Thursday Thirteen--13 memorable music programs at Lakeside, Summer 2011

We have a summer home in Lakeside, Ohio--a Chautauqua community estblished as a Methodist campground in 1873 with educational and cultural programming every day. Here are 13 of the musical shows we really enjoyed. Lakeside has a large auditorium that seats over 2,500, plus a bandstand in the park, and a theater called "Orchestra Hall," but most musical events are in Hoover Auditorium. There are 2 hotels, several B&Bs, plus private cottages for rent. Lots of planned activities for children. Gated community. No alcohol.

1. On Aug. 27 Helen Welch provided a tribute to “ladies of song,” including Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Karen Carpenter and Patsy Cline. She is British, lives in Hudson, Ohio, and belts out some fabulous songs.

2. Shiloh Mountain Trio sang at the bandstand the Sunday night of the last week, Aug. 28. A Christian group, they are siblings and children of a Baptist pastor. They are named in honor of Mt. Shiloh Baptist Church in Cadiz, Ohio. We stayed for the whole concert and even bought a CD. YouTube of how they make their music.

3. Mike Albert is the Big-E (an Elvis impersonator) and very popular at Lakeside. He always puts on a fabulous show--this is probably the 8th time we’ve seen him.

4. Although it wasn’t billed as an evening program at Hoover Auditorium, Thomas Lloyd who is the band director at Columbus State (didn’t know they had one) gave an interesting lecture on the Music of the Civil War Era, and we in the audience had an opportunity to sing many of the songs with his leadership. This was the 8th Civil War Week at Lakeside.

5. The closing concert of the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra on Aug. 19 featured guest pianist Dr. Angelin Chang, professor of piano at Cleveland State. Our friends David and MaryAnn enjoyed the show with us.

6. Another winner with the Orchestra was Chad Hoopes on Aug. 16, a violinist who at 16 has a fabulous career ahead. I was enchanted. Instead of giving him a bouquet of flowers, he was presented with a print of one of my husband’s paintings (the orchestra).

7. Michael Shirtz, director of choral music and Arts at Terra State Community College in Fremont, played on Aug. 11 with his quartet. He’s so talented, and earlier in the season was also a presenter on history of American music.

8. We actually weren’t here on July 23 to hear the OSU Alumni Band, but if we had been, we would have heard a fantastic concert.

9. The Lakeside Symphony Orchestra opened its 48th season on July 27 with a program of “Light Classics.”

10. Carpe Diem String Quartet on June 21 originated at Ohio Wesleyan University and provides many educational programs, but they also can really wow an audience.

11. If you ever have the opportunity to hear the Raleigh Ringers Handbell Choir based in Raleigh, NC, don’t miss it. I’ve never seen such huge handbells!

12. And oh do we love Riders in the Sky who’ve performed in all 50 states, and here at Lakeside a number of times. They sing cowboy music.

13. Usually we don’t have secular music programs on Sunday evening, but this year on May 29 (Memorial Day week-end) the performers were Phil Dirt and the Dozers. This incredibly talented group can sing anything, but are particularly famous for their 50s and 60s music, and are great fun to watch and listen to.

The last sunset

Summer for the Bruces is over on Labor Day week-end. We returned to Columbus on Sunday, so this last Sunset was either Friday or Saturday. Sunsets and sunrises this summer were not as spectacular as some--the heat and haze blocked a lot.

Erie Spirit Sailing

If you like to sail, and didn't bring your sailboat, you can rent the experience with Captain Jim. captainjim at lakeeriesail dot com. My husband, his friends Jim and Eric, and Eric's brother David did just that earlier in the summer. Captain Jim was my husband's sailing instructor some years ago. I'd won sailing lessons in a pie contest, but wasn't interested, so my husband used them. He loved it!

Week 10 at Lakeside--Civil War Week

Because of our trip back to Columbus for a meeting and a quick visit to the vet for our cat, we missed the Monday and Tuesday daytime programs by Dale Phillips, Howard Strouse and the dinner with "President Lincoln" (Robert and Barbara Brugler of Columbus as Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln). However, later in the week Randy Koch who spoke on the Presidential Election of 1860 mentioned that at the Monday night dinner he shook the hand of a WWII veteran, whose grandfather had been wounded at Gettysburg, and he had been visited by President Lincoln and shook his hand. He said he got chills thinking about it.

There were 3 women presenters this week, Marjorie Wilson of Cleveland gave a very informative talk on Mortimer Leggett, one of Ohio's generals. She's a retired school teacher who got interested in the Civil War because she's a volunteer docent at Lakeview cemetery where 800 Civil War veterans are buried. Carol Zeh, a Civil War historian from Akron, provided great maps and explanations about the Battle of Gettysburg with graphic details on the injuries and deaths. She said if you want to be a volunteer guide at Gettysburg, it's harder than getting into medical school! That same day (Thursday) I attended "Horses of Gettysburg" a PBS documentary. Other than numbers and a few bad photos, there wasn't that much, but good information on the statuary that includes horses. Joan Cashin of OSU spoke on Black & white women of the Old South, which I didn't attend. Those who did said she gave good current information on slavery today--which in numbers is higher than the 18th century. On Friday Tom Lloyd of the music faculty of Columbus State led us in some rousing songs of the Civil War era with very interesting background about instruments, military bands, song writers and publishers. I had no idea that Columbus State even had a music department.

Socially, it's been a busy week. Dave and MaryAnn were with us Friday and Saturday and we had lunch at the Hotel Lakeside; Tuesday evening we had Dan and Joan here for dinner on our deck; Wednesday evening we went to the community picnic with Rob and Lynn; then Thursday morning we were at Dan and Joan's B&B for breakfast with Marsha, a former architecture colleague of my husband; then Friday night we went out to Crosswinds for great perch with Wes and Sue and then back here for dessert and an evening program of eclectic music--mostly Celtic.

With Dan and Joan at the Idlewyld B & B in Lakeside.

With David and Mary Ann at our cottage.

With Rob and Lynn at the picnic in the park.

Is there a hole in the bucket for Obama water carriers?

What is going on? Tonight on NBC news I heard a negative report on President Obama! They actually doubt his staff that this bus tour isn't part of his campaign. Wow! Followed that with news about food inflation, caused in part by bio-fuels (aka green, or alternative energy sources).

And in a lecture today where the presenter had Obama's inaugural address on the screen and we were looking at Biblical references, a man actually said that reading the content of the speech was enlightening especially since things were so much worse today than when he took office. In Lakeside he said this. I was stunned (it's a pretty liberal place). Of course, the retired Presbyterian pastor sitting behind me, disagreed. He thought things were better. I wonder what--another war front? Inflation? The national debt? A floundering Congress? The stock market? Pretending he's not campaigning?

I guess everyone sees what they want to see, including me. Maybe I imagined that NBC story. And maybe the guy who spoke up was on the far left and thought Obama had disappointed his supporters.

Waller book gets dropped off at the Hotel reading room

I wrote about buying a "bag of books for $1.00" in Sunday's Women's Club Book Sale. Only one was fiction, James Waller's Slow excrutiating waltz somewhere in Iowa. PW gushed: "Only little old ladies with blue permed hair need be wary of Waller's second foray into fiction: this time around, his saccharine tale of middle-aged lovers gets to sex scenes right away. When Michael Tillman, an Iowa economics professor with a rebel streak, first lays eyes on his colleague's wife, Jellie Branden, he immediately wonders ``how it would feel to grab a big handful of her hair and bend her over the dean's kitchen table.'' A few pages later--still in the first chapter--he is fantasizing about stripping Jellie naked and flying to the Seychelles."

As a male romance writer, Waller just doesn't cut it. After an excrutiatingly boring page or two (autobiographical apparently) about his basketball career in college, I decided even for $.20 this book had no merit. Save your time to cut your toe nails or clean up dog poop from the yard.

So in search of a stronger internet connection today, I left it off in the reading room of the Hotel Lakeside. It's in excellent condition. I don't think any of the previous owners got past his huge ego and male parts.

How did purchasing this van help the economy?

I noticed a white van parked at the hotel this morning. There are several high school sports teams in town for sports camps--we see them running past our cottage with their coach on a bike. I suppose this was their transporation. Just curious how this van helped either the town or the state since federal stimulus funds were used to purchase it. I looked up Louisville, Ohio + ARRA and discovered it received about $330,000 to fix an intersection. Didn't see anything about purchasing vehicles for the schools.

Farmers' Market August 2011 Lakeside

It was a beautiful day for the farmers' market today. There was even a street musician. I bought a red cabbage and a cucumber.

We're hanging Christmas lights

We've never participated in the Light up Lakeside week-end, but this year bought several strings of lights. My husband is on the roof seeing if he can make this work. I don't think they'll do much lighting up, but it's our first try. Maybe they'll look better at night. I passed a cottage on my morning walk that had created two American flags on their hedge out of decorative lights and chicken wire.

Met a man at the coffee shop with a nice fawn colored short legged dog this morning. "A corgi?" I asked. "Yes," and then he told me they'd found her at the Humane Society a few weeks ago, they thought she was about 3 years old, and she was a wonderful pet, already one of the family. I don't know much about the breed except they are Queen
Elizabeth's favorite. This one didn't have a distinctive white collar, but she had a beautiful face and eyed me a bit suspiciously like she should be protecting her newly found savior.

Farmer's Market was in really good shape today. I bought collard greens, onions, beautiful tomatoes, green beans, and small potatoes. Earlier in the season there wasn't much, and last Friday it rained so hard that there were only two vendors.

Walking to the little store this morning I passed a really cute wicker rocker in a drive-way for sale for $55, so I bought it. I now have my side chair wicker in my drive-way for $30. Switched the cushions. This one could use some paint touch up, but right now it's too hot.

I stopped at the community hoe-down last night, which is sort of country dancing in the street. Lots of fun to watch people from 3 years old to 80 dancing together. There was a live band--3 women and 2 men. Everyone got a bandana and dessert and soft drink.

Money not spent is money saved

Our "new" free washing machine works great!

Recently my washing machine died--it was just the right size for our tiny basement and it had a matching tiny dryer. To buy an energy and water efficient front load model for $800+ it would have taken 9 years to see the savings in utilities to make up the higher cost. And that’s assuming there were no repairs, that I used it exactly according to manufacturers recommendations, that the electric and water rates didn’t go up (due to people using less) and I were using it 12 months a year instead of 10 weeks. Obviously, even a math midget like me can see there had to be a better way to save money.

My neighbor gave me his old washer that may last another 3 years (and actually does a better job than my old one in spinning out water and accepting larger loads). He and his nephew even hauled it down our steep basement stairs that resemble a ship’s ladder. Even if water and electric rates go up, even if it is inefficient, this deal is better than any offered by the government or Sears.

And it doesn’t cost you, the tax payer, a dime. The tax credit on energy efficient appliances are paid for by all of us from the time they are a gleam in a politician’s eye until they get to the paperwork at the store and to your accountant who has to fill out several forms. That credit has passed through many hands. A 25% credit on an $800 washer might be a $200 credit on your taxes, but it costs the American tax payer much, much more than that, and of course, a low income person probably doesn’t itemize, or doesn’t file an income with the IRS at all, nor could she come up with the balance.

Another plus. The old washer in the photo was made in the U.S.A.

The down side of historic preservation

I love “historic preservation.” After all, preservation, conservation and confirming what was good in the past is what conservative politics means. It represents what is often years of work and lobbying by local groups.

But there is a down side of unintended (or sometimes intended) consequences. There is no place for the poor or low income in historic, authentic neighborhoods, whether it’s Lakeside, Ohio, the German Village area of Columbus, Bay Point, Michigan, or Williamsburg, Virginia. Even if the government (assuming it is done with government grants) has set asides for low income, the requirements would mean a low income resident would lose his home if his income rises, and it won’t bring back the former residents now scattered through subsidized housing--it will only draw new “poor.” Nor is there any way you can require that your next door neighbor on government assistance or who is a plumber's assistant with a 25 year old truck, will necessarily have the values of the rest of the "preservationists."

A case in point is the restoration and renovation of The Abigail Tearoom (1933-2008). I used to suspect that the wallpaper (pieces of which are for sale at the Archives) and grape vines were holding it together. We had many wonderful meals there from 1974 until it was sold and then closed and auctioned, purchased by a young, talented architect. The meals were not gourmet, but ham loaf, stuffed green peppers and Swiss steak tasted pretty good there topped off with home made peach pie, or Mississippi Mud cake. The Abigail was two houses--one on Central built in the classic 19th c. style, and one on Third, a former boarding house with sleeping porches. The two houses were probably only about 2 feet apart, so a passage was built, and a kitchen tacked on to the rear.

The 20th c. house has been finished, staged, and is for sale--for $549,000. The other one which is still a work in progress will have 5 bedrooms, a family room, huge bathrooms, a lovely patio and landscaping, plus all the amenities today’s family thinks it needs, and will probably be around a million. Not even school teacher DINKS will be able to afford such a home--it will need to be lawyer, businessman, funds manager with a stay at home wife, and some money in the family tree that will fall when shaken.

These renovations are private money, but there are always tax credits for “green” and energy efficient appliances and building innovations, even insulation, which most cottages don’t have. Tax credits are also something only the well off can afford--like cash for clunkers and home insulation breaks. And what they truly cost after they pass from the tax payer in Ohio to the agency in Washington which will redistribute the money though dozens of agencies and the paychecks of bureaucrats, to the appliance dealer who has to fill out the paperwork and the owner’s accountant who has to figure it all out next April, with several forms, each costing you. Home mortgage “loopholes” are something we’ve all come to expect, but which the low income can’t really qualify for. At least I hope we've learned from the last housing bubble that tried that and crippled the nation economically.

Huge storm over Lakeside

The home show has just finished and lots of people were strolling the lakefront for the craft show, and all of a sudden the skies opened and deluged the place. Even in a golf cart these people won't be protected!

My husband was stationed at the Kunze house on Jasmine because he designed it. He said he got lots of positive comments. He rolled up here on his bike as the first drops of rain fell.

We're at an age

when instead of weddings, we're attending the 50th anniversary parties.

We didn't know them when they got married, but here we are with the happy couple, 50 years later.

Thursday Thirteen July 7, 2011 from Lakeside, Ohio

Can you tell I don't have my editing software on this laptop? That photo actually says Thursday Thirteen from Lakeside, Ohio.

We've been here since Monday June 20, at the chautauqua on Lake Erie, Lakeside, Ohio. It is a gated community with a 10 week season. We own a cottage here, so we're here most of the summer, but started coming here in 1974 when our children were very young. Here are a few things I've done here recently.

1. Used the new (last year) laundromat because my washing machine died the first day we were here. It's about 25 years old, so it will probably not be worth trying to find a repairman.

2. Lots of walks along the lakefront at sunrise, but the weather has been a bit overcast, so they haven't been as beautiful as last year when I had 70 sunrise walks.

3. Visited the local farmers' market three times, but because of a very wet spring the growing season has been delayed, so I've only purchased one head of cabbage and one green pepper, but they have been fabulous--grill lightly with onions in olive oil, toss in a little corn and butter, and it's a fabulous lunch.

4. Won a jar of horseradish at the herb group meeting last week. The topic was horseradish--didn't know there was a horseradish company in Springfield, Ohio. Love it! It may be my first door prize.

5. Walked to the tiny local grocery store about 6 times--since I'm carrying the purcases, I don't buy a lot at a time. Staples are more expensive than a supermarket, but the meat is about the same, and there is wonderful made in the store ham salad, potato salad and cole slaw.

6. Read a book from the local library (inside the Methodist church run by volunteers), "Chosen by a horse." It was an excellent memoir and you don't have to like horses to enjoy this poignant story of a woman's healing through her love for her pet.

7. Slowed down a bit to manage our colds, which we got about a week ago.

8. Had friends Wes and Sue over for dinner of bratwurst and sauerkraut on our deck.

9. Enjoyed the fireworks on the 4th on the lakefront with our friends John and Wilma.

10. Went to friends' cottage to watch the last Glenn Beck Show on June 30. We don't have cable here. Then we all went out to eat.

11. Attended some amazing music programs the first week like Carpe Diem, a string quartet, and Raleigh Ringers, a handbell and chime group from Raleigh, NC. Usually I get sleepy and go home after an hour, but these groups were outstanding.

12. Attended several lectures on Christians and foreign policy and how the military builds cultural bridges. Both speakers were excellent.

13. Had a wonderful boat ride around the area with the "wooden boat society" group followed by a delicious dinner of walleye at the Hotel Lakeside. Enjoyed the company at our table--former clients of my husband.

If you'd like to play Thursday 13, check it out.

Lakeside Wooden Boat Society Summer Evening Cruise

Tonight we have tickets for the wooden boat cruise and dinner. First there will be a cruise on Lake Erie (weather permitting, and right now it looks permissable) from the Lakeside Dock at 6 p.m. Then at 7:30 there is dinner at the Hotel Lakeside (Walleye Primavera is our menu choice, but there was also filet mignon or portabella stuffed chicken breast as choices). Then after dinner there will be a lecture by Neil Allen on "Strangers in our Bay" about the unique boats from the 1940s to the present that have visited Sandusky Bay.

Week 3 at Lakeside--Health and Wellness Week

Looking at the brochure, I'm not sure there is much for me.

Tuesday 10:30 Bipolar disorder. I'm not and I don't think I know anyone close to me who has this.

Tuesday 1:30 Nutrition for stressful time. I'm not stressed.

Wednesday 10:30 Exercise for the busy person. I'm not busy, just lazy.

Wednesday 1:30 Health care reform in the era of the Silver Tsunami. I hope he's not going to tell us Obamacare is good for the senior citizen.

Thursday 10:30 Transitional care: How do patients get from one place to another? Not sure what this topic is, but it's by a geriatrician.

Thursday 1:30 The human brain and spirituality. My brain is in the loving care of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's about as spiritual as I get on that topic.

Friday 10:30 Delirium: a serious problem for the hospitalized elder. This is an important topic whether for self, family or if visiting on behalf of the church.

Programming for week 2 at Lakeside, Ohio

Two interesting seminars are scheduled: "Faith and foreign policy in the U.S." and "Cultural bridges as U.S. military strategy." And of course, a highlight at the Rhein Center, my husband will teach his class on perspective drawing and watercolor techniques.

Parts of Stephen Rock's latest book, "Faith and foreign policy," are on the Internet, and after looking at it, I probably won't walk out, which I often do rather than argue with the speaker.

Good preparation for this week is this document titled, "The American religious landscape and political attitudes" (2004) which defines traditionalists, centrists and modernists within 3 groups, the evangelicals, mainline protestants, and Roman Catholics. Traditionalists are the largest group within each category of Christian.

After Democrats were defeated in 2004 I remember watching a panel of them on PBS discussing the election and they agreed that they needed to (pretend) move to the centrist/traditional Christian viewpoint--and it worked in 2006 and 2008, mainly by redefining what values words mean. Obama used the "hope and change" vision that is New Testament language with a familiar ring to push his socialist agenda. He fooled many, but we're smater now. Unfortunately, too many "centrists" were just fence sitters and fell for a pretty face and charming rhetoric.

Dynamite program tonight at Hoover: Riders in the Sky. A very funny and musically talented cowboy quartet. Monday we'll hear the Jazz Ambassadors of the U.S. Army. Next Friday, Second City, which will have the whole audience laughing. This week's herb study is on horseradish--the herb of the year. What a strange name, and I'm sure Carolyn will explain.

I used our sparkling clean and fresh laundromat on 2nd street this morning. It's official: my washing machine has died. It won't spin out the water. We drove to Sandusky last night to look at Sears and Lowes. Doesn't seem to be much of a recession there. The parking lots of the motels were full (Cedar Point is near by) and so were the restaurants. Traffic everywhere.

Great programs this week

On Tuesday evening we enjoyed Carpe Diem String Quartet. Originating at Ohio Wesleyan University, they are a wonderful group that promotes music education as well as enjoyment of all kinds of musical styles. Korine Fujiware (1/4 Japanese, if I got her story correct) composed Montana, and it was wonderful.

The Wednesday evening it was the Raleigh Ringers based in Raleigh, NC. They are a group of 17 who play both handbells and chimes. They have released a number of CDs and have performed on public television.

Tonight we plan to see Water for Elephants after a reception for donors. It's a crummy week for weather, but the programming is terrific.

Farmers' Market today in Lakeside

Tuesday and Friday--haven't seen this year's merchants yet. Love the veggies, but despite rising prices caused by fuel costs, U.S. food is still a great buy. Just make sure it is "grown in the U.S.A."

Last year's produce

The Bucket List

A high school friend has told me that Lakeside is on her "bucket list." So I've sent her the schedule for this coming summer, which is now just 4 months away. Here's the schedule, but it couldn't possibly tell you all there is to do there--art classes, lectures, movies, live entertainment, bird walks, shuffleboard, tennis, swimming, boating, people watching and lake enjoying.

Danny and Phil

August sunrise

Shuffleboard in Central Park