My Travels Through Northwest Ohio – Part III

My next stop in Northwest Ohio was to the Miami and Eric Canal at Providence Metropark.  I envisioned the serenity Northwest Ohioans must of felt when the canals were finally built.  The canal made it easier to travel back and forth from Cincinnati to Toledo during the 1800s.  After the settlers came to Ohio, they found Ohio to be one big swamp.  The disbelief the settlers felt after arriving in Northwest Ohio must have made some of them long for their homeland again.  The settlers that came, stayed and made a home for themselves.  The Miami-Erie canal symbolized the pioneer lifestyle that was so prevalent in the 1800s.  Even though working on the canal was arduous, it did bring relief from the complicated times the pioneers faced.

The quiet and serene travel up the canal had to be exciting for these pioneers.  The Indians and British no longer posed a threat to the settlers. Trade relations improved among towns after the British were defeated in the war of 1812.  The canal made trading between towns easier which created businesses and allowed pioneers a convenient way to visit family and friends without being attacked.  Entrepreneurs were also on the rise because of the canal.  Travel made the exchange of goods easier and lucrative for the settlers in Northwest Ohio.  As communities grew, the importance of the canal could not be underestimated.  I pictured communities cropping up along the Miami-Erie canal bringing expansion and prosperity to their communitities.  When I compared how life was for the pioneers with their covered wagons, getting stuck in the mud and at times moving at a snail’s pace, is it no wonder that these citizens looked upon the canal as a Godsend.  These canals greatly enhanced everyone’s life during the 1800s.  However, this canal not only brought prosperity but, it also brought crime such as bootlegging and prostutition.  Now imagine, the bootlegging of alcohol and what you had were drunken brawls along the Miami-Erie canal.  Taverns and Saloons were built to handle the drinking crowds.  If you were religious back then and most of the settlers were, they had to have been upset by what they were seeing in their own towns.  No doubt, women for hire became common, as these men wanted pleasure to go along with their drinking binges.  All in all, the canal made life much easier for the pioneers in this Ohio country.

GONE TO SOON

I was on my way home and then I saw on twitter that Whitney Houston was dead. I was stunned to hear that she was gone.  I asked myself, how could this happen, she was still young and getting her life in order. A great talent with a beautiful voice is stilled forever.  Thank goodness she will live forever through her music.  I do hope that she will be remembered for her talent, beauty, grace and what she contributed to the world of music.  She was someone’s daughter, mother, cousin and friend.  We do not need to rehash the problems she had later in life.  We should always remember the beautiful voice that was the gift that she gave to all of us.  However, I am sure that an onslaught of media gossip, books and interviews will ensue trying to profit off the death of this Icon. I wish they would let her rest in peace, but, I know they won’t.  As for me, I want to thank Ms. Houston for the wonderful legacy in music she has left us all.  Rest well my Lady, rest well, your journey has just begun!

My Travels Through Northwest Ohio – Part II

The next place I visited was Fallen Timbers in Maumee, Ohio.  The settlers were very hungry to settle on any land they could get their hands on.  Fallen Timbers however, provided the Indians that opportunity.  It was part of the vast Northwest Ohio Territory that the Indians had in its possession.  With the onslaught of settlers coming to the Ohio land, war was inevitable.  The settlers coming to unfamiliar territory must have been terrified.  I certainly would have been fearful hearing and knowing how treacherous and deadly the Indians were.  Women and children were completely defenseless if their husbands were killed or captured.  So being a female, I would not want to be anywhere near the Indians.  When you have lived with your husband or in an extended family for a certain period of time, you are accustomed to a certain way of life. Coming to a foreign land with the potential of having your entire family wiped out sent chills down my spine.

I imagained setting up house on the Ohio Territory.  The building of a house,the making of furniture for the family and the planting and hunting for food was a difficult at best.  Women in particular were vulnerable because if their husbands being killed in battle, they usually were taken as prisoners and later on would become concubines of men from other tribes.  During this time, Anthony Wayne fought the Indians over this land.  It was common for Indians to also kidnapped the settlers children and scalp them alive.  These types of scenes were horrific as I pictured what the settlers were going through during this time period.

On both sides, there were bloody defeats for sixty years.  Lives came and gone in a flash due to the skirmishes over the Ohio country and particular over the Northwest Ohio Territory.  However, regardless how difficult life was for both the Indians and the settlers, they brought to this table a sense of pride, conviction, and a tenaciousness to make this part of the country their own.  There is something fundamental about land and how man is willing to risk his life to buy and own it.

The views of Indians and settlers on how best to occupy the Northwest Ohio Territory brought war, heartache, and death to both sides.  This conflict to control Northwest Ohio would last sixty years until General Wayne’s defeat of the Indians at Fallen Timbers.  This battle would prove to be the decisive victory for America and would eventually lead to the war of 1812 in which total British control would finally be defeated once and for all.

 

Jim Tressel and the University of Akron

Jim Tressel has been hired by the University of Akron as the Vice President of Strategic Engagement.  I am extremely pleased that Mr. Tressel has found a new home at the University of Akron.  The media has already started on doing another hatchet job on Mr. Tressel’s reputation.  I think the media should give it a rest now. Tressel erred and he knows he erred however, he deserves another chance. No one is perfect and after all, he didn’t commit a crime, break the law or commit treason against the United States Government. Futhermore, he did not molest children. Regardless if any of you believe in God or not, how many of you including myself have made mistakes through the course of our lives and were given another chance at redemption. Its all about forgiveness and second chances. He’s a human being and made mistakes. Mistakes are only a problem when you don’t learn from them. Kudos to the University of Akron for standing tall and hiring Mr. Tressel. In my eyes, he is still a 5* man!

My Travels through Northwest Ohio – Part 1

Throughout my travels in Ohio, I was amazed at the landmarks that Ohio has.  Our Metroparks are just beautiful and there is so much history in our parks that I just could not believe the amount of information I gathered just by visiting the Metroparks in our area.  It is nice to know that Ohio played a major role in the developing new nation.  Ohio was a leader in the political as well as the industrial landsacape that would eventually make the United States a powerhouse.  Thanks to our earlier pioneers, Ohio has a rich history that I hope will be passed for generations to come.

My first visit was to Sidecut Metropark.  The early people that lived in Ohio some 10,000 years ago were considered nomadic hunters.  I envisioned myself living during this time and realizing how different it was for people back then.  Nevertheless, this was their way of living and they adapted appropriately.  I am basically a meat eater, but back then the main staple was berriers, fruit, and nuts.  It would seem to me that I would have had a difficult time with this diet, like Jonathan Alder did.  But evenutally, I would have adapted to the lifestyle and foods of that period.  When I looked out into the park, I could understand why these people loved the Ohio country so.  It’s beauty and serenity is felt everywhere you go throughout this prehistoric land.  Other than the rationing of food, I could not envisioned myself living a prehistoric life.  I would need all of the modern conveniences that we have today.  It would be so difficult living out in the elements with basically a tent to live under.

The climatic changes that occurred after the glacier age enable the nomadic people to live in the woodland area.  The climate became warmer and drier and these climatic changes lasted for two centuries.  This made the environment mild for the nomads to live under.  You really had to depend on your common senses to survive out in the open.  If the climate didn’t kill you, the beastly animals would most surely be a viable threat.

It had to have been extremely difficult for women and children during this time frame.  There was no running water or toilets, all necessary items were found and used outside.  The water they drank came from the river and streams near their tents.  The women had to wash their clothes in the river on beds of rocks.  The men had to hunt and bring the kill for the women to prepare either for dinner or for covering.  Now imagine women cutting and removing the intestines and other parts of an animal, discarding the internal organs and then having to skin the animal either for clothing, covering, or for supper.  I can’t even imagine myself doing these things.  I have to admit, these prehistoric women worked very hard to feed and protect their families from the harsh environment.  These women even though their husbands dominated them, in a strange way, these pioneer women served as role models for today’s women.  The strength and courage these women possessed was an inspiration to me.  They met the challenges and courageously endured the elements, the constant travels, and the bringing forth of children in less than ideal conditions and yet and still to be able to thrive is indeed a miracle and a credit to these women.

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.

Here are some suggestions for your first post.

1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
2. Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting  page you read on the web.
3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can always preview any post or edit it before you share it to the world.