You dig up, Paul, the most amazing things. I lived in and around Cincinnati from my mid-20s to mid-30s, about half of that time in a suburb very near Norwood, the other half in Northern Kentucky, which is separated from downtown Cincinnati by the Ohio River. I went to hundreds of games at Riverfront Stadium. My in-laws still live in the area. I know pretty well all the places in your story. And I have never heard anything about the 1937 flood affecting Cincinnati; it is a disaster I associate with Johnstown, PA, or did until right now at any rate. Thanks for bringing this history to life.
Thanks very much, Brent! After enough years go by, I'd say about 90% of history effectively becomes "new" material for most people--that's what I'm banking on with this publication, at any rate. I had never heard of this disaster at all until I found a reference to the photograph, and this is (obviously) the kind of stuff I'm interested in. The idea of what became Riverfront actually began in some post-flood master planning the city. They realized that in addition to better flood control systems, they had to reconsider what structures could tolerably be placed next to the river. Instead of businesses and small industry, how about a giant concrete spaceship?
Now that's a story I had never heard anything about. I wonder if young Gene Schott was a relation to a future owner of the Reds, Marge Schott? If so, I'm sure you'll enlighten us in the next installment, Paul.
Perfect comment conversation, Bill. From what I could tell, Gene Schott got his last name from his step-father, the firefighter. So no blood relation to Marge for Gene. However, it seems possible that Marge and the father were distantly related. The Schotts were a big thing in Cincinnati--I actually ran into some pre-WWII ads for the Schott car dealership that Marge Schott would later inherit.
You dig up, Paul, the most amazing things. I lived in and around Cincinnati from my mid-20s to mid-30s, about half of that time in a suburb very near Norwood, the other half in Northern Kentucky, which is separated from downtown Cincinnati by the Ohio River. I went to hundreds of games at Riverfront Stadium. My in-laws still live in the area. I know pretty well all the places in your story. And I have never heard anything about the 1937 flood affecting Cincinnati; it is a disaster I associate with Johnstown, PA, or did until right now at any rate. Thanks for bringing this history to life.
Thanks very much, Brent! After enough years go by, I'd say about 90% of history effectively becomes "new" material for most people--that's what I'm banking on with this publication, at any rate. I had never heard of this disaster at all until I found a reference to the photograph, and this is (obviously) the kind of stuff I'm interested in. The idea of what became Riverfront actually began in some post-flood master planning the city. They realized that in addition to better flood control systems, they had to reconsider what structures could tolerably be placed next to the river. Instead of businesses and small industry, how about a giant concrete spaceship?
Amazing read! Thank you for the in depth research and great story telling!
Now that's a story I had never heard anything about. I wonder if young Gene Schott was a relation to a future owner of the Reds, Marge Schott? If so, I'm sure you'll enlighten us in the next installment, Paul.
Perfect comment conversation, Bill. From what I could tell, Gene Schott got his last name from his step-father, the firefighter. So no blood relation to Marge for Gene. However, it seems possible that Marge and the father were distantly related. The Schotts were a big thing in Cincinnati--I actually ran into some pre-WWII ads for the Schott car dealership that Marge Schott would later inherit.
BTW - getting back to you on Philly soda/pop issue.. wife says Philadelphia never called it ‘pop’… always ‘soda’.
I think we can all agree that it should never be (broadly) called "coke."
Love the history. Interesting facts you’d typically never hear about.