Books by the Banks

On Saturday, October 28^th, I participated in the 11^th annual Books by the Banks event, a celebration of books and reading that takes in the Duke Energy Convention Center every October in Cincinnati.

My table location put me next to some very interesting people:

• The author to my left was Judy Kuhn, author of The Other UC and Me: Editing the Sixties – what a coincidence that her last name is my maiden name!
• To my far right was Dean Regas, author of Facts From Space!  He’s an astronomer and educator at the Cincinnati Observatory, and you might also recognize him as the co-host of Star Gazers, a short astronomy program that airs on PBS stations.
• And speaking of television personalities, closest to me on the right side was Jeff Rossen, an investigative reporter and correspondent for NBC News programs.  He was there for his book, Rossen to the Rescue.

I was asked to participate in a “Lost & Found Cincinnati” panel discussion with other local history authors, moderated by Bill Rinehart of WVXU.

• Steven Rolfes and Doug Weise – Cincinnati Theaters
• Jeff Suess – Hidden History of Cincinnati

After the Q&A session, I shared ten bygone menus with some audience members who wanted to reflect on the food items and prices from the past.

It was great seeing friends from the past, including my grown daughters’ Montessori teacher, and meeting new people.

• Two ladies who had been to one of my presentations stopped by to say hello, and then they told customers nearby how much they had enjoyed my talk and the book, stirring up some new interest.
• One man said that he and his wife really enjoyed the recipes and no longer buy manufactured salad dressings because they like the ones in the book so much – he stopped by to also hand me a copy of a recipe for “Maury’s Tiny Cove Dressing” that they thought I might enjoy trying.
• A special lady named Andrea came up to tell me that she loved Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati, and then added that she had known my husband Jerry.  She kindly shared some wonderful memories (from about thirty years ago!) that were so vivid I could actually see him in my mind.  I was very touched when she told me how professional and kind he had been in his work environment.

I wish I’d had the time to go around to all the tables – I know I would have found some books that would have “called to me” – there was such a large and interesting selection!