Category Archives: Event

Two Oldies and Something New

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This is a triple play post. It begins with the oldest of three events I attended on three consecutive days this week. On Thursday, I stopped by The Great Darke County Fair in Greenville, Ohio. The first was held in 1853. The one just now ending is the 163rd. The difference between number of years (166) and number of fairs are the cancellations in 1862 and ’63 for the Civil War and 1949 for a polio outbreak.

There was a time when I’d walk through the barns and exhibit halls seeking out the entries of friends and relatives, but no more. At best, a familiar family name might identify a grandchild of someone I once knew but even that’s pretty iffy.

On Friday I took in the 53rd annual Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show in Portland, Indiana. That’s the same place I attended the National Vintage Motor Bike meet about a month ago. My friend Dale had a tent at the bike show. This time it was my friend Terry with his fleet of Wheel Horses. That’s Terry in the white shirt talking with another Wheel Horse collector. In the post about the Vintage Motor Bikes, I mentioned how deep the discussions can get when two bicycle collectors get together. Same thing with tractors, and when both collect the same brand, the level of detail absolutely pegs the meter. Turns out they are not actually talking about Wheel Horses in the picture. They’re talking about that strange looking REO riding reel mower in front of them.

The second picture shows a Crosley V8. The fellow displaying it made it by joining together two Crosley four cylinders. Even though it’s his creation, it’s not his idea. Apparently Crosley Corporation made a few of their own “twin-4s” though they were not very successful. Crosley experimented with a whole lot of rather bizarre concepts and this guy seems to own one of just about all of them and brings a different set each year. That’s a cord braider in the last picture. I tried getting a video of the thing in action but it was a complete failure. I do have a somewhat close-up picture, though.

The third thing of the week was the new thing. The first Porchfest took place in Ithaca, New York in 2007. The concept of local musicians playing on people’s front porches really caught on and there are now Porchfests across the country. Dayton, Ohio, got on board just last year. The Dayton Porchfest happens in the St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood which I’ve written about before. It’s where “my brewery” (Fifth Street Brewpub) is. This year, just like last, the T.R.S.S Drum Corp started things off without the need for a porch.

At the top of each of the next five hours, musicians would begin performances on eight to ten of the neighborhood’s porches. That’s a whole bunch of music. The three groups pictured, the Good Time Accordion Band, A Shade of Red, and the Gotham City Brass Quintet, are just a fraction of what I saw and I saw just a fraction of what was offered.

Some rain had fallen earlier and a drizzle appeared about halfway through the drum corp’s performance. It came and went as I took in a song or two from most of the first set of musicians. It became a steady shower while I paused at the brewpub. I actually set out for a second round but changed my mind within a few feet. It wasn’t a heavy rain but it was enough to send me to my car instead of walking down the street. The bands played on to umbrella covered listeners. Porchfest is a wonderful concept, and I certainly enjoyed my first rain shortened exposure. I’ll be watching for the event’s return next year. 

Jeep Jam 2018

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For a number of years, although I don’t know what that number is, something called Jeep Jam has taken place on a farm near Willmington, Ohio. It moved to the Clinton County Fairgrounds this year and that move helped bring the event to the attention of my buddy John who lives close enough to the fairgrounds to hear knobbies spinning in mud pits. The threat of rain had caused a Friday night concert to be canceled but it did not affect the planned cruise-in much if at all. John reported a downtown filled with Jeeps parked for viewing. On Saturday, he and I went to the fairgrounds.

There were vendors selling food and all sorts of four wheel drive related merchandise, and there were Jeeps. Lots of Jeeps. Hundreds of Jeeps. The majority didn’t look all that changed from when they left the dealer but some were clearly experienced and eager off-road machines. This open-wheeled specimen was probably the most battle ready vehicle we saw.

Many of the Jeeps were parked which allowed guys like us to walk by and look them over. Others were in long slow moving lines going somewhere. Some were headed to riding trails both on and off site. Those in the first picture were working their way to an obstacle course which featured the piles of mud in the second picture.

We didn’t study the whole course so can’t say if this was really the highlight but it did seem to be where most of the attention was focused. This clearly wasn’t a super challenge for a Jeep, but it did provide plenty of fun without undue risk.

A concert featuring Molly Hatchet would close out the day, and was included in our $5 admission. Neither of us were big Molly Hatchet fans and there really wasn’t all that much to hold a non-Jeep-owning spectator’s attention until then. A walk to the far end of the grounds and back was enough for us. However if you own a Jeep and wanted to get it dirty, add some accessories, or swap stories with other owners, this was the place to be. 

Another Cardboard Regatta

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There’s a new Cardboard Boat Regatta in the neighborhood. It’s not new to the world, but it’s new to me. Saturday’s event was the fourth Little Miami Cardboard Boat Regatta to take place at Oeder’s Lake near Zoar, Ohio. It isn’t as big or as old as the New Richmond Cardboard Boat Regatta which will happen for the 26th time next Saturday, but it is a well organized and well attended event that’s filled with fun will likely only get bigger. I’d learned of the regatta just a couple of days ago and decided to attend just a couple of hours before I pulled into the big field beside the lake.

Despite my last minute decision to attend, I was there in time to look over most of the entrants and there were some great ones. Mixing cardboard with a little water seems a natural recipe for creativity.

There were a few vendors on site selling snacks and soft drinks but that was really the only thing to spend money on. There was an entry fee for race participants, but, thanks to several sponsors and the generosity of the Oeder family, everything else was free. That included several bounce houses and other entertainment for kids and a train that ran non-stop and which I never again saw any where near as empty as in the photo.

For me, the pre-race entertainment was a couple of remote control boats sailing around the lake. I spoke with one of the owners and verified that they really are sailing craft. No propellers or motors. The operator controls the rudder and sail angle and hopes for a gentle breeze.

At high noon, the first heat assembled on the dock. Safety rules and, even though the lake is rather shallow, no one is allowed on that dock without a life jacket. As that first heat rounds the first buoy, a rescue boat can be seen in the background. Off to the right, a pair of suited up and ready scuba divers stood at water’s edge.

No one was ever in danger but many were in water. The rescue boat saw plenty of work picking up abandoned boats and pieces of boats.

Most of the events were timed races but the last — and it’s pretty obvious why it’s last — was the Crash Derby. I counted about twenty boats that had survived their races and were ready to rumble. Rules were fairly lax with hitting opponents with paddles just about the only thing strictly forbidden.

Mayhem reigns until just one boat is left upright and then continues. In a lake filled with wet and determined attackers, winning the Crash Derby does not mean surviving it.

Vintage Bikes and More

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On Thursday, I was back at the Jay County Fairgrounds near Portland, Indiana. It’s a place I’ve been to a couple of times before for the Antique Engine & Tractor Show where my friend Terry displays his collection of Wheel Horses. In 2015, my friend Dale met me there. This time I was there for the National Vintage Motor Bike Club annual meet, and it was Dale who had the trailer full of gear. The picture at right shows vintage motor bikes all set to head out of the gate for a fairly slow cruise around the area.

Dale and I were already nearly ten years into our lifelong friendship when we acquired our first motorized transportation. His was an Allstate Mo‑Ped; Mine was a Whizzer. I talk a bit about both vehicles here. I believe Dale’s Mo-Ped was actually much shinier that this example but it never had saddlebags or a windshield. I don’t think either of us knew what a helmet was in those days, either. My Whizzer never looked half as good as those in the picture. That’s a mighty nice looking scaled down replica, too.

Despite the word “motor” in the event’s name, I’m guessing that nearly half of the bikes on the grounds were people-powered. That’s why Dale was there, and the collection in the last picture is the one he brought with him.

Here’s a little better view of the banner at the left of the previous picture. Heart of the City is the name of the bicycle ministry operated by Mission Church Fort Wayne. I stopped by their shop, where Dale and other volunteers repair and recondition bikes for the homeless and inner city’s needy, a few years ago. That’s Dale remounting a wheel after fixing a flat. Orley, another volunteer, was with Dale today but I failed to get a picture. All of the bicycles the two of them brought to the meet are for sale. They are a mixture of Dale’s personal “extras” and some that have been donated to the ministry but aren’t really appropriate for the earn-a-bike program.

This was the first day of the event, and my theory is that most of the traffic was from other participants seeing what everybody else had to offer. Sales were not brisk, but neither were they non-existent. By far the most interesting of the few I witnessed, was this one. I’d noticed this fellow, or at least his hat, during a little walkabout Dale and I did. He is both a collector and an active supporter of some sort of earn-a-bike program in the Detroit area. Some people walked their purchases, and some held a “new” bike’s handlebars to tow it beside the bike they were riding. This guy just slung it over his back and putted away. All that was interesting, of course, but what I thought even more so was the conversation he and Dale had as they roamed among the bikes. With an often foreign vocabulary, they discussed who made what, when they made it, and why this was good and that was bad. I didn’t understand much but I sure did appreciate it. Incidentally, that yellow bike in the first picture is one that Dale fabricated following some Cannondale geometry. There’s a better view here.

Not surprisingly, there were also a few interesting four wheeled vehicles around. We found the Nash woodie on our walkabout. The Amphicar drove by as we sat behind the bikes. As told below, I would see it again in a couple of days.

When this nattily dressed fellow pedaled by, Dale told me that he and his wife Marsha each own a trike like this. He didn’t tell me whether they dress in pure white and wear straw skimmers when they go out riding them but I’m guessing not.
 

The red Amphicar that we saw in Portland, Indiana, is in the front row of this group of Amphicars in Celina, Ohio. On Saturday, during the annual Lake Festival, an attempt was made to break the Guinness Record for the Largest Gathering of Amphicars which stood, and disappointingly still stands, at 75. This group was slightly smaller at 72. I identified the car seen in Portland by its watercraft license number, and spoke briefly with its owners.

Nothing soothes the pain of a near miss on a world record like a splash in the lake, and many of the cars’ owners wasted little time in doing exactly that.  

Ts at a Hundred and Ten

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Richmond, Indiana, seems to have become the de facto Model T Capital of the World. The Model T Ford Club of America is headquartered there and operates a marvelous museum dedicated to Henry’s world changing creation. In 2008, when the T turned 100 years old, Richmond hosted a birthday party attended by approximately 1000 of the cars. I was there for one day. This year, with the T turning 110, Richmond had another party. It wasn’t nearly as big as the centennial bash but it was still a pretty big deal with about 100 Ford Model Ts showing up. Again, I was there for one day, Saturday.

Some of those 100 or so visiting Model Ts were parked in the street but many were in the museum’s parking lot. It was a great day for looking the cars over but, because of their proximity to one another and the number of people sharing the space, getting good photos wasn’t so easy. A dead skunk emerging from beneath a rear tire does seem to provide a little extra space, however.

The museum was open and entirely free all day which really was great but the space and people issues seen outside were amplified inside. A chunk of normally open space in the annex was filled with a series of seminars.

I’ve visited the museum in the past when I was the only one there and I expect that will happen again. Today’s lack of “photo space” didn’t really bother me. The cars, in fact, were not the primary reason I was there. I’d first learned of this event last fall on a visit to the museum to see a car named the Silver Streak. In the 1930s and ’40s, a group of young women had used the Streak to travel the country. The car was on loan from its current owner, John Butte. I bought a copy of the book John had written about the car and was in Richmond today to get it signed and meet its author. John is in all three of these photos. The third includes his wife Carmen and the Silver Streak. A few pictures of the car accompanied my review of the book.

Doug Partington is the owner of another Model T with a great story guy. The Wikner Ford Special is the very first race car built in Australia. Doug bought the partially disassembled car when he was fourteen. Only after he’d had considerable fun and success racing the car did he learn of its unique history. The Wikner Ford Special will be on display at the museum for the next eighteen months. The Silver Streak will be leaving in August.

Among the many Model Ts on display was an open car much like the one my great grandparents drove to Florida in 1920 and a green coupe similar to one they subsequently owned which is currently in the possession of an uncle.

Of course the gathering was not limited to already complete and fully functioning automobiles. There were also plenty of pieces that just might be the key to another complete and fully functional Ford.

Doo Dah with a Capital Boom

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I’ve made multiple starts on detailing how plans for this outing came together, but they became twisted so quickly that I’m just going to tell what I did with no attempt to explain why. I left home fairly late in the morning on Tuesday, and leisurely drove US-42 and US-40 to Columbus, Ohio, where I checked into my motel near downtown. The first floor was not an option, and when asked “high or low”, I picked high. I would regret that.

I relaxed a bit, then made my way to the banks of the Scioto River just over half a mile away. Columbus celebrates Independence Day with an event called Red, White, & Boom. It includes a street festival, a parade, and fireworks and is apparently never held on July 4th. This year it was on the 3rd. With the temperature in the 90s, it didn’t take a lot of street festival to meet my needs. I found a couple feet of unoccupied curb in the shade and spent some quality time there with an $8 Icee.

As parade time approached, I moved up to the route and found another shady spot to hang out in until a police car and marching band approached. Ford was an event sponsor, and a group of Mustangs made up one of the early parade entries. I don’t really know what the passengers had done do gain their seats, but the line of red, white, and blue convertibles was pretty cool.

I do know what the passenger in this Jeep did. He lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor. Other veterans followed in other vehicles from Motts Military Museum.There was a half dozen or so of these three wheelers in the parade, but this one looked almost custom made for it. I once watched an Independence Day parade in our nation’s capital and remember being impressed with the diverse groups participating. This parade in my state’s capital didn’t have quite as much diversity, but there was certainly a respectable amount including a sizable group of American Sikhs and a yellow dressed Falun Gong group with a lady in a lotus.

When the parade ended, I had a tough decision to make. Just watching people march in 90 degree heat can make an old guy tired. There were virtually no restaurants or other businesses open in the immediate area, and I did not look forward to another three and a half hours waiting on a curb for the fireworks; Nor did I really want to make what was now a one mile walk back to my motel. But I decided that the walk to the motel was the lesser of the two evils and set out in that direction. Near the halfway mark, I found Elevator Brewing open and ducked in for a couple beers and dinner. Sufficiently fueled and cooled, I proceeded to the motel. Remember that game of high/low I’d played earlier? The regret came when fellows sitting in the lobby informed me that the elevators were not working. Climbing to the sixth floor was not what I needed but it was what was required.

I napped for an hour or so then headed out for the fireworks. I wasn’t initially certain that I would walk all the way back to the river but in the end I did exactly that. In front of me, the arches of the Broad Street Bridge were outlined in LEDs (I assume) that switched between red, white, and blue. Above me, LEDs on LeVeque Tower did the same thing.

The Red, White, and Boom website proclaims this “Ohio’s largest Fireworks display” and it’s a dandy. 48,750 pounds of fireworks, they say; Roughly twenty-five minutes long. As seen in this articles’s opening picture, the rockets were launched from the other side of the river on the other side of the Broad Street Bridge and on the near side of the Rich Street Bridge. I suppose people watching from between the bridges had a somewhat better view but I was more than happy with mine.

Before the echoes of the last boom completely faded, people were moving out of the viewing area. Although things were initially quite congested, it was never stifling and motion never really stopped. In fact, the crowd spread out on reaching the streets and I was able to take the first picture. The second picture was taken from my motel room. It seems the main staging area for event buses was about a block away.

I went to Tuesday’s parade because I was there. Ditto the fireworks. This, the 35th Annual Doo Dah Parade, is why I was there. I don’t know who the lady in the lead golf cart was but she was probably about as close to a parade official as I actually saw. She used her bullhorn to thank everyone for coming and offered thoughts and prayers for any trauma caused by what we were about to witness. She was immediately followed by The END. Fortunately, there were lots of stragglers.

I’d met young Groucho earlier in the staging area. He initiated the conversation because I was wearing an American Sign Museum shirt. I did my best to encourage a future visit, and think I did OK. The CHILL! guy was just too friendly to ignore.

Captain Ohio rides a Honda. I believe Honda was the only motorcycle manufactured in Ohio in modern times, but I can’t say whether this particular specimen is local built. The factory in Marysville operated from 1979 to 2005. I also “met” these three art cars in the staging area. The first one may have been here in 2010, or maybe its owner just knows someone who was. A friend of mine sells Route 66 Wine Corks, and often calls his van the Cork Wagon. I earlier shared this staging area photo to get him thinking about an upgrade. The car in the last picture also has some corks but its best feature, in my opinion, is its legs.

I’ve nothing in particular to say about what’s in these last four photos. They’re entries that caught my eye for some reason and there’s plenty more where they came from. My first Doo Dah was certainly a good one. I couldn’t help but think of Cincinnati’s Northside Parade which is also held on the 4th of July and which I’ve attended once. The Cincinnati parade is a little older (1970 vs. 1984), a little more rambunctious (no skateboard or bicycle stunts in the Doo Dah), and a little less political (Northside actually has entries that aren’t political at all). There’s no nudity in either but Doo Dah finds it necessary to specify that in the rules and it got this close. Spectators at both can be part of the show. At the Doo Dah, I spotted this guy across the street who may or may not have just burned his NFL season tickets out of concern for disrespecting the flag.

A Week Late and Several Photos Short

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I planned on last week’s post to be primarily about the Tenderloin Throwdown in Greensburg, Indiana. I arrived in early afternoon and bought my set of four sample tickets. A fifth contestant was a no-show. I tried them all and took several pictures including one of each sample with the associated booth in the background. When I did the same thing at the homemade ice cream stand operated by the local historical society, the shutter wouldn’t cooperate.

There was an error message displayed on the camera’s screen, but there’s just no way I’m going to read those tiny letters without glasses. I don’t need no stinkin’ glasses, I may have said to myself. I went down the list of common problems. The mode dial was not out of position and the lens was securely seated. Must be something with the SD card. I popped it out and back in and clicked off a couple shots. The problem returned and I “fixed” it the same way. When It happened a third time, I began to get concerned but I was ready to leave so didn’t investigate.

I’d kind or forgotten all this until I moved the SD card to my laptop in preparation of producing a blog post. It contained just four pictures and one of those was of my feet. Subsequent tests have revealed no errors with either camera or card although I don’t intend to ever use the card again. Sure wish I knew what that error message said.

So last week you got a canned My Wheels post and this week you get one picture of the back of one of the tenderloin stands with the famous tree-in-tower in the background. It is the winner of the grilled category, so there’s that. Obviously four entrants does not a major showdown make, but all four were top notch and tasty, and the homemade ice cream was excellent.

Even when I anticipated a photo spread from the Tenderloin Throwdown, I was considering tacking on a paragraph about the one concert on my schedule. I ended up attending three concerts during the week and, in light of the Throwdown’s vanished visuals, I’m including cell phone photos of all three. Remember, if you want a picture real bad, I’ve got a real bad picture.

On Wednesday the 20th, it was the LSD (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam) Tour at Riverbend. This is one I hadn’t planned on, but when a friend’s significant other fell ill the day before, I got her ticket. It really was almost like three concerts with each of the artists doing nearly hour long sets. That’s Steve and his band in the first picture. I didn’t get a picture of Lucinda during her own set but the second picture has her and Steve flanking Dwight for the Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music) finale.

Thursday’s concert was the one I had planned for a long time. I’ve been sort of focusing on long time legends I’ve never seen. I saw Jackson Browne last month and Steely Dan, Van Morrison, and Paul Simon over the last year or two. This time it was possibly the ultimate living legend with Tony Bennett at Fraze Pavilion.

The quartet opened with an instrumental then Tony’s daughter, Antonia, did three songs. At that point, Tony came on and for the next hour he was on the stage, on his feet, and singing essentially non-stop. He performed basically full songs for the first half then commenced doing one or two lines from hits like Rags to Riches, Fly Me to the Moon, and I Left My Heart in San Francisco. I can’t remember everything he did but there wasn’t one I didn’t recognize at the time. It’s kind of astounding to realize that this guy could do a full concert singing just a line or two from each hit and probably have enough left over for several encores. Yeah, he’s 91 and didn’t hold every note as long as he might have a decade or two back, but he hit them and he was having fun. The Good Life for sure.

The other unplanned concert was a freebie at Miami Valley Gaming held as part of their Rhythm and Brews Festival on Saturday the 23rd. Knowing friends would be there, I stopped by on the way home from the Tenderloin Throwdown and caught the performer I was most interested in, Tinsley Ellis. I also saw part of Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials’ set but don’t have even a real bad picture of that.

Another Sesquicentennial

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The American Civil War began with the shelling of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, and for the last several years we have been commemorating the 150th anniversary of events that led up to it, were part of it, and were precipitated by it. There are many theories about the origin of what we now call Memorial Day, and, while specifics vary, almost all place the roots in that devastating conflict. The most recognized story of a formal beginning places that beginning a hundred and fifty years ago on May 30, 1868.

I attended two Memorial Day events this year. The first was a parade in nearby Loveland, and the second a gathering at Ohio’s largest cemetery, Spring Grove.

In Loveland, a police cruiser with flashing lights cleared the way with members of the local American Legion Post leading the actual parade. A group of firefighters, looking exactly like I’d want my fire department to look, was close behind. Love the mustache.

What followed was everything a parade should have: high school marching band, classic cars, and freshly polished fire trucks. The parade ended near Veterans’ Memorial Park where ceremonies were to take place. I was watching the time, however, and left just as they were getting started.

The setting for the Spring Grove ceremonies was the Civil War section where 999 Civil War dead are buried in three circular plots containing 333 graves each. These are not, of course, the only Civil War soldiers buried in the cemetery. There are 41 Civil War generals buried at Spring Grove. For the majority, however, it is an honorary (brevet) title. The cemetery’s website has some words about the war’s impact and a link to a list of those generals here.

Although individual events were certainly held earlier, 1868 is the year that the observation of Decoration Day was wide spread and coordinated. That was when Grand Army of the Republic Commander, John A. Logan, issued an order calling for gatherings on May 30 “…for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades…”. Spring Grove was one of 183 cemeteries participating that first year. There were 336 in 1869. Michigan made Decoration Day a state holiday in 1871 and other states were not far behind. It was made a federal holiday in 1888. I was unable to find a date for an official change from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. It seems to have happened somewhat naturally shortly after the first World War.

The G.A.R.’s successor, The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, played a major role in the day’s activities and the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry helped maintain an awareness of the holiday’s Civil War era roots. They presented the colors at the beginning of the services and fired a twenty-one gun salute near their end.

Spring Grove Cemetery was barely sixteen years old when the Civil War broke out.  An excerpt from Spring Grove: Celebrating 150 Years talks about the war, the cemetery, and those early Decoration Days. In describing the very first, it states that “To end the program the Ladies of the Floral Committee led the crowds around the mounds of graves, strewing them with flowers.” Today, The Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War filled the role of the Floral Committee in helping everyone present reenact that ritual from 150 years ago.

Welcome Back Belle

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This week the Memphis Belle came home to a place she’d never been before. And the Belle has been a lot of places. She was born in Seattle, Washington, on July 2, 1942. She flew to England in September and completed her first bombing mission over Europe in November. By May of 1943, she had completed her 25th mission and was sent “home”. She then toured the United States promoting War Bonds. After the war, she spent a little time in an Oklahoma airplane graveyard then a lot of time at various locations in Memphis, Tennessee. Since 2005 she’s been undergoing major restoration in Dayton, Ohio, and on Wednesday she was moved to the National Museum of the US Air Force. On Thursday, the exhibit was officially opened to the general public. That’s me.

I arrived about an hour before the scheduled ceremony and was happy to see that traffic was not as bad as I had feared. There were plenty of people there, though. By the time I made it through the line and security, only about a third of that one hour wait remained.

My first view of the restored airplane was somewhat obscured by some of those people who had been in line in front of me. I got a reasonably clear view by heading to the back where the media risers were.

The Memphis Belle is often referred to as the first B-17 to complete 25 bombing missions but that honor actually belongs to Hell’s Angels which accomplished the feat about a week before the Belle. But the Memphis Belle was the first to return to the States. It seems likely the the romance behind the name had a lot to do with the selection. Memphis, Tennessee, was the home town of Margaret Polk who was the fiance of Robert Morgan, the plane’s pilot. Although Margaret broke off the engagement before the war ended, I don’t doubt that it helped sell more than a few war bonds.

At war’s end, the Belle was designated surplus. In 1946, the city of Memphis bought her for $350 from an airplane graveyard near Altus, Oklahoma. They didn’t spend much more on her for a long time. She was initially parked outside at the Memphis Municipal Airport. In 1950, she was moved to the National Guard Armory and placed — still outside — on a concrete pedestal. In 1987, helped along by some noise from Air Force people, a covered pavilion was built for the plane on Memphis’ Mud Island. It was here I first saw her in 1990 and it seems like I should have some pictures around but a Friday afternoon search came up empty. The plane was moved to a Navy hangar in Millington in 2002 where the deterioration was reined in and restoration begun before the 2005 move to Dayton.

A formal unveiling had taken place the night before for the family of crew members and other VIPs. Today’s ceremony consisted of just a couple of short speeches and a symbolic ribbon cutting. I did not have much of a view of the ribbon cutting although it didn’t really matter. The participants’ names had been announced but I could not have put a single name with a face. The ribbon cutting was the signal to remove the ropes that had blocked the plane and the many displays around it. It quickly became apparent that this was not going the be a good time to leisurely read placards and study pictures.

It was, however, a good time to visit the new building that opened last year. On the way I paused to snap a picture of the B-2 and a man walking a few steps behind me caught up with me. “It won’t show up”, he said. I was too slow to get it but must have looked sufficiently quizzical for him to spare me the embarrassment of asking a truly dumb question. “Too stealthy”, he explained.

The closest thing to a space shuttle at the museum sits at the entrance to the new building. It is one of three NASA Crew Compartment Trainers. This is CCT-1 which was used in training more than 300 shuttle bound astronauts. Mock structures surround it so that it appears to be part of an actual shuttle.

A good portion of the new building is used to display the presidential aircraft that used to be in a building actually on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base with a bus ride and additional security check required. I’ve seen them before but that didn’t keep me from walking through all of them again. Since I recently visited Ike’s birthplace, I picked his Columbine III to represent the exhibit and to show 1950s state-of-the-art audiovisual gear.

Weather had cancelled yesterday’s planned landing of other World War II vintage aircraft. Earlier, as I stood in that long line getting in, it was announced that they would be landing at 11:00 today. I misjudged the time but did get outside just in time to see the first B-17 approach the field through an opening in the trees. I caught the second one overhead, and thought I’d positioned myself for a better view of the landing but found out I’d positioned myself to pretty much miss seeing it at all. I had read that three B-17s were to be flying about this weekend , but I only saw the two. There were, as advertised, several P-51 Mustangs (3rd picture) in the air.

One reason I nearly missed the landings completely was that I tried to make sure there was nothing I needed to go back inside for. The decision was reinforced by seeing the line outside. It was just about as long as it had been when I arrived and now the museum was nearly full. I promised myself I’d return before long to read the placards and headed to my car.

Cincy’s Belated Opening

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Sometimes the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade marks an opportunity to forget a less than stellar previous season. People braving Monday’s cold temperatures were trying to not only forget last season’ 68-94 finish but this season’s 0-3 start. You see, to avoid interference with crucial pre-Easter sales at the Market, the parade happened, not on Friday before the Reds’ first game of the season, but on Monday before their fourth.

Actually, that first game wasn’t exactly when it was supposed to be, either. Scheduled for Thursday, it was moved to Friday to avoid predicted severe weather.

I reached downtown in time to poke around the staging area a little bit before the parade start. The giant Mr. Red at the top of this article belongs to the National Flag Company. The snowman at left, who I believe made it all the way through the parade, is made of real snow. He’s riding on the 911Steel float with a real piece of the World Trade Center and replicas of the twin towers.

Cincinnati was, and is again becoming, a major brewing center. There are plenty of stories about the city’s pre-prohibition Beer Barons. Beard Barons are a more recent development. Distilling, rather than brewing, is involved in the product shown in the second picture and made a little more than a hundred miles to Cincinnati’s south. Cincinnati brewing does get some notice in the picture of a Crosley Field bound bus in front of Rhinegeist Brewing. Crosley Field was the Reds’ home until 1970.

Rozzi Fireworks is certainly capable of starting things off with a bang but they decided on a pillar of fire instead. Maybe they’re saving a big boom for the centennial next year. I guess there’s something pretty cool on the other side of the street because Grand Marshalls Danny Graves and Sam LeCure didn’t look my way even once as they passed.

Here are some long time Cincinnati legends. That’s King Records drummer Philip Paul and wife Roberta in the red convertible. The fellow in the top hat is entrepreneur and politician Jim Tarbell dressed as departed legend Peanut Jim Shelton.

Breaking up all the locals in the parade were some easily recognized out of towners. Budweiser isn’t my favorite beer but these guys are my favorite horses.

There’ll be nothing but locals from here on out. Like some folks from Findlay Market, the Red Hot Dancing Queens, and Kahnie from the American Sign Museum. I even got a shot of Tod piloting the big black truck.

The Kroger Company still has one of Barney Kroger’s delivery wagons from the 1880s and Arnold’s has a passenger bathtub although it’s not one I’m familiar with and it’s not quite self-propelled. On the 25th the bar made a plea for a “go-cart mechanic” and on the 29th there was video evidence that repairs had been successful. However, the tub in the picture is neither of those I’ve seen before, has a rear mounted bubble machine, and is being propelled by a couple of laughing footmen. And it was still way cool. The third picture is of a new-to-me float from Rhinegeist.

This is the bus I had a pre-parade partial shot of in front of the Rhinegeist Brewery. It wasn’t really the last thing in the parade but I thought it would be an OK thing to use for the closing panel. A few hours after the parade wrapped up, the Reds got  their first win of the year by beating the Chicago Cubs 1-0. The three loses were to the Washington Nationals. A second Cubs game scheduled for Tuesday was postponed by rain then, after a pre-planned day off, the team headed to Pittsburgh for a four game stand. They lost the first two, won the third, and one remains to be played. The Reds begin 2018 with a 2-5 record.