RUBBERNECK/EXCHANGE PARK CHANGES: Under gray November skies the renovations of Exchange Park have (essentially) been completed. Because it's so far past the growing season it's not very easy to imagine how it will look when it is really finished.
In these pix not everything is done. The face of the Veteran's Memorial Clock is missing (probably being repaired) - but one gets the general idea. The hope, however, is that some good soul doesn't get carried away with landscaping and begin placing bushes (flowering or not) all over the place. Many of the improvements are infrastructural in nature. In brief, the park is now designed to be user friendly as it pertains to conducting activities in it.
I can envision folks sitting in the park watching traffic (i.e. rubbernecking) during long summer days.
Note also that there is a sidewalk along the west side of the park and curbs have been installed for parking. The brick walks were replaced by concrete and some of those bricks were then used to border those walks to pave other walkways in the park. The cannon at the front/south of the park was moved some to the northeast and is now facing northwest to ward off attacks from Hotel Wagner.
BIRMINGHAM: I acquired numerous photographs of Birmingham from my friend Dale Hohler a week or so ago. While I've seen this one before I've never had much of an opportunity to really look it over. One of the things I'm not sure about is the precise location of the photo; looking northeast over the Vermilion River? I don't know. What confuses me is the fact that Birmingham has two bridges, and there are, therefore, various possibilities for the locale. I'm sure that someone will enlighten me and take the guessing out of this equation.
The photograph itself is, literally, a piece of historic landscape artwork. Those who don't have a scanner might be interested in knowing that when one scans an item the possibilites for improving photographs becomes enormous. One of the great assets involves the fact that (in my case) one can scan an item so that it is enlarged by 200%. Depending on the resolution this means that a person is able to see detail(s) in a picture that might be missed in smaller representations.
For instance, in this particular photo (as you can see it) you probably don't notice the bicycle leaning agains the hedge along the road just to the left of the house. Another very striking element in this pic is the lady leaning on the fence. In an enlarged photo (properly cropped) her portrait becomes a beautiful portrait by itself. The clarity is magnificent. So even if one knows absolutely nothing about this particular picture it is wonderful.
VERMILION'S STARS: This photograph appeared on the front page of The Compass, Vermilion High School's newpaper, on April 11, 1945. It is the cast of a play called Gangway For Ghosts that was presented by the VHS Junior Class on Friday, April 13 at 8:13 pm in the auditorium of South Street School. As one can readily see the pic was taken in front of the school.
Of the cast I believe I only know one person - Arlene Crosier (now Stockham). Inside the paper there is another pic of the stage crew. Among that group are Don Kudela (who would be fatally injured the next fall while practicing football for the school), Carl Blaser, Russ Eberle, and my big brother Bill. It's interesting to see and read about these people when their lives were so far ahead of them. What fates awaited?
MWB AND THE HEARTLAND: Over the course of a year or so I've been following the VHS Class of 1959 in the class reunion portion of "Views". For whatever reason I am somewhat familiar with many members of this particular VHS class. One of the members of that class is Mary Wakefield Buxton. She is, of course, an accomplished writer/author who now lives in Urbanna, Virginia. But she, like numerous other people who grew up in Vermilion and now make their homes in other places on our planet, maintains a place in her heart for our little town, our people, and, especially, her high school pals. Her writing has always touched me because it comes from the heart - it is honest and forthright. So - when she forwarded me her newspaper column about her reunion, this fall, with her ol' VHS classmates I could not help but ask her is she would allow me to use it here. She kindly gave me permission to do so so...here it is: The Heartland
LITTLE ROUND-TOP: Back to Birmingham, Ohio to look over the valley toward the thriving metropolis where it looked to be just colder than a witch's kiss.
This a view that I feel more comfortable at identifying (although I've never heard of "Little Round-top"). This pic seems to be taken from "Little Round-top" overlooking the Vermilion River Valley facing southwest.
Birmingham was, at one time, a thriving community, and it looks to have been doing just fine at the time this pic was taken. I don't know the year, but I do know that fire destroyed many of the buildings in what one might call the downtown section, west of the bridge, and there appear to be many buildings there when this scene was captured by someone's camera lens.But it's difficult to put an exact date on the pic.
NOTE AND A THOUGHT: This will be the last time I'll notify anyone by email when a new edition of "Views" appears on Saturday(s). Some folks (who don't know who I am) misinterprete those email notices as being infected with a virus and get a bit irate about getting them. In some instances - the way anti-virus systems are set-up - a person's computer sees that the emails (1) are being sent to more than 10 persons, and/or (2)folks note the link attachment and mistake them for infected email. So - unless someone really needs to be notified that a new "Views" is in the air - I won't send such notices out anymore. I have no intention of hassling anyone via email nor any other medium. The URL for this page is fairly easy to remember (http://www.vermilionohio.org). I would advise you to bookmark the page, and just turn to it on Saturday mornings before lunch. It'll be there.
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.
This is another link possiblity to MWB's recollections of Vermilion, her friends, and teachers (VHS 1959): The Heartland
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 folks.
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 check the new archives links below.
Links to other sites on the Web
Vol.2, Issue 33, November 6, 2004
© 2004 Rich Tarrant