We have the great fortune to be living in one of the most unique parts of the country, once known as the "Western Reserve" because it belonged to the State of Connecticut in the late 18th century after the Revolutionary War and was settled by many New Englanders who came down here from that part of the country in the late 1700s and early 1800s and essentially re-recreated that part of the country here in the frontier. One has but to drive out into the countryside that has not been as touched by urban and suburban development to see the echoes of the old Western Reserve. Tiny villages still dot the map and often times, if there is but one church in that village, chances are it will be a Congregational Church, the religion brought to these parts from Connecticut. More often than not, the cemetery is right next door to the church, another New England affectation. Churches are often in the graceful old Greek Revival style and locally, some beautiful examples survive around Northeast Ohio, in particular, old Congregational churches in Atwater, Freedom and Tallmadge that were constructed in the mid-19th century. Some towns in the area still have old traffic circles in them, another thing brought to this area from New England. Towns are often platted out in the way they are in that part of the country, so if you know what to look for when driving out into the countryside or through small towns that dot old state routes, you can see how much like small New England towns many of them still look. We are also close enough to Appalachia and were once an area that sported several canals, most notably the Erie and Ohio and the Pennsylvania and Ohio that influences from other nearby areas can be seen if you know what to look for. Musically we also have the influences of those who settled the area. The hammered dulcimer has a strong presence here in the Great Lakes part of the country and contra dancing is very popular here (like square dancing but instead, couples face each other in lines across from one another, thus "contra") as is English Country Dance that dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries and was brought here to the US by early settlers. Appalachia has strongly influenced our music here as Old Time fiddle and banjo tunes can be heard throughout the area as well and clog dancing is also very popular in the area. Blues made its way here during the Great Migration of the 20th century, the mass exodus from the South by rural blacks who came north in search of good jobs in factories throughout the industrial north. You can hear both Delta Blues from Mississippi and Louisiana areas as well as Piedmont Blues from Appalachia and the East Coast. This is such an interesting part of the country to live in and be aware of how we became who we are through who came here before us.
THE "MIGHTY CUYAHOGA" RIVER'S RESTORED HEALTH
A walk along any section of the Cuyahoga River these days is likely to result in the sighting of Great Blue Herons and other water birds like Wood Ducks, Canadian Geese, Mallards and others. Recently I spotted a river otter along the banks near downtown Kent, and this can only be a very good sign of the river's overall health if plenty of wildlife can be seen fishing in and along its banks. I also see far more fishermen along the river as well. This means that there are fish to be had, which were extremely scarce but a few decades ago, when the river was nearly dead from terrible pollution. I vividly remember the very first river clean up effort on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day. I was a day shy of my 13th birthday and had joined other environmentally aware students from my Junior High School to work on cleaning up the trashed banks of the river. It was dirty and exhausting work, but highly rewarding as well, because many of us saw the potential for what could become of the river and its banks. Eventually a series of parks was created along the western banks of the river, "Brady's Leap" park, to commemorate the spot where Captain Samuel Brady allegedly leaped across the river to escape pursuit by Indians who were chasing him, Franklin Mills RiverEdge Park (Franklin Mills being Kent's original name as a town) and finally, in the late 1970s, John Brown Tannery Park, mentioned in my previous blog entry. Now we have the new Heritage Park where the old dam pool once was behind the old stone crescent shaped dam on the river. The dam remains because of activism among preservationists not to tear it down, but an old canal lock was removed to allow water to go around the dam instead of collecting behind it in a stagnant pool. Recently a canoe and kayak livery has opened on weekends at John Brown Tannery Park and you can rent a canoe or kayak to enjoy the beauty and serenity of the river past the areas that are known for their rapids. For those who prefer to shoot the rapids, especially when the river is running high (and dangerous, I might add!), you can put in above the rapids and go from there, but fair warning as a lifelong resident of the area and one who intimately knows the river and its many seasonal moods: March is the single most dangerous month for the river. Many lives have been taken during that month because it is the spring snow melt and rainy season and the river can run very high and dangerously fast. The water is also still extremely cold from winter, so it's not a good time to try to dare the river, no matter how skilled you are, and I wish more folks would remember to wear life jackets when taking to the water. Lives that were taken might have been saved otherwise. That being said, though, it's nice to see people in the warmer months of the year when the river isn't as high or fast enjoying the recreational benefits of a far cleaner, healthier and less smelly river than it once was so long ago when we took it for granted. Now it's a real draw for recreational boaters and a beautiful paved hike and bike trail graces its banks as well to invite pedestrians and bicyclitsts to enjoy the river from their vantage point as well. So c'mon down and enjoy our beautiful river and parks here! You might get lucky and have a Great Blue Heron swoop right over your head as I have a few times, or even spot a river otter frolicking in the water!
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