Hamilton County, energy center of the Universe! . . .er, really?

Cincinnati

Hopping from one metropolitan area to the next seems a bit weird to me because I think of Ohio as an agricultural state. Of course, when our families were there they were farming, even in the counties which now contain large cities. We’ve moved from Columbus, the capital of Ohio, to the rip-roarin’ river town of Cincinnati in Hamilton County.

Rip-roarin’, that is how I thinking of it as of today, August 19. Yesterday the only picture it evoked (having never been there) is baseball. It seems, due to the Ohio River and the other rivers that empty into it, that Cincinnati was always destined to be something really special. Not necessarily good, often naughty, sometimes

Courthouse Riot, 1884

famous and just as often notorious. Colorful would describe its sketchy past; and sad her race riots and poverty. Still all of that is mixed with greatness – and comes along with the larger-than-life energy of place. In this place temperance crusaders battled with cultures that favored a good drink as part of their lifestyle. In this place abolitionists fought with slave-holding sympathizers and worked hard to run the Underground Railroad. From the beginning Cincinnatians drew into opposing camps and battled each other, or the Native Americans they had displaced, or the soldiers from Fort Washington who were there to keep the peace.

I read that even today the majority of voters in Hamilton Country are Independents. Now, that just

Harriett Beacher Stowe House
Cincinnati, Ohio

fits, doesn’t it? They have many famous sons and daughters. It is amazing, considering the size of Ohio that so many of the governors have come from Hamilton County. Harriett Beach Stowe lived there, and two presidents called it home, William Henry Harrison and William Howard Taft. It is a place where culture and education have always been hallmarks. I feel energized just reading about Cincinnati!

From almost the beginning the area had river pirates, bootleggers, hostile Indians, rowdy soldiers, large groups of Irish and German immigrants, and slaves coming from the south with a desperate need to be free – what a mix! Plus there were the movers and shakers, the politicians and the builders, the meatpackers, and the iron workers. The energy on that spot – Hamilton County must be electric.

I hear that they are working hard now to bring the downtown back to life and with the energy it has (probably boiling up from the center of the earth) I can see that the city is rising up like a phoenix to greatness  – and all her citizens proud of their great city. All part of Hamilton County.

Photos: Stowe House, Courthouse Riot, & Cincinnati from Kentucky www.wikipedia.com

Clipart: Phoenix www.microsoft.com/clipart/
MaryLu Tyndall's webpage 'The Cross and Cutlass': http://www.marylutyndall.com/2012/09/pirates-on-ohio-river.html

Home Sweet Iowa

[Music while you read? Scroll to the bottom of the post and click on the YouTube link!]

I’m taking a little Ohio break to conjure up images of my home state – Iowa.  All those Ohio pioneers, or their descendants, left Ohio in their ox and horse drawn covered wagons for the promise of free and fertile fields when Iowa territory was opened up for settlement.  Some of them stayed a while in Indiana; I can see lovely Quaker farms a la Friendly Persuasion. For my direct line the siren call of Iowa, on the other side the Mississippi River (not a small obstacle), could not be resisted. One or two of our abolitionist families trekked on to Kansas to fight the good fight for a free state, but most liked what they saw in northeastern Iowa.

About a week ago I was up in the wee hours working on Ohio when a sidebar ad caught my eye. It offered a free Iowa travel guide. Well, I’ve wanted to go to Iowa ever since I retired in 2010 and haven’t made it yet – so a travel guide, I said to myself, might be just the thing and I signed up. This morning I was working on Ohio as usual, heard a ‘thunk’ and Beatrice scurried off to see what the mailman left us. I love getting mail – the convenience and speed of the Internet not withstanding – it is great to get real mail.  I don’t like junk mail any more than you do and I dispatch it immediately and don’t let it stack up.  But, mail – a card or note from a friend or family member – a real treasure.  And, something I’ve ordered – well, hooray!  We have the most quaint and wonderful mail delivery system in our 1960’s quaint houses – my mail comes through a slot in the kitchen wall and lands (mostly) in a basket on my vintage aqua kitchen counter.  Today the ‘thunk’ was that Iowa Travel Guide. And, it is a beauty.

Anyone who is going near Iowa anytime soon – I highly recommend ordering one. I also received a very good Iowa map.  Not excited yet – check this out:  http://www.traveliowa.com/   I hope my children and grandchildren each order one to see where Mom/Gram was born.  To one daughter and her children a special reminder as she was born there and is a 6^th generation Iowan.  Wouldn't it be fun to plan an Iowa family reunion.

Looking at the guide I might have to plan a 3 year trip to see it all.  Can’t do that, but I would love to hit the highlights.  When I was about 8 years old my folks took me on just such a trip.  I remember the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend and the Bily Clock Museum. Maybe Grandpa Disney can remember more. I also remember well Ledges State Park, the Amana Colonies, the Pella tulip festival, Lake Okoboji, Storm Lake, the Sergeant Floyd Monument, water-skiing and fishing on the M-i-ss-i-ss-i-pp-i.
Summer vacation with my grandparents was -- well, Guttenberg was heaven to me.

Guttenberg on the Mississippi
Photo: Iowa Tourism Office

It was a good life and I couldn’t wait to leave.  I had places to go and things to do; and like Ellen Raskin’s children’s story “Nothing Ever Happens On My Block” I didn’t see anything exciting happening in Iowa.  Thomas Wolfe wrote that you can’t go home.  But, ya’ll know I’m a Bon Jovi fan and the song says – “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”  

IF THE VIDEO APPEARS BLACK CLICK ON IT AND THEN ON THE ARROW.

I’m ready for that visit.

YouTube - Bon Jovi & Sugarland - Who says you can't go home (live) - drycountytrade0tk
YouTube - A special thank you to Storytime with Mr. Michael for reading 'Nothing Ever Happens on My Block."