Ohio Archives

April 9, 2013August 1, 2021

Three’s a Crowd

I was scanning the 1970 Athens, Ohio, fair this afternoon and ran across this picture that captures a universal fair experience. I’m sure you could see the same thing at the Southeast Missouri District Fair.

If I remember correctly, I covered about 13 fairs like this in The Athens Messenger’s circulation area. And, that’s not counting the settler’s reunions, centennial celebrations, homecomers and high school parades. When Nancy, my help desk person at The Post, wanted to know if I was going to the South Florida Fair, I told her I had long ago been to all the fairs I hoped to ever see in my lifetime.

[Update: I had originally written these photos were taken at Glouster, but my eagle-eyed friends at the Athens Historical Society said they were of the Athens County Fair. I made the mistake because the first negative sleeve said “Glouster Fire” with the word “Fair” on the line under it. I assumed that I had shot both a fire AND a fair in Glouster. All the subsequent rolls just said “Fair.”

See, I can be wrong in more states than just Missouri.

Photo Gallery of Athens Fair

I was going to run just the one photos, but, what the heck, these were already edited. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides of the images to move through the gallery. (You’ll understand, won’t you, if I don’t come along to the fair with you?)

April 3, 2013February 20, 2016

Drive-In Then and Now

When Friend Jan and I passed through Logan, Ohio, in February, I mentioned that we stopped to take a photo the derelict Hocking Theater for my readers who are drive-in fans. You can click on the photos to make them larger.

This afternoon I was scanning a bunch of aerials I took while flying with a fire spotter in Southern Ohio in the spring of 1970. I couldn’t believe it, but here was a picture of the place in its heyday. The road under construction is what would become the four-lane Rt. 33 that links Athens to Columbus.

The way it looks today

Here’s a link to the story about passing the place (and our motel-hunting experience in Louisville)..

Other Drive-Ins

The Bloymeyer Drive-In looks like it’s being eaten.
The Jackson Drive-In and the 1938 swimming pool are long gone.
The Hillcrest Inn was across the street from the Star-Vue. Both are history.

March 26, 2013April 2, 2013

32¢ Gas; 29¢ Smokes

Photographers do a lot of cruising around waiting for magic to strike, so we burn a lot of gas. When I was on the street, I drove about 24,000 miles a year.

Even in “retirement” I logged 8,429 miles last year to, from and around Cape to produce this blog. That adds up to a lot of time at gas stations. When I was in Athens, Ohio, in February, I took a drive down West Union Street, but the Bonded station selling gas for 32.9 was just a memory. I’m not a smoker, so I didn’t care that you could buy a pack of cigarettes for less than 30 cents when I took these photos on a chilly October 22, 1968.

McCoy and Hoisington ready to serve

D. Hoisington and John McCoy were ready to hop out with their coin changers on their belts to pump your gas, check your fluids, air up your tires and wash your windows. I bought a lot of fill-ups from those guys because they stayed open late, their prices were good and they were just down the street from the photo lab. (For the record, I didn’t remember their names. They were wearing name tags.) You can click on the photos to make them larger.

Not like today’s convenience stores

Dealer French McCormick ran a clean, but sparse station. You could buy gas, antifreeze, STP oil treatment, a can of oil and some cancer sticks, but you couldn’t walk out with Slurpees, nachos or lottery tickets. If you had a dime, you could make a call from the pay phone on the wall.

An outdoor rack

Let me tell you, doing an oil change with a cold Ohio wind blowing up your skirt couldn’t have been any fun.

Confusing Wallace message

I can’t figure out if this customer and Hoisington are George Wallace supporters are not. The Jeep has a sticker supporting Wallace for “Furer.” I don’t know if they considered that a good thing or a bad thing.

“If you liked Hitler…”

Hoisington sports two buttons on his uniform. One, probably provided by his employer, reads “They used to call me Fumblefingers before I changed to Bonded.” The second, smaller one, says, “If you liked Hitler, you’ll love Wallace.”

Law ‘n’ Order big

Wallace’s Law ‘n” Order message was well received by locals who were fed up with the hippies and radicals at the university. Wallace bumper stickers weren’t uncommon in the rural areas.

Service Station stories

Like I said, I spent a lot of time at gas stations.

March 21, 2013October 27, 2021

Ohio University Post

There’s a big Ohio University Post reunion in Athens, Ohio, this weekend.

I was photo editor of the paper from the fall of 1967 through the summer of 1968, when I went to work for The Athens Messenger. I won’t make it back for the reunion, but I put together these layouts of some of the student newspaper staffers from 1968 – 1970 to display at the Athens County Historical Society Museum. For you folks who ARE in Athens, here’s a sample of what you’ll see. Curator Jessica Cyders said the museum, at 65 North Court Street, will be open Saturday morning from 10 a.m. until noon, so you can slip in before the formal reunion activities begin.

The museum will also have photos I took during the Martin Luther King National Day of Mourning on April 8, 1968. Some staffers like Tom Price, Clarence Page, Lew Stamp and others appear in the pictures.

And, finally, you can see protest photos I shot from 1967 through the close of the school on May 15, 1970. Rudy Maxa and others show up in them.

Photo Gallery of OU Post Staffers

The museum will have prints of these for sale. The prints are suitable for framing. I don’t know if that means you can frame the pictures or frame the people IN the pictures. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the picture to move through the gallery.