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

Get Your Chili On!

The post is dedicated to my New England friends who probably know very little about Cincinnati chili. During my last business trip to Boston, I talked to a small group of friends about this chili, but in a slightly inarticulate way. The following is my attempt to paint a very chili picture for all of you.

Chili is big business out here. According to the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cincinnatians consume more than two million pounds of the stuff each year! It’s quite different from the chili I knew growing up. I should preface this entire post by saying that I never really ate it as a kid. It’s not that it wasn’t available but more because I was a VERY picky eater and the contents didn’t really appeal to me. To this day, I’m still cautious about chili as most recipes include beans which I don’t like. This is why Cincinnati chili and I are soul mates.

Cincinnati chili, to quote this wikipedia article, is a “regional style of chili characterized by the use of unusual ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves, or chocolate”. Most notable is the consistency which I find akin to a sauce. As a frequent visitor prior to my move here in September 2009, I rarely dined at any of the “hot” chili spots (more to follow about those establishments), given my lack of interest in the dish. When I finally had the opportunity to visit Skyline Chili, I was somewhat horrified that the popular items on the menu were chili on spaghetti (weird) and chili with cheese on hot dogs (gross). My solution was to simply order a bowl of chili, which nearly gave the drive-thru attendant a heart attack. Apparently anyone in the know doesn’t do that. As soon as I got the order, I discovered that I was essentially eating soup. But it was GOOD! There was not a bean to be found and the taste had a surprising, but not scary, kick to it. I was hooked.

After I moved to the area, I decided that it was time to branch out during my next Skyline visit. The thought of chili and cheese on a hot dog still freaked me out, but I rationed that I could handle a 3-way (spaghetti, chili, and heaps of cheese) seeing as I liked all of those ingredients separately. I was hooked again. There was something comforting about the hot chili over the spaghetti…something even better than a hearty Bolognese sauce. Was it the chocolate or cinnamon that is allegedly included in the top secret chili recipe? Or was it the fact that I could refresh each bite with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and oyster crackers? I’m not entirely sure but I do know that it felt right. It was Skyline Time!

Ever since then, I find myself headed to Skyline more than I would like to admit. I recently jumped over to Gold Star Chili to test the greasy waters of Chili Cheese Fries. Oh. My. God. Those are amazing. What I like about the Gold Star chili cheese fries is that you have nice, crinkle-cut fries which withstand the gobs of chili and cheese better than shoestring fries can. Genius! I also tried a chili cheese sandwich which is a coney minus the hot dog. That was pretty good too, and unlike the 3-way, you can enjoy while driving a car. I need to get a grip...on the steering wheel and not on the sandwich.

It’s time to wind this down but how apropos that my longest post thus far is about food?!? Let’s hope that the length of this post does not correlate to the circumference of my waist.

I'm still here...

It's been a busy week for me, hence very little action in blogging land. Work-related travel always throws a wrench into the week but it was productive. If I had been willing to cough up the money for wi-fi on AirTran, perhaps there would have been a blog post from 32,000 feet.

I did come up with a number of topics for future posts, which I hope to start on over the weekend and next week. Here's a sneak preview of what's in store:

* Cincinnati chili (yum) - preferably before I start working out with a new trainer next week

* Family history tidbits

* Cultural organizations in the area - this could help motivate me to actually visit some of them

A few people have made remarks about my blog, both on this site and in person. I would love to have more and would welcome any comments about topics on which I should address. You don't need to have an account so speak up!

Let's Bake!

Breaking news from the culinary world – Easy-Bake Oven inventor, Ronald Howes, dies.

Did you know that he was from Cincinnati? I didn’t.

The Easy-Bake Oven, as my parents can attest to, was the #1 requested item on my Christmas list for about 5 years. Needless to say, I never got one. To this day, I’m not entirely sure why I was denied this “classic light-bulb” oven. My parents might need to post a comment here to give proper justification.

Why did this toy pull at my heart-strings? Obviously the goodies that you could produce were appealing – chocolate brownies, yellow cupcakes, and frosted cookies…oh my! Perhaps it was the sense of control that a child can yield with this toy. As opposed to cooking in the big (aka adult) kitchen, little Abby would be able to manage all aspects of the cooking project, including oven control, recipe, bowl/spatula licking, and the finished product. Maybe it wasn’t control as much as it was feeling like an adult. It makes me think about all the other times when I was growing up that I wanted to actually BE grown up. Another toy I wanted, but only asked for a copule of times, was an electric car similar to the one here:
I would have lovingly baked some cupcakes in my “oven” and taken a drive down Oak Crest Road in my convertible with American Girl Kirsten Larson in tow. If any of my Oak Crest playmates are reading this, I'm sure they will smile fondly.

Flash forward 20ish years. I have a real car and a real oven. Sadly, Kirsten is hanging out in the attic at my parents’ house. Yet, here I sit, longing for the carefree days when all you wanted out of life was as simple as an Easy-Bake Oven.

Thank you for the memories, Mr. Howes.

The White Death Continues...

Apparently I jinxed the Cincinnati region when I created this post back in January about Cincinnati natives' panicky reactions to snow...aka the White Death. In their defense, the snow has been quite something this winter although not nearly at the levels of the Northeast. According to this article on Cincinnati.com, the area has seen over 23" of snow in February alone! Here's a great picture from CVG yesterday - glad I wasn't flying!



With all of this snow, I am really looking forward to Saturday's tubing extravaganza at Perfect North in Indiana!