The Toledo Tarrants': This be a pic of my nephew, Bruce Tarrant, and his son Jack skipping stones on the beach at Sherod Park last August. Bruce and his family live in the Toledo area. From the pictures and descriptions of their home it's a very nice place. Bruce and his wife, Marian (sp?) bought the house from a fellow who made an innocent, but a very major, mistake. The story is humorous so long as it is about someone else.
It seems that the fellow who formerly owned Bruce's house had just put in a very nice in-ground swimming pool behind the home. It was very nice. One day on his way home from work (or somewhere) the former home owner passed an auction along the street where the big prize at the auction was the house. Not ever having been at such an event before he decided to stop and check it out. While standing there watching the sale he got carried into the bidding on the house. He really wasn't serious. He never thought for a moment that he'd win. But he did. He put in the highest bid on the property and found himself declared the new owner.
At that the man flat out fainted. Falling backward he hid a table or wall knocking over a heavy article on it which hit him in the head and cut him. So not only was he faced with a sore head when he regained conciousness, he had to think of a way to go home and tell his wife that they had just purchased another home.
The long and short of the matter was that they had to sell their house with the lovely new pool, and my nephew and his wife bought it.
And that's the truth!
The Dog: This picture is a reproduction of one found at the Vermilion Historic Pix website. The focus, of course, is the Okagi Restaurant. Anyone desiring to know more about the restaurant can visit that site for that information. But that's not the reason it's been enlarged, patched, and used here.
What I like about this particular picture is the dog in the foreground and the building(s) next door to the eatery.
The dog (to me) is representive of the Vermilion I recall when I was very young. People could, and did, allow their pets to run through the streets and neighborhoods without giving it much thought. I don't suggest that it was/is a real good idea. Today it wouldn't work. Moreover it is probably illegal. But at one time it was normal.
Given that fact married to a village that was rather small it was not impossible for a person to know someone's dog as well as their children. And given that fact it was not uncommon to recognize the personalities of those dogs.
One dog (among many) that I remember was named "Nigger". Nigger was, of course, a black dog - a cur, mongerel - whatever. And that which amused me most about having a dog named "Nigger" was when someone in the family who owned the animal would go outside to look for him yelling at the top of their lungs, "Nigger, here Nigger!"
This is not something that any, or many, people would tolerate today. Extremely amusing. But in very bad taste. I believe it says a great deal about life in old time Vermilion, and perhaps elsewhere.
Then, next door to Okagi's is a grocery store. I believe the sign indicates that it is Leidheiser's grocery, but it's not very clear. And looking at the building it appears that it is/was actually two buildings made into one.
Sometimes things in the periphery of these old photographs are as interesting as the main subject matter.
RUGGLES DANCEHALL: During the past weeks I've seen several nice pictures of the Ruggles Beach Dancehall, but this was new to me. I was able to get it a little larger than the original copy without losing much detail. It's a very nice photo. I consider it to be very earthy. It looks like it's working. There's nothing idyllic about it. Looking back at things it's not too hard to glamourize and/or wax over the often harsh realities of events and places. There's an element of reality in this particular scene that is not always available in similar pictures. I can taste the dust and hear the band in this picture. Very nice.
RUGGLES OIL: Another Ruggles Beach scene I found particulary interesting. Those many folks more familiar with the area can probably tell me more about this picture. I know very little about Ruggles. I do know that, like a great many other beach communities in the area, there was significantly more beach area and grove/park areas above the beach. This is, I believe, the grove area above the beach at Ruggles. To the left the houses/cottages, hotel/dancehall. To the right a wide beach area. Again, a very nice portrait.
THE WAGNER HOTEL: This is neither a new nor rare picture of the Wagner Hotel on Main Street. That which is relatively new to me is that it is not a tinted portrait, but an actual photo. To the right of the hotel is a house that I knew as John Ritter's house. But, like the hotel, things must have changed some since this photo was taken. I haven't really taken a look at some of my own photographs of the same building today, but I don't know for sure if that house (directly to the north) has all those windows. It may be that they're blocked from common view today because the porch on the north side of that building is now enclosed and a part of the structure. I will look.
I also try to discern the buildings behind the hotel (to the back left of the photo). I suppose they are either out buildings for the old Trinter home and the building next to it. On the Trinter house it may have been what was once known as the "summer kitchen". Things long forgot with the advent of electric appliances and utilities.
GENEVIEVE CHRISTIAN: Eventually this is going to be a new spot/feature in "Views". I keep a file called "Faces" on my computer where I've been logging in digital pictures of people I find interesting. Some I know about, some I do not.
This week I present a photograph of a person about whom I know almost nothing.
Her name is Genevieve Christian. She graduated with VHS Class of 1928. Beside her photo it says, "My idea of a husband is one who agrees with me."
My, my, my. I wonder if she found one. But what a very interesting looking person she is. She is the only person in her class wearing glasses. She is also the only girl in the class pictures wearing a multi-colored sweater and a bowtie. She is, in a word, cute. I wonder where life led her? She reminds me of an old movie where the prim librarian in glasses, removes them, and becomes this ravishing beauty. Perhaps she became an actress. Maybe someone knows who this is and what happened to her. We shall see.
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.
Persons interested in having their VHS (and vicinity) reunion plans posted on this site are welcome to do so. I can't provide anyone with webpages to post their activities in depth, but I can provide a link to existing pages and/or post some activity items here. All anyone need do is contact me at my email address and pass along their material electronically.
As news regarding VHS reunion activities comes to my attention it will 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
Vol.2, Issue 25, September 11, 2004
© 2004 Rich Tarrant