Lima

If you want to know what it was like to live in Ohio in the 1930's; and it's not beneath your dignity to work boring, dangerous, even filthy jobs, then Lima, -a city on Hog Creek in western Ohio, exactly between Cincinnati and Toledo off I-75-, is the place to be! Winters are fairly mild, summers cool, -Lima is not as hot as Cincinnati, nor as cold as Fort Wayne. Were it not for the occasional explosion over at the nearby BP oil refinery, (the backbone of the entire job base in Lima), or military contracts making jeeps and tanks, I would consider Lima even bucolic, at least in its outskirts. Shawnee, an old Indian reservation to the south, (also on Hog Creek, but downwind of the refinery), is now a township with its own country club where all the rich people want to live. Years ago, there was even a Johnny Appleseed tree in front of Shawnee School. Unlike Flint,-a town also off I-75, with it's own share of misery and contributions to the past, Lima has never depended on just one industry. So, if a company makes an exit, (and several have), others seem to fill in where that one left off. Some speculate, though, that if the oil refinery ever leaves, it would be a death blow just like what happened to Flint with General Motors.. I'd like to see that happen. Lima people have that kind of sadistic streak in them. More to the point, the oil refinery has put Lima on the map as a potential nuclear strike target, so the reason for all the military. A lot of military people come from Lima, so, there is a big VFW and American Legion Hall, even several National Guard Armories. If VFW is the only party in town, (outside of the YMCA), then it is not surprising that the word 'Lima' gets into Military jargon, because most of their hardware even comes from Lima. One Marine unit from the area is even known as the "Lucky Lima". And, Lima has less of the racial tension found elsewhere, due to the semi-intact low-skill job base it has always enjoyed, that acts as a melting pot. We don't fight in line waiting for the soup kitchens to open either, let's put it that way. My favorite shop, right in downtown Lima, across from the courthouse, is 'Daily's', where everything is either post-dated, or in dented cans. (Get there early, or they have dudes coming in to buy all the Malt Liquor soon as they get it..) The "Top Hat" bar, next to Daily's, got ambushed one night, and the owner beaten beyond recognition when he was locking up. The finest Hamburger shops in the world are in Lima, as well as fine eateries specializing in breaded veal cutlet. Oh, please come and experience this fine town!