WINTER - PART ONE: The first thaw along the Vermilion River customarily takes place sometime in January. This year it was late. And coming after a terrific cold spell the ice was thick. This pic of (my spouse) Georgianne in front of some of the ice chunks in front of our cottage at the Olympic Outing Club may afford ye some idea the size of the ice slabs.
I didn't take any pix of the flood which took place earlier this week because I know that there are so many people armed with digial cameras today that any photos I would take would be redundant. I did capture the large ice jam on the river just above the Olympic Club (below the first shale cliffs) about one hour before it blew - and the ice and water cascaded across the grounds. When that happens it's a good time to be far away from the action.
As we surveyed the damage to the cottage the day after the flood we met Vermilionite and OOC club member John Fogarty who was about doing the same thing. During our brief conversation he turned, waving his hand toward the slabs of ice scattered helter-skelter across the club grounds as though casting a magic spell over the scene and said, "A month or so from now the place will be green and nobody'll known that any of this ever happened."
John, of course, is correct.
What he didn't mention (because it is understood by most flood plainsmen) were the little surprises deposited by the ice floes. When Spring comes wild flowers carpet the grounds in light pastels of pink and purple, and the harshness of the winter flood is forgot in the air made sweet by their presence.
Winter is not, of course, done with us in Vermilion or elsewhere. But after the first thaw of the winter season a person's thoughts seem to naturally turn toward the coming spring. It is time for planning the garden - for moving along in our lives. It's time to be optomistic.
The American author William Makepeace Thackeray once noted that: "Life is a mirror: if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile, it returns the greeting."
Smilingly,
An afternoon with the "Merrymakers"
THE LADIES OF VERMILION: The late Fred Wetzler loaned me this pic - along with several others to scan several years back. I've used at least one of the scans in a previous edition of "Views". But I don't believe that all the snaps were taken at the same outing.
The women were very likely members of a church circle / group. I would like to say that they were members of the Congregational Church but I don't know that for certain. There was (historically) a group of women in Vermilion who belonged to a group called the Sorosis. But, again, I'm unsure of exactly what the organization was about or how it originated. (Someone in the know should write that one down.)
JUST IN: An hour or so after this appeared "Viewer" Lucille Risdon Blake emailed to tell me that this pic was not taken at Ms. Sherod's house. This house is plainly made of brick, and Sherod's was not. She also said that the lady "shading her eyes" is her grandmother - Ruth Risdon. And she added the fact that this group of ladies gathered as the "Merrymakers".
I recall seeing and hearing the name in the past, but still don't know the details of the group.
Additionally, "Viewer and Linwood Park denizen" Janet Waggoner emailed to correct my spelling of Laura Goetz's last name. (I had spelled it "Gotz".) She also volunteered the following:
"It is Laura Goetz with the Hand bag.
She is my great-great aunt and was married to John Henry Goetz who along with his brother built many homes in Vermilion and cottages in Linwood.
Her house is said to have been the first house with aluminum siding on it in the town.
I have a picture of it in 1888. We visited her there until it was necessary to move her in a nursing home.
You had to jump on the porch so she would come to the door and them my mother would write to her. She earned her living taking in ironing after Uncle Henry died.
Robert Shanks can give you more details."
My sincere thanks to these people for the "heads up".
In this pic I only can identify three of the women. Mrs. (Laura) Goetz is the lady holding a handbag on the front left side of the group. Mrs. Goetz lived just up the street from my family on Perry Street. She was a deaf mute - but seemed to be very literate. I know she signed and wrote on a pad of paper to communicate with people. I also assume that she might have been able to lip read.
The lady (fourth from the left - in the dark dress in the middle) is Fred Wetzler's mother. Her first husband (Fred's father) was the last light keeper when Vermilion still had a lighthouse. After the light was removed he worked for the Michigan and Southern Railroad. Hard of hearing - he was struck and killed one day by a train near Division Street. He was walking down the rails to join some of his fellow workers and failed to heed and / or understand why they were waving wildly at him.
The last person I know is Bessie Sherod (pronounced SHARE - ED not SHARE - RODD. She is the either person from the left (in about the middle and back of the group). She was a member of the First Congregational Church. That's the reason I suspect that the group was somehow related activities at Vermilion's First Congregational Church.
Because I remember Mrs. Getz so well I believe I can safely say that this pic was taken in the early to mid 1950's at an unknown location.
Tis an interesting piece of Vermilion-cana
HOW COLD WAS IT?
It was so cold . . .
the rats were bribing the alley cats for a snuggle.
It was so cold . . .
we had to chop up the piano for firewood - but we only got two chords.
It was so cold . . .
we had to carry around hammers and chisels so we could get out of our parkas!
It was so cold . . .
kids stopped worrying about acne. The new problem - goosepimples!
It was so cold . . .
when we milked the cows, we got ice cream! When we milked the brown cows - we got chocolate ice cream!
It was so cold . . .
words froze in the air. If you wanted to hear what someone said, you had to grab a handful of sentences and take them in by the fire!
It was so cold . . .
the dogs had to put jumper cables on the rabbits - just to get them running!
It was so cold . . .
Playboy magazine stopped publishing because no women would take their clothes off.
It was so cold . . .
we pulled everything out of the freezer and huddled inside it to warm up!
It was so cold . . .
the Husky Association was making emergency service calls to get the dog teams started! Then...
"On the day after Christmas in 1890 his funeral was held in the parlour of his home."
AN AMERICAN CIVIL WAR HERO:Captain Henry Delker was born in Baden, Germany on the 4th day of July in 1836. He passed from life (as near as I can tell) at exactly 4:00 p.m. on Monday, December 22, 1890 in Vermilion, Ohio. He was a belated casualty of the American Civil War.
Coming to America with his family when he was 10 years old he forfeited an opportunity to remain in Germany with an uncle from whom he would have inherited great fortune. The family settled in Amherst, Ohio where young Henry quickly mastered the native language of his adopted country. Before long he secured a lucrative position as a salesman for the Amherst dry goods firm of Mussey & King.
At the beginning of the American Civil War (1860) he answered the first call for soldiers in the Union Army. Eventually he joined Company F. of the 41st Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
He advanced through the ranks rather quickly during his time in the service. Excelling at training new recruits he was easily promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Shortly thereafter he was promoted, with merit, to First Lieutenant passing over the heads of 12 Second Lieutenants in the regiment. There he served continuously under the direction of Lt. Col. James H. Hart and Captain William H. McClure until the last five minutes of the Battle of Nashville (December 12 through 16, 1864).
On that day, after all his superior officers had been killed in battle, he was leading a charge when he was seriously wounded in his left arm and side. He spent the next 60 days in a hospital with only a block of wood for a pillow. During that time he received a field promotion to Captain. From the hospital he was, literally, carried back home to Amherst in the arms of a friend named Joseph Frost. Over a year passed until he was able to go to Columbus to muster out of the Army.
Due to his wounds he was no longer capable of doing any manual labor. Thus, did he attend, and graduate from, business college in Oberlin. In 1866 he married Miss Hattie Beldon. And in 1867 he opened a dry goods business in Vermilion. He maintained that business until his death. His store was located in the building on Liberty Avenue that once housed Vermilion’s Liberty Theater.
The accompanying picture is that of the beautiful Delker home on Liberty Avenue - the way it looked sometime prior to 1890. The home is now owned by Laura and Dan Roth and is now the home of Tiffany’s Flowers and Collectables.
After his untimely demise in late December of 1890 an autopsy was conducted by Dr. R. Quigley. Assisted by Drs. Esch and Hughes, they discovered that the bullet he received on the battlefield 26 years before had perforated his diaphragm, passed downward just above the sacrum, below the left kidney. This allowed his stomach to penetrate upward through the opening in his diaphragm and eventually caused his death.
On the day after Christmas in 1890 his funeral was held in the parlour of his home. A large number of friends attended. His obituary described him as a man who “believed home to be the chief school of virtue, and self-support necessary to self-respect. A consistent friend of the needy, ever ready for any work calculated to smooth before them life’s rugged pathway.” His remains were then transported to Amherst for burial.
His name, again, was Henry G. Delker - Captain Henry G. Delker; American hero.
Ref: Sandusky Daily Register; 12-31-1890; Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War; Vermilion Area Archival Society.
5/21/06
6:39 AM
"It was just before the population explosion>"
HIGH OVER TOWN: This beautiful aerial photo was loaned me (along with several more) by Vermilionite Pat Creel during the week for scanning.
To the best of my understanding it was taken by the late Vermilion professional photographer Paul Ludlow from an aircraft flown by another Vermilionite named "Bud" Burkhardt.
I marked the streets for the benefit of persons who may not recognize the locale. To the best of my guesstimations this particular scene depicts the area as it was c.1954. At about this same time I delivered the Cleveland News and Cleveland Press newspapers throughout town and had several customers on Langfitt Street.
Mrs. Langfitt lived on the street at that time. And so did a local realtor named Harry Meese. I know that Mrs. Martinek also lived on the street. But I don't know whether she was a first home owner on the street or not.
Sanford Street - as is obvious in this pic - was little more than a muddy lane in these years. It was just before the population explosion.
Linwood artifact
ARTIFACTUALS: "Viewer" and Linwood Park denizen Bob Shanks sent me some pix of several Linwood artifacts at the end of January asking if I was interested in them. (I need not bother to reiterate my reply.)
This one (pictured) is is a souvenir of Linwood Park. It's a very small [about 3 or 4 inches high] china pitcher, decorated with a picture of the old Hotel Linwood. It's circa 1890-1900.
The other is a Walking Cane which was offered as a prize at a concession game operated in Linwood by Pete Wahl sometime between 1885 - 1895.
I've a photo of the cane that will appear at some later time in "VV".
These are the type of items that many folks have in their private collections that some record(s) be made of before they disappear. Someday Vermilion, Ohio should seriously consider really have a small secure museum to showcase items such as these. Because they are of great interest to many.
DON'T JUST SIT THERE WITH A MOUSE IN YOUR HAND! HELP THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY!: Take a cyber visit through my on-line store.
Distracted (as usual) I didn't make an special items for Valentines Day. However: If you've not purchased something yet you're missing both the proverbial and literal boat. But, if nothing else, take a stroll through my shop. I keep the floor swept, the windows clean, and my dog don't bite.
And for those who might wonder - this is my shop - and I do make a few bucks selling the items therein...
VERMILION VIEWS GIFT SHOP
Podcasts - "forever under construction..."
PODCAST #115: This week Vermilion Views Podcast #115 is Part #3 (Whether I get it right or not) of a presentation I extracted from a wonderful DVD presentation produced by Carol and Dick Kammer last summer re:life and history at the Olympic Outing Club. This is truly a nice piece of work. If you're unfamiliar with the club you will find this production very informative. So enjoy...
Also note that all the video (MP4) podcasts (where used) are done in the "Quicktime" format.
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.
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.
Pay particular note to the "Hope Homes" page during the next few months. They've recently received a significant grant from the Dolan Foundation and are constructing a Manual Training Center for their children and for other young people in that community. This is an exciting project.
Vermilion High School Classes of 1963 and 1965 may be interested in knowing that a reunion is planned for the weekend of June 27, 2009. Those interested can contact Ruth Bauman Tanner.
The Vermilion High School Class of 1959 may be interested in knowing that a reunion is planned for the weekend of September 18-20, 2009. Registration can be made through Roger Boughton 2205 SW 10th Ave. Austin, MN. 55912 or you can just emailRoger.
Where's Alice? I found this link interesting. You just never know what Vermilion expatriots are up to - or where their up to doing it. Alice Wakefield is one of those people. So check out his link. Methinks you'll be surprised: Talking Turkey.
If, however, something important come along - it will appear here.
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 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
For Persons who would like to donate to the cause (to keep these "Views" on-line you can send whatever you would like to me at the following address. And THANKS to everybody who has already donated to the cause. I doth certainly appreciate it):
Rich Tarrant
1041 Oakwood Drive
Vermilion, Ohio
44089
Telephone: 440-967-0988 - Cell: 440-522-4459
or you can use PayPal:
"Thirteen bucks? Last year it was fourteen."
-Professor Roselyn Picher
Vol.6, Issue 48, February 14, 2009
Archive Issue #309
© 2009 Rich Tarrant