Saturday, May 28, 2016

Wondrous Places: The Bay of Green Bay

Map of Green Bay

Dear George,
Menominee and Marinette are located on the Green Bay shore at the mouth of the Menominee River.  The bay is a huge presence and resource for residents and visitors.  We spent hundreds of hours on Green Bay in our youth — swimming at the O’Hara’s; doing fireworks at the Caleys; going to the Sawyer hunting camp; visiting with the Mars, Steffkes, and Jacobsens.  As teenagers we hung out on sunny days at Marina Park, picnicked at Henes Park, and swam at Hinker’s coal dock.  We’re pretty landlocked here in Cincinnati by comparison, and I’m always struck by the natural beauty of the bay and its environment when we return home for a visit.  Here are some facts about this remarkable body of water.   




Bay view, Henes Park, Menominee

Green Bay is a huge inlet extending off of northwestern Lake Michigan.   It’s 120 miles long and averages about 14 miles wide.  The bay’s northern end is at Big Bay de Noc near Escanaba, and its southern tip is at the mouth of the Fox River at Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The bay’s shoreline stretches along two counties in the U.P. (Delta, Menominee) and  five counties in northeastern Wisconsin (Marinette, Oconto, Brown, Kewaunee, and Door).  Green Bay is separated from the rest of Lake Michigan by the U.P.’s Garden Peninsula to the north, Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula to the south, and the chain of islands between the two (Rock, Washington, St. Martin’s, and Summer Islands).   With 1,626 square miles of area, Green Bay is Lake Michigan’s largest bay, and it’s the largest fresh-water estuary in the world.  Its average depth is 65 feet, and its maximum depth, located 4 miles west of Washington Island, is 176 feet.  Green Bay is fed by eleven rivers and streams, the most important of which are the Fox/Wolf, Peshtigo, Oconto, Menominee, and Escanaba Rivers.  One third of all the land that drains into Lake Michigan passes through Green Bay first.  (2, 6, 21)

Green Bay was first explored by Europeans in the early 1600’s.  Quebec governor Samuel de Champlain had heard rumors of a strange race who called themselves “People of the Sea,” and he believed that the area offered a short route to the Pacific Ocean and China.  Champlain selected Jean Nicolet to explore the area, and Nicolet set off by canoe from Quebec in July 1634 with a crew of 7 Hurons.  On arriving and first meeting Native Americans on the Green Bay shore, Nicolet put on a damask robe embroidered with birds and flowers, intending to be suitably dressed for the mandarins of the East.  Despite the disappointment of not finding the Orient, the land’s rich resources led Nicolet to claim the area for the King of France.  Nicolet named the bay “La Bay des Punts” (“the Bay of the Stinkards”).  The French had gotten this name from their Indian guides who referred to the natives who lived near Green Bay by a word meaning “Stinkers”, perhaps because of the smell of marshes near the bay.  The French also called the bay “Baie Verte” (Green Bay), and the English adopted this name.  (9, 19, 21)  

The first European settlements along the Green Bay coastline were located near the mouth of the Fox River in the vicinity of the current city of Green Bay.  Pere Claude Allouez established the St. Francis Xavier mission in 1671 near what’s now the city of De Pere, and Charles de Langlade, a half-French Ottawa chief, and his father built a trading post on the Fox River at Green Bay in 1764.  After the Revolutionary War the Americans built Fort Howard on the same site.  Founded nearby in 1834 the city of Green Bay is the oldest city in the state of Wisconsin.  Fifty miles to the north along the Green Bay coast, fur trader Louis Chappee was Menominee’s first European settler, establishing a trading post on the Menominee River in 1796.  Fur trader Louis A. Roberts and his family were the first settlers along the bay at Escanaba in 1830.  (7, 8, 9)




Freighter, Marinette harbor

Shipping on Green Bay, critical to the growth of lumber, iron ore, and shipbuilding industries, has been important since the mid-1800s.  The city of Green Bay has the bay’s largest port, with 14 businesses spread along three miles of the Fox River.  The Port of Green Bay recorded 158 foreign and domestic ship arrivals between April and December 2015, carrying approximately 2 million tons of cargo.  (17)  The first known steamboat to arrive in Menominee was the “New York” in 1836.  Daily boats began running between Menominee and the city of Green Bay in 1858, and the Green Bay and Menominee River Navigation Co. was formed in 1867.  In 1873 three twin city lumber companies bought the steam-powered Bismarck and six barges, capable of transporting 3 million feet of lumber.  From that point on nearly all lumber from Menominee and Marinette mills was transported by steamboat to Chicago via Green Bay and Lake Michigan.  Today Menominee’s harbor, located at the mouth of the Menominee River, has 3,300 feet of pier structures and two miles of maintained channels.  The harbor gets 325,000 tons of domestic and international traffic a year.  Major commodities include pig iron, pulp and paper, and coal.  (1, 11)




Menekaunee Bridge, Marinette

Green Bay and Lake Michigan shipping, especially in the early days, was a dangerous enterprise.  According to the maritimetrails.org website, there have been 275 recorded vessel losses in the Green Bay/Door County region (which includes Green Bay as well as the Lake Michigan coast of Door County).  The strait which links Lake Michigan and Green Bay at the northern tip of Door County is known as Porte des Mortes, or the Door of Death. In fact, that’s where Door County gets its name.  Some maritime historians conclude that the strait has had more shipwrecks than any other section of fresh water in the world.  The strait is narrow, shoals extend far from the shore, Great Lakes winds are unpredictable, small islands constitute hazards, and older sailing vessels weren’t as navigable as modern motor boats. Famous shipwrecks at Death’s Door include the Fleeting in 1888 and the A.P. Nichols, the Forest, and the J.E. Gilmore in 1892.  (12, 24)




Marina, Menominee

Green Bay, of course, is highly popular for recreational boaters, and ports on Green Bay receive regular visitors from Chicago, Milwaukee, and many other Lake Michigan locations.  The main U.P. harbors on Green Bay include Menominee, Escanaba, and Gladstone.  The Menominee marina has 261 slips and 20 inner wall-side tie-ups.  Wisconsin harbor towns on Green Bay include Marinette, Oconto, Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, and various Door County marinas (Bailey’s Harbor, Sturgeon Bay, Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Sister Bay, and Washington Island).  Several of our family friends owned powerboats or sailboats — e.g., the O’Hara’s, Caleys, Hoods — and we’d go with them from time to time to Door County or even as far as Mackinac Island. 




Fishing boats, Menekaunee (Marinette)  

Green Bay is also a major location for fishing, prized for its walleye, perch, and northern pike. According to the Wisconsin DNR, fish in Green Bay south of Marinette and its tributaries (the Menominee, Oconto, and Peshtigo Rivers) include: Walleye, Northern pike, Rainbow trout, Lake whitefish, Sheepshead, Smallmouth bass, Chinook salmon, Brown trout, Muskellunge, Carp, Sturgeon, White bass, Channel catfish, White perch, Yellow perch, White sucker, and Burbot. (4)  In Menominee there is fishing at the downtown marina, at the mouth of the Menominee River, and at Stephenson Island in Marinette.  Walleye, brown trout, and steelhead are prolific in the spring, and lake whitefish and Chinook salmon run in the fall.  The Hattie Street bridge is a popular place for lake sturgeon fishing.  Several of my grade school friends regularly fished for perch at the breakwater in downtown Menominee.  I joined them once in a while, but I wasn’t very adept.  (14) 




Beach, Henes Park, Menominee

Green Bay, of course, is home to innumerable parks and beaches.  According to wisconsintrails.com, 3 of Wisconsin’s 12 best beaches are located on Green Bay in Door County: Peninsula State Park at Fish Creek; Portage Town Park at Sturgeon Bay; and Whitefish Dunes State Park at Sturgeon Bay. (26)  Menominee and Menominee County Parks on Green Bay include: Menominee’s Great Lakes Memorial Marina Park (1,100 ft. of waterfront), Veteran’s Memorial Park, John Henes Park (2,600 ft. water frontage),  Lighthouse Ann Arbor Park, the Menominee Tourist Park, Airport Park (with a boat landing), Bailey Park (4,800 feet of sand beach), Fox Park (6,000 ft. of frontage), Kleinke Park (24 acres), and J.W. Wells State Park (974 acres).  We’ve spent many happy hours at these places, especially Marina Park, Henes Park, and Airport Park near Birch Creek.  Compared to the river, the bay pretty chilly, as is Lake Michigan in general.  Monthly average water surface temperatures measured at the city of Green Bay are: June, 47.6 degrees; July, 59.5; August, 67.4; and September, 63.6.  However, the shallow coastline areas where most swimming takes place are several degrees warmer than these figures.  In addition to the many beaches, the Hiawatha National Forest and the Menominee State Forest lie along Green Bay’s northern shore in Menominee and Delta Counties.  (brit) (13, 18)

Door County, across the bay from Menominee, is one of Wisconsin’s most popular tourist regions, and Katja and I have done a couple of mini-trips there in recent years.   Door County’s summer population is ten times its year-round population.  Bordering the southeastern stretch of  Green Bay and Lake Michigan to its east, it's Wisconsin’s only peninsula.  Door County has 300 miles of shoreline.  It’s well known for its cherry and apple orchards.  The peninsula’s main highways pass through small resort towns that offer dining, shopping, wineries, and lodging for tourists.  Door County has five state parks, more than any other county in the nation.  With the completion of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal in 1882, the northern half of the peninsula became an island.  Sturgeon Bay is known as the Great Lakes shipbuilding capital. (3, 5, 7, 15, 22)  




North Pier Light, Menominee

One of the more visible landmarks from the Menominee shoreline is Chambers Island. Chambers Island is 7 miles off the coast of the Door Peninsula and 12 miles northeast of Menominee.  2,834 acres in size, the Chambers Island lighthouse operated from 1867 until its deactivation in 1961.  The Catholic Church maintained a retreat house on Chambers Island from 1951 until 2014, welcoming 62,000 guests over that period.  There are two dirt roads and a 1,200 foot gravel airport runway on the island, but no commercial electricity.  The 2000 census did not report any permanent population.  When I was 13 or 14 Bill Caley Sr. took a group of us by boat to Chambers Island, and, like inhabitants from Lord of the Flies, we set up our camp at an isolated spot along the beach for a four day stay.  (20)

Because of its warmer, shallower waters, Green Bay is the most productive part of Lake Michigan for fish, other aquatic life, and as a stopover for migrating birds.  However, it’s not without problems.  The bay’s health is at risk from wetland loss, invasive species like zebra mussels and carp, urban and agricultural runoff of phosphorous and other nutrients from farms, sewage treatment systems, yard fertilizers, and industry.  As a consequence, like Lake Erie and parts of the Gulf of Mexico, Green Bay is developing a dead zone where there is so little oxygen that few or no fish or other organisms can survive.  This area begins 8 miles northeast of the city of Green Bay and extends for 30 miles north to Peshtigo.  (10)





The beach at Schloegel’s Restaurant, Menominee

We plan to get together with family members in Menominee later in the summer.  We’ll drive up through Chicago and Milwaukee and wind up traveling along the Green Bay coastline, passing through the city of Green Bay, Oconto, Peshtigo, and Marinette.  In Menominee we’ll go to the downtown historic district and check out the visiting boats in the marina.  We’ll drive along First Street with its myriad views of Green Bay and have whitefish for lunch at a bayfront window booth at Schloegel’s.  We might walk out on the pier to the North Pier Light.  We’ll cross the Menekaunee Bridge at the river’s mouth and admire the Great Lakes freighters and the local fishing boats.  We’ll stop by Henes Park and go swimming with our grandkids at the beach.  We’ll spend time with our friends Bob and Lois A., watching the Green Bay sunset from their spacious deck.  Toward the end of our trip we might follow M-35 along the Green Bay shoreline up to Cedar River or Escanaba.  Whatever the exact agenda, we know in advance that Green Bay will offer much of the natural beauty and enjoyment to our vacation experience.  
Love,
Dave

SOURCES:
(1) www.books.google.com, Centennial History of Menominee County by E.S. Ingalls (1876, pp. 61ff.); 
(2) www.britannica.com, “Green Bay (Lake Michigan)”; 
(3) www.discoverwisconsin.com, “Door County”; 
(4) www.dnr.wi.gov, “Fishing: Green Bay south of Marinette and its tributaries…”; 
(5) www.50states.com, “Wisconsin Facts and Trivia”; 
(6) www.foxriverwatch.com, “Fox River and Green Bay Statistics”; 
(7) www.funtrivia.com, “Wisconsin”; 
(8) www.google.com, “Eye on Michigan: Historic Locations & Attractions in Escanaba”; 
(9) www.i.green-bay.wi.us, “Green Bay: History”; 
(10) www.jsonline.com, “Scientists: ‘Dead zone’ showing up in Green Bay”; 
(11) www.lre.usace.army.mil, “Menominee harbor”; 
(12) www.maritimetrails.org, “Wisconsin’s Historic Shipwrecks”; 
(13) www.menomineecounty.com, “Menominee park list”; 
(14) www.michigan.gov, “Waters of Green Bay”; 
(15) www.movoto.com, “Wisconsin facts”; 
(16) www.nature.org, “Green Bay: Restoring a Great Lakes Treasure”; 
(17) www.portofgreenbay.com, “Port of Green Bay”; 
(18) www.seatemperature.org, “Monthly Green Bay water temperature chart”; 
(19) www.uwgb.edu, “Origins of the French and English Names for the Bay of Green Bay”; 
(20) www.wikipedia.org, “Chambers Island”; 
(21) (21) www.wikipedia.org, “Green Bay (Lake Michigan)”; 
(22) www.wikipedia.org, “Door Peninsula”; 
(23) www.wikipedia.org, “Lake Michigan”; 
(24) www.wikipedia.org, “Porte des Morts”; 
(25) www.wisconsinharbortowns.net, “Wisconsin harbor towns”; 
(26) www.wisconsintrails.com, “Wisconsin’s 12 best beaches”


Friday, May 20, 2016

Seeking Ancient Wisdom



Dear George, 
So far our year has consisted of one source of consternation after the next — car problems, a house disaster, insurance dealings, making out a will, canceling trips, medical anxieties, nightmarish politics, etc.  Sometimes if things get stressful enough, I turn to the I Ching to help think through problems.  The readings are nearly always on target and can be amazingly precise.  My brother-in-law, David Werrin, introduced us to the I Ching many years ago, and we’ve been fans ever since.  I encourage the curious reader to give it a try if you haven’t already.  

The I Ching is an ancient Chinese book of wisdom.  Influenced by Confucianism, it dates back at least two thousand years and provides guidance for moral decision making and action.  One consults the I Ching by asking a question, then tossing a set of three coins six times in a row.  Each toss of the coins results in a broken or unbroken line (see the I Ching for details), and the six lines are arranged from bottom to top in a stacked hexagram like the following example: 



The six-line hexagram is divided into an upper and lower trigram, each with its own name and interpretation.  There are eight possible combinations of broken and unbroken lines for any given trigram, and consequently there are 64 (8 times 8) possible hexagrams.  Each of the I Ching’s 64 hexagrams has a name and an associated reading which describes a life situation, provides imagery for thinking about it, and makes suggestions about effective courses of action.  To give a more concrete sense of this, I’m going to describe three questions I recently asked of the I Ching, the answers I received, and what I made of each.  My questions have do do with our loss of our sheepdogs, a household catastrophe, and crummy hearing.  The I Ching had lots to say.  
    

Our Sheepdogs: Loss, grief




It’s been 10 months since Duffy died and 6 months for Mike.  The dogs remain uppermost on our minds.  I sometimes anticipate them at the door when we return home late at night or look for them in bed when I wake up in the morning.  We struggle with our loss because the dogs were so central to our daily lives, particularly in terms of giving and receiving affection.  They were also the most frequent source of Katja’s and my shared experiences of happiness, and we’re keenly aware of that void.  I asked the I Ching about dealing with my continuing sad feelings about the dogs.  





The hexagram I received for my sheepdog question is No. 43, Kuai (Break-through [Resoluteness]).  The upper trigram is Tui (The Joyous, Lake), and the lower trigram is Ch’ien (The Creative, Heaven).  Thus, the image is one of a lake floating above heaven.  The water, having floated to the heavens, breaks through and comes down again as rain.  According to the I Ching, the hexagram signifies a break-through after a long accumulation of tension, like a swollen river breaking through its dikes.  The Judgment reads:
            Break-through.  One must resolutely make the matter known
            At the court of the king.
            It must be announced truthfully.  Danger.
            It is necessary to notify one’s own city.
            It does not further to resort to arms.
            It furthers one to undertake something.  

The I Ching states that the resolution of tension must be based on a union of strength and friendliness.  We must not get entangled in negative feelings.  Rather, “the best way to fight evil is to make energetic progress in the good.”  This hexagram, the I Ching notes, is linked to the third month (April/May).  

MY INTERPRETATION:
Our loss of the dogs has definitely produced a lengthy accumulation of tension in both of us.  The I Ching reading suggests we are on the verge of a breakthrough in this state of affairs in April/May.  To accomplish this, it’s important for Katja and I to truthfully disclose our feelings to one another (i.e., make matters known to “one’s own city”) and rely on friendly cooperation.  Rather than remaining bogged down in negative feelings or acting in hurtful ways (“resorting to arms”), we need to undertake new interests and “make energetic progress in the good.”  We’ll always cherish our memories of our wonderful dogs, but now is the time to break through and move beyond grief and mourning. 

Our House: Catastrophe, angst




We arrived home at the end of the day on April 6, only to find water pouring through our kitchen and dining room ceilings from a pipe that had burst in the upstairs bathroom.  The insurance company immediately sent an emergency cleanup crew, and they spent six days drying out the walls, ceilings, and floors (which included tearing out our fairly new bamboo flooring, peeling off large patches of wallpaper, and punching holes in the ceiling).  Our first floor is largely uninhabitable, and both Katja and I remain in a state of shock.  I asked the I Ching how to respond to this household disaster.





The hexagram is Fêng (Abundance [ Fullness]).  The above trigram is Chên (The Arousing, Thunder), and the lower trigram is Li (The Clinging, Flame).  The image signals the arrival of thunder and lightning, but, as they join together, they will produce abundance and greatness.  The Judgment states:
            Abundance has success.
            The king attains abundance.
            Be not sad.
            Be like the sun at midday.

According to the I Ching, “Only a man who is inwardly free of sorrow and care can lead in a time of abundance.  He must be like the sun at midday, illuminating and gladdening everything under heaven…The darkness is already decreasing.”

MY INTERPRETATION:
A barrage of thunder and lightning has torn apart our house, and we have been wallowing in sorrow and care for the last six weeks.  However, before we know it, we will have brand new flooring in our living and dining rooms, newly painted walls and ceilings, and a fully restored first floor — better than before, a true state of abundance and fullness.  Like the sun at midday, we need to be more bright and optimistic about our imminent future.  “Abundance has success.”


Faulty Hearing: Irritation, indecision



Aside from death and disaster, my faulty hearing is my most constant source of annoyance and frustration.  That’s been going on for fifteen years or more, and I’ve remained resistant to urgings from Katja, other family members, and friends (however gentle and supportive) to consider hearing aids.  Lately, though, I’ve been reconsidering.  Several classmates at my high school reunion were enthusiastic about their hearing aids, and some of my acquaintances at the university have said the same thing.    On the other hand, I recently had lunch with two long-time friends.  One had purchased hearing aids a year ago, but he didn’t bother to wear them to lunch because they don’t help and are simply a hassle.  The second friend mentioned that his wife had bought top of the line hearing aids several years ago but had put them away in a drawer because all they did was magnify uninterpretable sounds.  Puzzled and conflicted, I asked the I Ching, “What should I do about this?”  



My hexagram is Huan (Dispersion [Dissolution]).  The upper trigram is Sun (The Gentle, Wind), and the lower trigram is K’an (The Abysmal, Water).  Huan depicts wind blowing over water, dissolving and dispersing the water into foam and mist.  When a person’s vital energy is dammed up within him or her (the dangerous condition signified by K’an, The Abysmal), gentleness serves to break up and dissolve the blockage.  The Judgment reads:
            Dispersion,  Success.
            The king approaches his temple.
            It furthers one to cross the great water.
            Perseverance furthers.  

According to the I Ching, this hexagram has specifically to do with a divisive egotism and rigidity that separates people.  As family members cooperate in a common undertaking, “all barriers dissolve, just as, when a boat is crossing a great stream, all hands must united in a joint task.”  In particular, rigidity melts away.   This only occurs, however, when “a man who is himself free of all selfish ulterior considerations…perseveres in justice and steadfastness (and) is capable of so dissolving the hardness of egotism.”  

MY INTERPRETATION:
Hmm.  It’s hard to imagine, but this hexagram seems to imply that I have been ruled by the Abysmal — selfishness, egotism, rigidity.  Though I rarely think of Katja as a gentle wind, she does have my interests in mind.  According to the I Ching, I will have success if I “cross the great water.”  This seems to suggest that I should make and follow through on a major decision.  Numerous voices in the past have encouraged me to cross the great water, and now the I Ching is joining the chorus.   I think I will come back to the I Ching again next week and make sure this is right.  I will definitely try not to be rigid.

All in all, the I Ching readings leave me in a more harmonious place.  If one wants to experiment, the public library is bound to have copies, as do Half-Price Books, Amazon, etc.   There are numerous online I Ching sites, but the ones I’ve seen are over-simplified and crass compared to the book versions (especially the Wilhelm volume cited below).  Here’s a toast to keeping ancient wisdom in our lives. 
Love,
Dave

Source:  The I Ching or Book of Changes.  The Richard Wilhelm Translation.  Foreword by C J. Jung.  Bollinger Series XIX, Princeton University Press, 1967 (3rd edition).  




Saturday, May 14, 2016

Clifton Icons



Dear George,
Cincinnati has a lot of great neighborhoods.  Clifton, of course, is our favorite.  That might be due to our having lived here for over forty years.  But, because of its special ambience, it’s lots of other people’s favorite too.   Perched on a hill overlooking downtown Cincinnati, Clifton was one of the city’s first suburbs, a refuge for a select few from the summer heat, pollution, and disease in the city below.  

Lafayette Avenue (the “Avenue of the Barons”) near the northern edge of the neighborhood was home to vast estates in the nineteenth century, while Ludlow Avenue to the south was emerging as Clifton’s business district.  Clifton was incorporated in 1850, and expansion of the Cincinnati streetcar system in the 1880s and 1890s helped the village to grow.  The city annexed Clifton in 1893, and the University of Cincinnati relocated to Clifton’s Burnet Woods Park that same year.  Ludlow Avenue and the side streets to its north are known as the Gaslight District because of their lighting from original gas lamps.  

The neighborhood is largely residential, including mansions still here from the late 1800’s, grand old apartment buildings, and many stately homes built in the early twentieth century.   Slightly over 50% of Clifton homes were built before 1940.  Because of its proximity to the University of Cincinnati, major hospitals, Hebrew Union College, and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.  Cliftonites tend to be well-educated.  Neighborhood residents today include students, university faculty and staff, doctors and lawyers, writers and artists, and many families. According to city-data.com, about 14% of Clifton residents have doctoral or professional degrees; 55% have bachelor’s degrees or beyond; and 27% are undergraduate or graduate students.   The neighborhood is quite diverse, with about 40% of residents identifying as black, Asian, Hispanic, or multiracial.  Foreign-born residents are more frequent in Clifton (12%) than in the city at large (5%).  36% of Clifton’s households are married couples with children.  In 80% of marriages, with or without kids, both spouses work outside the home.      

Ludlow Avenue’s popular business district is home to numerous restaurants and shops.  Graeters ice cream parlor and Skyline Chili, with multiple branches across the city, are famous throughout the region, and the six-screen Esquire Theater, specializing in foreign and indie films, wins “best of city” awards every year.  Harvest, Ludlow Garage , and Biaggio’s are favorites for a special night out, and there are numerous ethnic bistros (e.g., Indian, Chinese, Latin American, Moroccan, Mediterranean) and coffee shops, as well as other casual dining spots (e.g., J. Gumbo, Deweys Pizza, Brueggers Bagels, Lydia’s on Ludlow).  Arlins and the Fries Cafe are favorite neighborhood bars.  The IGA supermarket, which was the main anchor to the business district, closed several years ago and Clifton Market, a food coop, will open there this fall.  Many of life’s amenities are addressed by our hardware store, barber shop, many hip stores for clothing and sundries, hair stylists, drugstore, florist shop, post office, travel agencies, e-cigarette dispensaries, and most recently a gourmet cookie store.  Several years ago our branch library moved into an elegant mansion once owned by Cincinnati’s early 1900’s political boss, George B. Cox.  Clifton has 14 houses of worship.  Its major parks include Burnet Woods, Mt. Storm Park, and the Rawson Nature Preserve. 

My current photography project is to try to compile a set of images that capture the essence of Clifton.   That’s tricky and could be an endless process.  Just the same, here is how part of my collection looks today.
Love,
Dave




Ludlow Avenue



The Muse of Clifton statue



Clifton Plaza and Graeter's ice cream parlor



Clifton Branch Library (former Cox mansion)



Probasco Fountain & Clifton Cultural Arts Center (former Clifton School)



Post Office, Clifton Branch



Wayne-Rawson mansion, 1860s



Fairview School



Fire station, Ludlow at Clifton



Temple of Love, Mt. Storm Park



Skyline Chili



Clifton Mosque



Ludlow Garage



Proud Rooster



Mansion, Clifton Ave. (our first apartment)


Bandstand, Burnet Woods Park



Arlin's Bar & Restaurant



Jewish Cemetery



Roanoke apartment house



United Methodist Church



Esquire Theater



Flying Pig statue, Fairview School grounds



Panagea Trading Co. & Sitwell's Coffee House



Habanero Latin American Fare



Mural, Clifton Plaza


Sources:

www.cincy.com, “Clifton”
www.city-data.com, “Clifton neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio” 
www.cliftoncommunity.org, “Clifton”
www.wikipedia.org, “Clifton, Cincinnati”