My Christmas Gift to You -- The Ideal Bookshelf

 In 1843 Dickens wrote a little story in but six weeks time about a man named Scrooge.  A few years later in Victorian England, "Holiday Card' traditions began in earnest.  The legend of St. Nick continued to spread from its humble beginnings in the third century to various European countries with newer twists and names.  Trees and decorating took on new patterns by the early 1600's.  Years later, post WWI veterans brought many of these traditions to America upon their return.  As the 2013 Holiday Season ramps up and Santa's list records all the usual gift requests, let us consider the following books for our home library.  Here are my thoughts on the gift of print.

The books that we choose to keep and display-let alone read- can say a lot about who we are and how we are remembered.  These books define our dreams and ambitions and in many cases retrace our steps along the way.  Our personal libraries reveal our true nature.  Much has been made as of late about the demise of print.  Sadly, it is true.  Large box stores like Borders are gone.  Daily newspapers are nearly extinct, some appearing but two to three times a week.  Social media, not even a decade old has trumped the printed word for all future generations.  Old photos and print will become phantoms on the shelves.  Luckily for us, the local historical societies in Lake County remain the lifelong accumulators of books both past and modern, live in houses large enough to accommodate hundreds of books and documents, as well as take in any overspill from the former libraries of friends and donors.  As the holiday season approaches, here is a list of my ideal bookshelf.  Each book serves as part cataloging manual, part homage to community history, adventure story and autography of our hometowns then and now.  With special thanks to the authors and historical societies whose efforts preserved our past- here is a totally incomplete list.  Happy collecting – let the biblio-lunacy continue.

Images of America – Madison, 2010 - Denise Michaud

Images of America- Willoughby, 2012 - Christina Wilkinson

Here is Lake County, 1964 – Janice and Barbara Cooper, Jack Daniels, et al.

Lake County 1871-1960, 2009 – Lake County Historical Society

History of Kirtland, 1982 – Anne B. Prusha

Mentor, The First 200 years, 1997

History of Mentor Headlands and Vicinity, 1957

By the Buckeye, 1984

Fairport Harbor, 1976 – Fairport Harbor Historical Society

Images of America-Fairport Harbor, 2003 – Fairport Harbor Historical Society

Roses to Retail (Mentor), 2011 – Barbara Snell Davis

Mentor-A Retrospective, 1988

Merry Grinchmas...Yule Love This Week

                     "...What if Christmas...doesn't come from a store.
                     What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."


This classic quote the 1966 animated story by Ted Geisel, aka. Dr. Suess never resonates more than this week in Lake County.  Here are three more family activities to highlight your holiday season, plus a bonus for the children.  All can be free events for the entire family.

Harbor Holidays & The Grinch  December 7 - Fairport Harbor
For over a decade now this event has been another best kept secret in Lake County.  Harbor Holidays was an event conceived by the local merchants association to offer a unique day of shopping and eating to the community.  The school, local churches, both museums, and all businesses open their doors to share the season.  Arts, crafts, and local cultural foods are available for sampling and purchase.  The Grinch steals his way into Fairport from 10-4pm appearing at each venue in search of presents and some Suessian mayhem.  His appearance at the Fairport Harbor Public Library at mid-day is an annual family favorite.  At 6pm the Grinch may be seen atop the iconic 1871 lighthouse tower where he recites the classic tale of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'  Photos with Santa follows and the stolen gifts are donated to the local FHPD and VFW sponsored 'Fill the Cruiser' for Toys for Tots campaign.

'Unto Us A Son is Given'  November 29-January 5 - Historic Kirtland
A not to be missed event featuring over 600 nativity scenes and thousands of sparkling holiday lights adorns the campus of Historic Kirtland and its Mormon Migration site.  From 'family treasure' type nativities to some truly special creations, these nativities are well worth the drive.  Highlights in 2013 include the nativity by Norbert Kohen of South Euclid and the Croation Nativity made by a WWII refugee.

Miracle on Erie Street, Stroll & Festival  December 5-8  - Downtown Willoughby
Longing for a more simpler time?  Remembering downtown Cleveland and Halle's window displays?  Well this annual event in downtown Willoughby will kindle old memories or create new ones.  A lighthing ceremony, auctions, and small merchant storefront shopping experiences are just steps away as you travel the main streets on your stop in Willoughby.

Bonus for Children:
            Recycle, Reuse, Rejoice - Holiday Stories and Fun   

The Fairport Harbor Public Library will feature its annual daily reading garden and craft events on the following dates.  No registration is required, all are welcome. Multiple time slots are offered- call 354-8191 for details.
Let There Be Peace on Earth - December 3-5
Trees and Candlelight - December 10-12
Happy Holidays to All - December 17-19

Yule Love These...The Tannenbaum Trail and more

Tempus fugit...Time flies.  The holiday season is upon us and I don't mean Black Thursday/Friday.  Here are four events that capture the 'spirit of the season' in Lake County.  Each is definitely unique and each may make a memory or start a tradition that is sure to endure.

Tannenbaum Trail     December 6 and 7
A self driving tour that visits 18 wineries.  Each participant will pick up a small Christmas Tree at the first stop you visit.  From then on, a ceramic ornament with the winery's name on it will decorate your tree as you continue along this holiday vine times trail.  Details: www.ohiowines.org

Spirit of the Season     December 7
Painesville invites you to capture the 'Spirit of the Season' from noon to 3:30pm.  A carnival, crafts fair, holiday activities and a parade featuring the jolly red man himself are on tap for the day.  A mailbox in Veteran's Park for children is now in place.  Those children submitting letters will receive a response if a return label is affixed.  Details: please call 440-392-5912

A Christmas Tea with President James A. and Lucretia Garfield     December 8
Ed Haney and Debbie Weinkamer will portray the presidential pair on December 8th at Sisters Tea Room from 1-3pm.  You are invited for cranberry scones, broccoli soup, chicken croquette and corn pudding.  Sisters Tea Room is located on Mentor Avenue.  Details:  sisters tea.com or 440-290-6556

Home for the Holidays     December 5-7
A Victorian Display of Christmas throughout Lake County highlights the Lake County Historical Center's annual exhibits.  Every room of the center will be adorned.  Artisians, food, music boxes, and miniature dollhouses await visitors of all ages.  The Center located at 415 Riverside Drive in Painesville is open from 11-4pm daily. 

Part II of this holiday events calendar will appear on December 2nd.  For a listing of all holiday events visit www.lakevisit.com

Bookish Trivia for the Old Fashioned and Analogue -- In Celebration of our County Libraries,

A lot has changed in the last ten years.  More than half of the books purchased today are not actually books.  They are e-books.  Newspapers once the staple of every household on a daily basis have been reduced to twice or thrice weekly deliveries.  Where once seven locals were in existence, now only one is daily in our county.  Remember when Waldenbooks, B. Dalton and Borders were found in neighborhood shopping venues.  Remember when dust jackets seduced you into a sensory experience.  There was even a time not so long ago when public libraries were found in our  public schools.  Books and their repositories, the public library were a great asset and great resource for our community.  Today we celebrate the community library, the one place helping us save our endangered species.

Mentor Public Library Facts

• The Mentor Library Company was founded in 1819.  Six shareholders paid $2.50 per share to have access to the 79 volumes in the collection.  In a short time the collection grew to 194 and were housed in private homes.  A single book was loaned out for three months.
• In 1875 the Mentor Library Association was founded.  Membership fees were $1.50 annually and books were on loan for two week increments.
• James R. Garfield took over the library system in 1890 and served thru 1927.  Village Hall served as the first official library building and had a collection in excess of 767 books.
• Mentor Public Library became the new official name  in 1895.
• Abram Garfield helped design the first public library in Mentor.  Over 2,400 books were now housed under a single roof. The building is still standing on the corner of Nowlen and Center Street.
• Miss Frances Cleveland was the pioneering librarian serving from 1906-1944.
• The Mentor Headlands Branch Library founded by the Fairport Library became its own entity in 1959.

Wickliffe Public Library Facts

• Wicliffe's first library was once located inside a pharmacy.  The store's owner loaned out 280 books from the Willoughby Public Library collection.  The year was 1929. It remained a viable book lending institution thru 1942.
•  1936 saw the creation of the Wickliffe Public Library.  It was housed in what today is the current middle school.
• The current library located on Lincoln Road is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013.

Painesville / Morley Public Library Facts

• The first library was begun in 1878 and was part of the Temperance Society Reading Room.
• Jesse H. Morley donated the funds to establish the first public library in Painesville in 1899.  Named after his parents, Julia Erwin was its first librarian.
• 1957 saw the first county bookmobile service get underway.  Morley Public Library continued this service until recent years.

Fairport Harbor Public Library Facts

• The first library appeared in 1895 as part of the Kasvi Temperance Hall site on Eagle Street.  Over 138 pieces of literature were in the collection including the Anne of Green Gables series and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm novels.
• The first school library was in 1904 at the Plum St. School and later McKinley School site. A library was also created in second floor classrooms at the high school.
• 1922 saw the first truly public library established, funded in part by the Public Works Programs of the era.  The building is located on the Harding High School property.
• A library station was opened at Sunset Point in Painesville Twp in 1955.
• A library station was opened in 1957 in the Headlands.

Space limits the length of this journey thru the annals of real paper and the analogue era.  I love real books, and I love real bookstores.  I don't want them to go the way of the LP, typewriter, Pontiac, and Life Magazine.  But if they do, go shopping the old fashioned way - at your local community library.


Sources-  FHHS, Fairport Book    News-Herald, Andrew Case article, websites Mentor & Morley Public Libraries

The Gales of November and the Great Lakes Storm of 1913

'The Gales of November' or 'Witch of November' are but two terms used to report the peak of the Great Lakes storm season.  Mariners have long known and feared these terms used to describe the rapidly changing and often brutal weather conditions affecting the lakes.  The Lake Erie Gale of 1811 was the earliest record of a ship bound from Buffalo to Sandusky meeting its demise to this storied storm.  In 1835 the Comet and Godolphin were lost near Fairport, Ohio due to a similar weather uprising.  Black Friday took place on October 20, 1916 and the fates of four vessels were lost to time.  Of course the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 was immortalized in song by Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.  Today's blog examines the 'Big Blow', 'Freshwater Fury', 'White Hurricane' that occurred from November 7 thru November 10, 1913.  Reaching its peak on November 9th, the storm overturned ships on four of the five lakes, left 250 lives lost, destroyed 19 ships, and stranded 19 others.

The Prelude:
On November 6th, The Detroit News called for a storm of moderate strength to begin shortly.  The combination of warm lake waters and Canadian cold fronts heading southbound would be like none before.
The Storm:
November 7-  Hurricane winds develop and blizzard-like conditions arise on Lake Huron.
November 8-  The storm was upgraded to severe.  A brief false lull tempted many captains on the St. Marys River, Lake Erie, Detroit, and St. Clair River to disregard the warning.
November 9- This 24 hour period marked the peak of the storm's fury.  Rotating winds from Erie, Pennsylvania and Buffalo combine with the exisiting conditions to magnify the forces exponentially.
November 10/11th-  The Storm reached London, Ontario.  Day two saw the storm lose power to the warm waters of the Great Lakes.  Cleveland, Ohio suffered a 17 inch snowfall to record 6 foot accumulations in the downtown area.  Power was lost and destruction rampant.  Cleveland's fate was repeated in many other ports along the lakes.
The Aftermath:
This 'Witch of November' lasted over 16 hours at its peak, nearly 11 hours longer than average.  Thirty-eight ships suffered the wrath of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 and over 5 million dollars of losses were reported.  The bell tolled 250 for the lives lost.

Lake County Mini-Profiles -- Frank N. Shankland the ' Outdoors Diary '

Born in 1880, Frank N. Shankland of Willoughby was a noted ornithologist and naturalist.  His parents were early pioneers and his father a veteran of the Civil War.  The Shanklands came to Cleveland from their home in Kentucky.  A move to Madison was followed by another move to Willoughby which became the home to Frank and his two siblings.  Frank graduated Magna Cum Laude from Willoughby High in 1898 and Western Reserve University in 1902.  From earliest boyhood, his keen interest in nature and the outdoors was noticed.  His study of the American Eagle at Vermilion garnered citations in many leading ornithologist articles of the era.  He became known throughout Ohio as an 'Outdoors Diary.'  Shankland recorded the first occurance for Lake County of the Yellow Tail, Western Meadowlark, Lapland Longspur, and Barrow's Goldeneye.  He also documented the first nesting records for the Sharp Shinned Hawk, Purple Finch, and Piping Plover.

Shankland was a member of the Cleveland Bird Club.  Frank had a series of juvenile bird books published that sold over four million copies and found their way to London, China and such.  He even found time to publish a series of books on the topics of 'famous romances' and 'teen-age romances.'  He became a sought after dinner speaker and even became a first person speaker in the role of Abraham Lincoln.  Other  local history topics he addressed included the Indians and Mound Builders, the first county settlements by whites, the tavern days, and the county's first medical college.  Frank Shankland served locally for many years as a trustee, secretary, and benefactor to Andrews School for Girls.

Shankland even found time to be more civic-minded.  He served at the County Court House for years and achieved perfect attendance.  He was treasurer of Lake County, served 35 years on the Willoughby Public Library Board, and was treasurer / trustee for the Willoughby Methodist Church for fifty years.  Mr. Shankland passed away in 1955 leaving behind a resume that may never be equaled in the modern era.  Frank's legacy may also be one of Lake County's least told stories.

Source -The Historical Society Quarterly, November, 1967  article by Marion Walker Fickes

Mentor @ 50 -- Anniversary Lecture Series Culminates with Hometown Heroes

Hometown Hero  -  Coach Coogan Reese,  1916-2004

A ten part free lecture series celebrating the City of Mentor’s 50^th Anniversary culminates with a program on October 29^th honoring ‘Hometown Heroes, Past and Present.’   As a former MHS student, class of ‘75 and retired educator, I can think of no one other than Coach Reese more deserving of being recognized.  It was not until I spoke at his funeral and served as pall bearer in 2004 that I came to realize how giving a man he truly was.  I had only known Coach Reese as a guidance counselor and my cross country – track coach before that moment.  Here is his story and my recollections of a hometown hero to many of us former Mentor Cardinal student-athletes.

Coach Reese had a military career few even knew of.  He enlisted in the US Army in 1933 and served thru 1937 attaining a rank of PFC.  He reenlisted in 1940 and served as an intelligence officer with the 475^th Infantry thru 1945.  1944-45 saw him experience some of the War’s most iconic moments in India, Burma, and China.  It was not until giving his eulogy that I learned of Combat Awards, Purple Hearts, China and US awarded  ‘Stars’.

Coach’s next phase of life was known to me.  He attended Hiram College, starred in athletics while there and graduated in 1949.  This I know because Coach Reese always pitched his alma matter to us on the track team each year.  He even took us to the campus for a day and introduced us to his classmate, friend, and another war decorated veteran – track coach Bill Hollinger.  That visit sealed my college choice.

Upon earning his degree in education, Coach Reese located to Lordstown,Ohio for two years, residing in a boarding house with his young family.  He taught history, physical education, and drivers education at the high school.  He also founded the football program at the school.  In 1951, Coach Reese joined Lee Tressel and Arden ‘Stretch’ Robertson at Mentor High.  Coach Reese was the QB coach, asst. basketball and track coach.  In time he became the head boys basketball coach.  In 1956 he left basketball and football to assume the head track coach duties.  In ’57 he added head cross country coach to that list.  Coach Reese remained in both those positions for more than three decades.  His last year was ’79-80 and a young coach at Euclid had the opportunity to share a moment with his former coach and mentor at the Euclid and Mentor Relays.  That coach was me.

Coach retired and moved to Punta Gorda, Florida but his influence never waned.  His Christmas card arrived a day after Thanksgiving every year until his passing.  Pictures of his wife Mary’s exploits as senior citizen community baker or Senior Olympics medalist followed.  Stories about golf rounds and memories from our shared past never faded.  Coach Reese touched the lives of probably in excess of 3000 athletes in his time at Mentor.  My story is not unlike any other person who met Coach Reese – our lives were intertwined and made all the better because of his generosity and commitment to our total lives.  Hometown Hero is a title that is synonomous with Clarence Richard Reese – Coach Reese.