A little R & R on the C & O

Birthday parties, horse races, and work have all kept me occupied over the past couple of weeks. It's not a great excuse for not blogging; in fact, the busier I am, the more I should be documenting these activities.

The good news is that I have a mini-adventure this week that will prove to be a fun blog post with lots of accompanying photos. I won't spoil the surprise but I will say that the next post will be TRAIN-tastic!



All Aboard!

Happy Birthday Mrs. Jack...and Libby MacVeigh!

There are a number of things I miss about Boston. Aside from close friends, I miss the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The museum is a real Boston gem and is sometimes overshadowed by the neighboring Museum of Fine Arts and others.

During my last year in Boston, I was an information desk volunteer at the Gardner. I worked at the museum several times a month, helping visitors acclimate to the museum. My favorite part was interacting with them in the galleries because the questions almost always had to do with the history of the museum…which is what makes this institution so remarkable.

In a nutshell, the museum was founded in 1903 by a prominent Bostonian named Isabella Stewart Gardner. The picture to the left is a well-known portrait, painted by Anders Zorn and rests in the museum. She built a Venetian Palace in the Fenway area of Boston to house her vast collection of art. Upon her death in 1924, “Fenway Court” became the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Mrs. Jack, as she was known, stipulated that nothing could change in the museum. As such, the art in the galleries is placed in the same exact manner that she intended. Any violation of this agreement and the contents of the museum would be sold at auction with the proceeds going to Harvard University. Talk about a tough cookie.

Today is Mrs. Jack’s birthday – she would be 170 years young! It’s easy to remember as the museum’s courtyard always features hanging nasturtiums (her favorite flower) in April. I wish I could be there to pay homage to this remarkable woman but also to wander through the galleries and view one of Rembrandt’s self portraits, Titian’s famous Europa, and John Singer Sargent’s El Jaleo.

If you appreciate history and a good mystery, you may want to educate yourself about the famous “Gardner Heist” that took place 20 years ago. Thirteen works were stolen in the middle of the night, including several Rembrandts and a Vermeer, and have yet to be recovered. An excellent book was published last year called The Gardner Heist, written by a longtime investigator of the crime. Even if you aren’t an art aficionado, you will enjoy this book but will be dismayed that such priceless works are still missing. To learn more about Mrs. Jack herself, check out the aptly named Mrs. Jack, a wonderful biography on an amazing woman. To those who are in Boston, or are planning a visit, I wholeheartedly recommend a visit.

This all reminds me that I need to pay another visit to the Taft Museum here in Cincinnati. Like the Gardner, the Taft is a collection housed in a private residence and its existence is owed to former citizens who believed in the sharing of art and history with the public.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Jack. Thank you for leaving such a wonderful legacy.

Off to the races

This post is dedicated to the "Keeneland 5"


Saturday marked my third visit to Keeneland, a Thoroughbred racetrack located outside of Lexington, Kentucky. My past two visits were in October, so it was nice to be out there on a beautiful spring day.

Oh boy, is this place heaven or what! While the drive down from Cincinnati on I-75 leaves something to be desired (at least immediately outside of the city), the area around Lexington is wonderful...green hills, blue skies, and horses. Seeing as we sat in traffic for a good hour outside of the gates, I got the chance to really admire all of those things. And to watch planes departing and arriving at Lexington Blue Grass Airport. The wait was worth it.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm not well-versed in horse racing...at all. I attempted to read some of the literature that they make available at the track to see if I could understand anything about racing and betting, but to no avail. So while I didn't make any bets (I know, I know), I did get to enjoy the sun, lots of Miller Lite, and delicious Kentucky Burgoo.

I marvel at what a big deal Keeneland is to Cincinnati residents. The Kentucky Derby is obviously big as well, and since Louisville is less than 2 hours away, that race is easy enough to get to. Speaking of which, New Englanders take note - do not try to pronounce Louisville phonetically. Instead, try saying "Looavuhl". Most towns in Massachusetts have crazy pronunciations (Ayer, Worcester, Billerica...to name a few), so we have absolutely no right to pass judgment!

While at Keeneland, we ran into several fellow Cincinnatians, proving that it can be quite the social event. Another interesting observation is the demographic. In the clubhouse area, you had men in suits and bow ties, coupled with ladies in dresses and hats. On the general admission side, you had the same...as well as a substantial amount of denim and miniskirts. Keeneland also has a great gift shop, and with the Derby in a few short weeks, there was a Christine A. Moore trunk show with hats galore. I tried on a big red hat, similar to the one below, but figured the price tag of over $500 was a bit out of my range. However, the hats are beautiful, and if I ever do go to Churchill Downs, I would consider purchasing one...at a lower price point.




So while I didn't walk away with some winnings or a big, fluffy hat, I can easily say that it was a fun way to spend a Saturday. Obviously, the company was infinitely more enjoyable:)

Next horse extravaganza: Foxfield 2010 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Giddyup!

Welcome to Tornado Season

Over the past week, I’ve scratched my head about what to write on Northeast Meets Midwest. Blogging is harder than I thought!

Today, at approximately 12:00 pm, I found my new post. Or rather, I HEARD my new post. At noon, the monthly tornado siren blared through the streets of my neighborhood, Mt. Lookout. These drills are deployed the first Wednesday of every month, and if you are curious to hear one, check out this site. Since I work from my home office, I have heard these alarms before, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I actually knew what they were. In previous months, I immediately looked out the window to see if a fire truck or ambulance was blazing up Delta Avenue. The emergency vehicle never appeared, so I continued with my day. Turns out I should pay attention.

To a native New Englander, tornadoes were almost a fictional type of occurrence with my only exposure to them being from movies like Twister and The Wizard of Oz. In fact, I had to Google tornado to determine the spelling of the plural form - was it TORNADOS or TORNADOES. It appears to be the latter. Instead of funnel clouds, we get hurricanes or nor’easters. In the Midwest, tornadoes do happen, and I’ve noticed that local news stations will often mention that “tornado warnings are in effect for the tri-state area”. Toto, we’re definitely not in New England anymore.

To find out the likelihood of a tornado visiting my neck of the woods, I did some research into the history of Cincinnati tornadoes. Apparently the area was hit by two devastating storms in 1974 and 1999. If we keep with that 25-year gap, we're up for a big one in 2024. Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about meteorology and tornado systems (obviously) so don't take my word for it.

While on the subject of weather, I saw that this weekend's forecast is promising. This bodes well for my tentative trip to Keeneland on Saturday aka horse racing heaven in Lexington, Kentucky. Like tornadoes, horse racing is a new thing for me, even though it certainly exists on the East Coast. Anyone heard of the Preakness or Saratoga Springs? I'm sure to have some good commentary and pictures after this weekend and hopefully a fatter wallet.

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