Author: Sherman Cahal

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its amazing architecture, the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit needs to be saved.

I miss the January and Wood Company in Maysville, Kentucky. Dating to 1834, the firm was a cotton mill that diversified into synthetics. It closed in 2003.

Waveland was constructed between 1797 and 1800 in Danville, Kentucky. After being abandoned for several decades, it is slated for restoration.

Nestled amidst the storied distilleries that comprise the Kentucky Bourbon Trail lies Old Crow Distillery, a once-proud producer of such esteemed whiskey brands as Old Grand Dad, Bourbon DeLuxe, and Sunny Brook. Alas, the distillery’s operations fell silent in 1987 when it succumbed to a buy-out from the formidable Jim Beam corporation, its competitor.

Fairview School is located in Cincinnati, Ohio and was constructed from 1888 to 1890 in the Romanesque Revival architectural style. A three-story addition, designed by local architect Edward J. Schulte, was built in 1957-58. The addition was meant to be expanded once the original structure was razed, but declining enrollment led to those plans never coming to light.

School had been out for just a few months when this photograph was taken of the former Fairmont School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Ohio State Reformatory, also referred to as the Mansfield Reformatory, is a historic prison located in Mansfield, Ohio. See what it’s like inside.

Dear fellas, I can’t believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they’re everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called “The Brewer” and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It’s hard work and I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don’t think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he’s doin’ okay and makin’ new friends. I have trouble sleepin’ at night. I have bad dreams like I’m falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway so they’d send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I’m too old for that sort of nonsense any more. I don’t like it here. I’m tired of being afraid all the time. I’ve decided not to stay. I doubt they’ll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me. P.S: Tell Heywood I’m sorry I put a knife to his throat. No hard feelings. Brooks.

The Baber Building, an imposing edifice with barred windows and sturdy brick construction, once formed an integral part of the Longview State Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.

On a melancholy February afternoon, I embarked on a sojourn through the knobs of Kentucky, meandering along the back roads that whisper of bygone eras.

Years ago, I often went to the mammoth Huntington Mall in Barboursville, West Virginia. It was the largest shopping center in the largest in the state – and also its busiest. The mall was dated, coated with speckled brown tiles inside, ribbed paneling outside and other trendy lights and accessories that made this center a poster-child for the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

The Cavanaugh Company was a hardware wholesale supply company that supplied cast iron pipe, corrugated pipe, road machinery, metallic paints, terra cotta, windows and fireproof doors, among many other items in Youngstown, Ohio.