City Slicker Life In Cincinnati
I was born at 9:05 AM Eastern Time (no daylight savings time then) April 12, 1942 at Bethesda Hospital in Cincinnati, OH about 5 months after the invasion of Normandy in WWII. The population of Cincinnati is now around 350,000 whereas the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area has a population of nearly 2,200,000 as of 2007 estimates. The reason is that Cincinnati is nestled in the SW corner of Ohio surrounded by other cities in Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. If, as predicted for the last several decades, population growth continues primarily in the communities, North of Cincinnati and South of Dayton, the two communities will merge creating the 14th largest metropolitan area in the USA with 3.2 million people.
So, yes, the Greater Cincinnati is much larger than the city limits gives it credit for. My parents divorced when I was 2 years old so I spent half my life growing up in Mount Lookout in the Hyde Park community if Cincinnati and the other half in the gas-light district of Clifton about 20 miles apart, both well within the city limits. Mount Lookout had several prominent citizens that spent a good share of their lives there – Doris Day lived at the end of my (and her) street – Utopia Place. That was the street where I learned how to ride a two wheeler and where my Dad and I built a 20 foot cabin cruiser imaging the whole time what a tremendous job God gave Noah as He commissioned Noah to build the huge ark! Another prominent citizen of Mount Lookout in Hyde Park was “Uncle Al” and “Captain Wendy” Lewis of the Uncle Al show. This was one of the first big regional children’s shows in this new media called Television.
In Clifton I perfected my bike riding on the new but unopened portion of interstate 75 that ultimately would run from Hialeah Florida through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan ending in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the Canadian Border at Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.
My Grandfather Ralph, my namesake, was an Engineer for the Cincinnati wing of the RKO Theatres. He once arranged for me to accompany Broderick Crawford when he came to promote a film in which he was starring. What a tough guy he was not only in the films but in real life!
I attended primary and secondary schools in Clifton graduating from Hughes High School, moved across the street to the University of Cincinnati graduating with a BS in Math and Chemistry. Was hired by Procter & Gamble, the first company I applied to. I married the year after. Produced 3 beautiful girls living in College Hill, and Colerain two other Cincinnati suburbs. I really spent most of the career years travelling to other places spending almost 75% of my time out of town.
I was very active in area churches serving as an Elder for 26 years. My first wife and I divorced after a 10 year struggle she had with substance abuse that she refused to get professional help. We were married for 31 years. About 6 years later I met my 2nd wife, Donna, who has introduced me to a whole new world of Jazz, County and Rock. I had no idea who Elton John, The Boss, Train, Billy Joel, Stevie Nick were or the songs they made popular. She convinced me that it would be great if I took our blended family of 3 girls and one son plus our 6 grandchildren we had then (10 now) to see Aerosmith. Boy was that an initiation! She is a great chef in her own right. I have tasted some of the best dishes known to man (or women) through her great talents!
I retired from P&G after 38 years and soon after my wife said one day “we should move to the country” That began the transition to Clinton County Ohio where we now live.
I was born at 9:05 AM Eastern Time (no daylight savings time then) April 12, 1942 at Bethesda Hospital in Cincinnati, OH about 5 months after the invasion of Normandy in WWII. The population of Cincinnati is now around 350,000 whereas the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area has a population of nearly 2,200,000 as of 2007 estimates. The reason is that Cincinnati is nestled in the SW corner of Ohio surrounded by other cities in Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. If, as predicted for the last several decades, population growth continues primarily in the communities, North of Cincinnati and South of Dayton, the two communities will merge creating the 14th largest metropolitan area in the USA with 3.2 million people.
So, yes, the Greater Cincinnati is much larger than the city limits gives it credit for. My parents divorced when I was 2 years old so I spent half my life growing up in Mount Lookout in the Hyde Park community if Cincinnati and the other half in the gas-light district of Clifton about 20 miles apart, both well within the city limits. Mount Lookout had several prominent citizens that spent a good share of their lives there – Doris Day lived at the end of my (and her) street – Utopia Place. That was the street where I learned how to ride a two wheeler and where my Dad and I built a 20 foot cabin cruiser imaging the whole time what a tremendous job God gave Noah as He commissioned Noah to build the huge ark! Another prominent citizen of Mount Lookout in Hyde Park was “Uncle Al” and “Captain Wendy” Lewis of the Uncle Al show. This was one of the first big regional children’s shows in this new media called Television.
In Clifton I perfected my bike riding on the new but unopened portion of interstate 75 that ultimately would run from Hialeah Florida through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan ending in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the Canadian Border at Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.
My Grandfather Ralph, my namesake, was an Engineer for the Cincinnati wing of the RKO Theatres. He once arranged for me to accompany Broderick Crawford when he came to promote a film in which he was starring. What a tough guy he was not only in the films but in real life!
I attended primary and secondary schools in Clifton graduating from Hughes High School, moved across the street to the University of Cincinnati graduating with a BS in Math and Chemistry. Was hired by Procter & Gamble, the first company I applied to. I married the year after. Produced 3 beautiful girls living in College Hill, and Colerain two other Cincinnati suburbs. I really spent most of the career years travelling to other places spending almost 75% of my time out of town.
I was very active in area churches serving as an Elder for 26 years. My first wife and I divorced after a 10 year struggle she had with substance abuse that she refused to get professional help. We were married for 31 years. About 6 years later I met my 2nd wife, Donna, who has introduced me to a whole new world of Jazz, County and Rock. I had no idea who Elton John, The Boss, Train, Billy Joel, Stevie Nick were or the songs they made popular. She convinced me that it would be great if I took our blended family of 3 girls and one son plus our 6 grandchildren we had then (10 now) to see Aerosmith. Boy was that an initiation! She is a great chef in her own right. I have tasted some of the best dishes known to man (or women) through her great talents!
I retired from P&G after 38 years and soon after my wife said one day “we should move to the country” That began the transition to Clinton County Ohio where we now live.
Ralph Taylor - Guest Blogger
Great job Ralph, I learned something. We are visiting farms today.
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