In a previous life, I regularly traveled to the states that adjoin Lakes Michigan, Superior, and Erie. I can't begin to count the trips I took to Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio to conduit surveys, attend conferences, and meet coworkers. Here are a few memories of those trip a long time ago (when you are old, as I am, many memories are of events a long long time ago....).
North Central Ohio
I landed in Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and rented a car. Heading north on W 220th Street, I came across a Chevrolet Corvair repair shop! It was owned by the legendary Jim Battenhouse (Dr. Corvair). What a treat to see some clean Corvairs again. Some of you old-timers may remember Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile by Ralph Nader. In the first chapter, Nader attacked the Corvair as a "one-car accident" because of its rear-engine, swing-axle suspension. Sales of the innovative Corvair plummeted, and, starting in 1964, the more traditional Ford Mustang totally outsold the Chevrolet product. (These photos: Fuji Super HQ 100 film, Olympus OM2S camera).
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| Green Derby, Rte 2, Benton Township, Ohio |
I am unable to find this location. The restaurant probably closed years ago.
Benton Harbor, Michigan
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| Wet departure from Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, November 1993 |
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| Time for food, Benton Harbor |
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Roxy Hot Wings, 287 East Main Street, Benton Harbor (Kodachrome film, Leica M3 camera, 50mm lens) |
One of my early projects was a sediment study at St. Joseph, Michigan, on the east shore of Lake Michigan. Benton Harbor, just across the St. Joseph River, was very rust belt back in the 1990s. I wish I had more time to explore.
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Friend and coworker, Mr. Charlie Johnson (Kodak Gold 100 film, Canon Rebel camera) |
Charlie was known as Mr. Great Lakes. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of every harbor, every beach, the source of its sediment, and where it was going. He always willingly shared his expertise.
Presque Isle and Erie, Pennsylvania
Presque Isle is an arch-shaped sand peninsula that juts into Lake Erie near Erie, Pennsylvania, and encloses Presque Isle Bay. The peninsula is a state park and is forested, indicating its geologic stability for at least a few hundred years. The US Army Corps of Engineers built detached breakwaters and added beach fill along the west side of Presque Isle. The east side is open to Lake Erie and gives access to the waterfront and commercial harbor of Erie, Pennsylvania. One of the first civilian projects of the US Army Corps of Engineers was to build jetties and protect the entrance to Erie harbor, as authorized by the Rivers & Harbors Act of 1824 (yes, over 200 years ago).
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| Erie Harbor north pier (September 1999) |
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Houseboats on Presque Isle Bay Presque Isle is a stopover for migrating birds. One day, I met a ranger who was releasing some ducks that had entered a trap. He said the plan to check tags on the ducks was not providing new population data. The ducks learned that there was good food in the trap that did not require much work to enjoy. They entered the trap, waited for the kindly ranger to release them, and returned the next day for another easy lunch. |
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| Rats, raccoons, mice, and karate |
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Health food (exact location not recorded) (Fuji Super HQ 100 film, Olympus OM2S camera) |
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| Melody Deli, 1402 East Lake Road, Erie |
In the 1990s, Erie was a bit rough, an old time industrial city that had fallen on hard times. I do not know if it has revived in the last quarter century. In the 1990s, there were many interesting local business and stores throughout the city.
Toledo, Ohio
My daughter and I explored Luna Pier and some of the shore along the very west end of Lake Erie. I was on my way to Cleveland to attend a conference, so she took me to Toledo to pick up the MegaBus. We looked at a map and saw that the stop was adjacent to Southwyck Mall. OK, no problem. But when we reached our destination, we saw that the mall was being actively squashed and demolished. One of the former stores was Montgomery Ward (also known as Monkey Ward).
The MegaBus ride to Cleveland was efficient and quiet, but the company no longer serves Toledo. Why didn't I take the Amtrak?
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Waiting for Monkey Ward to open, Southwyck Mall, July 20, 2009 (Olympus E-330 digital file) Cleveland, Ohio |
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| Wow, nice hotel room in Cleveland! |
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| Cuyahoga River, Cleveland |
This amazing railroad bascule bridge is the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Bridge 463 at the end of Sycamore Street. The railroad built it in 1957 when the Cuyahoga river was widened. There are no tracks leading to it any more, and the bridge remains as a monument to mid-century engineering. I am always impressed at some of the engineering and construction that the railroad companies accomplished in the 20th century.
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| On the Waterfront, Cleveland |
We had a reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the modern building in the photo above. What a treat to have a private evening there.
This ends a too-short tour of some Great Lakes towns. I have not been back to the Lakes for at least a decade. Time to return!
I took these pictures with various cameras and film types. I scanned the slides or negatives on a Nikon Coolscan 5000ED film scanner, operated by NikonScan 4.03 software running under Windows 7. The 2009 frames are from my Olympus E-330, a very competent 4/3 format (not micro 4/3) camera with excellent lenses.
