North Market Development Authority

Hi shoafie!! I'm up a little late and the move is not going well at all. I made a run with some stuff and came back to Galena for the night...... got back at 1:00 AM. I have not transfered the last 2 out of 4 dogs yet. My son's  in-laws are kinda slam-bam people and I gave the warning that if I did not like the way things were progressing I would shut down the whole operation. My son's wife is expecting  an unrealistic schedule and called her mother to push things along.... that's when I issued the first warning. I have been here 20 yrs and sorting that many years of accumulation will take more than 1 day.... I will not take the junk with me and refuse to load everything and sorted it out later. The new carpet will be here this Thursday...... I think I made her mad when I said I could care less. I don't care if it was here yesterday!!

I started my day (the working part..... I was drinking coffee at 7 AM) at 8 AM and the "crew" arrived at the crack of 12:30 PM.... or the "crack of noon".  I didn't even have transportation to get supplies til they arrived. I think you will agree that no person should ever show up so late and expect to start cracking a whip.

Oh well, things were being pushed a little faster than I could keep control of when a comment was made that I did not like and was taken a step further. I issued a final warning, that I would not tolerate any hap-hazard packing or staging of what little possessions I had left. When I slammed the front door I guess I cleared the whole house. For me to lose my temper is a real occasion... it is very rare. Things will turn out just fine, but not on the schedule my son's wife expects.

OK, let's chat about something better. Shall we talk about Franklinton?? I still love the area and wish to return. If the market improves I will push my son to sell the house in Grove City so I can return to the "Bottoms". I think the area will return to it's former stature and be the significant part of the history of Columbus. Can't deny the fact that Franklinton is THE most important settlement in central Ohio.

Gotta get some blankets out of my van.......getting late and I need to get perking in the morning. That's not good...... it's already morning!! It might take me a day or two to get back but I hope you had a great safe holiday!!

Hi Marc, I guess it's safe to assume that by now your move is complete. I know it's very stressful to move, especially when there's years worth of stuff accumilated. Like I said before, we moved to our current home about six years ago so that our son could attend a better school. Now that he has graduated there's not a lot of reason in staying here. It is a great neighborhood, nice homes, quiet, and has a Homeowners association that keeps people involved in keeping the area well maintained and clean, but the one problem I have is the lack of privacy. You can't really have a conversation without the neighbors hearing every word. So, I guess we will probably end up moving again as soon as the prices are more realistic. I don't relish the thought of going through it again but a 3100 sq. ft. home is a bit too much for us now. I live near Tacoma Washington and it has some older neighborhoods similar to Franklinton. For the most part, they survived the 60's and 70's when the average neighborhood in most cities fell under bad times. They are now upgrading these neighborhoods and bringing them back to what they once were, it's a real pleasure to see that happening here. Sadly though many of the nice homes were too far gone and had to be removed, but many are still there. Even in the downtown area they've fixed up some of the old buildings, the train station, the U of W has taken over some old buildings and now use them as school buildings. It takes effort by the politcians to get off the dime and make the investment. I'd love to see Franklinton revitalized it is a great location and well worth the investment. Maybe you should start a drive to enlist local people to get something done.. Take care!

I finally made it back..... my son took the cable modem and I didn't have a reliable connection.

Big Bear?? Penn Traffic bought Big Bear/Hart's years ago. The offices that were on Goodale Blvd were moved to Syracuse, NY. The warehouse was still operational until the new owners bled BB/H dry of all assets. The execs were paid rather lavishly to ruin a great company. Many of the stores are still vacant and the shopping centers that relied on BB/H as the "hub" are not doing very well at all.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bear_Stores

I haven't checked, but have been told of another house that has been razed on my old block. I'm retired and money is rather tight, but when I get the chance I will have to check on 300 Dakota Ave. It is a disgrace the way things are being handled by the city of Columbus in regard to Franklinton. It's almost as if they want the area to just disappear.

Take care shoafie!! I think I will save some of my 'opinions' for a later date.

Marc