http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog Jody Victor, Leader of Markerman Productions, enjoys his summers at his home on Sandusky Bay en-us Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:53:27 -0500 Main Page Blogware Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/11/19/4384870.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/11/19/4384870.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:19:15 -0500 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#993300>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: The modern Thanksgiving holiday traces its origins from a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the Plymouth settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season. It is this iconic event that is generally referred to as the"First Thanksgiving."</P> <P>Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who resided with the Wampanoag tribe, taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn and served as an interpreter for them (Squanto had learned English as a slave in Europe and travels in England). The Pilgrims set apart a day to celebrate at Plymouth immediately after their first harvest, in1621. At the time, this was not regarded as a Thanksgiving observance; harvest festivals existed in English and Wampanoag tradition alike. Several colonists gave personal accounts of the 1621 feast in Plymouth Massachusetts. The Pilgrims, most of whom were Separatists, are not to be confused with Puritans who established their own Massachusetts Bay Colony nearby (current day Boston) in 1628 and had very different religious beliefs.</P> <P>The Pilgrims did not hold a grue Thanksgiving until 1623, after a switch from communal farming to privatized farming finally resulted in a larger harvest. Irregular Thanksgivings continued after favorable events and days of fasting after unfavorable ones. In the Plymouth tradition, a thanksgiving day was a church observance, rather than a feast day.</P> <P>Gradually, an annual Thanksgiving after the harvest developed in the mid-17th century. This did not occur on any set day or necessarily on the same day in different colonies in America.</P> <P>The Massachusetts Bay Colony (consisting mainly of Puritan Christians) celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time in 1630, and frequently thereafter until about 1680, when it became an annual festival in that colony; and Connecticut as early as 1639 and annually after 1647, except in 1675. The Dutch in New Netherland appointed a day for giving thanks in 1644 and occasionally thereafter.</P> <P>Charlestown, Massachusetts held the first recorded Thanksgiving observance June 29, 1671 by proclamation of the town's governing council.</P> <P>During the 18th century individual colonies commonly observed days of thanksgiving throughout each year. We might not recognize a traditional Thanksgiving Day from that period, as it was not a day marked by plentiful food and drink as it today's custom, but rather a day set aside for prayer and fasting.</P> <P>Later in the1700s individual colonies would periodically designate a day of thanksgiving in honor of a military victory, and adoption of a state constitution or an exceptionally bountiful crop. Such a Thanksgiving Day celebration was held in December 1777 by the colonies nationwide, commemorating the surrender of British General Burgoyne at Saratoga.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#ff6600>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page Plymouth victor thanksgiving territory Pilgrims NativeAmerican jodyvictor jody Indians Indian history food Europe English England day corn British bay american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/11/11/4377103.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/11/11/4377103.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11. However, if it occurs on a Sunday then the following Monday is designated for holiday leave, and if it occurs Saturday then either Saturday or Friday may be so designated. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)</P> <P>U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. An Act approved on May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday; "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."</P> <P>In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.</P> <P>Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day since.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page WorldWarII victor US unitedstates presidents November jodyvictor jody day american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/11/5/4372885.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/11/5/4372885.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:20:39 -0500 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: If you look at my Eagle photo folder, you will notice all the pictures show a pair of Bald Eagles in flight or on the large branches of what looks to be, a dead tree. This type of area is perfect as a perch or nesting place for Bald Eagles. This tree sits directly across the road, 10 yards from the water's edge at&nbsp;our Sandusky Bay home. What a view we have had this past summer! Watching these big, beautiful beautiful birds fly, perch, dive, and generally cavort right in our front yard. One question the scientific community has wondered and asked, "Is there adequate habitat available for a robust Bald Eagle population in the Great Lakes?"</P> <P>Habitat is defined as the food, water, shelter and space that an animal requires to survive. The availability of suitable habitat plays a critical role in regulating animal populations. Bald Eagles prefer forested, quiet sites near open water within a territory of one to three square miles, nesting in one of the tallest, mature trees in the area. But forest harvest and lakeshore development for agriculture, residences and recreation continue to deplete and degrade appropriate shoreline habitat.</P> <P>Yet, eagles can demonstrate remarkable adaptability in the face of habitat pressures, nesting in locations that are subject&nbsp;to human disturbance or provide poor food supplies. For example, Bald Eagles have been observed nesting on the tower at Sandusky Airport here in Ohio.</P> <P>It is not yet clear whether nesting in such atypical sites, with their related hazards for adult and juvenile birds, will have a negative long-term effect on the overall population. The unanswered question is whether the birds' adaptation to human interference and low quality nesting habitat will deplete or negatively influence the population. Hopefully that question will be answered as a yes, and our Bald Eagle pair will go on in the tree we observe them in and live for many years to come.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page water victor trees summer sandusky ohio nest LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody habitat GreatLakes food erie eagle birds bay baldeagle Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/29/4365314.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/29/4365314.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:19:46 -0400 <P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: The health of the Great Lakes ecosystems has improved remarkably since the 1970s. The presence of organic contaminants, however, persists at low levels and continually circulates within the aquatic food web. The effects of long-term exposure to these chemicals may remain detrimental to the health of Great Lakes eagles.</FONT></P> <P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>&nbsp;<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Food is the primary vehicle that moves contaminants, including heavy metals, into eagles’ bodies. In the 1970s mercury and lead were considered contributors to the decline of Bald Eagle populations. However, research at that time failed to demonstrate a cause and effect relationship between exposure to heavy metals and population decline.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial>&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is virtually ubiquitous in the environment. Also, it is released into the atmosphere through naturally occurring and manufacturing processes. Human-made sources of mercury include mining and smelting, pulp and paper production, burning of fossil fuels and wood, petroleum refining, and solid-waste incineration. An estimated two-thirds of the mercury in the atmosphere originates from these sources.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial>&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Ultimately, mercury in the atmosphere deposits on the earth and makes its way into aquatic systems, the discovery of mercury-contaminated fish in relatively undisturbed Canadian lakes was one of the first clues that acid rain may be an indirect conduit of mercury. Consumption of fish that is contaminated with mercury is known to be hazardous to wildlife and human health. Toxic at very low concentrations, mercury can accumulate in the body’s tissues. It will impair neurological function and complex behavior.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial>&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Determining whether mercury exposure is a long-term problem that is responsible for reducing longevity, and hence breeding potential, of Bald Eagles in the Great Lakes, is one of the next questions that the Bald Eagle recovery team would like to explore. Anything that reduces adult longevity and long-term productivity to a notable degree has the potential to result in population decline – even if short-term population growth appears to be sufficient to sustain the species.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT face=Arial><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></FONT></SPAN></P> Main Page mercury water victor nest natural lake jodyvictor jody habitat GreatLakes food fishing erie eaglet eagle birds baldeagle Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/22/4358674.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/22/4358674.html Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:37:13 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: Over the last two decades, the population of Bald Eagles in the Great Lakes region has been on the rise. Productivity trends, closely monitored since the early 1980s, indicate that reproductive rates are sufficient for population growth. The eagle population's overall health is improving.</P> <P>Studies demonstrate that eaglets hatched today carry a less significant burden of toxic chemical concentrations than 25 years ago. In 2000, Bald Eagle pairs were able to fledge their young at a 90 per cent success rate. Still, with all of this good news, an unresolved question remains: Is the Great Lakes Bald Eagle population truly self-sustaining?</P> <P>Significant problems affecting the health of local aquatic ecosystems may interfere with the long-term success of the eagles. Concerns that are not yet alleviated include: the progressive loss of suitable habitat for nesting and feeding; high turnover rates of breeding birds; the potential damage from long-term exposure to persistent organic contaminants and possible harmful effects of exposure to heavy metals.</P> <P>So, what is causing the high turnover of breeding birds? Bald Eagle pairs generally return to the same breeding territory, and often the same nest, every year. Recently, turnover rates were calculated for eight nests in southwestern Ontario. The nests in the study were occupied for an average of 11 years before one or both of the breeding birds were replaced. While this may sound like a long time, a population of healthy adults would not be expected to have such a rapid nest occupancy turnover rate.</P> <P>One result of the study that warrants particular concern is the age of the replacement birds. Four of the 11 observed turnovers involved replacement birds that were juveniles, or "sub-adults". The opportunity for juvenile birds to breed may indicate that there are not enough breeding age birds in the population. Inexperienced breeders may be less successful in fledging their young, which, over time, would have a significant negative affect on the population. Mortality rates are high for young eagles, even in healthy populations.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page habitat water victor nest natural LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody GreatLakes eggs eaglet eagle birds baldeagle age Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/15/4351681.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/15/4351681.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:50:38 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: From 1983 to 1987, the Canadian Wildlife Service and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources co-operated to release healthy eaglets near Lake Erie. The intention was to augment the Bald Eagle population on the Erie lakeshore and assist in its recovery.</P> <P>Eaglets were transplanted from the healthy population on the shores of Lake of the Woods in northwestern Ontario, and released on the north shore of Lake Erie. Over the four-year span of the project, 32 eaglets were released at the Long Point National Wildlife Area and the Taquanyah Nature Centre and Conservation Area, near Cayuga.</P> <P>In 2000, the north shore of Lake Erie produced 21 young birds, fledged from 14 nests. Bald Eagles are also doing well on the south shore in Ohio. A record 63 nests hatched 89 young birds. Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River each had one successful nest in 2000.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page eaglet nest water victor US unitedstates river Ontario ohio LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody GreatLakes erie eggs eagle Canada border birds baldeagle Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/8/4345221.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/8/4345221.html Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:23:12 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: From 1983 forward, during breeding season, biologists and volunteers counted, weighed, measured and banded the eaglets in each known nest in the study areas in Southern Ontario and around the Great Lakes. Beginning in 1990, blood and breast feather samples were taken from the eaglets for toxicological analysis, to record concentrations of heavy metals and contaminants. these annual studies confirmed increasing numbers of active nests, and demonstrated improving population health.</P> <P>Ongoing positive health results and apparent stabilization of chemical compounds led to a simplified nest and productivity monitoring protocol, beginning in 2000.It was determined that toxicological analysis of eaglet tissue samples was no longer required on a yearly bases, and the nests could be monitored by ground and aerial observation. Still, the research and monitoring team plans to monitor the contaminant situation in young eagles at five-year intervals, to ensure continued positive progress.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page Ontario water victor LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody GreatLakes erie eggs eagle Canada birds baldeagle american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/1/4337740.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/10/1/4337740.html Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: Wildlife researchers in Canada and the United States began to study Bald Eagle populations around the Great Lakes in the 1960s. Programs were initiated to monitor chemical contaminant levels throughout the Great Lakes Basin during this era. by the early 1980s, actions were underway to promote the recovery of the Bald Eagles. These included public education, protection strategies, monitoring active territories and nest sites, building nest platforms, and monitoring eaglets in the nest. Eaglets were studied through annual counts, banding for future identification and ongoing monitoring for contaminant levels in the blood of eaglets and in unhatched eggs.</P> <P>The Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Project, which continues today, is a joint effort between the Canadian wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Bird Studies Canada, community organizations, and volunteer nest monitors and landowners. Dedicated volunteers provide invaluable data and energy to the project, year after year.</P> <P>Biologists from the Canadian Wildlife Service, a federal wildlife agency, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, a provincial body, joined with volunteers and landowners to monitor Bald Eagles on the Canadian side of Lake Erie, lake St. Clair, Lake Huron and Lake Ontario. Bird Studies Canada, a non-government organization, joined the project in 1996 and now helps coordinate monitoring activities.</P> <P>The encouraging recovery of Bald Eagle populations in the Great Lakes region could not have happened without the tremendous support of private individuals. The studies and monitoring activities rely on volunteers who record the status of Bald Eagle nests each breeding season, and the landowners who allow access to nest sites on their private property.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page water victor USA US unitedstates LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody GreatLakes erie eggs eagle Canada birds baldeagle american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/24/4331261.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/24/4331261.html Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:51:18 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Bald Eagles first came under the wing of specific protective legislation in 1940 with the edict of the United Stated Bald Eagle Act. The Act, together with Ontario's Game and Fish Act, helped to protect eagles from direct persecution. However, over the next 30 years, the effects of persistent chemical contaminants presented an unprecedented threat, particularly in heavily settled areas like the Great Lakes region.</P> <P>In the early 1970s, faced with overwhelming scientific evidence, Canada and the United States restricted the use of DDT and tightened regulations for disposing of industrial chemicals. These actions, together with the development of endangered species legislation and assessment programs to monitor the status of endangered wildlife, protected the animals themselves and the habitat they need to survive. Ontario passed its Endangered Species Act in 1973.</P> <P>Committees for the assessment of the status of species use a scientific approach to evaluate animal populations believed to be at risk. They also recommend recovery plans to protect and augment the populations. Each assessment is reviewed periodically and either re-instated or changed, depending on the status of the species.</P> <P>In the United States, Bald Eagles are listed nationally as "Threatened" in the lower 48 states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing a proposal to change the designation. Without a protective designation, however, measures are needed to continue protection of the birds' nesting sites.</P> <P>Canada's national assessment body, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, is known as COSEWIC. This group made its first designations in 1978. COSEWIC consists of distinguished scientists and wildlife managers from government and non-government positions, representing 20 member agencies. All provincial and territorial government wildlife agencies are represented, as well as four federal agencies: Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, and the Canadian Museum of Nature.</P> <P>Bald Eagles were considered "Endangered" at the national level from 1978 to 1984, when COSEWIC changed the designation to "Not at Risk Nationally". The more recent designation recognized the flourishing populations of eagles along Canada's west coast and in the northern boreal forests.</P> <P>At the provincial level, Ontario continues to designate Bald Eagles as "Endangered" and protects the birds and their nest sites under the provincial Endangered Species Act, proclaimed in 1973. Currently, the province is reviewing this status in response to recent improvements in the Great Lakes population and the presence of apparently healthy populations on inland lakes.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page water victor US unitedstates territory natural LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody island GreatLakes fishing erie eagle Canada border birds baldeagle american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/17/4324471.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/17/4324471.html Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:55:04 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: It was a retired Canadian banker, Charles Broley, who first raised the alarm about the principal cause of the swift decline of the eagles.</P> <P>Since 1947, DDT had been sprayed regularly to control a variety of insect pests in agricultural, urban and shoreline areas. A new generation of industrial chemicals had entered common usage in the late 1940s, consequent to the scientific discoveries of the Second World War. During this era, many industrial chemicals were discharged directly into waterways. Countless tons of an estimated 2,000 chemical compounds were deposited into the Great Lakes, either by direct application or via air and water, some transported over great distances.</P> <P>Chemicals that were released into the Great Lakes system entered the aquatic food web - settling into the sediment of the lake bottoms and spreading first among the tiny aquatic plants and organisms, and then into the bodies of fish and fish-eating birds. Eating at the top of the Great Lakes food web, eagles absorbed the accumulated burden of these toxic substances, a load that amassed in their bodies throughout their lives. The chemicals affected not just individual health, but the production of young, too.</P> <P>DDT and its breakdown product, DDE (<EM>dichlorodiphenyldichloroethyene</EM>), which is created when DDT degrades over time, affect eggshell development. The chemicals interfere with the deposition of calcium, a key component in the formation of eggshells. Eagles in the Great Lakes region - and some other birds - produced thin-shelled eggs that broke easily during incubation, killing the developing embryos.</P> <P>Direct poisoning by DDT and DDE, as well as other toxic compounds, caused the deaths of some adults and hatchlings. As well, these contaminants tended to accumulate in the eggs' fatty yolk, which contains the nutrients that sustain development of embryonic birds. As the embryos grew inside the eggs, they absorbed contaminants, along with nutrients, from the yolk.</P> <P>Canada and the United States restricted the use of DDT in the early 1970s. Even so, nearly 10 years later, persistent contaminants caused Bald Eagles along the shorelines of the Great Lakes to experience total reproductive failure. For instance, few active nests remained on the northern shore of Lake Erie and research showed exceedingly high levels of contaminant residue in their eggs and the blood of eaglets.</P> <P>By the late 1980s, however, positive progress was emerging. DDE levels decreased by more than 50 per cent. Levels of PCBs, or <EM>polychlorinated biphenyls</EM>, decreased by as much as 80 per cent. The resulting reduction in contaminants in Bald Eagle eggs allowed reproductive rates to recover steadily. The number of active nests increased and the number of eaglets produced per nest improved. This progress was augmented by eaglet re-introduction programs, which supplemented the natural recruitment of young eagles into the population.</P> <P>The sensitivity of Bald Eagles to toxic chemicals has led scientists and conservation groups to identify the birds as a <STRONG>bio-sentinel species</STRONG>, meaning that the health of eagles can be taken as a reliable indicator of the health of aquatic ecosystems in the Great Lakes region.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page Canada water victor USA US unitedstates natural LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody GreatLakes food erie eggs eagle border birds baldeagle american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/10/4317841.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/10/4317841.html Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:55:00 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: Prior to European settlement, Bald Eagles were common in the forests and along the shores of the Great Lakes region. Increasingly, as the landscape was transformed for agricultural and residential uses in the 1700s and 1800s, eagle habitat and food supplies were reduced. As well, settlers routinely killed Bald Eagles for the market value of their feathers, as predators of farm animals, or because the birds were considered to be "vermin". The eagle population declined as a direct result.</P> <P>Uncontrolled persecution exacerbated the population crisis until, by the early 1900s, few eagles nested in the region. In Ontario, the Ministry of Natural Resources' Game and Fish Act, first enacted in 1890, offered protection for wild, native birds, including raptors. The United States government, prompted by wildlife conservationists, prohibited killing eagles via the Bald Eagle Act of 1940.</P> <P>The respite, although effective, was short-lived. By mid-century, eagles were suffering from the insidious effects of synthetic chlorinated pesticides, such as DDT. Many years passed before the connection between the introduction of chemical pollutants into the Great Lakes and the decline of Bald Eagles was widely understood.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#330000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page water victor US unitedstates LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody GreatLakes food eagle birds baldeagle Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/3/4309883.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/9/3/4309883.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:57:06 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : There are 59 species of eagles in the world, two of which inhabit North America: the Bald Eagle and the larger Golden Eagle.</P> <P>Bald Eagles are found exclusively in North America. In Canada, the majority occur along the coast of British Columbia, with smaller populations located across the nation, such as in southern Ontario and New Brunswick.</P> <P>The scientific name for this powerful predator is<EM> Haliaeetus leucocephalus</EM>. (<EM>Haliaeetus</EM> means "sea eagle" and<EM> leucocephalus</EM> means "white head".) Adult females are generally larger than the males, and both have the same characteristic plumage. The juvenile birds are a mixture of brown and white until they reach four or five years of age. At maturity, between four and eight years of age, the birds have dark brown feathers on their bodies and wings, snow-white feathers on their heads and tails, and yellow legs, eyes and beaks. As singular as their appearance, the eagles' call is a haunting series of high-pitched cries, similar to a gull's call but delivered more quickly and with more apparent urgency.</P> <P>Mature Bald Eagles reach an average weight of three to six kilograms. Their wings are broad and may extend to more than two meters, enabling them to soar on columns of warm air, called thermals. Eagles can fly easily at 50 kilometers per hour.</P> <P>Primarily, Bald Eagles feed on live or scavenged fish and aquatic birds, along with smaller mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Deer carcasses are a major source of food in winter. their keen vision allows them to see prey on the ground or in the water while in flight. Their strong beaks and sharp talons grasp and carry away their food: given the chance, they will "pirate" the kills of other birds, especially Ospreys.</P> <P>Bald Eagles generally stay with one mate, unless the mate dies or disappears, which prompts the remaining bird to seek another. Adult females lay one to three whitish eggs in an enormous nest constructed of branches high in a tree. The eggs are incubated for 35 days by both adults. The newly hatched young are fed for 10 to 12 weeks until they have developed feathers and learned to fly, which is called fledging. Eagles can live up to 28 years in the wild and 36 or more years in captivity.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> <P>&nbsp;</P> Main Page water victor US unitedstates trees territory jodyvictor jody eggs eagle birds baldeagle american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/27/4301241.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/27/4301241.html Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0400 <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Who could forget the awesome sight of a Bald Eagle soaring high on an updraft, broad wings silhouetted against the sky? Or the piercing cry as an eagle plummets towards a lake, talons extended to seize unsuspecting prey? And what if you could watch these eagles right in your front yard? Check out my Eagle Photos folder top left for an idea of what we can see from our front porch as we relax at our home on Sandusky Bay. I took these photos not long ago – these eagles are amazing and absolutely beautiful. Let me tell you all about Bald Eagles in the Great Lakes Region.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The dramatic coloring, beauty in flight, and hunting proficiency of these distinctive birds make them instantly recognizable throughout North America. For many people, they are potent symbols of pride and strength. That connection is a driving force for countless conservationists who have worked hard and successfully to protect and restore Bald Eagle populations in the Great Lakes region.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bald Eagles were once a common sight in the skies throughout North America, including the Great Lakes’ shorelines. Since the 1500s, however, habitat loss and persecution seriously depleted Bald Eagle populations. In the early decades of the last century, wildlife conservationists alerted American authorities to the possibility of extinction for this species. The government responded by passing the United States Bald Eagle Act of 1940, which reduced direct killing of the birds and helped to slow the population downturn.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Since then, some regions maintained excellent habitat, supporting local, healthy breeding populations. Bald Eagles thrive along the coastlines of British Columbia and Alaska, and throughout the boreal forests of northern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. But heavy development in other areas, such as the Great Lakes, has diminished eagle nesting habitat and foraging opportunities.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bald Eagles were in danger of disappearing completely from the Great Lakes region. In the early 1900s, an estimated 200 pairs nested in southern Ontario, from the Ottawa River to the lower Great Lakes. Some 50 pairs were said to nest on the shores of Lake Erie alone. By the late 1970s, eagle pairs nesting on Lake Erie’s shorelines produced no young. Three active pairs were noted on Lake Superior, but they did not reproduce. The situation was equally dire on Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, and along the St. Lawrence River.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The birds, it was discovered, were suffering from exposure to a silent killer: pesticides. The most infamous, DDT, or <EM>dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane</EM>, was sprayed regularly along setlands, shorelines and in agricultural areas, from the late 1940s to the 1970s. The toxic residue left behind interfered with the eagles’ ability to reproduce – with devastating consequences.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">From the early 1980s, coincident with a significant reduction in the use of toxic chemicals around the Great Lakes, the eagles’ natural reproduction rates began to climb. Concurrently, private organizations and government agencies developed conservation programs to protect nesting sites and to re-establish adequate breeding populations. Volunteers and landowners provided critical assistance to these programs over subsequent years, primarily by monitoring nest sites to determine their level of activity and reproductive status.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Today, Great Lakes Bald Eagles are recovering slowly. Across southern Ontario in 2000, 28 eaglets were known to fledge, or successfully develop to the point of leaving the nest, from 18 of 23 active nests. Finally, the outlook is positive for these magnificent hunters.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">There is more work to do to ensure that the Bald Eagle population is a healthy and viable one. Typically, less than half of eaglets hatched reach maturity, and survival rates may dip as low as 10 percent. Bald Eagles normally produce two or three eggs and fledge one or two chicks. One chick per active nest is adequate to sustain the population, yet each bird potentially faces many obstacles on the way to maturity. Challenges include harsh weather, poor food supplies, persistent (non-biodegrading) contaminants in the environment, and human-caused deaths.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></SPAN></P> Main Page eagle Alaska victor unitedstates river natural LakeErie lake jodyvictor jody GreatLakes food erie eggs birds beach bay baldeagle american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/20/4294505.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/20/4294505.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:52:27 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Discover Hueston Woods and uncover one of Ohio's best-kept secrets. Hueston Woods Resort &amp; Conference Center is a convenient getaway without traveling too far. This spacious, comfortable retreat offering modern amenities is found just five miles from the Miami University of Ohio. Your days can be spent picnicking in the park, boating and fishing on Acton Lake, playing golf on an 18-hole championship woodland course, cross-country skiing while viewing an array of wildlife at every turn, or simply relaxing in the resort lodge.</P> <P>Make a rest stop from the pressures of life and jump-start your imagination. Catch up on that novel from your favorite author; hike through a 200-acre forest flecked with autumn's richest gold, dine where the ambiance is friendly and the views of the lake are breathtaking. You can make Hueston Woods your next break from the busyness of life.</P> <P>If business is your focus, their conference center accommodates small personal gatherings to full scale conferences; collaborating today's technology with your multi-media needs. With plenty of room to think and space to roam, your group can achieve inspiring and refreshing result at Hueston Woods.</P> <P>Have fun no matter where you go in Ohio!</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page woods fishing golf boating hike retreat weekend water victor vacation snow resort park ohio natural lodge lake jodyvictor jody conference boat Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/13/4287398.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/13/4287398.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:14:58 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Perched atop a hill overlooking Burr Oak Lake in Ohio, Burr Oak Resort &amp; Conference Center blends beautifully into the surrounding forest setting. Accommodations include a 60-room lodge with a variety of guestrooms and 30 cottages scattered throughout the adjacent hillsides. All cottages are located within one mile of the lodge, offering air-conditioning, screened-in porches, fully furnished kitchens, televisions and four to six beds.</P> <P>Within the lodge you will find the Cardinal Dining Room, the Wren Lounge, a Fred Harvey Gift Shop, an indoor pool, a beautiful A-frame ceiling and glass-enclosed lobby with lovely lake views, wood-burning fireplace, large screen TV and 6 meeting rooms that accommodate up to 250 people. With its "getting away from ti all" feeling, Burr Oak is the logical choice for retreats and conferences of all kinds. In fact, the lodge's architectural design makes it a perfect location for weddings and receptions, many of which are held at the lodge year-round. Tour groups are also welcome. Ample parking is available for buses.</P> <P>Spring and summer provide lush green vistas from almost every window. Imagine the fall foliage and you will want to come at that time of year or the moonlight glistening on the lake! Whether you are planning a getaway for your family, that special wedding day, family reunion or simply in need of a business conference away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Burr Oak Resort &amp; Conference Center provides the perfect atmosphere.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page resort wedding reunion conference water victor vacation trees summer spring ohio lodge lake jodyvictor jody foliage fall day cabins Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/6/4278357.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/8/6/4278357.html Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Ohio has one of the best Parks systems in the country. There are many State Parks as well as private and corporate&nbsp;owned facilities. Atwood Lake is one that brings back many pleasant memories for a lot of Buckeyes.</P> <P>Atwood Lake is located within some of Ohio's most scenic rolling hills about 25 miles southeast of Canton, with close access to I-77. It's about a two-hour drive from Columbus.</P> <P>The varied and suit-every-taste accommodations are legendary. You can book a spacious room in the lodge, which has 104 guest rooms. Each room is extra-large, with either two double beds or a king-size bed. Most offer a view of the lake. In the same building are the indoor ool, the game room, the gift shop, the restaurants, and sveral comfortable living areas with TVs and music.</P> <P>The food is nothing short of fantastic. The Lodge Grill is a full-service dining favorite with a beautiful view overlooking Atwood Lake and its surrounding wooded hillsides. Many find the Lakeview Lounge a popular alternative dinign destination for lighter fare. Karaoke is a house favorite on most Friday and Saturday nights throughout the year.</P> <P>The Chalet is the perfect spot when you're craving a juicy burger or other sandwiches. It's a great option when looking for something a little less than the Lodge Grill, with traditional favorites like pizza, fries, onion rings, and ice cream cones.</P> <P>The vacation cabins are available year round. The shoreline cabins allow for total privacy amid the natural surroundings. Each lakeside cabin can accommodate up to ten people and has four bedrooms, a combined living room and dining area with television, one-and-a half baths, and a fully-equipped kitchen.</P> <P>In addition to traditional hiking, there is biking, swimming, volleyball, golf, games, tennis and more. There are 14 marinas offering a wide choice of boats including pontoon boats for rent. During the winter when there is snow, there is an awesome sledding hill.</P> <P>Maybe best of all are the wonderful surprises. You may encounter wild turkeys, deer, rabbits, red-tailed hawks, owls, raccoons, and other forest dwellers on your hikes. So, if your looking for a wonderful trip with a natural setting, Atwood Lake is a good place to go.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page cabins lodge pizza Canton vacation winter water victor snow pool people ohio natural legend lake jodyvictor jody food day Columbus buckeyes Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/30/4271691.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/30/4271691.html Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Chippewa Lake Park was an amusement park once located in Chippewa Lake, Ohio, Medina County. It operated from 1878 through 1978, after the final owner, Continental Business Enterprises closed it due to lack of attendance. After the park's closure, its rides and structures were left largely untouched and unmaintained for the next 31 years.</P> <P>In 1875, Edward Andrews organized a picnic ground and beach under the name Andrew's Pleasure Grounds. The park operated with some success, but its condition deteriorated, partly accountable to alcohol sales within park grounds. With the addition of a steam boat and the park's first roller coaster, the amusement park was brought to life. The initial roller coaster had to be manually pushed up the track following each ride.</P> <P>Mac Beach acquired Chippewa Lake in 1898 and improved the park immensely, beginning with a ban on liquor sales. Mac's son, Parker Beach, managed the park during its boom years, the roaring '20s. During that decade, the first modern coaster was built at the park, designed by Fred Pearce. Originally named the Big Dipper, it became better known as simply 'the coaster'. The park also featured a live band-stand seven nights a week.</P> <P>The Beach family kept the park running successfully into the 1960s. Eventually Chippewa Lake would feature three roller coasters, flying cages, a Ferris wheel, carousel, Tumble Bug, ballroom and many other rides.</P> <P>Chippewa Lake was acquired by Continental Business Enterprises in 1969, and closed in 1978 while under their ownership, owing to factors like competition from nearby Cedar Point and Geauga Lake amusement parks.</P> <P>After the park's closure in 1978, the land the park was situated on was left largely untouched. By the 2000s, large trees were growing through rides like the Coaster and the park's Ferris wheel, and several buildings had collapsed or been damaged by the effects of the elements.</P> <P>About 4:00 PM on Thursday, June13, 2002, the Chippewa Lake Park Ballroom burned down. By 2008, several other buildings had suffered the ballroom's fate, including the hotel, arcade, fun house, peanut stand, and maintenance building, all of which had been damaged or destroyed by fire. However, other rides and structures still stood, in various states of disrepair. These included the Big Dipper Coaster, the Wild Mouse coaster, the Little Dipper coaster, the Tumble Bug, and the frames of the Ferris Wheels and Flying Cages. Most other buildings across the park were in various states of collapse due to 30 years of neglect by this time.</P> <P>In 2008, thirty years after the park's closure, the land the amusement park stood on was offered up for sale with an asking price of $3,500,000, and, according to the realtor's website, was sold. On September 9, 2008, Chippewa Partners LLC announced plans for a development on the site called "Chippewa Landing" which would include a hotel and spa, fitness center, restaurants, a conference and music center, small shops and other entertainment venues, expected to be completed sometime in 2010.</P> <P>We could be looking forward to a another nice place to visit in Ohio!</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page entertainment lake amusement park coaster Ferris victor trees ohio jodyvictor jody house CedarPoint boat beach Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/23/4264655.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/23/4264655.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:50:51 -0400 <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#000000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A><FONT color=#000000> : Are you looking for somewhere to go before summer is gone? Try somewhere in Ohio! Indian Lake</FONT></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT color=#000000> is a reservoir in Logan County in western Ohio in the United States. It is approximately 20 mi (32&nbsp;km) southeast of Lima. It is fed by the north and south forks of the Upper Great Miami River, Cherokee Mans Run, Blackhawk Creek, and Van Horn Creek, and, starting at the bulkhead or "spillway" (located at what is now State Route 366) built in the 1850s by Irish laborers, is the beginning of the Great Miami River.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT color=#000000>Indian Lake, so named because several tribes lived in the region and found the Lake area to be ideal for fishing and hunting, was originally a group of small lakes and wetlands occupying about 640 acres, but in the 1850s, it was turned into the 6,334 acre Lewistown Reservoir which sent water through the Sidney Feeder to the Miami and Erie Canal. Within a few years after its construction, the canal system became an obsolete form of transportation compared to the new and growing railways.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT color=#000000>However, Indian Lake remained, found itself well serviced by the railways, and ever since has been enjoyed by many for rest and relaxation, fishing and boating now being the most common activities. In its early years, bass were the prize catch for fishermen, with bluegill and crappies being caught in great numbers. The Lake is stocked with fish including Saugeye, for which it has been nationally recognized. Several major fishing tournaments are held each year, with local bass clubs holding weekly contests. Generally these follow "catch and return" rules. Ice fishing and snowmobling have grown in popularity. Colorful snowmobiles gather, often in large numbers, outside the several lake-front restaurants as their owners stop for tea and coffee with their burgers and wings.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT color=#000000>Indian Lake has numerous islands, including the "Indian Isles" chain that arcs through the center of the Lake, expansive wildlife areas accessible by a network of channels. numerous inlets and bays, and approximately 30 miles of shoreline. The actual lake, and adjoining Oldfield Beach (the end point of a several mile, lake-front biking/walking trail), Moundwood and Lakeview Harbor boat ramps, marinas at Moundwood and at Cherokee Campgrounds, and other Green Spaces including Pew Island, are extremely well managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as part of the Ohio state park system. Popular state walking trails are located, in addition to the one ending at Oldfield Beach, at Pew Island and at the Cherokee Campgrounds.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT color=#000000>A song by The Cowsills during the 1960s is claimed by Indian Lakers to be about their lake, but others contend it was actually about a lake by the same name in New York State. However, in the many years of The Cowsills being popular, they visited regularly and they (the Cowsills) say "the song is written about our favorite place.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT color=#000000>The Lake calendar begins with Jimmy Buffett weekend on the first week of February, with the annual Boat Show the first weekend in March. An ever-growing fireworks display, part of July 4 observances, is witnessed by hundreds of boats as well as a crowds along the shores. The "Ring of Fire", on the Sunday evening of Labor Day weekend, by lore extends an Indian tradition in celebration of the harvest. Some event, whether a restored Chris Craft boat show, a fishing tournament, or charity "poker runs" around the Lake occurs on almost every summer weekend. Other lore includes an abandoned lead mine under the Lake, and use of the north side of the Lake and the dancehall by the Chicago mobsters in days gone by.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT color=#000000>In its early days extending into the middle of the last century, the Lake was primarily a destination resort, with many waterfront cottages being lightly built primarily for summer use. Many knew of it as the location of the amusement park with its roller-coaster and other rides and it dancehall, discussed below. Today while still busiest in the summer, the Lake finds its shores dotted with many new beautiful, permanent homes; its older cottages have been delightfully remodeled.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="BACKGROUND: #f8fcff"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#000000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></SPAN></P> Main Page Indian natural weekend water victor unitedstates sunday summer river ohio March legend LakeErie jodyvictor jody island Indians house history Historical February erie canal boat birds beach bay american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/17/4258367.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/17/4258367.html Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:32:15 -0400 <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Lake Erie is one of the Great Lakes and currently serves as part of Ohio's northern boundary. During the 1700s and 1800s, Lake Erie provided a quick means of transportation for men engaged in the fur trade as well as settlers hoping to improve their fortunes in the Ohio Country. Its importance grew during the 1810s and the 1820s as Americans began to build canals. The completion of the Erie Canal, connecting the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie, provided the first navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the upper Midwest. This allowed farmers in Ohio a relatively quick and inexpensive route to transport their products to market. Cleveland quickly grew and became one of the leading industrial centers of Ohio thanks to its location on Lake Erie. <BR><BR>During the War of 1812, both the English and the American armies and navies hoped to gain exclusive control over the lake. The side that controlled Lake Erie would have an easier time sending troops and supplies in an invasion of the other's territory. On September 10, 1813, at the Battle of Lake Erie an American fleet under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet, securing control of the lake for the United States. England's threat to the American Northwest was removed, due to Great Britain's inability to send men and supplies across the lake. Lake Erie also served as parts of boundaries in treaties between the United States and the Indians during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Among the most important of these agreements was the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795. </SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal">&nbsp;</P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /></STRONG></A></SPAN></P> Main Page Perry water victor vessel US unitedstates territory ship river Pennsylvania ohio LakeErie jodyvictor jody island history Historical GreatLakes flag erie English England Cleveland canal British american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/9/4246816.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/9/4246816.html Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0400 <P class=text><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Floods in the many rivers flowing to the Ohio and in the Ohio River itself have long been a problem; a devastating flood in 1913 led to the establishment of the Miami valley conservation project. Continuing long-term state and federal projects have improved locks and dams along the entire length of the Ohio and its major tributaries, for navigation as well as flood control purposes.</FONT></P> <P class=text><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>Both farms and industries in Ohio were hard hit by the Great Depression that began in 1929. In the 1930s the state was wracked by major strikes such as the sit-down strikes in Akron (1935–36) and the so-called Little Steel strike (1937). World War II brought great prosperity to Ohio, but labor strife later resumed, as in the steel strikes of 1949 and 1959. Political unrest also affected the state in the protests of the 1960s and most violently in 1970 when four students were killed by national guardsmen who fired on a group of Vietnam War protesters at Kent State Univ.</FONT></P> <P class=text><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>Ohio's economy went into massive decline in the 1970s and 80s as the automobile, steel, and coal industries virtually collapsed, causing unemployment to soar. Akron, once world famous as a rubber center, stopped manufacturing rubber products altogether by the mid-1980s. During this period, the state's northern industrial centers were especially hard hit and lost much of their population. Since then, Ohio has concentrated on diversifying its economy, largely through expansion of the service sector. The state became an important center for the health-care industry with the opening of the Cleveland Clinic. Industrial research is also important, with Nela Park near Cleveland and Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus among the more notable research centers; there are also still important rubber research laboratories in Akron.</FONT></P> <P class=text><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> </FONT></P><!--/BodyText--> Main Page Akron Cleveland Kent WorldWarII victor US unitedstates river ohiostate ohio memorial jodyvictor jody Columbus american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/2/4242899.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/7/2/4242899.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:11:38 -0400 <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="60"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#cc0000>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: Most Ohioans were sympathetic with the Union in the Civil War, and many Ohioans served in the Union army. Native sons such as Joshua R. Giddings, Salmon P. Chase, and Edwin M. Stanton had long been prominent opponents of slavery. Nevertheless, the Peace Democrats, the Knights of the Golden Circle</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>, and the Copperheads</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>&nbsp;were very active; Clement L. Vallandigham drew many votes in the gubernatorial election of 1863. Ohio was the scene of the northernmost penetration of Confederate forces in the war—the famous raid (1863) of John Hunt Morgan, which terrorized the people of the countryside until Morgan and most of his men were finally captured in the southeast corner of the state.</FONT></P> <P class=text><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>After the Civil War industrial development grew rapidly when shipments of ore from the upper Great Lakes region increased and the development of the petroleum industry in NE Ohio shifted the center of economic activity from the banks of the Ohio River to the shores of Lake Erie, particularly around Cleveland. Immigrants began to swell the population, and huge fortunes were made.</FONT></P> <P class=text><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>Ohio became very important politically. The state contributed seven American presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Big business and politics became entwined as in the relations of Marcus A. Hanna and McKinley. City bosses such as Cincinnati's George B. Cox also followed this pattern. The state as a whole was for many years steadily Republican, despite the rise of organized labor in the late 19th cent. and considerable labor strife. In the 1890s the reform-minded mayor of Toledo, Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones, won national fame for his espousal of city ownership of municipal utilities.</FONT></P> <P class=text><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG><FONT color=#cc0000>Have</FONT><FONT color=#000099> a </FONT><FONT color=#cc0000>Great </FONT><FONT color=#000099>4th!</FONT></STRONG></FONT></P> <P class=text><FONT face=Arial color=#000099 size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></FONT></P> Main Page victor US unitedstates presidents ohio memorial Lincoln jodyvictor jody Inauguration history Historical freedom flags flag day constitution buckeyes american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/25/4234319.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/25/4234319.html Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:59:50 -0400 <P class=text><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A>: In the War of 1812 the Americans lost many of the early battles of the war that took place in the Old Northwest, and their military frontier was pushed back to the Ohio River. Two British attacks on Ohio soil were successfully resisted: one against Fort Meigs at the mouth of the Maumee River and the other against Fort Stephenson on the Sandusky. The area was further secured by Oliver Hazard Perry's naval victory on Lake Erie near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, and William Henry Harrison's victory in the battle of the Thames on Canadian soil.</FONT></P> <P class=text sizset="59" sizcache="2"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>After the war Ohio's growth was spurred by the building of the Erie Canal, other canals, and toll roads. The National Road&nbsp;was a vital settlement and commercial artery. Settlement of the Western Reserve by New Englanders (especially those from Connecticut) gives NE Ohio a decidedly New England cultural landscape. Ohio's society of small farmers exported their produce down the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers to St. Louis and New Orleans. In 1837 Ohio won a territorial struggle with Michigan usually called the Toledo War. The Loan Law, adopted in the Panic of 1837, encouraged railroad and industrial development. Railroads gradually succeeded canals, preparing the way for the industrial expansion that followed the Civil War.</FONT></P> <P class=text sizset="59" sizcache="2"><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></FONT></P> Main Page canal victor sandusky river ohio LakeErie jodyvictor jody GreatLakes erie England British border bay american Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/18/4226106.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/18/4226106.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:33:59 -0400 <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="52"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A>: Ohio was part of the vast area ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris (1783)</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>. Conflicting claims to land in that area made by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia were settled by relinquishment of almost all of the claims</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2> and the organization of the Old Northwest by the Ordinance of 1787</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>. Ohio was the first region developed under the provisions of that ordinance, with the activities of the Ohio Company of Associates</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>&nbsp;promoted by Rufus Putnam and Manasseh Cutler. Marietta, founded in 1788, was the first permanent American settlement in the Old Northwest.</FONT></P> <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="56"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>In the years that followed, various land companies were formed, and settlers poured in from the East, either down the Ohio on flatboats and barges, or across the mountains by wagon—their numbers varying with conditions but steadily expanding the area's population. The Native Americans, supported by the British, resisted American settlement. They successfully opposed campaigns led by Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair but were decisively defeated by Anthony Wayne in the battle of Fallen Timbers</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>&nbsp;(1794). The British thereafter (1796) withdrew their outposts from the Northwest under the terms of Jay's Treaty</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>, and the area was pacified. Ohio became a territory in 1799. General St. Clair, as the first governor, ruled in an arbitrary fashion that made Ohioans for many years afterward distrustful of all government. In 1802 a state convention drafted a constitution, and in 1803 Ohio entered the Union, with Chillicothe</FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>&nbsp;as its capital. Columbus became the permanent capital in 1816.</FONT></P> <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="56"><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></FONT></P> Main Page unitedstates victor territory river ohio NativeAmerican jodyvictor jody Indians constitution Columbus British american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/11/4218856.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/11/4218856.html Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:43:42 -0400 <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="46"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : The history of Ohio goes back before the written word - even then there was a lot going on. Peoples moved in and out of the area, and at one time, the forest was so dense it was difficult to travel. Let's go back and see what happened before we were here.</FONT></P> <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="46"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>In prehistoric times Ohio was inhabited by the <FONT color=#000000>Mound Builders</FONT>, many of whose mounds are preserved in state parks and in the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Before the arrival of Europeans, East Ohio was the scene of warfare between the Iroquois and the Erie, which resulted in the extermination of the Erie. In addition to the Iroquois, other Native American tribes soon prominent in the region were the Miami, the Shawnee, and the Ottawa.</FONT></P> <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="48"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2>La Salle began his explorations of the Ohio valley in 1669 and claimed the entire area for France. The Ohio River became a magnet for fur traders and landseekers, and the British, attempting to move in, hotly contested the French claims. Rivalry for control of the forks of the Ohio River led to the outbreak (1754) of the last of the French and Indian Wars. The defeat of the French gave the land to the British, but British possession was disturbed by Pontiac's Rebellion. The British government issued a proclamation in 1763 forbidding settlement West of the Appalachian Mountains. Then in 1774, with the Quebec Act, the British placed the region between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes within the boundaries of Canada. The colonists' resentment over these acts contributed to the discontent that led to the American Revolution, during which military operations were conducted in the Ohio country.</FONT></P> <P class=text sizcache="2" sizset="48"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></FONT></P> Main Page victor trees territory river ohio NativeAmerican LakeErie jodyvictor jody Indians history Historical Europe erie English England buckeyes British border ancient american america age Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/4/4210474.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/4/4210474.html Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:10:39 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Today, the Ohio river generally separates Midwestern Great Lakes states from Southern border states. The charter for Virginia went not to the middle of the Ohio River but to its far shore, so that the entire river was included in the lands owned by Virginia. Therefore, where the river serves as a boundary between states the entire river belongs to the states on the east and then the south, i.e., West Virginia and Kentucky, that were divided from Virginia. It is for that reason that Wheeling Island, the largest inhabited island in the Ohio River, belongs to West Virginia, even though it is much closer to the Ohio shore than to the West Virginia shore. </P> <P>Kentucky brought suit against Indiana in the early 1980s because of the building of the Marble Hill nuclear power plant in Indiana, which would have discharged its waste water into the river. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Kentucky's jurisdiction (and, implicitly, that of West Virginia) extended only to the low water mark of 1793 (important because the river has been extensively dammed for navigation, so that the present river bank is north of the old low water mark). Similarly in the 1990s, Kentucky disputed Illinois" right to collect taxes on a riverboat casino docked in Metropolis, citing their control of the entire river. Aztar opened their own casino riverboat that docked in Evansville, Indiana at about the same time. Although cruises on the Ohio river were at first done in an oval pattern up and down the Ohio, the state of Kentucky soon protested and cruises were limited to going forwards then reversing and going backwards on the Indiana shore only.</P> <P>In the early 1980s, the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area was established at Clarksville, Indiana. In 2006, Cincinnati, Ohio, Indie rock band Nevada Smith published a bootleg version of their song "Il Fiume Fluisce Colore Maronne," a humorous protest song against the pollution in the Ohio. In 1993, Louisville band Love Jones released a song about recreational life on the Ohio River called "Ohio River".</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page casino Kentucky GreatLakes WestVirginia water Virginia victor USA US unitedstates river ohio LakeErie jodyvictor jody island fall erie current border boat Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/28/4203036.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/28/4203036.html Thu, 28 May 2009 12:19:38 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Louisville, Kentucky was founded at the only major natural navigational barrier on the river, the Falls of the Ohio. The Falls were a series of rapids where the river dropped 26 feet in a stretch of about 2 miles. In this area the river flowed over hard, fossil-rich&nbsp;beds of limestone. The first locks on the river were built at Louisville in 1825 to circumnavigate the falls. Today it is the site of McAlpine Locks and Dam.</P> <P>Because the Ohio River flowed westwardly, it became the convenient means of westward movement by pioneers traveling from western Pennsylvania. After reaching the mouth of the Ohio, settlers would travel north on the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri. There, some continued on up the Missouri River, some up the Mississippi, and some further west over land routes. In the early 19th century, pirates, such as Samuel Mason, settled at Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, waylaid travelers on their way down the river, killed them, stole their goods, and scuttled their boats. The folktales of Mike Fink recall the keel boats used for commerce in the early days of European settlement. In 1843 the Ohio River boatmen were the inspiration for Dan Emmett's <EM>The Boatman's Dance</EM>.</P> <P>Other boats traveled south on the Mississippi to New Orleans and sometimes beyond to the Gulf of Mexico and other ports in the Americas and Europe. This provided a mush needed route for goods from the west, since the trek east over the Appalachian Mountains was long and arduous. The need for access to the port of New Orleans by settlers in the Ohio Valley led to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.</P> <P>Because it is the Southern border of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, the Ohio River was a part of the border that divided free states and slave states in the years before the American Civil War. The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of Kentucky slaves being split apart from their families and sold in Louisville and other Kentucky locations to be shipped via the Ohio River down to New Orleans to be sold yet again to owners of cotton and sugar field plantations. Before and during the Civil War, the Ohio River was called the "River Jordan" by slaves escaping to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad. As depicted in several novels by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Toni Morrison. More routes, and more escaping slaves made their perilous journey north to freedom across the Ohio River, than anywhere else across the north-south frontier. Today, the Ohio river generally separates Midwestern Great Lakes states from Southern border states.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page NewOrleans WestVirginia water victor US territory river Pennsylvania ohio Mississippi legend jodyvictor jody Indians history Historical fall Europe English day buckeyes border boat american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/21/4195101.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/21/4195101.html Thu, 21 May 2009 12:38:14 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : Since it was considered by pre-Columbian inhabitants of eastern North America to be part of a single river continuing on through the lower Mississippi, it is perhaps an understatement to characterize the Ohio as a mere tributary of the Mississippi. The river is 981 miles long and carries the largest volume of water of any tributary of the Mississippi. The Indians and early explorers and settlers of the region often considered the Allegheny to be part of the Ohio, and the forks (the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Pittsburgh) was considered a strategic military location.</P> <P>Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, led an expedition of French traders who became the first Europeans to find the river in 1669. He traveled from Canada and entered the headwaters of the Ohio, traveling as far as the Falls of Ohio before turning back. He returned to explore the river again in other expeditions and an Italian cartographer traveling with him created the first map of the Ohio River. France claimed ownership of the River until it was ceded to Great Britain.</P> <P>On May 19, 1749, King George II of Great Britain granted the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks. Exploration of the territory and trade with the Indians in the region near the Forks by British colonials from both Pennsylvania and Virginia - both of whom claimed the territory - led to conflict with French forces that also claimed the region and had built forts along the Allegheny River. This directly led to the French and Indian War in North America. The conflict - the Seven Years' War between England and France. After several initial defeats, the British eventually gained sovereignty over the Ohio Valley.</P> <P>In 1774, the Quebec Act restored the land east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River to Quebec, appeasing the French-speaking British subjects, but angering the 13 Colonies. They listed it as one of the Intolerable Acts, which precipitated the American Revolution.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page Virginia map Indians Mississippi WestVirginia water victor US unitedstates territory river Pennsylvania ohio NativeAmerican jodyvictor jody history Historical Europe English England British american america Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/14/4185912.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/14/4185912.html Thu, 14 May 2009 12:12:53 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : The Ohio River is young from a geologic standpoint. The river formed on a peicemeal basis beginning between 2.5 and 3 million years ago. The earliest Ice Ages occurred at this time and dammed portions of north flowing rivers. The Teays River was the largest of these rivers, and the modern Ohio River flows within segments of the ancient Teays. The ancient rivers were rearranged or consumed by glaciers and lakes.</P> <P>The upper Ohio River formed when one of the glacial lakes overflowed into a south flowing tributary of the Teays River. Prior to that event, the north flowing Steubenville River (no Longer in existence) ended between New Martinsville and Paden City, West Virginia. Likewise, the south flowing Marietta River (no longer in existence) ended between the cities. The overflowing lake carved through the separating hill and connected the rivers. The resulting floodwaters enlarged the small Marietta valley to a size more typical of a large river. The new large river subsequently drained glacial lakes and melting glaciers at the end of several Ice Ages. The valley grew with each major Ice Age.</P> <P>Many small river were altered or abandoned after the upper Ohio River formed. Valleys of some abandoned rivers can still be seen on satellite and aerial images of the hills of Ohio and West Virginia between Marietta, Ohio, and Huntington, West Virginia. As testimony to the major changes that occurred, the valleys are actually found on hilltops.</P> <P>The middle Ohio River formed in a manner similar to formation of the upper Ohio River. A north-flowing river was temporarily dammed southwest of present-day Louisville, Kentucky, creating a large lake until the dam burst. A new route was carved to the Mississippi River, and eventually the upper and middle sections combined to form what is essentially the modern Ohio River.</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page WestVirginia age ancient valley water victor river ohio jodyvictor jody ice earth border Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/7/4178161.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/7/4178161.html Thu, 07 May 2009 11:50:52 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#000099>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A>: The Ohio River is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela river at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From Pittsburgh, it flows northwest through Allegheny and Beaver Counties, before making an abrupt turn to the south-southwest at the West Virginia - Ohio - Pennsylvania triple state line (near East Liverpool, Ohio, Chester, West Virginia, and Midland, Pennsylvania), from which point it forms the border between West Virginia and Ohio, upstream of Wheeling, West Virgina.</P> <P>The river then follows a roughly southwest and then west-northwest course before bending to a west-southwest course for most of its length. It flows along the borders of West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, until it joins the Mississippi near the city of Cairo, Illinois.</P> <P>Major tributaries of the Ohio River, indicated by the location of their mouth, include:</P> <P>* Allegheny River - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania</P> <P>* Kinniconick Creek - Vanceburg, Kentucky</P> <P>* Monongahela River - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania</P> <P>* Chartiers Creek - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania</P> <P>* Beaver River - Rochester, Pennsylvania</P> <P>* Wheeling Creek - Wheeling, West Virginia</P> <P>* Little Muskingum River - Ohio</P> <P>* Duck Creek - Ohio</P> <P>* Muskingum River - Marietta, Ohio</P> <P>* Little Kanawha River - Parkersburg, West Virginia</P> <P>* Hocking River - Hockingport, Ohio</P> <P>* Kanawha River - Point Pleasant, West Virginia</P> <P>* Guyandotte River - Huntington, West Virginia</P> <P>* Big Sandy River - Kentucky-West Virginia border</P> <P>* Little Sandy River - Greenup, Kentucky</P> <P>* Scioto River - Portsmouth, Ohio</P> <P>* Little Miami River - Cincinnati, Ohio</P> <P>* Licking River - Newport-Covington, Kentucky</P> <P>* Great Miami River - Ohio-Indiana border</P> <P>* Salt River - West Point, Kentucky</P> <P>* Kentucky River - Carrollton, Kentucky</P> <P>* Green River - Kentucky</P> <P>* Wabash River - Indiana-Illinois border</P> <P>* Saline River - Illinois</P> <P>* Cumberland River - Smithland, Kentucky</P> <P>* Tennessee River - Paducah, Kentucky</P> <P>* Cache River - Illinois</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG><FONT color=#000099>Jody Victor</FONT></STRONG></A></P> Main Page Pennsylvania creek victor sand river ohio jodyvictor jody border Jody Victor http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/4/30/4169861.html http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/4/30/4169861.html Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:15:36 -0400 <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A> : The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles (1,579km) long and is located in the eastern United States.</P> <P>The river had great significance in the history of the Native Americans. It was a primary transportation route during the westward expansion of the early U.S. It flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin encompasses 14 states, including many of the states of the southeastern U.S. through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River. During the nineteenth century, it was the southern boundary of the Northwest Territory, this serving as the border between free and slave territory. It is sometimes referred to as the "Mason-Dixon line" as it is commonly acknowledged as the western natural extension of the original Mason-Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania and Delaware from Maryland and West Virginia (then a part of Virginia) thus being the unofficial, and at times disputed, border between the Northern United States and the American South or upland South.</P> <P>The Ohio River is a climatic transition area as its water runs along the periphery of the humid subtropical climate and humid continental climate thereby being inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates. In his <EM>Notes on the State of Virginia</EM> published in 1781-82, Thomas Jefferson stated: "The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted."</P> <P><A href="http://www.jodyvictor.com/"><STRONG>Jody Victor</STRONG></A></P> Main Page border territory history water victor US unitedstates ohio NativeAmerican jodyvictor jody foliage american america