William Lytle, “Warrior Poet” Killed September 20th
 
The “Warrior Poet,” Brigadier General, William Haines Lytle from Cincinnati was killed on this day Sept. 20, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga.
 
Born and raised in Cincinnati, William Lytle worked as a lawyer before volunteering to serve in the Mexican-American War.  After the war he continued his law practice as he gained national fame as a renowned poet.   His poem “Antony and Cleopatra,” published in 1857, was recited and loved by both the North and South in the days prior to the American Civil War.
 
“Lytle is a great study in contrasts.  He was a lawyer from a privileged family, but also heeded the call to serve his country.  As a poet and a general, he achieved celebrity status,” American Legacy Tours Director of Tour Development Mac Cooley said.
 
During the Civil War he was appointed as a major general and led the 10th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, comprised primarily of Irish immigrants from the Greater Cincinnati area.  “Initially the regiment was a bit of a laughing stock. They favored their drink, and were not the most disciplined bunch, but Lytle turned them around and the group would go on to be known as the “Bloody Tenth,” a nickname earned for their bravery in battle,“ Civil War tour guide, Rob Ervin said.
 
During the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia, Lytle was shot by a sniper while leading a counterattack and carried across enemy lines while still seated on his horse.  On a hillside on the battlefield, the Confederates identified the deceased and beloved poet.  Out of respect for the fallen hero, they kept guard over his body throughout the evening and recited his poetry in his honor.
 
“To this day, the hill where he died is called ‘Lytle Hill,’” Civil War Tour Guide, Mitch Ruth said.
His body was eventually returned to Cincinnati and a funeral was held at Christ Church.  So many people lined the streets that the funeral procession did not reach Spring Grove Cemetery until nightfall.   Along with Lytle, numerous members of the German-American Regiment and the 9th OVI from Over-the-Rhine, died at the Battle of Chickamauga during a brave counter attack.  Because of their bravery on the battlefield that day, a monument is erected at Chickamauga in their honor.
 
To learn more about the contributions of the 9th OVI, 10th OVI and William Haines Lylte, American Leagcy Tours offers a Civil War Cincinnati walking tour on Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. throughout the rest of September and October.  The tour starts at the Cincy Haus on 1218 Vine Street.  For more information go to www.americanlegacytours.com

The Hudepohl 14k Brewery Run is coming back from retirement after more than a decade of absence. It brings with it, a brother event that is unruly, wild, and boasts an absolutely splendid prize, $1,000 dollars to the Christian Moerlein Lager House, that will open in October.

The event is a unique race called the Bier Laufen, which has been dubbed “the World’s Fastest Parade”. Local groups of friends, bars, and brands have been working around the clock like Santa’s elves, constructing race floats that will navigate a hay bail obstacle course.

Each team will be made up of 6 nut jobs (4 riders and 2 pushers). Plenty of drinks will be had and hopefully some good crashes will be the result.

These human propelled chariots of fury will take off at 11am on the dot.

This promises to be a new Cincinnati Tradition and Make Cincinnati Weird is stoked to be a part of it. So don’t be dull come out September 17 and check out our Bier Laufen and cheer us to victory (if we win, we’ll buy you a drink).

www.hudepohl14kbreweryrun.com

Stay Weird and Always Always Drink Local Beer

(Jake Gerth)

Image 1 used to reside on the corner of 4th and Scott
Image 2 is on the stairs of the Roebling Suspension Bridge
Image 3 was/is on the north side of the UpOver bar on Mainstrauss

Special Thanks to Jillian Kelly for these finds. Keep em coming.

We are always looking for cool and weird street art, so please send in to our Facebook page if you find any good stuff!

Remember feeling that early 2000′s angst and raw emotions of melodic notes of punk vibrations pulsating through your blood making you pay attention to life’s woes, but it feeling good to go through it with someone? Usually that someone was a band like Blink 182. Well, they are still with us. Not only is Blink 182 having a concert at Riverbend this Sunday, but Mr. Mark Hoppus, also has a TV show on Fuse TV; which airs Fridays (today) at 11P/10C on Fuse! Tune in to the music channel that is still about music! Also keep your eyes open on our Facebook page for 2 tickets to this Sunday’s concert sponsored by Fuse!

http://fusemusic.com/hoppus

(By Latria Roberts)

Oh, the Mustache. By definition, it is facial hair on the outer surface of the upper lip. It has grown its way into our history on such notable faces as Salvador Dali, Groucho Marx, and Adolf Hitler. They come in more flavors than Graeters Ice Cream, including such beauties as the Walrus, the Horseshoe, the Pencil, the Chevron, the Toothbrush, and who would forget, the Fu Manchu?

Understanding that this persistent growth is undoubtedly ingrained into our past and certainly going to be involved in our future, a local group of hairy faces is celebrating the bristly, bushy, but always beautiful, mustache.
On Wednesday August 24, Yelp – along with co-sponsors Arnold’s Bar and Grill, Far-I-Rome Productions, Christian Moerlein, Shutterbooth.com, and Vitamin Water – are throwing an event unlike any that Cincinnati has ever seen.
Bring your scruff, your scraggle, or your facial fur and enjoy conversation, competition, and music with similar folk over a chilled Hudepohl Amber Lager or Christian Moerlein brew.
Has God not Blessed thee with whiskered lips? Strap on some artificial fur and fit right in! Fake facial follicles will be available at Arnold’s for those who feel left out.
Prizes will be awarded for such amazingness as “Craziest Mustache”, “Best Fake Mustache”, and of course, plain old “Best Mustache”.
Sounds provided by mustached musicians: the Kelsey Skaggs, The Turkeys, and Indigo Wild.
Before leaving, capture the moment in the Shutterbooth photobooth and then, rinse the Hudepohl out of your whiskers with a cold Vitamin Water.
Come celebrate folicaled faces, support shaveless silhouettes, and always, always drink local beer.

(Jake Gerth)

Beer Royalty has been seen all over town and no, I’m not talking about the Beer Baron, Greg Hardman. Cincinnati’s very own Little King has been making appearances at local bars and night clubs.

He has been spotted with his royal entourage drinking buckets of Little King’s everywhere from Neon’s Unplugged to a string of bars in Mainstrasse Village to Hyde Park..

I had the honor of tracking down this elusive and powerful dictator of joy and beer for a quick interview.

So, King what are your plans for the rest of the summer?

As you know, I’m from Cincinnati and it’s been great being home for the summer. I’m just enjoying partying with the people of my Kingdom and hanging with my main man, the Beer Baron.

Any exciting plans coming up?

Well I don’t plan too many things in advance but I’ll be at Brew Ha Ha beer and comedy festival August 26-27. If there is one thing I like more than Little King’s Creme Ale, it’s good comedy and Little King’s Creme Ale.

I’m also getting excited for the Hudepohl 14k Brewery Run September 17. I’m not a runner by any means but I’ll be there drinking some Little King’s and riding in my Bier Laufen. Wait till you see this!

Sounds Excellent! Any chance of a Queen in your life?

Well Jake, this is the Queen City, so they are all Queens to me.

Good Answer. I don’t want to keep you too long, but I gotta ask — is there any truth to the rumor that you are working on a hip hop album?

Ha Ha ohh no. I have been known to get in the recording studio from time to time, but I’m too busy spreading happiness across the Little Kings Kingdom to become a famous rapper.
Be on the look out for me though, I’ll be out and about all over town. It’s Good to be King.

(Jake Gerth)

• 1835  First bag of airmail. (sent by a hot air balloon to Toledo)
• 1849  First city in the U.S. to hold a municipal song festival ‐ Saengerfest.
• 1850  First city in the U.S. to establish a Jewish hospital.
• 1850  First city in the U.S. to publish greeting cards. (Gibson Greeting Card Company)
• 1853  First practical steam fire engine.
• 1853  First city to establish a municipal fire department and first firemen’s pole.
• 1869  First city to establish a weather bureau.
• 1869  First professional baseball team. (the Cincinnati Red Stockings)
• 1870  First city in the U.S. to establish a municipal university. (University of Cincinnati)
• 1870  First city to hold annual industrial expositions.
• 1875  First city to establish a Jewish theological college. (Hebrew Union College)
• 1880  First city in which a woman, Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, began and operated a large manufacturing operation. (Rookwood Pottery)
• 1880  First and only city to build and own a major railroad.
• 1902  First concrete skyscraper built in the U.S. (the Ingalls Building)
• 1905  Daniel Carter Beard founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, later known as the Boy Scouts of America.
• 1906  First university to offer cooperative education. (University of Cincinnati)
• 1935  First night baseball game played under lights. (Reds beat Phillies 2-1)
• 1952  First heart‐lung machine makes open heart surgery possible. (Developed at Children’s Hospital Medical Center)
• 1954  First city to have a licensed Public television station. (WCET TV)

(Jake Gerth)

It’s Friday night in Cincinnati. I jump off the 19 out of Northside and run to Fountain Square to catch a bit of the Ted Leo and the Pharmacists show. I have to break out early so that I can catch my friends’ artwork at MGGM. Once again, I’m dipping before I’d like, so that I can meet up others at the Drinkery. Halfway through our beers, we get put off by a few assholes who came into the bar, so we’re slamming up and moving to MOTR Pub.

That’s when my rapid fire, running all over the place came to a screeching halt.

When it’s Final Friday in Over-the-Rhine, you expect to see and hear a lot of great things. I didn’t find it entirely unusual to hear some good old school rap being played on the street. I wasn’t entirely surprised to see a DJ perched up outside Park+Vine playing music, with a small crowd of people around him. What did surprise me was that it wasn’t one of your well-known usuals who DJ around the neighborhood. It wasn’t what you expected to see. This guy was one of your pre-gentrification OtR residents. He had some CD players, some speakers, and a microphone.

That’s what gave me pause. As I walked up the street, in that sweet spot beyond buzzed but not yet drunk, I’m thinking, Wait. This is cool. This dude just rolled up, unpacked, plugged in, and is going. I want to stop and check this out.

I hadn’t stopped for very long when a stream of people I know began to trickle in. One by one, more people from my social circle showed up, unplanned. They were drawn by what was happening, just like me. The crowd grew and grew. More people started dancing. It was turning into a flash mob dance party, and I was loving every minute of it.

In a word, the single best thing about this random event was the unity. No offense to the people who have been making OtR a hotbed of social, artistic, and musical activity, but this wasn’t put on and promoted by one of those people. This was just some dude from OtR. He probably grew up here, his parents grew up here, he lived through the riots here. He and his buddies were probably sitting around and thought, “Hey. Isn’t this Final Friday? There will be a bunch of people out. Let’s pack up the rig, go out there, and throw down.”

That’s what they did, and the best part about it was that everyone was down. There are awkward things that we don’t like to talk about, yet can’t help admitting are there. Those things were gone. Racial lines, social lines, class lines, gone. As I’m dancing, shouting, hugging my friends and probably a little drunker than I would admit, one thing was really sinking in: I have been craving to see this in Cincinnati for a long time.

To quote the late great Rick James: Unity!

Here are some pictures I was able to capture. I wish I had grabbed more.

The story doesn’t end here. What you’re seeing in those pictures is only a part of what went down. The crowd kept growing, as more passersby were drawn into the inescapable black hole of awesome that this was. The vibe was so good, even the cops didn’t shut it down (at first… all good stories end with the cops shutting something down). No, when the CPD drove by, the cop riding shotgun actually gave us a thumbs up! I’m sure this had something to do with the fact that we were waving, flashing them peace signs, etc. Regardless, they obviously saw that this was cool and nobody was causing problems, so they let it go on.

Eventually, Latria said to me, “Are any of the stores open? I want a beer!”

My response, without really knowing if it was true: “Yeah dude, Circle A is open!”

She took off running. I chased after her. I think a few other people overheard us and thought it was a great idea, so they came too. We slipped into the Circle A as the poor guys were trying to close. After buying our beers, the owner held the door shut as we left, trying to let us out without letting anyone else in. It was epic.

We were hardly the only people brown bagging it, like it was no big deal. I’m pretty sure a bowl was being passed around. Basically, the law didn’t matter, but nobody was doing anything to hurt or steal from anybody, so it was cool. The crowd has also easily doubled, and people are starting to spill out into the streets. When the 17 rolled by, two dudes on the bus stood up and started dancing. A guy popped out of his sunroof at a red light and got down on the roof of his car. People on the other side of Main Street were even getting into it.

Unfortunately, the cops had to shut it down when the Reds game let out, and Main Street was clogged as far south as you could see. The DJ, a dude by the name of “Alcatone”, was incredibly cool about it. He got on the mic, thanked everyone, spouted some truth about how great this neighborhood is, and wished everyone a safe night.

Here’s a video I captured, complete with me making an ass of myself, as usual:

To me, this was a moment where I realized that Cincinnati is moving. We are actually living out this idea of unity, openness, and acceptance that we all like to talk about, but sometimes fail at doing. Last night, I fell a little bit deeper for Over-the-Rhine and the people of Cincinnati.

Written by Matthew Risher and posted by Latria Roberts. Matthew is a Cincinnati socialite, DJ, and publishes his own serial web sci-fi called Animus.

Want to wear something alive around your neck?  It’s been made possible by David Nebert, a local artist/artisan/designer who creates beautiful and delicate jewelry pieces, using miniature salvaged light bulbs with tiny (and adorable) succulent plants inside, rooted in a bit of “nutrient-rich medium”.  These plants are pretty resilient — they just like to have some sun and a bit of water every now and then… and, of course, your tender loving care!

He based the idea off of terrariums, which are enclosed dry habitats or ecosystems on a smaller scale.  (Terrariums, aquariums, insectariums, and paludariums are all subcategories of what’s known as the vivarium, which in Latin literally means “place of life”.)

David actually began with regularly-sized light bulbs as stand-alone terrariums, and evolved to the jewelry pieces at some point.  You’ll be able to find some of his work through two “handmade” stores called Fabricate (in Northside) and the Brush Factory (in Oakley).  His personal design product series is called ( e i ) design, and he has also been involved in a couple of collaborations with friends under the names of RESproducts and Elna and Ei.  Along with the living jewelry, David has created pieces with wire, metal, stone, shell, leaf, seed, as well as his own natural-looking packaging for the products.  The following is a statement from his personal website:

“With reuse, repurposing, and restoration in mind, ( e i ) seeks to create works that embody simple, natural, and raw aesthetics. Inspiration and materials are sought from the natural world and antique, vintage, industrial sources.”

– www.davidnebert.com

Also check out his artsy blogs:  www.elnaandei.com, a collaboration with Milan DelVecchio, and eidesign.tumblr.com, a personal blog of photography, designs, and inspirations.

(Written by Rebecca Nebert)