Immigration and Ohio History

After spending some time in southern Ohio last week visiting various significant Native American sites, I realised that I needed to re-educate myself on their experiences.  

While watching the following video, it dawned on me that perhaps folks that are worried about immigrants are actually concerned that they'll be treated the same way our white ancestors mistreated native populations.

Finding Phacelia and fellow Ohioans in Zurich

While strolling through gardens at the University of Zurich last week, I overheard a couple talking about an attractive plant unknown to them.  Couldn't stop myself from interrupting and offering an bit of knowledge I'd picked up through my many years working in urban gardening.  They were admiring a swathe of gorgeous Phacelia tanacetifolia being visited by bumblebees (much like these accompanying photos from many moons ago) and I explained that they're great for pollinators, the plants are often used as green manures.  The gentleman asked if they fixed nitrogen and in the moment, I unfortunately couldn't give an definitive answer to that excellent question. 

 

Yet, it turns out that Phacelia doesn't fix nitrogen in the soil like leguminous plants but has the ability to
hold onto nitrogen, which makes it equally valuable in turning back into the soil.

Since I didn't detect any accents, I asked where they were from and it turns out that the wife was originally from Hamilton, Ohio and attended Denison University.  We simply had the typical laugh about how small the world is and wished each other happy travelling and adventures.

Wicked

 

With all the hoopla of the film release of the popular play Wicked, thought it was high-time to recognise the OG film Wicked Witch of the West and Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch: Margaret Hamilton.                                                                                      Cleveland born Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985) was an American actress, singer and educator, whose fifty year career in entertainment spanned theatre, film, radio and television.  A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials.  She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals and retained a lifelong commitment to public education.

Check her out on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975)

Entry in Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

From what I could gather, there's a travelling Wizard of Oz festival that occurs in October in Ohio.  In 2025, it is expected to be in Canal Fulton.                          From OzWiki:  October (exact dates to be announced, we hope), 2025: Wizard of Oz Festival Ohio, Putters Amusement Park, Canal Fulton, Ohio. For more information, see the website at https://wizardofozohio.com/, and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wizardofozfestivalohio/

Life is a Cabaret

When I need a shot in the arm for some self-confidence, I can always count on revisiting RuPaul's Drag Race.  

RuPaul on How to Live Your Best Life brought tears to my eyes.

Bless her, Dakota Schiffer in S4 admits that she doesn't like musicals, which is typically my line in life.  Yet, one musical that I have always loved is Cabaret. I know why I like it as an adult but am still a little baffled why I liked it as a child and why I was allowed to even watch it.   

Of course, Liza was the star but Joel Grey (11 April 1932, Cleveland, Ohio) was mesmerizing as the Master of Ceremonies.  He won a Tony and an Oscar for his portrayal.

Grey's recent essay in The New York Times entitled 'I Starred in Cabaret.  We Need to Heed Its Warning'  

Performing 'If You Could See Her'

Fabulous article in The Guardian that references his childhood start in Cleveland

'Willkommen' on The Muppet Show

“Stick with it, be who you are. It’s going to be tough.But it’s also going to be beautiful.” - Joel Grey

For fellow SC fans:  Schitts Creek - The Making of Cabaret

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

In the film Nyad, Diana reads the tail end of the poem 'The Summer Day' from a poetry collection of the  Pulitzer prize winning and best-selling author/poet Mary Oliver (from Maple Heights, Ohio) to her friend/coach Bonnie to emphasise that she needs to accomplish the one feat that has eluded her.  Interesting choice as Nyad and Oliver share some similarities in being lesbian, survivors of childhood abuse, and have/had strong relationships with Mother Nature (albeit a bit different).

Mary Oliver has become a favorite of poetry readers of all ages for her lyrical, intimate, and sensitive poems, many of which use nature as a lens for exploring the spectrum of human emotions, from love and joy to sorrow and despair. The best Mary Oliver poems remind us to pause and take a breath, revel in our surroundings, and encourage us not to take anything for granted. - Kayti Lahsaiezadeh

Movie Monday: Carol

Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett discovered the wonder that is Cincinnati in 2014 as they filmed the 1950s-era love story "Carol" there. The actresses praised Cincinnati during the press build-up for the movie's nationwide release in 2016:   “It’s been phenomenal shooting in Cincinnati, actually,” Blanchett said. “The architecture here is phenomenal. There’s so many buildings that haven’t been ... gentrified. Everyone, the fire department and police, have been so cooperative.”

Carol interview with Cate Blanchett
Carol's filming locations

While the mise-en-scene and acting is beautiful, I was frustrated by Carol's seemingly cruel nature and therefore didn't realise the appeal of the film, especially to someone I love, until I found the following explanation from the author of the original work: 

When Patricia Highsmith allowed her name to be attached to the 1990 republication by Bloomsbury (she previously published such it under the pseudonym Claire Morgan), she wrote in the "Afterword" to the edition:

The appeal of The Price of Salt was that it had a happy ending for its two main characters, or at least they were going to try to have a future together. Prior to this book, homosexuals male and female in American novels had had to pay for their deviation by cutting their wrists, drowning themselves in a swimming pool, or by switching to heterosexuality (so it was stated), or by collapsing—alone and miserable and shunned—into a depression equal to hell.

Imagine Me & You: Piper Perabo

Piper Perabo (and perhaps more importantly Lena Headey) first came up on my radar from Imagine Me & You (2006), which is a typical romcom with a difference.  The difference being that two women could have a meet-cute, fall in love, and live happily ever after.

The film takes place in my current city of residence but when you look up information on Piper Perabo, you find a lot of interviews mentioning her time at Ohio University.  

Blasts from the past

Coolest spies with Midwest roots

Movie Monday: From Denton, Ohio to the galaxy of Transylvania

The sad news of Meat Loaf's death last week, reminded me that while in Scotland I flipped through my friend John's Xmas gift of Atlas of Imagined Places and was surprised to learn that The Rocky Horror Picture Show was partially set in Ohio.  

The story begins in Denton, Ohio as Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), after getting engaged, travel to see the man who began it, but wind up at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite alien from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania.  In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Janet is reading The Plain Dealer, a Cleveland, Ohio newspaper, and the map seen in The Denton Affair (I) is that of southeastern Ohio.

Meat Loaf should have had two parts in RHPS

It also turns out that Meat Loaf's musical career was born in Cleveland!

Ohio Mums Against Nuts

Rewatching the third series of After Life to glean more philosophical gems and comfort in coping with my grief.  It was strangley reassuring that a close friend mentioned that Anne speaking with Tony reminds her of me...as in 'Anne is speaking to you', which has prompted me to watch again.  

There isn't a direct reference to Ohio other than a mention of George Clooney in episode 1 and humanity in general.   

While speaking of humanity, Gervais' comedy special Humanity contains a snippet about a Twitter argument referencing a previous joke about how other people's nut allergies shouldn't affect his life.  He coins the group of mothers upset about his seemingly callousness about their children's nut allergies as 'Ohio Moms Against Nuts'.  Now there is only a parody account on Twitter with that name so I don't know if these mothers were actually from Ohio or if as usual, it was used as a moniker for middle America.

From @OhioMumsAGAINST on Twitter

Fashion & Ohio

Walking through Westfield Shopping Centre after work, I decided to take a detour into Urban Outfitters to see if they had any rollerskates in store.  Unfortunately, I didn't find what I was looking for but did surprisingly spot a mannequin wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt.  It always tickles me when Ohio is associated to fashion in one of the most fashionable cities in the world.  I wonder what most people would think if they knew Abercrombie & Fitch and Victoria's Secret, which can also be found in Westfield, were headquartered in Ohio?!?

Movie Monday: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

While watching The Killing of a Sacred Deer with friends in Scotland, the city and suburban imagery seemed familiar and at the very least midwestern.  After a little research, it became apparent that much of the film was set and photographed in Cincinnati.  The story is based on the ancient Greek tragedy Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides.   While we and others may not have enjoyed the film, it's nice to know that the Queen City was depicted favourably.  Filmed in Greater Cincinnati in fall 2016, The Killing of a Sacred Deer features many high profile landmarks throughout the city. The Christ Hospital, John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge and Fountain Square make appearances in the trailer. 

Movie Monday: The Oh in Ohio

Promotional poster

The Oh in Ohio unfortunately received lackluster reviews, despite possessing an excellent cast.

Set in Cleveland, much of the film was shot on location at well-known Cleveland area landmarks such as Coventry Village and Case Western Reserve University.

Movie Monday: Mr Mom

The film Mr. Mom (1983) has three main actors with connections to Ohio.

Michael Keaton was born in Ohio Valley Hospital in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania.  He studied speech for two years at Kent State University before dropping out and moving to Pittsburgh.

Teri Garr was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1944(7).

Martin Mull was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in North Ridgeville, Ohio, from age 2 to 15 years old, when his family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, where he attended and graduated from public high school.  Martin Mull:  Live from North Ridgeville, Ohio

My favorite scene from Mr. Mom

Fun Fact(s) Friday: Ohio & Scotland

 

As I am in Scotland today, thought it might be fun to share some quirky Ohio - Scotland connections.  There's strangely quite a few...so this may be the first post of many.

1.  For fellow craft beer drinkers, Brewdog, which originated in Ellon, Scotland, opened its first US brewery in Columbus, Ohio in 2017.

2.  The total area of Scotland is 77,933 sq km, and the total area of Ohio is 116,096 sq km.  So this humourous video is actually correct about Scotland being smaller than Ohio.

3.  The Scottish Highlands and the Appalachian Mountains were once part of the same mountain range. Much of eastern and southeastern Ohio is covered by the Appalachian mountains or foothills.

4.  Scotland and Ohio share a fascination with folklore and effigies of serpents.  Researchers from University of Glasgow and the Ohio state government have even worked together to study Ohio's Serpent Mound.

Happy Hogmanay!

John Denver and a Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio

Another topic of conversation during Christmas with a friend's family in London was John Denver.  I think he came up because we watched 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (1992), which I apparently had never seen before, and discussed other Muppet ventures.  It was needling me that there must be some sort of Denver connection with Ohio and a little searching provided confirmation. 

There's a great write-up about Denver's song 'Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio' in Toledo History Box.

Goosebumps

While staying with a friend's family over Christmas, I was introduced to the charming programme Between the Covers and we had some nice discussions about books that we love and would like to read.  Interestingly, it popped up in discussions that many churches in the UK had raised concerns about the Harry Potter books when they became so popular with young readers.  This was particularly interesting as the parents in this family have worked their entire adult lives with the Salvation Army, which was a church that raised concerns, while their son met his wife through competitive Quidditch.  As we discussed that so many previous children's books and tales have featured witchcraft and fantastical characters, it was mentioned that it was strange that these books were a concern while the series Goosebumps didn't seem to ever be.  This seemed odd to them as they consider the books to be very scary but I honestly don't know myself as I have never read any.  The only thing that I really know about Goosebumps is that their creator/author R.L. Stine is from Ohio and went to The Ohio State University.

History of No-Dig Gardening (a crossover with my other blog 'Canterbury Tails & Herbs')

My first introduction to no-dig gardening was on the first community farm where I worked in east London.  A large patch of the farm where work vehicles had been parked when the trainline was worked upon meant that there was a large disused area of compacted earth.  With the help of permaculture garden designers, a no-dig garden was constructed and is now very productive.  Just as it sounds, it is a process of gardening without reliance on cultivation of the land but rather adding organic matter to the top and allowing nature to take its course.  Today's most wellknown promoter of no-dig gardening is Charles Dowding but the origins of the philosophy or practice, as well as actual technique, are still debatable.  

While trying to learn more to experiment with and start a no-dig patch on my new community farm site in west London, I came across an excellent episode from Empress of Dirt podcast: Empress of Dirt's 'A Brief History of No-Dig Gardening Through the Years'.  According to their research, the first no-dig gardening influencer was Edward H. Faulkner of Elyria, Ohio.  His book Plowman's Folly (1943) was written for farmers and is now considered a milestone.  Faulkner was a county agent in Kentucky and Ohio, a Smith-Hughes teacher of agriculture, and a soil and crop investigator.

"Probably no book on an agricultural subject has ever prompted so much discussion in this country."--Louis Bromfield

Tracy Chapman...I had a feeling I could be someone

Yesterday, walking through the shopping centre between work and my train, I heard 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman and tears, as usual, came to my eyes as I heard the refrain: 

And I-I had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio and like 'Fast Car' has always written music about poverty, human rights, and other social issues.  As a social activitst, she has done significant work for Cleveland City Schools, including an essay contest called 'Crossroads in Black History'.  

AAREG entry for Tracy Chapman:  From Ohio to the World

Unexpected but happy reference

In my mind, science fiction and fantasy have always been the best creative genres to metaphorically explore the truths of the human condition.  This is incredibly true for Wynonna Earp, which not only addresses nearly every familial and interpersonal relationship imaginable with sensitivity, wit, and honesty, but had the guts to make a healthy, endearing, and sexy queer love story front and centre in its imagined world.  The beauty of this inclusive storytelling built a tremendously loyal fan base of Earpers, who provide love and support to one another much like the characters in the show.  #WayHaught

While collectively fighting the good fight against demons, your favourite characters don't always get along; they have arguments, misunderstandings, and sometimes betrayals whereby you think there may be no remedy or turning back.  Yet, they always eventually work through those differences and actually grow through heartfelt but imperfect communication.  It's all a bit messy but obviously full of love.

This may be a shitshow, but its our shitshow. 

- Wynonna Earp

Since the series is set in the American west (think OK Corral), filmed in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast, it simply didn't seem possible that Ohio would ever get a mention and I was okay with that because of all of the amazing elements that the show provides as mentioned above.  You can't have everything, can you?  Yet, to my surprise, when Doc says he has a list of places he wants to visit now that he is leaving Purgatory, moving on, and wants Wynonna to join him, on the top of his list is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio!  Wynonna queries if they can visit Miracle, Montana on their way to Cleveland to visit their daughter Alice, who was sent away for her safety.  ❤

While I hope the fan effort is successful to #BringWynonnaHome for another season, it is heartwarming to know that Ohio will play some part in her journeys. 

Academic article about Earper fandom by an Ohio State University PhD candidate

Great recap/review of the episode 'Old Souls'  

Wynonna Earp came at a dark time for queer women (LA Times) 

Billy Wilder & the American Image

I have loved Billy Wilder films since childhood and was intrigued how often Ohio is mentioned.  Why does Billy Wilder love the state of Ohio?  Perhaps the Austrian-born screenwriter/director envisaged the state as quintessentially American (right or wrong).  Perhaps, we may never know.

Some of Wilder's interesting references to Ohio in films:

Love is the hardest thing in the world to write about. So simple. You've got to catch it through details, like the early morning sunlight hitting the gray tin of the rain spout in front of her house. The ringing of a telephone that sounds like Beethoven's "Pastoral." A letter scribbled on her office stationery that you carry around in your pocket because it smells of all the lilacs in Ohio.  - Don (Ray Milland), The Lost Weekend

Don (Ray Milland) also deduces that Helen (Jane Wyman) is from Toledo, Ohio by looking through her coat and finding that its maker's mark is from Alfred Spitzer.   Well, and I guess since she's from Ohio, it shouldn't be surprising that one of the presents she gives Don is 'the new Thurber book'.


The character of Sugar, played by Marilyn Monroe in the film Some Like It Hot, hailed from Sandusky, Ohio.


In Stalag 17, the cynical POW Sefton (William Holden) drills the German-speaking Price (Robert Graves) about his self-proclaimed Ohio upbringing since he suspects that he is a Nazi spy planted in the prisoner barracks.     SEFTON

Shut up!
                              (slaps his face)
                         Security Officer, eh? Screening 
                         everybody, only who screened you? 
                         Great American hero. From Cleveland, 
                         Ohio! Enlisted right after Pearl 
                         Harbor! When was Pearl Harbor, Price? 
                         Or, don't you know?

                                     PRICE
                         December seventh, forty-one.

                                     SEFTON
                         What time?

                                     PRICE
                         Six o'clock. I was having dinner.

                                     SEFTON
                         Six o'clock in Berlin. They were 
                         having lunch in Cleveland.
                              (to the others)
                         Am I boring you, boys?

                                     HOFFY
                         Go on.

                                     SEFTON
                         He's a Nazi, Price is. For all I 
                         know, his name is Preismaier or 
                         Preissinger. Sure, he lived in 
                         Cleveland, but when the war broke 
                         out he came back to the Fatherland 
                         like a good little Bundist. He spoke 
                         our lingo so they put him through 
                         spy school, gave him phony dogtags --

My absolute favourite reference:  In the beginning of Sunset Boulevard, Joe Gillis mentions in a voice-over how embarrassing it would be to move back to Dayton and work again for the Dayton Evening Post if he is unable to make it in Hollywood as a screenwriter.


The Fortune Cookie Jack Lemmon and Walter Mattheau their first movie together was filmed at St Vincent Charity Hospital as well as the old Cleveland Stadium.  CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon) gets injured when football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) runs into him while he is covering a Browns game at Cleveland Stadium.   Saint Mark's Hospital is in reality St. Vincent Charity Hospital. In 1966, the scene was filmed on East 24th Street in an older section. In 1966, St. Vincent Charity had completed a then-ultramodern curved Hospital building.

Terminal Tower was the base for the law firm used. In one image, one can see Erieview Tower and construction of the Federal Building's steel skeleton.  Scenes were filmed at the Cleveland Browns vs Minnesota Vikings game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on 31 October 1965.

Text originally from 2011.