will also remember Butch and Sharon Stark. Their family later had a farm on Thompson Road in Vermilion Township. The barn on their farm had a real nice baskeball court on the second floor. It was, to say the very least, unique.
I'm not sure where Butch Stark is today. I believe that Sharon (that may no longer be her first name) lives out west. Every now and then I hear something of her.
Great stuff! Great memories!
Lester Allan Pelton
"The Father of Hydroeletric Power"
A LETTER FROM CA:
The following communication is, by and large, self explanatory.I re-discovered it whist rambling through the enormous amount of material I have stored on my computer(s). [As I have previously indicated there is a reason folks employ the services of assistants, etc.] In any case, I find the information contained in the letter to be of some historical import. To my knowledge it has not before been published outside a 1908 editon of The Vermilion News. Methinks you'll understand its import as ye read.
Editor Vermilion NEWS:
Thinking you might be glad to pay a last tribute of respect to a former resident of your town, I take the liberty of subjoining a brief sketch of Lester A. Pelton who passed away at his home 827 Grove street Saturday March 14th, 1908.
He was the only son of the late Allen Pelton, long a well known and highly respected citizen of Vermilion township.
In the spring of 1850 when the gold fever of l849 was at its height, Lester A, Pelton, Henry Roeder, Levi A. Pelton. Henry Hewitt And eight other young men of Vermilion caught the fever and made the preparations to go together as A party the great distance, to California. The journey was overland, long; and full of the hardships incident to that early period, much of it being made on foot The writer recalls listening to many recitals of the perils along the way, the scarcity of food when very small rations were dealt out every morning with the hope of eking out their scanty store until more could by obtained: when the finding of a dead buffalo was an important event; the meat that had dried upon the bones was sliced off and helped much to sustain the men during the latter part of the journey. The party, though spent and and worn was eager to push on to the gold fields, around which so many high hopes had been built. Here the party became more or less scattered. Lester Pelton, engaged in mining in Yuba and Serra counties, afterwards following the vocation of millright, superintending the building of many mills in the section. During his experience he saw the need of great water power, and to, this end he turned his attention, and in 1878 he commenced his experiments which resulted in the famous Pelton Water-Wheel, so out distancing every other invention of its class, as to make a worldwide name for itself. In 1895 the Elliott Cresson, Gold Medal was awarded to Mr. Pelton for his valuable invention, by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia.
Some idea of the extensive use of these wheels may be gained from the fact that in 1892, over eleven thousand were in use in various parts of the world, in mines, manufactories and other industries; at the present time there are thousands more in use. Mr. Pelton's health became impaired and a number of years ago sold his invention to a San Francisco firm which manufactures the wheels on a large scale.
Being a man of reserved and studious habits he devoted his leisure to such pursuits as pleased him like, reading, or working in his perfectly equipped workshop which he lad fitted up in the basement of his home. Here he was often found working happily over some labor-saving device for the pure pleasure ot being occupied. The friends who knew him best valued his steadfast friendship and his perfect integrity. He was a man of dignified manner and appearance and was always glad to visit with his friends, especially any old "forty-niner"; He remarked to the writer only a few days before his death that he was the "last one of the twelve who came to California together, fifty eight years ago"; he did not seem to realize that he was so soon to join the band "over there".
The funeral services were held at his late home Monday, March I6th, the Rev. Charles Brown of Oakland, officiating. In closing he gave Tennyson's beautiful poem,
Sunset and evening star
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the
bar
When I put out to sea
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark
And may there be no sadness of
farewell
When I embark.
For though from out our bourne of
Time and Place
The flood may bear me far.
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
A large number of friends followed him to the beautiful Columbarium; where, as he requested, his body was incinerated. Later the urn containing his ashes will be sent to Vermilion for interment with the other members of his family who rest in the cemetery there.
Mr. Pelton's only surviving sister, Mrs. Henry Wagner, resides in Cleveland, Ohio, Mrs. Fanny A. Stowe, his eldest niece is a resident of Oakland, Cal., Mrs. Ruth Simon and Nelson D. Wagner, niece and nephew of Mr. Pelton also live in Cleveland, Ohio.
Thanking you for giving this notice room In your paper, I am.
Very truly,
Francis M. Pelton
Oakland, Cal., March 18th, 1908
WHEN THE CENTURY TURNED: Researching the past on an entirely unrelated subject I came across several items from a turn-of-the-century Sandusky Register that I found quite amusing.
These articles: the one about the "Chicken Row.." and Mrs. Fenstermacher were among them.
Methinks that Mr. Gregory had good reason to threaten Mr. Jenkins. (Damn chickens!)
And I can't quite figure out if Mrs. Fenstermacher was struck by a motorcycle and then a truck or whether the motorcycle struck Mrs. Fenstermacher and then was hit by a truck. Either way Mrs. Fenstermacher wasn't having a good day.
And then there is this:
While there is likely a great deal to be interested in here - I find the "War tax extra." note worthy of some comment. This must have been during the First World War (1915 or so). The "war tax" concept is something unknown to me until I came across it in this advertisement.
Cool Stuff!!
DON'T JUST SIT THERE WITH A MOUSE IN YOUR HAND - BUY SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR DOG -WOOF:
Take a cyber visit through my on-line store.
This enterprise is new to me so I don't know what to expect in the way of response - but it is actually very nice. Over the next weeks and months I will be adding (and deleting) different items with different pix that folks might like to use for gifts or just have for themselves.
So take a tour of the shop. Tell me how you like it and what you might like to see on some items. I'm always open for business and for reasonable requests and suggestions. If nothing else just do a little window shopping. It's fun!
VERMILION VIEWS GIFT SHOP
Also note that all the video (MP4) podcasts (where used) are done in the "Quicktime" format.
Stay with me on this project. Things will get better. (I pro-mize.)
NOTE NOTE:Past podcasts are no longer available in the on-line archive. They just take up too much disk space. But if one really, really, really wants to acquire a copy of a past cast it can be had by contacting moi - and I will place it on a disc and send it to ye for a minimal fee.
If, however, something important crops up it - it will appear here.
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.