The Yoakam Family
Please wait while Pictures load. MOUSE OVER TO STOP PICTURE
Links
Favorites
email me!
SCIOTO MARSH
Before
the white man came to the area, which now is called the Scioto
Marsh in Hardin County, Ohio was a 16,000-acre Black Swamp with
an abundance of wild life and vegetation . The American Indians
believed there were evil spirits in the swamp. Only the bravest
would come by way of the Scioto [meaning- deer] river to hunt and
fish. They were rewarded with much game such as bear, deer, and
wild turkey . There were also the undesirable animals such as
wolves, panther, wildcat and snakes of all kinds.
In the 1800s
the farmers with the desire for more farmland began to drain the
swamp. The Scioto River was dredged as well as other ditches were
dug . After it was drained and tilled it left a black muck the
texture of flour. The muck in some places was as deep as 6'or
more ideal for growing vegetables , most notable potatoes and
onions. Wide shoes were put on teams of horses to keep them from
sinking into the soft muck.
Workers migrated here looking for a
better life, places such as the coalmines in Kentucky and W.
Virginia. They crawled on their hands and knees over half mile
rows of onions weeding, topping, or pushing wheel hoes. At the
end of the day they weren't only tired they were black from the
dusty black muck.
IN The summer of 1934 a violent strike erupted
while trying to form a union. The employers brought in workers
from surrounding counties to finish the season. But the muck was
already disappearing at an alarming rate from wind and erosion.
On a windy day you could see the black cloud from miles away even
after willow trees were planted in rows around the fields to slow
the wind. The muck would drift like snow across roads and into
ditches where it would be carried away by the water. Also because
of the muck being made up of dead vegetation when dried it would
burn. It would burn underneath leaving a thin crust on top. It
has been said that unsuspecting horses had fell into these fiery
pits.
This place was known to be the onion capital of the world.
A numerous amount of grocery, hardware , and taverns were in this
area and small communities of houses where the hundreds of
workers lived and raised their families. This area is also none
for its legends like the giant snake.
In the spring of 2001 I was
talking to a man that claimed he was fishing in the Scioto River
with his brothers. When they looked up river and saw a snake
coming down river. He said it was about 40' long and this big
around . He held his arms up and made a circle that I estimate
was about 3' across. He told me that they would see big ruts on
the marsh that this big snake would make while slithering from
place to place. Ahem!
Today the year 2001,you won\' t see the
hundreds of workers in the fields or the small rows of houses or
the stores . There are only a couple of grocery, and hardware
stores and one tavern with in eight mile. Of course we do have a
few pizza places and gas stations. Four small villages are still
here Alger, McGuffey, Foraker, and Roundhead .
These four
villages are part of the Upper Scioto Valley school district and
have the honor of being the first in Ohio history to have a boys
and girls state champion basketball team in the same year.
The
Rows and rows of onions and potatoes are gone now replaced with
about a thousand acres of carrots which are sowed and harvested
with mechanical machinery. The rest of the area is used for beans
and corn planted in the few inches of muck and clay that are left.
Some of the people in the area have fond memories and not so fond
of the days gone by.
But the biggest losers are the American
Indian who once lived and hunted in this area of the Black Swamp.
The Great Shawnee Warrior and Statesman
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.
When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
____ Tecumseh, Shawnee Nation .