That is a Pershing tank helping to move a bus through the snow following the Thanksgiving Blizzard, or the Great Appalachian storm, of 1950. I do not remember the storm, but this is the one my parents always talked about.
From the Lakewood [Ohio] Sun Post:
Hundreds of motorists abandoned stalled autos. Stuck streetcars were strung along main arteries for miles. Bus routes were littered with coaches blocked by enormous drifts. Most plants closed, and some employees who did manage to report in were marooned on their jobs. Trucks laden with food couldn’t deliver. Babies were without milk, and groceries able to open were rationing it as well as bread.
The 5-day 1950 Thanksgiving blizzard began when an arctic air mass lowered temperatures to 7 degrees. The next day, 24 Nov., low pressure from Virginia moved into Ohio, causing a blizzard with high winds and heavy snow which closed the airport. Mayor Thomas Burke called for the National Guard and mobilized snow removal equipment to clear the 22.1″ of snow brought by the storm; however, snow drifts and over 10,000 abandoned cars blocked the effort. Burke declared a state of emergency, banned unnecessary travel, and later asked downtown businesses to stagger hours to reduce transit burdens. Nonessential cars were banned downtown. The storm weakened on Monday, but most area schools closed. The storm ended, and all guardsmen were dismissed by Wednesday, but Cleveland schools remained closed all week to keep children off transit lines. The auto ban lasted until the last CTS line reopened on Saturday; while parking problems remained, police no longer monitored traffic. Normal conditions returned as the temperature hit 53 degrees. The storm had paralyzed the area for a week and cost over $1 million and 23 lives.
Last year the show was canceled because of government sequestration. This clip is from 2012.
This event began in Cleveland in 1929 as the National Air Races. Holding the races in Cleveland gave a big push to industry in this city.
The event circulated to different cities for nine years and was finally brought to Cleveland in 1929 by a group of local businessmen headed by Louis W. Greve and Frederick C. Crawford. Greve was president of the Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Company, which made the hydraulic undercarriages that held the wheels on airplanes. Crawford was general manager and later president of Thompson Products Inc., now a part of TRW Inc. Thompson Products developed the experimental sodium-cooled cylinders, which enabled Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis to reach France.
The inaugural event in 1929 attracted an estimated 300,000 spectators, and took place over 20 days.
Cleveland obtained its name on July 22, 1796 when surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company laid out Connecticut’s Western Reserve into townships and a capital city they named “Cleaveland” after their leader, General Moses Cleaveland. Cleaveland oversaw the plan for what would become the modern downtown area, centered on Public Square, before returning home, never again to visit Ohio. The first settler in Cleaveland was Lorenzo Carter, who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Village of Cleaveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814. In spite of the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, its waterfront location proved to be an advantage. The area began rapid growth after the 1832 completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal. This key link between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes connected the city to the Atlantic Ocean via the Erie Canal and later via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Growth continued with added railroad links.Cleveland incorporated as a city in 1836. More here.
Reproduction of Lorenzo Carter’s cabin nestled under the Detroit-Superior (Veteran’s Memorial) Bridge
The Connecticut Western Reserve was an area in the Northwest Territory held, sold and distributed by the State of Connecticut in the years after the American Revolution.
Connecticut was one of several states that had land claims in the Ohio Country going back to the colonial period. Connecticut gave up most of its claims to the federal government so that the Northwest Territory could be created. However, it reserved the northeast corner of the territory for itself. This area came to be known as the Connecticut Western Reserve. More here.
I thought this was a lovely geology tattoo on a graduate student that celebrates her field of study.
I am reading a book on the geology of the Cleveland region that was published in 1940 and found in a bunch of books that were being discarded (!)
Here are a couple of the figures from that book. I find interesting the different intersection land forms that make up this area – and the fact that I live on top of the last foothill of the Appalachian Plateau. Interesting in history, if not in altitude.
In this installment of the Bakery Blogumentary, I am featuring Zoss the Swiss Baker. Zoss is on the route I take to work every day, and it is an easy and quick stop for a croissant, a spinach tart for lunch, a box of cookies for the office (when the minions have been especially good) – so many wonderful things. Their bakery has a continental favor and it is THE place to go for Bavarian pretzels, palmiers, macaroons, croissants, chocolate papillons.
I would love to show you a photo of the hazelnut macaroon I purchased this morning, but it just disappeared somehow – sorry.
Perfect, flaky, buttery croissants.
These are chocolate papillons.
Selections from the pastry counters.
This post would not be complete without mentioning the bread and rolls that Zoss produces from their magical ovens. We are fortunate that Zoss bread is also available in local supermarkets so it is possible to find even when the mothership is closed. They always do something special for the holidays – I’m looking forward to that.
When I was growing up, birthdays always meant a cake from Hough Bakery. For my brother, born in March, the cake was covered in spring flowers. For my sister’s June birthday, frosting roses decorated the cake. I think I really got the best deal because for my October birthday, my mom would get a cake with the entire top covered in frosting mums in autumn colors. I cannot describe how beautiful it was – and how delicious.
Hough closed their retail stores in 1992. You can tell a native Clevelander by the dreamy, far away look in their eyes when you mention the name Hough Bakery. They will sigh, “Oh, yes, I remember the . . . “(filling in the blank – birthday cakes, corn toasties, brownies, blondies, hot cross buns, daffodil cakes, Hungarian delights, etc., etc., with whatever was their favorite.
If you did not grow up on bakery from Hough’s, the names will mean nothing to you. But to a native Clevelander, Hough’s was more than just a bakery, it was part of our history.
The daffodil cakes and so forth may be gone, but you can still get a Hough-style birthday cake at Archie’s Bakery. Archie was a baker for Hough’s and he negotiated with the family to continue baking and selling their distinctive birthday cakes.
This morning I got up – took a shower – got dressed – packed a lunch – had plenty of time to get a cup of coffee and a croissant – and yet I arrived at work late. Normally it is a 15 minute drive to work – with traffic and bad timing it takes 20 minutes. However today it took almost an hour. My regular route was backed up, my alternate route was backed up, every road was backed up. There were barricades and police cars blocking roads along the way. Terrible accident? Presidential visit?
No, they are shooting a movie. I think it is Draft Day with Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The movie industry in Cleveland is small enough that it is a big deal (Christmas Story) when area neighborhoods (Welcome to Collinwood) appear on screen (American Splendor) – and sometimes surprising (Spiderman). Here according to About.com are the top 10 movies filmed in Cleveland.
(I could not find an image for Draft Day, but here is Kevin Costner with an Emmy for something.)
All of these things occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, where Moses Cleaveland landed on July 22, 1796. Here is a recreation of Settlers’ Landing on the banks of the Cuyahoga.
For more history and information about famous Clevelanders, go here and here.
You think Juno was a blizzard?
This was a blizzard!
Gunsmoke and Knitting 
