Alexandra477

Columbus Landmarks Halloween Lantern Walking Tour

I love ghost stories. And history. And (obvi) Columbus. While embarking on the Halloween Lantern Walking Tour hosted by Columbus Landmarks on Tuesday night, I was unduly pumped.

“This is not just about ghost stories,” said our tour guide and author/historian/teacher/ghost whisperer Doreen Uhas-Sauer. “This is a social history of Town Street.”

Doreen has given historic tours of Columbus for the past 35 years. She knows everything. Our all-ages group of about 30 met at the Topiary Park. Armed with lanterns and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, we walked half a block east and more than a century back in time, when the Town-Franklin area was the city’s first real suburb.

Our first stop was The Heritage Museum at the headquarters of Kappa Kappa Gamma. We entered the grand Italianate mansion and saw a bunch of vintage key-shaped pins framed on the wall.

I have one of those keys.

I was a member of Kappa at Washington and Lee. Naturally, this made me feel twice as likely to see a ghost than anyone else on the tour. We wandered through the parlor into an ornate sitting room with dramatic Victorian furnishings and an 1887 Weber piano. Kappa’s archivist and curator Kylie Smith told colorful tales about the spirits who loom at the property. The first was David Gray.

I saw him in concert.

Ok, it was a different David Gray. BUT STILL. I was practically guaranteed to see a ghost at this point. We learned about the art of bird taxidermy, which young women practiced back then instead of pinning cat photos on Pinterest or Instagramming their meatloaf. They also created wreaths out of their hair. Kind of makes my no-sew fleece blankets seem lame.

We paused to admire a portrait of Celinda Hatton, who taught art at Columbus School for Girls. She died in the home’s morning room. Her favorite color was pink, and many have reported visions of a “Pink Lady” floating through the hallways.

I went to CSG! The coincidences, however far-fetched, were becoming overwhelming. Bring it on, Pinkie. 

Next at the Kelton House, we learned of haunted dolls and tragic accidents. We tiptoed through the alley past a haunted house to the Columbus Performing Arts Center (formerly Players Theatre), where Doreen told us about mischievous 1902 Halloween rituals involving stolen corn and door-stopping cabbage.

I have dolls. I eat corn. This is crazy. Show me the ghost!

Alas, I didn’t see any apparitions, but I went home very informed and enjoyably spooked. If you’d like to try engaging with the afterlife, Columbus Landmarks still has a few ghost tours between now and November 2.

 

Ohio History Center’s $10 Time Machine

They say in order to truly observe something, you must use as many of your senses as possible. When entering the full-size Lustron home inside of the Ohio History Center, I felt like Marty McFly reemerging in the 1955 version of Hill Valley. I listened to the vintage TV set barking in the living room and ran my fingers along the smooth steel walls, where pictures were hung with magnets (not nails). I opened cupboards and sat down at the dinner table. I held a brush from the master bedroom vanity table and played with toys in the children’s room. Other than the iPhone in my pocket, there were no indicators of 2013. Ten dollars (nine for AAA members) really isn’t much to pay for a chance to go back in time.

The Lustron installation is part of 1950’s: Building the American Dream, which explores 50’s life as told through a Central Ohio family. In addition to offering the thrill of time travel, the exhibit uncovers the fascinating era of prefabricated porcelain-enameled steel homes.

During the post-World War II housing boom, the Columbus-based Lustron Corporation was expected to be the world’s biggest churner outer of homes-in-a-box. The million-square-foot production plant was located on East 5th Avenue near the airport. With six miles of conveyor belts, it used more electricity than the whole city. Before Lustron, the site manufactured World War II fighter planes for the Navy. Now it’s a shipping hub for DSW.

More than 20,000 orders for Lustron homes were placed, but only 2,500 were built before the company declared bankruptcy in 1950. The 2002 documentary film Lustron: The House America’s Been Waiting For explores Lustron’s passionate but brief dance with success. It’s estimated that 1,500 Lustron homes still survive in the United States, 200 of which are in Ohio. 

The Ohio History Center will host 1950’s Family Weekends with special hands-on activities and programs related to the exhibit on September 28-29, October 26-27, November 23-24, and December 28-29. Get your flux capacitors ready.

The State Library: A Theme Park of History from Ohio and Beyond

 

 

                          Until recently, I didn’t believe it was possible to hold a letter that George Washington wrote in 1788. Or flip through a 15^th-century medieval manuscript. I definitely didn’t think I could do so less than a mile from home. But thanks to a friend, I discovered an endless world of history and possibility at the State Library of Ohio.

 

 

 

The State Library was founded in Columbus in 1817 and provides a dizzying amount of free services for Ohio residents, libraries, and state employees. Located in the historic Jeffrey Manufacturing Building in Italian Village, it offers a statewide resource sharing service to more than 500 libraries. Its catalog contains more than 800,000 items.

“We can impact just about everyone in Ohio,” said Marsha McDevitt-Stredney, the State Library’s Director of Marketing and Communications.

 

 

 

 

                    The State Library is the only regional federal repository in Ohio. You can access federal government information for free, including congressional records, executive branch documents, census statistics, house and senate journals, topographical maps, atlases, and U.S. patents. On the state level, you can explore rosters of Ohio soldiers from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I; Laws of Ohio from 1803; agricultural reports (including history of Ohio State Fairs); Ohio Supreme Court decisions; and election statistics.

 

 

 

 

                         You can also get suggestions from librarians about what to read; access digital audiobooks, eBooks, music, and video; request help with genealogy projects; find jobs and get assistance applying for them; take practice tests and learn workplace skills; foster early childhood literacy; encourage other Ohioans to read; support the works of Ohio writers, artists, and musicians at the Ohioana Library; obtain recorded books, magazines, and playback equipment for blind, visually impaired, physically handicapped, and reading disabled Ohio residents; access a collection of materials related to deafness and American Sign Language; and research thousands of electronic resources and databases.

This place is cool.

 

                             As I explored the 98,000 square feet of history heaven, I found highway maps from 1919, vintage atlases, hundred-year-old New York Times microfiche, and 1916 U.S. soil samples. I also saw old FEMA flood insurance maps and an 1896 U.S. Army guide to drill regulations for light artillery.

 

 

 

 

 

Without question, one of the highlights is the Rare Book Room. It’s lovingly tended by Shannon Kupfer, who’ll be glad to give you a tour if you make an appointment. Among its 7,000 items are the aforementioned Washington letter and medieval manuscript, the complete works of Martin Luther circa 1539 (in German), and the exquisitely illustrated Birds of America collection.  

 

 

 

 

 

     “So many people don’t know that we even have a State Library,” said Beverly Cain, State Librarian of Ohio. “It's an incredible treasure trove.” 

 

 

 

 

                    The State Library is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and parking is free. New expanded online resources will be announced on July 1. Sign up for a free library card here. 

 

 

 

 

                         See you in the stacks.

Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer

 

 

 

 

Elvis Presley will probably forever be considered the King of Rock and Roll. I mean, the man has almost 99,000 Twitter followers, and he passed away 29 years before Twitter began. An estimated 85,000 people impersonate him. But after learning about the free Elvis photography exhibit at Capital University’s Schumacher Gallery, I was skeptical. Rhinestone-studded visions of fist pumps and girdled velvet filled my head. Haven’t we seen all of Elvis there is to see? I headed to Bexley anyway, and was treated to a raw glimpse of the man before the pelvis.

Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer contains 56 photographs (most of them 36x48 pigment prints) that were taken during one week in 1956. Wertheimer was a  26-year-old freelance photographer from Brooklyn who had never heard of Elvis, and Elvis could still sit alone at a drugstore counter without getting mobbed. The black-and-white images were shot in close range, and rarely used flash. As evocative as the photos were the anecdotes pinned alongside them.

“I guess he felt that someone should be photographing him because one of these days he was going to be famous,” Wertheimer said. “People asked me later on, ‘What was so different about Elvis?’ I didn’t know at the time, but I would soon understand that first of all, he made the girls cry and second, he permitted closeness.”

 

 

 

 

 

Elvis was a hopeless flirt and a wicked dazzler — but he was talented and fearless. This show made me realize that, in spite of all the executives ordering him how to be a star, he defied them and became an icon. 

Elvis at 21 was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service with support from The History Channel. It debuted at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles on January 8, 2010 (Elvis’ 75^th birthday) and has been touring throughout the country. The exhibit will be on display at Schumacher Gallery until April 27. 

10 Haunted Places in Ohio.

Ten years ago this month, I wrote a story for Discover Ohio Magazine about 10 haunted places in Ohio. These are the sites I profiled. Have fun, ghost hunters.

Twin City Opera House (McConnelsville)
The stage floor of the Twin City Opera House (formerly known as The McConnelsville Opera House) used to have trap doors that led to an underground dressing room, allowing performers to leave the building unseen. Its tunnels linked to other places in the village, and were said to have helped conceal slaves who fled the South during the Civil War. They say one of the building’s ghosts is the spirit of Everitt Miller, who ushered there for more than 30 years. Known for his crisp white suits, he still apparently hovers over the aisles of his beloved hall. Dozens of people have reported seeing the “man in white.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Courtesy of Lost & Found Ohio.

Lafayette Hotel (Marietta)
Another spirit that allegedly still likes to stick around is that of S. Durward Hoag, former owner of the Lafayette Hotel. Overlooking the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers, the hotel is said to have a “phantom elevator” that ascends and descends on its own, a possessed light bulb in the Gun Room restaurant, and coffee cups with a mind of their own. Several employees admitted having paranormal experiences on the third floor.

 

 

 

 

 
Courtesy of Hidden Marietta.

Fulton County Historical Museum (Wauseon)
The Fulton County Historical Musuem was both a high school and hospital back in the day, and psychics like contacting its young ghost “Little Johnny White.” A past curator said that Johnny once removed all of the Christmas tree ornaments and lined them up on the floor, one by one. Several people who grew up in the area claimed to see the spirit of an elderly woman clad in Victorian garb glaring at them from an upstairs window. Even though the building doesn’t allow smoking or display fresh flowers, some visitors have reported pungent smells of fresh bouquets and pipe tobacco.

 

 

 

 

 
Courtesy of Fulton County Historical Museum.

Wilson Hall, Ohio University (Athens)
Athens has been called the most haunted place in Ohio. Its surrounding hills are peppered with family cemeteries, including Simms, Hanning, Cuckler, Higgins, and Zion, which are said to form a pentagon. According to pagan beliefs, a pentagon offers a protective force, the center of which is exempt from any paranormal activity. Wilson Hall in Ohio University’s West Green is supposedly the center of the pentagon.

 

 

 

 

Courtesy of Ohio University.

Hammel House Inn (Waynesville)
Built atop a prehistoric Indian burial ground, Waynesville is “The Antiques Capital of the Midwest” and host of the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival. But the Hammel House Inn was more than just a friendly stagecoach stop. As legend has it, the innkeeper killed a young traveling salesman in 1823 while he slept and stole gold coins from his saddlebag. The victim’s body is believed to be buried on site, and some guests have claimed to see a wispy white figure lurking on the stairway, flicking the basement storeroom lights.

 

 

 

 
Courtesy of Museum at the Friends Home.


Memorial Hall (Dayton)
Memorial Hall is a Civil War monument that once housed the Dayton Philharmonic. More than 50 years ago,  a stagehand fell into the orchestra pit and died. According to reports, he’s still lingering and has been linked to tales of cold bursts of air, flushing toilets, errant spotlights, and flickering stage lights.

 

 

 

 
Courtesy of route40.net.

Squire’s Castle (Cleveland)
A red light allegedly shines at Squire’s Castle in the North Chagrin Reservation. This mini castle was built by oil pioneer Feargus B. Squire at the turn of the 20^th century. As the story goes, Squire’s wife developed a nasty bout of insomnia. One night during a bout of sleeplessness, she suffered a fatal fall on her way to the basement library. Even though the basement has been filled in, visitors have claimed to see the spirit of Squire’s wife gliding through the castle with a scarlet lantern.

 

 

 

 

 
Courtesy of sunsets_for_you via Creative Commons.

Edison Birthplace Museum (Milan)
Built in 1841, the Edison Birthplace Museum has caused a few spine shivers for its unexplainable, unidentifiable noises. Thomas Edison’s father Samuel supposedly believed in ghosts and held a few séances there. Throughout the years, people have claimed to sense paranormal activity and hear spooky noises in the house.

 

 

 

 

 
Courtesy of Chris Light via Creative Commons.

Thurber House (Columbus)
Eerie noises weren’t considered strange at the Thurber House, where James Thurber grew up. Sounds of empty chairs scraping across the floor, books falling off shelves, and footsteps running up stairs were common occurrences. In 1912, Thurber reportedly saw the ghost of a previous male tenant who, upon learning of his wife’s infidelity, ran up the stairs and shot himself. Several families later moved out of the house to escape the apparition, but Thurber immortalized his encounter in The Night the Ghost Got In.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Brent Turner, courtesy of Thurber House.

Starstruck at Green Lawn Cemetery.

I used to be afraid of cemeteries. Growing up, I abided the Honorary Kid Code by holding my breath every time I passed one. Then someone suggested that I tour Green Lawn Cemetery. It took me five months to warm up to the idea.

On Thursday, I headed west on Greenlawn Avenue through the grand cemetery gates and landed in a world of legends and splendor that instantly struck me to the core. I met my tour guide Sandi Latimer, who has volunteered at Green Lawn for the past decade, and we set off in her car to meander the enchanted forest.

“This is beautiful. It’s just so beautiful,” I kept muttering.

Sandi nodded at me knowingly. She’s uncannily passionate about Ohio history, and about the history of everything in general. Like Green Lawn’s lioness, she unlocked the mystical secrets of all 360 of its acres, and meticulously answered my questions. All 97 of them. She is, quite simply, the perfect tour guide.

Founded in 1848, Green Lawn is Ohio’s second largest cemetery. It’s laid out like a Victorian rural cemetery, with 3,000 trees (including four state champions) and endless rolling hills. More than 200 species of birds have been sighted there, making it a hot birding destination. Basically, Green Lawn is a big, beautiful park. It has joggers and dog walkers, and it even recently hosted an eight-year-old’s birthday celebration.

“It’s like all of these amazing people from history are here together, having a big party,” I blurted.

Now, I can’t tell you why I said that. People buried in a cemetery having a party? I was so unhinged by the overall sense of majesty and tranquility that it just came out. And that’s when I started to get star struck. Because among Green Lawn’s 151,000 inhabitants are some very notable people. Thurber. Neil. Sullivant. Rickenbacker. Dennison. Lazarus. Hubbard.

“Oh my God, is that Lincoln Goodale?” I shrieked as I jumped out of Sandi’s (still moving) car.

“Yes, it is,” she smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

I sprinted to Dr. Goodale’s grave like it was going somewhere. Oh, the million times I would thank him for giving us the best park in the world. We ventured forth to the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II areas. We stopped by the oldest grave, belonging to Dr. Benjamin Gard, who died of cholera in 1849 after treating cholera patients at the Ohio Penitentiary. We visited the popular toy-adorned gravesite of George Blount, who died in 1873 at the age of five, after sliding down the banister and crashing into his family’s potbellied stove. We marveled at the Tiffany stained glass windows and mosaic murals inside of Huntington Chapel, which was built in 1902. I saw the grave of a man who rode with Wyatt Earp’s posse in the 1880’s, and of the woman who co-founded my alma mater in 1898. I learned that several relatives of prominent people are buried at Green Lawn, like George Armstrong Custer’s half-brother, Harvey Firestone’s cousin, George W. Bush’s great grandfather, J.C. Penney’s brother, and Woodrow Wilson’s grandparents. Above all else, I discovered that cemeteries can be resoundingly full of life.

Green Lawn Cemetery is open seven days a week, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. April through October, and 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. November through March. It hosts tours, First Saturday programs, and monthly bird walks, and has ongoing volunteer opportunities.

  

"100 Years of Art" at Riffe Gallery.

Some of us are visual people. We must see things in order to comprehend them. When beholding 100 Years of Art: Celebrating Columbus’ Legacy at the Riffe Gallery, one thing is quite clear: Our city is an evolving creative force. This free exhibit is presented by the Ohio Arts Council in honor of the Columbus Bicentennial and celebrates art that shaped our heritage. It features more than 60 pieces by artists including George Bellows, Emerson Burkhart, Roy Lichtenstein, Elijah Pierce, and James Thurber. Melissa Wolfe from the Columbus Museum of Art, who curated this diverse tribute, credits our unique artistic personality to the “remarkably easy and dynamic exchange” among our communities. We indeed offer a rare blend of global context, Midwestern accessibility, and local fervor — and it couldn’t be more visually stunning. 100 Years of Art is on display through April 15. Free group tours are available by making a reservation. Click here for more photos.

               

"RACE" Exhibit at COSI.

“Race is a recent human invention,” is the first thing you read when entering the new RACE: Are We So Different? exhibit at COSI. Developed by the American Anthropological Association, this fearlessly insightful project is the first national exhibition to present issues of race from cultural, historical, and scientific perspectives.

The concept of race is only a few hundred years old. It has been used to separate us, establish ideas of superiority and inferiority, and justify mistreatment. But all of us share common ancestry. “All skin colors, whether light or dark, are due not to race but to adaptation for life under the sun,” said biological anthropologist Alan Goodman. According to information presented at RACE, the separate physical traits used to differentiate one race from another aren’t linked to each other or to any other aspect of human variation.

RACE explores discrimination and uncovers harrowing statistics related to healthcare, higher education, financial security, and mortgage lending. In one interactive display about ethnic dialects, guests listen to recorded voices and try to match them with corresponding photos. I got them all wrong. Visitors are also invited to share stories about an experience they’ve had with race. Here’s what a few children contributed:

“I am not perfect, I am not whole…I am made of different parts, just like you.”

“I am Ecuadorian-American. I’m awesome!”

“I am a good friend to people! And I am funny.” 

“People always think I’m Asian due to my eyes. I am really Scottish and German. I do not like labeling, no one should.”

“I am me.”

“Some people in my class are racist because that’s what they learn at home. It seems wrong and makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“I want to be exposed to more races, but it feels like I’m not allowed.”

And here’s what a couple of adults wrote:

“My daughter is bi-racial. I am asked all the time (especially at her doctor’s office) whether I am her mother. They don’t ask all parents this question. Her friends at school ask if I am really her mother. Even though we don’t look alike, she is my perfect mini-me! And I know that she’s mine.”

“I am a straight white woman, and I try to use the privileges I have to work to end racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, and homophobia. As a teacher and mother, I work to make our world as just as our ideals.”

RACE combines interactive components, historical artifacts, iconic objects, photographs, multimedia presentations, and graphic displays, but my favorite element is the interpersonal one. COSI employees are stationed throughout the room to form discussion groups and answer questions. We are all invited as community members to talk about what is often a difficult topic. This is an open, compassionate forum whose goal is to spark conversation and improve relations among all of us. The exhibit will be on display through May 6.

   

"Cityscapes Yesteryear" at King Arts Complex.

Every so often, a collection of art sparks the spirit of the past while evoking promise for the future. Cityscapes Yesteryear: Past and Present at the King Arts Complex is one of those exhibits. The 59-piece show opened on Thursday in commemoration of the Columbus Bicentennial. It celebrates our urban history through the works of Harvey Gilliam, Roman Johnson, Kojo Kamau, and Leon Page.

Gilliam is a 90-year-old Near East Side native known for his watercolor explorations of historic neighborhoods and city landscapes. He studied at the Columbus College of Art & Design and drew deep inspiration from renowned Ohio painter Emerson Burkhart. He always felt that art was his chosen profession and remembers the site, season, and year of all his paintings. Johnson (1917-2005) was also from the Near East Side. Widely respected amongst his peers, he befriended and painted alongside Burkhart for years. He studied in New York and Paris and had work displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Page (1925-2003) studied at CCAD and considered himself a contemporary impressionist. He used his paintings and watercolors to document his personal views of the African American life experience. He actively participated in the Ohio Watercolor Society and crafted murals in prominent community spaces throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Canada. Kamau is an award-winning photographer and co-founder of Art for Community Expression (ACE). A Near East Side native who is now in his early 70’s, he worked as a photojournalist for the United States Air Force and as a medical photographer for The Ohio State University. He has won numerous awards for both his photography and cultural activism. His leadership has been an instrumental force in launching programs and galleries to propel African American artists.

Cityscapes Yesteryear is curated by Bettye Stull and will be on display through March 10. Admission is $3. Click here for more photos.

              

Ohio Statehouse 150th Birthday.

Today marks the sesquicentennial of the Ohio Statehouse. The celebration included appearances by Speaker Bill Batchelder of the Ohio House of Representatives, Tom Niehaus from the Ohio Senate, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, the Licking County Jazz Band, and Mrs. Cotter’s fourth grade students from St. Mary’s School, as well as Civil War re-enactors, an artist’s fair, and cake-cutting ceremony. Outside of the 19^th-century Greek Revival landmark, protesters from Occupy Columbus and Pro-Choice Ohio conveyed some passions of their own. A more interesting dichotomy of sentiments would have been hard to find. Regardless of politics and protests, I’m proud to be an Ohioan and thankful to live in a place where we have freedom to speak our minds and rejoice in what we choose. Click here for more photos.

           

Central Ohio Fire Museum.

Today I visited the Central Ohio Fire Museum in downtown Columbus. Of the 300 fire museums in North America, this is one of the very few teaching ones. Since opening in 2002, it has educated nearly 29,000 children about fire safety. It’s located in the restored Engine House No. 16, which was built in 1908 and housed several horses. Through a stunning array of firefighting memorabilia, the museum’s primary goal is to teach school-aged children about fire prevention. Kids are invited to slide down a fire pole, dress up in firefighter uniforms, extinguish a (mural) fire with a fire hose, and “drive” the back-end of an aerial ladder. They can view full-size dioramas of a bedroom during and after a fire, and of a safety kitchen that demonstrates how many home fires can be avoided. More than 1,500 area firefighters contribute funds to the museum through payroll deductions.

                 

Venice Behind The Venice.

I can think of no place as hauntingly alluring as Venice. Other than New Orleans, it’s the only place I’ve ever visited that’s every bit as secretive as it appears. Although this Northern Italian city is best known for canals, gondolas, Piazza San Marco, and “Spritz” apéritifs, hundreds of other pieces help tell its story. So during our recent visit, we resolved to see The Real Venice.

Comprised of 117 islands and 400 bridges, the car-less Venice is interwoven with macabre history and deep elegance. Our hotel was located in the heart of the Grand Canal, where tourists from all parts of the globe take in every morsel of exterior beauty. But a city flanked by never-ending tourism must retain some inner splendor, so another, quieter world lurks in Venice’s residential neighborhoods. Among these is the Jewish Ghetto in Cannaregio, where hundreds of years ago, Venetian Jews were locked into the area every night by three massive gates. Now, the area is home to a few hundred Jewish inhabitants, five synagogues, Judaic shops, and kosher restaurants. At the Rialto Market, little old ladies fill wheeled handcarts (resembling carry-on luggage) with fresh fruit, vegetables, and seafood. We toured a gondola-making factory, where it takes a group of laborers four months to build one $85,000 gondola from seven different types of wood. We found a brilliantly chaotic bookstore with books piled everywhere (even in gondolas), but the owner could locate the title of your choosing within 10 seconds. We visited an exhibit of Salvador Dalí drawings and sculptures, and saw the villa where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once lived. And we searched for secret gardens, but the closest we got was a few peeks between slatted gates. Across the lagoon, we visited the islands of Burano, with its multicolored homes and lace factories, and Murano, where the world’s finest glass has been handmade for hundreds of years. The art of glassblowing is passed down from generation to generation, and one must apprentice for 10 years before becoming a glass master. During our tour at a glass factory, we saw the lovely and talented Sela Ward with her family.

Italy is currently celebrating its 150^th anniversary as a unified country. It’s a place of many distinct regions, and most Italians are extremely proud to come from their particular province. Romans are Romans, Sicilians are Sicilians, and Tuscans are Tuscans. But Venetians have, and will always have, their own living, intriguing menagerie in which to call home.

           

Preservation Hall and Reclaiming Jazz.

Earlier this week I met with Ben Jaffe, Director of legendary New Orleans jazz institution Preservation Hall, Creative Director of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and organizer of the New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund. His parents founded Preservation Hall in 1961 and he continues their same tradition of hosting pure live New Orleans jazz seven nights a week without offering food or liquor. I tried to memorize every moment, from the sweet musty smell of the 1750’s-era French Quarter building to the dulcet sounds of the clarinetist warming up in the hallway. Ben has performed with a mind-numbing litany of the world’s best jazz musicians, as well as a few others you may have heard of (Jim James, Ani DiFranco, Jason Isbell, Pete Seeger, and Del McCoury). He possesses a quiet charisma and unshakable authenticity that could unnerve a highly caffeinated ultimate fighter. It was an evening I’ll never forget.

Sitting in Ben’s office surrounded by hundreds of old records I learned things about jazz that I never knew, like its influence by French opera and that the word “jazz” stems from the brothel term “jass,” which refers to a woman’s…you know. New Orleans was settled by the Spanish and later purchased by the French. The earliest known style of jazz had its roots in the late 1800’s. Slaves were brought to New Orleans from Africa and for the first time, several different cultures were forced to exist with each other. “We’re a city of many races,” Ben said. “People of different nationalities mixed here openly, and it all happened here because the Mississippi River was the first big entryway to the rest of the country.”

All of a sudden New Orleans featured classically trained musicians performing French opera, traveling gospel groups and blues artists singing songs from the countryside, and African Americans engaging in West African rhythms. After the Civil War, African Americans started writing original compositions and playing western instruments like trumpets and French horns. Brothels in New Orleans’ red light district became jazz’s breeding ground. “When you combine a song that was written in the 1820’s with African rhythms,” he said, “you have the beginnings of what we know today as New Orleans jazz.” He winces at Bourbon Street’s lecherous, debauchery-laden reputation and thinks that the dignity of pure jazz is often overlooked. “You really have to look beyond Bourbon Street to see my New Orleans,” Ben said. “Musicians like Jim Robinson are my New Orleans. We carry on the same musical traditions that existed more than 100 years ago and have fourth and fifth generation New Orleans musicians playing here.”

After Katrina attacked his beloved city in 2005, Ben knew there would be survivors and those who wouldn’t recover. “It’s been a catch-22,” he said. “In some ways we’re better off for it. It has been a blessing to many musicians by giving them new life and it shined a spotlight on them because the whole world was watching. It also crushed a lot of them by causing them to leave and hang up their instruments. We’re still in survival mode.” The storm taught him a few important lessons. “We found out that no one was there to hold our hand,” he said. “When our whole world came crashing down on us four years ago, we literally were left on our own to bring back our individual lives, our businesses, and our culture. That’s what makes me proud.” Ben attributes his New Orleans upbringing and “gotta-get-on-with-life attitude” with being able to deal with the hurricane. As with many New Orleans natives, he was introduced to the concept of death at a very young age. “Before I could walk or talk I attended funerals in people’s houses. In New Orleans, we’re all sitting around waiting to die,” he laughed.

Looking ahead, Ben is fervently committed to protecting the history and integrity of what he calls “America’s greatest contribution to music.” He would like Preservation Hall to assume its sacred social function within the New Orleans community for as long as possible. “What we do here is a living and breathing art form,” he said. “It’s something that we still go out and dance to and hang out all night and listen to.” He also feels that traditions must have enough room to evolve naturally and not be suffocated. “One way to pay homage to the past is to always be connected to it,” he said. And so the Preservation Hall Jazz Band continues to record albums and tour around the world. In October the band will release a Max-Fleischer-style animated music video of old blues tune “St. James Infirmary.”  

“Being part of a community is something I cherish,” Ben said. “The more I see that dissolving around me and throughout the country, the more it becomes important. We need to look out for each other’s wellbeing and have a sense of pride and history about our culture.” He believes those “a-ha moments” that happen at weddings and funerals, the ones that remind you of your vulnerability and make you wonder if it’s worth holding grudges, define what we’re made of. “What it’s really all about,” he said, “is the love between people.”