When I give presentations, I often mention that the John Shillito & Company, which started out as a modest dry-goods store, eventually grew into an emporium, modeled after Bon Marché in Paris, France. The store was built on the “uptown” Seventh and Race Streets location in 1877. At that time, it was the country’s largest … [Read more…]
Receiving that message in a note from the Cincinnati Woman’s Club was wonderful. It always feels good to know audience members thoroughly enjoyed the information and that it brought back fond memories for them, and it’s always fun to see people I know in the audience – that happened again when some old-time neighbors and … [Read more…]
It wasn’t exactly time travel, but on July 9th I got to have luncheon at McAlpin’s! Let me explain — a couple of months ago, I received a very nice note in the mail. Jay Joyce wrote to tell me that he’d come across my tearoom book in the Taft Museum gift shop, and as a … [Read more…]
It was a beautiful evening on May 13th when I went to the Evergreen Retirement Community to speak with the residents. As happens at different engagements, I saw people that I haven’t seen for years. On this occasion, I got to visit with Dr. Rae Hartman, a longtime friend of my husband’s family, and Marilyn … [Read more…]
The Seasons Retirement Community invited me back on May 24th, but for a change of pace, this time to speak about Virginia Bakery Remembered. There was a large show of hands when I asked if anyone remembered the bakery that had been located on Ludlow Avenue in Clifton, and even those who had never been … [Read more…]
The Anderson Senior Center invited me to come speak on Friday, May 18th. As described in their publication, Senior Lifestyle, I discussed a little bit about what was involved in the various stages of the book project: research, writing, and recipes. I also provided a brief look at what downtown Cincinnati used to be like … [Read more…]
On Tuesday, May 15th, I gave a Lost Tea Rooms presentation at the Nathanael Greene Lodge. The Green Township Historical Association is a very friendly organization, and both female and male members attended my presentation. I was able to visit with the attendees both before and after my talk. While speaking with one group, I … [Read more…]
The Ft. Mitchell Baptist Church was the setting of my talk on Thursday, May 10th. The Seniors invited me to share my stories and photos. There were some previous acquaintances in the audience: Nellie Goodridge, a former manager in Pogue’s Camargo Room, was very helpful when I was in my research phase for the book. … [Read more…]
I was invited back to speak at the Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community on Wednesday, April 11th. Based on comments that people made after the presentation, I think everyone found the topics interesting. One woman said my talk was so enjoyable she would have liked it if I’d continued talking for another hour! The tables … [Read more…]
The Price Hill Historical Society is an organization that’s been in existence for a very long time. According to an article I read in Heritage on the Hill, their newsletter, the group’s initial meeting took place on May 15, 1875 – a time when the residents were preparing to celebrate the soon-to-be-opened Price Hill Incline. … [Read more…]