Each month, The Extraordinary Times catches up with movers and shakers on the local historical and cultural scene. This week, we caught up with Dr. Ashley Hopkins. Dr. Hopkins serves as the Project Director for Miami University Regionals TRIO Upward Bound program where she also teaches an introductory course in Appalachian Studies. She joined Miami University in 2017 and originally served as the Senior Assistant Director for Student Success. She has over 20 years of experience as a higher education administrator, K-12 teacher and administrator, and college instructor. She holds a bachelor of arts in English from The Ohio State University, a master's of education in Cultural Studies, a graduate certificate in Women's & Gender Studies, and a doctorate of education in Educational Administration. Her teaching and research interests include Appalachian Studies, educational leadership, and critical pedagogy. She currently resides in Hamilton, Ohio, with her husband and three dogs. Outside of work, the classroom, and community volunteering, Dr. Hopkins enjoys reading, traveling, outdoor activities, and cooking. * Tell readers a little more about how your upbringing and education inform your teaching of Appalachian culture at Miami Hamilton. I grew up in rural southeastern Ohio in Gallia County, one of the 423 counties identified as Appalachian by the Appalachian Regional Commission. My family traces its roots to eastern Kentucky and western Virginia. Despite growing up in the region, I didn't develop a strong awareness of my Appalachian identity or sense of cultural pride until moving out of the region to attend college. Unfortunately, that was also my first painful experience with marginalization and stereotyping often experienced by Appalachians. In my teaching, I strive to help students of all ages develop a new awareness of the Appalachian story and to think more critically about the various issues facing the Appalachian region and people. I include course materials that reflect diverse voices and experiences that have been largely ignored or left out of the Appalachian story in an effort to paint a more complex, accurate, and rich portrayal of what it means to be Appalachian. * How do students of diverse backgrounds connect with themes of Appalachian history, literature, and culture in your class? Throughout the class, we explore diverse Appalachian experiences using a variety of course materials. For example, we read Affriliachian poetry, watch films that portray the experience of women in Appalachia historically, and listen to music that describes the working conditions of the labor class. We explore Native American history, the history of immigration and migration in and out of the region, and how Appalachian culture has been richly influenced by many ethnicities from around the globe. We learn about topics like stereotypes, marginalization, economic development, and progress through the lens of Appalachia, and then draw comparisons to other communities with similar contexts as a means for expanding our understanding of those topics. * Outside of the classroom, what other projects are you involved in? I direct Miami University's TRIO Upward Bound college preparatory program at Hamilton High School. I am also a Core Member of the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition and a board member of Hamilton Central YMCA. Recently, I had the opportunity to become involved in a grassroots committee of empathetic community members arranging the Hamilton Hurricane Hoedown, a flood relief benefit concert (this Saturday, October 12, 11am-10pm at ArtSpace Hamilton Gallery). * How have recent natural disasters (notably the 2022 Appalachian Floods and recently Hurricane Helene) brought the Appalachian Region into focus?
It's interesting to see how and where the flooding is covered by various media outlets. We are seeing tragic flooding far too often in central and southern Appalachia, but the coverage and concern is often short-lived. This flood seems to be a bit different in that regard. With trendy and well-loved Asheville at the center of much of the flooding coverage, it seems to be bringing new and increased attention to Appalachia. I hope that the focus will continue to build not just on temporary relief and clean-up but on larger conversations around land conservation and flood prevention. * How are you and others in the Hamilton Community stepping up to help? Along with working to raise awareness through my class and similar educational spaces, several of Hamilton's servant-leaders have come together to invite the broader Hamilton Community to give back to the Appalachian region that helped Hamilton become what it is today this Saturday at the Hamilton Hurricane Hoedown. The hoedown will include live musical performances and children's activities throughout the day. All funds raised will be donated to the Appalachian Hurricane Helene Relief Fund and the American Red Cross to help those affected by flooding throughout Appalachia.
0 Comments
This week The Extraordinary Times blog caught up with Vernon and Kitty McIntyre, the dynamic duo at the heart of southwest Ohio’s legendary band Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. A driving, five piece bluegrass band established in Cincinnati during the 1960s, the Appalachian Grass has played concerts, festivals, fairs, colleges, radio, television, and exclusive nightclubs across the United States and Canada. The band’s exploits even include the grand opening dedication of an historic cemetery! Don’t miss the Appalachian Grass Thursday, September 5 at 7 p.m., at Miami University Hamilton’s Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, 1601 University Blvd, Hamilton, Ohio. Free public concert, sponsored by Miami Appalachian Studies. Look forward to catching up there! * How has the Appalachian Grass evolved over the years since the band began?
VM. Appalachian Grass was originally formed in the 1960s as a partnership between Jim McCall and me, with Jim on guitar/ lead vocals. I was on banjo/ backup vocals. When Jim took a job playing at Disney World, I was left without a guitar player/ lead singer so decided to move from banjo to guitar/ singer and renamed the band Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. This all happened in the late 1970s The intervening years have produced a long line of previous Appalachian Grass members. Some have moved on to other careers, some are still active musically. Recent years has seen a stable lineup with current fiddler Kitty boasting 30 years with the band, banjo player Robert Campbell about 25 years, bass player Tammy Powers about 20, and mandolin player Susan Shook about 7. Appalachian Grass show dates have included performances across the US and Canada at innumerable festivals, colleges, dive bars, fancy nightclubs, and any other concert opportunities you might want to consider. One of the high points in my career was a guest appearance on Bill Monroe’s Early Bird Opry. Because of my commitment to my music store Famous Old Time Music Company, the Appalachian Grass concert schedule is not as far-ranging as it once was. But, I still dream about one more performance on the Opry. KM. I think Vernon pretty much covered this. I have always been impressed (and considered myself lucky) that Vernon is so open to women in the band. A lot of guys aren’t. * How did you both meet? KM. My brother, Andy Schaeffer, got interested in banjo as a result of the original Beverly Hillbillies TV show. He bought the Earl Scruggs book and built a banjo from the plans in the book. He bugged me to play rhythm on piano for him to play the banjo tunes he was learning. He bugged me to learn to play bluegrass fiddle (I played only classical at the time) and recorded various tunes at half speed for me to try and learn. I guess he finally got fed up waiting for me and went in search of a banjo teacher. He found Vernon McIntyre and they became good friends and started hanging out together. When I returned to Cinci from college in the early 1980s, Andy started taking me to Appalachian Grass shows. I got more actively interested at that point and started trying to learn some bluegrass. Vernon was very helpful on this front and over the years has been my main fiddle teacher even though he doesn’t really play fiddle. He also ended up as my husband! * Which musicians do you most admire? KM. On fiddle, my personal all-time favorite is Scot Stoneman; the man is a maniac. Kenny Baker and Stuart Duncan are also favorites. Recently, I have started being more serious about mandolin and really like Bobby Osborne, Ronnie McCoury, and Red Rector. VM. Hard to choose. Most admired bluegrass artists probably Earl Scruggs, Walt Hensley, Jimmy Martin, John Duffy, and both Bobby and Sunny Osborne. * What have been your most memorable performances over the years? VM. Hometown performer concert at Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD (Vernon born and raised in Baltimore). Also, Geoff Berne’s Englishtown Music Hall. KM. I don’t know that I have a most memorable performance. The most fun I ever had was being at Silver Dollar City in Branson for a month, playing every day and running our vending booth. That was a blast! * What do you most enjoy about performing live events? VM. Meeting and greeting new folks at Appalachian Grass shows and the diehard loyalty of longtime fans who often drive long distances to see the band. KM. I get a bang out of meeting folks. They each have their own story. This week The Extraordinary Times caught up with Steven L. Tuck, Professor of History at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Professor Tuck’s groundbreaking research on Pompeii, the ancient Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, is reaching new audiences thanks to his appearance on the new PBS documentary, Pompeii: The New Dig. In addition, a new interactive exhibition at Cincinnati Museum Center, Pompeii: The Exhibition, runs through June 28, featuring a wealth of original artifacts from the doomed city. Tuck has been recognized eight times for his undergraduate teaching. His PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan was followed by a term as the Gordon Fellow in Latin Epigraphy at the Center for Epigraphical and Paleographical Studies at The Ohio State University. He is the author of A History of Roman Art (Wiley 2021); he has also published extensively on disasters and disaster response in the Roman world, including his forthcoming book Escape from Pompeii: the eruption of Vesuvius and the search for survivors (Oxford 2025). * What first inspired you towards a career in Roman history and Classics? I wish I could say it was Indiana Jones, but I'm too old for that! In my case I was fascinated by the character of Professor Wutheridge (played by Monty Woolley) in The Bishop's Wife, a 1947 movie. The professor was writing a Roman history book and telling a story that wasn't otherwise known. That idea was pretty thrilling to me! It didn't hurt that my undergraduate advisor looked very much like a younger version of the character. Fortunately my high school taught Latin and I was able to start learning that at 14. The rest is history, so to speak! * What is the enduring fascination of Pompeii? First, I think the irony that the eruption of Vesuvius destroyed the city but also preserved it for our study is intriguing. The enduring fascination of Pompeii I think is its ordinariness. That is, it's not the great capital, Rome, or a palace where emperors lived. But it reveals to us regular houses, shops, workshops, cleaners, wine bars, and places where ordinary Romans lived and worked. Some of these are familiar to us such as the sidewalks that flank the roads, the bakeries, and corner shops. Others are exotic but also not entirely unknown such as the theater and amphitheater at Pompeii, which hosted public entertainments that we have analogies for in our world. We can forge a connection to the ordinary Romans through seeing their bedrooms and reading the graffiti they scratched on the walls. * How has your own research shed light on the fate of ancient Pompeiians? On the 24th of August in the year 79 the volcano Mt. Vesuvius erupted burying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. According to modern accounts the story ends at that point only picking up with the rediscovery of the cities and the excavations that started in earnest in the 1740s. But my research has shifted the story from one only about tragic death and complete destruction to one that includes the stories of those who survived the eruption to rebuild lives in other communities. I have demonstrated that we can trace some survivors and their families as they settled in new cities, restarted businesses, named their children after the new communities, ran for and won election to public office, and generally started over. And I can say that survivors included rich and poor, families and individuals, and men and women. I can also prove the important role of Roman government at all levels in this process. The emperors in Rome, for example, invested heavily in the region rebuilding properties damaged by the eruption and building new infrastructure for displaced populations including roads, water systems, amphitheaters, temples, and other public buildings. The recovery after disaster is a model for today where communities welcomed in new residents, survivors supported each other, and government responded by ensuring that the new populations and their communities had the infrastructure to succeed. * How can readers discover more about this fascinating history? My work on survivors will be out most fully in Escape from Pompeii: the eruption of Vesuvius and the search for survivors (Oxford 2025). A small part of it can be seen in the second episode of the documentary Pompeii: The New Dig available on the BBC and PBS apps. * From our modern perspective, why should readers study ancient societies like classical Rome? Well, for Americans like me I think we have a particular need to study Rome because so much of our society was self-consciously and deliberately based on Rome. It's hard to ignore that influence as one walks around Washington D.C. for example. More broadly, the saying "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1.9) sums up the reason. Humans haven't changed much in 2000 years. And the problems and solutions that the Romans faced can provide us with both role models and cautionary tales. In the case of Pompeii, the response to a natural disaster by individuals and all levels of government falls in the role model category. Displaced people were welcomed into their new communities, they took in orphans, they gave back to the cities that sheltered them. And government responded immediately and efficiently to the crisis. The Extraordinary Times returns this summer, introducing a new season of Q&As with movers and shakers on the cultural scene. First, an interview with a remarkable young entrepreneur and Miami University student. Originally from Uzbekistan, Muhammad Ali is the Founder and CEO of Cognilabs.org, Friendspace.org, Sellbaza.com, Extra-GPT, HurryTutor, and Co-Founder of ErixConsulting. Currently, he is studying Computer Science and Aerospace Engineering at Miami. He has been involved in IT and startups since the age of 12 and speaks multiple languages: Russian, English, Uzbek, German, and some Arabic. His interests include space, consciousness, AI, cybersecurity, and understanding the deeper aspects of life and the universe.
Recently Muhammad Ali began a new podcast series, interviewing professors at Miami University and beyond, with the goal of bringing their knowledge and expertise to a wider global audience. Having sat down for an interview on Muhammad Ali’s podcast, I enjoyed sharing the following questions for this blog: * How did you end up choosing to study at Miami University? After attending five universities, I needed a place that aligned with my diverse interests in both computer science and aerospace engineering. Miami University stood out to me because it is one of the best public universities in the US, offering strong programs in both fields. The vibrant campus life and supportive community also encouraged innovation and exploration, which were essential for my growth. * What are the biggest differences between life in America and life in Uzbekistan? Life in America is marked by a culture of individualism, where innovation and personal initiative are highly valued. In contrast, life in Uzbekistan is more community-oriented, with a strong emphasis on family and collective effort. The pace of technological advancement and startup culture in the US provides more opportunities for someone in my field to grow and make an impact. * What do you hope to achieve with your new podcast? I aim to bridge the gap between complex scientific and cultural concepts and the general public. By engaging in conversations with world-class professors and experts, I hope to inspire curiosity, foster a deeper understanding of our world and the universe, and encourage listeners to explore new ideas and perspectives. * What plans do you have after you graduate from Miami? I plan to continue expanding my startups and delve deeper into research in AI and aerospace engineering. My long-term goal is to contribute to humanity's understanding of the universe and explore innovative solutions that can benefit society on a global scale. This month, The Extraordinary Times caught up with Bob Viney, a former US Navy officer and Procter & Gamble Marketing Director with a passion for civic engagement. For the past 10 years, he has worked alongside others in the Submarine Cincinnati Memorial Association to identify a site for the Cold War Memorial and Peace Pavilion, commemorating the USS Cincinnati and its unique place in America’s history. Construction of the memorial begins this Spring on the grounds of the National Voice of America Broadcast Museum in West Chester. Viney graduated “With Merit” from the US Naval Academy in 1970. Following graduation, he completed 15 months of nuclear power training and submarine school, and served on the USS Tautog (SSN 639), a fast attack nuclear submarine out of Pearl Harbor (1972-74). He then served as Division Director for the Chemistry, Materials, and Radiological Health Physics subjects at the Nuclear Power School in Mare Island (1974-1976). Viney left the Navy in 1976 and came to Cincinnati to work in Brand Management with Procter & Gamble. He turned around several declining businesses, and started the P&G business in Taiwan as Marketing Director. After 15 years, he took a position as Chief Marketing Officer for Arm & Hammer. Over his career, he spent 30 years managing major businesses for multi-national Fortune 500 companies and working in database, digital, interactive and internet portal marketing agencies. Viney also serves on the Leadership Council of a company in Dayton that builds hydrogen refueling stations for Fuel Cell Vehicles. He has written a book, American Turning Point, proposing solutions to the division and dysfunction that challenges our Constitutional Republic, and has taught the solutions to over 300 adult students in the Lifelong Learning programs at the Universities of Cincinnati and Dayton and Miami University. * What was the significance of the USS Cincinnati in American naval history? The Navy’s nuclear powered submarines are the primary elements in protecting our country’s peace and security; our primary defense against a nuclear attack. The submarines carrying intercontinental nuclear missiles, or SSBNs (SS – submarine; B – Ballistic; N – nuclear powered), can shower missiles on any country in the world without much warning. Land based missiles and bombers are in known locations, and their weapons have to travel very long distances, giving a lot of warning. But submarines can be as close as 20 miles off an enemy coast, so the missile travel time and the warning to an enemy, can be incredibly short. Submarines are nearly impossible to detect, so they can’t be targeted in a first strike. The other submarines in our fleet do not carry intercontinental missiles. They are called “Fast Attack” submarines, or SSNs. Their weapons are mostly anti-ship, traditional torpedoes and newer anti-ship missiles. But the newest submarines carry over 100 cruise missiles which can target ships or land based targets. These submarines also provide important intelligence about the naval capabilities of our enemies—their ships, submarines and the electronic monitoring capabilities around their coasts. In World War II, the submarine force carried the war to our enemies after Pearl Harbor, especially to Japan. They sank more total enemy tonnage in the war than surface ships or airplanes combined. And they lost a higher percentage of the fleet and men than any other part of our armed forces. Their bravery and cunning in pursuing the destruction of as much enemy shipping as possible, to deny the enemy free use of the sea lanes near their own countries, has been celebrated in many books and movies. In the Cold War, SSNs were the primary source of intelligence about Soviet naval capabilities. They protected our surface ships during confrontations like the Cuban Missile Crisis. And they trained to be capable of sinking the nuclear ballistic missile submarines of the Soviet Union “on station” near our coasts, and the anti-ship attack submarines near our surface fleets. Today our newest SSNs bring an arsenal of undetected cruise missiles to conflicts in countries that border the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea in the Middle East, and protect the freedom of the seas missions by our surface fleets in the Pacific where China is seeking to expand its control over international waters. Viney served on a fast attack submarine in the Pacific, and made 3 special operations patrols in Cold War and Vietnam War regions in 1972. The USS Cincinnati (SSN 693) served in many parts of the world’s oceans from commissioning in 1978 to decommissioning in 1996. These included special operations patrols in the Mediterranean Sea, and a 60,000 mile submerged transit of the globe. * How much of the original submarine will be preserved in this memorial?
The original elements of the USS Cincinnati that will be incorporated into the full scale replica of the submarine, the major iconic element of the Memorial, are the superstructure above the hull, called the Sail or Conning Tower; the forward horizontal control planes mounted on the conning tower, called the Fairwater Planes; the upper section of the Rudder; and the emergency back up power supply for the submarine if the reactor shuts down, a diesel generator called the “Big Red Machine”. The submarine was built during the years that the Cincinnati Reds teams were winning back-to-back World Series Championships, and were called “The Big Red Machine”. So the diesel generator was painted red in construction and was always referred to as the “Big Red Machine” by the crew. * What is the mission of this memorial in promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education? Our purpose is to teach young students the elements of the operations of a nuclear powered submarine that relate to STEM topics, with the goal of getting students interested in taking more science, engineering and math subjects in school, and developing an interest in science, technology and engineering careers. We have started connecting with school districts in our area to pull together teachers to help us develop the STEM elements to include in our educational curriculum, and to help us present the information in age-relevant ways to students from elementary school to high school. We’ve also met with the staff and a few teachers at Butler Tech about the opportunity to not only interest students in college-based STEM careers, but also developing interest in the technical skills related to STEM topics. As a nation, we are falling short in the skilled trade areas we need to not only keep our economy growing but also competitive in the world, which is a critical element of maintaining our national security. Our vision is to use fixed displays and interactive digital content, eventually transmitted via QR codes on individual phones, as students explore the equipment and operations in each compartment area of the Memorial’s full scale submarine replica. We plan to develop day-long programs focused on teaching specific STEM related topics by docents who have served in different roles on submarines, many with hands on experiences. These will be conducted in an Educational Center on the grounds next to the replica of the submarine itself. We will also include STEM topics related to the VOA’s broadcast technology in sending radio program signals around the world from the transmitting station that existed on the grounds of the National VOA Broadcasting Museum, and the area which now encompasses the shopping center to the west of the Museum, Miami University’s VOA campus, the VOA MetroPark of Butler County, and the MetroPark Athletic Fields. * What parallels do you see between the 20th century Cold War and the global challenges faced by the United States today? The parallels are disturbingly similar. The 20th century Cold War sprung from the conflict between the countries that were based on authoritarian governments and those based on free democratic republican governments. A simple way of defining the difference would be the conflict between governments where citizens are ruled by leaders and governments where citizens choose their leaders. And a conflict between authoritarian governments seeking to expand their areas of geographic dominance, and democratic governments seeking to respect the sovereignty of independent nations; of governments seeking to install and expand their own laws in all territories, and governments seeking global peace and security through the acceptance of common laws. During the Cold War, it was difficult for authoritarian governments to spread the falsehoods and disinformation used to control their populations outside of their own borders. The United States had a technological advantage that enabled VOA to broadcast truthful messages into those areas controlled by authoritarian leaders, under the mission of “Tell the Truth and let the World Decide”. That was one factor that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union from within, not from a military attack from the United States and our Allies. The global challenges facing the United States today are similar. A major difference today is the ability of authoritarian leaders to spread disinformation to distort truth and replace it with falsehoods outside of their borders, and to target those false messages to maximize the divisions in our country that undermines our national unity, our economic prosperity, our national security, and our ability to exert positive global leadership. Another difference is the willingness of authoritarian leaders to use military force to achieve territorial expansion. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is an attempt to rebuild the former Soviet Union’s empire in Europe. Putin views the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the world’s greatest geopolitical catastrophe, and is focused on regaining control over as much of the former Soviet Union’s control of other nations in Europe as possible. This conflict will remain a “Cold War” only with the support of Ukraine by the free democratic governments in the world with financial support for their military defensive operations. I hope that the United Nations might take a stronger role in requiring Russia to abide by the UN Charter they have committed to support in joining the UN and being offered the esteemed position as a permanent member of the Security Council. Russia’s actions in Ukraine are entirely at odds with that commitment, and put the UN at risk of becoming ineffective in accomplishing their purpose in founding after World War II – the protection of the sovereignty of independent nations from the aggression of its neighbors. * How will this memorial complement the nearby National VOA Museum of Broadcasting? In our education program, we will also include topics related to the history of the Cold War, and the roles played in winning the Cold War by the Voice of America broadcasts and fast attack nuclear submarines such as the USS Cincinnati. We will also include the highlights of the technology involved in the broadcast of messages from the Broadcast center in West Chester around the world, sending VOA program content to all parts of Europe behind German lines in World War II and the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. We plan to have joint merchandise for the Submarine memorial and the VOA Broadcast Museum. The extra visitors we attract to the Memorial may be interested in visiting the VOA Museum as well, increasing the visitor traffic for the Museum. The Extraordinary Times caught up this week with Nate Lampley, Jr. Nate is a trial lawyer and the Cincinnati managing partner of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, a full service law company with over 400 lawyers, and offices in eight US cities, as well as in London, England. Nate graduated from Hamilton High School in the top 1% of the class of 1981. He graduated with honors both from the University of Dayton (1985) and University of Cincinnati College of Law (1988).
Among his civic activities, he has served on the Boards of the Cincinnati Black Ambassadors, the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, the Christ Hospital Sports Medicine Institute, Downtown Cincinnati, Inc., Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor, the University of Cincinnati College of Law Board of Visitors, The Salvation Army and the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association. He has participated in Leadership Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers (CALL) and the United Way Volunteer Leaders Development Program. He delivered the Commencement Address for Hamilton High School in 2002 and 2013. On Thursday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Nate Lampley will deliver the Black History Month keynote address “The Dignity of Unity” at Miami University Hamilton’s Harry T. Wilks Conference Center. This program is free and open to the public, but rsvp is encouraged: miamioh.edu/regionals/rsvp * What message do you want folks to take away from your keynote talk "The Dignity of Unity"? Our history has shown us over and over again that our nation is strongest when we work together towards common goals. * Which individuals do you most admire in American history, and why? Abe Lincoln, because he understood that extreme politics on either side would never lead to a unified nation. [Writer] James Baldwin because his profound thoughts and insights about America are still relevant today. * What does Black History Month mean to you? The mere fact that we have a Black History Month allows us to hopefully never forget who we are, and who we have been as a Nation. * How did your education at Hamilton High School and upbringing in the city lend itself to success in life? I left Hamilton High School with the confidence to do anything. Despite my humble beginnings, my upbringing in Hamilton inspired me to think big, and taught me that I needed to work hard to achieve great things. This week, The Extraordinary Times catches up another mover-and-shaker on the historical and cultural scene. Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti is the new Administrator and Curator of the McGuffey House and Museum at Miami University (readers may recall the Q&A with her predecessor Steve Gordon, to whom we wish a well-earned retirement!).
Jennifer graduated from Miami University in 1991 with a BA in History and 1993 with an MS in College Student Personnel Services. She is a visiting professor at Miami University teaching History of Design in the Communication Design program. She has taught design history, history of photography, history of advertising, art history, and western civilization for universities including Wittenberg University and Sinclair College. Jennifer is pursuing an MA in History with a concentration in Public History from Southern New Hampshire University. Her research focuses on cultural formation and expression in small towns. She actively studies the history of Key West and design history, but she is also passionate about Medieval European history and the history of Christianity. Jennifer currently lives in Huber Heights (Dayton), Ohio, with her husband Daniel and their two dogs, Shinnosuke and Eva. * What are you most looking forward to in your new position as Administrator and Curator of McGuffey House and Museum? The history, of course! One of my greatest joys is helping others find connections between themselves and the past. Locating yourself in the context of millennia of others who have had similar and different experiences to your own is an important part of understanding who you are and how you relate to the grand scheme. I would never have anticipated having this role with one of Miami's museums, but I can't imagine anything more perfect for me at this stage of my life. * How would you pitch the McGuffey House for someone who has never visited before? The McGuffey House was built by William Holmes McGuffey, the author of McGuffey's Eclectic Readers. The Readers shaped and were shaped by the culture of the Midwest in the first half of the nineteenth century. The house gives us an intimate look into McGuffey's world as he wrote these seminal works. It gives visitors an up-close look at what we saw as the American identity when the country was less than a century old. * How did your Miami education prepare you for the challenges of your new role? I received both my bachelor's and master's from Miami, with my bachelor's being in history. I had some fabulous professors—including Charlotte Newman Goldy and Allan Winkler—who taught me that history encompasses everything; any other discipline that interests you can be enriched by an understanding of its role in history. Sometimes, we take Miami's liberal arts focus for granted, but that is really the approach that makes its alumni able to shift into different roles throughout their lives. * How are you balancing your academic studies with the roles of administrator and curator? I am currently pursuing an MA in History with a concentration in Public History from Southern New Hampshire University. I plan to continue on for a doctorate. It is a labor of love in addition to being excellent preparation for my new role. It is interesting to have gone to grad school in my early 20s and then again thirty years later. I find myself irresistibly attracted to my studies, and I typically have to limit my time doing class work or I wouldn't get anything else done! The Extraordinary Times blog wishes a happy and healthy 2024 to all readers! This new year we have the pleasure of catching up with Carrie Halim. Carrie is Curator of the Robert McCloskey Museum at Heritage Hall, 20 Hight St, Hamilton, Ohio, dedicated to the life and work of Robert McCloskey, Hamilton’s celebrated children’s author and illustrator (Make Way For Ducklings, Lentil, and many other classics). Carrie was raised in a small rural town in Northwest Ohio and rode her bike uptown when our town got its first stoplight. She graduated from Miami University, and has spent the better part of two decades singing songs, telling stories, leading and learning from children. * How did you come to work at the Robert McCloskey Museum? I came to this role as curator first as a lover of history and as a resident of German Village. When my daughters and I would walk in our neighborhood, the Butler County Historical Society became a regular part of our route. We would stop, tour and chat with Kathy [Creighton] the executive director and volunteers. Soon I found myself volunteering with the Multigenerational Programming, and was asked to join the board. Soon after, I became a member of the committee that oversees Heritage Hall and the Robert McCloskey Museum. My joining the committee coincided with the opportunity for the museum to expand into a wing of rooms in the old Municipal Building. Ideas began flying, programs were planned, and fresh energy flowed into the McCloskey Museum in the form of newly published picture book biographies of our hometown author and illustrator Robert McCloskey. I found myself in a wonderful position of being supported by my board and committee, encouraged and spurred on by local city and arts leaders, and so stepped into the role of Curator of the McCloskey Museum and Heritage Hall. * Why does Robert McCloskey deserve to be better remembered in relation to Hamilton, Ohio? While Robert McCloskey never sought fame or attention, his work continually attracted it. He was deeply involved in the region as he grew up. He went to Hamilton Schools, was a camper and later leader at Camp Campbell Gard, played in a harmonica band and led the Marching Band as Drum Major. Similar to the inventive boys in his books, he was always tinkering and creating. As he grew, art became "the life for him," so he says. He won a national scholarship competition based on a pamphlet made with the Hamilton High History Club that took him to Boston for art school, but it was his hometown that inspired his first published book. In fact, his lifelong publisher May Massee told him to go home and write what he knew. Perhaps she knew how great our region is, as she was related to one of our local families, the Fitton Family. Luckily, he took her advice, for his vision of community and home life has inspired families around the globe for generations. It was his book, "Make Way for Ducklings" that pointed to the safety of home that was read aloud to families as their fathers went off to war. His illustrations were sent to bring joy and a vision of home to soldiers overseas. His book became the book of the city of Boston and is celebrated in the famous duckling statues in Boston's Public Garden. Replicas of those statues were given from the children of the United States to the children of Russia as part of the peace treaty signing in the 1990s. And the week after the tragedy of 9/11, Nancy Schon and McCloskey's daughters, Sally and Jane, unveiled the Lentil sculpture and park in Hamilton. The children of Hamilton named Lentil's dog (a part of the sculpture) Harmony—a word that rang loudly in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Though he didn't seek accolades, he was the first illustrator to win two Caldecott Medals for the best children's picture book of the year, and was named a living legend by the Library of Congress. Beyond all of that, he understands hometowns. He understands the importance of home, wonder, creativity and community. His stories inspire and bring people together. * How does the Robert McCloskey Museum celebrate McCloskey's life and works?
The Robert McCloskey Museum has been a part of Heritage Hall alongside the Mueller Exhibit and the Council Chambers at the previous Municipal Building for 15 years. In that time, there have been many lectures, celebrations, programs and an exhibits of original artwork, artifacts, medals and memorabilia. We are expanding our scope in this season to include more storytimes, programs, and partnerships. We shared McCloskey's story, "Journey Cake Ho!" an Appalachian folk tale, at Operation Pumpkin with local drama students. We 'Made Art Like McCloskey' by drawing ducklings from life with the help of local artists and ducklings from Hopefull Pastures Therapeutic Farm, and recently received funding to partner with the artists of Inspiration Studios for our Hamilstorian Project. The artists of Inside Out Studios are creating interactive wonder based exhibits based on two McCloskey stories as well as celebrating the Heritage of other Hamiltonians: architect Frederick Mueller and philanthropist and former CEO, David Belew. There is a wonderful connection to Sally and Jane McCloskey through Dave and Marge Belew some of our founders. McCloskey's daughters who appear in his books, gave two of their father's kaleidoscopes to Dave and Marge Belew, with the story that their father used the kaleidoscopes as a sort of visual palette cleanse, a lens cleanse, to see afresh. As we celebrate these Hamilton stories, McCloskey's and others', we invite young and old to look again at the world around them through the eyes of art and to be inspired like McCloskey was inspired. * How do you hope to tie your work at the museum with the cultural and economic growth of the city and its community? As Hamilton is enjoying a renaissance of its own, it’s important to (re)connect with our history. That includes the people, places, architecture, manufactured items, and stories of Hamilton. Robert McCloskey was unique in that he was an author and illustrator, but started out as an artist. He created well-known icons, from the Camp Campbell Gard totem pole to the bas reliefs on the former city building. Winning those design commissions as a high schooler. He told modified stories of his hometown, using architectural details from local buildings and incorporating real events like the opening of the city’s “newest” hospital. Many well-known Hamiltonians went on to lead national and international businesses. McCloskey, however, showed us that wonder, design, and creation are all important. And that children, can often see what adults don’t always notice. It’s a gift that he gave his hometown to see through the eyes of a child, the wonder and magnificence of our city.
This week The Extraordinary Times caught up with Dr. Jay Cost, Gerald R. Ford senior nonresidential fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a visiting scholar at Grove City College's Institute for Faith and Freedom. He is the author of several books, most recently Democracy or Republic? The People and the Constitution. He lives in western Pennsylvania with his wife, two children, and one very spoiled cat. This Friday, November 10, from 2-3 p.m. Dr. Cost will deliver the 2023 William V. Coombs American History Lecture, drawing on his book The Price of Greatness: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the Creation of American Oligarchy.
The Coombs Lecture is free and open to the public at the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, 1601 University Blvd., Hamilton, OH45011. Co-sponsored by Miami University Regionals and Hamilton High School. RSVP strongly encouraged: https://miamioh.edu/regionals/rsvp/ * What drew you to write about Alexander Hamilton and James Madison rather than, say, the more familiar pairing of Hamilton vs. Jefferson? I was drawn to Hamilton and Madison because they had previously been allies and intellectual partners. They had, in many respects, a shared vision of constitutional republicanism. But they were driven apart in 1790 because those visions were not entirely the same. I thought that looking at them with care would help better understand some of the finer aspects of American political thought. * How, when, and why did America become an "oligarchy"? It has never been, strictly speaking, an "oligarchy" because the people still wield power through elections. However, the government's commitment to national economic development entangled it with private enterprise, which in turn gave the latter a kind of "soft power" that it would not otherwise wield through the democratic process. That did not happen overnight. It grew slowly by accretion in the 19th century, was checked for a time by the Progressive Era and the New Deal, but has expanded dramatically since World War II. * What are the fruits of oligarchy in today's America? Power and money are fungible. The rich exercise a power that the rest of us cannot ever hope to. The result of this is that public policy in this country has an inevitable bias toward those wealthy interests with business before the government. * Can Americans reasonably look to our founding era to resolve the political crises of the 21st century? On a philosophical level, yes I think so. One of the great lasting legacies of the American founding was the way in which the founders took the big ideas of republican political thought and applied them to a young, democratic nation. While our economic, technological, social, and cultural circumstances have changed, these ideas are timeless. The more we understand those ideas, the more we can apply the lessons of the founding to the 21st century. * What is your next project? TBD but my hope is to write an intellectual history of the Jeffersonian Republicans. This month, The Extraordinary Times caught up with Brad Spurlock, Manager of the Smith Library of Regional History and Cummins Local History Room for the Lane Libraries. This fall, Brad will present a three-part series on Hamilton's Industrial History at Miami University Downtown, 221 High Street, Hamilton, OH 45011. This series includes Hamilton Hydropower (10/4), Safe Capital of the World (10/24), and From Champion to Champions (11/2). All three programs start at 7:00 p.m.; registration not required. When not giving historical talks, Brad’s work includes maintaining physical and digital archives, coordinating and conducting historical research, and carrying out history and genealogy programming. He graduated from Xavier University with a BA in History in 2014 and went on to earn a Master of Library and Information Science, with concentrations in Archiving/ Special Collections and Management, from Kent State University in 2016. Brad is a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists.
* For those who may be unfamiliar with the Smith Library, what services do you offer the public? The Lane Libraries has two history repositories, the Smith Library of Regional History, located in Oxford, and the Cummins Local History Room, located in Hamilton. The Lane Libraries History Team, composed of Smith Library staff and reference staff at the Hamilton Lane Library, works cooperatively to complete patron requests, undertake digitization and community history projects, and provide public programming. The services we offer include accepting requests for information related to local history, genealogy, property histories, and military service. We will also search for newspaper articles/ obituaries and photographs for patrons in addition to helping patrons gain access to specific books/ materials, offering advisory on archiving/ preservation, and presenting talks to local groups and organizations. * Historically, what factors made Hamilton, Ohio such an economic hub in its industrial heyday? I once had a professor who said that all history is dependent upon geography, and I have never been able to refute that theory. Hamilton became an industrial juggernaut because of a flood that occurred in 1805 on the high ground north of the town. That flood rerouted the Great Miami River north of Hamilton and allowed for an extensive hydraulic canal system to be constructed from the remnants of the original path of the river which was called the "Old River." The Hamilton Hydraulic turned its first water wheel in 1845, bringing industrial power to Hamilton for the first time. Some of the early factories that utilized the hydraulic were the ancestors of Beckett Paper Company, Shuler & Benninghofen, and Hooven-Owens-Rentschler. Another boon to Hamilton's industry came in the 1890s when civic leaders created the East Hamilton Improvement Syndicate which developed Hamilton's 5th Ward and brought major manufacturers to the city, including Mosler Safe, Estate Stove, and Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe. Possibly from seeing the success of this, Peter G. Thomson brought Champion Paper Company to Hamilton around the same time. * What kinds of sources did you draw from in researching your forthcoming talks? All of the information presented in my programs is based on source materials, mostly from the resources held in the Smith Library and Cummins Room. We have several local history books and ephemera (including manufacturing company publications), maps, directories, yearbooks, photographs, etc. to draw information from. We also use web resources to an extent, mostly digitized books available online. One of the best and most specific sources for information on manufacturing, and local history in general, are newspapers. Lane Library patrons have access to historical Hamilton and Cincinnati newspapers through databases we subscribe to, and these newspaper sources are heavily utilized in finding information for our programs. * Without any spoilers, what are some fascinating facts about industrial Hamilton? The most fascinating thing about Hamilton's manufacturing history is just how much influence the city had on vital industries of that time. Hamilton was once known as the Safe Capital of the World as half of the safes and vaults made in the entire world were produced across the street from each other in East Hamilton. Champion Paper Company would also become the world's largest paper manufacturer. General Machinery Corporation, a successor of Niles Tool Works and Hooven-Owens-Rentschler, would also grow to become the world's largest machine shop (I will be holding a program on this at the Hamilton Lane Library on 11/16 at 6pm). |
AuthorMatthew Smith, PhD (History). Public Programs at Miami University Regionals. Historian of Appalachia, the Ohio Valley, & the early American republic. Archives
July 2024
Categories |