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Impressions of Turkey

The Shale Crescent USA Team is part of a U.S. Commercial Services Roadshow to Turkey. Lynnda and I, along with SCUSA President Nathan Lord, arrived in Istanbul last Sunday. We were in three Turkish cities for Roadshow events, meeting with companies interested in investing in the USA. Most Turks guess the actual number of people in Istanbul, the nation’s largest city, to be in excess of 20 million people and still growing. Homes and businesses take up almost every available space. Not much green space. There are buildings as far as the eye can see. Not high rise steel like in Tokyo ...

W P SNYDER JR, a person and a steamboat

A new Ohio River Museum building rises like the legendary Phoenix from the remains of the original building. Soon a new Museum will tell fascinating stories of life on the river. One of the prime exhibits is a real steamboat, the W P SNYDER JR., a living relic of the steamboat era. The Sons ...

Earth’s greatest enemy, part two

In my previous Climate Corner column, I discussed “Earth’s Greatest Enemy,” the explosive new documentary from journalist Abby Martin, which details the U.S. military’s role as the single worst institutional polluter on our planet. The film had its Columbus and Cleveland premieres last weekend, both of which I’d planned to attend. Keen-eyed observers may have noticed, however, that we’ve spent the better part of the past week buried under ice and snow, which had the unfortunate impact of hampering my travel plans. Never one to miss a chance to unleash his special brand of ...

Bird populations shift in winter months

If you are an amateur bird watcher like me, you have likely noticed that the group of birds you see in the winter is somewhat different than those that you see in the summer. Just as is the case with the human population, some birds stay here for the winter while others leave town and fly ...

Knowledge reduces anxiety

Preparing for our trip to Turkey, I was a little anxious. The first major overseas trip for Lynnda and me was to Tokyo, Japan, a few years ago. Shale Crescent was part of an economic development mission with the West Virginia Development Office and several other companies. Then, I was concerned about the long plane trip, over 20 hours. I thought we would be traveling as a group, then learned we were on our own. We were told which hotel we had to be at and when. That created anxiety and stress. Lynnda and I were on our own in Tokyo, a huge city with over 35 million people in the ...

The Rambler: When driving was a real adventure

You could say L. L. “Lew” Peddinghaus was an early 1900s pioneer - as owner/operator of an automobile. Hardly anyone owned an automobile in 1900-1910. Peddinghaus operated a Marietta jewelry store at 187 Front Street (which became Baker & Baker Jewelers in 1918). He was able to afford ...