Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio: All about the Buckeye State

TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2010

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio. This is my first visit to Cleveland and to the great state of Ohio. Ohio is known as the Buckeye State. A buckeye is a type of nut and the state has many buckeye trees. The nickname is forever linked to the 1840 presidential election campaign of William Henry Harrison. Harrison was a Virginia-born Ohioan. His opponents dubbed him "the log cabin candidate." In response, Harrison's supporters designed his campaign emblem as a log cabin made of buckeye timbers with a string of buckeyes adorning its walls. Harrison's campaigners also walked with buckeye canes in parades. By the way, William Henry Harrison won the election and became the 9th president of the United States.


I attended a game at Progressive Field tonight between the Blue Jays and Cleveland. Unfortunately, the Jays were defeated by a score of 5-4. I was quite impressed by the ballpark. Despite the beautiful ballpark, attendance was low. Cleveland's team has been struggling this year. They are in last place in the American League Central Division and have had injuries to key players such as Grady Sizemore. They seem to be headed in the right direction as they have won 3 games straight. We spotted a few Jays fans in the stands.

We are going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow. There is a special exhibit on Motown. I'm really looking forward to it.

Note to a reader:

In 1863, John D. Rockefeller started a Cleveland, Ohio oil refining firm which was incorporated as the Standard Oil Company in 1870 I just had to look it up. It's the library researcher in me.

- Joanne