Nancy's Announces Closing

Losing old friends is never easy. Yet when I was scanning the Dispatch this morning (Saturday) I learned one of my favorite places to eat has announced that closing was on the menu.

Nancy's is a one of the great institutions in Columbus. And it soon will be a lost but remembered institution. Located along North High Street in Clintonville, it was best described as a small stool type establishment. And yes, in reality it was at it's heart a classic greasy spoon or hole in the wall. But like most places like Nancy's the place had its own unique character that even 5 star places cannot duplicate. That character was probably best described as heart.






I first became aware of the place in the late 80's or early 90's. At the time, every morning on WTVN radio, morning host Bob Conners would do a shout out to people and places. Nancy's was one of his shout outs. And because of that daily shout out, I had to give it a try. (Sadly, Bob no longer does that anymore. It was a neat feature on his show!)







Famous for their breakfasts, my usual stop was for lunch. Everyday there was a daily feature or two. And that's it. Take it or leave it. A simple menu of couple of items. Yet the price was right, the plate was full and the food was good. Here's a photo of my favorite. Chicken and Noodles. And always $5.00 or less to eat.

One day I took a friend from work for lunch. We sat at the counter and was finally waited on. The friend asked what was on the menu for the day. The reply was meatloaf. The friend asked if there was anything else. The reply was "yes, meatloaf". Either you liked meatloaf that day or you went somewhere else. But at Nancy's it didn't matter. The place was normally packed with people along the wall waiting for a stool to open.




Nancy's was a community place. Young and old. Rich and poor. All were welcomed. All sat together. All quickly became frineds as the meal was consumed.

It was not unusual to be told to check yourself out if the staff was busy. Literally you would go to the cash register, pay your tab and make your own change. No one would flinch seeing someone doing that. That simply doesn't happen anywhere else. Honestly, the first time I went there and saw that happen, I simply couldn't believe that business could be done that way. The cash register was full and yet people were honestly paying their bills and making their own change.

I went for lunch one day on a particularly bad winter day a few years ago. Owner Cindy King insisted that since I was such a loyal customer she couldn't charge me for lunch that day because I had braved the elements to eat with her. I was given a hug and told thanks for my patronage. While I ate there maybe once or twice a month at the time, there were certainly daily customers who deserved the royal treatment I got that day.

Ms. King is said to be closing the place due to ill health, mounting health bills and an economy that has began to catch up with her and effectively doing business.

Yet, thankfully as of this writing, there are about 2 months of time left to get a final meal or two.

The Dispatch article is here

Edited to add: Diana and I went tonight to enjoy Chicken and Noodles. Unfortunately, a flat tire tried to get in our way. We arrived just in time to get the last two meals they had......but unfortunately, not chicken and noooles but a delicious pot roast. It was truly a treat.

Now isn't it sad when a great pot roast just doesn't hit the spot when your heart is set on Nancy's chicken and noodles. Thursday is once again Chicken and Noodles day and we'll be there!

Top of the World

In Bellefontaine, Ohio you'll find a couple of Ohio treasures. The first concrete street in the US as well as what has been described as the shortest street in the US.

The latest treasure explored was Campbell Hill, the highest point in the Buckeye State. At 1549 feet above sea level, a small marker and a historical sign are what marks the top of the world in Ohio.

No, it's not like a beautiful snow capped mountain peak or as famous as Pikes Peak or the peaks in the state of Washington or Alaska. But it's the closest peak to me.

Campbell Hill is on the campus of the aptly named Hi-Point Career Center.

Scioto Endings

Last November a road trip took us to Auglaize County in western central Ohio to the origins of the Scioto River.

Saturday, our road trip took us to Portsmouth where the river empties and ends in the Ohio River.






The Scioto enters from the right center of the picture and joins the Ohio to flow under the bridge toward Cincinnati and finally to the Mississippi River.

It was a pretty early spring day (the second day of spring). We arrived in the early evening. The rush of the winter thaw had long since passed and both the Ohio and the Scioto were gently flowing. No swift currents were noted.


The new bridge that carries Route 23 across the Ohio into northern Kentucky is a beautiful marvel. Sort of reminds me of the bridge in Boston that crosses the Charles River and is used as a backdrop when politicians from that area are interviewed on the national cable infotainment shows.












We were also treated to a empty coal barge returning from one of the down river electric generation plants or possibly the coal dock in Cincinnati. It was swiftly moving up river possibly to be filled once again with coal from the Eastern Kentucky or Western West Virgina coal fields.

Olentangy Origins

The Olentangy River flows into Columbus from the north. It is fed from it's origin in Morrow County near the Richland County line and flows into Crawford County, the city of Galion, then back into Morrow County, Delaware County and finally Franklin County and Columbus where it empties into the Scioto River near downtown Columbus at Confluence Park.

Sunday we traced the river to what we believe is it's origin. Near the village of Blooming Grove, it appears the river begins as a combination of run off and possibly a spring in a farm field near Blooming Grove Road near Route 97. We believe the pool of water in the left of the photo is a spring, while the sunken area in the center of the photo is the beginning of the field run off.It crosses under Blooming Grove road and from there, it meanders in a mostly northern and western direction through farm fields and finally crosses under Route 97 as it heads toward Galion.

Finding the origins of rivers, since they are prominent landmarks in Columbus, is interesting in a different way. Earlier last fall, we found the marked origins of the Scioto River. We hope to one day to take the trip to Minnesota and find the origins of the Mississippi.

Job Searching

Over three thousand people turned out at the Columbus Zoo the other day for a job fair. Looking at a picture, there was one thing that stood out. I can't find one example where someone while networking seems to be exchanging personal information. A card, a piece of paper, a handshake....anything.

In the world we live in today, networking is the key to finding opportunity.

Many in that line probably drilled a dry hole with companies they interviewed with.

But how many people in that line might get hired in the future and remembered talking to a really neat person who could fill a role in a company but they have no idea that person was or how to contact them.

Or what if someone in the that line comes up with their own business idea and needs the talent of the person they just spent two hours in line with and have no idea who they are.

Always, always, always exchange information and stay in touch. That chance meeting could turn out to be the opportunity of a lifetime.

Funny Line

If you know me, you know I love irony. The other is I don't write about my real job.

Today I make the exception about the latter to share something of the former.

While talking on the phone the other day to a lady I work with we were discussing the days that never seem to end and how recently they seem to have become more frequent.

Now before you go off on my like Dan Miller at a seminar full of non fulfilled employees, I work very hard at doing what I need to do now so that at some point I can find what it is I was designed to do so I can do it and do it well. And I will admit that there are days when it's more effort to put on my game face than to actually do the work.

But back to the phone conversation. The lady was discussing her personal burnout situation. The line she used is she would love to be a stay at home mom...........without kids.

Frankly Scarlet............I Was Born Here

My previous post about the Perfect Partner and it's tie in with Gone With the Wind reminded me that not too far from home is the birthplace of the leading male character of the movie Rhett Butler. Out of that character, he was better known as Clark Gable.

So, on a snowy late Sunday afternoon we headed east to visit the place where Rhett Butler was really born. (Sorry the photos are a bit dark as they were taken after the sun had set. We got a late start and wasn't able to take advantage of the daylight.)

Gable was born in the small eastern Ohio town of Cadiz, Ohio in 1901. It is assumed he was given the name William Clark Gable, as many "official" records contain disputed information.

The home in the picture is a replica of the home Gable was born in, however the house is situated on the original lot. It's reported that the original home was torn down in the early 1960's.

The stone monument was one of the first steps to recognize one of the towns most famous previous residents. It was erected in 1986 on the site of Gable's birth.

The reconstructed birth house was dedicated in January, 1998. It supposedly is an exact replica of the home including many pieces of period furniture and loaded with memorabilia of Gable's career, including a Cadillac once owned by Gable.

Cadiz also was home to another person of great fame.

John Armor Bingham, while not born in Cadiz, also lived in the village. Bingham's claim to fame was severing as one of three prosecutors of the co-conspirators of Abraham Lincoln's assignation. The trial concluded with 8 convictions and made history when Mary Surratt was the first woman in the United States to be executed for a crime.

Bingham was also involved as a prosecutor in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and an architect of the 14th Amendment.