CHAPTER FIVE
“ M a y th e
countryside a n d th e g lid in g
va l l e y s tr e a m s c o n te nt me. L o s t to fa m e, le t m e lo v e
countryside My connection to the country is a strong one. My mother and father were born in small Ohio towns – Urbana and Edenton – before coming to Cincinnati. I spent my weekdays in the city and my weekends in the country working on my grandparent’s farm. It was big work that included clearing land, hoeing corn and tomatoes, and harvesting crops. I could drive a tractor long before I could drive a car. When I photograph the country, I do it with a knowing eye, based on a lifetime of experience.
river and
w o o d l a n d .” Virgil, Georgies, II, l. 485
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(opening photograph) September 1991, Dairy farmer, western Hamilton County. (left) September 1991, Porch Detail, Hamilton County dairy farm.
(above) June 1983, Norman Baer, Ripley, Ohio. (right) October 1992, Parlor Grove Farm, Route 8, Hebron, Kentucky.
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(left) June 1983, Judge Dale (right) and fellow pickers, Ripley, Ohio.
(right) September 1978, Sunday afternoon at the General Store, Southeastern Indiana.
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(right) April 1995, Anderson Township’s Five Mile Chapel, built in 1844.
five mile chapel German - Americans from Maryland cultivated grapes and religion in Anderson Township. Their efforts resulted in the wine making community of Sweetwine and in the founding of Five Mile United Brethren Church. In 1844 believers used field stones to build their one room chapel. By 1849 the United Brethrens joined the Temperance Movement thus severing old ties. One year later black rot all but destroyed viniculture in the Ohio Valley. However, the little congregation persevered until 1963. Fifteen years later the building was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
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(far right) September 1983, The guys gather on a park bench along Ohio State Route 125.
(right) October 1992, Packed up ready for market, Valley Orchards, Route 8, Hebron, Kentucky.
(left) October 1984, Candy apples, Brown County Fair, Georgetown, Ohio. (below) Late 1980s, Maplewood Farm, Morrow, Ohio.
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(right) April 1984, Two donkeys in Utopia, Ohio.
(left) May 1989, Ducklings in formation, School House Restaurant, Camp Dennison, Ohio.
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(left) August 1993, Whitetailed deer seen through a field of cosmos near Given and Shawnee Run Road, Indian Hill, Ohio.
(above) Late 1980s, Sycamores border the Little Miami River near Foster, Ohio.
(above) October 1974, Oddfellows Cemetery, State Route 125, Amelia, Ohio. 85
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(right) Summer, Early 1990s, Pastoral scene in western Hamilton County, view from Interstate 74.
(above) September 1983, Horseplay along Route 32, Adams County.
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