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_{T'WAS A SUNNY DAY}

ABOUT THOSE SHADES...: Like one of the "VV" photos last week, a facsimile of this pic (above) appears in the current (11-02-09) edition of the local weekly - the Vermilion Photojournal - along with the following blurb.

LOCAL FISHING TOURNEY WINNER

Some thirty anglers of all ages from Vermilion to Cleveland gathered at Vermilion’s Olympic Outing Club last Saturday to participate in the Seventh Annual George Diener Memorial Steelhead Trout Fishing Tournament.

Event coordinator Maura Robison reported that Vermilionite Bob B. took first place with a 8.75 pound, 28.75 inch steelhead. He was followed by Bob Scott, Dan Kammer, Tom Dorsey, Lou Kuhnle, and Terry Fogarty respectively. All six men netted prizes for their catches.

Trophies and prizes for the event were compliments of Erie Outfitters of Sheffield Lake, the Triangle Stamping Company of Cleveland, and family members of the late sportsman in whose memory the tourney is named.

George Diener was my father-in-law. He was an avid sports-guy who lived and loved the Olympic Outing Club and the folks therein. Autumn was one of his favorite times of the year. So the fishing tournament which bears his name is entirely appropriate.

Most of the folks in this pic are from the Cleveland area. Five or six pictured are from Vermilion. Two (George's granddaughter and her husband)folks currently live in Michigan.

The weather was fantastic. As is obvious it was a "sunny day" - "not a cloud was in the sky". But there is something further "Viewers" should note about this pic.

Nary a soul (in the photo) was actually wearing sunglasses.(Not even the dog.)

Photoshopingly,

THE FISH CLEANERS

INSIDE KISHMAN FISH: During the week Vermilionite Dawn Full called me and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing some items she's had sitting in a box in her garage at Fisherman's Bend Condominiums (which is built on the site of the old Kishman Fishery).

There wasn't much for me to think about. And that is where I acquired this beautiful photograph for the Vermilion Area Archival Soceity of the men and women cleaning fish at Kishman Fish - among some other things.

I hate to guess dates for photographs - but I'm going to stick my neck out here and suggest that this pic is c.1967. The only person I definitely know in this pic is Ray Full (Dawn's husband) who appears (for the camera) to be supervising the operation.

I should know the old fellow toward the back and left of the pic. His face I distincly recall. Unfortunately his name excapes me. But no matter. I am certain that some "Viewer" is familiar with all of these faces.

Next week I'll have some additional pix from the collection.

_{"...the tank on Main Street (c.1917) was one of the aforementioned twenty-six tanks produced in the U.S."}

A TANK ON MAIN STREET - 1917: Were there ever an exhibition featuring the top 10 most unusual photographs ever taken in a Vermilion, O. yesteryear the one attending this essay would, no doubt, be among them. A tank on Main Street? Who’d a thunk it ?

The photograph was taken in 1917 from what would today be the very steps of the Vermilion Photojournal office (i.e. the old Wagner Hotel) on Main Street looking to the east and south. In the background the Kishman Fish Company’s fish-house with an advertisement for Mail Pouch Tobacco on the roof, as well as part of Vermilion lumberman / entrepreneur George Fischer’s riverside home are quite visible. And just to the left of the fish-house a pristine flood plain, that would later become the site of trim cape-cod style homes called the Vermilion Lagoons, stretches from the eastern bank of the Vermilion River eastward to the shale banks which serve as a natural boundary between the plain and Linwood Park.

History books aside - my personal knowledge of the First World War (1914 - 1919-20) is partially derived from songs and stories told by my late father (W.B. Tarrant), and his later friends; Norman “Red” Duperow, who co-owned and operated a diner with his wife, Ruth, on Division Street; and Hazen Thompson who had spent most of his war years “skinning mules” for the U.S. Army in France - and the rest at the steel mill in Lorain. Most of the stories they told are “tellable”. But many of the songs are not appropriate for those of tender years nor those with even tenderer ears.

My Pop was a member of the 26th "Yankee” Division during W.W.I. It was the first "full" American Army Division to land in France in 1917. The battle record of the Division was rivalled only by the exploits of the U.S. Army’s 1st Division.

The 26th Division received credit for the following campaigns: Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, and Defensive Sector. I recall Pop telling me about the "Argonne" offensive (October 15 - November 14, 1918). I'm glad I wasn't there. Being in the middle of any armed conflict is bad. But being in the middle of a war during inclement weather, whether you’re walking or driving / riding an animal is, to politely paraphrase Civil War General Tecumseh Sherman’s thought on the subject, “heck”.

This information is pertinent to the 1917 photograph of a tank on Main Street in Vermilion because during W.W.I the American calvary was essentially tankless. The War Department had, that same year, established the U.S. Army Tank Corps consisting of twenty-five battalions. And the corps had begun training at British and French schools utilizing foreign machines while they waited for American factories to begin mass production of the armoured vehicles. However; only twenty-six tanks were built before the war ended and none went overseas.

One can, therefore, safely surmise that photo of the the tank on Main Street (c.1917) was one of the aforementioned twenty-six tanks produced in the U.S. prior to the end of the war. However; the exact reason the Ford M1917 Light Tank, which was armed with either a 37mm or 7.62mm machine gun, was rolling down Main Street in Vermilion O. instead of tracking through the muck the Argonne Forest in France is - at least for now - one of local history’s mysteries. A technological wonder of the 20th century. It weathered nary a storm nor fired a single round of ammunition in an effort to win the “war to end all wars”. But it surely had to be a curious sight for Vermilionites in that yesteryear. And so it remains nearly one hundred years later.

_{Ref: Tank Tactics From Normandy to Lorraine (2001) by Roman Johann Jarymowzcz; Special Thanks to: Bill Lehky; Rev. Louis Bertoni; and the Vermilion Area Archival Society; Published in the Vermilion Photojournal 3/12/09; written on 3/08/09 @ 1:12 PM.}

_{Back Cover of "The Linwood Trees"}

LINWOOD PARK: Janet Waggoner is a net-met friend who currently resides near Columbus - but also keeps a summer home in Linwood Park. I've never met her in person, but we communicate (now and then) via the net about Vermilion things. In any case, she emailed me yesterday (11-13-09) to let me know that her book "The Linwood Trees" has been completed and is now available.

Janet makes a point of saying, "this is not “our” book – it’s your book!" It is a book for and about the people who make up Linwood Park in Vermilion, O. Many of those families have made Vermilion their permanent home. The tome consists of 250+ colorful pages filled with Linwood’s history, Linwood’s families, Linwood’s children, Linwood’s landmarks, Linwood’s trees, Linwood’s sunsets...

Folks interested in obtaining a copy can visit Janet's website for more information.

BURMA SHAVE...

These signs were posted along U. S. Highways in the 1930s and 1940s.

Don't stick your elbow out so far
It may go home in another car.
Burma Shave

Trains don't wander all over the map
'cause nobody sits in the engineer's lap.
Burma Shave

She kissed the hairbrush by mistake
She thought it was her husband Jake.
Burma Shave

Don't lose your head to gain a minute.
You need your head your brains are in it.
Burma Shave

Drove too long driver snoozing
What happened next is not amusing
Burma Shave

Brother speeder, let's rehearse
All together, "Good morning, Nurse"
Burma Shave

Cautious rider to her reckless dear
"Let's have less bull and a little more steer"
Burma Shave

Speed was high. Weather was not.
Tires were thin, X marks the spot.
Burma Shave

The midnight ride of Paul for beer
Led to a warmer hemisphere
Burma Shave

Around the curve lickety-split
Beautiful car wasn't it?
Burma Shave

No matter the price no matter how new
The best safety device in the car is you
Burma Shave

A guy who drives a car wide open
Is not thinkin' he's just hopin'
Burma Shave

At intersections look each way
A harp sounds nice but it's hard to play
Burma Shave

Both hands on the wheel eyes on the road
That's the skillful driver's code
Burma Shave

Drinking drivers. here's your chance
To hobble home in an ambulance
Burma Shave

The one who drives when he's been drinking
Depends on you to do his thinking
Burma Shave

Car in ditch driver in tree
The moon was full and so was he.
Burma Shave

Passing school zone take it slow
Let our little shavers grow
Burma Shave

_{Local skeptics referred to Vermilion's first prefab development as the “Plywood Plaza”.}

PLYWOOD PLAZA: Following W.W.II there was a severe housing shortage in America. This was because homebuilding during the years of the Great Depression through those of World War II (1929-1945) had dramatically decreased. Federal officials estimated that between 1946 and 1947 at least 3 million new houses would have to be built to effectively address the problem. Prefabricated housing was viewed as a quick solution to the difficulty, but prospective buyers were not readily inclined to agree. Their experience and knowledge of the cheesy prefabs which had been built as emergency housing during the war had been less than stellar. And the prospect of their owning a home built on a cold concrete slab surrounded by panels of thin plywood with visible joints between the panels helped to insure that the aforementioned goal set by the feds would not be realised. In addition to this, existing building codes and labour unions were less than receptive to the concept. Thus, when it came to building prefab homes - the community of Vermilion, O. was no different than any other place in the nation. Skeptical would have been the operative word.

Local skeptics referred to Vermilion's first prefab development as the “Plywood Plaza”. The term, however innocent it may have been, was not entirely harmless. To be sure, the intent was not particularly malicious. But it was inappropriate. Especially when what it really suggested was that the houses were inferior to those in the rest of the Village. But, in fact, they were not.

Technically they were known as Gunnison homes. They were named after a lighting engineer, Foster Gunnison who did for the American home building industry what Henry Ford did for the auto industry. Working with a group of architects, engineers and plywood experts during the 1930’s he developed affordable housing using assembly-line techniques. The homes were made from 4-by-8-foot panels and thus could be expanded in 4-foot increments. The walls were a mere 2 inches thick, made with 1/4-inch plywood, wood stud framing and rock wool insulation. A resorcinol formaldehyde adhesive was applied to the plywood and the sandwich sent through a hot plate press. Some said that this resulted in a stronger bond than if it had been nailed, and that the walls, consequently, had an insulation value of 22 inches of concrete. They were attractive, well-built and, thanks to a variety of add-on features, could be custom-made to accommodate families of different sizes and means. If the foundation was set a home could quite feasibly be built and ready for occupancy in four days flat.

In Vermilion a new subdivision of Gunnison-type prefab homes began to take shape in an area just south of what was then the F.W. Wakefield LIghting Company on West River Road sometime in the early 1950’s. The aerial photograph of the development was the work of local photographer Paul Ludlow from a plane piloted by Vermilion builder “Bud” Burkhardt. Mr. Burkhardt, along with several other Vermilionites such as Lin Creel, S.E. Langfitt, and long-time Vermilion School Principal Jim Sanford, were perhaps responsible for the burgeoning development. And the naming of the first two streets in it may well have been incidental , but it was hardly coincidental .

In a relatively short time the need for, and quality of, these homes simply overwhelmed the hypothetical logic of local skeptics. And gradually the stigma associated with prefabricated homes, as well as the insalubrious nickname for the subdivision, dissipated. More homes went up, and more streets were added. Families (in no particular order) with names like Martinek, Kyle, Meese, Langfitt, Cutcher, Bricker, Diehl, Maiden, Lane, Hallet, Davis, Moeller, and Wilkes populated the neighborhoods, and actively participated in the task of helping to improve and strengthen the community.

Within a few decades the entire area visible in the accompanying photograph would become a maze of streets lined with affordable and attractive homes. The demands of a burgeoning community and a nation which then, at least seemingly, had no bounds were met in that yesteryear by persons of extreme vision who were confident enough, and brave enough to ignore both critics and nay sayers. God bless them every one.

_{Ref: Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY - Fast and Affordable - A Century of Prefab Housing; Prefabricated Homes Prized in Postwar Years; By Bill Kemp Archivist/Librarian McLean County IND. Museum of History ; Special Thanks to: Pat Creel, and to Greg Trocchia; Published in the Vermilion Photojouranl 3/5/09. Written 3/01/09 @ 1:39 PM.}

_{A LONG TIME AGO...}

BIT AND PIECES: I received this tidbit taken from the Sandusky Register in 1903 from pre-eminent interurban historian Dennis Lamont a few weeks back.

While it isn't a piece of earth-shattering historical information it is both helpful and important if one is seeking to acquire a larger - more definite - picture of Vermilion's history.

For instance, although it is common knowledge that Vermilion pharmiscist A.D. Baumhart was the ticket agent for the Lake Shore Electric (interurban) in 1903; it's (at least it is to me) odd to understand that his store (the place where he sold tickets) was on Division Street.

In brief, the place where the tickets were purchased weren't very near the place where one accessed the trains.

I suppose it was initially more a matter of the LSE officials finding a suitable vendor than that of rider convenience. So the building of the new depot at the foot of the incline on Liberty Avenue that year certainly eliminated that problem. And it was a good thing too. Because that December Mr. Baumhart's store was destroyed by fire.

_{Podcasts - "forever under construction..."}

PODCAST #154: This week the Vermilion Views Podcast #154 is a another change-up. I was the featured speaker at the Veteran's Day Service in Exchange Park in Vermilion last Wednesday. It was windy; the trains were blasting through town; several big trucks had a bigger problem making the corner on Main and Liberty Streets; and someone had forgotten to bring the P.A. system. Consequently, I could have been standing on the corner begging for money or espousing Lenin and no one would have known the difference. So - because I had pre-recorded my message I decided to air it hear so if anyone there couldn't hear me and was really interested they might finally come to understand what I had to say.

Next week I'll be back with a continuation of the ride on the LSE.

Also, please note that all the video (MP4) podcasts (when used) are done in the "Quicktime MP4" format. If you don't have "Quicktime" it's easy to find and free to download.

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'".

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}

Links to additional Vermilion Ohio pages: Vermilion Ohio Historic Pix History of Linwood Park Vermilion Visitor's Advisory (Satire) Gore Orphanage History The Lester Pelton Story The Wreck of The Niles #152 The History of Crystal Beach Vermilion Views Archives Vermilion's Pioneer Woman; Charlotte Sturges Cloudy; Vermilion's Ferryman The History of Vermilion's Congregational Church Dedication Sermon of Jotham W. Goodell, 1843 The Last Time I Saw Charlie Hope Childrens Home Kenya A Profile of Rich Tarrant Vermilion Biographies Vermilion - Village of Lake Captains Vermilion's Youngest Minstrels Don Englebry's "Growing Up In Vermilion" "Views" Podcast Archive The Story of Vermilion's Education System Eden Valley Enterprises VHS Class of 1959

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:

"A friend is a gift you give yourself."
-Robert Louis Stevenson

Vol.7, Issue 35, November 14, 2009

Archive Issue #348

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