THE COLUMBUS WASHBOARD COMPANY--
Logan, Ohio

Nestled in the hills of Hocking County just a chip shot from Conkle's Hollow and Old Man's Cave this is the only remaining company in the Western Hemisphere making washboards--and they still are doing it the old fashioned way, one at a time.

The largest washboard in the world (left) is located on the side of their factory and serves as an advertising beacon to the local, year-round tourist trade.  As you can see from the photo the board is two stories tall.

The company's history began in Columbus in 1895 when Frederick Martin Sr., started making washboards in his backyard shop and continued until he retired and sold the company to his son Frederick Jr., in 1925.

While no records exist it is thought fewer than 1,000 washboards were made during that first 30 years.  Son Frederick Jr., and his wife were active in the company until their deaths in the late 1980s.

During their first five years sales grew to over 20,000 boards per year.  By 1941 sales volume had grown to over 1,000,000 washboards per year.  From their start, the Frederick Martins produced and sold over 23,000,000 of these cordless "washing machines".

The company has been the only washboard manufacturer in the country since the late 1960s.

Diane, one of two remaining employees on the factory floor (left) continues to produce between 18 and 22 thousand boards per year at the rate of about 40 seconds each.

Forty percent of those are used for washing clothes and between 20 and 40 percent are used as musical instruments.  The rest find their way into country-style decorating and crafts.

The board's capability of making pleasing musical tones began to be noticed when glass was used in place of hard-to-acquire metal during the Second World War.

The board I purchased has its own version of two wash cycles; one for more heavy duty tasks than the other.  This is achieved by having a more robust rubbing surface on the heavy duty side.  Ingenious. 

The jig Diane is demonstrating is one of several different sizes that were designed in 1895.  Diane's machine and its siblings have been in continuous use in the factory since the early 1900s.

Mark and Nancy Meinzer and my lady Sue Brooks (center) listen as Diane describes the company's practice of supporting US troops with a care package of a board, wash tub, soap, clothesline and pins which provide a marvelous service for troops who find themselves with prolonged service under primitive conditions.

This tiny firm also was recognized by the Rand McNally folks in 2006 when it was included in a story on short vacation trips that have places like the washboard factory that boost the quality of a vacation from memorable to unforgettable.
____________________________
Columbus Washboard Co.

WHAT A WEEKEND!

We left one recent Friday afternoon and headed to Jackson, OH for our annual weekend square dancing romp with the Wagon-Wheelers and their Southern Ohio Round-up.  We enjoyed dinner at the local steak house down there then danced two and a half hours to the warp-speed calling of Homer Magnet and Jack Pladdys in the Western Square Dance style.

Saturday morning we were off to Logan, OH for a visit to their glassware outlet store where I continued to bolster my Fiestaware collection then headed to the Columbus Washboard Company which manufactures their product from a by-gone era in a factory with tools of similar antiquity.

From there it was on to Nelsonville for a peek through the Rocky's boot outlet where we also pondered an excursion train ride but decided to take a leisurely ride back to Jackson for another night of high-energy dancing with a stop along the way deep in the wooded hills of Vinton County for Sue and my first-ever experience with Geo-caching led by our experienced traveling companions Mark and Nancy Meinzer.

Nancy used an application on her smartphone to lead us up an ascending, curvy, gravel road where we ultimately wound up in a ridge-top cemetery at the very dead end of the road where we found the cache via the miracle of GPS satellites and their precision in spotting very specific latitude and longitude coordinates.

The washboard and Geo-cache stories will appear here on back to back Saturdays in the following two weeks..

After yet another nice dinner and two and a half more hours of heart-pulsating dance we wrapped up the night with an ice cream treat and collapsed into an alarm clock-free night's slumber.

Sunday morning we took the back roads home using state routes 93, 664 and 13 to meander our way to Newark, OH and a visit to the Hopewell Indian Mounds where we discovered a huge area of destroyed trees from a recent storm that had left me without power for five days back home.

That's Sue, Mark and Nancy in the top photo framed by the splintered remnants of a huge, hollowed out tree trunk which had fought it's last battle with hurricane-force winds.

As we examined its remnants we discovered it had retained its relatively healthy looking canopy solely by virtue of the small, rooted "artery" of essential nutrients that had snaked up the rotted inside of the now toppled tree (left).

 From there it was on to Utica, OH and the home of the Velvet Ice Cream Company for another treat of that tasty dessert--and two more Geo-cache experiences right there on that company's park-like grounds.

The first cache was along a nature trail and contained in a camouflaged, bulk food container.  The second was in a hollowed out duck decoy which was perched atop one of the antique machines in Velvet's outdoor museum.

Please stay tuned.  Meanwhile, I need another nap as my recovery continues.

 

 

  

MY NEWEST CRITTER FRIEND--
and a little technical chat about photography

This little lady (or fellow, your choice?) landed on the windshield of my car as I was preparing to leave home one recent morning and presented me with a view of a grasshopper seldom seen.  After pondering its presence for a moment I decided to go back in the house and retrieve a camera.

It did not move as I slid gently back behind the wheel and examined it through the 100 mm, f/2.8 Canon micro lens on my old Canon XTi Rebel body.

As I have mentioned in previous macro photos an inherent challenge in this type of photography is the very shallow depth of field (aka depth of focus).  Note the one antenna, the head, body and parts of some walking legs are in very sharp focus.

That's because they are in the same plane or same distance from the camera.  Any part of the critter closer to the camera from that plane or farther from the camera are out of focus in proportion to their distance from that plane.

Note the diagonal jumping leg on its abdomen.  While it is barely 1/8 of an inch from the plane of its body it is becoming fuzzy.  This is even more noticable with the second antenna.  Same with the walking legs.  Those under the critter to the rear are sharply focused enough to see the hair on the legs.  The three forward of that are not.

The photo was done at 1/160th of a second and f/2.8.  I was sitting in an awkward position and had to use a fairly fast shutter speed to keep the image from being blurred by camera movement.  That forced me to use the lens' minimum aperture to be correctly exposed.

The dark green background is nothing more than the woods surrounding my home thrown completely out of focus because the trees are relatively far from the zone of sharp focus, and they are mostly under exposed because they are much darker than the critter which had the advantage of indirect skylight for its illumination.

If this critter were a biological specimen (not alive) the photo could have been done on a piece of glass in a studio with the camera supported on a tripod.  With supplemental lighting a much smaller aperture, say f/22 or so, could have been used with a much longer shutter speed to increase the depth of field and achieve overall sharpness..

A higher ISO (sensitivity setting) could have been selected which can help with the shutter speed/aperture equation but that sometimes increases electronic noise in the image.  That's akin to pushing film to higher sensitivity which creates graininess.

It occurs to me, somehow, taking a picture of a mere grasshopper shouldn't be quite this technical.

But, I am pleased to report it went merrily on its way as I began to move the car--with my gratitude, of course.  



    

CLIP CLOPPING INTO THE 21st CENTURY--
at Keim Lumber Company, Charm, OH

Semi trucks, buggies and child-sized horse-drawn carts mingle peacefully along SR 557 as "English" folks transition  from our culture to that of the Amish from centuries gone by.  Yet, right smack in the middle of this pastoral scene in Charm, OH sits a world class lumber yard that can make contractors and craftsmen drool.

Imagine an acre or so of floor-model, high quality power tools sitting on a parquet floor with a flowing staircase which ascends to the Carpenter's Cafe where customers can enjoy sustenance and a nod to Christ's temporal occupation at the same time--if they are paying attention to such nuances.

Imagine a clock tower of polished hardwood (above) soaring as if to penetrate a three story roof highlight with inlaid and carved company logos appearing to roll around its lofty perimeter.

Imagine an entire showroom of the world's exotic woods.  Imagine a 2" thick cross-section of four foot diameter tree trunk that could be hand crafted into a table of castle quality--with an eye popping price of $4,000.

You could roll into their yard with your semi-truck and roll out with all the tools, material and equipment to build the castle of your dreams; and much of its furniture too.

It all started in the first part of the 20th Century right there in Charm when Moses J. Keim, son of Joseph, grew up learning the carpentry and woodworking trade at his home's water-powered saw mill.  In 1912, Moses and brother Abe went by train to Massillon and purchased a 25 horsepower steam engine to be the power unit in their growing mill on the very site we know today.

Much later Moses remembered getting rid of their huge sawdust piles by loading the material on wagons and spreading a 4 inch layer of it on Charm's dirt and often muddy roads.

Expansion with construction of new buildings has been continuous and today there are over 700,000 square feet under roof.  They have nearly 400 employees and some 26 trucks which offer free delivery within a 150 mile radius.

As we concluded our visit by loading Mark's lumber it was amusing to watch both Amish and English young men whiz around the yard with productive yet child-like enthusiasm in their motor powered carts.  As their work day concluded these co-workers would go home to vastly different cultures.

We know what ours is like.

Their's remains one of mostly peaceful, rural solitude with horse-drawn buggies instead of motor vehicles, with oil-powered lamps and, just maybe, a neighborhood telephone "hidden" from the bishop in a convenient tree lot.

We rolled out of Charm and watched a white-bearded member of their clan tending his pasture by dutifully clipping tall weeds the farm's livestock chose to ignore.

While we accelerated to highway speed we left behind a life that moves to a decidedly gentler melody.

  
Like four spokes in a giant wheel, customer service stations festooned with computers surround the base of the clock tower in the center of Kime's multi-acre, retail floor space seen in this view from the Carpenter's Cafe.
__________________________
http://www.keimlumber.com/

Smack in the middle of the world's largest Amish settlement, Charm, Ohio is home to the KEIM LUMBER Co., itself an incredible juxtaposition of a world-class hardware store/lumber yard surrounded for miles of bucolic farm land where shocked wheat bundles sparkle in sun drenched fields.  A young Amish adult (above), who may have ridden to work in his 19th Century buggy, tends to business at his 21st Century computer terminal assisting friend Mark Meinzer with his custom lumber order.

Please stop by Saturday and Fogeyisms will tell you more of this friendly collision of vastly different cultures.

THE OHIO STATE FAIR--

A young boy appears to be signalling a left turn while riding the Sky Ride toward the south on the fair's midway Sunday.  Some taller buildings in downtown Columbus are visible in the right center of the photo. 

Ohio's first state fair was a three day event held in Cincinnati in 1850.  The first fair had been planned for 1849 but was cancelled due to a cholera outbreak.  That first event was held on an 8 to 10 acre plot and cattle were tethered to a fence along a nearby carriage road.  Admission was 20 cents although a "gentleman" could purchase a badge for a buck which would admit he and two ladies. 

I am not too sure why three 20 cent tickets wouldn't be the wiser choice.

Remember, that 1850 date was just before the nation's Civil War.

The fair was moved to its current home in 1886 and has been there ever since.

A must-see at every modern fair is a cow sculpted from a solid chunk of butter.  This year that cow, (below left) being enjoyed by significant-other Sue and her sister Patsy, weights 1,900 pounds.  This display honors the fact Ohio has about 268,000 dairy cows.

My favorite component of the fair is the Ohio Department of Natural Resources area whose eight tranquil acres nearly equals the size of the entire 1850 fair.  It is an oasis in the noisy bustle of events that surrounds it.  Imagine bumping your way through a crowded midway and finding yourself in a quietly secluded butterfly garden.

Ahhhhh.

This year's event runs through August 5th.

HOW HOT IS IT?
"I'll tell you how hot it is," Mr. Heron seemed to be thinking

It was in the low 90s that day when I noticed this oddly postured blue heron perched on a stump in the pond. 

I could only imagine it had splayed its wings in an effort to catch the gentle breeze and enjoy some relief from the day's blast furnace-like temperatures.

I often see turkey vultures early some days spreading their wings to dry the morning's dew but this is the first time I've ever seen a heron being as ingenious in escaping the discomfort of the day's heat.

I chuckled to myself as I envisioned his taking the next cooling step--and going for a swim.

And so it goes.