CLOUDY'S MARY N.
FROM MY DESTOP TO YOURS: This week was slow going at the print shop. This past week was Pantry week and there were other things to attend to. We are in the process of creating a nonprofit tentatively called “The Vermilion News Printing Museum.” When that is completed we will apply for 501(c)3 status. We also have to apply to the Planning Commission for a zoning variance. Ah, the travails of kind people and good fortune. We count our blessings and give the Lord thanks for our family, friends, nation, and our good fortune.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO (?): The photo of Cloudy’s ferry “Mary N.” got me thinking. Whatever happened to him (Cloudy)? When I first wrote about him some years ago I didn’t know. Later, whilst talking with the Karen Boas co-author of the book “Through These Gates”, the story of Linwood Park, she told me that Cloudy was buried in Maple Grove cemetery. Until then I just thought he moved on and faded into the yesteryear. I have also written that Cloudy was born in Canada. But now I’m not so sure.
For those who don’t know: “Cloudy” was Louis Noel. He operated a small ferry concession on the east side of the Vermilion River transporting (mainly) Linwood residents to the west side of the river to do their shopping etc. in town. Though Linwood residents could also walk to town the trek was, for many years, rather circuitous. Taking the ferry was faster and most likely “funner” – especially for kids.
Cloudy's original ferry was a 20-foot flat-bottomed boat named Gertrude. Late Vermilion historian George Wakefield recalled "It was an open craft with benches on either side powered by a single engine near the stern. There was always a big pile of life preservers at the stern, and a large American flag flew aft. He steered her with a rope that ran athwart ship. When he docked he would shut the engine off in just the right place, coast into the dock, and gently toss a line around a pile to bring her to a slow stop. One of his favorite tricks was to start the engine by rocking the boat; he would set the flywheel near the ignition and roll the boat just right and the darn De Moy (engine) would just take off like a pet steam engine. He would then dance a jig as the boat moved in a small curve to the his east dock singing as they went."
When the Gertrude had finally seen her best days local boat builders, George Goetz and Jim Brooks built a new round-bottom boat called the Mary N., put the old engine in her, and Cloudy was back in business. That is he was “back in business” until the days the automobile, and public funded highways overwhelmed the ferrying trade just as it did the interurban electrics.
Lewis Noel, a man of French-Canadian origins (b. 10/01/1872) and his young wife Mary from Erie, Pennsylvania came to Vermilion sometime in 1905-06. They had been married for nine years. Mary [Note: It appears that most folks knew her as Mamie.] died in 1927. The couple had one child – a daughter Mary (Bliss). After Mamie’s death Mr. Noel was employed in the commercial fishing industry out of Vermilion harbor. So what happened to him?
On Saturday morning October 29, 1954 Louis “Cloudy” Noel, 83, was taken out by a massive heart attack in his home at 614 Division Street in Vermilion. Rev. E.T. English, then pastor of the First Congregational Church officiated at his funeral at the Fisher Funeral Home. He is buried at Maple Grove Cemetery.
Historically,
"In the early years of his marriage to Eliza (Horton) they lived in the Cleveland area with their three daughters.
REMEMBERING OLD VERMILION: As a rule I don’t write much about current matters. That’s partially due to the fact that I’m inclined to think that the only good news is old, old news. However; I must say that the Vermilion Area Archival Society’s (VAAS) “Remembering Old Vermilion” activity that took place in Exchange / Rubberneck Park on July 31st (2010) is worthy of some mention here. And whilst I am unable to say just how many folks attended the affair I’ve had numerous individuals tell me that it was well attended, and that it was a very enjoyable experience
As for myself it was an extremely rewarding occasion. I was able to record nearly three and a half hours of raw video of over a dozen prominent townsfolk as they shared reminiscences of their lives and times in “good ol’ Vermilion, O.”.
One of those who shared was my friend “Tootie” (Mary Louise) Reisinger. Some readers may remember a PJ column some years back called “Letters From Louise”. Tootie’s mother Louise Giddings who, Tootie recalls, “was a real character” wrote it. In any case, what I really didn’t know much about was Louise’s heritage. I knew, for instance, that she was a Baumhart but I didn’t know exactly where she fit in the Baumhart Family tree. But now I do.
Louise’s father Henry (Tootie’s grandfather) was born in Vermilion on the 25th day of April in 1862. He was one (the oldest) of five Baumhart boys and two girls born to Augustus and Margaret Baumhart. The parents, like many area 19th century emigrants came from the German State of Hessen in the central part of Germany.
Coming of age in the “Village of Lake Captains” it was perhaps natural that very early on Henry would take to working on the great steamships that sailed the fresh water lakes of North America. By the time he was in his late 20’s he was serving as an engineer aboard the carriers. When he was but 29 he was offered, and accepted, a job with The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. A year later he was made Chief Inspector in the Cleveland Department. And by 1907 he was managing the department. He was, in short, a well-known and highly respected engineer throughout the Middle Western United States. So well respected was he that during WW1 he was summoned to Washington D.C. to lend his knowledge of boilers to the U.S. Defense Department. Henry not only knew the rules of boiler operations - he helped write them.
In the early years of his marriage to Eliza (Horton) they lived in the Cleveland area with their three daughters. Yet, by the time the war had ended - perhaps drawn by the same mystique that draws swallows to Capistrano (and, yes, the same one that draws buzzards to Hinckley) - the family returned home to Vermilion.
At the beginning of the year 1922 Henry’s life was good. Everything was going his way. He was, as stated, the manager of the Cleveland office for his company; he was highly respected in his trade; he was a member of the Vermilion Village Council; and he and his family now lived in the town they loved. And then - in late winter he came down with the flu. By the first part of March the flu had turned into pneumonia. And by the 17th day of the month - just before the start of spring - he died.
What I gleaned from all of this (i.e. “Remembering Old Vermilion”) is additional historical perspective. For the yesteryear is not just a matter of immaterial data. It’s about people; who they were; what they did; and why. Aside from that it’s fun.
"A mill existed when Benjamin Bacon purchased the property in 1835. The house was constructed in 1845."
THE MILL IN THE HOLLOW: This 1876 "snapshoot" of the mill in the place that eventually became Mill Hollow - Lorain Metro-Parks Vermilion River Reservation - has appeared in several local history books. It is the only photograph of “the mill” that I've ever seen. But I'm certain that deep inside a chest in someone's attic or closet there are others.
The positions of the Bacon House and the mill are marked in the photograph to allow readers an idea as to how they were / are situated in the hollow. Just visible to the left of the house is the road which led into the hollow from the northeast.
A mill existed when Benjamin Bacon purchased the property in 1835. The house was constructed in 1845. And when Bacon died in 1868 the mill was sold to a man named John H. Hyman / Heymann. When Mr. Heymann purchased the mill from the Benjamin Bacon family in 1868 water powered the mill. Destroyed by fire in 1876 it was powered by steam when it was rebuilt the following year.
The accompanying drawing affords one a better idea of just where the mill was located in the hollow. [However; I am nonetheless compelled to go and see what is left myself. My brother-in-law, Dave Wilkes, told me that the foundation - as well as a "ditch” that originally provided waterpower for the mill - still exist.]
As most folks know the river winds through the hollow in what may be termed to be a "U" shape. So - to power the mill a "ditch" was cut between the two arms of the "U" shape to let water through to provide power for the mill. The mill pictured in the drawing, however, appears to be powered by steam. Ergo the drawing must be c.1877.
I note that the owner's name "Heymann" is also spelled as "Hyman" in other histories of the place. Variances in the spellings are not uncommon in historical records. But it's helpful for interested parties to understand that they do exist - and what they are.
In 1876 the mill burned to the ground and another - a steam powered mill - was built the following year. Bacon's son, Frederick, bought the mill back in 1879. And sometime in 1890's it was sold to an "A" and "D" Christman. They - however incredible we may currently find such an accomplishment to be - moved it to the Village of Vermilion.
Apparently the mill that once occupied the site of what is currently the "Mill Manor" eldercare facility on south Exchange Street was the place where the mill had been relocated. The owner, one David Christman, his wife, Elizabeth, and his children, George, Maggie, and Arthur, lived in a home on nearby State Street.
And lastly a brief anecdote sent to me by Vermilion expatriate K. (Dickason) Kvach - now living in Virginia - after reading a piece I wrote about Mill Hollow in one of my web pages:
"...You wrote about the Bacon family--here's a good story for you about a woman who lived in the huge ramshackle house at the top of Mill Hollow on [sic] East Lake Rd. (Vermilion Road) right before you went down to the Hollow (and it had a huge, wonderful barn behind it) She was a Bacon and quite elderly even when you and I were kids, but I just can't think of her first name--anyhow my dad was great friends with her and was her doctor. He'd go out to visit her and they'd talk Vermilion history, etc. and one day she invited him to look through this gigantic run-down house of hers, just crammed with antiques and junk (sometimes I'd go with him so I can tell you that I - probably 8-9 or so - thought that it was a badly kept museum) He found two or three original Currier and Ives paintings stashed away in a corner - at least that's what he thought, and with her permission he took them to (I think) Case Western Reserve where it was verified that they were originals. On another day she offered to give me an antique woman's side saddle - I don't remember having it at home so I guess I wasn't allowed to accept it, but I do remember how thrilled I was that she offered it to me..."
A wonderful memory among memories of a place that is as wonderful today as it was in a yesteryear.
AGAIN - ANOTHER NEW (NOW OLD) THING: Initially I said that "This will not take the place of the "Macabre" stuff all the time - but will supplement whilst I search for more macabre stories to tell." But methinks that it's carved out a niche for itself and the "Macabre stuff" with have to find another.
So stay tuned...
November 5, 1903 - Vol VII. No. 23.
John Miller was born in Hesse Cassel, Germany, March 2nd 1883. He with his parents emigrated to this country in 1837 and they settled near Vermilion O., where he lived until his death.
In 1858 he was married to Margaret Snyder. This union was blessed with four children, three of these children and his wife preceded him in death. Later he was married to Caroline Holzhauer, his now bereaved widow. Four of the six children with which they were blessed preceded him in death also.
He was converted to god in 1855 under the labors of Rev. G.J. Theuer and has since been a member of the Evangelical Church.
He lived an honest life and died with the assurance of eternal life near Vermilion O., the 19th of Oct. 1903 at the age of 70 years 7 months and 17 days. He was one of the oldest settlers in this township. he leaves a wife, two sons, one daughter, one sister and many other relatives. He had been in failing health for some time and death was due to old age and heart failure.
The funeral services were held from his home on State St., Oct. 22., Rev. Yacker of Sandusky officiating. Burial at Maple Cemetery.
Sarah A. Pelton, who was mistaken for a burglar and shot on last Thursday morning, was born at Vermilion Nov., 21, 1843 and died at Vermilion Oct., 29 at the age of 59 years 11 months and 24 days.
She was married to William Gibson in 1864 and from that union two sons were born Herman Gibson and Sherman Gibson and 1877 was united in marriage to James H. Reed from this union no children were born.
A husband, two sons, two sisters, fours brothers and a host of relatives and friends survive her.
Funeral services were held at Mr. Goldsmith’s Sunday afternoon and was very largely attended by relatives and friends, the Rebecca Lodge having charge at the grove.
Mrs. Reed was very highly esteemed by her neighbors and friends. no word, but of commedation [sic] has been spoken of her. A kind mother and affectionate wife has passed into the Eternal world. A quartette from the M. E. Church furnished the music. Rev. Rupert officiated.
Miss Sarah Fowler was born October 28, 1831 died October 28, 1903 age 72 years having died on her birthday. She was married to Mr. Nelson Parsons about 54 years ago, to this union were born six children, five boys and one girl of whom four have already passed to the eternal world. One daughter Mrs. Jennie Stone and one son Mr. Charles Parsons and her husband Mr. Nelson Parson [sic} together with many othr relatives and a host of friends to mourn her loss.
Mother Parsons was baptised on the 22d day of Aril 1860 together with a number of others among whom were Helen Parsons, S. Olpart, Carline Atkinson, Abigail Atkinson, Marsha Brush, Mary Logan, Lucia Allen, Melissa Call, Lawson Pierce and Munson Pelton. There [sic] were all baptised by Rev. Albert Hurd 43 years ago last April.
Mrs. Parsons life and work will every stand as a monumet [sic] of Faithfulness to the church and to her God. She has been a tireless worker in every department of church work, singing in the choir for over thirty years. the last Saturday evening before the Monday on which was stricken [sic], she came into the church sat there saying “I thought I would come into choir practice once more i spent so many evenings in this work.” she was a Sunday School Teacher for many years and now a teacher of a class of boys - always at Prayer meeting if at all able - and never missed a regular Sunday morning sermon. the church was very near to her heart. One leading in prayer since a year ago - I am glad that Jesus is always with me as I go about my work in my house - a present Christ - o how he helps me, not only has our church lost a power, but the town and community will feel most keenly this loss of influence. She was always cheerful a splendid representation of the brighter side of life.
But if the community sustains so great a loss what must be the loss of a Christian wife and Mother in the home whose hand soothed and cheerfulness brightened where heart touched the lines of all within the home circle.
With Paul she could say “For me to live is Christ to die is gain”. She was a member of the M.E. church for over forty years. The floral pieces were many and beautiful by her many friend [sic] beside one from the Sunday School of which she was a member. The services conducted by her pastor. The music was furnished by Mrs. Resek who presided at the organ and Misses Simons and Lawless and Moss, Mr. M. Lawless and J.C. Seemann.
Among those from out-of-town in attendance at the funeral of Mrs. Nelson Parsons on Saturday were: Henry Fowler and son, Mrs. Lowry and family, Mrs. Julia chapman, Mrs. A. Page, Mrs. Nettie Webster and daughter, Fred Fowler and wife, of Berlin Heights, Capt. Jas. Stone and wife, James Parsons and daughter, Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Sophia Trinter, Mrs. Henry Wagner, Mrs. Fred Curtis, Mrs. Stowe of Cleveland; Mrs. Charles Judson of Sandusky; Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Honecker, Mrs. Ralph Lange, Mrs. Geo. Clark, Mrs. Fred Resek of Lorain; Mrs. Melissa Pelton of Toledo; Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Chas. Cassidy of Brownhelm.
Prof. Clark at the opera house Monday night.
Brownell and Pollock fish buyers of Sandusky were here Saturday.
Go to the D.H. Steven’s Cash Market when ih [sic] need of anything in meats.
“Dirty” Blattner will certainly make a first class window decorator. His latest is a war-ship and a locomotive, all constructed of hardware and tin ware. For further particulars look in in Blattner’s show windows.
Next Sunday the Farewell services of Rev. J.A. Kaley will be held at the Congregational church. In the morning thee will be communion and reception of members, and in the evening a union of all the churches.
Profound quiet ruled at the courthouse on election day. the only scrap of news of public interest was the granting of a marriage license to Henry Werner and Miss Nellie Colvin both of this city.
Frank Bond and Paul Thompson spent Sunday in Huron.
Mrs. Lewis Englebry entertained a number of friends at Flinch Monday evening.
The Sorosis have postponed their meeting for one week.
The Oriental tea netted Church $6.40.
Rev. Klein was entertained at tea at the home of J. Gegenheimer Wednesday evening.
Chicago Junction is suffering from epidemic of diphtheria. It is reported that thee at least 150 cases of the disease in that village. All schools and churches are closed and public gatherings forbidden. [ED. NOTE: Chicago Junction was founded in Ohio in 1874. In 1882 it was incorporated with a population of 800 souls. In 1917 the name was changed to Willard in honor of Daniel Willard, then the President of the B&O Railroad.]
Guy S. Davis is having his store building painted.
The stove works has plenty of coke at last and business is booming.
The work of laying pipe across the street near the power house is nearly completed.
New streets in the Black Farm addition were to be opened this week but the non-arrival of the new road machine has delayed the work.
A small room is being built between the Krapp market and the Krapp saloon. A lunch room will be opened in it as soon as it is completed.
The members of the Delker Post G.A.R. attended the Congregational Church Sunday morning to listen to a farewell sermon by Comrade Kaley.
Mr. and Mrs. Worlie Houseman and daughter of Lorain and mrs. Houseman of Swanton, O., were guest of Vermilion friends over Sunday.
The Howard Stove & Manufacturing Company of Vermilion and Savannah, Mo., capttal [sic] $150,000, is among the late Ohio corporations.
Huron has purchased an addition for the fire department of the village. It is a new chemical wagon. The affair was used in a small fire last week at the home of Mrs. Louis Miller.
Turned Hose on Them
Erie County has again come to the front with excitement. Saturday night about 100 men and boys called upon an undesirable family of Milan and literally soaked them out.
Arrangements had been made for starting the pumps at the water works station and fire pressure turned on. A hose was laid and the small frame house flooded. One of the inmates by he name of Rice fired into the crowd wounding henry Stickradt. The family driven out had several times been warned to leave.
In the office of the clerk of courts a divorce was filed by Frances J. Kauffman. It is set up that they were married in Marion in 1901 and have no children. Plaintiff says that he began to abuse her soon after they were married and on September 4, 1903 beat her and threatened to shoot and kill; that he has repeated such threats and the health of plaintiff has been greatly injured by abuse. the petition asks besides divorce there be an order cutting off all dower rights of defendant in a tract of land owned by plaintiff and lying in Bowling Green township Marion county.
Through the efforts of E.L. Coen, Hon. A.H. Jackson of Fremont came to Vermilion Friday and in company with a number of business men inspected the harbor.
Geo. Englebry’s launch was brought into use and the lakefront, piers and river viewed by the Congressman. The party went up the river about two miles also. Mr. Jackson seemed impressed favorably with the general appearance of the harbor and surroundings and thought that with such good facilities for dockage with plenty of available land as we have here the harbor should be kept in good order awaiting the developments sure to come. Evidently he will aid us as much as lies in his power in securing an appropriation.
At least $100,000 should be asked for and if we succeed in getting $75,000, which is about the sum, required the harbor can be placed in first class shape. The harbor should be dredged to at least fourteen feet. We understand that the engineer’s report favors the new method of construction for the piers and when once completed will last indefinitely.
At present the west pier is in very bad condition only a small portion being good. The east pier is fairly good excepting near the shore and with slight repairs would last for several years.
Hmmmmmm....
"The workmen in the photo are in the process of laying the mortar bed to prepare for the brick paving of Liberty Avenue.
LIBERTY AVENUE – 1910: In 1910 the Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey focused their design and production efforts on an internal horn phonograph, and away from what they called their external horn models. The new Victrola models introduced in September of that year were intended to make their phonographs more affordable. The lowest priced - the Tabletop X - sold for $75.00. (In today’s money that would be nearly $1500.) That same year they also replaced the “Victor-Victrola” decal on their machines with a very simple “Victrola” decalcomania.
Inside Hart’s Drug Store (photo) in the very heart (no pun intended) of the Village of Vermilion, O. prospective Victrola buyers likely had to strain very hard to hear a demonstration of one of these “talking machines” over the clang, clatter, and roar just outside the door of the store. But in all it was - to wax poetic - merely the music of one century dying; and another being born.
The workmen in the photo are in the process of laying the mortar bed to prepare for the brick paving of Liberty Avenue. Those who watched workers preparing Liberty for repaving with asphalt last year (2008) may have seen some of that concrete base, mortar bed and bricks in the road bed when the old surface was removed.
The cement mixer is powered by steam. Just to the right of the vertical boiler is a materials chute in which workers placed wheelbarrows of sand and sacks of concrete to be mixed. Several sacks of concrete can be seen near the interurban rails that long ago ran down the middle of the main thoroughfare of the village. The cement base is the reason Liberty remained flat and didn't sink around the "streetcar" tracks over the years.
It is interesting to note that all the buildings in the background of the photo are still standing. At the time these shadows were captured the tenant atop Hart’s Drug Store was a physician. The specific identity of the doctor whose name appears on the windows above the store is, like the visage of one of the workman below, blurred beyond recognition.
The building directly adjacent to the drugstore was once the home of Vermilion’s Erie County Bank. Just a few years later the bank would purchase a property directly across the street that once housed Vermilion’s Pelton-McGraw general store. That building was razed and a new bank building was built on the site. Currently that building is the home of the Vermilion City Administrative offices.
The little room just west of the old bank building served as Vermilion Mayor - H.R. “Squire” Williams’s office. (Note: That’s a rather charming bit of Vermilion trivia.)
The next shop was, as it is today, a barbershop. Whether or not the resident barber, at that time was Vermilionite, “Jake” Abel is unknown (to this writer). However; it was about the same time as this photo when Vermilion’s “last grocer”, George Rathbun (PJ 10/16/08), set-up shop in the building next to it selling groceries and produce to citizens of the community for the next half century or so. Mr. Abel was George’s father-in-law. Ergo; Mr. Rathbun’s choice for locating his business may have been purposeful.
As stated all the buildings in the background are still standing. And though they look much the same as they did nearly 100 years ago the ornate scroll works that once adorned their respective facades, along with the brick-paved streets, steam-powered cement mixers, and Eldridge Reeves Johnson’s “talking machine” may be gone - but they are hardly forgotten.
As microprocessor chips continue to increase in complexity, their power consumption increases as well. As a result, today’s chips generate greater quantities of heat as a by-product that can cause serious damage to the microprocessor. Ryan’s invention is a cooling system that provides a cost-efficient method to remove excess heat thereby allowing an inexpensive microprocessor to be “overclocked” to operate at speeds equivalent to the more expensive microprocessors.
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.
The following series will take thee to the townships south of Vermilion. Methinks you'll find this history quite fascinating.
A number of the first setters made their homes upon the line of the north and south center road, and this was the first route of travel upon which any labor was bestowed in the township. The next was the road running east and west through the center. The road from Wooster to Norwalk was laid out in 1826, but there was scarcely any improvement made upon it until 1832, and it was by no means easy of travel. The route most traveled by the early residents of Fitchville, when they wished to go to Norwalk or beyond, was a trail which led from Abijah Palmer's, in a northwesterly direction, to a point about a mile west of Olena, and thence westerly to the old State road, which passes through the center of Fairfield and Bronson townships. When the Norwalk and Wooster road was improved, it was done by the labor of persons who made the lowest bids for the jobs, and they were paid from a fund made up by a large number of personal subscriptions. About six hundred dollars were raised, and nearly the whole of that amount was expended upon that part of the highway lying between Norwalk and Fitchville. Samuel Palmer cut the timber upon about three miles of this road. The road became the principal thoroughfare for the people of Richland, Holmes, and portions of Wayne and Knox counties to carry their produce over to Huron and other points, where there was a market for it.
The enterprise of running a line of stages through from Wooster to Norwalk was undertaken at this time by Union White, J. C. Curtiss, and an Ashland man. They commenced by running a two-horse hack each way twice a week, but afterwards a four-horse stage coach was put on the route by a man named Myers, to whom was also given a contract for carrying the mail. In 1834, and for many years after, the people had the satisfaction of seeing this heavy stage, often well loaded with passengers, dash swiftly or wallow slowly, as the case might be, through the settlement.
was organized February 9, 1874, with thirty-nine charter members. Following is a list of the first officers: Phillip Hawxhurst, master; Preston Palmer, overseer; U. B. Thomas, lecturer; Hialmer Griffin, steward; S. W. Curtiss, assistant steward; Charles Kimberly, chaplain; R. C. Johnson, treasurer; E. E. Hawxhurst, Ceres; Mrs. Charles Kimberley, Pomona; Mrs. U. B. Thomas, Flora.
were from New York State, and the son was born there in 1829. Samson Hawxhurst came to Ohio in 1834, and purchased land upon which, a year later, when he removed his family, he made his home. He first lived in a log house, which he built himself, and although he had been a carpenter by trade, he easily became accustomed to the life of a pioneer farmer when he came to Fitchville, and ever since has followed that occupation. He is still living at the age of seventy-four years, an honored denizen of Fitchville township.
Philip Hawxhurst married in 1854, the 4th of May, his first wife, Julia A., daughter of Martin Denman, and four children were the offspring of this union, of whom only one is living. Bell M., who was born blind, and now at the age of nineteen years, in spite of her great affliction and disadvantage, is still cheerful and happy, and enjoys the benefits of a finely cultivated mind. The mother of this child died September 11, 1867, and in 1870—June 7th—Mr. Hawxhurst took as his second wife, the widow of G. Webster, nee Mary Weekes, daughter of Joseph Weekes. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Hawxhurst with a view of their residence are to be seen upon another page of this work.
Mr. Hawxhurst is living at present, in a new house upon the old farm purchased by his father in 1833, and is one of the leading men of his neighborhood, taking a prominent part in the affairs of the township and m church and society. He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1855, and has since been one of its most active as well as consistent members, and has for a number of years held the office of steward. He is a republican in politics, and during the war, was in the hundred days’ service, serving as a sergeant.
Excerpts from: The Fire Lands, Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio; W.W. Williams - 1879 - Press of Leader Printing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
CHANGES: This is another artifact I came across at the VN Print Shop. It's interesting because it affords people an idea of about when (1963) the names of some of the streets in Vermilion were changed. Note that the name of Lake Street (North of Huron Street) was not changed to Pelton Street. Hence (I guess) the pencil mark through it.
Though I knew some of the street names had been changed over the years I had no idea of the era / time when that was accomplished - or about to be accomplished. 1963 was, for various reasons, a year when I was highly distracted - not paying much attention to local civic affairs so I guess I missed it. But I do recall that Thompson Street (now Edson) was still Thompson when I graduated from H.S. in June of that year. The official changes may not have taken place until later in the year.
In addition I've never quite agreed with some of the changes. I think that Division Street should have remained Division. I don't have any great reason for thinking that except that I thought the name appropriate. At the time it divided the town proper east and west. Moreover I'm thinking that Main Street was originally part of Water Street / West River - it ran along the course of the Vermilion River from the village limits in the south to Lake Erie. In short, Main and Division were two distinctly different streets.
Anyway, I think it would be nice to have a Pelton Street in Vermilion. I don't know that Lake Street should be the candidate - but somewhere...
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PODCAST #0:The Vermilion Views Podcasts are suspended until I acquire time to better develop them.
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 and MOV) podcasts (when used) are done in the "Quicktime MP4 / MOV" formats. If you don't have a "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: This page is generated by a 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
or you can use PayPal: (NOTE: IT WORKS NOW)
Vol.9, Issue 36, November 19, 2011
© 2011 Rich Tarrant