CLEARLY: This year has been a year of many changes for me and, consequently, "VV". Because of this methinks I should further explain a few things.
Currently I am using (or better stated "learning" how to use) voice recognition software. Most simply stated - this means that I talk and / or read text into a microphone attached to my computer and it types what I say.
This, of course, is not, entirely, a fool-proof system. It is, under ideal conditions, about 99% accurate. I have both personal and professional reasons for using this software.
Professionally, I believe it will be advantageous in the transcription of old hand-written documents. It's easier trying to decipher the old faded cursive writing on documents while looking directly at them - as opposed to looking at them and then looking at that which your are typing to make sure what you are typing is correct.
The other reason is that since I've been writing some historical stuff I've gone through 4 computers. Consequently, I've not saved digital copies of those items. But I do have hard / printed copies. So - what I've been making oral transcriptions of those old pieces to place on disk and in "VV" where I can (as well as others) easily recover them for reference using the "Views" Search Engine. (Everything in "VV" is indexed on a weeklyi basis.)
You will, therefore, note that several of these orally transcribed articles appear on the page each week now - mistakes and all. At then end of most of these pieces there is a footnote wherein you will find some of the sources for the article(s), when it was written, and when (or if) it was published elsewhere. Some of these things were written and published seven years back. And it is important that one attend to those notes or you might (as some apparently did) believe that I have a broken knee, and that my friend, Tom, just passed away.
So - be aware that the footnotes with those articles are important.
Another thing that might be the source of some confusion is the fact that I'm currently using a new email program to notify folks when a new edition of "VV" is published each week.
This is a bulk mail system called "Direct Mail" and it allows me to send over 200 notices to "Viewers" in a literal flash. For years I've struggled with trying to send BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) emails to everyone each week - one at a time. As you might imagine it took a great deal of time to accomplish that task.
And I don't like sending everyone a "TO" communique when it has 200 plus names and addresses attached to it. So I've currently opted to use "Direct Mail".
Unfortunately, some "Viewers" have their computers set to block anything that looks like "Spam" out of their mail. This means that they cannot receive a weekly notice. But it's not because I don't send it.
People can adjust their mail preferences to allow the notice if they desire. Or - if they choose they can just bookmark the site (it's relatively easy):
www.vermilionohio.org
and come back every Saturday to find a new page. A notice with a link is not (yet) required to access the page.
Now-that-that's-clearly-cloudy,
Boys Sunday School in the kitchen of the First Congregational Church c.1955
c.1955 (Again): This is the final pic given me by Vermilionite Larry Jeffery. As previously mentioned, Larry is the son of Morey "Bud" Jeffery. Larry's a retired military officer / pilot. He currently works as a consultant for the federal government, and visits numerous embassies all over the planet.
Way back in the 1950's the membership of Vermilion's First Congregational Church was exploding. The place was, very literally, packed. Some day I will attempt to further explain that phenomenon. But for now just knowing that it was, in fact and deed, the case should suffice.
Because of the large numbers Sunday School classes for the boys of the church were held in the church kitchen. [Note: Whilst that, understandably, did not sit well with many of the parishioners I, myself, rather preferred those "digs".]
This pic is of one of those classes. I don't recall the adult / teacher's name at this very moment. But he looks familiar to me. And I only recognize, perhaps, 3 of the boys.
Tim Trinter is the boy at the table on the right holding some papers. The dark haired boy above him to the right was a boy named Gail Lyons. And to the right of him is the oldest Bowen boy.
That old church kitchen was one of my very favorite places in that church. And it's somewhat ironic (at least for me) to find that years later I would be spending an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen of the church that replaced the old.
Cool beans!
"Jack has been gone now for some years, but this is exactly how I remember him."
B.N. (BEFORE NASCAR):
It may be hard for some getting young people to believe but there was a time when NASCAR (National Association for StockCar AutoRacing) didn’t exist. That which eventually became a sport with one of the (if not the) largest fan bases in the world was born of the moonshine stills in the American southeast. After World War II “stock” (factory equipped) cars were modified to carry bootleg cargo and, in the process, out run the local gendarmes. Competition among the drivers and mechanics of these vehicles quite naturally drove them (no pun intended) to test their skills in a venue beyond that required of their illegitimate occupations. It has been observed that the bootleggers raced on Sunday afternoons and then use the same card all moonshine on Sunday night. And where did they race? Until NASCAR was born on February 15, 1948 in Daytona, Florida the stocks usually ran an oval dirt tracks someone had crudely mapped out in farmer’s fields throughout theAmerican countryside.
Until local resident, Jim Smith, shared several snapshots of some local denizens who were early participants in the sport of stock car racing (sans bootlegging), I had almost forgotten how popular it once was in Vermillion, Ohio.
The fellow in the accompanying photograph is Jack “Tiny” Balogh. Jack has been gone now for some years, but this is exactly how I remember him. He was a dark, handsome, quiet man with an athletic build. I’ve no idea as to the reason he was nicknamed “Tiny” for he always seemed to be a average height to me. But then again my memory of them reaches back some 50 years when I was but a whippersnapper of 10, and he was in his early 20s.
When I first knew Jack he lived with his mother in a very small house next to Main Street beach across from F. W. Wakefield’s Harborview home (now the GLHS Maritime Museum). Vermillion native, Bruce Eldridge, recalls that, “the house Tiny lived in was like a beach house.”
Bruce also reflected on Jack’s interest in a variety of sports. He remembers “seeing a large navy surplus black rubber lifeboat leaning against the side of the house when (he) used to swim at the public beach.” And also, “when I was in high school I would water ski with Tiny off Linwood Beach and play hockey with him on the river next to Parsons Fish House. The January Sunday afternoon hockey games would draw 20 to 30 people. It would be 9° and we would be sweating.”
Given all this it’s not surprising that Jack would also have an interest in stock car racing when it came along. But he was always in fair company. The fellows I remember, offhand, as also being early racing enthusiasts had last names like Seals and Gerber and their many friends and relatives. And there were many.
One of the various speedways they raced was Sharon Speedway just across the Ohio state line in Sharon, PA. It may very well be the location of this photo of Jack with Vermilion stock-car number 55. Take a good look at the background. The hay bales were there not there to serve as buffers for the dirt racetrack - they were part of the farmer’s field. Today the Sharon Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned asphalt track. And the cars that race there are long a long way from a 1938 Ford modified by a group of good friends and a little garage in Vermillion, Ohio. But be that as it is, I’ll bet it was a great deal more fun.
Ref: Special Thanks to Jim Smith and Bruce Eldridge. Published in the Vermilion Photojournal 7/21/05; Oral transcription made at the Olympic Club on July 22, 2009.@3:49 PM.
** KIDS - YA GOTTA LOVE 'EM **
A first grade teacher collected well known proverbs. She
gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb
and asked them to come up with the remainder of the
proverb.
* Better to be safe than...punch a 5th grader
* Strike while the ...bug is close
* It's always darkest before...Daylight Savings Time
* Never underestimate the power of...termites
* You can lead a horse to water but...how?
* Don't bite the hand that...looks dirty
* No news is...impossible
* A miss is as good as a...Mr.
*You can't teach an old dog new............math
* If you lie down with dogs, you'll...stink in the
morning
* Love all, trust...me
* The pen is mightier than the...pigs
* An idle mind is...The best way to relax
* Where there's smoke there's...pollution
* Happy the bride who...gets all the presents
* A penny saved is...not much
* Two's company, three's...the Musketeers
* Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and...
you have to blow your nose
* None are so blind as...Helen Keller
* Children should be seen and not...spanked or grounded
* You get out of something what you...see pictured on the
box
* When the blind leadeth the blind...get out of the way
"The home of Fred Krapp (Charlie’s brother) just to the east was untouched."
AUGUST 14, 1943:
When I first had the pleasure of seeing my grandfather’s (Pearl Roscoe’s) rare color slides of the Vermilion area I happened across a few that I found rather puzzling. They depicted what obviously looked like terrific storm damage in a cemetery. Because the slides were not marked, I had no idea as to their specific location other than what I have just written. And then I came across an 8”x10” black and white glossy Rudy Moc photograph that made my grandfather’s slides identifiable. The cemetery (as pictured) was our Maple Grove Cemetery on the morning of August 14, 1943.
The night before a tornado had come out of the southwest. It cut across the Risdon Farm on Risden Road [please note that the names are correct although spelled differently] , headed northeast toward the lake where it destroyed the Sherod home just east of Coen Road, and then bounced across West Lake Road to the home of Charlie and Katie Krapp at Stop 130. It levelled their home, their barn along with 200 chickens, and caused the tragic death of Mrs. Krapp’s cousin, Josephine Lowe, who was there on a visit from her home in Cleveland. Mrs. Krapp, who was trapped in the wreckage of the home for 45 minutes, suffered only minor injuries. All that remained at Stop 130 when the storm passed was the garage. It is still standing.
The home of Fred Krapp (Charlie’s brother) just to the east was untouched. The floor of Charlie’s barn rested against the house. The storm had lifted it, transported it 1000 feet, and softly set it down by the kitchen door without disturbing shingle nor nail of his house or outbuildings.
Turning southeast the storm jumped the NYC railroad tracks and tapped the Backus home on Adams Street. Mrs. Lydia Backus was critically injured when a wall collapsed on her. Her husband somehow escaped without harm.
At least five additional homesteads were swatted by the mid August storm. On State Street the H. Rossman home was twisted off its foundation. On Douglas Street the Cecil Rossman and Edward Troxel homes were also damaged. And on Mason Road the Krebs home was grazed, and Carl Washburn’s barn doors, part of a haystack, as well as an entire apple orchard were swept away in the whirling summer winds.
In 1866 the Village of Vermilion had purchased 3 acres of land along Mason Road from one Amason Washburn to use as a permanent cemetery. The property adjoined a one-half acre plot of land that pioneer settler, John Beardsley, had earlier in the century deeded to School District No. 6 and their successors to be used as a burial ground. The additional land was then cleared, graded, and a good number of young maple trees were planted. Thus was it named “Maple Grove” (cemetery).
During ensuing years more acreage was added. By August of 1943 the memorial park was comprised of more than 7 acres of land, and the young maples that had been planted nearly a century earlier now towered over the grounds and monuments.
And as these terrible storms have no respect for life - human or otherwise - they also have no mercy for the dead. On August 13, 1943 the same storm that had stolen the life of Josephine Lowe arbitrarily dismantled many of the monuments in Maple Grove, as well as uprooting and splintering almost all the old maples that once stood guard over them.
The accompanying Rudy Moc photograph (obviously) shows the damage done to the cemetery on that day. Were it not for my discovery of the Moc photo I would not have known any of this ever happened, and I would have been puzzling over my grandfather’s color slides for the remainder of my life.
Ref: Vermilion Area Archival Society archives; The Lorain Times-Herald; 8-14-43; The Vermilion News: 6-28-38; Special Thanks to: Ruth Bauman Tanner and the Glenn Risdon Family; Published in the Vermilion Photojournal on 9-01-05. Revised 7-24-09.
8/28/05
12:08 PM
"Just a couple of interesting bites from the Vermilion of 1898."
"THE BIKE" MOUSEPAD"
DON'T JUST SIT THERE WITH A MOUSE IN YOUR HAND! HELP THE (MY) ECONOMIC RECOVERY!: Take a cyber visit through my on-line store.
This week I designed a mousepad. I was looking at pads at Staples last week and found them to be both boring and rather expensive (for boring). So I went home and designed my own. For the money - it beats the heck out of what I've seen.
The pad is a "Wyeth-type" photo-painting I fashioned from some of my "stuff" taken at the Olympic Outing Club in Brownhelm Township, Ohio. I'm prejudice - but I think it's nice.
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 #138: This weeks the Vermilion Views Podcast #138 takes ya back to the 1950's when American stock car racing was in its infancy. An interesting clip...
Also, please note that all the video (MP4) podcasts (where used) are done in the "Quicktime MP4" format.
NOTE NOTE:Past podcasts are not 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 me 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. I suggest that you visit these sites on a regular basis to see "what's shakin'".
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.
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.
"The developing artist and his loyal subject."
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:
"What can you say about a society that says that God is dead and Elvis is alive?"
-Irv Kupcinet
Vol.7, Issue 19, July 25, 2009
Archive Issue #332
© 2009 Rich Tarrant