Author Archives: Wright Flyer Guy

Early Thursday, I convinced myself I would not mow the yard as I wanted to enjoy the breezes on the deck while researching. At 2:00 PM, I itched for something different to break up my day. The weather was hot … Continue reading →

July 21, 1909: Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, DECLO, is incorporated. Yesterday, while researching Col. Edward Deeds and DELCO, I learned that the company was formed on July 21, 1909 and that their first manufacturing plant was on the northwest Dayton … Continue reading →

It’s a cool 72 degrees with a nice breeze staying off the humidity which is not all that bad. Things are chirping, buzzing, singing, swishing, humming, and burrring all around The Haasienda. I love these early morning symphonies. Several neighbors … Continue reading →

Cicero, Indiana offered some great off-the-beaten-path fishing locations just north of the reservoir. When I was growing up, my birth father and his younger brother, my Uncle Garry, loved to fish in this area. Mother often joined us, bringing along … Continue reading →

71 degrees, for the moment, is quite comfortable even with the high humidity tapping to be noticed but kept at bay by a cool breeze intermittently passing across the deck. The high is to reach 90 degrees by midafternoon. Today … Continue reading →

Everything is sticky. The world outside still contains dampness from the Sunday rainfest and the humidity is 96% now. It’s mildly uncomfortable but I am grateful we’ve not received flooding as so many in Indiana and Illinois have. I feel … Continue reading →

This is one of my favorite photographs from my youth, taken on July 18, 1974, the steps of The United States Capitol Building with my grandparents, Leroy and Donna Barmes, and our 6th District Indiana Congressman, Elwood “Bud” Hillis. A … Continue reading →

It’s a wet, wet, wet, wet Monday morning here in The Miami Valley. Karen Carpenter’s song, “Rainy Days and Mondays,” is on autoplay in my brain. The thunderstorms began in the wee hours of Sunday morning and the rain was … Continue reading →

The morning is nearing 10:00 AM but I have been productive with some laundry, filling and starting the dishwasher, and doing some tidying up. Now, I am surrounded by my one book on Col. Edward Deeds and three biographies on … Continue reading →

At some point through the night, we were gently baptized with a bit of rain. The threat of more rain seems possible due to the gray clouds but the forecast assures us there is no more to be had this … Continue reading →

Who was The Barn Gang? Very simply, they were a group of some of Dayton’s finest minds, mostly National Cash Register (NCR) talents, who met in the two-story carriage house at 319 Central Avenue owned by Col. Edward Deeds, a … Continue reading →

10,235 steps between 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM! Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum is large and filled with hills. Lots and lots of hills. I shoved my fold-up cane into my backpack but did not use it. Upon leaving Woodland Cemetery, … Continue reading →

The day already feels remarkably wonderful. The deck’s gentle breeze offers a refreshing wisp of air and coolness with our 65 degrees and that pleasant coolness seems to present itself throughout the back lawn. Chief is lounging at the top … Continue reading →

July 12th is a day of memories with shared anniversaries for librettist, lyricist, producer, and darling of a man, Oscar Hammerstein II, and director, producer, playwright, author, and another darling man, Joshua Logan. Mr. Hammerstein and Mr. Logan were not … Continue reading →

I slept well but I honestly don’t remember. That’s the sign that I enjoyed my rest and was committed to it. The morning is overcast and muggy but there’s no forecast for rain, only winds to reach 15 mph by … Continue reading →

It’s about as beautiful a morning that one could personally order up. The quietness has an unseen current of energy that feels awesome. There is nothing

By 7:30 AM, the drops were starting to gently tap the canvass awning over the front porch as I looked over the front yard after checking to see if there were any Mary Lincoln day lily stragglers. There was just … Continue reading →

The clock just moved past the eight o’clock hour and the sun is busily teasing my sight with its blinding rays as it moves downward and dodges the umbrella and shower curtain to shield me as I work. There’s a … Continue reading →

It’s sticky from the humidity and it has been raining steadily since around 8:00 AM. I relaxed and read from bed all morning and now am dressed for my afternoon outing to the park. Last evening, Laura and I went … Continue reading →

The day began with rain and it seems it will end with rain. Lots of rain. Surprisingly, the rain showers did not hinder guests from enjoying the park. I figured it would be a low turnout but I was pleasantly … Continue reading →

When an 1845 CINCINNATI CHRONICLE article described Dayton, Ohio “…it may be fairly said that Dayton is the gem of all our interior towns…”, there seemed to be little effort to prove that title over the following one-hundreds years when … Continue reading →

The deck is still too damp to work outside so I’m in my bedroom with the door wide open to the deck. It is not unusual for the deck door to be wide open in good weather so the dogs … Continue reading →

The song, “Here Comes The Sun” is playing through my brain but with the word “rain” replacing the word, “sun.” The whitish-grey skies have placed a pall over The Miami Valley and the feel and smell of rain give more … Continue reading →

At 7:10 AM, a heavy rain shower passed through for a little over thirty minutes and I’m pleased I don’t need to go out to water flowers. The air smells fresh and for a short while, there is a coolness … Continue reading →

It’s been a somewhat relaxing day, not unlike the previous two years with many things out of regular operation. Around 7:15 PM, the “Pops & Booms” concert began with someone driving through the high school parking lot tossing out firecrackers … Continue reading →