12 September 2012 - Home for a few days

12 September 2012

Back to NJ...  and already life is miserable.  The Roxbury library had promised me the leftover books from their book sale.  I planned to take them to the women's prison  We came back a day early to find no books.  Typical NJ... every one thinks that someone should think of THEM, but they won't think of anyone else.

Purchased Reames noodles before I left, and, thanks to a cooler and ice, brought them back...
can't purchase them in NJ, only those dried out rehydrate in water things.

The back of the Jeep was packed with food... pizza, noodles, pastries, cookies, pies.... like stocking up for the winter.

My freezer is full!

On the way home, we stopped at Mead Chapel, PA.  Despite a brewing storm, we were able to photograph the stone of my great great grandfather.

I wish we had more time to clean the stone, but the heavy wind and rain prevented more than this quick cleaning before the weather prevented additional work.

SOME good news though... Chipolte is opening a store at the Rockway Mall.  And, Stop 'N Shop now carries Graeter's Ice Cream.  Considering we had Chipolte in Ohio 10 years ago... civilization is slowly reaching this miserable place.

Will be traveling to NY this week-end.  I organized a cemetery clean-up for a Revolutionary War Cemetery.  Here is the "before" picture.

Several DAR members are coming, and  local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, with their parents.  I've also arranged for two professional stone restores to donate their time.  The town mows between the rows, but little else.  They are mowing this week, so... we need to remove the small trees, sumac, and the raspberry bushes and weeds.   The church has an older population, and it grew out of hand.  We plan to plant periwinkle which will act as a ground cover rendering the area maintenance free, other than the stones.

This pile of stone is at one corner.  We are hoping they can be repaired, reset, and documented.

Unfortunately, NY isn't the only state with this problem.  The First Presbyterian Church in Succasunna has this stone in their cemetery:

Note, under his name, it reads "Elder Presb. Church."  How a church takes care of their cemetery says a lot about them.  Most of the veteran markers have been damaged by mowers, and not replaced.  Trash and recycling are on Gov. Mahlon Dickerson's grave.  And, I was told they do NOT want veteran markers on two graves of Revolutionary War veterans I found in their cemetery, which they did not know existed.

Here is the St. Michael Church Cemetery in Netcong.

 The church is still active.  I e-mailed the priest about organizing a clean-up and he never responded.  I phoned the Patterson Diocese and was told that cemeteries are the responsibility of the church.  Per the NJ Cemetery Board, there is NO regulation of religious cemeteries.  Perhaps that state needs to change.  Obviously, they can't be trusted to maintain their cemeteries.

8 September 2012

8 September 2012

Today we visited Cleveland's Little Italy, which makes the New York City offering look pathetic.  Cleveland ROCKS!!!  I find people who ridicule Cleveland have never been here.  These ignorant individuals, for what other word can one use to describe someone why mocks that about which they have no experience, know nothing of the art museum, the Case Western Reserve Historical Society, Case Western Reserve University, University Circle, he natural history museum, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland was the first place where the term "rock and roll" was heard, used by a local disc jockey), and the rich culinary heritage that is Cleveland.  Cleveland, like Youngstown and Pittsburgh was settler by many people seeking to escape WWII.  The steel mills provided good paying jobs and didn't require a command of the English language.  They wanted their children to be educated American, and stressed education.  They also brought their food with them, giving this area one of the most rich culinary heritages in the country.  Local grocery stores carry in their deli items found in NJ only in specialty stores, and generally lacking flavor, perhaps because the NJ chefs omit the spice "love." 

First stop was Corbo's Bakery, a Cleveland tradition.
 

We stocked up on bread, cookies, pizzelles, and Buckeyes, something found only in Ohio.  Then, it was across the street to Presti's Bakery, another Cleveland landmark.

 

More cookies, and see those sticky buns on the right?  Only $1.50/roll.  More bread, cookies, cavetelli from the bakery, and pizza.  The pizza in this area of the country can't be beat.  I haven't had a good pizza since moving to the Godforsaken state.  It' hard to be enthused about a state lacking God and good food.

After Little Italy, the next stop was the Hard Rock Cafe to replace my worn CLEVELAND shirt.  On the way, we passed Jacob' Field (AKA Progressive Field), Home to the Cleveland Indians, the major minor league team!!!  Unfortunately, they were out of town this week-end.

 

Took the second picture as we were leaving, but you can see the stadium and Terminal Tower, where "A Christmas Story" was filmed.  Higbee's Department Store used to be there.  Peregrine falcons have a roost at the top, with a live falcon cam.

Picked up a shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe, one of the besst in the chain (the NYC one is the worst).

Lola is Micheal Symon's restaurant.  Didn't make it there this trip, but a WONDERFUL restaurant, and better than anything I'e had in NYC.

From Cleveland, we traveled south (unlike NJ, trips requiring more than 10 minutes do NOT require 3 weeks of planning and an overnight bag) to The Amish Door.

Broasted chicken....  Tempting as the buffet was, I knew I couldn't eat enough to make it worthwhile.  A visit to the bakery added whoopie pies, cookies, and some other treats to our growing food stash.

 Then it was off to  Kaufmann's Bakery (whoopie pies and pumpkin roll) and Heini Cheese for cheese curds, a delicacy unknown in the uncivilized NJ.

And, of course the busloads of tourist who come... a bane and a blessing...

 Ohio has the country's largest Amish population, most of whom reside in Holmes County.

Ended the day with 4 pizzas to take home from Wedgewood Pizza, the BEST pizza in the world. The entire back of the jeep is full of food.  Dinner was at a place called Charley's, which served pigs in the blanket (a totally different food in OH... not those disgusting mini hotdogs wrapped in dough).

On to the next place... if NJ had good food, i wouldn't have to make these grocery trips home.
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7 September 2012

I went to the Roger's sale today.  Every Friday, Rogers, Ohio hosts an event that is part flea market, part farm market, and part animal sales...  it is a place to go, walk, look, browse.... and eat.  Walnut Creek Cheese, Amish donuts and baked goods, and a lot of trash/treasure hunting.  Some images...

And, a return trip to Das Dutch Haus for broasted chicken, an Ohio Amish specialty.
 

 I also visited two cemeteries.  I'm a FindAGrave volunteer.   FindAGrave.com is a genealogy website, though, I would argue that most of us are also history preservationists.  We photograph and transcribe stones, hoping to record them before the stones fade.  Cemetery stones are a tangible indicator of social class.  Wealthier people had stones of marble or granite, while the less well off used shale or limestone, which are fragile.  Hence, we seek to preserve the record of the stone while there is still information to preserve.  Older stones for women list the woman's maiden name, and at times, her parents, which may be the only indicator of her parents.  Today, I both photographed for FindAGrave, and also found stones of distant relatives.  Here is a particularly sad finding...

Finished the day with food shipping at Giant Eagle.  Purchased Chinese cookies, which is an odd name since there is nothing Chinese about them, and CoCo Wheats, a true Midwestern staple. And, foudn buttermilk sold in half gallons, the way it is normally sold in civilized parts of the world, cheaper than what I pay for a quart in New Jersey.  Cold buttermilk, with salt and pepper...one of the world's most wonderful beverages.

Ended the afternoon with another proper Midwestern thunderstorm.

O-H

6 September 2012 - Columbiana, Ohio

6 September 2012

I'm traveling this week, a trip home to Ohio, via some genealogy research in Pennsylvania.  It is also a time to eat the things that I cannot find in NJ... Mennonite cooking, Amish markets, skies that don't completely darken until 9:30pm, fresh cut grass that delivers an intoxicating smell (NJ grass doesn't smell... it's very odd), spectacular sunsets, and exceptionally nice people. 

Here are some images of today...

Chicken and Noodles at Das Dutch Haus, Columbiana, Ohio

One can buy these noodles at most Ohio markets.  I've never found them in New Jersey.

Dinner was followed by a spectacular Midwest sunset....

Followed by a spectacular Midwestern storm, which my camera did not adequately capture...

The Amish market tomorrow, and headed toward Cleveland, which really does ROCK!

FYI:

Ohio has given the country 8 Presidents.
Ohio has given the country the MOST astronauts.
Ohio has the largest Amish population, in Holmes County and surrounding areas.
Ohio has mountains (the Appalachians), prairies, rolling hills, and an entire northern border of fresh water beaches.
Ohio is home to Cedar Point, roller coaster capital of the world.
Ohio's Columbus Zoo is home to Jack Hanna, and is the country's largest zoo.
Ohio is home to the Jeep plant.
Ohio's northern border is Lake Erie, which empties into the Niagara River, and Niagara Falls.  Swimmers are never asked to leave due to sharks or jelly fish, and it is fresh water.
Ohio is home to The Ohio State University, an original land grant institution, and the BUCKEYES.
The official state song is Hang on Sloopy, played at Buckeye games by TBDBITL (The Best Damn Band in the Land), as well as games of the Cleveland Indians, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Cleveland Browns. 
There is no greater honor in life than dotting the "i."
There are two ways to do things in Ohio... the wrong way, and the way Woody would have done it.
Ed O'Neill (Modern Family) is an Ohio native, graduating from Youngstown State University.
Dean Martin was from Steubenville, Ohio.
In Ohio, buttermilk is a beverage.
So much more to say about Ohio, but there are two types of people in the world... people blessed by God to be from Ohio and everyone else.

O-H