Plain City Advocate newstory about 'Ohio Legends' appearance in Marysville!

http://plaincity-advocate.com/features/lifestyle/5387/wilson-to-be-guest-speaker-at-genealogical-society

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Wow! Check THIS out!

Unsigned, "gently used" copies of  'Ohio Legends' are selling for DOUBLE on the internet! Dang!

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?cm_sp=plpafe-_-all-_-soft&an=jeff+wilson&bi=s&ds=5&n=100121503&sortby=17&tn=ohio+legends

  Order your brand spanking new autographed copy today at half the cost at:
https://sites.google.com/site/ohiolegendsbooks/


https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ohio+legends+jeff+wilson

Why I wrote these little books....

  Howdy!

  ARE THERE ANY BUCKEYES HERE? Show me your hands!

  Do you know where the term ‘Buckeye’ comes from? I was always told Ohio was the ‘Buckeye State’ because of all the Buckeye trees we have here in Ohio. Well, that is only partially right. Did you know that the Indians who once occupied Ohio made decoys from deer skins and used the big glossy brown nut from Buckeye trees for the buck’s eyes?

  My name is Jeff Wilson; I have written and illustrated a couple of little books called ‘Ohio Legends’. ‘Ohio Legends’ can be described as a look at Ohio history through people, places and things. Some of the people included in the books are well known, and others are not. But they all contribute something to a work filled with strange but true Ohio oddities and local legends.

             

  A few years ago when I started this project, my goal was to preserve and showcase some of the lesser known local events and players in our remarkable and sometimes downright strange past. The basic idea was that ‘Ohio Legends’ books would introduce ‘reluctant readers’, (kids and young adults) to Ohio’s local history.

  The concept I envisioned for the project featured a large cartoon panel, with limited, but concise copy that encouraged the reader to discover their own local past.

  I purposely limited the stories to a single page, tried to focus on the odd and unusual material, hoping to generate interest in local history. I guessed there would be about 60 pages in all, and began to share individual pages on Facebook to discover what kinds of stories people want to see.

  To my surprise, people started to send me their own Buckeye trivia and interesting history and today there are more than 300 pages in two ‘Ohio Legends’ books and still more coming in every day.  Even more unexpectedly, some stories came from the actual relatives of these remarkable people.

  First off, I do not consider myself a historian, and my books of Ohio’s unique and diverse heritage is limited to what I have been able to discover on my own. I am at best, a student, learning as I go along, and adding more stories to my books every day.  Most stories come to me from my readers, folks like you, and I have learned that everyone has at least one good story about Ohio.

  My expertise is in the graphic arts.  My wife Patti and I have been self-employed commercial artists in the Dayton area for over 30 years, and my cartoons have appeared in some newspapers and magazines.  These little books have been a great deal of fun for me personally, and I have met many new friends along the way. Some folks tell me they like the drawings, but most say the books are ‘great for the bathroom’.

   I came to this project mostly because of my daughter Tina.  One Sunday when she was a child, I suggested that we go for a family road trip to downtown Dayton and visit the Wright Cycle Shop and the Wright homestead.

  “You mean Greenfield Village?” She asked. I went on to explain to her that long ago Henry Ford had bought the Wright’s buildings and moved them brick by brick to Detroit, Michigan to be the centerpiece of his Ford Museum. I reminded her that the Wrights really were from Dayton and that the buildings were slated to be torn down anyway, so he kind of “saved” them. Years later, they built replicas on the very spot where the buildings had once stood.

  “Why did we let Ford steal them?” She asked. 

  As with most of Tina’s questions in those days, I didn’t have a decent answer. But it got me thinking, that history is too important to be sold off to the highest bidder. Our local history is something to be held in trust, for our children, and their children. People need roots, they need a sense of belonging, of community, a reminder of the past, that today is only kept alive by educators, and our Historical Societies. And, folks like you, who donate your time, and share the achievements of our past.

  This is what is left of the Wrights homestead at 7 Hawthorn St, in Dayton. A replica built years later, is just a portion of the Wright’s front porch.  A plaque installed at the site says they may complete the building soon.

  I have posted some stories on this blog to focus on these people who lived and worked in Ohio, and contributed so many innovations, and advances that we take for granted in our daily life. They were the visionaries, inventors, creators, and eternal optimists who didn’t believe Ohio was just a ‘fly over state’.  They were never told by some modern cynic that Ohio was part of the ‘rust belt’.

  Let me introduce you to some of these folks you already know….

   

  Wilbur Wright in 1910 said:

          “If I were giving a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio.”

Colonel Dean Hess

Thanks to Ohio Legends contributor and friend Jason Hedrick.

Rutherford B. Hayes...Our Disappearing History

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   In 1876, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes ran for President against Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden who won the popular vote, but with 20 Electoral College votes in dispute after Election Day, the Congress enacted the “Compromise of 1877.”

 The "Compromise of 1877" stipulated that Republicans would withdraw federal troops from the South, thus ending Reconstruction, and Democrats in return would agree to sending the disputed votes to Hayes, making him the nation’s 19^th president. Four years later, Hayes -- who had pledged to serve just one term, retired from politics.

Review of the original first edition of Ohio Legends..(it took me a while to complete the second edition!)

 ....Here is an old review of 'Ohio Legends' (The First Edition)

Review: Ohio Legends by Jeff Wilson

By Randy McNutt

December 10, 2012

Overview

Jeff Wilson’s Ohio Legends is a small but fascinating look at Ohio history through people, places, and things. In his words, it contains “strange but true Ohio oddities, trivia, and people.” Some of the people included in the book are well known and others are not. But they all contribute something fascinating to a book that is highly entertaining, even to a writer of Ohio books.

Audience/Market

Wilson’s audience would be of all ages. Adults would enjoy it because it offers things to ponder and discuss—such as the bizarre “Loveland Frog” incident that began in 1955 and the “Lake Erie Mystery Tsunami of 1882 and 1942.” These tales, coupled with ones about famous people such as William McKinley and Annie Oakley, provide light (and good) reading for anyone who enjoys tales of the Buckeye State. If priced right, the small book could be marketed to gift shops in county and state parks, restaurants, gift shops in small towns and big cities, and bookstores all over the state. The book also would make a good gift for children as well as adults. As I read the brief stories, I immediately thought of how it fit into the lobby sales scheme at Bob Evans restaurants, a chain based in Rio Grande, Ohio.

Importance/Uniqueness

The strong point of Ohio Legends is its artwork. The reader could get a good idea of how Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz, looked like in character, as well as how the Marblehead Lighthouse on Marblehead Peninsula looks today. Most entries in the book have their own art. Because of this, the book is attractive and appealing. Although such pictures have been used in books in the past, this book does it with original and numerous drawings. The importance of Ohio Legends is that it pays tribute to Buckeye history while smiling all the while.

Essentials

I believe Jeff Wilson has assembled a worthy cast of characters, places, and things. It is the kind of book that could be the first of two or more such books, if his first effort sells sufficiently. There are no rules governing the people and places that should be included. This is up to the author, and he has chosen well, blending the famous, the infamous, and the obscure.

Errors

I can’t find any noticeable errors and omissions.

Summary

I had a good time reading the author’s copy of Ohio Legends, and I believe readers would like the book too.

--Randy McNutt

James Thurber and 'Muggs', the dog that bit people..

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  Check out the link for Thurber's "The Dog That bit people" from his collection of short stories "My Life and Hard Times". Patti and I used to read it aloud to our kids, it is very funny.

                               https://www.shortstories.co.in/the-dog-that-bit-people/


                           Here is a picture of the real 'Muggs' the Airdale Thurber owned!