Pardon My Chardon

Mary Bramstedt's Car

2010-07-22T08:09:00.002-04:00

An encounter with Mary Bramstedt always brightens my day.

I need your support!

2010-07-14T11:59:00.003-04:00

It is with great excitement that I announce my participation in bike MS: Pedal to the Point 2010!

This Bike MS event will take place on August 14th and 15th. I am asking you to join the movement by making a contribution to support my efforts.

The National MS Society is committed to building a movement by and for people with MS that will move us closer to a world free of this disease. Donations collected for Bike MS continuously fund research for a cure, while also providing services and support for those currently living with MS. I am riding this year because I believe in the mission of the National MS Society. More than 400,000 Americans live with MS and every donation will help us find a cure.

Please help by making a donation. I greatly appreciate your support and I will keep you posted on my progress.

Click Here To Visit My Donation Page

If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can copy and paste this web address (via tinyURL) into your browser: http://tinyurl.com/ms150-p2p

Thanks!

Chardon in Google Earth

2010-07-11T22:33:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of Google Earth.. It appeals to both my geekiness and curiosity about the world. I could (and have) easily spend hours zooming around, looking at aerial photographs of far away places. It's even fun to look at your own neighborhood; "Hey, look at this picture of our house! You can see our deck and the car parked in the driveway!"

If you have a DSL internet connection and a decent computer, I urge you to download the free Google Earth program and start exploring. You'll soon get hooked! Here's just a few samples of what you'll see if you explore the city of Chardon.

Chardon Football Field:

St. Mary's Church

Chardon Cemetery:

Chardon Square:

Google Earth also has lots of cool features that you can turn on, like 3D Buildings. If you turn on this feature in the menu and take a look at downtown Cleveland, you'll be amazed to see that nearly all of the buildings are modeled in 3D graphics, allowing you to zoom in and take a close look at them from any angle. Here's a view of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

At first, the folks at Google did all of the work creating these models, but they soon found out that lots of people wanted to make them too so they could model the buildings in their own home town.

I was disappointed to find that there weren't any 3D models completed for the Chardon area, but then I got excited because I figured if I could learn how to do it, I would be the first! So I downloaded Google's free "Building Maker" and SketchUp programs and went to work on the Court House. I think it came out pretty good!

I submitted the model to Google Earth, and after about a week I received a notice that it met all of their requirements and was accepted! So, now Chardon has one 3D building on Google Earth. Check it out sometime! I'd like to make more when I have time, maybe model all of the buildings along the Square.

I'd love to have some help! There are lots of resources on the internet for people interested in learning how to model buildings in Google Earth. Feel free to send me an email if you need some advice!

Chardon's Square And Proud Of It!

2010-06-30T22:43:00.001-04:00

Rachael Masek recently sent me some wonderful pictures that she took of the beautiful hanging planters along Main Street, and a bluegrass concert in progress at the bandstand. This area is officially known as the "Chardon Courthouse Square District" and is listed on the National Register, but most Chardonites simply refer to it as "The Square". Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers, merchants, and support from the city, the Square has become one of the most attractive and vibrant areas in town. Thanks for the pictures Rachel!

Look! It's the Chardon Maple Blimp!

2010-05-24T08:04:00.000-04:00

Chardon Man Builds Giant Igloo (Feb 2010)

2010-05-18T17:01:00.001-04:00

"I don't know, I think this igloo might be here until June or July"

Sorry...I just checked...just a puddle of water and some empty beer cans is all I can see.

Burger Crematorium?

2010-05-18T16:27:00.000-04:00

Make mine "well done" please...

Chardon Oil : )

2010-05-16T19:44:00.003-04:00

Chardon Laundromat

2010-04-28T20:26:00.001-04:00

One of Chardon's classic establishments. It has looked like this for as long as I can remember.
I hope it stays this way forever!

Sky Diver Grounded

2010-04-25T15:22:00.000-04:00

Two girls injured when a safety cage on the Sky Diver ride opened while they were suspended upside down.
Thanks to Bob Rogish for this picture!

Maple Stir

2010-04-24T14:22:00.000-04:00

Wrong Way in reverse

2010-04-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

Setting Up The Paratrooper

2010-04-21T12:43:00.002-04:00

Chardon prepares for Bicentennial

2010-04-16T07:18:00.000-04:00

Mark your calenders for March 26th, 2012. It's Chardon's Bicentennial, and the city is already beginning to make plans. How do you think we should celebrate?

Considering the fact that the world is supposed to end 9 months later, I think we can safely agree to blow the budget on this one! Let's go all out!

Center Perk

2010-04-07T08:33:00.001-04:00

Even the little kids can handle it

2010-04-06T10:37:00.005-04:00

(click image to enlarge and read caption)

A bunch of Melon Heads

2010-04-06T10:07:00.001-04:00

Mentor Road is a popular shortcut that Chardonites often take to get to the Mall. It's a nice route to use if you want to avoid the ugliness of Rt. 44, the inevitable slow moving truck that you can't pass, or the Highway Patrol that nabs you when you do.

It is also a fun way to go if you have children in the car, because it's a great opportunity to give the kids a thrill when you pass Wisner Road and point out, "Hey! That's where the MELON HEADS live! Let's go check it out!" Every kid in the Chardon school system knows about the Melon Heads. This is especially fun to do if you are coming back at night from seeing a scary movie.

I recently saw an article in the Geauga Courier that told about a Paranormal Group in Kirtland that had requested permission to spend a night at the little cemetery on Mentor Road that is about a mile east from the Wisner Road intersection. It is known as "Larned Cemetery" (Google Maps identifies it as "Center Chardon Cemetery"). I've noticed this cemetery. There are several small ones like it that are scattered around the township, but I never knew that it was wrapped up in the Melon Head legend. Supposedly, there are many children's graves in the cemetery...children that were killed by the ghoulish experiments of an evil Doctor Crowe.

The paranormal group promised to conduct a respectful and discreet investigation, but the Chardon Trustees decided to withhold permission. I can understand the reasoning behind this, area residents have had to put up with pesky curiosity seekers in search of Melon Heads for a long time, but it would have been cool to see if the Paranormal Group found anything spooky.

I thought about this article last week when my wife and I turned down Mentor Road to take a shortcut on our way to the Olive Garden in Mentor. We had two of our children with us. I pointed out the little cemetery and told the tale of the numerous children's graves. My wife suggested that they probably were victims of the influenza. We decided to check it out on the way back.

We slowly pulled into the cemetery on our return, despite complaints from our younger daughter who refused to get out of the car. Right away, I was surprised to see that there was more to this cemetery than I realized, with many newer graves hidden over a slope in the back. There was even a fresh grave!

We silently and respectfully walked around the old section of the cemetery. Sadly, many of the older stones were broken or knocked down. Many were also unreadable due to erosion from the elements. There were some very small unusually shaped stones that had no markings at all. I noticed that a large branch from one of the oak trees in the middle of the cemetery had fallen, luckily missing some tombstones and causing even more damage.

We couldn't identify any children's graves, and didn't see any ghosts or Melon Heads, but we did see a very unusual grave:

I can't believe that this tombstone was intentionally placed between two trees, so I am assuming that the trees grew right up through the graves over a period of many many years. This must be a very old grave, judging by the size of the trees. A very unusual sight...we were glad that we stopped to take a look.

If you decide to visit this cemetery, please be respectful and careful not to damage anything...otherwise, you might find yourself wandering around Wisner Road with a big melon head!

Link to the Courier Article:
http://www.chagrinvalleytimes.com/NC/0/1502.html

Haunted Tree

2010-03-30T07:31:00.000-04:00

I see a lot of these around the area, but this one on on Thwing Road just east of Wilson Mills is one of the best. This is a shot from my cellphone camera. I may try to get a better one later.

Chardon Water Tower

2009-03-18T23:11:00.002-04:00

Chardon Savings Bank

2009-03-09T20:08:00.005-04:00

This building, which I still think of as the "Chardon Savings Bank" is the most modern looking building on the Square, and perhaps the ugliest. This was built in the days when beautiful historic buildings were torn down without a second thought and horrific things like this were put in their place. I'm not sure what stood here before, but it had to be better than this.

If you look closely, you can see a slight difference in the color of the bricks and make out the original building which was only one story tall.

For many years during the sixites, a 10 foot tall stainless steel wedge-shaped edifice stood near the sidewalk at the east corner of the building. It had an electronic sign that displayed the time and temperature, which were often incorrect. I can remember days when the sign happily displayed a temperature of 100 degrees during the coldest winter snow storm.

Chardon Savings Bank took pride in being known as "Geauga County's Oldest Bank". It became Bank One in the 80's and then JP Morgan Chase. Who knows what comes next!

Chardon Square

2009-02-19T09:57:00.004-05:00

"Chardon Square" was a power-mod band based in Southern California that attracted a loyal cult following in the 80's. Their sound was post-punk, with 60's overtones. Although they never gained major recognition, the band was successful enough to score opening acts for groups such as "The Ramones" and "The Bangles". Band members consisted of guitarist Perry Tollet, bassist Bill Sass, guitarist Phil Cuzimano, and Doni Costello on drums.

I have no idea what connection they have to Chardon, but there has to be one somewhere...does anyone know?

You can find more about them and even hear some samples here:

http://www.mistersuave.com/2008/01/mod-sounds-chardon-square.html

Ice House on Ferris Ave.

2009-02-13T21:13:00.002-05:00

A collection

2009-02-09T05:43:00.001-05:00

Nearly buried

2009-02-01T15:01:00.003-05:00

Chardon Arabica closed

2009-01-31T08:16:00.006-05:00