75th Post - Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s.

75th Post

With the New Year fast approaching, it’s a good time to reflect on the past, which is really what this blog has been about for the last year and half. Although not an official count, this should be about my 75th weekly post. Fish Report has been really great as a forum to share my memories. Based on the feedback, there seem to be a few of you out there in cyberspace who enjoy them as well. For that I thank you, and am especially grateful for future blog topics that are sent in from friends, family and regular Fish Report readers I only know through this blog. Keep the cards and letters coming! Many of my blog ideas are also inspired by songs from that era like Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire that musically chronicles the historical events pictured above that happened during his lifetime, which mirrors mine since we are the same age.

 Ft. Loramie Historical Association’s Wilderness Trail Museum

Photos that accompany my blog seem to really catch peoples eye. Finding them can be a real challenge, digging through old photo albums or asking a friend or family member to do the same. Someday maybe I'll digitally scan all my old photos; likely a day that will never come. The internet is a great source for old photos as well. The various historical societies back home are especially helpful, like the Community Post archives accessible via the Minster Historical Society and the Ft. Loramie Historical Association with so many photos and articles of bygone generations that rekindle many memories.

Midwestern Ohio was and still is such a wonderful place to be from. The values instilled as a child and kid growing up in that area provide a rich foundation that stays with you for your entire life, where ever you may reside as an adult (yes, even here in Michigan!). Christian religious principles instilled from a young age provide the foundation for the family values, work ethic, solid education, competitive sports, wholesome communities and thriving businesses so prevalent in our area, which makes it truly God’s country.

Think about what’s happened in our world over the last 100 years and how these values have been sustained and nurtured. Yes, there are cracks that show up occasionally, but don’t for a minute think there weren’t even more serious issues facing past generations. Our parents and grandparents kept these values intact during WWI, the Roaring 20’s, the Great Depression, WWII, Korean War, Cold War, Kennedy assassination, Man on the moon, Viet Nam War, Watergate, Mideast oil crisis, Iran hostage affair, Fall of Communism, Desert Storm, White House sexual scandals, 9/11, Mideast Wars, Great Recession, Banking and auto bankruptcies, War on terror, Cubs win the World Series and most recently, the Presidential election. Now it’s the next generation's responsibility to sustain and nurture our midwest value system within their descendants, no matter what chaotic shockers come along to try to derail things. Am I confident about the future; in a word, Yes. The instilled value system of our children and children’s children will help overcome any obstacles.

Happy New Year, Fish Report readers. Look for more blog posts in 2017.

Dave

Hanging Lights at Christmas - Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s.

Hanging Lights at Christmas

My wife recently read in a magazine about an effective test for a young women to determine if her boyfriend is marrying material. The article said to observe how he reacts to stringing Christmas lights. If he’s easily frustrated by the task, the advice was to steer clear. Well good thing that test wasn’t in place back in the day, because I would have severely flunked. For example, this year, six light strands were out that had to be replaced. And as always happens, the lights were inter-tangled with other strands, bulbs, branches, etc. that made it extremely difficult to replace, frustrating me to no end.

My Dad, on the other hand, always loved the chore, going through the entire process of cutting down a fresh tree, diligently watering it daily to avoid needle loss, and making a family event out of the annual tree trimming and lighting. He had also hand-made a beautiful crib and traditionally, as shown in the video below, the youngest child places the baby Jesus in the crib on Christmas Eve after the family recites a prayer and sings Silent Night.

And beyond that, Dad would always lend a hand to hang the lighted rosary on St. Michael's Church for the Christmas season. Then after the twelve days of Christmas, he'd help remove the lights. This interesting Facebook post by the Ft. Loramie Historical Association highlights how the wonderful tradition began 70 years ago. The installation and removal process was always a tricky proposition because of the cold, wind, heights and finicky burnt out bulbs that could clang against the brick of the steeple. But the final outcome, as shown in the photo on the right, was and still is a sight to behold that could be seen and appreciated for miles around.

The installation process meant climbing up the inside of steeple in order to pull up the rosary to the proper height and location. The view from up there was amazing, as I discovered as an adventuresome mass server after church one Sunday in the early 60’s, and rediscovered years later when my son and I climbed to the top where we shared the view and the story about his grandfather’s exploits installing the lighted rosary. Jack Hoying has photographed the panorama from that high vantage point as shown in this link from his considerable on-line collection of amazing photos. Not only are the views stunning, but the climb up the interior of the steeple past the three different-sized bells and across the open roof is breathtaking. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

I always look forward to seeing the lighted rosary on St. Michael’s each Christmas. During our visit, my wife, son and I make a point to stop by my parent’s gravesite in the Church cemetery south of town after dark when the rosary on the steeple is in perfect view. We say a prayer on their behalf while my wife no doubt also prays that I gain some of Dad’s patience for stringing Christmas lights!

Merry Christmas, Fish Report readers,

Dave

Restored Christmas Gift - Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s.

Restored Christmas Gift

Back in 1976, my wife’s grandmother gave a box of parts to her son, my wife’s father. The parts were for an old Edison graphophone that was used by their family in the early 1900’s. Included was another box with about 100 wax cylinders with all the songs popular at that time like Old Susanna, Danny Boy, Swanee River, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, and Over There. The boxes of parts and cylinders were stashed away in my in-laws basement for a couple years until during one of our visits, I offered to restore the graphophone. The boxes went into our attic, and it wasn’t until I retired some 25 years later that I had time to do the restoration. It became a challenging project, especially after we decided the restored phonograph would be a great Christmas present for my father-in-law from his family. That meant I had a deadline; no more procrastination!

Fortunately, a friend nearby collected old phonographs so he showed me his collection while also taking a look at the parts from my wife’s family’s graphophone. He showed me a catalog from the era indicating the original price was $27 in 1906. He also provided the name of guy in Newaygo, MI nicknamed the Victrola Doctor, who could provide parts if needed.

So with that bit of encouragement, the restoration project was started. The following photographs offer some idea of the mess I had gotten myself into.

The graphophone was powered by a hand crank used to wind up a spring driven mechanism pictured above that was all gunked up with oily sludge, so cleaning that device became the first challenge. According to the Victrola Doctor, the best way to clean it was with a special penetrating fluid used in the airline industry called Aerokriol Penephite that he was more than happy to sell me an aerosol can of the WD40-like stuff for $8.50. It worked like a charm and so with the drive mechanism functioning, I moved on to restoring what was called the cylinder drive and reproducer assembly. It’s pictured below and is belt driven from the spring drive mechanism that rotates the wax cylinders as a small needle in the reproducer picks up the undulations in the wax creating sound that is amplified by a gigantic horn called a cygnet.

Finally, just before Christmas, the restoration was complete. My wife’s siblings had agreed to share in the cost of the restoration, so a couple days before Christmas I emailed them a facetious recap of the expenses that not only included the various parts & supplies totaling $120, but also a labor charge at some exorbitant hourly rate. When told the cost would be $1728 per family, my wife’s siblings politely told me shove it and paid me only $20 each to cover the parts and supplies. My in-laws enjoyed receiving the restored gramophone that Christmas as shown in the photo below. And here’s a video of the graphophone playing a Christmas song. Remember this is 1906 audio quality.