Just a Buckeye Nut...

OHIO

Ohio, the Buckeye state, whose name is taken from an Iroquoian word meaning “great river,” was probably first settled by Peleo-Indian peoples, who lived in the area as early as 13,000 BCE. Later, ancestors of Native Americans were known as the Archaic peoples. Sophisticated successive cultures of prehistoic indigenous peoples, such as the Adena, Hopewell and Mississippian, built monumental earthworks as part of their religious and political expression: mounds and walled enclosures, some of which have survived to the present.

During the 18th century, the French set up a system of trading posts to control the fur trade in the region, linked to their settlements in present-day Canada and what they called the Illinois Country along the Mississippi River. And, in 1763, France surrendered its claim to Ohio to Britain. From there, Marietta, founded by General Rufus Putnam and named in honor of Marie Antoinette, became the first permanent settlement in 1788.

But, how about some little known facts about Ohio. Here is some interesting, yet not necessarily important trivia about the state. 

 Buckeye Trivia

Feb 19, 1803. Congress voted to accept Ohio's borders and constitution. However, Congress did not get around to formally ratifying Ohio statehood until 1953.

Jan. 5, 1804. Ohio legislature passed the 1st laws restricting free blacks movement.

Oct. 29, 1815. Daniel Decatur Emmett, the composer of "Dixie," which became the unofficial national anthem of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

March 24, 1832. Mormon founder, martyr Joseph Smith was beaten, tarred and feathered in Ohio.

Dec 3, 1833. Oberlin College in Ohio, the first truly coeducational school of higher learning in the United States, opened its doors.
  
Sept. 23, 1838. Victoria Chaflin Woodhull (d.1927), American presidential candidate (1872), was born into a family of charlatans in Ohio. Woodhull, a militant suffragist, advocated free love and was Wall Street's first female broker after attracting Cornelius Vanderbilt. She was the first woman to address Congress.

1841-1921. Four of the seven presidents hailing from Ohio died while in office. They were William Henry Harrison, the 9th president, who died one month after his inauguration in 1841; the 20th president, James Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881; William McKinley, the 25th president, who was assassinated in 1901; and Warren G.  Harding, who died suddenly in 1923.

1860-1865.  The 23d Ohio, a volunteer regiment during the American Civil War, included two future presidents and an army commander. The volunteer citizen army that fought the Civil War for the North was one of the most remarkable military assemblages in history. The 23d Ohio contained among its commanding and ranking officers more names that would become famous than any other regiment in the Northern armies.

1862.  Mary Jane Patterson (1840-1894) received a degree from Oberlin College, Ohio, becoming the 1st black female college graduate in the US.

Dec 9, 1902.  Margaret Hamilton, character actress, was born in Cleveland, Oh. She became best known as the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz (1939).

1908. William Henry Hoover, an inventive janitor and founder of the Hoover Vacuum Co., produced the Model O, the first commercially successful portable electric vacuum cleaner. The Hoover Historical Center in North Canton, Ohio, was devoted to carpet-cleaning history.


July 6, 1920. The Democrats ended their convention in San Francisco with the selection James Cox of Ohio and running mate Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Cox and FDR were committed internationalists and lost the elections due to the isolationism of the times.

Jan 26, 1925. Paul Newman, actor (Hud, Hombre, Hustler, Cool Hand Luke), was born in Cleveland.

Oct. 12, 1933. Bank robber John Dillinger escaped from a jail in Allen County, Ohio, with the help of his gang, who killed the sheriff, Jess Sarber.

Oct. 22, 1934. Bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd was shot to death by federal agents at a farm in East Liverpool, Ohio.
    
Nov. 12, 1934. Charles Manson, [No Name Maddox], mass murderer, was born in Cincinnati, Oh.

August 3, 1940. Martin Sheen, actor, was born as Ramon Estevez in Dayton, Ohio.

March 21, 1952. The Moondog Coronation Ball was held at the Cleveland Arena. It was promoted by Alan Freed, who is credited with coining the term "rock and roll" at WJW radio, and was later cited as the 1st rock concert. The only band to perform (one song) was one led by Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams, before fire marshals closed the show.

May 12, 1995. Larry Wayne Harris was arrested in Lancaster for possession of bubonic plague bacteria. A search of his home found certificates identifying him as a member of the Aryan Nations Church.

Dec 2, 2003. Authorities in Ohio announced that they had linked 12 shootings along a five-mile stretch of interstate around Columbus, including one that killed a woman and another that broke a window at an elementary school. A suspect was arrested the following March. Charles A. McCoy Jr., later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and 10 other charges, and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. (27 years, can you believe that?)

Sept.1, 2005. It was reported that 13% (64 of 490) of the female students at Timken Senior High School in, Canton, Ohio are pregnant. One girl, eight months pregnant, said she believes the school's abstinence-based sex education program isn't enough. (Pretty evident most would say.)

Beautiful Ohio
Written by Ballard MacDonald
special lyrics by Wilbert B. McBride
Composed by Mary Earl

I sailed away;
Wandered afar;
Crossed the mighty restless sea;
Looked for where I ought to be.
Cities so grand, mountains above,
Led to this land I love.

Chorus

Beautiful Ohio, where the golden grain
Dwarf the lovely flowers in the summer rain.
Cities rising high, silhouette the sky.
Freedom is supreme in this majestic land;
Mighty factories seem to hum in tune, so grand.
Beautiful Ohio, thy wonders are in view,
Land where my dreams all come true!

Secondhand Smoke and Ohio: Tobacco and Marijuana

 According to Anderson's Revised Code of Ohio, possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana is a citable offense only, with a fine of $100. No criminal record is created by such citation. For all drug convictions, the offender's driver's license is also suspended for a period of 6 months - 5 years; however, this does not apply to minor misdemeanor violations for marijuana possession.

Under 3794.01 definition, (A) "Smoking means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or other lighted smoking device for burning tobacco or any other plant. Smoking does not include the burning of incense in a religious ceremony."

 Some Fictional Fun

Let me create a fictional setting and circumstance. Say, Bobbie Stoner enters his Ohio private club, The Free Birds of America, that is currently not enforcing the smoking ban. He sits down, orders a drink, and lights up a marijuana joint. The manager, Tom Straight, observes the obvious violation of the law; however, he also observes several of his best patrons smoking cigarettes illegally in his establishment. What does he do? Does he ask Bobbie to leave, call law enforcement officers, or call the toll-free Ohio smoking ban enforcement number – 1-866-559-OHIO (6446)?

Is Tom putting himself and his business at risk for a lawsuit any way he handles this situation? After all, Tom is breaking the law himself by allowing SHS, secondhand smoke, to permeate the air. Bobbie, if arrested, could pay his fine of $100 and report the club for violation of the smoking ban. Shouldn't noncompliance, once already practiced, encourage Tom to let Bobbie's second offense slide? Who is really at fault in this situation? Under 3794.01 (A) smoking of any kind of plant is treated the same. If Tom ignores the marijuana, isn't he setting himself up for even more criminal behavior?

Silly, you say? The International Agency for Research on Cancer (an agency of the World Health Organization) determined that second-hand smoke causes cancer. The IARC reports states, "And we know that marijuana and cigarette smoke contain as many as 50 of the same cancer causing substances. For these reasons, experts believe that exposure to second-hand marijuana smoke is at least as harmful as second-hand tobacco smoke." So, the converse is true -- secondhand cigarette smoke is as harmful as second-hand tobacco smoke (without the possible contact buzz).

The Points Being:

I am NOT an advocate of smoking marijuana. The points are (1) The law is the law and must be obeyed by all of those whom it effects, and (2) Secondhand smoke is secondhand smoke, no matter whether the smoked plant is tobacco or marijuana.That is why the penalties for smoking in public in Ohio are relatively the same, whether a person is caught smoking tobacco or marijuana. 

How many private clubs condoning smoking during the ban are willing to stay open only for customers who smoke and ban those who don't smoke by the rules of club entry? None. That is because Federal and State laws make it illegal to discriminate in such a manner. The issue is about MONEY. Owners of clubs that are violating the law want to make their money and smoke it too.

I used to laugh aloud when using the entrance to Southern Ohio Medical Center meant walking by the smoking facility set aside for the public and patients. There sat visitors and patients with IV's wafting clouds of smoke upon themselves and everyone else who entered the hospital. This went on for years at a health facility. The smoking area was to the left as you entered the hospital. I joked that the bar for alcoholics should be constructed on the right beside the same main entry. Equality for addictions.


Granted, taking away someone's habitual behaviors is difficult and not without extreme sacrifice for those who lose privilege. Still, I applaud those who are taking the opportunity to use the smoking ban as impetus for ceasing their habit. They are truly caring citizens, putting other people's safety ahead of their own interests. These folks are modern-day heroes, not afraid of facing suffering to improve themselves and to take care of their fellow man.

Cigarette Alternatives


Humans have been ingesting nicotine for thousands of years. Some of the new products are smokeless. There are snus -- little pouches of tobacco that users put in their cheeks -- and lozenges. There are also new variations on ancient ways to smoke. Hookahs, for example, are an ongoing trend with teenagers and young adults.

1. Josephine Marcotty reported on snus, "The newest tobacco products to arrive in the United States are snus, often described as spitless tobacco. Snus alarm health advocates because the tobacco companies market them as a replacement for cigarettes in places where people can't smoke." Camel SNUS, which are now being test marketed in a few U.S. cities, come with the tag line "pleasure for whenever." (Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune, October 25 2007) At least, snus create no secondhand smoke.

Research shows that they have fewer carcinogens than other sorts of tobacco products but just as much nicotine, Hatsukami said. They could help people quit smoking or it could just keep smokers addicted.

2. And ABC News (June 24 2006) reported, "There's a whole new way for smokers to get a fix -- a lemon-flavored drink laced with nicotine." Nic Time, the company that makes Nic Lite, says its meant to tide over smokers when they can't light up on a plane or a bar.

But critics say it could be one more way for young people to get hooked. An 8-ounce bottle contains the same amount of nicotine as two cigarettes. Nic Lite was first available at Los Angeles International Airport for smokers who get fidgety on flights. Now, some convenience stores also stock it.

The company's Web site says it would also like to offer Nic Lite in bars, since more and more of them are smoke free. (abcnews.go.com)

  

Bottle of NIC