MAKING THE BEST OF A BAD THING: My flash didn't work. I was taking a before picture of a home remodling project. We were replacing a sink and counter top in our kitchen. This was the before shot.
It was a rainy day. We had beem planning to do this for some time. We got everything together and were as ready as we've ever been to do any project for this overhaul. It was like the beginning of a bad novel; It was a dark and stormy day. A tree fell over a few blocks away from our home and knocked out the power for the entire afternoon. So - so much for getting to work early in the afternoon.
At about five or six p.m. electricity was restored and we proceeded to cut the hole for the new sink in the counter-top that was situated on sawhorses in our livingroom. After a great deal of fudging we got the counter cut, the new sink installed in it, and were ready to remove the old sink and counter. This required disconnecting the water pipes on the old sink.
Not wishing to turn the water off in the house completely for any length of time I decided to wait until morning to do so, but thought to turn off the water to the hot-water tank to drain it during the night. (It never worked.) The next morning the tank was still draining, so I had to turn all the water off anyway.
However, to complicate matters the electricity had been cut-off again during the night, and was still off when I got up to finish the job at 5 a.m. and the plumber would be there at 7 a.m.
Taking a little flash light with a clip that I had purchased at Radio Shack (for no good reason I can now think of), I clipped it to my baseball hat, and like a coal miner without a coal mine climbed under the kitchen sink, and began to disconnect the water and garbage disposal. My ineptitude(s) as a skilled craftsman being what they are, I succeeded in accomplishing this task by 6:30. Then it was time to pick the counter-top and sink up from the base upon which it sat, and carry it through the house out into the backyard, and then replace it with the new.
My friends - do you know how much a ten foot counter-top with a cast iron sink in it weighs? Trust me. It's heavy.
Miraculously, we accomplished this task promptly by 7 a.m. - at which time the electricity was restored to our home.
If you note how pretty (admittedly, in its own way) the photo (above) is it is entirely a fluke. Like our kitchen sink and counter everything came out okay. It's just a matter of how you look at it.
A VERMILION LAGOON: A Vermilion Lagoon forty-six years ago were a pretty thing. This particular picture/scene may be rather unremarkable to folks who recall that time. But moving further into the scene ideas surface that may make it somewhat extraordinary.
The setting here is near the main river channel along side the Vermilion Yacht Club. One thing that immediately comes to mind is the odor of the river. It is not offensive, but is warm and friendly. The other thing is the river sound - the gentle splashing of the water against the dock as the boat moves past. This is a wooden craft. Most of the vessels like this are now gone from the lake.
The Moes Yard has a few oldies. But they're fast fading into time. I've heard Tom (Moes) reflect on the future for the craft he (and his father before him) practiced for so long. Most of their work is now restoration. It's not something that his children are likely to be doing for their entire lives - although the necessity for it may exist for a very long time to come.
The activity along the river banks constantly changes, but the river, itself, seems to remain the same.
A NOTE ASIDE: It is truly nice to see what former Vermilion residents are up to now and then. I never cease to be amazed at the many talents of the folks who grew-up in our little town. The Wakefield ladies, Mary and Alice, are no exception. Alice is a educator's educator of children at Old Dominion University in Virginia. During a time of extreme crisis between cultures on our planet she took the time to travel into the Muslim world to exchange ideas with the people of Qatar. And Mary is a newspaper columnist and writer of books. Her writing interests appear to be much like my own - only she's better at the writing part.
THE VERMILION: A few readers have already seen this photograph. Continuing with my everlasting interest in Vermilion's folk hero "Big Ed" Lampe allow me to introduce one of his greatest boat-building achievements; the sandsucker Vermilion.
She was over 100 feet in length and was capable of moving 100 tons of sand/gravel. This particular photo may have been taken at the Moes Boat Yard in Vermilion - although "Big Ed" also had docks in Lorain.
Captain Lampe is, historically, credited with the discovery of what is now known as the Lorain-Vermilion [a.k.a the Point Pelee-Lorain Ridge] dredging area - the largest source of commercial sand and gravel in Ohio's Lake Erie waters. Moreover, he was the first to produce sand and gravel from that area.
When "Big Ed" decided that he needed a larger boat to do this work he took his Vermilion into the Moes Yard, cut her in half, and increased the size of his craft. Some years later she would be destroyed by fire.
In 1941 Ed told my father, Bill Tarrant, that he could be taken out on Lake Erie blindfolded and given a sounding lead, could tell what part of the lake he was in.
Born at Catawba Island of Danish parents, his playground was the lake. He built his first sailboat when he was 9 years old, and continued building, buying, selling, and operating boats for the remainder of his life. He is undoubtedly one of THE most dynamic persons to ever grace the lake and shores of our beautiful Lake Erie.
IN KENYA: As I mention Vermilion expatriots who've gone out into the world and accomplished some very interesting things I need count among them a fellow by the name of Larry Hohler. I know Larry only via the net. I am better aquainted with his brother, Dale, who lives in Milan with whom I share various historic interests (including, but not only, the life and times of Captain Edw. Lampe). But through Dale I've come to know his brother, Larry.
Larry lives in New York State, and is a retired teacher. One of Larry's interest is that of helping build an orphanage in Kenya. That is the structure in the pic. I don't believe it is finished - but it's close. Larry furnished the pictures (I have more). I thought folks might be interested. I've got other communications re: the orphanage I should share with readers - but I've got to get those ideas sorted out (in my own mind) before I move further with them. I've given some of this information to the Mission Committe of our church for their consideration. It's the type of thing that deserves the attentions of all Vermilionites, current and former residents alike.
It's great to see what folks have accomplished, and it's wonderful to see what they are currently doing.
HERE'S YOUR SIGN: Here's a great example sent to me by a Vermilion expatriot, Steve Armstrong, in Texas:
Your stupid questions section reminds me of a David Brenner story. He said that he was sitting on a newspaper on the subway and a fellow came up to him and asked if he was reading it. He was surprised at the question and said no, and let the man have the newspaper. He said that when it happened again, he said yes, got up, turned the page, and sat back down.
HERE'S YOUR SIGN!
CLASS REUNION UPDATES:
Ray Beursken tells me that the VHS class of 1955 has scheduled their 50th class reunion on September 10, 2005 at the Boat Club. Class members of 1955 should put this date on their calendar. They're hoping for a good turnout.
A gal named Shelly from the Class of 1985 tells me that "the VHS class of 1985 will be having a 20 year reunion in the summer of 2005......no further details. The name of the organizer is Kim Schultz."
From Roger Boughton comes the following note. His class just celebrated their reunion earlier this month (October): Some classmates have inquired if there are pictures available from our reunion weekend. Yes, and if classmates would send copies to me either through the internet or mail I'll make sure they are placed on our web site for all to see. This would be helpful to those who were not present but would like to see pictures of classmates who were present. Jessie Spring (Sharon Stark) and Mary Lou send their regards and promise to be at our next reunion when ever that might be. There has also been some discussion as to when to hold our next reunion and if we should move it around the country. We'll have a questionnaire that will come out within the next 30-90 days providing you an opportunity to respond and provide your views on what should happen next. Remember our web site is located at: Class of '59 and I'll update it as soon as I receive enough new pictures and information from our classmates to make it worth reading. So send me any information that you would like to share with other classmates and we'll put it up for all to see and view.
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 31, October 23, 2004
© 2004 Rich Tarrant