If you visit the Ted Lewis Museum in Circleville, Ohio (read about it here), step across the street to admire this mural.
It was painted in 2010 for the city’s bicentennial and depicts some important local subject matter, namely early modes of transit, Native Americans, agriculture, and the legend himself, Mr Ted Lewis.
That’s Chief Cornstalk on the left. He was a Shawnee leader whose tragic murder threatened the delicate peace in the Ohio Country. The woman on the right side is identified by a nickname – Grenadier Squaw. I’m curious to know why they chose to use the nickname for this Shawnee leader and sister of Chief Cornstalk.
Although, I suppose Cornstalk was a nickname too. Ignore my musings. I may just be overprotective of the ladies.
Her real name was Nonhelema Hokolesqua and I thought it was interesting she helped compile a dictionary of Shawnee words while being held at Fort Pitt. I would like to learn more about her.
Look carefully and you’ll see that Ted is depicted all dressed up and ready to catch a trolley on the right.
Don’t just walk or drive by something like this. Stop. Get out of the car, walk right up to it, and study this massive painting. It’s larger than life, vibrant and extremely well done. The longer you look at it, the more there is to see.
If you ever find yourself in Circleville, Ohio, look for a small storefront on Main Street called the Ted Lewis Museum. Then go in and have a look around to learn about the city’s most famous son who happened to be one of the great entertainers of the early 20th century.
We visited a few Saturdays ago while out enjoying a quiet day of book and ice cream consumption. The museum is free so we decided to venture in. I knew of Ted Lewis because there’s also a city park named in his honor and had looked him up once.
He was a Vaudeville performer who had been on Ed Sullivan at least once and he was the son of Jewish parents whose Friedman’s Bazaar supplies local women the latest fashions.
That’s the end of what I knew.
Adah, Ted’s beloved wife of 56 years, opened this museum in 1977 after his death from lung failure in 1971. Let’s stop here for a moment. This museum has existed in the same location since about two months before I was born. In other words, it has been there for my entire life and it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago I finally made my way there. This, friends, is a common predicament for local attractions because people just don’t think to visit the places close to home.
But I digress.
Who was Ted Lewis?
Well, he was a bandleader, a singer, a musician and one of the great Vaudevillian performers. He was funny and he’s said to be one of the first northern musicians to emulate the New Orleans Jazz style that was so popular when he was beginning his career in the 1910’s.
As a boy, he ran away with an old time medicine show so he could play clarinet to draw a crowd for the show. His father tracked him down in Chillicothe, a city several miles south of Circleville, and brought him home. His parents enrolled him in business college in Columbus but his job in a music store led to him joining the Vaudeville circuit.
From there, he was playing clubs in New York City, traveling the world, recording his music, making movies, then making television guest spots and more. No matter where he went, the museum docent said he never failed to mention his hometown which he called “The Capital of the World.” In fact, he remembered his hometown in other ways too, donating land for a city parking which opened in 1941 and then continued raising money to pay for its upkeep and expansion for the remainder of his life. He raised money for the hospital too. He and his wife made semi-annual visits to the city’s famed Pumpkin Show and he even celebrated his 80th birthday with a big party in 1970.
The museum has his musical instruments, tux, top hat, movie posters, records, furniture, and memorabilia. If you’re willing to stand and read some things on the wall, you’ll find some rich stories from his early life and career. There’s a small theater in the back with films playing from some of his appearances. We saw a charming performance from Ed Sullivan’s Toast Of The Town when we were there.
As we watched this performance, I got to thinking about how generously Ed Sullivan celebrated the old Vaudevillians, many of whom didn’t make the transition from stage to film or recording as well as Ted Lewis was able to do. I was also thinking about how quaint or perhaps hokie his brand of entertainment must seem to kids today. Yet, this is what real talent looks like. Long before auto tuning, Artificial Intelligence and whatever else they’ve used for the last fifty years to make people who aren’t that good sound like superstars, there were people like Ted Lewis who actually needed talent to survive on stage night after night. He knew how to entertain but, more importantly, he knew how to engage and delight an audience.
How fabulous.
His tag line that endured his entire career asked a very simple question: Is Everybody Happy?
I certainly was happy after spending some time in Ted Lewis’ world. If you get a chance, I recommend dropping by as well. The Ted Lewis Museum has a nice website with a lot more of his life story. Check them out for his story and for museum information.
Also, catch a glimpse of Ted’s talent and charm in this video clip!
Big trips are exciting but mini adventures are sometimes just enough to scratch the travel itch and keep you enriching your life close to home. Adam and I went on a mini adventure Saturday, driving backroads to Circleville for a library book sale and ice cream at the nation’s oldest family owned candy shop.
It doesn’t sound like much but, you know how I roll: we made some other stops. First of all, the library book sale was well organized and we both found treasures. They do these sales several times a year and you can bet we will go back. Pizza Cottage was probably the MVP with a veggie pizza so loaded with toppings it was hard to see the crust. We also had great service and would highly recommend this regional chain.
We admired downtown murals and architecture and roamed through the Ted Lewis Museum for a little art and culture. Check back for more on this soon.
When that historic candy shop was closed, we regrouped to pick up ice cream from the Dairy Queen walk-up window and basked in the air conditioned comfort of my car with our sweet treats. We’ll visit those other places some other day.
Finally, a quick trip through Ollie’s to “look at the books” led me to bring home several things I “needed.”
Was this an exciting adventure day? I suppose not. We didn’t go far and there are no great headlines from this day trip. However, we looked more closely at things I normally just pass by and we were together. We chatted and laughed all day long and I thought it was a perfectly lovely day.
Don’t have time for a long trip? Can’t afford a long trip? I would highly recommend looking around your own community and just beyond. Some of my very best adventure days have been less than an hour from home. You might be surprised at the interesting hometown museums, hidden murals, great meals and fascinating people just off the beaten path of places you think you know.
And, if you think you know a place, that’s a really good reason to go in for a closer look. I’m telling you, there’s fun to be had.
It was dedicated in 1879 and cost $18,599 to build. It’s Pickaway Lodge No. 23, a Masonic Lodge in Circleville, Ohio. I was fortunate to be in town for work yesterday and couldn’t resist grabbing some pictures.
It’s a grand building that remains an active lodge. Plus, there’s a great antique mall in the downstairs.
Much care was taken with the details in this building’s design and the round windows are absolute show stoppers. It’s even more fabulous in person than it appears in pictures.
After taking my dream ride on the Ford Tri-Motor airplane Saturday, I headed up to Circleville for some lunch and a walk at a place I had never been.
Calamus Swamp Preserve is located just outside of Circleville and is a Columbus Audubon Preserve of about 19 acres.
This is not a difficult walk but it is lovely. The trail winds through meadow, boardwalk and woods. Dragonflies, birds and squirrels accompanied me along the way.
This stretch of trail was shaded and especially pleasant.
There were several varieties of fungi and some interesting wildflowers to inspect.
Calamus is convenient to access and peaceful. I would absolutely stop here again when in the neighborhood. Click here to learn more. Take note, there’s also a paved bike path that goes right by this property.
