Libraries and breweries can both be considered major contributers to the advancement of mankind and one of each came together on Saturday to give that advancement a boost. In early 2015, something called MakerSpace opened at the Cincinnati Public Library. MakerSpace provides many pieces of modern techonogy in support of learning by doing. A selection of MakerSpace equipment filled a section of the Rhinegeist Brewery on Saturday afternoon.
Library personnel were present to assist people of all ages with hands-on activities like decorating ping-pong balls and making buttons. Most MakerSpace equipment made available at the brewery was from the low-tech end of the spectrum but some higher-tech and decidedly more complex equipment is part of the set up at the library. 3-D printing is among the high-tech capabilities available at the library and one was being demonstrated at the brewery but it was not part of the hands-on activity. That’s it in the opening picture midway through printing a copy of a Pokémon Pikachu.
Ella Mumford, who I know through my friendship with her proud father, is Team Leader for the Main Library’s MakerSpace. The table top version of Ella as a 100% redhead is a product of 3-D printing. Being a library presentation, there are, of course, some books on display. While these happen to be about the concept of the “maker” movement and not the product of it, book publishing is a MakerSpace capability.
Several cornhole games were taking place in front of the MakerSpace area and the brewery’s normal activities (i.e., selling beer) continued. The markings on the floor are for the whiffle ball games frequently played here.
Some might remember 2014’s 
Buying local is a good thing and so is reading local. I was able to combine the two recently. November 30 was the official release date for a new book about Cincinnati and in the early evening its author made the book and his signature available at a downtown location that appears between its covers. The book was Fading Ads of Cincinnati, the author Ronny Salerno, and the location Igby’s Bar inside a building with a fading “TWINE PAPER” painted on its side. Those two dim words are typical of the fading ads that are the book’s subject. How could I not?
The photos aren’t left to stand alone. Captions describe each of them, of course, and many get multiple paragraphs of attention. Salerno has been successful in digging up many of the signs’ histories with some of the best stories coming from signs identifying local or regional companies that are no longer with us. Names like Shillito’s and Brendamour’s will be recognized by many Cincinnatians and probably some others as well. Out-of-towners might not be familiar with local landmarks like Davis Furniture (“The Friendly Store”) or the Dennison Hotel (“105 Rooms – 60 baths”) but they are exactly what I and some other locals think of when we think of “fading ads” or the more common “ghost signs”.
Salerno brings up the phrase “ghost signs” in the introduction and says people often thought he was writing about the supernatural when he used the term. “Fading advertisements”, he says, doesn’t have that problem. Fair enough but it’s just possible that his position also has something to do with the book’s predetermined title. “Ghost sign” slips into the book a time or two and in the final chapter Salerno more or less acknowledges the validity of both. As for me, I’m comfortable and most familiar with the term “ghost signs” (and “ghost bridges” and “ghost towns”) so I’ll just continue to think of Fading Ads of Cincinnati as a book about ghost signs.
