HISTORICAL TREASURE: "Larry" Morey Jeffery dropped by the church kitchen t'other day and gave me a couple of pix for the Vermilion Archival Society. The one above was taken behind the American Legion Hall (currently Cassell Realty) August 8, 1955.
Larry is Morey Jeffery's son. Morey was brother to "Doc" and "Ding" Jeffery. Their father - Larry's grandfather - (also Morey) was a very well known (and liked) Vermilion physician. He was hit and killed by a fast moving train at the Adama Street rail crossing on his way to make a house call.
In any case, I was real happy to see this Paul Ludlow photograph. It's the first I've ever seen of any of the men pictured. They are members of the Vermilion Lions Club:
L-R: Dick Macklin, Woody Wheeler, Ralph Meckel, and Charlie Solomon.
Although the fellow in the background to the left is not mentioned I believe it's Lloyd Owen grabbing a smoke. Lloyd was very active in the Legion and the Lions Club.
Macklin and his wife Margaret - as some may recall - owned and operated Elands Cafe. They later remodeled the bar and named it the Lemon Tree Lounge. By 1967 they had sold the bar and purchased a motel - the Commodore - at Put-In-Bay. Then the couple, and their five children had Vermilion Engineering build them a 42 houseboat they christned it the "Valient". And after Parsons launched it they sailed into the sunset...
Wheeler and his wife, Fran, owned and operated Fisher's Department Store on Division (now Main) Street. It is currently Brummer's Chocolates. They had (I think) three boys. The entire family was very active in community affairs in Vermilion through the 1950's and early 1960's.
Solomon, of course, owned and operated (along with his spouse) Vermilion's very famous McGarvey's Restaurant just below the river bridge. Actually, it was Solomon who was really responsible for the success of that enterprise. While Charlie McGarvey was well known in Erie County for his restaurants it was the Solomon family that really put the place on the map.
In this pic the boys were steaming clams for the 24th Annual Lions Clambake. The photo is a real jewel of Vermilion history.
Gratefully,
The Druggist
THOMAS H. BOTTOMLEY: Tom Bottomley is, beyond the shadow of much doubt, one of the least known talents to ever live in Vermilion, O. and graduate from Vermilion High School.
Bottomley was born in October of 1887 in Minnesota. By the time he was 12 the family had moved to Milan, Ohio (a reverse migration of sorts) where his father, Ernest, and mother, Clarassa, operated a grocery store.
By the beginning of the 20th century the family had moved to Vermilion where Tom finished his schooling. His father, at that time, worked as a printer in his new son-in-law's (Pearl Roscoe) printshop and newspaper office.
After attending college Tom worked as a pharmacist in Cleveland (pictured) and was instrumental in forming a chain of drug stores which eventually evolved into an early chain of drug stores in the Greater Cleveland area. Today the Rite-Aide chain would be a descendant of those stores.
This photo was part of a collection of Thompson-Nichols Family photographs given to me by Major Jack Corcino some time ago. The reason for Tom Bottomley's pic was a part of the collection is not clear. But I'm glad that it was. You will hear more of him in the near future.
NO PRETENSE
PAINTING THE TOWN: As previously mentioned this is a preview piece for a new webpage that I am currently developing. Using a new software program in conjunction with Adobe's Photoshop CS4 I am able to take some already wonderful pix of Vermilion, O. and make them (at least in my view) more "wonderfuller"
You know? Sometimes a picture needs speak for itself. This - is just a pleasant piece of local artwork. I took the base photograph several years ago because I thought the boat - "Andy's Girl" - deserved to be photographed. This was also (obviously) before the VBC improved their parking-lot. Aesthetically speaking, I like the weeds and the old oil drums seen in this reproduction. It's not pretentious. I guess that's how I see Vermilion these days (2010) - as pretentious. So I'm calling this digi-painting "No Pretense". She's a lovely subject she is...
From Rich Tarrant's "Painted Vermilion" -
Apr 16, 2010 11:55 AM.
Beautiful.
"It was a cloudless afternoon in full summer..."
FOR SOME THE DAY WAS GOLDEN: The photo accompanying this essay is a very pleasant composition. It was taken by professional Vermilion photographer Paul Ludlow during a South Shore Regatta celebration somewhere around the year of 1940. The cruiser is about to turn upriver toward its home port near the river bridge and (just east of) McGarvey’s Nautical Restaurant.
Things have changed a bit over the years. McGarvey’s Restaurant is, of course, long gone, and Lee’s Boat Yard has morphed into Vermilion Power Boats Inc. But, by and large, the area remains familiar to old eyes, with young hearts, and well seasoned minds.
For some those days were golden. At least that would be the impression one derives from the photo. It was a cloudless afternoon in full summer. Whether the cruiser was part of a floating parade for Regatta watchers or simply a floating advertisement for Mr. Lee’s marina is unknown. (Although It was probably a bit of both.) But clearly the floating float was intended to attract the attention of the public.
On board were, by best count, at least 15 young ladies in swimsuits, and two musicians; one playing a clarinet, and one playing an accordion. Also on deck were two young boys (sitting toward the bow) and a man standing above the cabin who is sporting a long-haired wig, sunglasses, and a grass skirt. There are two other men and women on board the vessel. The gentleman at the helm is probably Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee’s first name was Leroy, but many folks about town called him “L. D.”. He was an ambitious businessman - a real entrepreneur. He was the person responsible for developing the Vermilion housing subdivision known as Shady Lakes just east of Sunnyside Road. He was also active in local youth programs. For several years he and Vermilionite Bob Lilgegren were advisors in the local chapter of Sea Scouts.
But back to the sunny day these shadows were captured by Paul Ludlow’s camera from the docks at the Kishman Fish Company. Vermilion expatriate Jean Derby Bauer, who currently lives in Natchitoches, Louisiana, contributed this photograph with some notes. She indicated that the young lady nearest the bow on the starboard side of the vessel is Annabelle Derby Kuhnle. (Annabelle, as some folks know, was Vermilion’s Centennial Queen in 1937.) Jean is the girl behind / beside her. And, yes, the day was certainly golden. At least it was for some.
As the boat neared McGarvey’s a splash was heard, and a man standing dockside at the restaurant began shouting, “Man overboard! Man overboard!” It was not clear in Jean’s notes if the person who had fallen into the river had been on the cruiser or was dockside. But in any case, it was later discovered that the person who had slipped into the stream was a young boy, and that he had drowned before anyone could react.
So for some folks the day this photograph was taken was, and will always be, golden - invoking wonderful memories of a yesteryear along the Vermilion River. But for others it was a day in that same yesteryear they would have preferred to not have been at all.
Published in the Vermilion Photojournal 6/25/09; Written 6/21/09 @ 11:43 AM.
Nothing ever remains quite the same...
SOMETHING OLD - SOMETHING NEW: The idea for this piece began as an idea for a coffee-table book of historical photographs of Vermilion, Ohio and, hopefully, it will (someday) be realized.
Originally the concept - as previously stated - was just a picture book. But after mentioning such a project in an issue of my weekly web page - Vermilion Views - a reader by the name of Scott Dommin suggested that it might be interesting if it featured photographs of how people, places, and / or things in the City of Vermilion, Ohio appear today along with photos showing how they appeared in the past. Ergo; the title "Now & Then".
"What a great idea." I told both myself and Scott.
[NOTE: This is going to take take some time.]
SOUTH STREET SCHOOL 1927-2010
George Synder (1946) was about to become Superintendent and Cletus K. DeWitt was Principal when the Vermilion Board of Education selected the Dayton, Ohio architectural firm of Walker and Norwick, along with W.A. Rabold of Canton to be architects of a new High School in mid December of 1924. Both Snyder and Dewitt (who was principal under Snyder and eventually replaced him as Superintendent) would maintain full-time teaching positions until work on the new school along East South Street was completed in 1928. When the elementary grades moved to the new school in 1939 the assumption was that Vermilion had entered the modern era of education and all the educational needs of the children had been satisfied. But that was to be only a very fleeting happenstance.
Part 4: The land was situated just to the south of the muddy lane villagers understandably called South Street. It was bordered on the east and west, respectively, by Washington and Decatur Streets, and would likely have been equally divided by Perry Street if that path had not ended at South Street. During a better part of the 19th century great oaks, so common to the territory, grew wild and mingled boughs with an occasional elm, ash, crab apple, and maple tree casting a chorus of their quiet shadows across the earth. Later the wood would be cleared and become the "Pelton Farm". In the early 1920's the Vermilion Board of Education bought the farm, and again cleared and levelled the land from South Street to the Nickel Plate Railroad tracks to the south. Here they built a new village school they would call South Street School. And here Vermilion's education system, for all intents and purposes, genuinely entered the 20th century.
South Street School officially opened its doors to the upper six grades (approximately 250 pupils) in the system for the 1927-28 school year at a cost of $245,000. As was previously mentioned the VHS Class of 1927 used the school's new auditorium for their graduation exercises before the official school opening. This included the building containing an auditorium/gymnasium, a home economics department, cafeteria, a school shop, a science laboratory, and numerous other amenities not contained in the old State Street facility. In addition to this the school property also featured an athletic field and room for several baseball diamonds. It was, to use a rather bromidic idiom, state-of-the-art.
At about the same time all the rural schools were closed. Six motorized busses had been purchased to transport some 200 children in from the country each day. And then, sometime in the mid-1930's, Vermilion's education board determined the facilities in the State Street School to be inadequate for the lower grades and South Street School was enlarged. Early Autumn of 1939 found all Vermilion students housed in a single building once again. The State Street building would never be used as a school again.
During the early forties and through the war years the school population grew and South Street School was enlarged several times. While these attempts to keep pace with the growth experienced were commendable they were not enough. Finally a decision was made to build a new high school.
This year the school will close. And thus does another chapter in the History of Vermilion, O. close with it...
"This township was named after the principle river
emptying into the lake through its territory..."
THE FIRE-LANDS: I found the following information re: the early inhabitants of our area to be extremely informative. Methinks you will also.
I am getting better at transcribing these passages so there are fewer mistakes. But I like to read as I go - and sometimes I fill in the blanks. So tread carefully this trail through yesteryear.
SETTLEMENT
The following is principally from the sketches published in the Pioneer by William H. Crane and Hon. Benjamin Summers: “William Haddy came in 1808; William Austin, George and John Sherarts, Enoch Smith, and Horatio Perry in 1809; Almon Ruggles, Solomon Parsons, Benjamin Brooks, Barlow Sturges, Deacon John Beardsley, and James Cuddeback in 1810. Peter Cuddeback and others in 1811. They came with teams principally.”
Captain William Austin located about a half a mile west of the mouth of Vermillion river. “Tis said that he often held Commodore O.H. Perry on his knee when a baby. Captain A. was a man of energy, and built one of the first boats launched from these shores, and sailed her before and during the war of 1812. He died many years since. The children were: John, George, William, Jedediah, Sally, Betsey, Nancy, and Polly.
George Sherrats was from Pennsylvania, and located some half a mile west of Captain Austin’s. He was esteemed as industrious, hones and pious, and an excellent citizen. The children were: Christina, Betsey, Catharine, George, Jr., Polly, Rebecca, Jacob, John, Hannah, Rachel, Barbara and Sophia.
John Sherarts and wife, Elizabeth, located on the lake shore, about half a mile west of the river, where they remained until 1818, when they removed from the township. The children were: Mary, Betsey, Catharine, David, Caroline, John, Jane and Angeline. Enoch Smith settled on the ridge where Henry Todd now lives (lot three, section two). He afterwards removed to Florence township. The children were: William, Rebecca, Laura, Lyman, Amanda, Henry and John.
Horatio Perry came from Cleveland and settled on the farm next west of Captain Austin's. He married Miss Prentiss, who died young, leaving a daughter, Sophia. When thirty years of age, he became so broken down with hard work that he was compelled to cease farm labor. He married Miss Smith and removed to Elyria, Lorain county.
Hon. Almon Ruggles, who was the surveyor of the Fire-lands, settled on the lake shore, midway between Vermillion and Huron rivers. In 1808, he married Miss Annis Dibble, of Brookfield, Connecticut, by whom one child (Rebecca) was born previous to locating in Ohio. Judge Ruggles for many years acted as land agent for the proprietors of the Fire-lauds. After the organization of Huron county, he was its first recorder. This was in 1809. He was appointed associate judge of Huron county in 1815, State senator in 1816, and re-elected in 1818. In 1824 he was elected representative. Judge Ruggles was not famous as an orator, but possessed good, practical abilities, and in all positions of honor, trust or profit filled by him, he gave general satisfaction. He built a mill for the proprietors in 1809. This was near the south line of Florence township, on the Vermillion river, and was soon carried away by high water. In 1811-13, he built a mill near the northeast corner of Florence township, on La Chapelle creek, which was a great benefit to the settlers for many miles around. His wife died in 1815, leaving two children, Rebecca and Betsey, and he married Mrs. Rhoda Buck, by whom two children were born, Charles and Richard. Judge Ruggles died July 17, 1840, aged seventy years. His second wife died in 1851.
Solomon Parsons came with wife and children from Delaware county, New York. He was advanced in life, and Mrs. Parsons died early in 1812. The children were: Levi, Burton, Ira, Sarah and Pheba, who resided in Vermillion for many years, the sons holding many offices of responsibility both in the township and county.
Benjamin Brooks, with a family, consisting of a wife and three children, settled on the farm next east of George Sherarts', afterwards occupied by a son. Mr. Brooks was a captive amongst the Indians for many years in his younger days, and well acquainted with their manners, customs and traditions. He died a few years subsequent to locating in Vermillion, leaving three children: Jonathan, Joseph and Betsey.
Captain Barlow Sturges and wife, Eunice, with a son, Frederick, and his wife, Charlotte, settled at the mouth of the Vermillion river, where they opened a hotel and established a ferry. Captain Sturges died a few years subsequent to settlement, and the son in 1818. They were seafaring men, of good abilities and generous impulses.
Deacon John Beardsley settled on lot number twelve, in the second section. He was a good and useful man, and fully devoted to his Christian duties. He first introduced religious meetings into the different neighborhoods round about, by holding reading meetings, which he conducted by singing, prayers, reading a sermon, etc., and which, in the absence of regular clergy, was very beneficial in keeping up the form, and, to some extent, the spirit of religion, and steadying the ark of the Lord in the wilderness.
Deacon Beardsley died of lockjaw, in the year 1831. His children were: Philo, Joseph Smith and Clement, Sophia, Joseph Smith the second, Harriet, Seth, Maria, John and Irene. James Cuddebaok settled half a mile west of the river. He was industrious, prudent and an honest citizen. He died many years since; children: Rhoda, Hannah, James, Emily, Sarah and Paulina. The son, who was a deaf mute, was run over by the cars at Vermillion, in the spring of 1862.
Peter Cuddeback and his wife Jane were of the Dutch stock of the Mohawk, and settled two miles west of the river. Uncle Peter and aunt Janey were noted far and wide for thrift and unbounded hospitality. Although their children, to the number of near a dozen, were usually at the family board, scarcely ever did they fail, for a meal, to also supply the want of visitors, travelers, immigrants, or any others who would partake of their good cheer. They had enough for each and for all; and it seemed to be the peculiar delight of aunt Janey to cook for and wait on her friends, and she counted all strangers and new-comers as such, as well as those of longer standing. Peter Cuddeback died in 1833. The children were: James J., Polly, Sallie, Hiram, Fanny, Nathan, Norman, Jane and Permilla.
Rufus Judson located in Vermillion in 1811 or 1812. He was a blacksmith and farmer. He had four sons: Charles P., Wakeman, Eli S., and George. Mrs. Judson, an excellent woman, was lost on the Lake while returning from Buffalo.
The foregoing are all who may be strictly considered pioneers. Among later settlers are: About 1815, a man named Wilcox built a cabin on the north half of lot number two in the second section, where he remained a short time. Jonah Barton, and his son, Jonah, Jr., built a cabin about the same time, near the center or lot number eleven, in the same section. The old gentleman went, some years after, to reside" with his children in Milan, and died there. Jonah [sic.],Jr., married Hannah Allen, and became a resident of the ridge, just east of the cemetery, where he died in 1833, leaving several children...
Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.)
Subject: Huron County (Ohio) - History; Huron County (Ohio) - Biography; Erie County (Ohio) - History; Erie County (Ohio) - Biography
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio: Press of Leader Printing Company
NOT IN COPYRIGHT
Continued Next Week...
God Bless their souls - each and every one.
"All the kids in town were getting restless - bored..."
A SUMMER STORY: It was - to the best of my recollections - a summer day in 1950 or 51. The summertide was waning. All the kids in town were getting restless - bored. School had been out for a while. Family vacations, for those who had such things, were over. And summer camp, for those lucky enough to have those experiences, had also been relegated to history. The sun overhead was beginning to move slightly to the south. Although the leaves had not yet begun to turn, they soon would. And so it was that a few of the kids in the village gathered and got the idea to put on a talent show for their, equally bored, contemporaries.
The production was held in a garage behind the Evangelical and Reformed Church on the corner of Ohio and Grand Streets. It served as a stage. And it would not be an exaggeration to say that on that day nearly every youngster in Vermilion paid a penny or a nickel to sit on the grass and watch as their friends entertained them. Looking back I seem to recall it as being a particularly marvelous summer afternoon.
The garage, by the way, where this production took place still exists (in 2009). But it has been moved from its original location. And recently it has been given a “ facelift” - so it doesn’t resemble what one sees in this photograph anymore.
Unfortunately, I can only recall the names and faces of six of the young people in the accompanying Richard Koontz photograph. [NOTE: More than one person identified all the youngsters in this pic for after it appeared in the Photojouranl. Unfortunately, I am unable to find the list in all my papers. So I have to leave it much as it was initially written.] They are:
Doris Boone (Stwan); Pearl “Ginny” Tarrant (Wilkes); Signy Kuhl; Susan Knittle; Tommy Rodgers (with a guitar); Linda Leidheiser; "Cookie" Lutz; Bob “Robbie” Farrell; Bobby Greenawalt; and (I think)d Mike Anastas.
Bob Greenawalt was the son of Norman Greenawalt the preacher at the E&R church at the time. That, in part, naturally explains the reason this production was held where it was. The E&R parsonage was on Ohio Street directly behind the church, and the aforementioned garage was part of the parsonage / church. Robbie Farrell lived with his parents in a house just around the corner on Grand Street north of the church.
Tommy Rogers lived just across the street from the church on the southwest corner of Ohio and Grand Streets. Ginny Tarrant and Doris Boone were friends. They lived on Perry Street a block or two away, but probably spent a good deal of time at the Vermilion News office on Grand Street just across from the church where Ginny’s mother and father worked. Linda Leidheiser (cute as a button) lived just down the street.
Robbie Farrell was, undoubtedly, one of the primary architects of this “kids theater”. He was, to say the least, a very active and imaginative youngster. Not too long after this enterprise was concluded he moved with his family to a house on Perry Street (in the middle of the block on the west side of the street between the tracks and Liberty Avenue) and new ventures / adventures were begun.
One of them involved the acquisition of several big appliance boxes, and stacking them atop each other to create a “simulated” rocketship complete with interior dials, ladders, and levers. Thusly, were all the children in the neighborhood taken into space long before anyone ever heard of John Glenn. Years later he would write (who’d a thunk) a science fiction book called “Alien Log”.
I’ve never read the book. But perhaps somewhere in it there’s a line or two about a group of clever children on some utopian planet who play for an audience of their peers from an open garage stage on what can only be described as “a marvelous summer afternoon”.
Ref: Special Thanks to Thomas H. Rodgers, Esq.; Published in the Vermilion Photojournal 7/16/09; Written 7/12/09 @ 11:04 AM.
A FEW WRITING ERRORS
(It could happen to anywon.)
[Following are some spelling bloopers caught in local newspapers,publications and various emails. See if you can catch the goofs.]
1. "...an autopsy to determine if the elderly man lost courteousness for medical reasons." (Trenton, N.J.)
2. "[An NBA coach] will take charge of a young team still in the throws of a roster overhaul." (Vernon, Conn.)
3. "'It's pretty exciting,' according to his material grandmother." (Potsdam, N.Y.)
4. "The MCCC fight team won 21 out of 32 awards and brought home nine metals." Including the gold? (Trenton, N.J.)
5. "McNabb...exasperated the injury attempting to chase down Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams." (Trenton, N.J.)
6. "Boxer Pups AKC, 1M, 1F, Bread for Health and Temperament." (e-mail)
7. "[Paris Hilton] was probably going through cocaine withdrawls." Is she from the South? (Sunnyvale, Calif.)
8. "Our lunch menu [includes] a variety of hot entrees and tempting deserts." Presumably also hot. (Upper Saint Clair, Pa.)
9. "Vincent was a brawny Swiss ex-patriot." (San Jose, Calif.)
10. "...those who acquaint shopping with charity." (Simsbury, Conn.)
----
Corrections: 1. consciousness 2. throes 3. maternal 4. medals 5. exacerbated 6. bred 7. withdrawals 8. desserts 9. expatriate 10. equate
Podcasts - "forever under construction..."
PODCAST #176: This week we Vermilion Views Podcast #176 take a trip back to Memorial Day in Elyria, Ohio 1967. This is another great piece written and produced by electrici/interurban historian Dennis Lamont. And as always - it's well worth watching.
Also note that I've mucked-upthe numbering of these podcasts. Don't ask how I accomplished that task - but I did. I will try to correct that by next time.
Persons interested in the history of the Lake Shore Electric Railway (which was the subject of a recent past podcast series) - "the greatest electaric railway system on the planet" may want to go to Amazon.com and purchase a book called "Images of Rail - Lake Shore Electric Railway". It was put together by Thomas J. Patton with the help of my friends Dennis Lamont and Albert Doane. It'd make a nice gift.
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'".
Pay particular note to the "Hope Homes" page during the next few months. They are constantly improving the lives of their youngsters and those around them. This is an exciting project accomplished by exciting people.
Although this years Vermilion High School Class of 1959 reunion is over classmates may want to stay connected with each other through organizer Roger Boughton. Ye can connect by mailing him @ 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 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: (NOTE: IT WORKS NOW)
"Existence would be intolerable if we were never to dream."
-Anatole France
Vol.8, Issue 5, April 17, 2010
Archive Issue #369
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