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The fountain in Jackson Square Park. One of the oldest parks in the city, the park appears without a name on an 1811 map of the city. Nobody knows for sure where Jackson Square got its name. Probably Andrew Jackson, who was popular with Tammany Hall Democrats, but the first record of the name Jackson Square wasn't until 1872, long after President Jackson's death.
I'm back from my Christmas trip. Photographic evidence will be forthcoming but blogging will be slow this week as I do other things.
The origami tree is a holiday season tradition at the American Museum of Natural History.
I'll be away from here for the next week. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays!
It would be so nice if these were put to use tomorrow.
In the same park as the John Cleves Symmes monument was this half a copy of Out of Our Heads by The Rolling Stones.
Hamilton has had several famous residents in addition to Symmes. Authors William Dean Howell and Robert McCloskey, seismologist Charles Richter, musician Greg Dulli, and youngest ever major league baseball player Joe Nuxhall.
Stewart "Stew" Jones, who passed away not two weeks ago, was also from Hamilton!. For a few short years, starting in 1986, Hamilton officially became Hamilton!. Mr. Jones was responsible for the exclamation point. He was a Hamilton resident who was the chairman of a Cincinnati ad agency. In the mid-1980s the agency was asked to help with a Chamber of Commerce promotion for the city. Jones was impressed with the story of how Rodgers and Hammerstein changed the name of their show from "Oklahoma" to "Oklahoma!" to give it more excitement.
After much controversy and discussion the Hamilton City Council approved a resolution to change the city's name to Hamilton! in 1986. Hamilton! never really caught on, rude and short-sighted mapmakers like Rand-McNally refused to use the ! in the city's name, and the ! was slowly dropped over the years. I was hoping to see a stray Hamilton! somewhere in town but had no luck.
Unrelated: Looking for holiday music? All Eyes and Ears has a few classics. If those aren't your style may I suggest Jingle Rock Bell or a very interesting version of O Holy Night.
Ever wonder where Jules Verne got the idea for Journey to the Center of the Earth, or Edgar Allan Poe for his only novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym? To get an answer you need to go to this shabby park in a low income neighborhood of Hamilton, Ohio. It is in that park that you'll find a monument to John Cleves Symmes, War of 1812 hero and son of a member of the Continental Congress and founder of the Miami Purchase.
Symmes had an average formal education, but he was an avid learner, reading anything he could get his hands on. In his readings Symmes came to realize something astounding: The Earth was hollow and habitable within. Near the poles, which were not so familiar in the early 19th century, were large holes. Inside those holes were a series of concentric spheres, each with their own polar voids. Sunlight shined through the holes, heating an "aerial elastic fluid" to a habitable temperature.
In 1818 Symmes began publishing pamplets describing his theories to solicit funds for a polar expedition. His ideas were mostly laughed at but he persisted. Through his father's political connections he was able to get bills to fund his expedition introduced in Congress but none ever advanced very far. He wasn't much of a public speaker but he undertook a lecture tour that raised enough money to get him to the next town on his lecture tour. He did start to gather some fame. He sat for a portrait by John James Audubon, a pseudonymous novel, possibly written by Symmes, based on his ideas, Symzonia: Voyage of Discovery was published. He hooked up with a younger, more dynamic speaker to give a tour of Eastern cities, and a supporter wrote a book to explain Symmes ideas to a wide audience. Symmes, however, grew ill, returned home to Hamilton and died in 1829. His son, Americas Vespucci Symmes, erected the monument, complete with hollow Earth, to his father in the 1840s.
A couple of cute faces to look at while I contemplate where next to go on the Ohio trip.
Speaking of starting cute and getting dark: There She Is episodes 1-5 (mostly in Korean but you'll figure it out).
This photo is an accident. Instead of heading straight I veered left in Lebanon, Ohio. After a few miles it seemed odd that the surroundings were getting more built up and the traffic was getting heavier. It also seemed weird that I hadn't yet crossed I-75. I drove through Mason, which had an odd downtown redevelopment thing going on, realizing as I did that Mason wasn't on the route I wanted to take. Thus I stopped at the gas station to figure out how to get to Hamilton.
Luckily the gas station was right across the street from the WLW tower. The 739-ft tower was erected in the 1930s and for several years WLW was the most powerful AM radio station in the country, broadcasting at 500,000 Watts, ten times the normal limit.
I hear Marge Schott loved hanging out here as a kid. Actually, I don't know that at all. I believe the disturbing tile patterns are in the entryway to the Masonic Hall, which is a few doors down from the Murphy Theatre in Wilmington. The building was built in the late 1800s. I assume the tiles went in before the 1930s.
12 North South Street, Wilmington, OH
Murphy Theatre, Wilmington, OH
Wilmington, Ohio has an attractive, if quiet, downtown. My happiness in finding a North South Street address was tempered by the lack of a complementary South North Street. In fact, there was no North Street at all.
That Murphy Theatre sign is nice, isn't it? Charles W. Murphy, the Wilmington native who built it in 1918, had quite an interesting life. He was a pharmacist in Cincinnati but quit to become a sportswriter at the Cincinnati Enquirer. The paper was owned by future president William Howard Taft's half-brother. This gave Murphy connections to the worlds of baseball, politics and money. It's a convoluted story but those connections gave Murphy the chance to buy the Chicago Cubs in 1905, using Taft's money, at a bargain basement price.
Murphy hired great second baseman Frank Chance, of Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance fame, to manage the team. In 1906 the Cubs posted the most wins ever in a season. They won the World Series that year and again in 1908. Murphy was kind of a jerk and by the 1908 World Series he was among the most despised men in baseball. The Cubs never did win another World Series and Murphy was out of baseball by 1914. Using his profit from selling the Cubs he built this theater.
Opening day in 1918 was a grand affair. His wife said "You must now tell your friends at home that the reason Cincinnati does not grow faster is that it is too close to Wilmington." Two years later Murphy moved to Cincinnati, apparently Wilmington was getting too big, and then to Chicago, where he died in 1931.
Unrelated: 1970s transistor radios.
Sunday was forecast to be cold and blustery so it seemed like a good day to break out the slow cooker. This turned out to be an excellent idea. I made these ribs by improvising from several online recipes found when "crock pot ribs" was googled and accommodating ingredients I had on hand. They were really easy to make, only used two exotic ingredients, and were delicious.
Step 1:
2 lbs baby back ribs
salt
pepper
Turn on the broiler. Cut the ribs into pieces small enough to fit in a crock pot. 3-4 inches across should do. Salt and pepper both sides of the rib chunks. Cook in broiler for ten minutes. Flip and cook another ten minutes. This gives the ribs a nice char and gets rid of some fat.
Step 2:
Mix these liquids:
1/2 c maple syrup (the cheaper dark kind is best)
1/2 c apple cider
3 TBS cider vinegar
Step 3:
Combine these dry ingredients:
1/2 c lapsang souchong tea, finely ground
2 TBS sweet paprika
1 tsp urfa pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Lapsang souchong is an intensely smoky tea. It smells like the ashes in a fireplace and imparts a smoky flavor to the ribs. Most any tea shop will have it. If not look for Russian Caravan, which is a blend of Lapsan souchong and another tea. Urfa pepper is a smoky, earthy pepper from Turkey. I've found it at spice markets and Middle Eastern shops. If you can't find it I imagine adding a little more paprika, or even a pinch of chipotle pepper would be a fine substitute.
Step 4:
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
Slice the onion into four thick slices and peel. Peel the garlic.
Step 5:
Turn the crock pot on to low. Line the bottom with the onion slices. Pour a little liquid over the onion and top with a bit of the dry mixture. Add a layer of ribs. Add liquid and dry mixture. Top with garlic cloves. Repeat layering until the ingredients run out. Put the cover on the slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours.
Step 6:
Enjoy!
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