Conneaut, Ohio Hosts the Nation's Largest D-Day Reenactment

From Belt Magazine:


It's easy to laugh at the hobby of civilians recreating, long ago battles but beneath it is often a sincere attempt to honor and experience what others might have felt.

"D-Day Conneaut now the largest D-Day reenactment in the country, began in 1999 when a small group of reenactors at Conneaut Park recreated “Operation Overlord,” the code name for the 1944 Normandy operation. The annual event was not made public until 2007 and was later moved to Conneaut Township Park, just north of State Route 531. D-Day Conneaut is funded entirely through donations. Its organizing staff and participating reenactors are unpaid."

The town sits on Lake Erie almost exactly at the Pennsylvania, Ohio border now draws thousands from all over the country including the last few, who actually did live through D-Day.

"A ceremony commences to honor Raymond Woods, of Ottawa, Ohio, who served aboard the USS O’Brien on D-Day. “Mr. Woods, to show its eternal gratitude, the government of the French Republic has decided to award you the Legion of Honor,” says the French Consul Honoraire, atop the stage with Woods. “The award of France’s highest honor is most appropriate for someone who helped liberate France’s soil. How appropriate that we honor you today, in part for your service on the beaches of Normandy, at this wonderful celebration of D-Day on the beaches of Conneaut.”"

The whole piece, is well done and pretty moving.

Video compilation of Teenie Harris profiles in the national media

The Westmoreland Museum, which hosted a earlier Harris retrospective, uploaded a montage, highlighting some of the attention paid to Harris and the communities he photographed. Almost all of them are really well done, so don't just skip through it.

Seems like many were done during the period of the earlier show, but some are newer.

"what he shows so clearly and forcefully in these photos is the sense of community that existed"

Who Knew? Steubenville, Ohio "City of Murals"

One of the big reasons I've tried to take the blog more towards a wider, more regional view is that a lot of the area is still a mystery to most of us, filled with all kinds of great secrets and changes. 10 years ago, most locals didn't know how great Pittsburgh was.

Who knew, this fellow steel town just to the east on the Ohio is becoming known as "the city of Murals", with 25 easily viewable in or near it's downtown?

A few of these lean towards the dry and boring but some look really stunning. Most, which are now old pay tribute to the area's unique history.

Check out this great post about them.

"Many of the murals were fading—the reds in particular—and recent extremes in Ohio weather haven’t helped. Other murals lie in rubble, like verdigris-covered Roman ruins. To some extent, weather and a shifting city scape are the hazards of public art. Just as a struggling economy helped birth the City of Murals tough times are encouraging people to rally in support of this part of Ohio history. Funds may be scarce, but in tough times public art helps communities maintain their unique identity and share that vision with the world. A small group of people are rallying to retain the City of Murals through audio tours, events and by raising funds for upkeep and preservation."

Check out a link and see more images.

Hat tip to Burgh Diaspora.

Pittsburgh Antiques Roadshow Visit Recaps In Post Gazette

I remember a few years back when an early American cabinet shocked viewers when it was valued at $250,000. Since then the Roadshow pretty commonly uncovers some really important stuff--with Pittsburgh being no exception.

According to The Post Gazette, finds included

A painting by Rockwell Kent valued at $250,000


A first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," worth between $80,000 and $100,000.


"The Voyage of the Beagle," a first-edition "On the Origin of the Species" and an 1871 copy of "The Descent of Man", all by Charles Darwin given a combined value of$284,000.


"A 17th Century Chinese carved rhinoceros horn cup, whose owner originally bought it for $1. It's now appraised significantly higher: between $350,000-$450,000."

Antiques Roadshow recap

Story about the Rockwell Kent discovery.

It's fun to stay tuned to these pieces many of them actually go to auction to find out what they finally sell for. Usually, these appraisals are conservative and on any given Sunday, anything can happen.

Antiques Roadshow Comes To The Pittsburgh Convention Center Saturday

One highlight of visiting my mom is catching up on Antiques Roadshow, where appraisers and other experts help take a look at people's valuables.

The Post Gazette has a good article revealing just how the selection process for the show works. It seems that they don't exactly just let anyone just bring things in--until they have screened things first online.

"Prospective participants were solicited through the show's website (pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow), where photos of items were submitted for pre-approval. That's no guarantee that Rich, a warehouse manager in Canton, Ohio, or Bob, a long-time antiques collector from Beaver County, will actually make the final cut with their treasures. It does mean the show is interested enough to arrange for the items' delivery to the convention center.

Not long ago, Rich -- the show won't allow last names, insisting on a certain level of anonymity for its participants because of the possible value of the items -- was hoping to sell his garish but fun Tiki bar for $150."

P.S. All 6000 available free tickets to the event were already distributed by lottery and none will be available at the door.