Today I go behind the scenes to show what I saw while reviewing the digital map between around the city of Cleveland.
Screen captures come from Excel 2007. Minor edits made using MS Paint.
Image of actor Stephen Baldwin is from IMDB.com
Other images are sourced as noted.
TL;DR
- Introduction
- Fun with Maps
11. Solon, OH
10. Euclid, OH
9. Seven Hills, OH
8. Peninsula, OH
7. Hudson, OH
6. Lyndhurst, OH
5. Brooklyn Heights, OH
4. Independence, OH
3. Boston, OH
2. Macedonia, OH
1. Cleveland, OH - More Fun with Maps
Introduction
David Guardia gets to meet some people in Cleveland. Two of these people are noted later in the daily zapfic serial, and one of those two should be familiar to anyone who has seen both his hard-hitting journalism and his out-of-control audiences over the years.
Along the way, he must have been looking at digital (or even paper) maps.
What was he looking at? What caught his eye? What surprises did he find?
While I can't answer those questions for him, I can answer them for myself.
In our physical offline world, the trip to STURGIS would have been shorter and more efficient (not to mention cheaper) had David Guardia used some navigational aid, be it GPS or a Viking Sunstone. It also would have been a much more boring ride for him (and for us as readers).
Maps are a vital part of The GHAWG Universe, both for me as storyteller and for the characters. As much as I want to have scenes take place at certain locations, the ultimate decider is THE MAP: If the location doesn't make sense for the story, then I can't use it for that story. On the other hand, the map may show me a location I hadn't considered before but makes perfect sense both for utility and symbolism.
While reviewing digital maps, there are times I find locations which get me scratching my head and scruff, get me laughing, or even get me wondering "WTF is this??" This post features what I discovered in the vicinity of Cleveland.
Fun with Maps
As with earlier editions of Fun With Maps, a few places on the map
… I had known about over the years;
… are better known by their more famous alternatives; and
… I just hadn't expected at all.
Now that David Guardia is in Ohio, more zapfic entries are taking place there.
This is my third look at the stretch of Interstate 76 connecting East Palestine and Cleveland. Here is the 3rd set of discoveries in this section of the Interstate:
Just to remind myself that this map was part of Ohio, I added the label OHIO. Then I highlighted 11 locations. This map isn't directly tied to any other map, so I added the label Poland ▬►► for reference. Here are the 11 locations in reverse order of interest:
11. Solon, OH
Solon (640-560 BCE) was statesman and poet best known for his service as a lawmaker to the city-stated of Athens. Athens was falling apart and in flux when he assumed his role as lawmaker.
Source: World History Encyclopedia
Solon was such an important figure in the history of Ancient Greece (including its pre-democratic era) that his name became a synonym for one who is a wise and skillful lawgiver.
Solon, Ohio was founded in 1820 by Jason Robbins and Isaac "Samuel" Bull. The town was named after Isaac Bull's son, Lorenzo Solon Bull.
But why did Isaac Bull give his son the middle name of Solon?
10. Euclid, OH
When most of us hear the name Euclid, we think of the Greek mathematician known as the father of geometry. In fact, the geometry most of us use in our lives is called Euclidean Geometry (while other forms of geometry are applied to situations such as the space-time math).
The town was named Euclid by the surveyors working for Moses Cleaveland of the ConnecticutLand Company. The surveyors wanted to honor Euclid, informally consided the patron saint of surveyors. In 1809 Euclid was incorporated as a township.
9. Seven Hills, OH
One of the names by which Rome is known is the City of the Seven Hills. As a place name with that actual name, multiple locations use that place name. The one in Ohio is my first encounter with it.
Although no one is certain how Seven Hills, Ohio got its name, nearly everyone thinks that it's either due to the numerous hills in the region or in order to reference Rome.
8. Peninsula, OH
A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on all sides except one; usually it's water on 3 sides.
This geographic feature was good enough to bed used as a place name for this Ohio town. The peninsula in question exists because of the way the Cuyahoga River bends in that area.
7. Hudson, OH
Being a New Yorker, my first thoughts are of the Huson River and the stretch separating New York City's Manhattan Island from Hudson County, New Jersey (Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Edgewater, and other towns north). Related is Henry Hudson, the English explorer for whom the Hudson River is named. For non-New Yorkers, Hudson is a last name for many famous people and celebrities.
In 1795, the Connecticut Land Company awarded land to David Hudson and his 5 business partners (Stephen Baldwin-- not this one:
6. Lyndhurst, OH
Lyndhurst is a town in Nassau County on Long Island which is a few miles away from John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York (part of New York City). Lyndhurst is also the home of the fictional Barone family in the situation comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond which starred Ray Romano.
Some places are named for their geographical features (such as Peninsula, Ohio). Some places are named to honor people, famous and otherwise. Some places are ven named to honor other places (such as Glasgow, California and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Then there are places named as a result of a lottery. This was the case for Hudson, Ohio; and it's the case for Lyndhurst, Ohio. The Lyndhurst in Ohio is named after the Lyndhurst in New Jersey, decades before Everybody Loves Raymond.
5. Brooklyn Heights, OH
Brooklyn Heights is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, east of southern Manhattan Island across the East River. There may be other places in the nation named Brooklyn Heights, but this is the most famous of them.
Brooklyn Heights, Ohio took its name from Brooklyn Township. Brooklyn Township itself got its name after a while: Ozias Brainard, who immigrated from Connecticut in 1814, proposed calling the area "Egypt" because of how well the corn (Corn? Not wheat?) grew in the area. Eventually, the more popularly-accepted name "Brooklyn" was adopted by the township.
4. Independence, OH
Rare-- if non-existent-- is the place named "Dependence". So "Independence" is a popular place name around the world, and for many reasons. This is especially so in the United States. The most famous place named Independence is in Misouri, where 34th President of the United States Harry Truman was buried and has his presidential library.
Aside from geography, many people think about ID4 (the alternate title for the 1996 summer blockbuster movie Independence Day), the movie which turned Will Smith into a box-office superstar and catapulted him to Peak Will Smith status.
Independence Ohio got its name from Independence Township, which was created in 1814. Originally, Independence Township had been named Center. During the mid-1800s, thanks to mining becoming an industry there, many German and Swiss immigrants settled in the area. This booming population growth propmted the township to be renamed Independence.
3. Boston, OH
The most famous Boston in the world is the major-league city in Massachusetts (Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics; plus ties to the New England Patriots). This first Boston in North America takes its name from Boston, Lincolnshire, England, UK. According to the Secret Boston web site, the name
"Boston" is believed to be a contraction of "Saint Botolph's town" or "Saint Botolph's stone."
Boston, Ohio was named after Boston Twonship, which itself was named to honor the Boston in Massacusetts by James Stanford in 1811 when it was established.
2. Macedonia, OH
Macedonia is a region whose territory is mostly in northern Greece, but it also includes a partof southwestern Bulgaria. Part of northern Greece declared indendence from Greece to become the new nation of The Republic of North Macedonia. More people know of Macedonia as the kingdom of Alexander the Great.
Macedonia, Ohio-- originally known as "The Corners" due to being halfway between Cleveland and Akron-- got its name from theology students from Western Reserve College in Hudson, Ohio. During the early part of the 19th Century, the theology students would recruit new studentsby repeating the Biblical passage "Come over into Macedonia and help us." After a while, the name "Macedonia" stuck.
1. Cleveland, OH
Cleveland is known as a major league city (Guardians-- formerly Indians; Browns; Cavaliers). It's also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's been featured in many movies (including Major League) and television series (including Hot in Cleveland).
Like Boston in Massachusetts, Cleveland is named after an area of England. General Moses Cleaveland founded the city in Ohio in 1796. Until 1831, the name of the city retained this spelling. Then a newspaper, The Cleveland Advertiser began to spell the name of the city with one "a" and not two. Since then, it's been Cleveland.
More Fun with Maps
After East Palestine, the next stop for David Guardia is Cleveland. Where else in Ohio will David Guardia find himself? What other notable people will he find there? How does his ride further unfold?
Let's find out together as I continue my research and we have more fun with maps.
As more posts in this series are published, they will be added to the pinned post "GHAWGnav: Navigating The GHAWG Universe". Thanks for taking time to see how this part of The GHAWG Universe is being built.
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[!!]See you next time for another edition of Fun with Maps!
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