"Autumn Fires"
SHOPTALK: I couldn’t resist taking the photo on the desktop this week. I actually shot it last week just before the leaves came off the maple tree in front of our home on Oakwood Drive. I love the effects achieved by Topaz plug-in filters in Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 (photo software). They’re just terrific. I have never seen the leaves on this tree so bright before – and Georgi and I have lived in this home for nearly 30 years.
WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN: This week the background music is a song written by Christian hymnist Ada R. Harbershon (1861-1918) with music by Charles H Gabriel – re-arranged by A.P. Carter, and recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1972. The band consisted of Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Early Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete “Oswald” Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin and fiddler Vassar Clements. Acuff described them as "a bunch of long-haired West Coast boys."
If for some reason you are unable to hear the piece try a different browser. It plays best using Microsoft or Safari broswers. My regular browser is Seamonkey, and it don’t work worth a darn.
SLOW WEEK: It was a slow week at the print shop. Dark and dank outside – I suppose everybody opted to stay home. But it worked to my advantage some.
I was able to consolidate some of the items in the apartment to help made things ready to begin finishing / preparing four of the rooms for visitors. But I’ve not done very much work in the print shop itself for some time. I will get back to that in the coming months.
Sunday a plumber will begin straightening out the water and sewer systems in the building. Though they work, they don’t work the way (I believe) they should. The plumbing will take about a week, and then we can really begin cleaning the apartment for further painting and papering, etc. It’s an exciting prospect.
CHRISTMAS THINGS: We now have gift packaged mugs, and Christmas and Note Cards with Vermilion themed pix for sale at the museum now. I don’t’ know if I’ll be able to offer them via the mail or not as of yet. But if you’re in or near town these items are available at the museum. If I run out of cards I can easily print more very quickly. They’re really nice.
PLEASE NOTE: Some of the stories appearing in “VV” for the last several months were actually written 7, 8, and 9 years ago.
Because of this you may find some of the information therein to be dated. When I transcribe these pieces from their original publication(s) the Vermilion Photojournal I am not always able to edit / update some of that info.
Though I have the best transcription software on the planet working alone (as I do) has its drawbacks – and I don’t always edit the material to reflect changes / updates or to correct mistakes. You will note at the end of most of these pieces the date of their original publication and writing appears.
FIVE-OH-ONE-CEE-THREE: It’s now official. The museum is officially a 501(c)(3) organization. Consequently, all donations to the museum are tax deductible. This is retroactive to November of 2011. (Thank heaven. Now I can fret about something else for months on end.)
VISITING HOURS: We are located at 727 Grand Street in Vermilion across the street from Vermilion's historic E&R Church. The museum is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays from 1 to 4 PM. On Saturday the museum it is open from 11 AM to 2 PM. A small admission donation of $3 (for adults) is requested. Children under the age of 11 will be admitted for free. Phone For Special Tours: 440-967-4555
We are not open on major holidays.
MEMBERSHIPS: Memberships to the VERMILION NEWS PRINT SHOP MUSEUM are now available. Funds generated will go toward the aforementioned renovations and maintenance of the shop.
If you would like to become a member the VNPSM you can send a check or money order to:
Vermilion Print Shop Museum727 Grand Street Vermilion, Ohio 44089
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK:Take the time to visit us on Facebook. Click on the badge below and stop in. We'll keep adding pix as we go along. If you're in the area come on in. I try to be there in the a.m. most everyday. If you see a Chevy Silverado in the drive with the plate "MRCOOKR" stop by and see what's cooking.
Historically,
Elizabeth Krapp Phillips
LIZ: Tina Demou (I don’t know her married name) stopped by the shop on Thursday afternoon with a box of items that once belonged to Elizabeth (Krapp) and Clarence Phillips. Among those things was this great photograph of Elizabeth when she was 9 or 10 years old.
Liz was born into a very large Vermilion family in August of 1910. She lived with, and was raised by her Aunt Eva in a house on the east side of Sandusky Street between Ohio and South streets. And there she lived in and kept house for the remainder of her years. She died in 2003 at the age of 92.
I may (or may not) write about her early years at a later time. Her life with her Aunt Eva caused a rift in the family that, to my knowledge, still exists. That she adored her aunt is an understatement.
Liz and her husband Clarence – both employees of the Ohio Edison Company – gifted the community of Vermilion, Ohio with a wonderful gazebo for Victory Park. It was probably their final gift to the community they both served and loved so much during their lives.
SILVERWOOD: The study of local history leads me in many directions, and I meet – at least on paper – many interesting people. One of those people is a man that newspaper stories always referred to as “Sandy” Silverwood. I first took note of him in a report about a Vermilion regatta celebration that took place in early August of 1903.
According to the report it was “a grand day…and pleasant memories remain of the most successful celebration ever held in Vermilion. The weather was fine and everybody and their neighbors were on hand to help…jollify.” A Wyandotte, Michigan vessel named the “Delight won the yacht race. The fish tug race was won by the Vermilion tug “Mary and Norman”. There was a ball game between the boys of N. Amherst and Vermilion. Vermilion won. Vermilion’s Volunteer firemen demonstrated their skills in a fire alarm and response drill. Bands from Norwalk and Amherst gave “nearly a continuous concert during the day and evening, which everyone enjoyed.” And it was all topped off by a fireworks show.
But the pièce de résistance – the showstopper – had to be that of “Sandy” Silverwood doing a high dive act from the top of the Ranney Fish House into the river. By and large one could conclude that this dive was no big deal. At best the fish house might have been 20 feet high at the peak. However, the river is not exceptionally deep. And perhaps of more import; there was no way on earth that the diver knew – ahead of time – just how deep it would be.
The obvious conclusion would be for most readers that Silverwood was a professional daredevil hired to perform for the party; one who knew just how to do such things. At least that is what I thought until I came across another mention of him in December of the same year that began to move my thoughts of him in another direction.
The Vermilion News – December 17, 1903: “Sandy” Silverwood attempted to sell six chickens at one of our markets Saturday evening but before the sale was made Marshal Delker stepped in and clapped on the “iron”. It appeared that the chickens were the property of H.A. Nieding. He was fined $100 and costs and given 30 days in the county jail.” While in prison he wrote the judge and sheriff a letter asking that he be released to “join the Japanese army and fight the Russians.” [ i.e. the Russo-Japanese War - 8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905.] But for some reason they didn't’ buy it. Instead the jail served as his vacation home for most of the winter.
A little over a year passed with nary a peep in the local papers about “Sandy”. Then early in April of 1905 he reappeared on the public stage with an entrance that would have made even the most famous rock star envious for the audience it seems to have attracted. On Friday April 7,1905 he entered the City of Sandusky, Ohio from Port Clinton on Lake Shore passenger train No. 28. Like his dive at Vermilion in 1903 this entrance would have not, at least not on the surface, been a big deal. But in this instance he arrived on the cowcatcher of the locomotive with a partially empty keg of blackberry wine in his arms. “Drunk as a lord” Sandy staggered off the cowcatcher right into the hands of the law. How he was able to stay astride the rolling locomotive with a barrel of wine in his arms during the journey will forever remain a mystery.
During the June session of the Grand Jury good old “Sandy” – who was rapidly making a name for himself as a daredevil – albeit a drunk one – was indicted for burglary. Evidently the keg of blackberry wine had been pilfered from the stock of a Port Clinton saloon after it had been closed for the night. But this was hardly the end of his public career.
In late August of the same year the town of Port Clinton hosted a band reunion featuring fourteen bands from neighboring towns. Three thousand people attended the festivities. The bands played throughout the day, there was a big parade, P.C. Mayor Tadsen spoke, and the bands played. But the big feature of the day was none other than “Sandy” Silverwood.
From high atop the Bense Fish Co. building Sandy dove fifty feet into the Portage River. And he didn’t do it just once. He did it five times. During his final dive he peeled a banana. And when he surfaced he was eating it. Again Sandy’s antics wowed the crowd. And then “Sandy” Silverwood just disappeared from public view. According to all records available to me there never was a person with the surname Silverwood and the baptismal name of “Sandy”. Although “Sandy” was likely a nickname one would think that in official reports of his arrests, indictments, and arraignments that his Christian name would have appeared with his nickname. But that never happened. Additionally puzzling is the fact that following the P.C. dives there are no more reports of additional dives, arrests, or indictments about anyone named “Sandy” Silverwood.
The Silverwood name is rooted deep in the history of Port Clinton, Ohio. The family is of British ancestry migrating to Northumberland County in Pennsylvania, and then on into Ohio and Michigan where members of the family blended with Native Americans of the Ottawa people. As said at the start of this essay, “the study of local history leads me in many directions’, and to “many interesting people.” Sandy Silverwood is one of them. I wish I’d known him.
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...
Vol. IX - NO.26 – Dec.7, 1905.
The case of William H. Ackerman against the L.S. & M.S. Ry. Co., which comes to the court of common pleas on appeal from the docket of C.C. Baumhart, justice of the peace at Vermilion, was filed with the clerk of court. The plaintiff is suing to secure a judgement for $50 damages, said to have been sustained through the loss of two stacks of straw and ten acres and a half of meadow land, which were set on fire by sparks thrown form an L.S. & M.S. locomotive.
Cornelius A. Nielsen, receiver in the case of A.J. Stoll and Louis Adolph against the Sandusky Fish Co. and others, has filed a motion in the court of common pleas, asking the court to allow him part of the fees alleged due him for services rendered, and also for a partial allowance of fees due to John F. McCrystal, attorney for services rendered. He has also filed an inventory in which is listed all of the property and assets of the Sandusky Fish Co., except the cash in his possession and on hand. There is at North Bass, property and assets valued at $2,666.10; at South end Kelly’s Island, 49,1717.99, and at West End Kelly’s Island, $569.05; a total of $12,407.14.
The infirmary directors have sued Thomas Murray administrator of the late Hubert Jasper, for pay for the caring of the latters minor son Joseph Jasper at the infirmary. The sum asked for is $650.
The regular monthly meeting of the village council was held Monday evening. The several committees reported but as most of the outside work for the year has ceased there was little ot report. Messrs. Giddings and Quigley were present and asked for an electric lighting franchise, offering the town 33 2000-candle power arc lights for $1500 per annum moonlight schedule. This is considerable cheaper than anyone has offered lights to the town. The petition was accepted and a committee appointed to investigate the advisability of granting the franchise. The railroad crossings took up most of the balance of the evening. The L.S. U M.S. Ry. has agreed to place gates at one of the unprotected crossings this winter as soon as possible and the other next spring. The crossing at Exchange street has not as yet been mentioned by the company.
Geo. Fisher was present and made a proposition to the council that if they would give him permission he would grade the approach on the north side of the street. Mr. Fischer as well as a number of citizens living in the southeastern part of town desire this street to be opened. The advisability of granting this permission was discussed but it was finally decided to wait to look up the records in regard to closing the street.
Dr. Derr was present and asked for a loan of money for the waterworks to tide them over until the water rentals became due. His request was granted.
The bills were read and ordered paid. Council then adjourned.
Few of us realize the amount of work being done at the Erie Wood Working Co.’s plant. An electric lighting plant has been installed and the workmen will be allowed to work fourteen hours for a while on account of the large number of orders now in. There are 32 now in the employ of the company and the prospects are that a larger force will be at work before spring.
It is to be regretted that the suit between the citizens and the Howard Stove Co. has as yet not been settled.
The new company has made no promises but is doing well so far and we certainly wish them success. The factory will be a great benefit to Vermilion.
[VV Ed. Note: This is kind of hard to follow. It would appear by this article that the woodworking plant was located where the stove plant was located – though I don’t believe that was the case. I think that the comment about the failure of the stove plant was simply inserted as a footnote to emphasize the success of the woodworks.]
Mr. and Mrs. John Gegenheimer of Vermilion were the guests of friends in town Sunday.
Carl Stick is slowly improving.
The farmers are about done with their fall work and ready for cutting wood.
R. Dalzell is reported very ill. His son was called home from Oberlin.
C.A. Baldwin and Homer Gouldsberry worked for Liedheiser Bros. in Vermilion one day last week. – Jack.
Alexander Lengzel and Miss Lizzie Geezi were married Thursday morning at the Presbyterian church in the presence of a number of friends and relatives.
C.E. Spenk has sold his east side property to an Indian.
Royden Shaffer is ill with scarlet fever.
Mrs. Helen Nichols a former resident died at her home in Glenville last week.
Born, to Mr. and Mr. e.B. Shoop, Thursday, Nov. 30, a little daughter.
Mr. R.B. Washburn is recovering from the effects of his fall.
Miss Roma Philby, attending High school at Oberlin visited Mrs. C. Kropf last Sunday.
Mrs. Harrison C. Barnes, aged 61 years, wife of Dennison Barnes, died at their home in the Wilson-block very early this morning. Mrs. Barnes had been ill for about three weeks with Bright’s disease [i.e. Kidney disease], which was the cause of her death. She leaves tow children, a son, Fred Barnes, and a daughter Miss Carrie Barnes. The deceased was born in Vermilion, but had been a resident of Lorain for a number of years.
The funeral will be rom Parkside chapel Monday afternoon and the Rev. Barnett will have charge of the services. The hour for the funeral has not yet been arranged. Interment will be in Elmwood. – Lorain Times Herald (Friday).
Contributions for the Light and Hope Mission Home should be take to he residence of Capt. Bell during the week. This is a worthy cause and it is to be hoped that ready response will be given to the call.
Representative Earl Stewart of Springfield will introduce into the House a bill to protect quail for three years. He favors the protection of rabbits for the same length of time also.
Mr. and Mrs. E.T. Bottomley entertained Mr. and Mrs. C. Roscoe, of Milan, Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Houseman and daughter of Lorain, and Mr. and Mrs. P. Roscoe at Thanksgiving dinner.
Rev. W.H. Painter of the 1st M.E. church Lorain, died at his home in that city Sunday morning at the age of eighty-three. Rev. Painter was formerly pastor of the M.E. Church at this place and was the oldest member of the North Ohio conference.
The work on the west pier is nearly finished for this winter. More has been accomplished with the appropriations than was thought at first possible. The east pier is said to be in bad condition at the shore end and if we have heavy ice and it goes out as it did two years ago trouble will result. It is planned to rebuild the east pier east of the present one making the harbor entrance wider. This work is for maintenance only.
Mr. Frank Taylor is now prepared to fill all orders for buzzing wood, quicker service and a more reasonable price is guaranteed. Leave all orders at the second farmhouse west of Axtel.
Miss Kinnie Greenhoe has come to spend the winter with relatives at Axtel.
Lewis Champney has accepted a contract to put in a large strip of tile running through Axtel and will proceed as fat as it thaws.
For Sale – A good Jersey cow. Enquire at the News Office.
Born – Sunday, Dec. 3, to Mr. and Mrs. M.A. Friday, a son.
Karl Washburn had the misfortune to cut his foot with an axe today. Dr. Hill was called and it required five stiches to close the wound. Several arteries were severed. He is a brother of Ray Washburn who had a severe fall several weeks ago.
Today’s Register tells of the dangerous predicament that Dave Stevens found himself in Tuesday evening on Sandusky Bay. He had sold his launch to Sandusky parties and was taking it over to them. Everything went all right until he entered the bay when his engine gave out a dn he was nearly frozen when a tug picked him up.
It has been announced that the Cleveland & Southwestern will extend its N. Amherst line to South Amherst and Oberlin. All along the proposed line the people seemed pleased with proposition.
It is also intimated that it may mean the construction of a line from Vermilion to Oberlin via N. Amherst.
The Knox County grand jury failed to return any indictment in the Pierson case although the members of the jury as well as the coroner are convinced tat the young man was tied to the rails. It is currently reported that skilled detective is at work on the case and developments of a startling nature will be brought for light soon.
[VV ED. Note: This is an interesting article. It refers to the 1905 death of Kenyon College student Stuart Pierson who was killed by a train while being initiated into the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity on that campus. No prosecutions were ever made in the incident, but it had a very negative financial effect of Kenyon College for some years after.]
Emery Fuller of Henrietta twp. Was taken to the industrial Home at Lancaster last week. He was sent by Judge Hinman on a charge of petit [sic] larceny preferred by Mr. Braughman who took him from the home at Oberlin.
J.H. Schiebly of North Amherst, who has been sued by his wife, Mrs. Catherine Schiebly, for a divorce on the grounds of nonsupport, has filed his answer to her allegations. He acknowledges that he is a partner in the firm of J.H. Schiebly & co., and says his profits of the earnings of the company is one-tenth of the capital invested by him which is $1,800. This amount he contends he has been expending in keeping his family and denies all of her claims.
In July he says his wife went to Cleveland and decided to remain thee without just cause, alleging that she would not live with him any longer. Mr. Schiebly followed her there, told her that if she would return he would give her $5 a week, pay the taxes on her property and keep it in repair. She then agreed to return and he avers that he has kept his agreement. Not only this he claims he has settled a number of bills contracted by her in North Amherst. She is residing in her home property and he in another house brought by him some time ago and is only too willing to support the family.
Thanksgiving is past school has begun again and preparations are going forward for Christmas. Stores that were full before will soon be crowded with Christmas goods.
Mr. Haise is still packing apples.
Hmmmmmm....
1953, CARS, THREE BOYS AND A DOG: In 1953 I was only nine years old – but I, to borrow a phrase from the Lerner-Lowe song, “remember it well”. I hope youngsters who’re the same age today will come to own similar memories. I began thinking about those days when I happed across the accompanying graphic of a 1953 advertisement from The Vermilion News. It was a good year. At least it was for a nine-year-old boy in the little lakeside village of Vermilion, O.
I was in a gang back then. It wasn’t very big – or tough. It was composed of three guys and a dog: Jake Boone, his cousin Tommy Dale; Mister Chips the dog and, of course, me. [Note: Mr. Chips really didn’t belong to anyone in particular. He just lived with my family. But he never paid any rent or anything.]
Anyway, the reason this ad brings all that to mind is because we, like many boys of that age, were in love with cars. During those times the new models hit the showrooms around town in late August or early September, and Frank Baker’s Ford dealership (currently Vermilion Deli and Grocery store, and John Rupert’s investment company) was one of our favorite places to visit. Mr. Baker was always very friendly. And he didn't mind if we sat in one of the shiny new cars in his showroom dreaming of a day when we could own one of those beautiful machines.
1953 was also the year that they – “they” being village and state officials – decided to eliminate what the local newspaper called a “traffic bottleneck at the west-end” of town. To be honest “traffic bottleneck” was a mild epithet. Just how many folks failed to negotiate the two 90 degree turns Liberty made at Decatur Street over the years may be known only to Vermilionite Bob Kyle whose family home and business (i.e. Kyle Motors) were located near both.
On the other hand, that “bottleneck” worked to the advantage of our gang by providing us with some wonderful pastimes. On Sunday afternoons we used to sit on the tree lawn in front of May Fletcher’s home (currently Old Jib’s) and watch the traffic returning from Cedar Point, and all other points west, crawl through town headed toward Cleveland. But not content to just watch traffic we were compelled to say various things to folks as they passed. (e.g. To someone towing a boat: “Hey, buddy the Coast Guard’s following you.”) I now note that things that seem funny to a nine-year-old are actually a bit goofy to an adult.
In between our harebrained wisecracking we invented a game wherein we learned to recognize the make, model, and year of cars as they passed. If one of us (with the exception of Mr. Chips) saw a car we really admired he’d try to shout out the details of the car before someone else in the gang. [e.g. “My red ’53 Ford convertible!”] According to gang rules, that car would be added to an imaginary list of cars he owned. It was, course, another goofy game. But we got pretty good at recognizing the various cars. Today I hardly know the difference between a Toyota and a Taurus much less the year the car was manufactured.
But we sure had a good time on that corner on Sunday afternoons back then. When we weren’t there we hiked the lakeshore west from Main Street beach to Darby Creek or played war games in the woods along Edson Creek. Mr. Chips especially loved the beaches where he could roll in dead fish to his heart’s content. Needless to say, the rest of the gang did not appreciate his recreational interests. But he didn’t seem to care. And I doubt that he cared much about ours.
“Them” were certainly the days. I don't miss them because they are a part of me that I’ll have forever. What I did miss, however, was the ability to buy a 1937 Ford Tudor for a hundred bucks from F.E. Baker. I recently looked at an ad for one and it was going for around $50 thousand. Who’d have dreamed of it? Not the gang of three boys and a dog sitting on a tree lawn in 1953. They were too darn busy.
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.
…on the corner of lot number thirty-five, was erected in the summer of 1876, and cost, complete, six hundred dollars. The regular meetings are held on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. The present membership is fifty-seven. The officers for 1878, are: Nelson Murray, master: James Reed, overseer; Mrs. J. S. Hester, lecturer; Lyman Austin, steward; "William K. Bowen, assistant steward; Horace Robinson, chaplain; William Brown, treasurer; E. P. Snyder, secretary; Z. B. Slater, gate keeper; Mrs. A. E. Niver, Ceres; Mrs. Z. B. Slater, Pomona; Mrs. George Bowen, Flora; Mrs. E. Richards, lady assistant steward.
Centerton Lodge, No. G07, I. 0. 0. F., was organized on the 4th day of July, 1875, with charter members as follows: Dr. E. V. B. Buckingham, Albert Gage, W. S. Van Horn, John Miller, C. L. Rolfe, G. H. Miller, William H. Frost, N. H. Nichols, E. C. Trimmer, Franklin Wood, and A. T. Sweatland. The first elective officers were: C. L. Rolfe, N. 6.; W. S. Van Horn, V. G.; Dr. E. V. B. Buckingham, R. S.; John Miller, P. S., and Albert Gage, Treasurer. The present membership is forty-five. The stated communications are on Thursday evening of each week, in Odd Fellows' Hall, over A. Gage's store. The officers for 1878, are: Niles Gregory, N. G.; Samuel Snyder, V. G.; George Barber, R. S. : Lyman Benham, P. S., and A. Gage, treasurer. This society is, we understand, in a harmonious and highly flourishing condition.
The first physician who settled in Norwich township was Dr. Hurlburt. He located on lot number forty, in the second section, in 1825. He practiced in the township until his death, in 1828.
The present medical staff of Norwich township is composed of M. Tompkins, James Henderson, James Hutchinson, and E. V. B. Buckingham.
In 1834, Peter Brown put in operation the first gristmill in the township. This was propelled by horse power, and it is said did a good business. In 1830, Benjamin Moore built a sawmill on Slate run, on the west end of the farm afterwards owned by G. H. Woodruff. Two years later, Thomas Bennett, erected another sawmill on the same stream, and in 1840, Ira Wood built a third mill on the same stream. These mills were all eventually carried away by the high water.
In 1842, Miner Atherton built a steam saw mill on the fourth section. James L. Couch built another steam sawmill in the same section, a few years later. In 1840, John Idler built a steam sawmill at Centerton. This was burned in 1850, and rebuilt in 1857, by Messrs. Idler & Hester. It was again burned in 1859, and rebuilt the same year. At this point John Miller has a steam saw mill and barrel heading manufactory. At Havana, Lester Gregory has a steam sawmill, and H. V. Owens a machine and repair shop.
The first road opened to the township was that made by General Beall and his army, in 1812, leading from Wooster to Fremont, through New Haven and Norwich. The trail came into the township at the southeast corner and ran northwesterly by the village plat, and left the township on the north side, about one and one-half miles east of the northwest corner. Hopkins made a survey of the trail, and located the present road, leading past the residences of Wesley Robinson and John S. Hester.
The first post route through the township extended from Tiffin to Fitchville. It was established in 1827. Adam Hance carried the mail.
Biographical Sketches.
The subject of this memoir was the oldest of six children, and only son of John S. and Lucinda Hester, and was born in Norwich, Huron county, Ohio, April 17, 1843. His youth was spent on the farm of his father, with an attendance of a few months in each year at school in the neighborhood. At the age of fifteen, he became a student of Baldwin University, Berea, Ohio. A year later the writer, a year his senior, became a student at the same college, and a member of the same class, and for a time was his roommate. Charles was a young man of excellent…
Excerpts from: The Fire Lands, Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio; W.W. Williams - 1879 - Press of Leader Printing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
VHS CLASS OF ’01: As said in the “Familiar Faces” portion of “VV” (above) the VNPSM has been given a number of items that once belonged to Liz (Krapp) and her hubby Clarence Phillips. This little jewel was among those things.
It is the Baccalaureate program for the graduating Vermilion High School Class of 1901. It was held at the Opera House (atop the Vermilion Town Hall) on “May 26, ‘01”. It’s a very small and fragile document.
I’m sorry it’s such a small reproduction, but I wanted to show it in its entirety – it such a beautiful artifact.
Liz kept it because her Aunt - Eva M. Krapp - was a member of the class.
1. Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
2. The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.
3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
4. Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
5. War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who's left.
6. A train station is where the train stops. A bus station is where the bus stops. On my desk, I have a work station... 7. I once prayed to god for a bike, but quickly found out he didn't work that way...so I stole a bike and prayed for his forgiveness
8. If pro is opposite of con, then what is the opposite of progress?
9. If you think things can't get worse it's probably only because you lack sufficient imagination.
10. Sarcasm helps keep you from telling people what you really think of them.
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'".
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.
Another great book with Vermilion Roots is, "Grandmas’ Favorites: A Compilation of Recipes from Margaret Sanders Buell" by Amy O’Neal, Elizabeth Thompson and Meg Walter (May 2, 2012). This book very literally will provide one with the flavor of old Vermilion. And ye can also find it at Amazon.com. Take a look.
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
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Vol.11, Issue 35 November 9, 2013
© 2013 Rich Tarrant