OldSouth On The Road: Western Ohio

OS visited dear friends last week in western Ohio, and recommends the experience to all his readers. This part of the world is hands-down, take-yer-breath-away beautiful.

OS always enjoys his journeys to Cincinnati, once he survives the scary downhill approach from the bluffs of Kentucky down to the Ohio River bridge. It's a great city with an inspiring history of commerce, industry, education, fine arts, and as one of the linchpins of the 19th century's Underground Railroad, which ushered slaves to freedom.

The area north and west of Cincy are a mix of agriculture and industry, and the wealth that has been built there over the years is impressive. Two hundred years ago, it was the prairie, just being settled. OS drove some back roads, through one lovely little town after the other.

The downturn, however, truly truly has hit them hard. Always, there have been upturns and downturns, but OS's friends explained that this one has been different, and it will take a long time to come back, to recover from the closures and departures of industries. On the upside, there is a highly-trained workforce, plant already built, and city and state governments eager to welcome businesses in. OS didn't see any signs of real decay in the little towns he drove through--as in vandalized and boarded-up storefronts and the like. The folks there are a tough bunch, and kept the culture intact, even as the economy faltered. Think old-school-Lutherans, to get an idea of the vibe. Lots of civic pride, no despair.

Everybody knows everybody else in these little towns, back to three generations at least. Solid people.

But the pain is real. The state budget cuts are being announced. The Stimulus did not work, and there will not be a Stimulus 2 to helicopter more cash down to the local level. The money is not there. Period. The public employee unions still don't believe it, but that does not change the facts.

On the way home, OS stopped for gas just north of Dayton, and picked up a copy of the Dayton Daily News for March 11. Nine pages of foreclosure sales, and 72 listed for March 11 alone.

The sheriff's sale listing is here, for those who wish to view for themselves.

It's a loooooong list, dating just from late February.

A transition is underway, and this will be the gritty part for the next year or two.This part of the world will come back, having reinvented itself again.

It's Ohio, not a place for sissies. They've got the culture-economy sequence right.