August 2014

August 24, 2014

Picturing the Past

Curator Jessica and I put on the first part of a workshop on Picturing the Past at the Athens Public Library Saturday afternoon. She and I talked about how to take photos today with history in mind. (Jessica shot this picture of about half the group).

We asked the participants to go out into the community to shoot photos of things in 2014 that might change or disappear in the future. We’re going to look over their photos mid-week, then have another workshop on Saturday to pull together an exhibit that will appear at the library and at the Athens County Historical Society Museum.

The project was sponsored by the library, the museum and the Ohio Humanities Council. (You can click on the image to make it larger.)

August 22, 2014

What’s the Big Building?

There is a big building south of Independence at 12 South Park Ave. that I’ve always wondered about. There’s a sign on a gate that says “B&S Small Eng.,” but I doubt that’s what it was originally used for.

It has the feel of being a lumber yard. Since it was near where the railroad tracks, it could have been that or some kind of warehouse.

Look at the flowers

When I was trying to see the building from as many angles as possible, I ran into this yard of flowers in an alley directly behind it.

House fronts on South Henderson

The house is on South Henderson. I saw a woman walking down the street and hoped she belonged to the house so I could talk with her but the stopped at another driveway. It looks like it’s been well cared for.

Mother lets me down

Mother, who usually has a keen eye for things, said she had never noticed the big building. I don’t have my normal reference materials with me on the road, so it’s up to you to tell me what I found.

Here are the clues:

It is south of Independence between South Henderson and South Park.
It has a sign that says 13 South Park – B&S Small Eng.”
It is next to D’Lorch Locks and Alarms and some of their trucks are parked inside the fence.

August 22, 2014

Cape to Athens

I was supposed to head out for Athens, Ohio, on the afternoon of August 19 and make a leisurely two-day drive out of it, with some sightseeing along the way.

Right before I started breaking down the computer equipment for loading, the weather alert radio went off with a severe thunderstorm warning with reports of baseball-sized hail west of us. I didn’t want to take a chance on getting holes punched in my windows before heading off cross-country, so I holed up under the overhang at the nearby funeral home. I was joined by two other cars shortly after.

We got some gusty winds, heavy rain and about five minutes of pea and marble-sized hail, but it blew through quickly. A few limbs snapped off a walnut tree on the side of the house, but that was about it. Based on scanner traffic, Jackson must have gotten more of the storm than we did.

Saying goodbye

Mother and I usually take a group selfie when I head out, but since I’m going back to Cape in about a week, we decided to go with a wave.

I think she’s been watching too much TV news out of St. Louis. That looks less like a wave than a “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” pose.

Traffic was OK

With only a couple of exceptions, traffic was light and moving smoothly. Some clouds popped up a few times, but I had more bug splatters than rain splatters on the windshield.

Worked in a few naps

Listening to a good audio book about World War II kept me awake, but I did stop at some rest areas for seven and nine-minute naps. This is what I saw when I woke up from one of them.

I was in good company: there were six or eight 18-wheelers in the parking lot with their diesel engines grumbling away. It was either that or their pilots were really snoring.

Rolled into Athens with 532 miles under my belt at about 1:18 a.m. (I lost an hour due to the time zone change.) Wife Lila complained that 1:18 isn’t an “about” time.

I tried to explain that the exact time would be 1:18:42. I just rounded it to 1:18.

I don’t think it’s going to be safe for me to go home.

August 21, 2014

Doughboy Stands Vigil

I can’t help but be drawn to the World War I private standing vigil on the county courthouse lawn in Jackson. Click on the photo to make it larger.

This isn’t the first time I’ve shot him, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Here are some early posts with him in it.