Ohio History Journal

Book Notes

 

 

Lakewood: The First Hundred Years. By Jim and Susan Borchert. (Norfolk: The

Donning Company, 1989.    192p.; illustrations, maps, bibliography, index.)

This thoroughly researched and well-written centennial history chronicles the

dramatic changes, both physical and cultural, which transformed East Rockport

from vineyards and orchards to suburb and eventually Cleveland satellite city.

Abundantly illustrated, Borchert's book is neatly organized into fourteen chapters

that alternate between general chronological narratives and what the authors refer

to as vignettes, which are largely reminiscences of local residents. Included

within each chapter are "focus" sections which provide the reader with a more

personal and sometimes anecdotal view of individuals, ethnic groups, and

institutions. Both authors' professional training has led them to a balanced menu

of unpublished papers, diaries, public records, and secondary materials. The over

300 illustrations are accompanied by extremely informative captions drawn from

maps, drawings, advertisements, cartoons, and photos. Handsomely presented in

a glossy hardbound format, Lakewood: The First Hundred Years should prove a

useful reference to any individual or organization planning a local history

publication.

 

Ohio Historical Society                                     Steve Gordon

 

 

Women Remember the War 1941-1945. By Michael E. Stevens. (Madison,

Wisconsin:   State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1993.   x + 157p.;

illustrations, index.) The second in the Voices of the Wisconsin Past series,

which features accounts of the state's history by those who actually lived it, this

is solid reading for those interested in World War II's homefront, but especially

for those old enough to remember it. It is taken from samplings of an oral history

project by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and includes such themes as

women at work as part of the war effort, women who served in the military, what it

was like to raise children whose father was absent, and the anxiety of not knowing

whether said father would return from the war. Included among the lighter side of

the ladies' accounts are Judy Davenport's laying down the law to Eleanor

Roosevelt in a chow line and Margaret Kelk's refusal to serve as Admiral Nimitz's

escort at a Red Cross Party.

 

Ohio Historical Society                               Robert L. Daugherty

 

 

Here Comes the Showboat! By Betty Bryant. (Lexington: The University of

Kentucky Press, 1994. xiii + 202p.; illustrations, chronology of showboats,

index.)  Humanities councils along the Ohio Valley and the Smithsonian

Institution have prepared exhibits to recognize the unique role showboats played

in the folklore and entertainment history of the valley since the first flatboat

stage was created in Pittsburgh in 1831. This volume is a popular treatment of the

topic, written by a former child star of a showboat stage. She tells the story of her

life and that of her grandparents and parents as they plied the Ohio Valley between

1922 and 1942 in Billy Bryant's Showboat bringing song, dance, and theatrical

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productions to the residents. Accompanying it are numerous shots from the

Bryant family photo album.

 

Ohio Historical Society                                David A. Simmons

 

 

Otto Ping: Photographer of Brown County, Indiana, 1900-1940. By W.

Douglas Hartley. (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1994. ix + 95p.;

illustrations, bibliography.) Like many turn-of-the-century photographers, Otto

Ping first fell in love with the art when he bought a camera from the Sears "wish

book." And, like many, he attempted to make photography his vocation by

photographing the people and places near his home. While never able to support

himself solely with a camera, Ping kept shooting for forty years, leaving behind

about 300 negatives. Ping's photographs are unremarkable, both technically and

aesthetically; many other photographers were better masters of the art or had more

interesting subjects. But only Ping left us this album of Brown County, and an

interesting album it is. Especially noteworthy are the excellent brown-black

duotone reproductions, outstanding design, and brief and well-done essays by

Hartley, Anne Peterson, and Stephen Fletcher. Good job, Indiana Historical

Society.

 

Ohio Historical Society                          Christopher S. Duckworth

 

 

Cities of the Heartland: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Midwest. By Jon C.

Teaford.  (Bloomington:   Indiana University Press, 1993.  xii + 300p.;

illustrations, notes, index.) Published under the aegis of the Midwestern History

and Culture series, this volume examines the social, political, economic, cultural

and ethnic characteristics that fostered development of a regional urban

consciousness. Geographical centrality and cultural inferiority, posits Teaford,

also helped distinguish Midwestern cities from other metropolises in the nation.

Teaford charts the life cycles and heartbeats of the leading cities of the Midwest as

they contrasted with and at times challenged the urban supremacy of the East. A

region of great diversity and extremes, it experienced a boom and gradual decline

mentality that became part of the Midwestern psyche. By 1900 four of the

nation's ten largest cities were in the Midwest; 70 years later, by contrast, the

term "Rust Belt" became a painfully stark image of America's heartland. Skillfully

chronicling traditional urban themes such as trade, transportation, labor and

reform, Teaford devotes much of his text to the roles of architecture, art, culture,

urban planning and suburban development. The book further measures the

economic strengths and weaknesses of the heartland cities and their relation to

population migration and manufacturing, notably the industrial hegemony of

automobile and auto parts production. Depression and decentralization eventually

took their toll, especially in cities like Toledo, Youngstown, and Akron, which

experienced the sharpest declines in industrial employment. Not to be overlooked

are the author's well-chosen illustrations, detailed footnotes and solid

comparative data, all of which complement the readable yet scholarly written text.

More a synthesis than a recitation, Cities of the Heartland will soon be recognized

as a standard reference on the subject by students and urban scholars.

 

Ohio Historical Society                                     Steve Gordon

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Book Notes                                                          121

 

Burnside. By William Marvel. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina

Press, 1991. xiv + 514p.; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) Marvel has

essayed the thankless task of rehabilitating the oft-criticized Ambrose E.

Burnside's reputation as a Civil War general. The linchpin of his rescue attempt is

an effort to demonstrate that Burnside was repeatedly done in by circumstances or

the enmity and incompetence of both subordinates and superiors. General William

B. Franklin takes a particular hiding for his attitude and performance at the Battle

of Fredericksburg. Ohioans will be interested in Marvel's assessment of the

events surrounding the arrest of ex-Congressman Clement Vallandingham in 1863

and his skepticism about Burnside's purported involvement with Buckeye belle

Lottie Moon.

Ultimately, Marvel's biography is an exercise in victimology. Its major thesis

is made invalid by the fact that the measure of a general is his ability to overcome

whatever obstacles he encounters. Those whom circumstances overwhelm are,

like Burnside, inevitably and appropriately labeled as failures.

 

Ohio Historical Society                                James K. Richards

 

 

Summit Beach Park: Akron's Coney Island. By Diane DeMali Francis and

David W. Francis. (Akron: Summit County Historical Society, 1993. v + 177p.;

illustrations, appendix, index.) After their earlier work on Cedar Point, Diane

DeMali Francis and David W. Francis again turn their attention to a famous Ohio

amusement park, Summit County's Summit Beach Park. Opened in 1917, the

park's history was not unlike other such attractions nationwide. Summit Beach

Park was eastern Ohio's highest grossing amusement park during its glory days of

the 1920s, featuring one of the country's largest funhouses and the world's largest

mosaic tile swimming pool. But before closing in 1958, the park had fallen upon

economic hard times. As a fascinating addition to the in-depth history presented

in the text, the book features hundreds of interesting photographs, many of which

have never before been published. All in all, Summit Beach Park is an interesting

look at the history of one of Ohio's historic amusement parks.

Ohio Historical Society                                     Laura Russell

 

 

One-Room Schools of the Middle West: An Illustrated History. By Wayne E.

Fuller. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1994. xiv + 139p.; illustrations,

maps, index.) One-room schoolhouses, along with windmills, barns and covered

bridges, rank among the nation's most endearing rural images. From Ohio west to

Kansas and Nebraska, and from North Dakota south to Missouri, over 90,000 one-

room schoolhouses survived as late as 1918, far more than any other region.

Fuller chronicles the origins of rural education, the impact of the land survey

system and the evolution of the one-room plan, the protypical building type

before consolidation. This handsomely illustrated volume also examines the

material culture of education, especially schoolyards and interior furnishings, and

recounts the daily routines of schoolchildren and their teachers.   Not

coincidentally, as the number of midwestern one-room schoolhouses soared, the

region's illiteracy rate declined to the point that from 1890-1930 the Midwestern

Division was the most literate in the nation. A rural renaissance during the

Progressive Era ushered in new, architect-designed schoolhouses, and this,

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coupled with school consolidation, diminished the role of the one-room

schoolhouse.  By 1954, less than 30,000 were still extant throughout the

Midwest, eventually to be abandoned, converted into homes or preserved as

museums.

 

Ohio Historical Society                                   Steve Gordon

 

 

Buckeye Legends: Folktales and Lore From Ohio. By Michael Jay Katz. (Ann

Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994. xii + 222p.; bibliography.) This

anthology is both interesting and frustrating. All but the most casual readers will

wish for more information about the sources of the tales included and the

circumstances under which they were collected. One searches the bibliography in

vain, for instance, for a clue to the origins of "The Strangling of Pretty Ruthy

Sue." This failure to supply context beyond the internal evidence of the stories

themselves will disturb serious folklorists.

 

Ohio Historical Society                               James K. Richards

 

 

Johnny Appleseed:   A Pioneer Hero.    By W. D. Haley.    (Sandwich,

Massachusetts: Chapman Billies, Inc., 1994. 34p.; illustrations.) REPRINT

from Harper's Monthly Magazine, 1871. Haley's essay is gracefully written if

largely apocryphal. Readers will learn something of the state of historical writing

for general audiences in the Victorian era.

 

Ohio Historical Society                               James K. Richards

 

 

The Historical Bibliography of Hamilton, Ohio, and Butler County, Ohio: The

who, what, where, when, and why of Hamilton, Ohio, and Butler County, Ohio.

By John A. Haid. (Hamilton, Ohio: Haid History, 1993. 325p.; illustrations,

instructions for use, research facility restrictions and notes, index.) An extremely

detailed bibliography, Haid's Historical Bibliography catalogs the Hamilton,

Ohio, and Butler County written and photographic collections found in a wide

array of libraries, archives, and historical societies, some of which have not been

catalogued before. Helpfully divided into chapters on genealogical records, church

records, newspapers, and photographs, the work promises to be a rich source for

researchers in the history of Hamilton, Ohio, and Butler County, Ohio.

 

Ohio Historical Society                                   Laura Russell

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