Dan Speedy provides Comunity Development Corporation Update

“We buy land that floods that is not usable for other purposes,” said Dan Speedy to the Cambridge Lions Club. “The flood plain has been impacted by human activity. Our goal is to get the flood plain back to its natural state. We also make up for filling in elsewhere.”

Speedy is the director of the Community Development Corporation, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the environment. Restoration of the flood plain provides habitat for non-threatened as well as endangered species.

“We have a nesting pair of American bitterns in the Leatherwood Valley,” Speedy said. “The birds have not been seen in this area since the 1950’s.” The bittern is a member of the heron family. It usually inhabits marshy areas. The bittern is a brown bird about two feet tall with a wingspan about forty inches.

“The CDC sometimes gets blamed for adding to the flooding problem,” Speedy said. “The old railroad bed along Route 256 is now the same height or higher than it was. We removed the aggregate because it is porous and can be washed away. Center Township used their equipment to pull the sides up to the level of the aggregate.”

“An Ohio Department of Natural Resources report stated that the work done by the CDC may decrease the risk of flooding,” Speedy said.

“At Olden Bridge we took out the railroad ties then we put 2X6 lumber on top of the steel I-beams. We poured six inches of reinforced concrete on top of it. This brought it back to the original level.”

“The rail bed paving was built to Ohio Department of Transportation standards,” said Speedy. “The trail now serves as an emergency exit and as an access for fire trucks for the Kipling area during floods.”

“The rail bed was built in the 1870’s. A flapper valve was installed in a culvert under the railroad. This valve allowed for water to flow only one way under the railroad. It was removed at some time. The interstate also impacted the flood plain.”

“We have taken video footage of how the water flows past Kipling then goes through a culvert installed when the interstate went through. It then starts flowing back towards Kipling.”

“There is some controversy over who owns the railroad bed,” Speedy said. “Some of the sale agreements for railroad sidings had clauses that returned the land to the original owners if they were no longer used as a railroad. This did not apply to the main railroad bed.”
“We use grant money and donations to purchase land to preserve and restore the wetlands,” Speedy said. “We often work out agreements with the landowners to leverage the grant money.”

Civil War Reenactment Hardware and Dress

“This sword is razor sharp; if you are participating in a Civil War battle reenactment, you’d better know exactly what moves to make so no one gets hurt,” said Carl Keefer to the Cambridge Lions Club. “This sword is so sharp you could shave with it.”

“Of course in the Civil War the object of using the sword was to hurt someone or kill them,” Keefer said. Keefer’s wife Vicki accompanied him dressed in a Civil War period ball dress.

Keefer wore his captain’s uniform that included a chaplain’s stripe and chaplain’s patch on his brimmed hat. He wore an officer’s purple sash, a standard belt with sword attachment straps, and officer’s buckle. He wore brogans, a style of shoe that did not differentiate between left and right foot.

During the Civil War soldiers who were shot, but not killed, often had to have limbs amputated. “An Enfield rifle fired a fifty-eight caliber bullet,” Keefer said. “If it hit you in the arm, it would take your arm off, or it would cause such a bad wound that it would have to be amputated.”

“The Enfield came from England,” Keefer said. “In a demonstration of its accuracy a marksman fired six shots from a thousand yards and hit all six watermelon targets.”

“When they made rifles in England the gunsmiths would stay with the rifle until it was finished just right. The United States bought the rights to manufacture them in Springfield by the Singer Sewing Machine Company.”

“During the war they tried to make them as fast as they could. When they made them too fast, it left a ridge in the rifling that made the flight of the bullet unpredictable. They had to slow down the machining process to get accurate rifling.”

The cavalry used Henry lever action repeating rifles. The lever action was easier to use on horseback. “You couldn’t reload a muzzle loader when you were riding full tilt on a horse,” Keefer said.

Civil War soldiers also used small arms. A cap and ball Remington would be loaded with a round bullet. “You had to put a little vaseline on the ball so it would stay in the gun,” Keefer said. “If you didn’t the ball would roll out when the barrel was pointed down.”

“Many soldiers preferred the Colt over the Remington. It took about a minute or two to load the gun. If you had a Colt you could use it as a club without bending the barrel.”

“There was a code of honor among officers during the Civil War era,” Keefer said. “If someone threw down the gauntlet, you knew there was going to be a swordfight or a gunfight. A requirement of the code of honor was that you would never back down from a fight.”

People who participate in Civil War reenactments can expect to pay a good price for an authentic period uniform. “A hand-sewn coat may cost eight hundred dollars; brogans (shoes) may cost one hundred twenty five dollars,” Keefer said. “A hat may cost one hundred fifty dollars.”

"It's Summertime" Tickets On Sale Now

Tickest for our 36th annual show, "It's Summertime", are on sale now at Country Bits and Pieces (www.countrybits.com). "It's Summertime" will be performed March 26, 27, and 28th at the Scottish Rite Theater 935 Wheeling Ave. in Cambridge. This year we are featuring:

• Steven Wilson and Beka Snyder
• Jo Wiedman
• Oscar Brown and Karen Losego
• Gospel Quartet
• Bill Cowgill
• Rachel Williams
• Scott Walsh
• Ray Chorey
• Dave Conrath
• Cheri Harding
• Shannon Whitis
• Dave Wilson

With our chorus of over 60 members we are looking forward to warming your spirits and our Endmen and Interputions will have you laughing, or groaning, in the sunny glow of summer. Contact any Lions member or Country Bits and Pieces for tickets, 740-432-7241.

As always, Cambridge Lions Club will be collecting used eyeglasses prior to the show each evening. All proceeds from "It's Summertime" go to supporting Guernsey County vision and diebetes needs.