The 20-Day Drought

Today is March 31, 2010 and I have officially gone 20 days without a post. I guess my vignette about family history was tough to top.

It has been a busy couple of weeks with work, travel to Boston and CT, work, birthday parties (everyone in Cincinnati is turning 30 or 60!), and more importantly, beautiful weather. Spring is here, and thankfully, we have only had a little rain...as opposed to my water-logged friends in Beantown. The days are longer, thanks to daylight savings. Many people don't realize that Cincinnati is on the western edge of the Eastern Time Zone and Boston is on the opposite end. I get comments all the time with the assumption that I live in the Central Time Zone. As such, here's what you have:

Cincinnati - March 31, 2010
Sunrise: 7:24 am
Sunset: 7:59 pm

Boston - March 31, 2010
Sunrise: 6:29 am
Sunset: 7:07 am

I don't know about you, but I'll take the later sunset time. As we approach the summer solstice, the sunset times in the 'nati will go past 9 pm! On my birthday (June 22nd), I can play outside until 9:07 pm. Save the date!

A Northeast Girl Goes A Huntin'

roots!
the funny limbs that grow underground
that keep you from fallin' down
don't you think that you'll need 'em now?
"Your Redneck Past" -- Ben Folds Five

I’ve become more and more nostalgic about family history. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were scattered in other areas of New England and beyond, so I didn’t have the experience of growing up with kin in my backyard. Interestingly enough, many of my childhood friends were in the same boat. My wonderful hometown truly was transient.

Now that I’m in Cincinnati, the nostalgia has grown even more. My mom grew up in the area and both of her parents were raised in southwestern Ohio. Very different from my upbringing! Not only were both sets of grandparents within a short driving distance, but cousins and aunts and uncles WERE in the backyard. Many of the people I’ve met in Cincinnati of my generation had the same experience. I marvel at this, and while I wish at times that I grew up with extended family nearby, I am definitely grateful for the immediate family that I had with me at all times.

This past weekend, I decided to dig up roots with some research and exploration. My first stop was the Cincinnati Public Library to attend the monthly workshop focused on genealogy research. The resources available at the library and online are limitless. It was daunting and definitely genealogy overload! I decided that the best course of action was to target a specific lineage – starting with me (which is what you do) and going through my mom, to her father, to his father, etc. Prior to this research, I had a general idea of names, professions, locations, but all of this was information that I had heard from someone else. Being in Ohio, I now had the chance to actual visit the places that my ancestors knew and loved. I was in the cradle of my family’s history! Before I knew it, I was in the car, headed north on I-75 to Hamilton, Ohio to see the spots frequented by my grandfather’s family. I could go on and on and transcribe all of my notes here, but for brevity’s sake, I’ll narrow down my conclusions to a few bullet points and photos.

Here’s what I learned:

Finding an obituary for a grandfather you never knew, while emotional, can fill you with absolute pride, respect, and love.

Tracing your middle name back several generations and seeing where it first appeared in the family line is cool. On Saturday, I was able to trace my own middle name back to the mid-1800s although I’m confident I can go back further.

Sorting through census records can shed light on where people lived and who lived with them…once upon a time. Ancestry.com and Family Search Labs (maintained by the Mormon Church) are excellent online sources. Just don’t let the handwriting bother you!

Scouring databases and publications is helpful, but at the end of the day, nothing beats “oral history” and getting the stories from the people who lived them. That's next on my to-do list.

And here’s what I saw:

Hamilton on the banks of the Miami River

My grandfather's childhood home in Hamilton

Farmhouse outside of Hamilton where my grandfather and his family lived in later years

What a day and I just scratched the surface.

All of this research makes me circle back to the quote at the very beginning of this post, which comes from a Ben Folds Five song. I’ve always been aware of my Ohio roots but being here has made me feel even more connected to, and appreciative of, those underground appendages. To answer Ben Folds’ question, I do think that I need them....and I want them more than ever.

Choo Choo Choo...aka Ohio's 3C Corridor

This past Wednesday night, I went down to The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. This is quite a place and once my Northeast friends start to visit me (cough, cough), I will be sure to take them to this landmark.

The Museum Center is truly one-stop shopping. You can visit three separate museums housed in one grand old building. I remember stopping at the Museum Center years ago when visiting my grandmother. The two lasting impressions I had were of the amazing art deco façade and the murals in the huge rotunda depicting scenes from Cincinnati’s rich history.


The grandeur of both the exterior and interior really hits you. Every time I drive by Union Terminal, I have that “wow” feeling.

The reason for my visit was not to tour one of the museums but to attend an All Aboard Ohio Cincinnati Chapter meeting. In this previous post, I talked a bit about public transportation and the issue of Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland rail travel. I ended my thoughts with a picture of Thomas the Tank Engine, so clearly my post was a tad on the whimsical side. On Wednesday night, however, the conversation I witnessed was anything but whimsical and the reality of increased and improved train travel in Ohio was tangible.

I was absolutely blown away by how much the attendees knew about trains – the history, the politics, the actual mechanics, and more. The members of this growing chapter represented all facets of train travel and spoke so passionately about the importance of this initiative in our local economy. Like anything that costs money, there are very vocal opponents. I’ll readily admit that I've looked mainly at pro-train information on the internet and have only talked with the pro-train people. I may not completely know and understand all of the logistics and politics of trains, but I do understand just how great an improved rail system in Ohio would be. I am biased, having grown up in a region where train travel is a daily part of life. We certainly take it for granted out there, and I hope that all of you cherish ever moment you spend on the MBTA or Metro-North…yeah, right.

The exciting part of the meeting was that we not only met in Tower A – the old control tower during Union Terminal’s heyday – but that we received the promising news that the Cincinnati City Council passed a motion declaring its preference of Union Terminal as the local stop in Cincinnati instead of building a new station outside of the city. To paraphrase notable Cincinnati resident Neil Armstrong, it’s a small step for Ohio trains but one giant leap for Cincinnati trains.

I, for one, am excited to stay on top of All Aboard Ohio’s work and to have that “wow” moment when I walk through Union Terminal’s rotunda to board a train to Cleveland and beyond.

Important Links:

All Aboard Ohio

Linking Ohio

3C is Me!

Environmental Benefits of Ohio Passenger Rail