Dear George,
We moved to Cincinnati in
1966, and our son J was born here in 1969. Because we’d only lived as a married couple in Yellow
Springs and Ann Arbor, we worried about big city living with kids, but
Cincinnati turned out to be an excellent place for family life and raising
children. Not so large as to be
overwhelming, but large enough to have plenty of cultural, sports, and urban
attractions. Here are some vintage
postcard images that highlight locations and activities that were important for
our family during J’s growing up years.
Nearly all are still here and remain rewarding parts of our lives.
Love,
Dave
Christ Hospital
J was born at Christ Hospital
in 1969. Katja was less than
enthusiastic about the birthing process.
After her labor had gone on for about a day, she started yelling at the
nursing staff, “It’s my turn! It’s
my turn!” Back then mothers and
infants stayed in the hospital for a week to ten days. Then our son and mother came home to our rental townhouse in the
suburbs.
A Clifton residence
In 1973, when J was 4, we
moved to Clifton, the center city neighborhood adjacent to the university. Clifton had originally been a hilltop
suburb of Cincinnati, settled by wealthy families with large estates. We rented the first floor of an old
mansion on Clifton Avenue, and, with its Rookwood fireplaces and Italian
murals, it was the fanciest place that we lived before and after.
The Presbyterian Church
The Presbyterian Church, just
two doors down Clifton Ave. from our apartment, operated a daycare center, and
J and his friend Jessica G. were pupils there for two years. J’s favorite teachers were Ann and
Judy. Katja bought a motorcycle
from Ann, but, when it proved too large and unwieldy for her, I took it over
and frequently went on forays on the city’s west side.
Burnet Woods
Burnet Woods is a city park
that extends about a half mile from the Ludlow Avenue Clifton business district
to the university. I frequently
walked to and from work through Burnet Woods and still do. As J grew older, he and I spent a lot
of time hiking on the Burnet Woods trails. One time we let our dog Winston off the leash, and J had to
chase him a quarter-mile through the park to get him back.
Clifton School
J and his friend Jessica
started kindergarten at Clifton School in 1974. The school had an excellent reputation, dating back over 70
years. In the early 1970’s it
introduced multi-age classrooms, so that the first through third graders were
in the same rooms together, as were the fourth to sixth graders. Along with the 3 R’s, J perfected
skills in skateboarding and hacky-sack.
His favorite teacher was Miss Williams.
The Cincinnati Zoo
Katja set aside Saturday
mornings to do her errands about town, and J and I nearly always went out on
expeditions around the city. The
zoo was our favorite destination, just a short car ride from our house. The Cincinnati Zoo has long been one of
the top ten in the nation, and it’s also one of the oldest in the country. Despite our many visits, there were
always amazing new things to see.
The Natural History Museum
When the weather was rainy or
snowy, we’d spend indoor time at the Natural History Museum on Gilbert Avenue
(since then relocated to the Union Terminal Museum Center). They had a few hundred thousand
artifacts – fossils, gems, animal skeletons, seashells, etc. There was an artificial nature trail
where you’d see stuffed deer, foxes, porcupines, and other wildlife. Practically all the wonders of the
world.
Mt. Airy Forest
On Sunday mornings we’d
frequently go as a family for a hike at Mt. Airy Forest, bringing along our
poodle Jacques. We’d park at the
Arboretum and follow a trail through the forest for about half a mile till it
came to an end at a road, a creek, and a field containing a couple of
horses. The horses were curious
about intruders and usually came over to see us and vice versa.
Eden Park
Eden Park was another of our
favorite family outing places.
We’d go to the Overlook, check out the ducks and geese, and play at the
playground. J was always interested
in the Romulus and Rhemus statue that Mussolini gifted to the city of
Cincinnati in the 1930’s.
The Cincinnati Art Museum
My parents used to take us as
little kids to the Chicago Art Institute, and we continued the same tradition
in our Cincinnati family. Art
museums aren’t as exciting as zoos for kids, but J liked the Henry Farny
paintings of Indians in the Old West, Greek statues of people and cows, and the
medieval armor exhibition.
The Taft Museum
Another Museum treasure in
Cincinnati is the Taft Museum, originally the home of the Taft family. We’d go there regularly for their
Victorian Christmas exhibits.
Music Hall
Katja is a classical music
lover, and we’d go as a family to Music Hall to the Cincinnati Symphony, Opera,
or the May Festival. We’d
also have season tickets to musical theater at the College Conservatory of
Music at the university.
The Public Library
Cincinnati has one of the
best public library systems in the nation. The main downtown branch has the second largest circulation
of any library branch in the U.S.
J and I would go there to check out books, videos, and CDs, and also
take in the current art exhibition.
Union Terminal
Union Terminal is one of
Cincinnati’s historic treasures, though it’s been many years since it operated
as a train station. It’s said to
be the inspiration for the comic book Hall of Justice, headquarters for
Superman and friends. For several
years Union Terminal housed a shopping mall, and we’d go there on weekends to
browse. Nowadays we take our
grandchildren, V and L, there for the wonderful Children’s Museum, the Imax,
the History and Science Museums, and other exhibitions.
Coney Island
Along with its amusement park
rides, Coney Island has a gigantic swimming pool. J used to go there during his grade school years with his
friend Jessica and her mom Susan.
One summer he got such a bad sunburn that the doctor said he could never
take his shirt off in the sun again.
Good Samaritan Hospital
J jammed his hand in a door
at preschool, and they rushed him to the emergency room at Good Sam. Although J had never touched a violin,
Katja said, “There goes his violin career,” and they discharged the resident
assigned to the case and brought in the chief hand surgeon. J never even had a scar.
Kings Island
Kings Island opened up in
1972, and we’d usually go there at least once a season during J’s
childhood. It’s one of the biggest
amusement parks in the Midwest.
They had a kiddie ride area that we all liked better than the gigantic
rollercoasters.
Fire Station
When we smelled something
burning on the second floor of our house, we called the fire house, and a
hook-and-ladder truck arrived in minutes.
The firemen found some burnt matches in the upstairs hallway, and, despite
J’s initial denials, it turned out that he’d been setting the matches on
fire. His parents were perplexed
by their perfect child’s behavior.
The Krohn Conservatory
The Krohn Conservatory has
wonderful, jungle-like trails to explore, as well as a desert cactus area and
an orchid room. We took in their
seasonal shows a couple of times a year.
Crosley Field
J was in preschool and grade
school when the Big Red Machine, with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Chris Sabo,
George Foster, et al., was at its peak, and he soon became a kid fan. Crosley Field was replaced by
Riverfront Stadium in 1970, and we’d occasionally go to ball games at
Riverfront.
Avondale Tennis
My tennis partner Irv G. and
I started playing with J was he was 8 or 9, and by the time that he was 12
neither of us could beat him. J
joined the Cincinnati Tennis Club in East Walnut Hills, and he spent nearly
every day in the summer there. He
soon developed into one of the best tennis players in his age group in
Cincinnati. We were insane tennis
parents.
Lunken Airport Playfield
The main Cincinnati junior
tennis tournaments were held at Lunken Playfield, adjacent to Lunken
Airport. We spent many exciting
hours there in the early to mid-80’s.
Walnut Hills High School
Walnut Hill is Cincinnati’s
college preparatory high school and one of the top academic high schools in the
nation. J passed the test to get
in and enjoyed his six years at Walnut, writing for the school newspaper,
playing on the varsity tennis team, being a student in the Honors Program, and
taking the required two years of Latin.
Then he was off to Columbia in NYC.
These were some of the best
years of our lives. We still hang
around at many of these excellent places.
Love,
Dave
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