Let There Be Light(s): This photograph was taken yesterday (1-09-04) from the corner of Liberty and Main Streets looking south toward the Conrail tracks. What one needs to notice is the street-light in the pic. At the moment these lights have been installed (for a year or so) from the tracks north to Main Street Beach. An new organization called Historic Vermilion (which is concerned with a planned development of the town) is responsible for these lamps. They raised the funds to buy and install them. They are very nice.

The objective of this and especially the following two photos is historic. The photographs were taken to insure that there is a record of the way the streets looked before the lights were installed. There, obviously, will be numerous photographs taken afterwards.

Now, as you can see, the group is having the same lights installed along Liberty Avenue from Grand to Main Streets.

The photographic record is for The Vermilion Area Archival Society's archives. Both the Archival Society and Historic Vermilion, Inc. are working together to preserve a record of Vermilion's past while maintaining some flavor of that history in future development(s). Persons interested in becoming a part of that work are invited to join either, or both, organizations whether one lives here or far away.

At the moment you can contact me via email for more information.

Long Ago: This photograph appeared in "Views" sometime ago. But it may have only been in black and white. This is, of course, the Crystal Beach ballroom. This is not the one that many may remember stood at the front of the park along Lake Road. It is the interior of one that stood along the lake shore where (some will remember) before the casino was built. This would have been early in the life of the park. One might assume that outside along the cliff to the beach the water-slide then stood.

A speculative mind might consider that the dance arena stood along the lake shore because it would have been nice to pick up the breezes from the lake on hot days and evenings.It is difficult to imagine what life might have been like wearing all those heavy clothes in such heat. And it isn't particulary hard to understand the reason outdoor concert and dance areas such as Shattuck's Grove and the veranda/outdoor beer garden at the Maudelton Hotel were popular spots before Crystal's ballroom.

The New Ballroom: Here is the hall that replaced the one seen above in its infancy. There are many folks still around who will remember this building. Not only was it a wonderful dancehall, but it was also a great roller-skating arena. The facility was used for a variety of events beyond such amusements. Because it could accomodate relatively large numbers of people it was also used for political ralleys.

In the final issue of The Vermilion News an article about a politcal ralley being held here appears on the front page.

The Process: The capabilities of computers are amazing. The photo of the wreck of Lake Shore Electric Car No. 152 on August 4, 1906 seen above was scanned from a slide photo. While all that is easy to say it isn't as easy to do and to get some reasonably good results. It takes what one might describe as a little "tweeking" to make it somewhat acceptable for print. Below you will see the first scan as it actually appeared. Note that it is slide photo of a newspaper article (one can actually see writing on the slide). To the right you see the same photo after it was cropped and made into a black and white pic using Adobe software. The photo above is, in essence, a picture of a picture of a picture. Newspaper photographs do not always copy well.But this is acceptable.

I thought some folks might be interested in the process. Fun, fun, fun.

Class Reunion Updates: Again members of the Vermilion High School Class of 1959; your class reunion will be held between October 8 and 10, 2004 here in town. Those looking for more information on the subject can now visit the Class of '59 website by clicking on the highlighted text. To my knowledge Roger Boughton is responsible for that site. Also BuffaloBill Hlavin has asked me to find and 1958 football program for him. I'll look. But I'll also ask class members tuned into this site to also look and let myself, Roger, or Bill know if you have one.

Dale Wendell, in sunny Arizona, told me that his class (VHS 1944) will also be having a reunion this summer. I believe he said that it would be held sometime in June. If he attends he thinks he'll come by train.That would be an interesting journey.

As I am made aware of plans for all these activities they'll appear on this web page. So stay tuned.

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 bookmarks. 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 let me know and I'll send them to you.

Links to other sites on the Web

Vermilion Ohio Historic Pix
History of Linwood Park
Vermilion Community Orchestra
Vermilion Chamber of Commerce
Vermilion's Oldest Church
Vermilion Visitor's Advisory (Satire)
Gore Orphanage History
The Lester Pelton Story

"No one is interested in my underpants." ~ Bart Simpson

Vol.1, Issue 42, January 10, 2004

© 2004 Rich Tarrant