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EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/10/2012: 15:10:34
Today's Tune of the Week is Little Olentangy, a "new old-time" tune in the key of G written by Chuck Levy and included on his 2006 CD "Scratching and Clawing".
I came across the tune in a somewhat unusual way, as it caught my attention before I had even heard it. While visiting Madison, Wisconsin (from my home in Columbus, Ohio), I made my usual stop at Spruce Tree Music, to search through their small but eclectic collection of old-time CDs. These days, as I try to build my fiddle tune repertoire, I am often as interested in the tunes on such CDs as I am in the actual artists playing them, and thus tend to give the cover only a cursory glance before flipping the CD over to read the track list. While doing just that at Spruce Tree I found myself reading a list of tunes that included a number of Ohio-themed titles - Flames Upon the Cuyahoga, Tecumseh's Moan, Tippecanoe, and Little Olentangy. The first three wouldn't necessarily have to have been written by an Ohio musician - many people of my generation probably remember the infamous 1969 Cuyahoga river fire in Cleveland, and many students of American and Native American history are probably familiar with the Shawnee Indian leader Tecumseh, the Battle of Tippecanoe, and Ohio Senator and U.S. President William Henry "Tippecanoe" Harrison. But sure only a resident of central Ohio would name a tune Little Olentangy. That name clearly referred to the Olentangy River, which runs through northern Columbus before joining the larger Scioto River just north of downtown (the Scioto is of course the namesake of the popular fiddle tune Big Sciota).
That title struck a chord because the Olentangy River is so familiar to me, and I was happily surprised to discover an old-time tune bearing its name, rather than that of a creek or valley or mountain in Kentucky or West Virginia or North Carolina. I was born and have lived about half my life within a mile or so of the river, and indeed spent my first two years in a house on Olentangy Street. Most of the rest of my childhood was spent living in the same Clintonville neighborhood on a ravine formed by a creek which flows into the Olentangy, and I (along with the rest of my family) attended Ohio State University, through which the Olentangy flows. And since returning to Columbus four years ago, I have lived in the Olentangy Village apartment complex, in an apartment directly overlooking the river. So in old-time music terms, the Olentangy is to some extent my version of, say, Peachbottom Creek, which ran through Wade Ward's farm and after which he named one of his banjo tunes.
Turning the CD over I saw that it was entitled "Scratching and Clawing", and had been recorded by Chuck Levy. I was familiar with Chuck, but associated him with Florida. Then I saw that among the other musicians on the CD was Mike Eberle, a fine fiddler who is very active in the Columbus old-time community, and who hosts a jam session that I have attended on occasion. Upon contacting Chuck to ask about the tune, I discovered that he did indeed have a strong Ohio and central Ohio connection. He was born in Cleveland and lived in Columbus for a number of years in the 1980s and 1990s, while first attending and later teaching at Ohio State. As Chuck wrote in the liner notes, "Big Scioty, which commemorates the Scioto River, is one of my favorite tunes, made especially special since it runs through Columbus, Ohio where I used to live. At some point, I decided that the Olentangy, the smaller of the Columbus' two rivers (they join near downtown) deserved its own tune, so I made up this one, Little Olentangy".
Of course, tune titles are not exactly the most important aspect of old-time music, and having a tune named after "my" river wouldn't really mean much if I didn't like the tune itself. Fortunately, upon purchasing and listening to "Scratching and Clawing" I discovered that I did indeed very much enjoy Little Olentangy, as I did most of the other tunes, whether Ohio-themed or not. I mentioned to Chuck that I would someday have to learn to play Little Olentangy on the banjo, given my connection to the river. He pointed out that it might make a challenging banjo tune, due to the range it covers, but then went on to very generously work out an arrangement for the banjo, providing me with a video and tab. I began learning the tune while sitting at my living room window looking out on the river, and soon decided to cover it as a TOTW. I realize of course that nobody else here on the Hangout will be interested in the tune just because of its title nor have much interest in the Olentangy River itself, but I do like to occasionally use the TOTW to introduce a newly composed tune to the banjo community, and since Little Olentangy is a great tune that I am really enjoying learning to play I thought I would share it with the Hangout.
The original twin fiddle (with guitar accompaniment) version from the CD can be found on Chuck's website:
I attended Mike Eberle's jam this past Wednesday, and Mike actually taught Little Olentangy to the group. For the first time ever I had not taken my recorder to the session, since I have such a huge backlog of recordings to listen to and learn from already, so I don't have a "jam session" version of the tune to share. But everyone seemed to enjoy playing Little Olentangy, and I hope some here on the Hangout will as well.
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I want to thank Chuck for all of his efforts on behalf of this TOTW. I'm guessing that working up a banjo arrangement of Little Olentangy was not on his musical to-do list, but he graciously did so in response to my interest in the tune, and then, as noted, went on to both make a video of that arrangement and tab it out for me (as he had already done for Flames Upon the Cuyahoga, which I initially thought I might do as a TOTW). He has probably put more work into this Tune of the Week than I have.
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As mentioned, I realize that nobody reading this TOTW will have the same interest in the Olentangy River as I do, but I still feel that I should include a little more information about it, just in case some of you want a bit more of the history behind the tune, would like to have a visual image or two in mind as you play it, or just happen to be "Minor Midwestern River" enthusiasts.
The name "Olentangy" is actually a bit of a misnomer. It was originally called keenhongsheconsepung, a Delaware Indian word literally translated as "stone for your knife stream", based on the shale found along its shores. Early settlers to the region translated this into "Whetstone River". In 1833, the Ohio General Assembly passed legislation intending to restore the original Native American names to some Ohio waterways, but mistakenly gave Whetstone River the name "Olentangy"—Delaware for "river of the red face paint"—which had actually belonged to what is now known as Big Darby Creek. (Despite the historical inaccuracy, I am just as glad that I do not live in the Keenhongsheconsepung Village Apartments.)
The Olentangy begins its journey somewhat inauspiciously in a field in Crawford County in north central Ohio, and from there flows 97 miles to the Scioto in downtown Columbus. Along the way it passes several points of interest, including the 100 foot shale cliffs at Highbanks Metro Park, some Indian earthworks, a major wetlands research center, the Ohio State University campus, and, most significantly of course, my apartment building.
Twenty-two miles of the Olentangy in Delaware County north of Columbus have been designated a State Scenic River. Despite the intensive development along the river farther south in the Columbus metropolitan area, it still provides a welcome natural recreational corridor for those who live near it, lined as it is with a popular bike bath and many neighborhood parks.
A few photographs:
Humble beginnings. This is the origin of the mighty Olentangy River, a stream well known to central Ohioans. Water washing off a field in southeastern Crawford County, some 90 river miles north of its mouth, form the Olentangy. This field runoff is shunted into a culvert, and then into that ditch in the background. (photo and caption by Jim McCormac)
The Olentangy River at Highbanks Metropark, not far north of Columbus. By this point, the stream has become much larger, and far wilder. Many interesting creatures live in and along the river over its 97-mile course, and its corridors provide some of the most noteworthy scenery in central Ohio. (photo and caption by Jim McCormac)
From about 1895 to 1937 the site of the Olentangy Village apartments was home to Olentangy Park, an amusement park initially developed by a local streetcar company as a way to encourage streetcar travel to the then-new Clintonville neighborhood. In the teens and twenties the park boasted several notable attractions, including one of the nation's first looping roller coasters, and what was at the time billed as the largest swimming pool in the world.
The looping roller coaster.
General view of the park.
The canoe livery along the river.
The Olentangy as it runs between the Olentangy Park/Village site and the wetlands research center.
View of the river from my apartment.
Aerial view of the Olentangy River, with the Ohio State University campus at the top and the OSU Olentangy Wetlands Research Center at the bottom.
The Columbus skyline as seem from the confluence of the Olentangy (to the left) and the Scioto (to the right), taken from a popular restaurant named - appropriately enough - The Confluence.
Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 08/10/2012 18:07:21
Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 08/10/2012: 15:33:54
Very interesting post. I hope a few people will try to come up with versions of their own.
sseiple - Posted - 08/10/2012: 16:39:48
Great post and great tune! I have lived in the Columbus area for over 30 years, so the story and pictures were fascinating to me. (I currently live in Hilliard). When I first came across this thread and saw the reference to "Olentangy" I knew it had to have something to do with central Ohio.
Is the jam you referred to in your post something held in a public place where spectators are welcome?
Steve
ChuckJo - Posted - 08/10/2012: 17:43:04
I am really honored and flattered to have Little Olentangy be a TOTW. I love the additional history especially about the amusement park.
It was an interesting challenge to figure out how to banjoitize the fiddle tune. I play "Big Scioty" in the tuning gDGDE, and since the tunes are related (at least in my mind), I thought the same tuning would work for Little Olentangy. However, I found the tune fell out more easily in standard G (gDGBD).
I have attached the video for ease of viewing/listening.
csbdr - Posted - 08/10/2012: 18:20:13
At chance of posting th tab? Awesome TOTW! Very cool to find a tune with such personal meaning
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/10/2012: 18:25:52
quote:
Originally posted by sseiple
Great post and great tune! I have lived in the Columbus area for over 30 years, so the story and pictures were fascinating to me. (I currently live in Hilliard). When I first came across this thread and saw the reference to "Olentangy" I knew it had to have something to do with central Ohio.
Is the jam you referred to in your post something held in a public place where spectators are welcome?
Steve
Glad you enjoyed it, Steve!
I sent you a PM regarding the jam.
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/10/2012: 18:27:14
quote:
Originally posted by csbdr
At chance of posting th tab? Awesome TOTW! Very cool to find a tune with such personal meaning
Thanks - it was quite the cool surprise to come across the tune.
The tab is available in the Hangout tab archives: banjohangout.org/w/tab/browse/...etter/v/L
Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 08/10/2012 18:28:46
banjo_mc - Posted - 08/10/2012: 18:57:39
Very interesting. I grew up on Olentangy street and I live very close to the river right now.
and I like the tune. I'll have to see if I can figure it out.
ChuckJo - Posted - 08/10/2012: 20:14:09
oops. Here it is.
jwoods - Posted - 08/10/2012: 22:11:37
I grew up in Columbus and fished with my Dad quite often in the Olentangy...
BANJOJUDY - Posted - 08/11/2012: 06:04:03
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckJo
oops. Here it is.
Chuck:
Do you have the musical notation for this terrific tune?
cbcarlisle - Posted - 08/11/2012: 08:19:00
Congratulations! You win the blue ribbon - oops, this week only: Gold Medal - for the most comprehensive documentation of a TOTW! (Strains of National Anthem in background...)
atleson - Posted - 08/11/2012: 08:34:39
Another excellent "new" old time tune by Chuck Levy, and a wonderful description of the tune and river. I also grew up in Cleveland, spent many years at OSU, and lived for two years in some "temporary" quonset huts right along the Olentangy. The dorms weren't wonderful, and i hope they are no longer there, but it did create a small community among the huge university, especially since we had to take a bus to and from the dorms. This all brings back some memories.
jim
ChuckJo - Posted - 08/11/2012: 08:53:51
Hey Judy,
I don't have a version of the tune in standard notation. I was thinking of posting a video of the tune on the fiddle. Would that help?
BANJOJUDY - Posted - 08/11/2012: 09:16:34
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckJo
Hey Judy,
I don't have a version of the tune in standard notation. I was thinking of posting a video of the tune on the fiddle. Would that help?
You bet, Chuck, I sure would like to hear/see you play this with the fiddle only. Lately, (as in now that I can read music) I like to check the notes after I've learned a tune by ear, just to make sure I've got the right ones.
The tab is in a tuning I don't usually use. I prefer playing G tunes in gDADE, or gEADE. Will mess with this one as time permits in one of the tunings I've listed.
This is going to be a tough TOTW "act" to follow, and I'm up for August 24th. ARGH! Good job everyone!
ChuckJo - Posted - 08/11/2012: 21:15:05
Here is the fiddle version.
JanetB - Posted - 08/12/2012: 09:51:25
Great write-up, Bret, and a most cheerful tune, Chuck. The geographic and historical information built up intrigue for hearing the new tune. Little Orentangy didn't let me down! The bonus is that Chuck's tab is clear and easy to follow.
JanetB - Posted - 08/14/2012: 09:05:48
This recording is played along with Chuck's banjo on my cello banjo with 3-finger picking. I'm wondering if those are birds chirping in his video.
Learning to play at Chuck's rapid tempo was interesting, and he actually kindly offered to slow it down. As John Kuhn, Professor KIDD (who I miss much on BHO) told me, I do 3-finger picking thinking in 4/4 time, whereas bluegrass players think more in eighth notes with their rapid rolls. This inclination of mine helped me to simplify and find the melody notes in the song. it would have taken me much longer to learn if I'd tried to play the tab as fast as Chuck.
Thanks again, Bret and Chuck, for a fun TOTW. Thanks also, Marc, who suggested I give this a try. Hopefully we'll see some more versions here.
ChuckJo - Posted - 08/14/2012: 09:32:50
Wow! Thanks Janet! You did a great job of catching the character of the tune. I can't wait to listen to it again on something other than my tiny computer speakers.
I have really enjoyed being involved in this thread. I love Bret's exposition on the Olentangy, hearing of others connections to it, and now Janet's interpretation.
Quite grand!
Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 08/14/2012: 11:50:13
quote:
Originally posted by JanetB
This recording is played along with Chuck's banjo on my cello banjo with 3-finger picking. I'm wondering if those are birds chirping in his video.
Learning to play at Chuck's rapid tempo was interesting, and he actually kindly offered to slow it down. As John Kuhn, Professor KIDD (who I miss much on BHO) told me, I do 3-finger picking thinking in 4/4 time, whereas bluegrass players think more in eighth notes with their rapid rolls. This inclination of mine helped me to simplify and find the melody notes in the song. it would have taken me much longer to learn if I'd tried to play the tab as fast as Chuck.
Thanks again, Bret and Chuck, for a fun TOTW. Thanks also, Marc, who suggested I give this a try. Hopefully we'll see some more versions here.
You're welcome, Janet, for my suggestion that you do this - though it must be admitted that what I suggested to you in the PM was a banjo duet with Chuck's fiddle version. It was your own idea to do it as a cello banjo duet with his banjo version.
Who knew the cello banjo version would turn out to be so good? Bravo!
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/14/2012: 21:11:16
quote:
Originally posted by banjo_mc
Very interesting. I grew up on Olentangy street and I live very close to the river right now.
and I like the tune. I'll have to see if I can figure it out.
I would not have guessed that there was another person on the Hangout who grew up on Olentangy Street. I lived there from 1963 to 1965, but was only two when I moved. Not too far, though, as I spent most of the rest of my childhood a few blocks away on Walhalla Road (and I still drive on or by Olentangy Street almost every day).
Glad you like the tune.
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/14/2012: 21:39:28
quote:
Originally posted by jwoods
I grew up in Columbus and fished with my Dad quite often in the Olentangy...
Another Columbus native! I've never tried fishing in the river, although I often see people doing so on one of the bike path bridges.
Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 08/14/2012 21:44:51
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/14/2012: 21:44:07
quote:
Originally posted by cbcarlisle
Congratulations! You win the blue ribbon - oops, this week only: Gold Medal - for the most comprehensive documentation of a TOTW! (Strains of National Anthem in background...)
My Olympic medal fantasy is winning the "Summer Biathlon" (mountain biking and archery). Since that event as yet exists only in my head, and since I am now 49, I'm guessing the window is fast closing on my Gold Medal dreams. So I'll accept the one you are offering (even if I suspect that if one were to read all 211 TOTWs it would not be at all obvious that I deserve it).
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/14/2012: 21:55:28
quote:
Originally posted by atleson
Another excellent "new" old time tune by Chuck Levy, and a wonderful description of the tune and river. I also grew up in Cleveland, spent many years at OSU, and lived for two years in some "temporary" quonset huts right along the Olentangy. The dorms weren't wonderful, and i hope they are no longer there, but it did create a small community among the huge university, especially since we had to take a bus to and from the dorms. This all brings back some memories.
jim
I'm glad you enjoyed the tune and the description. By my era (the early 80s) those quonset hut dorms had been replaced by high rise dorms on the southern and northern edges of campus. In the early 50s my dad spent his first year at OSU in a dorm in, of all places, Ohio Stadium. It was the Scholarship Dorm, since as the valedictorian of his small town high school he had received a $90 scholarship to Ohio State, which in 1950 was a full year's tuition, as hard as that is to believe now. "Scholarship Dorm" sounds rather nice, but in reality it consisted of large barracks-like rooms, each housing 18 students on cots lined against the walls. Pretty much the same living quarters he had in the army a few years later. Things were a bit different back in those days, evidently.
Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 08/14/2012 21:59:24
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/14/2012: 21:58:00
quote:
Originally posted by JanetB
This recording is played along with Chuck's banjo on my cello banjo with 3-finger picking. I'm wondering if those are birds chirping in his video.
Learning to play at Chuck's rapid tempo was interesting, and he actually kindly offered to slow it down. As John Kuhn, Professor KIDD (who I miss much on BHO) told me, I do 3-finger picking thinking in 4/4 time, whereas bluegrass players think more in eighth notes with their rapid rolls. This inclination of mine helped me to simplify and find the melody notes in the song. it would have taken me much longer to learn if I'd tried to play the tab as fast as Chuck.
Thanks again, Bret and Chuck, for a fun TOTW. Thanks also, Marc, who suggested I give this a try. Hopefully we'll see some more versions here.
Glad you liked the tune and the write-up, Janet. Thanks for coming up with and posting your version - I'm enjoying it very much. It's very interesting to hear that mix of instruments.
Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 08/14/2012 21:58:45
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/14/2012: 23:11:43
I am pleasantly surprised to see that there are some others with ties to the Olentangy River out there. For you, and any other interested parties, here are a few more photos and fun facts that I came across in my research but that I did not include in my initial post for fear of overwhelming the presentation of the tune itself with too much non-music-related information.
Marion County
As noted above, the Olentangy begins as little more than a creek in a ditch in Crawford County. It then crosses into Marion County, where it becomes a larger stream, if not quite a full-fledged river. There don't appear to be too many points of interest along its banks in Marion County, unless one is a fan of abandoned railroad bridges. One bridge that did interest me is the proposed wooden covered bridge at Kings Mill. Evidently there has been a bit of a resurgence in covered bridge construction of late, based upon the idea that such bridges last longer than non-protected spans (which was the idea behind them in the 19th-century as well). According to a local newspaper article "Funding available in 2015 will help put a wooden structure over the Olentangy River on St. James Road in the southeastern part of the county. Neighboring counties, including Union County, have been taking this option recently as they replace aging infrastructure. County Engineer Brad Irons said it will last longer, perhaps 100 to 125 years, compared to other new structures that have a 75- to 80-year life span, depending on the type. Lower maintenance and the life cycle of covered bridges make them attractive. Iron's office received a lot of positive feedback following a public information session and comment period after pitching the option. The aesthetic value is a big consideration, as well as the costs involved".
]
Proposed Kings Mill covered bridge over the Olentangy.
Delaware County
The Olentangy comes into its own as a river in Delaware County, just north of Columbus. At the northern edge of the county lies the Delaware reservoir, created in 1950 by the contruction of a flood control dam on the Olentangy River. The reservoir is surrounded by Delaware State Park and The Delaware Wildlife Area, the latter being the site of the Ohio DNR Olentangy Wildlife Research Station, the state's headquarters for wildlife research.
Also in Delaware County along the Olentangy are the impressive ruins of Bieber's mill, a massive, three-story stone mill contructed in 1876. Although the interior was gutted by fire in the 1930s, the mill's three-foot thick exterior walls still stand and are maintained by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as a "stabilized ruin".
Bieber's Mill
Bieber's Mill from across the Olentangy River. Farther south in Delaware County is Highbanks Metro Park, named after the 110-foot high shale cliffs along the Olentangy River. In addition to the popular overlook at the top of the cliffs, the park includes Adena culture burial mounds and earthworks, an early 19th-Century pioneer family graveyard, and a resident population of bald eagles, including those featured on the Metro Parks' "Eagle Cam":
http://www.metroparks.net/EagleCam.aspx .
]
View of the Olentangy from atop the Highbanks cliffs.
Adena burial mound at Highbanks.
]
Bald eagle at Highbanks.
Franklin County and Columbus
From there the river enters Franklin County, flowing through the Columbus suburbs and then the northern part of the city itself. Along this stretch it is lined by a popular bike path and many neighborhood parks. The largest of these parks is Whetstone Park in Clintonville. Among its amenities is the 13-acre Park of Roses, one of the largest municipal rose gardens in the country (
http://www.parkofroses.org/ ).
The Park of Roses at Whetstone Park.
As it flows through Columbus, the Olentangy provides a vital natural habitat for all sorts of wildlife. Tim Arbour - who has lived for years just a few feet from the Olentangy - has a number of entries on the river's inhabitants on his Ohio Nature Blog:
http://www.ohionatureblog.com/search/label/Olentangy
A mile or so south of Whetstone Park the river reaches the former site of Olentangy Park, already mentioned in my first post. Several people expressed a specific interest in that bit of Olentangy River history, so I've included a few more photos here.
Aerial view of the park.
Entrance to Olentangy Park, showing the tracks that allowed streetcars to travel directly into the park.
The swimming pool in 1919.
The swimming pool in 1925.
The Japanese Village. In 1904 the owners of Olentangy Village purchased a Japanese village that had been featured at the just-completed St. Louis World's Fair and moved it to the Clintonville park.
The bowling alley, circa 1905.
Olentangy Park faced increasing financial difficulties during the Depression, and closed in 1937. The land was bought by a developer, who tore down the park and in 1939 constructed the Olentangy Village Apartment complex. The pool (much reduced in size) remained until the 1990s, when it was filled in to provide land for new condo construction. The sole remaining structure from the Park is a small caretaker's building, now used as a maintenance facility by Olentangy Village. In the only nod to the site's entertainment history, the original bowling alley was replaced by a larger one - Olentangy Lanes - that remained a popular neighborhood destination until it burned down in 1980.
Immediately south of Clintonville, the Olentangy reaches the Ohio State University campus.
Just north of the main campus is the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park, the only such facility on a college campus in the country. The University has produced several videos highlighting the center's work and its connection to the Olentangy River:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL-34AZPprE&feature=relmfu . I am somewhat chagrined to admit that although I live directly across the river from the center - and can see it through the trees during the winter - I had until now not realized how unusual it was to have such a research facility in an urban setting, nor that there was a visitor center open to the public. I will have to check it out soon.
The Wetland Research Park.
At Ohio State, the river forms the boundary between the older main campus (established in the 1870s) and the more recently developed west campus (begun in the 1950s).
Aerial view of campus, showing the Lane Avenue bridge, the Lincoln and Morrill Towers, Drake Student Union, and Ohio Stadium. (Photo by Bill Cobb)
Drake Student Union along the Olentangy, with Lincoln and Morrill Towers in the background. As an architect I have never thought too much of the design of those towers, but then again I guess I should be thankful that they were the only two constructed, out of the originally planned eleven identical structures meant to line both banks of the river.
The new Lane Avenue bridge over the Olentangy, at the northern boundary of the campus.
A couple of miles south of OSU the Olentangy meets the Scioto. The peninsula-like area between the rivers is quite low and flat, and was thus never really developed until being covered with highways and interchanges in the mid-20th century.
The confluence of the Olentangy (left) and Scioto (right), circa 1910.
I'll end with one more photo of downtown Columbus taken from the confluence of the two rivers.
Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 08/14/2012 23:17:42
BANJOJUDY - Posted - 08/15/2012: 06:19:36
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckJo
Here is the fiddle version.
Thanks for the fiddle version of ths very addictive tune. It sure is a good one, and fun to play, even if I cannot pronounce the title without a bit of tongue tying!
EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 08/15/2012: 07:52:01
quote:
Originally posted by BANJOJUDY
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckJo
Here is the fiddle version.
Thanks for the fiddle version of ths very addictive tune. It sure is a good one, and fun to play, even if I cannot pronounce the title without a bit of tongue tying!
It's usually pronounced oh-lin-TAN-gee, although as you note even if one knows the pronunciation, it doesn't exactly roll easily off the tongue.
Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 08/15/2012 07:53:24
banjo_mc - Posted - 08/15/2012: 07:59:04
I was there from mid-1970's through early 1990's. My parents still live there. I'm still in the 'Ville, just on another street and much closer to the river. In fact, I run on the O-trail all the time. I never get tired of the scenery. Nice writeup about the river by the way. Living so close, I've always enjoyed it, but I've never really taken the time to appreciate the history of it.
quote:
Originally posted by EggerRidgeBoy
quote:
Originally posted by banjo_mc
Very interesting. I grew up on Olentangy street and I live very close to the river right now.
and I like the tune. I'll have to see if I can figure it out.
I would not have guessed that there was another person on the Hangout who grew up on Olentangy Street. I lived there from 1963 to 1965, but was only two when I moved. Not too far, though, as I spent most of the rest of my childhood a few blocks away on Walhalla Road (and I still drive on or by Olentangy Street almost every day).
Glad you like the tune.
banjo_mc - Posted - 08/15/2012: 08:01:44
Thanks Chuck! I've been spending some time on the tune. I'm very new to playing banjo (spent most of my time playing guitar and singing). Every time I pick up another one of these tunes, my fingers learn a little bit more, and this song has been a lot of fun to mess with.
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckJo
oops. Here it is.
ChuckJo - Posted - 08/19/2012: 12:41:44
Well, I thought a way to bring this thread to full circle would be to post a version of Big Scioty.
Matt Buckley - Posted - 08/19/2012: 15:01:51
I know the river, and the mill ruins, well. I graduated from Ohio Wesleyan, in Delaware, Ohio in 1977. The OWU campus borders the Olentangy, and I used to ride my bike along the river.
Thanks for sharing a great tune.
And by the way, and just for the record, Ohio Wesleyan (i.e. David) did score 14 points against Ohio State (i.e. Goliath) in football in 1941, alas losing 20-14. :)
Cheers.
Matt
Edited by - Matt Buckley on 08/19/2012 15:06:55
pcollings - Posted - 08/21/2012: 09:33:52
Thanks, Chuck, for posting both the TAB and the fiddle version.
Pete
