As it's getting colder and busier with the holidays approaching, I'm creating a thread for some pics that I've had lying around - all are northeast Ohio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Added December 18th:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Added Dec. 23rd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice. Where was the 5th pic taken?

ASM!

Great pics.  Could you tell me where the house (is that a Victorian?) in the third pic is? Thanks!

5th pic is the church at Chester and East 105th. 3rd pic is a home on South Lincoln in Salem (my hometown).

Yes, American Society for Metals.... OK, story time kiddies!

 

When I was 8, 9 and 10 years old in 1975-77, I went to Red Raider Day Camp just off Route 87 in Russell Township. So did my sister. I remember meeting an old guy who was the owner, Fox Smith. I didn't realize I started going to Red Raider in his last year of owning it. He founded it in 1933 and was ready for retirement. Fox was always somewhere out in the camp, hanging around the kids. And the kids flocked to him like a Pied Piper. A few months after Fox sold the camp and retired from his lifelong calling, he died. Thankfully. Why?

 

A young couple bought the camp and didn't seem as interested in kids as old man Fox was. I can't remember their names (Blackburn?), but they always seemed like they were in the camp office, not out among the kids. And when they were, they didn't warm up to the kids, nor the kids to them. Sure enough, the couple closed the camp after the 1977 season and sold the nearly 300-acre property to a real estate developer who razed it for McMansion-land. My parents took my sister and I back three years later at age 13 to visit the ruins of the camp. I wished I'd hadn't gone. I was devastated to see the ruins. I think this was one of my early influences against urban sprawl.

 

Anyway, in my first year at Red Raider Camp, our group went on a long hike. I loved going on long hikes into the woods and along Silver Creek. But this one hike took us deep into the woods on the south side of Route 87, still following Silver Creek. It seemed like we had hiked for two hours, stopping for lunch or for kids getting stuck in swamps and mud and having to be pulled out and cleaned up. We ended up far east of the camp. That's when we came upon what our camp counselor called a giant spiderweb. Being kids, we thought he was being serious. And when we emerged from the woods, we saw what really looked like a giant spiderweb. We were all blown away by this sight (we actually emerged from the woods behind where those pine trees are, as there is a ravine back there and one of the creeks we walked along)....

 

 

And of course it looked much larger to an eight-year-old kid, especially walking underneath it. We followed our camp counselor to the door of ASM where he called the camp to get a couple of full-sized passenger vans to come and pick us all up. I remember the van ride back to the camp seemed like a long way, even though it was only a mile or so. But it revealed how far we'd walked. I also remember our counselor getting in a bit of trouble for taking us so far, and we all came back covered with mud and prickers and dirt. But for a kid, that was the sign of a truly memorable day. It was. I still remember it clearly more than 37 years later. Especially that spider web! :)

^ Cool story. I would imagine being terrified of the spider that made that web!

Great story KJP.  My mom was a counselor at Red Raider camp back in the 50s and I heard similar stories from her, and she was similarly annoyed to see it developed into McMansiony blah.  I even remember the old camp theme song as taught to me as a kid when we'd drive by it.

 

But ahem,

 

My parents took my sister and I  ME back three years later at age 13 to visit the ruins of the camp.

I don't remember this place.  Humm.

I love me some Geauga County. Awesome pics MayDay

 

Also love the view near Quay 55. Different..

And by correcting KJP's grammar, I meant to say: Awesome shots, MayDay.  By the way, was that some kind of home made tricycle event on Riverbed Street?

^That was actually on Franklin (one over from Riverbed); it was the weirdest thing. Some friends and I were taking photos from the bridge by Hooples - next thing we know, here come some kids zipping down the hill on these things - one flew across Columbus Road and spun out... still not sure what it was about but it made for an interesting pic.

Added a few this evening.

^^Wild!  I guess Franklin (duh, Riverbed is closed) is kind of a "naturally" occurring soapbox derby hill, so good to see it put to good use!

I love that Victorian neighborhood.  I can't place it though.

I was just wondering that very same thing^

Beautiful photos Shawn!

I really enjoyed this thread! Thank you MayDay. Shot 6 could be reposted in the great blue Lake Erie thread!

I love that Victorian neighborhood.  I can't place it though.

 

It's the South Lincoln Avenue Historic District in my hometown of Salem - basically a much smaller version of Euclid Avenue back in the day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Lincoln_Avenue_Historic_District_(Salem,_Ohio)

VERY nice.

I love that Victorian neighborhood.  I can't place it though.

 

It's the South Lincoln Avenue Historic District in my hometown of Salem - basically a much smaller version of Euclid Avenue back in the day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Lincoln_Avenue_Historic_District_(Salem,_Ohio)

 

I'm requesting you do a dedicated posting on this street!  I love those homes.  Is this the area you grew up in?

^Maybe one day I will - I didn't grow up in one of the more notable homes, but not too far from them - literally on the 'wrong side of the tracks'. :-)

 

Anyway, I added a few more images.

^Maybe one day I will - I didn't grow up in one of the more notable homes, but not too far from them - literally on the 'wrong side of the tracks'. :-)

 

Anyway, I added a few more images.

 

Wrong side of the tracks in Salem. What!?  I have to say, there were a few mean streets in Columbiana as well.  :wink:

 

That area isn't too far from Salem's football stadium, right?  If I recall there are some really good looking houses along East State Street as well heading east from downtown.

 

Great set of photos!  The summer ones make me miss the greenery.

^By "wrong side of the tracks", I'm not saying 'the 'hood' - just not in the area of the nicer homes.