HERE TODAY...: People amaze me. This rather mundane view of Lake Erie was, until just a few weeks ago, blocked by the presence of a rather substantial brick house. But for the pittance of a few hundred thousand dollars some good soul purchased it and tore it down. And I'm absolutely sure they didn't do it so that I might get this photograph and turn it into a pretty oil painting.
This is not actually unusual. Similar activities have been taking place along the lake shore for some years now. People purchase perfectly good homes, tear them down, and build anew strictly for the view.
During the coming weeks and months I will keep and publish a photographic record of the building of a new home on this site. It should prove to be interesting.
THE WHITE INN: Folks familiar with the Vermilion of the 1940's and '50's will recall this eatery. It sat next to that which is now Bittersweet Annie (once George Rathbun's grocery store) on the north side of Liberty Avenue.
This is one of PRoscoe's rare color pix taken in the early '40's.
As the years pass one tends to forget certain things about those places and times. Pictures like this jog the old memory bank. And one of the things I'd forgotten about some of the buildings in what was at one time considered to be "downtown" Vermilion are the alley-ways between some of the stores. They were usually blocked off by a simple fence-type structure (as seen in this pic).
Out of the picture and to the left/west between Tony's Shoe Store (now part of the Old Prague Restaurant) and the Ohio Edison Building (now Papa Joe's) there was such an alleyway. And across the street between the old Vermilion Banking Co./Williams Law Offices (now an insurance company) and Moat's Meatmarket (today Gilbert Heating and Plumbing) was another.
What I'm driving at is the fact that not everything was as quaint as memory tends to serve them up - lest one considers unkempt alleys pretty.
Another observation about this particular picture is about the old Trinter house seen to the left of the White Inn. The house was built by Adam Trinter who was the father of Charles and Albert (well known Vermilion men). I remember the house being there (just east of what is now the Old Prague). It always seemed to me that the house was quite large. I think it was of substantial size - however; if one surveys the property upon which it stood so many years ago it could not have been as large as the one in my memory. Perhaps it has to do with my own size when I knew it. I suppose it's what one might call a mental illusion. I am often wary about my own recollections of the past. I keep in mind that time has a very real way of subverting reality.
FROM THE AIR: I got this photo from Dennis Lamont of Birmingham electronically. I believe that it is self explanatory, but I've marked it some to illustrate some points that intersted me.
I was wanting an aerial view of Crystal Beach and this specific area of town and - Presto! - here it is.
What I find of interest about Crystal in this pic is that across the street where the South Shore Shopping Center now sits is the field where folks who came to the park on picnic days used to park their vehicles. Toward the road one can see that the vegetation is worn where the vehicles would park.
The basic reason Dennis sent the photo to me was because the route of the Lake Shore Electric Railway is fairly obvious. I ran the white line of it's path from the VOL Bridge to the river. I also marked the place where the old Vermilion River Bridge crossed through that which eventually became the Romp property.
As fate would have it I saw another photograph of most of this same area that was taken from a different angle on Monday of this week. That particular photo was taken in 1950, and a few things like the old Kroger Store (where Buyer's Fair is now), and some of the old fisheries along the river were visible. My assumption was that both pix were taken at the same time by the same photographer (a man from Lorain).
One other memory that comes to mind as I look over the above picture is that along Vermilion (East River) Road from the corner of Liberty toward the house (Harbour Homes Realty) that sits just be for the former YMCA swimming pool site, were a group of cabins. Today most of the site is empty. But I certainly recall the cottages, and even some of the people who lived there. I don't know if there was a formal name for the spot or not. Perhaps one of my "Viewers" knows the answer to that question.
But there is so so much in these photographs. Wonderful.
VIEWERS' UPDATES: On the above mentioned cottages: Dale Wendell out in Arizona emailed me to say, "I think it was called Pin Oaks when they were renting in the summer. And Bob Kyle emailed,"The cottages along East River Road that you mentioned were called "Pin Oaks" Cottages. I believe that they were rented to fishermen who came from out of town. I delivered "special delivery"mail on my bicycle to the home owned at that time by the Martineks (sp?)now housing the Harbourtown Realty on Vermilion Road." And then Carol Bechtel told me, "Hi Rich. as a kid, I knew those cottages as Pin Oaks. Spent a lot of time around there during summers when the summer people were there that my family were friends with and they always invited us to a weekly lobster cookout." It's nice that folks are paying some attention to all this. When I first heard "Pin Oaks" I remembered. But I couldn't have done it on my own.
LSE #152: I'll be adding these photographs (as well as a casualty list) to the "Wreck of the Niles #152" story site soon. Like the preceding picture, Birmingham resident, Dennis Lamont sent them to me.
The first is a photograph of the 152 taken from the southwest looking northeast after it was separated with which it collided. One of things I didn't know was that LSE officials were ever looking to make a profit on anything and everything that concerned them and their company. So note, if you will, the number of people watching this event. Would you believe they sold tickets?
I don't want to give anyone any ideas, but I can see how conducting such a business would be lucreative. Television reality shows underline this point.
The second photo is taken in Fremont, Ohio some years later. The streetcar was rebuilt and put back into service. Understand that one of the reasons for the devastation during collisions with these early cars surrounded the fact that they were make of wood. I assume that that is also the reason they could/would be restored rather than scrapped after accidents. I'm not impling that it was easy. It was simply practical.
One other thing I've not yet mentioned about the 152 is that after the accident - when it was in the Fremont shop - there was a fire and it was damaged again. Given this picture it is obvious that someone finally got it right, and the old (actually it was fairly new) 152 was rebuilt and back on line. Interesting.
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 this site. I will mention that a visit to this particular website is worth ones time. Roger informed me that he now uses some Vermilion pix from some of my websites on his electronic newsletter. Maybe you didn't belong to this class, but I'm sure you know someone who does. And I think you'll enjoy reading some of their memories of those days. Note that Roger will not be sending out a newsletter by snail-mail any longer. The webpage will be the reunion notification/information center from now on. He's got new stuff on line as he gets it - and it's interesting. So take time to go there.
Also Buffalo Bill Hlavin has asked me to find a 1958 football program for him. I'll look. But I'll also ask class members tuned into this site to also look and let Bill, Roger, or myself know if you have one.
As news regarding VHS reunion activities comes to my attention it will appear on this web page. So stay tuned.
Best wishes to the VHS Classes of 1963, 64, & 65 who are conducting their reunion this weekend. The musical selection with this issue of "Views" (which only a few will hear is for you people. It's "Let's Fall In Love" (with a special comment from Miss Piggy).
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
Vol.2, Issue 21, August 14, 2004
© 2004 Rich Tarrant