A rural Hayesville, OH resident chuckles at the kneeling photographer as the resident leaves the village post office and the photographer (me) adds him to the composition of the Lincoln Highway monument at the intersection of that highway and SR 60.

Lady friend Sue Brooks and I were launching our tour of the Lincoln Highway in eastern Ohio that rainy morning and had stopped for lunch at the Olde Inn in that rural, Ashland County town.  A series of stories from our tour will begin Saturday with a piece on the Steel Trolley Diner in Lisbon, OH.

BOOK REPORTS--


Then and Now: Mansfield by Jeff Sprang and Tim McKee

This book takes a look at old photos from Mansfield's beginning in 1808 and features current photos done by Jeff from the same vantage point.  The comparisons are remarkable--a sometimes jolting peek as history marches along.  It was a nice dose of nostalgia for me as my memory easily spans the last 60 years or so of that history and I have fond memories of working with Jeff at the Mansfield newspaper back in the 1960s and early 70s.  Thanks for both Jeff.  This nice addition for your library is available at Main St. Books in Mansfield.


Ford Country (short stories) by John Grisham

All stories set in a rural Mississippi town:  A mother and two sons take a road trip to visit a third son who is on death row.  A low-life divorce lawyer makes drastic plans to escape his life-style.  A life-long dull, data collector hones newly discovered blackjack skills and adds substantial ambition to his sedentary life.  ...and four more dandies just like these.  Perfect bedtime stories from a favorite author.   


The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

I was amazed recently when I picked up a paperback copy of Anson's book at the local library and discovered it was non-fiction.  It is about a house on Long Island, NY where a family was murdered in 1973 and 13 months later it was bought by at a bargain price by the Lutzs' with full knowledge of the house's history.  They moved in and were driven out within 28 days by a series of haunting experiences.  Or were they.  Many critics dispute the legitimacy of the facts upon which the book is based.  I believe them and am compelled to wonder why this book continues to pose as non-fiction.


The Mansfield Riots of 1900 by Robert Carter

This 90 plus page 8 1/2 x 11 published, paperback by my friend and local historian Carter reveals a shocking chunk of Mansfield history rarely told.  The riots surround a Chicago church described as being in the "faith cure racket".  Traveling apostles of that church were becoming established in Mansfield and interfered with the medical treatment of a deathly-sick 2 year old local boy, a child of their parishioners.  The riots that followed made national and international news.

The book is lavishly illustrated with photos and illustrations of the time.  Much authenticity for the story also came from a scrapbook-heirloom of Carter's family whose mother was the oldest daughter of the sheriff involved.  This is another nice addition for your library of local history, also available at Main St. Books in Mansfield.  My copy is autographed.  < Smile >

THE WORLD'S FAIR

Bellville style...

In a Facebook post Saturday I described the top photo thusly:

"An amusement ride spins a neon glow against the night sky at the "World's Fair" Friday night in Bellville.  For my photography friends, this exposure was 2 seconds long at f/22 and ISO 400 with my digital single lens reflex camera mashed solidly against a steel utility pole at the north end of Main St."

As darkness asserted itself the village green was packed with an enthusiastic crowd enjoying the ageless and highly popular music group Phil Dirt and the Dozers (lower photo).

The midway was jammed with a boisterous, serpentine crowd doing the Bellville slither up and down and up again along Main Street munching on those annual "fair food" delights and frequently colliding with old friends in this annual homecoming celebration.

For those magic moments in this four-day extravaganza, all is right with the world.

THE GREENVILLE TREATY LINE--

If you take a peek at the border line of Richland County down in the southeast corner below Butler, you will see a chunk of the county was sliced off by a gentle bevel.

If you explore a little further on an Ohio map you will see the same bevel across southern Ashland County and along part of the border between Stark and Tuscarawas counties.

Here's what that is all about:

The Battle of Fallen Timbers took place in August 1794 just south of present day Toledo and was a decisive battle between US forces and Indians for control of the Northwest Territory.

Shawnee war chief Blue Jacket with 3,000 braves had chosen the defensive position along the Maumee River because a large stand of trees had been blown down by a heavy storm (Fallen Timbers) and were believed they would help hinder the advance of the army.

Peace negotiations had been going on with Indian tribes as US authorities sought to confirm possession of the lands north of the Ohio River they had claimed from Great Britian after victory in the American Revolutionary War.

The Indians wanted to maintain control of those lands as established by a previous treaty with the British, and, in fact, which had been the birthright of their people--forever.

The negotiations gave General "Mad" Anthony Wayne time to train his 4,600 plus troops during 1794 and the August battle did not last long.  The defeat of the Indians led to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 which led to the ever-increasing settlement of Ohio and finally statehood in 1803.

The Greenville Treaty Line began at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in present-day Cleveland and ran south between Akron and Canton and on down the Tuscarawas River to near present day Bolivar.  From there the line stretched straight across present day Ohio in a west, southwest direction to a branch of the Great Miami River near present-day Fort Loramie, Ohio as shown in the large map above.  Richland County is shown in blue.

From there the treaty line zig-zaged west-northwest to the Wabash River near the present Ohio-Indiana border then south-southwest to the Ohio River and a point opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River.

The portion of that line shown in red on the map to the right is along the southeast border of Richland County to this day.  That is the result of the 1795 treaty.

Another nearby reminder of this historic period is a marker on Yankee Rd. (Co Rd 55) in Knox County which runs west from Ankenytown and crosses State Route 13 just south of Palmyra.  The marker is located just east of SR 13.

So, everytime we pass north and south across the Richland-Knox County line in that general area we are also crossing the historic border between US territory and Indian territory as it was established more than 216 years ago.

Knox County was in the growing US territory.

Richland County was in Indian territory.

This treaty, like most with the Indians, was largely ignored. however.

Just 47 years later the Wyandots gave up their claim to their reservation at Upper Sandusky and in 1843 the United States government sent the Indians off to another reservation in Kansas.

They were the last Indian tribe to leave Ohio.

OHIO BECOMES A STATE--
More or less...

The outline of Ohio in this 1803 map is recognizable.  That is the year it became a state.  The grid lines in the east, southeast and southwest are the results of early survey work to establish base and range lines from which townships, villages and ultimately cities would be formed.

The white area--not surveyed--in the southwest part of the new state was known as the "Virginia Reservation".  That area was then set aside for Virginia veterans of the Revolutionary War as homestead land in payment for their service.

The white area--also not then surveyed--in the northwest part of the new state was simply called "Indian Lands".  It was the area carved out of the new state by the Greenville Treaty of 1795; a line that forms part of the southeast border of Richland County to this day. 

That is the topic of Saturday's blog story.
___________________________________________
We tip our hat to Mike Cecil, a project manager with the Richland County Engineer's office, for providing the copy of this map by Rufus Putnam, first Surveyor General of the US.  Mike made his debut on Fogeyisms with his friendly and professional help on the blog story we did August 28, 2010 on Richland County's highest elevation.  Thanks again Mike!

My adopted grand daughter Mackenna Curtis-Collins, 12, coolly confronts overwhelming force on a Lexington soccer field last night. 

A NEW CAMERA AND A JOCK! 

My new camera, a digital, single lens reflex, Canon Rebel T3i arrived just a day before my adopted grand daughter's next soccer game so I had a few hours to immerse myself in its 300+ page manual.  Since I was transitioning from an earlier model in the Rebel line, an XTi, I went to her match with some confidence I wouldn't embarrass myself.

Here' s how I described the shoot to my friend and fellow photographer, Dave Richardson:

"Attached is a shot from last evening's soccer game with my adopted grand daughter participating.  I loitered around the goal with the T3i wearing my Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8 L lens--which is 2.8 across the full range of focal lengths BTW.  Awesome.  This shot also appears on my Facebook page today.

 

I always worked sporting events in Nikon's only mode--manual--so that carried over into my first Rebel and my very few sport shoots.  Last night I did the "sports" mode thingy and it was amazing.  It selects the ISO and a fast shutter speed with the appropriate aperture setting then adjusts that stuff automatically as the light changes.  It went from ISO 100 to 400 and changed the aperture down to 2.8 as the light dropped; keeping the shutter speed as high as possible.

 

It also shoots short bursts with a slight delay of shutter release, so you can capture images all around your intended shot at something like 3+ frames per second.  How's that for a motor drive!  ...which I never owned during my working/shooting career.

 

I simply had to fiddle with the focal length and keep the shutter button half plunged to keep the auto focus engaged while Mackenna ran this way and that.  The camera did an outstanding job even when she was headed toward me.  I read about all that stuff yesterday afternoon.  And, it worked.  Can you see me scratching my head--in amazement!

 

Another thing I like about this new camera is the articulated and huge LCD screen--and it shows a live view.  Handy feature when holding the camera high above the crowd or at ground level on a rainy day.  And, with an 18 megapixel sensor you can crop a shot fairly sharply and still be left with ample resolution for good quality. 

 

The 300+ page manual will be a constant companion--perhaps forever!"

 

Congrats, Dave, on your recent success in your local photo competition, and...

Go Mackenna!!

Malabar Farm; 7th in series

OHIO'S HISTORICAL MARKERS
Richland County

When acclaimed author Louis Bromfield returned to Ohio from Europe in 1938 the average annual salary was $1,368 and the US population was just over 123 million.  All of his 30 books were best sellers which made his dream of creating Malabar possible.

He had developed a vision of farming in harmony with the environment; of soil restoration and new types of tillage.  Inspired by his love of the land he created Malabar Farm with a 32-room home where his family, friends and neighbors could share the pleasure of life on the farm. (1)

The farm often hosted celebrities back then and is well known as the location of the wedding of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall of Hollywood fame in 1945.  Bromfield died in 1956.

From 1958 to 1972 the farm was operated by a foundation and was nearing foreclosure.  The state accepted the deed in August of that year and pledged to preserve the beauty and ecological value of the farm.  In 1976 Malabar became one of Ohio's state parks.

Today the farm includes 875 acres of land and 3 acres of water.

This historical marker is located on a walkway between the modern visitor center and the Bromfield home and barn complex. (2)

(1) Malabar Foundation
(2) Malabar Farm ODNR homepage