Art I'm Making: "Curious Boy" (c. 1975)

Over the last two days, I finally got around to cleaning up my photographic darkroom (which has morphed into a wine cellar) and I think I've now got it to a state that will allow the wine and the photo equipment to co-exist. I'm looking forward to putting the equipment to use again.

While cleaning and straightening, I found the negative for this photo, which I remember having titled "Curious Boy." I made this photograph when I was 15. I vaguely recall winning an honorable mention for it in a contest. The image was made on a bus in Dayton, Ohio, c. 1975. It's on Kodak Plus-X film. At the time, I would have been using a Yashica TL-Electro. Two years later, I had graduated to an Olympus OM-2, a camera that I still have and use occasionally. 

Seeing the image now, I'm a little disappointed that the boy's face isn't more crisply focused, but this was done before auto-focus was a thing. It was a fleeting moment. The boy turned around. I lifted my camera and pushed the shutter button. I probably had only a second to adjust the focus if I had any time at all. 

On the road: Lebanon, Ohio to St. Louis

I made the drive today from just north of Cincinnati to an area a little west of St. Louis, on my way back west. I mostly took the backroads--Highway 50 across Indiana, through Seymour and Bedford, and then diverting at Oolitic, to State Route 58, through Doans and Scotland to Newbury, then southwest on 57 and 67, ending up in Vincennes. I traveled across Illinois mostly on Highway 50 again. I got into St. Louis quite late, but I already had a hotel picked out and I had my dinner in a bag beside me, so I didn't mind.

Near Seymour, Indiana, I stopped at the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge and took a short hike through the woods, but didn't see any birds of special interest. Most of the drive was flat and only mildly interesting. One section in Indiana was along railroad tracks and transmission lines of some sort on old wooden poles with multiple cross pieces and strung on old-fashioned insulators. I got to thinking how much work it was to construct lines like that. The poles couldn't have been more than about 120 feet apart. That's 44 poles a mile. I figured 24 insulators a pole, so 1,056 of those each mile. The poles stretched for many miles. It's a testament to the strength of the human craving for communication.

I detoured at Oolitic because the name on the map intrigued me. I knew it had to have something to do with rocks. It turns out to be an area where they quarry limestone--one of the biggest limestone quarries in the world, apparently. Although I couldn't find any actual rock-cutting to look at, the stone was apparent all along the roadsides.

Vincennes was rather interesting. There were a lot of older buildings to look at and there is a huge monument to General George Rogers Clark (the older brother of Clark of Lewis and Clark fame) on the site of Fort Sackville, a Revolutionary War fort. The monument commemorates the taking of the fort from the British, in 1779. I'm sure that was important, but the monument seems a bit out of proportion. The best view was looking back, from the bridge that crosses the Wabash River taking you into Illinois. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop to photograph from that vantage point.

On the road: Millersburg and Winesburg, Ohio

Worked in the morning, but spent most of the day with Scott driving around Millersburg and Winesburg, Ohio. I went to the library in Millersburg and looked through the genealogy library, mostly marriage, probate, obituary, and cemetery records. I found records for all the people we already know about and some others, which may or may not be relatives. I went to the Millersburg Oak Hill Cemetery. I found the graves of Godfrey Heinig, Ernestine Heinig (as the stone reads), and right beside them a Julia A. Heinig, which must be a relative, but that’s a name I’ve never seen before. According to the stone, she died on Dec. 19, 1903 at 50 years, 5 months, and 24 days, which would mean she was born around 1853. There are two other Heinigs in the cemetery, in different plots, that probably are not connected with us—oddly, both Julius Heinig.

The records showed that Abraham Kratsch and his wife Caroline are buried in Winesburg, in the old cemetery behind what is now Zion Reformed Church. Sadly, about 70% of the monuments were made of a very soft stone and they are entirely unreadable. I DID, however, find Abraham’s stone—barely legible—but, it definitely says “A. Kratsch.” There is a nearly identical one next to it that I have to assume is Caroline, but I couldn’t really read it. Both stones are at the back of the cemetery (furthest from the church, on the left with the church behind you). I asked around town, and I was told that records from the church have all been lost, so there’s nothing to be found there. Two Amish women in a store suggested I talk to the local historian, one Glen Wengerd. I found him and he took down the information and offered to see what he could find. Maybe that will turn up something.

I talked to a librarian at Oberlin today, too. I plan to go there tomorrow. She said they have a student file on my grandfather, Warren R. Laity (and Harold, his brother) that I can see, but they don’t have a copy of the Oberlin Campus Views book I was hoping to find. There appears to be a copy at the Ohio Historical Society Library in Columbus. I may swing back there on my way home. I plan to start back tomorrow.

On the Road: Dayton and Columbus, Ohio

In Dayton, spent the evening last night with friends from high school and college. It was a lot of fun to see them again after about 12 years, and nice to be among friends for the first time in many days.

This morning I ran over to Woodland Cemetery to see the family plot. I cleaned off the stones a bit, but everything was in order. Now that some time has passed, the broken stone cross doesn't look that bad. I left a few flowers at my Grandma's grave and sent her greetings.

I drove around a bit, but really didn't look at much. It was rather sad. So much of the area I knew is run down and overgrown. I did go to the old house. It's for sale. It looked empty, or as if someone was camping out on a mattress in the living room. The redbud tree I planted all those years ago is giant. The plum tree has been cut down. There were many shoots from where it stood, but I couldn't pull one with roots. So, I guess my quest over the years to get one going in a yard of my own is hopeless. Too bad. I drove by the Forrest Avenue house in which my Grandmother was born. It looks in good shape. It's been painted red, but someone seems to be keeping it up.

The downtown area looks very different. The arts center looks good, but I just drove by it. Without Rike's being there, it was very hard to get my bearings. Looking at things was rather depressing, so I moved on quickly. I went to the Dayton Art Institute, but it had closed already. So, I missed that. It's a small collection, but there are some things there I like very much and wanted to see, so that was a disappointment. I particularly remember a small painting of Charleston harbor (I think) in a beautifully hand-carved frame that I had looked forward to seeing. There's a good Hopper, a small Modigliani portrait, and a fun Bouguereau. I remember those at least.

It was a short drive to Columbus. I arrived at about 6:00PM. I spent an hour or so walking around my old neighborhood, on Highland Street and King Ave. (photo above). The houses are still very interesting. I'd like to spend a month here, drawing them all again. There just isn't time on a trip like this. The church on the corner of King is now an Eastern Orthodox church, otherwise little has changed. The trees are bigger. It was fun to see some of the places in my old drawings. The Ohio State campus, however, has changed quite a bit. There has been a lot of new construction. Also, the area called the Short North, which is just north of downtown and well south of campus, has been developed to an extraordinary degree. It looks attractive now.

I found a hotel north of campus. Tomorrow I'm going to have lunch with Jon, a friend from high school that lives in Columbus now, and then I plan to head north, to Honeytown, initially, which is where my friend Scott's family farm is. He's offered to put me up. It should be a good base for a night, or perhaps two, to visit Millersburg and Oberlin. After that, I plan to head home as quickly as practical. It's been fun, but rather tiring after 3,000 miles and with the thought that there are at least that many miles still ahead of me. That said, I am well. I hope everyone at home is too.

On the Road: Yellow Springs Ohio

I've been busy with work as I travel, so haven't been able to write much. That and a very long drive from St. Louis to Covington, Kentucky left me very tired. I finally feel like I've caught up on sleep a bit now. In Ohio, I'll be traveling much shorter distances before heading west again.

After my stay in Washington, Missouri, I headed out to see if I could taste a little Missouri wine. I went to Balducci Vineyards and Montelle Winery, both nearby. I tasted a range of wines at both. My impression is that Seyval Blanc makes the most successful whites from the perspective of someone used to dry vinifera-based wines, and Norton (also known as Cynthiana) seems to make the best red wines. A couple of the port-style wines I tasted were quite good. I have to say that the wine we make in our backyard is better than anything I was able to taste, but I doubt I tasted the best Missouri has to offer. Montelle is in a beautiful setting with a large outdoor deck area to eat and drink wine on.

I started late on my way to Ohio and didn't arrive in the Cincinnati area until almost 2:00 in the morning and had a very hard time finding a hotel, the first time that has happened so far. The places listed in the hotel list on my GPS either weren't there or were scary-looking, so I headed back to Covington, thinking there would be something near the airport there. I was forced to have dinner at an overcrowded Denny's, although the turkey sandwich I ordered wasn't bad at all. I stayed in a Holiday Inn in Covington. I spent most of the morning working in the hotel business center before heading out again. I went down to see the Roebling Bridge, which the locals appear to call "The Suspension Bridge." I drove down to the water near the Kentucky-side tower and looked around a bit. There is a whole neighborhood of old brick buildings there. According to a plaque near the bridge, the area was heavily fortified during the Civil War and was a point at which Union forces held back an advance from the south.

Next I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum, which has a small but attractive collection. There were some beautiful portrait miniatures, a special show of Winogrand photographs, a contemporary glass exhibit that had some interesting examples, and, of course, the regular collection. The museum has a good Sargent. I saw the Art Museum in St. Louis, too. It was smaller than I remembered it, but I enjoyed seeing it again. They have a good Holbein (pictured). I last saw the place when it hosted a huge Monet show, in 1978, while I was at Webster College. I Stopped by Webster on my way out of St. Louis. The place has expanded a great deal, but the buildings I knew are all still there. I walked through Loretto Hall and Maria Hall. I waved to my old dorm room--although I couldn't remember what floor we lived on.... I strolled the halls on all four floors, to be sure.

Heading north, later in the day, after my visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum, I headed for Dayton, but was tired and, now in familiar territory for the first time on this trip, I decided on the spur of the moment to have dinner at The Golden Lamb, in Lebanon, as I was hungry. Turns out the rooms there are no more expensive than the cookie-cutter hotels I've been staying in, so I stayed at the Inn. I stayed in the Ulysses S. Grant room. I didn't realize so many famous people had stayed there, although I knew the inn was very old, dating from 1803. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Horace Mann, Charles Dickens, Henry Clay, and presidents such as Grant, Taft, Harrison, Harding, and others all stayed there, not to mention Ronald Reagan and George Bush, more recently.

Now having lunch in Yellow Springs, Ohio. It's hardly changed in the 25 years since I was last here. The rebellious mood is unchanged--first thing I saw driving into town was an anti-war protest. People still stand around in the streets discussing politics. It's amazing how many of the shops are still there, just as they were. One or two are new, and the Winds Cafe has expanded and moved across the street, but otherwise, little has changed. With my eyes closed I could have listed the stores along the main street.

Off now to visit my old haunt, the Outdoor Education Center, at Glen Helen.