What happened??

I had a realization last week as I drove up to Middletown (about 45 minutes north of Cincinnati) for dinner. I have always had a fascination with history, historical spots, people, you name it. When I moved to Cincinnati, I continued that love of history but with a certain zeal. The history of my family could be found in Cincinnati! There are unpublished blogposts in my head about all the interesting tidbits I've found, but for now, I had one of those real moments in which you understand something about yourself.

I am an observer. Over the past few months, I've found myself looking at maps of the area, surveying the landscape, and reading up about the area as much as I can. There's not a moment when I'm driving that I don't turn my head to see a rusty train track, a forsaken canal, or an abandoned factory and think "what happened"? My realization (or generalization?) was this: In New England, anything historical is either preserved or used. Call it New England frugality, but there isn't anything out there that we DON'T use. Yet, Cincinnati is a veritable graveyard of "things that were good at one time no longer seem to be useful". I've had these feelings for a long time but it wasn't until I drove across the now-defunct Miami-Erie Canal in Middletown that I was able to put words to these sentiments.

Is it a New England superiority complex? Maybe. Is it the fact that so many industries that once formed the backbone of Ohio life have left the area for greener and cheaper pastures? DEFINITELY. In any case, it was interesting to come to that realization. There's something about Cincinnati that pulls at the heart-strings. Surely a region that saw such an economic and social boom must still have something to offer to the masses, right? And even if those industries are no longer in town, isn't there a way to better preserve the history of the area outside of museums and historical societies? Being somewhat new to town, there's a really good chance I haven't spent enough time focusing on what the area does have. Yet, I can't get the sight of neglected railroads and buildings out of my head.

More thoughts on this issue are sure to emerge. In the meantime, I would love to hear from the native Ohioans out there.