Elm Street Baptist Church (originally written in 2002; revised 2018; edits March 2019 include spelling, Added pastor to list, corrected interviewee name) Williamsburg, KY, April 27, 2002 It’s a subtle thing. You might not notice them at all. The bullet holes in the window might be noted and then forgotten if it weren’t a church. … Continue reading Elm Street Baptist Church
Category: The Histories
Greater Dayton Conservation Fund
Founded in 2006 to support innovation in caring for the Earth, stewardship, and healing. To learn more about the Fund, visit The Dayton Foundation: https://www.daytonfoundation.org/conservation.html At some vague time in the 60s I remember being amazed at seeing people zipping along the Mad river at Embury Park in motor boats. I had lived my whole … Continue reading Greater Dayton Conservation Fund
Feeling the Warm
Suffering is relative. My relatives heated their house with a gas stove the size of a kitchen stove located in the living room. The old fireplace was filled in with cement and the stove pipe ran through the old chimney and the table-height unit sat on the hearth.
Porch Memory
Every summer we'd make the eight hour trip to Williamsburg, KY from Dayton, OH to Grandma’s house. It was really Uncle Clyde’s place, her son, but we thought of it as her's since we saw little of him and she was always there. The front porch on the old house was bigger than rooms in … Continue reading Porch Memory
The Baloney Rind Trail
Long ago before Interstate 75 was a thing, there was a very specific route 'home' for the thousands of Ridge-runners, Briar-hoppers, and Hillbillies living in and around Dayton, Ohio. They all had varied routes and all went "home”
The power of scent
Someone else said they think of a grandmother each time they smell roses. Scent has the power to conjure our past and the people who live there. Sometimes good; sometimes bad. Sometimes just talking about a smell can do the same.
Dead Leaders
Would anyone be surprised that I’ve been annoyed? I didn’t think so. I have also been wistful this weekend. I am always sad to hear that someone’s time is up. That’s it; you’ve done all you can do; there are no more do-overs, apologies, compliments. The opportunities to love and learn a new thing are … Continue reading Dead Leaders
Triangle Park
Back in 1960 Ramsey recorded the “… the larger, more picturesque specimens in which the trunk circumference four and one half feet from the ground measure four feet or more. …” Looking at the map and the circles representing trees it is clear that many of the trees that were recorded in 1960 are gone and a walk through the park one will see the stumps of trees cut for any number of reasons.
Shouting At the Chorus 