"Vermilion After Noon"
SHOPTALK: Atop the desk this week is the Vermilion Township Hall. You can find the history of this structure in a link you’ll find to the Vermilion Historic Pix in the links section of “VV” below.
This photograph is several years old. At the time it was taken the building was either in the process of being sold or had just been sold.
Currently the building is occupied by a flower shop and a photographer. I’ve also heard that someone is roasting coffee in some of the other rooms.
I am very opinionated about the ownership status of the hall. I believe it should have become the property of the community. It sold for a pittance, but should not have been sold at all. The people of Vermilion paid for the building – and the people of Vermilion should have retained ownership.
BIG TROUBLE: Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen…Boy-o-boy, did I step in it last Saturday a.m. I lost everything on my home computer and have had to rebuild from scratch.
This experience has been difficult – but not impossible. Like a forest fire it may have been time for me to clean the slate and build anew. But, man-o-man, I really thought I lost all my historical writings as well as my compendium of collected quotes of over 300 pages that I have been collecting and archiving for at least 10 years.
LATER: By Thursday evening I was able to acquire and download the proper software for my Epson wide format printer and my large format Epson Scanner. Friday morning I had to re-purchase Amadeus Pro sound-editing software (“The Swiss Army Knife of Sound Editing”), and now I’m almost back to where I was when I messed everything up last Saturday a.m.
It has been a very interesting week at my workshop (below).
XMAS GIFTIES: Very soon we’ll be offering souvenir gift coffee mugs (large ones) and Christmas cards (with local prints) soon at the museum. There will be a limited number of them available – so stay in touch if you’re interested.
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,
At South Street School
IN 1928 : I’ve seen copies of this photograph in the past and was only able to identify four or five of Vermilion’s 1928 Football squad. They’re posed in front of the entrance to, what was then, Vermilion’s new South Street School building. This pic was taken from page 41 of the ‘28 high school annual – “Hi-Times” printed by and at The Vermilion News print shop.
The team coaches back they were Cletus DeWitt and Willis Gebhardt. By the time I reached high school DeWitt was the Superintendent and “Gebby” was Principal.
The text in the annual reads (in part) that the “intrepid gridmen’s past season record of six victories, two ties, and no defeats is very impressive.”
That it was.
IN HONOR OF THE TALL SHIPS & MEN WHO SAILED THEM: In September of 1883 when he was in his 94th year of life he was interviewed by a reporter from the Cleveland Penny Press. At that time he was probably the oldest captain and fresh water sailor alive. He first saw Vermilion as captain of a 16-ton sailing vessel called Perseverance, transporting a load of beer for Vance and Meeker from Maumee to Mackinaw, in 1816. At that time it (Vermilion) appeared to consist of but one storehouse located at the mouth of the river where General Harrison's soldiers, garrisoned at Huron, came by boat for "victuals, tobacco, and whiskey - mostly whiskey."
Captain David Johnson was born at Sodom, New Haven, Connecticut on the 24th of June, in the yea: 1790. At age fourteen he was apprenticed as a cooper in Bridgeport. Five years later his older brother, Sheldon, convinced him that he should go west. So in 1809 he put a 32-pound bundle of his personal belongings, some food, and $3 on his back and went to meet his older brothers in Buffalo, New York.
In 1813 he was a member of a four-man crew aboard a sloop named Commencement, a 32-ton vessel, sailing from Buffalo to Port Erie (Erie PA.) with a cargo of whiskey. While "beating" along the shore the English frigate Charlotte overtook and captured them. Although taken prisoner the crew was "immediately paroled" and given a small boat with which to go ashore. And then the fun began.
Hesitant to completely leave their ship and cargo they asked the British captain, and were allowed, to stay in the vicinity of the English vessel. Upon receiving that permission they concocted a scheme to get the guard drunk and run the sloop ashore or out of the reach of the Charlotte's guns.
"Well it was mighty aggravating," said Johnson, "for no sooner would we get the guard nicely drunk than they were relieved by a fresh guard and we had to commence anew." This continued on for a few days until the British caught on to them, packed them up in a row-boat, and set them ashore with orders not to return. The shore being heavily forested, and the crew prefer ring to travel by water, they found a canoe buried in the sand and made their way to Port Erie.
Johnson saw Admiral Perry quite often at Erie. He had his ships fitted with guns and munitions at Pittsburgh, and used to laugh at their telling of their "whiskey experience" with the British guards.
In 1813 Johnson's mother came west and they lived in Cleveland, "then a poverty-stricken little huddle of not more than a dozen or fifteen houses," near the river. They lived in a log house on Main Street owned by Cleveland Justice, David Carter. A year before Carter had been the justice who convicted the Indian O'Mic (VPJ article 4-3-03) of murder. The Indian had been held prisoner in the house, and the ringbolt where he had been chained still remained in one of the logs.
In 1819 the 100-ton schooner, Fairplay, was built by Marien, Merwin & Giddings in Vermilion where shipbuilding had begun very early. The schooner was considered to be a large vessel at the time. Johnson sailed the lakes with her for the next six years.
The captain came to live in Vermilion in 1821, and was married in 1822. From that time until his death on February 5, 1890 he lived in and around Vermilion. At the time of his interview with the Penny Press he was living four miles west of town. I would surmise that he was living in the vicinity of that whichis now Volunteer Bay.
For reasons unknown his name is not among those listed as being lake captains in Vermilion historical archives. Neither is his Vermilion built schooner. But the good captain rests at the Cuddeback Cemetery on the corner of Risden and Lake roads near the lake he loved to sail.
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.25 – Nov 30, 1905.
John Harris of South Amherst was granted a divorce Saturday from his wife Fannie Harris on the grounds of cruelty. They were married at Lewis, Ia., in January 1893, and have two children. Mrs. Harris, it will be remembered is the woman who put a note in her husband’s pocket asking him to take care of their son William and see that he goes to Sunday school, and then eloped with a barber named Allen Sanders under the pretense of going to visit friends in Cleveland. Their son William was given to the father, and he is to have the custody of the other child, now with the mother, in case it is found. The whereabouts of Mrs. Harris and Sanders is unknown.
There is scheduled for the January term of the court of common pleas a case which, in the number of eminent attorneys involved, should be one of the greatest ever heard in the Erie county courthouse. It is a personal injury case in which Hida W. Smith has brought suit against the Nickel Plate railroad, for $50,000 damages for injuries received in the Chicago yards of that road. He was run down by a Nickel Plate engine and as a result of his injuries. Both of legs were amputated. He claims that he was flagging a Lake Shore freight train at the time of the accident, and alleges that the engine, which ran him down, had no headlight.
As the Nickel Plate is an Ohio corporation the suit must be brought in this state, and in a county through which the road passes. Erie county was selected merely as a matter of convenience.
Representing Smith locally, is Roy Williams, and the latter in this case is associated with Grand Whitlock, mayor-elect of Toledo and Clarence Darrow, of Chicago, the advisor of Mayor Dunne and noted as an attorney for the labor interest of Chicago. For the defendant company Geo. E. Rieter, the local representative of the Nickel Plate, will assist John H. Clarks, who in 1903 was the Democratic candidate for United States senator, opposing Senator Hanna.
A letter received this morning from Mrs. Anson Pease by a former neighbor brings the news that their home has been burned. No particulars given.
I will be remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Anson Pease left this fall for Monroe, Mich. where they had purchased a home. Their many friends here will be sorry to earn of their misfortune.
Clarence Atherton who is about twenty-three years of age and a resident of Brownhelm had both bones of one of his forearms broken and was severely bruised Friday by the falling of a gin pole while he was assisting in handling a derrick on the pier He was taken to Dr. Hill’s office where the bones were set and later sent to his home in Brownhelm.
The accident was caused by the breaking of a guy rope which let the pole fall on him.
Commissioner of Internal Revenue Yerkes announces that after Jan. 1 the manufacturers of the following remedies will be required to pay the wholesale liquor tax: Atwoood’s Lagrippe Specific, Cuban Gineric, DeWitte’s Stomach Bitters, Dr. Bonvier’s Buchu Gin, Dr. Fowler’s Meat and Malt, Duffy’s Malt Whisky, Gilbert’s rejuvenating Iron and Herb Juice, Hostetter’s Stomach Bitter’s Kudros Peruna, and Rock Candy Cough Cure.
Dealers must pay the retailers’ liquor license afte April 1, 1906. Other similar announcements are to follow.
[VV Ed. Note: If anyone ever wonders why Vermilion had so many drugstores a town of perhaps only 1200 people – wonder no more.]
E.A. Penny and Floyd Waldron went to Lorain Monday afternoon with potatoes.
H.E. Brundage has returned from Maine, where he has been on a hunting trip.
Conrad Nuhn has moved his family onto the Minkler place, which he purchased recently.
Miss Lucile Shoop has been absent from school on account of chicken pox.
Toledo parties were in town last week looking for allocation for a laundry.
Mrs. A Wunderly went to Pittsburg Thursday and will bring her son, who has been ill for a number of weeks, home with her.
Mrs. and Mrs. Wm. Cook are moving into Mrs. Wickham’s tenement house.
Mrs. B. Brooks attended the funeral of her brother-in-law David June at Fremont Friday.
Wm. Cook has bought two lots of A. Cole on which Mr. Cook expects to erect a residence.
Rev. and Mrs. L. Heckeleman formerly of Huron will leave shortly for Japan. They go as missionaries.
A. Wunderly returned Friday from Pittsburg accompanied by his son Luke, who is recovering from typhoid fever.
Indian summer and squaw winter have been playing tag during the last few days.
Lorain is talking of having a market house where the farmers can sell their produce without having to peddle it out. That’s right neighbor hope you will get it, you need one bad enough.
Rev. W.H. Painter is reported very ill with lung fever at hi home in Lorain.
The Englebry Bros. have the contract for plastering the new addition to the Huron school building. The work is being done this week.
Capt. I.D. Howard in command of the Sheldon Bros. & Wm. Pickett of the Ida left Tuesday for Conneaut to fish. The catches are reported 5 ton a day for that port.
The Duplex Stamping works seems to have struck a good thing in boring for gas on their premises. The flow of gas is very strong the best ever struck in this vicinity and the indications are that it will be permanent.
Report comes from Cleveland that the N.Y.C. & St. L. Ry. company contemplate a new bridge at Vermilion. The company expects to build several new bridges and otherwise strengthen the roadbed.
The gas engine at the Duplex Stamping Co.’s factory is now running with gas from their new gas well The connections were put in Monday. It is estimated that the pressure is about 60 lbs.
The Administrator Sale of the stock of the late Jacob Englebry begins today.
John Wagner, who has been very ill with pneumonia, has so far recovered as to be able to sit up a short time each day.
D.L. Nielsen and family who left here early this fall are located at Pasadena, Cal. We understand they are building a new home there.
Mr. Lapp who drilled the gas well for the Duplex Stamping co., has commenced drilling a well for L.U. Todd. Several others are talking gas wells also.
Ray Washburn, who was so severely injured in a fall from a tree about two weeks ago, was brought from the Lorain hospital Monday. He is getting along as well as can be expected.
Mrs. Edith Gordon who has been confined to the house for several weeks by sickness is again able to be out.
Born – Saturday, Nov. 25, 1905, to Mr. ad Mrs. Gilbert of Lorain, a daughter. Mrs. Gilbert was formerly Miss Blattner of Vermilion.
Capt. Hahn was home Friday night. He has been placed in command of the new Stmr. Geo. H. Russell in place of Capt. Ruunderson who is very ill with typhoid fever.
Mrs. Grieves is reported very low at the home of her sister in San Francisco, Da. She has undergone another operation from which it is feared she cannot recover.
In the report of the installation of officers of the Eastern Star in last week’s issue, one error and one omission was made. Miss Matilda Wagner was installed as Warder instead of Warden and Miss Maud Fischer, as Esther.
[VV Ed. Note: Very funny. A warden would have been a first in the organization.]
It is reported that several Vermilion men are interesting themselves in electric lighting and will ask for a franchise at the next council meeting. It will be some time before a municipal plant can be started on account of the watere works payments, but it is believed that a plant can be established and run on a money making basis by individuals or a company, for we surely need electric lights.
Mrs. Worlie Houseman and little daughter [Clara] Are guests of her parents Mr. and Mrs. E.T. Bottomley.
Lost strayed and missing, a large white rooster. This may not be singular to some people but is rather trying on those that raise them.
$1,5000,000 loss in the vessel property and millions in valuable cargoes lost but very few lives lost, if any is the record for the storm of the past two days.
Henry Knittle has sold his farm south of town and will move to the farm south of Berlin Hts., which he recently purchased.
H.S. Miller who was taken suddenly ill at Sandusky Monday is recovering and was able to come down town Wednesday, but not to attend to business affairs.
Rumors like will o’ the wisps are floating here and there but hard to run down, concerning several matters which may be if true, of much consequence to Vermilionites. One is to the effect that parties are tying to secure a river frontage for a boat building concern. Another is that the Logan Gas Co. is again contemplating Vermilion as a good point to pipe gas too [sic]. We might spoil several columns on these subjects but we aim to give the truth and rumor is often without foundations.
The NEWS will endeavor to keep its readers informed but we object to making statements, which have little or no foundation. Watch the NEWS.
Last Friday morning there was a small wreck on the Lake Shore R.R. at Huron. A cut of cars while being switched from the Lake Shore to the Wheeling & Lake Erie broke in two and when they crashed together again two cars were badly damaged. The wrecking train was on the grounds and had the tracks soon cleared and in running order again.
Koffers Koff Kure for Kaughers. – All Druggists
A. C. & S.W. car was derailed near Florence at an early hour Sunday morning by running into two horses. Several poles were knocked down and the high-tension wire was broken down delaying traffic for several hours.
One death from diphtheria occurred at Fremont this week.
The largest inaugural cost $145,591, a greater sum than has been spent on any previous inaugural.
Will Rogers at Oberlin had one of his eyes badly injured by being struck by a piece of steel Friday.
Capt. Frank Frantz who bested Pres. Roosevelt in a boxing bout last spring, has been appointed governor of Oklahoma.
About 2000 vessels of all kinds disappear in the sea every year carrying down 12,000 human beings and involving a loss of about £20,000,000 in property.
The Master Plumbers of Lorain declared open shops last Saturday owing to the Journeymen failing to return to work according to the ultimatum issued on the 23rd.
Ernest Lemmel of Wellington pleaded guilty to selling liquor in a dry town Monday and was fined $250 and costs.
The funeral of Mr. R.R. Russel of Wakeman was held here in the M.E. Church. Mr. Russel was well-known here having lived here the greater part of his life.
Mr. Darby of Florence is moving into his new home here having purchased the Wood homestead. We are glad to welcome Mr. Darby to our town.
Two horses were killed by the first car out Sunday morning near Florence. They belonged to Henry Boetz. The car was thrown from the track and traffic delayed for some time.
Mr. Atherton met with quite a painful accident while at work in Vermilion Friday, braking [sic] his arm in two places.
Dr. Van Nuys of Lorain was called to attend Carl Stich who at this writing lies in a critical condition.
Mr. Scheedrom finished drilling a gas well for J.H. Baumhardt last week and will drill a well for Miss Mina Baumhardt next.
Hmmmmmm....
CHRISTMAS IN JULY: I originally wanted to use this particular photograph during the Christmas season. But as fate would have it that is a busy time for the P.J. Every group and organization is usually having a party, a sale, or something and there is rarely a a: great deal of room for trivial matters of this nature. So! Merry Christmas in July to everyone.
So step back into time with me, friends. Vermilion about 1912. Grand Street between the railroad tracks and Ohio Street becomes a veritable pond of mud when it rains. In the summer the city oils the streets to keep the dust down. The sidewalks (where they exist) are made of wood. Electric lights are the coming thing in town. It began slowly with streetlights downtown and then crept forward into various shops on the bustling thoroughfares of Liberty, Division, and Main streets. Now private homes were getting wired for lights. Those with- these devices become used to the fact that every time the new electric streetcars climb the Liberty hill heading west from the depot on the corner of Exchange Street all the lights in town dim as the electric trains strain for more power.
Atop the offices of The Vermilion News on Grand Street the Roscoe girls, Ella and her little sister, Alice, along with their cousins gather around the tree in their apartment. The girl's father, Pearl, sets up his camera in the living room and, poof!, records this moment for the benefit of future generations.
My grandfather, Pearl Roscoe, took many photographs in and around Vermilion from about 1900 until his death in 1946. Most of those pictures became illustrations on penny postcards sold at The News Gift Shop run by my grandmother, Bessie, down on Liberty Street. Many of these photographs were doctored by professionals for various reasons. Some were transformed into nighttime pictures, and in others people, cars, horses, and sundry other items were added to gain the interest of prospective buyers. More than a few of them are currently being sold on the infamous internet site, eBay, for fees I view as being quite astounding. For if the truth be known, the cards are so common that their true value is not much more than their original price.
This Christmas photo is not, obviously, one that found its way to an eBay collection. Nor will it ever. I find this to be one of the most beautiful, and telling, photographs ever taken by Roscoe. While there is, of course, a great deal of personal value in this picture for both myself and my family, there is also much to be said for it without knowing any of the parties in the picture.
A candlelit Christmas Tree on the most magical day of a youngster's life. The baby doll and small presents on the long needled tree decked out with a single silver garland and a great big star at the top begs one for a further picture and to hear the happy voices of the children as they unwrapped their gifts minutes later.
Nearly a century has passed since that day. Everyone in the picture is gone now except Ella's little sister, Alice. She has seen nine decades pass by, and one can bet that few to none of the Christmases she has seen has been thus memorialized; frozen in time. [VV Ed. Note: Alice has since the writing of this article gone on to the next life.] This, in essence, is a belated Christmas gift to my family from our grandparents. To each of us even the pictures on the walls are familiar. They harken back to family and times of the 19th century; in Milan, Vermilion, Cleveland, and Minnesota.
Caught in the eye of Roscoe's camera lens is a past generation of people and children looking toward the future. It is a gift of sharing, faith, and optimism for that which is to come. I know it's only July, but from my family to all of you, Merry, Merry Christmas!
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.
…pointed class leader, which position he occupied until his death in 1848. The original members of this class were: Asa Gilson, Nabby Gilson, Naum Gilson, Sally Gilson, Elisha Ellis and wife, Jonas Gilson and wife, Benjamin Moore and wife, and Sarah Ormes, mother of Nabby and Sally Gilson. In the summer time, for several years, they held their meetings in the bark covered school house by the creek, and in the winter time they were held alternately at the houses of the settlers, until the school house was built in 1824, in which the meetings were afterwards held regularly until the erection of a meeting house; this was in the year 1837. The trustees at that time were: Samuel Parrish, Naum Gilson, Simeon Spalding, Pardon B. Worden, John S. Hester, Samuel Hester, George A. Fish and Thomas Reed. This class does not have an existence at present, and the abandoned church edifice is going to decay. An election of trustees is, however, kept up with commendable regularity. The present ones are: J. Mehrling, John S. Hester and N. Murray.
A second class of the Methodist Episcopal church was formed in the southeastern portion of the township, at an early date—1841. In the year 1842, they erected a fine brick church edifice, at a cost of three thousand dollars. This is located at the village of Centerton, on the Lake Erie Division of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The trustees at the building of the church were: W. H. Vogle, John Idler, Jacob Burdge, Benjamin Tanner and Pierce Bowen. The present ones are: George Niver, W. B. Keefer, Dr. E. V. B. Buckingham, Daniel Sweatland and Benjamin Tanner. The present membership is about fifty. Rev. H. B. Palmer is the present minister. Daniel Sweatland is the superintendent of the Sabbath school, the average attendance of which is fifty children. The writer made extra effort to obtain the data of this church, but met with indifferent success.
was organized on the sixteenth day of February, 1859, with the following members: Thomas Reed and wife, Mary E. Wheeler, Perry Pixley and wife, Burr Gorham and wife, John Bowen and wife, William Brown and wife, W. K. Bowen and wife, William Ford and wife, Elvira Taylor, Uriah Ford, Sanford Place and Adam Marsh. Thomas Reed was the first class leader. The present leader is Frank Ball. Following are the ministers, entire, who have presided over the destinies of this church: Samuel Jacoby, J. Seyler, F. S. Aultman, S. T. Lane, D. G. Ogden, G. Bender, A. L. Stemen, Gideon Hoover, William Nevil, William Mathers, 0. H. Ramsey, John Aumiller and the present pastor, A. J. Klingel. In the year 1861, a neat little meeting house was erected on lot twenty-one, third section; this cost six hundred dollars. Trustees: Burr Gorhanm, Thomas Reed and William Brown. The first and last are still occupying the position. James Dennison has succeeded Mr. Reed. Present membership, twenty-one. Superintendent of Sabbath school, N. Murray; average attendance thirty children.
The first school house was built in the spring of 1819. It was located on the east bank of Slate run, west of and near where stands the former residence of George H. Woodruff, on lot six. This cabin was of logs, rude and uncouth, and covered with elm bark, in size, some twelve by sixteen feet. It had neither floor, windows nor desks. A row of split oak benches constituted the furniture, and the unchinked spaces between the logs served for windows. Miss Aurilla Lindsey taught the first term of school. This was in the summer following the erection of the house. Her pupils were as follows: Phoebe Chapman, Mrs. Martha Cook, (the new bride), her two sisters, Eleanor and Betsey Fletcher, Sabin Kellogg, Louisa Ellis, Mansfield and Brazilda Cook, Hosea and Drazilla Harnden. The school was supported, as they all were at this early date, by subscription, and proved so expensive that no attempt was made for another until 1824. Another log school house had been constructed meanwhile, on the corners, a few rods south of the present meeting house. In this, Mrs. Patience Ellis taught a term in the summer, and Augustus Cook in the winter, of 1825.
In 1832 the temperance pledge was circulated and signed by a few persons. The Washingtonians next attempted their good work in the township. [VV Ed. Note: Although some texts say that The Washingtonian movement (Washingtonians, Washingtonian Temperance Society or Washingtonian Total Abstinence Society) was a 19th century fellowship founded on April 2, 1840 by six alcoholics (William Mitchell, David Hoss, Charles Anderson, George Steer, Bill M'Curdy, and Tom Campbell) at Chase's Tavern on Liberty Street in Baltimore, Maryland it certainly appears that the society existed some years earlier. The Washingtonian movement was a forerunner of Alcoholics Anonymous.] In 1848 a Division of the Sons of Temperance was organized. The charter members were: John H. Niles, Charles Spalding, A. B. Gilson, James Trimmer, James Morton, 0. H. Burlingham, Jackson Kelley, Edmond Burlingham, George W. Burdick, Travis Kelley, Amos 0. Gilson, John S. Hester, George H. Woodruff, Chauncey Woodruff and Abram De Groff. This society flourished finely for a time, at one period numbering fifty members. It was abandoned in 1850.
In 1855 a lodge of I.0.0.G. Templars was organized. This proved an effective aid in the temperance work. It disbanded in 1863.
Live Oak Grange, No. 747, P. of H., was organized March 23, 1874, by State Deputy J. W. Barrack, with the following charter members: N. Murray, William K. Bowen and wife, John M. Bowen and wife, George Bowen and wife, James W. Reed and wife, James Murray and wife, E. P. Snyder and wife, John Bowen and wife, Isaac Robinson and wife, William Brown and wife, Wesley Robinson and wife, and E. D. Pratt. The first officers were: Wesley Robinson, master; Nelson Murray, lecturer: J. W. Reed, steward; John M. Bowen, assistant steward; William Brown, chaplain; William K. Bowen, treasurer: James Murray, overseer; E. P. Snyder, secretary: George Bowen, G. K.; Mrs. Mary C. Murray, Ceres; Mrs. M. Bowen, Pomona; Mrs. Libbie Reed, Flora; Mrs. Alice Bowen lady assistant steward. Their hall, which is situated…
Excerpts from: The Fire Lands, Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio; W.W. Williams - 1879 - Press of Leader Printing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
THE ERIE COUNTY BANK: This little (3.5 x 5.25) calendar was apparently given away to customers of the Erie County Bank back in January of 1923 after the newly constructed bank building opened. I know it’s hard to see, but the pic is an architectural drawing signed by Cleveland architects Walker and Weeks. Walker and Weeks was an architecture firm based in Cleveland, Ohio founded by Frank Ray Walker (1877-1949) and Harry E. Weeks (1871-1935).
Both men studied at MIT, where they received training in the beaux-arts tradition of classical design. They moved to Cleveland to work for the prominent Cleveland architect J. Milton Dyer (1870-1957).
In 1911 Walker and Weeks opened their own practice; the office continued to produce work even after Weeks's death, until the early 1950s. As was often the case with architecture firms, Walker was the designer while Weeks was primarily the businessman.
The firm is most noted for its bank buildings several dozen were designed in the teens alone. Their best-known bank was the Federal Reserve Band of Cleveland, built in 1923. However, they also designed a wide variety of commercial, public, ecclesiastic and residential buildings, as well as a number of bridges, during the course of the firm's life.
This was a “luck find” on my part, and can be viewed at the VNPSM.
The following extracts from letter received at the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, Washington, D.C. may give faint idea of some of the propositions the clerks of this department have to meet. While a real tragedy to the writers they are rather amusing:
I ain’t got no book learning and I am writing for inflammations.
Just a line to let you know that I am a widow and four children.
Previous to his departure we were married to a Justice of the Peace.
I have a four months old baby and he is my only support.
I am a lone woman and parsly [sic] dependent.
I was discharged from the army for a goiter which I was sent home for.
I did not know my husband had a middle name and if he did I did not know it was “none.”
I need his assistance to keep me inclosed.
Owing to my condition which I haven’t walked in three months for a broken leg which is no. 75.
Kind sir, or she.
I am left with a child seven months old and she is a baby and can’t work.
Your relationship to him? Just a mere aunt and a few cousins.
In service with the U.S. armory.
I have received my insurance polish and have since moved my post office.
I am his wife and only air.
You ask for my allotment number; I have four boys and three girls.
Please correct my name; I would not go under a consumed name.
I am writing in the Y.M.C.A. with the piano playing in my uniform.
Both sides of our parents are old and poor.
Please send me a wife’s form.
I am a poor widow and all I have is at the front.
You have changed my girl to a boy. Will that make any difference?
I have not received my husband’s pay and will be forced to lead an immortal life.
Please let me know if John has put in an application for a wife and child.
My boy has been put in charge of a spittoon. Will he get more pay?
My boy is in the 158th infancy.
Please tell me if my son is alive or dead and what his address is.
I have learned that my husband is in a constipation camp in Germany.
You have taken my man away to fight and he was the best fighter I ever had.
I have been in bed with one doctor for thirteen years and I intend to try another.
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
or you can use PayPal: (NOTE: IT WORKS NOW)
Vol.11, Issue 34 Novermber 2, 2013
© 2013 Rich Tarrant