Of course you have! It is almost 40 years ago to the day that the Cuyahoga Rivercaught fire and made the national news. As history tell us, on June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio caught fire after a passing train dropped molten steel into a slick of industrial waste on the water's surface, or maybe it was debris that had collected in the crook of the river that actually caught fire. Regardless, to this day, Cleveland has found it difficult to put that little piece of history behind it. However, today is a new day, and Cleveland, along with its river, is being dubbed "a green city on a blue lake."
Although this event was very unfortunate, it actually provided a wake-up call to Cleveland and the nation. No, Cleveland was not the only city in the country that had polluted, toxic waters, our nation was suffering as a whole. Industry was king and the waste produced from factories, mills, and all kinds of industries along waterfront areas was literally being dumped into the rivers. Why Cleveland then? Because Time Magazine ran an article about the problem and used the Cuyahoga River fire as THE example.
Some river! Chocolate-brown, oily, bubbling with subsurface gases, it oozes rather than flows. "Anyone who falls into the Cuyahoga does not drown," Cleveland's citizens joke grimly. "He decays." Time Magazine, August 1969
What came from all of this, besides Cleveland being the recipient of embarrassing jokes and comments from that day forward? Did Cleveland deserve to be in the spotlight? No more so than any other city with the same industry practices. However, out of this sordid, awful event, came the cry of citizens and action of government to put in place the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (which is now being updated with Canada to protect the lakes even more), as well as the creation of the federal and state Environmental Protection Agencies.
So, how is the Cuyahoga River today? You tell me--- because tomorrow, June 22, 2009, there will be a huge celebration "Anniversary on the River" from 11:30 to 8:00! I want to share the published schedule for this great event on this blog! Am I proud of this City-you betcha!
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JUNE 22 ANNIVERSARY ON THE RIVER!
11:30am - Music & BYO Lunch at Settler's Landing, East Bank
12:00noon - NEWS CONFERENCE at Settler's Landing
2:00pm to 8:00 - THE GREAT CUYAHOGA RIVER RE-BIRTHDAY PARTY at Heritage Park on the river (Check in at the Cabin on the East Bank, under the Detroit Superior Bridge.)
ALL AFTERNOON - bring a picnic, wear a funny hat (or make one here!), have some cake and punch, play some games, learn about the river and its history from the River's Bend historical interpreters; meet folks involved in cleaning up the river and planning its future; see the new mural portraying the building of the Ohio Canal, listen and sing along to old songs and folks songs.
2pm, 4pm, 6pm - TAKE A HIKE with Tim Donovan, Director of the Ohio Canal Corridor, tour the flats, see where a new Canal Basin Park is being born where the Canal meets the River.
5pm to 6pm - MEET REBECCA CARTER, portrayed by Linda Wilson of Women in History, at the cabin where she and Major Lorenzo Carter raised Cleveland's "first pioneer family".
6:30pm to 8pm - DRUM CIRCLE - Akron Terra Amma Drum Circle presents a program of drumming, flute music, a blessing of the river, in concert with the Cleveland Drum Circle and local artists, to close our celebration.
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