THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF 424 & 49
By: Stan Jordan
This picture now is of the student driving school, Mr. Mike Mudel is the instructor and the place is called Right Turn Driving Academy.
There has been a number of businesses there over the years. I will tell you about some of them, but I might forget a few.
When I remember back in 1930, there was a tin shop on that lot and the front of the building was up even with the other line of stores, there was Battershell five and dime store.
Just about that time, the tin shop was torn down and a Sinclair gas station was erected by Fred Dunderman and operated by Roy Miller. I think he worked there till after WWII and then he went to the B.A. Smith Lumber Co. That was a gas station for years, Sam Grimes, Lee Miller and others were operators.
Then the office was remodeled into an ice cream shop and then a restaurant. I remember at one time Barry Deemer and his wife were the owners and a little later Elmer McAlexander was there for a few years. Then when Dr. Gray first came to town, about 30 years ago, he used it for his office. Then he built his new office in 1989 down on Buffalo Street. Then along about that time, Mr. Bruick had a cigar store over there and then it became a student driving school.
There has always been some kind of activity of some kind there.
This is sort of an old picture because you can see our first water tower in the back ground.
See ya!
THIS CORNER IN 1937
By: Stan Jordan
This picture shows the corner of SR 49 and East River Street. For this old picture, Mr. Ehrhart stood in the middle of the street in front of Schilb & Sons, now Friend Flooring. This picture was given to me by Dan Hahn and I surely appreciate it.
A SNOWY OWL
By: Stan Jordan
My co-worker, Crystal, took this picture of a male snowy owl flying away. Let me tell you about it.
This was the evening of February 27th when she was on her way home, she lives in Paulding.
Her husband saw this big owl sitting on a pole, so she turned her car around, turned her four-ways on and stopped to watch the bird. A car came behind her and seen her blinking lights so he slowed up and then he watched the big bird. When the stranger stopped, the owl flew away, but only flew down two poles.
Well, this let Crystal get another picture. When he flew away she got a good shot of this male snowy owl in flight. It shows that he is mostly white and just how big his wingspan is.
This was in the area of CR 51 and SR 111. Over the last few months, we have gotten a number of pictures and reports of seeing this snowy owl in that area, that I refer to as halfway to Paulding. We hear from the Stollers, Johanns and some of the dwellers in that area. That leads up to believe and almost dead sure that there is at least one snowy owl nest in that area.
I feel very good about this whole deal, as to me, that tells me these owls are getting acclimated to humans and the cars, trucks, noise and so on.
And what else I like is most everybody is in for conservation of and for our wild life and will gladly talk and report it.
See ya!
THE PILEATED WOODPECKER
By: Stan Jordan
After many months of writing about this bird and talking to people, I think we have more of these birds than I thought.
I always got a report that there was a number of them around the Paulding area, but here of late, I have received a number of sightings in this local area.
My nephew and niece, Dale and Sharon Hicov, have sighted a pair of them in their back yard. Now that is an ideal area for birds.
They live north of the thicket on the river road where the Wallace Creek Ravine goes under road 192 east. They have no less than four bird feeders the year round and actually it is about like a menagerie, there are so many different species there all the time. I enjoy visiting there, but I sure don’t know all of the kinds that are there.
Over the last few weeks I have seen a pileated woodpecker a couple of times this past winter at my place. I watched him from the kitchen window. He was working on the sunny side of the tree and I would only see him once in a while. He is so tall and slim, I am sure he is a pileated.
I have a good supply of sparrows at my place. When the boys combined the corn out south of the barn, they spilt about a peck of shelled corn and the sparrows have picked at it all winter.
See ya!
A WILD WEATHER WEEKEND
By: Stan Jordan
The past weekend of February 23 & 24 was one to write about. To start with, it rained about an inch and when that was over, it started to blow. I could have been worse but that will do for a while.
Ft. Wayne said they had gusts of 66 mph and I’m sure we did also. It is still blowing about 15 mph but seems high enough, but that strong wind will dry up some of that rain fall. I did lose a few more dead limbs, my back yard is covered with debris.
My great granddaughter mows my yard, but she will have to pick up the limbs first. That time will soon be here.
See ya!
AROUND 1900
By: Stan Jordan
This is the end of February 2019 and the weather is cold, windy and no sunshine and I am at my desk with nothing much to write about, so, as usual I revert back to reading Mr. Ehrhart’s book “100 Years of Progress.”
I came to the section where the main street of Antwerp was going to be paved and that was around 1898 to 1900. Now first the street and area had to be leveled and curbed, and that meant the drain till for the surface water had to be put in first.
I imagine that work had to be done by hand, pick and shovel. I don’t think there was any ditching machines around yet.
I have looked the book over and I can’t see where any funds for this work was allowed. That was quite a job; drains and curbs from Franklin Street all the way south to Daggett Street.
Now in addition to fixing the curbs, they had to haul in a lot of fill dirt. This town sits on a number of ravines, at one time there was a bridge across Main Street about where the Village Apothecary is now.
All this work was done and the business places had to put in new cement sidewalks. The work was done and then in 1915 they voted in $43,000 to pave Main Street that had been made ready.
Yes, Antwerp had a paved street and they were slowly getting out of the mud. It was paved with large commercial type brick and in most cases that brick is still there, just covered up with black top.
I am going to stop here, but a little later I will write about things in and around 1900.
See ya!
THIS TIME CHANGE CRAP
By: Stan Jordan
One hundred years ago WWI was on, our leaders down in Washington wanted the farmers to have more day light to help the war effort, so they set the whole nation’s clocks ahead one hour.
Well, after the war ended in 1918 the time was not moved back to where it was. Now I’m sure the leaders thought they were doing right, and they probably were, but that was one hundred years ago.
Just look at our nation one hundred years later. We have gone from the Model T to electric cars, solar power and wind power nation and we are still on a Model T time.
Russia does not change time, Florida and California don’t want the time change, and I agree with them. I would like to stay on the sun time. The sun setting at 9:17 at night is just not right.
The army says lights out at 9:00 p.m. and the troops are in bed with the sun still shining.
Big hairy deal, let’s get this time back more like the sun time.
Like the poet said, when the sun comes up, you work, when it goes down, it is time to rest, or close to that.
Most farmers, at busy time, do just that, they have some long days. One remarked he was going to bed at almost getting up time.
I say let’s bring the time up to the 21st century instead of 1918.
See ya!
