GONE FISHIN': I hopes I'm correct with the names of the young men in the pic. They are Austin Jarosz (red hat) and Luke Robison. The digi-snap was captured by Westlake-Vermilion, Ohio resident Maura Robison last Saturday at the 5th Annual George Diener Memorial Fishing Tournament held at Vermilion's Olympic Outing Club. The photo, like the trout the boys are holding, is an honest-to-goodness "keeper".
Top AnglersL-R: Jim Farrell, Don Whitt,Brendan Gill, Lou Kuhnle, Tom Gill, and Jim Farrell with the 1st Place trout.
Westlake resident Jim Farrell took first place in the event by hooking an 8.5 pound , 30.25 inch steelhead. Vermilion residents Don Whitt, Brendon Gill, and Lou Kuhnle took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places respectively.
Note that tournament winner, Farrell, is so nimble that he managed to go home, change his hoodie, grab his fish, and return before the shutter of the camera closed to capture these shadows. A-mazing. Little wonder that he snagged the biggest fish.
One can also bet that George Diener - the man for whom the tournament is named - was, very literally, there in spirit.
E&R Folk C.1958: This great snap came to me quite unexpectedly from Buffalo Bill Hlavin a few days back. It was taken at the back of the Evangelical & Reformed United Church of Christ Church on Grand Street in Vermilion abt. 1958.
Whilst Bill tells me that he sees Loren Bachmanm Doris Feiszle, Pete Nieding, Norma Greenawalt, Eleanor Hlavin, and Linda Liedhieser in the photo - I am only able to pick out three of those persons for certain.
Pete's looking out the window at the top of the pic. Linda Liedhieser is standing just behind the woman with the shovel (whom I presume is Doris Feiszle). And Mrs. Hlavin (if I am correct) is standing just to the right of the big sign. It may be that some "Viewers" can recognize some of the others in the photo.
The building to the back left side of the church is the old church parsonage. But by the time of this photo it was probably being used as a rental. The parsonage was a house that sat not too far west of the spot where this pic was taken - and the new Religious Education Center was to be built.
A new addition to the original Education Center (the one these folks were breaking ground for) was added sometime later. And many other changes to the center have taken place since these shadows were captured.
The E&R Church opted out of the United Church of Christ organization sometime in the 80's or 90's - and joined (what I can only term to be) a less liberal denominational organization.
This is a local church with a rich history. And I'm happy to have the pic.
Pat Ballard - "Mr. Sandman" himself
Mister Sandman: In the habit of listening to a significant amount of Folk Music lately it's hard for me not to notice some trends.
One trend that seems to be gaining in popularity is the vocal group - notably female. The sound is reminiscent of the early days of radio and live performance. No small part of this has to do with the choice of music. But that's only part of the trend.
The bottom line is that these groups are actually quite good. The harmonies are intriguing. These are not, and likely will never be, top recording artists. They tend to back up those artists. But their abilities to perform as autonomous groups (i.e. trios and quartets) are without question. Their sound is, in a word, enjoyable.
In 1954 a fellow from Troy, Pennsylvania named Pat Ballard (d.10-26-58) wrote a song that was especially designed to showcase rich vocal harmonies, sans electrical instruments, called "Mr. Sandman". It reached the top of American Music Charts that same year after it was recorded by a group called "The Chordettes". Since then it has been recorded by nearly 50 different artists.
Oddly enough none of the girls whose recording accompanies this week's "Views" is an American. The group is called "The Puppini Sisters" a trio who specializes in 1940s-style close harmony vocal music. The members are Italian Marcella Puppini and English Stephanie O'Brien and Kate Mullins.
Whilst their sound is not (from my perspective) nearly as good as the original artists there is a twist in the piece that is especially enjoyable. That is that the piece is broken some by some nice instrument / string work.
Tis an interesting work.
Boarding and Unboarding @ Vermilion's LSE Station
DENNIS SAVES ME: Last week I mentioned that my constant experimentation with sundry software and hardware resulted in my having deleted a significant number of historic photographs that, at least to myself, are invaluable. The hole this left in my stomach after I discovered my error was Huge (with a capital "H").
Fortunately my friend, Dennis Lamont, of Birmingham who had originally scanned the photographs and then afforded me access to them had backed them up - was kind enough to supply me with another set.
I immediately made 2 hard copies (CD's) and placed them on a portable hard-drive for (hopefully) eternal storage and retrieval.
And so I dodged a digital bullet - albeit a very proverbial one.
But there was bonus to me blundering. When Dennis gave me new copies of those I had destroyed he also gave me a set of pix that I didn't have. One of those (seen above) is the pic of the LSE car on Liberty Avenue just outside Vermilion's LSE Station on the southeast corner of Liberty and Exchange Streets (across from the Maud-Elton Hotel.
Of interest here - aside from the obvious subject of the photo - is the restaurant in the background - next to the station. I knew there was diner in that location at one time, but this is the first time I've ever seen any physical evidence of it. I've no idea who owned the place, nor how long it was in operation - but this photo may help in the discovery such information.,P>
Thanks Dennis.
SEASONS END: They're not all out of the water yet - but the end of the season is very near. This 1954 Chris Craft caught me eye as I passed over the Vermilion River Bridge during the last few weeks - so I finally took the time, ran home, got me camera, and came back to take this pic.
The vessel is now in dry-dock at Parsons Marine is a beauty. Some folks mistook it to be made of fiberglass. But it's not. This baby's made of wood, polished brass - and it's in perfect condition. It's called the "Koury Joy".
The owner he told me that he's owned the boat for about 5 years. This year he didn't get out on it much. He also told me that there are probably 5 like it in Vermilion. When he purchased it there was another he also thought about buying. But he told a friend - and his friend now owns it. Vessels like this are rapidly becoming a thing of the past in Vermilion's harbor, and all harbors on the Great Lakes.
At least I got this pic.
After "Smitty's" Bait
SOME NEW BIOS: This week I've added 2 new (or relatively new) biographies to theVermilion Biographies section of "Views".
One is, perhaps not a real bio, but a story about Morris "Jib" Snider. And the other is a brief bio of the well known Vermilion entreprenuer Warren "Smitty" Smith.
"Smitty's" bio features more pix than I've ever used in any of the other biographies. But it makes for a pleasant read.
Thus far, I've done almost 25 of these vignettes. By next year at this time I'd like to have at least 25 more. And I'm working on it.
The newer pieces will feature more pix and, in some cases, utilize new software approaches to production - to hopefully make them more fun for digital readers.
But in the meantime I hope you enjoy those that have been writ.
PODCAST #49: This week the Vermilion Views Podcast #49Vermilion Views Podcast #49 continues with another reading from Betty Trinter's wonderful history of Vermilion - The Way It Was as well as some unpleasant observations made by myself re: not so much about the content of the podcasts but pertaining to the quality and number of recordings that have been made thus far.
For those who are not paying attention - kindly take note of the fact that I have produced an archive (that can be found in the "Links" section of the page) that will allow "Viewers" an easier way to access past podcasts.
Note: (1)that the podcasts are in the archives; (2)that one can easily listen to them on-line and / or copy them (for free) to their PC or Mac for later listening; and (3) that all have also been preserved, by myself, on a separate hard-drive and on CD's. Anyone unable to listen to, or acquire the audios on-line and wishes to acquire a copy of any of these audio casts and / or recordings of persons who have spoken at a Vermilion Area Archival Society meeting during the last 12 months can do so by contacting me, and paying a small cover fee for recording materials.
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 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
For Persons who would like to donate to the cause (to keep these "Views" on-line you can send whatever you would like to me at the following address. And THANKS to everybody who has already donated to the cause. I doth certainly appreciate it):
Rich Tarrant
1041 Oakwood Drive
Vermilion, Ohio
44089
Telephone: 440-967-0988 - Cell: 440-522-4459
"Kids, if he (Grandpa) starts acting weird, lead him down into the basement." -Homer Simpson
Vol.5, Issue 34, November 10, 2007
© 2007 Rich Tarrant