Alaska or Bust: Revisited: The Start (6/13/2017)

Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Our objective is to duplicate a trip Kent took in 1964. His Explorer Scout post (fifteen young men, aged 14 to 18 years, and three adults) planned a journey along the Alcan Highway to Alaska, to see Mount McKinley. They held car washes to raise funds for the trip and to refurbish an old school bus as their transport.
There are only two of us and we did not refurbish a school bus!
In the summer of 1964, Kent's family had moved from Terrace Park to Fairborn, OH, and Kent had to return to Terrace Park to join the other scouts to begin the trip.
Today we had to "return" to Terrace Park from where we now live in Shaker Heights, OH.

St Thomas Episcopal Church (1907 in English
Gothic style with Elizabethan additions)

Circus showman John F Robinson (the John Robinson Circus had winter quarters in Terrace Park) was responsible for having this church built, as a memorial to his wife, Caroline, and daughter, Kate.

A plaque in front of St Thomas marks the site of
Covalt Station, the first non-native settlement
that included a palisade and four blockhouses

The area now referred to as Terrace Park was settled by Abraham Covalt, a Revolutionary War captain, who brought 45 settlers by flat boats in January 1789. It was abandoned in 1792 due to continuous attacks by the Shawnee.

Memorial bricks in front of St Thomas included several
of the Tollefsen family, close friends of Kent's family

The interior of St Thomas Episcopal Church

The 1964 Explorer Scouts met in rooms of the undercroft of the church.

Terrace Park Village Green with World War II cannons

The Village Green gazebo and area where the 1964 Explorer Scouts
held car washes to raise money for their trip to Alaska

Kent used to live at 739 Park Avenue,
but the house has been replaced (in 2007)!

1964: Kent and the refurbished bus,
in front of the P family house

2017: Kent and his transport,
sort of in front of the former P family house

The P family house is in the same location, but has changed its address!

We met one of the Explorer Scouts who had gone on the 1964 trip, Gregg M, and his wife, Linda, for lunch at the recently opened The Birch, in Terrace Park. Creative and tasty dishes on the menu. Thanks to Gregg and Linda for a great lunch!

The Birch in Terrace Park

(The Birch is located in a former motel that was owned by the family of another Explorer Scout, Mike W. Also, Gregg's father, Dr. M, had gone on the trip to Alaska and taken many photos, some of which will be seen in this blog.)
Just as we arrived at the restaurant, the heavens opened up, pouring rain and hail, with thunder and lightning. They said they needed the rain!

The Scout Cabin (1933 by the WPA), where the scouts now meet

A plaque in the Miami Grove Nature Preserve,
recognizing the area of the former
Miami Grove community

Beginning in the 1920s, Miami Grove was a summer resort on the banks of the Little Miami River. After the Great Depression, the abandoned cottages were rented to low income families. A flood in 1957 made most of the homes unsalvageable.

We wanted to find a sign for Stumps Lane, but there
were none that we were able to see; the bottom of the
above sign could almost look like The Stumpe Boat Club...

We spent a lovely evening with Ann and Doug M, having dinner at Dilly: Bistro, Bar & Bottle Shop, in Mariemont, OH. Unfortunately, their daughter, Peyton, was at a summer soccer clinic for most of our visit.