The Cannon in the Park
Yep We’ve got a cannon in the park. Two actually. Popular selfie spots even before anyone knew what a selfie spot was. Every time I look at them, I’m reminded of this Lenny Bruce quote. It’s not quite fair to say there’s nothing else to do and we’ll get to that another time, but for now here’s the story on the cannon.
One hundreds years ago during July 4th celebrations was the last time they were fired. And they made quite a bang and our resident historian, Rich Tarrant, curator of the Vermilion History Museum shares this account.:
“The first time they were fired in Vermilion was during a 4th of July celebration in 1898. A small charge – 1 and a half pounds – was loaded and fired by Mr. Williams. Those present during that “big bang” were G.A.R. members Albert Alonzo Blair, Tom Ball and Charles A. Mattison.
The last time the gun was fired was in 1921. By that time Williams was Mayor and had been several times. It was also a 4th of July celebration. At this time the newly formed Fiebirch Post of the American Legion was in charge of festivities. The Mayor offered to buy a keg of powder for the “boys” if they used the cannon, and two local veterans, Marty Strahle and John Leidheiser, attempted to secure the powder with no success. Finally they acquired a keg of coarse grain blasting powder.
The cannon they used was the one facing Lake Erie. During the cleaning of the gun it was found that a priming of black powder was required to ignite the main charge of blasting powder. They used old fishing nets as wadding. At sunrise on the Glorious 4th the first round was fired attracting every youngster in the village to the park like a magnet. Mr. Williams specifically noted that eleven-year-old Vermilionite John Trinter was the first to arrive. The gun was then fired at stated intervals throughout the day.
A grand finale of sorts was slated for a sunset service in the park. Unfortunately, it was discovered that there was no black powder left to prime the gun. While Bill Tarrant, the first legion post commander, was searching around for something to use, the gun crew filled the cannon with wet nets and mud. Mike Kishman who was clerking at Albert Hart’s drugstore while on vacation from medical school suggested that ether could do the job. And it most certainly did.
I am amused by Williams’s eyewitness description of the sunset ceremony that ensued: “The people collected. The flag flew high on the pole. Babe Thompson's bugle sounded retreat. Tarrant stood by the cannon with its charge primed with the ether. He lighted a safety match and placed it over the touchhole. Then things happened.”
“With a thunderous roar the cannon leapt into the air, carriage and all; snapped off the steel cable with which it was anchored, the cannon came down much off the base; windows rattled; the bass drummer in the G. A. R. Band, Johnny Krapp, held both heads of the drum to save it from vibration; the mud in nets spewed from the Canon tore into the cement form that Phil Darley had just built for the Kishman Fish Company’s twine loft, and raked the river to beyond the lighthouse.”
“The band played the national anthem; the flag came down with the crowd standing at attention.”
Methinks, however, that the crowd was not really standing at attention. They were frozen in shock. In any case, if you ever wonder about the cannons in the park, that is the story. It’s also very likely the reason they’ve not been fired since 1921.”
So the next time you see the cannon or perch your children on top for the obligatory “cannon in the park” snapshot, remember this story, which makes a cannon in the park much more interesting.
Marilou Suszko, Executive Director
Ref: The Vermilion News 01/29/1942 and Vermilion resident Rich Tarrant, our local historian, Tarrant has shared many of the photos and stories acquired from the former Vermilion News and other local sources with the readers of the Photojournal. Rich is the youngest son and a grandson of the late proprietors of The Vermilion News (1897-1964). Readers may email him at: rnt@twc.com