12 Year Old Arrested After Opening Christmas Gift

A twelve year old South Carolina boy received an enhanced version Christmas present.

After being told by his mother to not open a present, the little imp couldn't resist. Woo hoo a Game Boy!

Then, came the gift enhancement. His none-too-pleased mother called police. The 12 year old was arrested and charged with petty larceny. Merry Christmas.

Coshocton Halloween in 1911

October 1911--Iron fisted Mayor Cassingham warned would be pranksters and vandals that Coshocton would beef up police presence for Halloween festivities. Any offending revelers caught would face arrest.

According to the Coshocton Daily Age, every street would be patrolled by police and "special men". Cassingham stated that anyone caught "tearing up street crossings, carrying away porch chairs and rugs or anything of the nature of property destruction" would be arrested.

Young tricksters would be allowed to use corn and "tick tack contrivances" without fear of police involvement.

The Age went on to editorialize in the article, "To say that Tuesday night (Halloween) is cabbage night would be to convey a closer meaning to the several hundreds of youngsters of the city, between the ages of 7 and 15, those creators of eternal vigilance to whom the day merely means a time when destruction of property can be accomplished and clothed under the word fun."

Merry Christmas Bobbleheads

The Christmas holiday season looms on the horizon. I've started an earnest search for that one unique, special gift for my loving wife.

For a mere $410, I think I found that one-of-a-kind gift item every spouse desires: a custom made bobble head. Yep, you can have a bobble head made of your spouse (or anyone you desire). Imagine your spouse's suprise when they unwrap their gift Christmas morning and see their own bobbling likeness. Hoo Wee, now that's a present!


Lee's Summit entreprenuer, Richard Lynn, has the key to your gift giving happiness. You can visit him at bobblehead.com

Labor Day Fireworks Show A Blast

Last night's WEBN/Toyota Labor Day fireworks show in Cincinnati packed a massive crowd. Attendance estimates range upward of one half million people who watched the 30th anniversary of the annual show.

Often, I rave about this show to the uninitiated. I've attended several shows and last night's was the best and most intense ever. If you've never attended a major fireworks show, you don't know what you're missing. Often, the Cincinnati show rates as one the largest in the nation.

The fireworks capped a wonderful Cincinnati visit.

For those of you who visit Cincinnati, we recommend a dinner outing to Nicholson's Tavern and Pub, located in downtown Cincinnati. Nicholson's features authentic Scottish pub fare and boasts of one the region's largest selections of single malt Scotch whiskey. While at Nicholson's, we sampled 25 year old single malt and dined on shepherd's pie before heading to the fireworks.

Our overnight stay at the Downtown Hilton Netherland Plaza gave us a fine primer in art deco architecture and design.

Also, not to forget the northern Kentucky side, we stopped at The Party Source, a liquor superstore which stock over 2,500 kinds of beer.

Labor Day Fireworks

It's Labor Day fireworks in Cincinnati, one of the nation's largest explode-a-thon's. The CTCN staff will be present and provide you with a full report tomorrow.

By the way, if you've never attended this spectacle, it's about 3 and one half hours from Coshocton. I highly recommend it.

National Watermelon Day

Today marks the celebration of National Watermelon Day. Who among you can resist the sweet succulent watermelon on a hot August day? What is the watermelon's origin? What type of watermelon meals can you prepare? Should you avoid square watermelon?

Four alternative uses for a watermelon:

• Use as football helmets when real helmets aren't available. If helmets are available, use watermelon as ball replacement. Watermelon footballs are much more entertaining; even though the game stops after kickoff.
• Temporary bowling balls. You can assure victory if you're able to get the watermelon all the way down the lane.
• Carve a watermelon for Halloween. Add some color to an otherwise dark holiday. A pink and green goblin will delight the kids. Here's some watermelon art work for inspiration. Kids will think twice about smashing a vampire watermelon.
• Biodegradeable scarecrow head. The crows won't be afraid, but they'll be laughing so hard that they'll forget to eat your crops.

National Ice Cream And Caviar Days

Today is both National Ice Cream Day and National Caviar Day. I've wracked my brain attempting to develop method to combine the two holidays. Soft serve caviar? Chocolate Lumpfish Surpise? Vanilla Beluga Swirl? No need to worry, I found a way.

Coshocton Celebrates International Blondie and Deborah Harry Month

Sometimes, I don't know how holidays/celebrations begin, but who wouldn't benefit from having a holiday celebration named after them. I'm lobbying my wife for a holiday recognizing CTCN and moi (smirk-ed).

Anyway, to the task at hand, July is International Blondie and Deborah Harry Month. Here's a band who achieved superstardom after years of playing crappy clubs and small shows. Through it all, they kept refining their sound and sharpening their songwriting skills. The hard work paid off and they marched to the toppermost of the poppermost.

By the way, watch this video of Blondie and see if you can guess who was influenced by Debbie Harry.

Oh, one more thing. Deborah Harry just celebrated her birthday July 1. I hope I look that good when I'm 61.

Create Your Own Online 4th of July

For those of you who can't enjoy fireworks live and in person, you can play with these online fireworks. By the way, turn up your speakers loud.

Coshocton Fourth of July Circa 1901

July 1901--Fourth of July festivities started at midnight and
the Coshocton Daily Age had this to say,

"When the hour of midnight arrives , the city let go. The pent up enthusiam of weeks of enforced silence found vent in a noisy demonstration. Cannon crackers were discharged in all parts of the city, and a contrivance that consisted of pipe, powder and fuse was wheeled about town by a party of young men and fired directly in front of their friends' homes. The bombardment continued until the small boy, ever alert and ready to celebrate, appeared in the morning. The the noise broke forth with all the power of the day and there was much abundance of sport. Luckily accidents were few and of a trivial character. Hands were not blown off and powder bespattered countenances are not to be found in Coshocton as a result of the day's enjoyment. The shower in the evening spoiled a number of private displays of fireworks, but some were very good and rockets and candles split the air..."

Coshocton On Independence Day July 1883

July 1883--As reported by the Coshocton Daily Age, the holiday passed by quietly. A "big crowd of perspirers baked in 94 degree temperatures while watching the 11 a.m. parade. The parade included five marching bands, fifty pioneers, a militia company, and citizens.

The afternoon festivities included a reading of the Declaration of Independence and choir rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner".

The reading of the Declaration was interrupted by firecrackers and a cannon explosion for the court square north west corner.

Coshocton Fourth of July Celebration Circa 1906

1906--The 4th of July proved quite eventful this year. It proved to be a day for pugilists and a terror for kids playing with "dynamite canes". First up, a fight re-cap:

• Albert vs. Kleinknecht--this fight started over an argument over the pulling abilities of two horses. Kleinknecht delivered a mighty blow which put Albert on the ground. Albert filed a charge and Kleinknecht was fined by the mayor. Albert wins on technicality.
• Jeffries vs. Taylor--fans figured this matchup to be Herculean in nature. While the two pounded one another, referee Turnkey Decker stepped in, stopped the match, and escorted both men to the cooler. Both paid fines the next morning. Coshocton wins by default.
• Taylor vs. Unknown Rock Thrower--this match was stopped due to foreign objects being introduced into the match. Taylor, the battle initiator, struck his opponent with an iron rod. The opponent returned the favor by heaving a large rock which struck Taylor's head creating a large gash and necessitated five stitches. The Unknown Rock Thrower wins big and grabs the title.

Now, for the Biff Bang Pow 4th of July explosions.

• Herman Harris was the victim of a "blank shooter". He required minimal medical attention.
• The little son of John Waggoner fell victim to a "dynamite cane". Once again, lady luck helped the innocent youth to escape serious injury.
• Ira Cramblett received a wad from a blank cartridge in one of his fingers. While the wound proved to be painful, the doctor patched him up and sent him on his way.
• An anonymous reveler exploded a dynamite cane near the Murray-Siegrist liquor store. A piece of iron (!!) from the cane shattered the liquor store plate glass window resulting in $80. worth of damage.
• Fourteen year old Max Cohen had a cane explode which sent splinters flying and caused a painful gash on his left cheek.
• Frank Argento was hit in the neck by a piece of iron from an exploding dynamite cane. The resulting serious injury was attended to by Dr. McCain.

That wraps up our 1906 4th of July celebration.

Fourth of July Goes Boom In Coshocton

July 1883--The Coshocton Daily Age reported that the fifteen year old son of Abram Holdsworth was "exercising his patriotism with an anvil and powder". The resulting explosion caused severe burns on the young lad's face and that a plug within the anvil was sent through the roof of the building.

Just a few inches to the left or right and the youngster would have become a fatality.

Over the next few days, you'll read of additional Coshocton 4th of July follies.

National Escargot Day

Can you purchase escargot in Coshocton? My wife queried, "Aren't they bugs?" "Nope", says I, "they're appetizers."Will Nick at Sport Zone ever feature deep fried snails as a Friday night appetizer? Should we consider this celebration a non-entity?

Should we head to our gardens and harvest a few of the slow moving critters for consumption?

How do you rear snails (especially those without tail lights)?

So you want to be a snail farmer?

How do you prepare and cook escargot?

What type of eating utensils do you require for escargot consumption?

One final question: do you now know too much about escargot?

International Twit Award Month

Okay, here's your chance to become part of an award program. Who should receive the International Twit Award? Britney Spears? Brangelina?Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? George W. Bush? Dick Cheney? Ken Blackwell? Ted Kennedy? John Kerry? Ann Coulter? You know better than I; who's your favorite twit? Here are definitions on which to base your choice

Twit--n 1: someone who is regarded as contemptible [syn: twerp, twirp]
Contemptible--adj 1: deserving of contempt or scorn 2: worthy only of being despised and rejected; "a contemptible lack of courage"; (from dictionary.com)

Post your anonymous nomination in the comments section and I'll post the winner on Friday.

Now: Laugh And Get Rich Day, Part 2

The other morning, our 7 year old son, Joey, made a funny comment. I said, "You're a comedian." His reply, "Well...you're a Canadian...and you have a leaf on your flag!"

Now: Laugh And Get Rich Day

I love these wacky holidays. My wife accuses me of making this stuff up, but a quick visit to Google proves otherwise. Anyway, because I'm light on cash, I'll be yucking it up all day. You too can participate and, perhaps together, we can enrich ourselves. I'll post humorous tidbits or links throughout the day, and maybe, we'll laugh our way to the bank.

Pay A Compliment Day

Hmmm...I called my wife at work, "Hey, it's NATIONAL COMPLIMENT DAY!!"

Her response, "yeah".

I said, "Yes, do you have anything you'd like to compliment me about?"

"Ummm", she said, "you don't smell as bad as usual."

Library Lover's Month

I can't say enough about the Coshocton library. It's a wonderful resource and features a great staff of dedicated people.

State budget cuts have affected libraries everywhere and communities need to wake up to the value of libraries.

If you've not visited the Coshocton library lately, make a point to go this weekend. If you're not the reading type, check out a movie or CD. If they don't have what you want, log on to their website and order what you need from the SE Library Consortium. It's that easy. Plus, you'll save yourself $$$ because the library's still free!

When you visit, ask for Linda. She's a wonderful librarian and a big help to boot.

Going Original With Happy Hedgehog Day

While everyone frets over what's his name Phil's weather forecast (six more weeks of spring...errr winter), let us not forget the original, Hedgehog Day. The Romans, being the innovators they were, would look for a hedgehog shadow, under a clear moon, as a weather forecast.

I'm wondering if "bad news" hedgehogs ended up battling gladiators and lions at the Coliseum?

For those of you not pleased with what's his name Phil's prognostication, know that groundhogs have other uses.