A Layman’s Perspective of the Newark, Ohio Earthworks. America’s Stonehenge.
Newark, Ohio Earthworks Entrance Sign On State Route 79
The Newark, Ohio Earthworks is a tough subject for me to write about. I don’t have any conclusive evidence about it because when it seems I know something, I soon find a differing opinion from a supposed “expert” to what the Newark Earthworks is really all about. There are politics, cultural differences, religious differences, fragile egos of archeological scholars, and more that are sensitive to the subject of the Newark’s Indian mounds. Forgive me for any misinformation or any problems with this article. Feel free to comment if you disagree with any points. My only expertise is what I’ve read and heard.
Since I was a child, the Newark Indian Mounds were just that. They were mounds of dirt where Indians were buried. My parents and teachers all said that it was just a sacred spot where the Indians buried their dead. The State Of Ohio leased the land for 100 years and a country club turned the mounds into a golf course and a nice city park. My interest started when an elderly Indian woman was arrested for praying at the Newark Country Club where the Octagon Mound is located. From the reports I heard, the Newark Police were quite rude and charged her. Sure, she was out of legal bounds, but as far as she was concerned, her spiritual life and her ancestry trumped their golf game and the law. I can see her point.
After the incident, the Octagon mound started opening up more to the public and more information started being discussed. The mysteries of the mounds once again started to be investigated. This was about the same time that Licking County was looking for ways to attract more visitors too. Any publicity is good publicity right? If you’re town ‘s playing golf on a major wonder of the world, that’s certain to put you on the map. If it’s part of a very old conspiracy theory, that’s another plus. To top it all off, astronomers confirm that the mounds accurately mark the moon’s phases, and now you have a tourist spot of interest. When one starts considering all of the other notable Indian places in the area, like Blackhand Gorge and Flint Ridge, the area really does start to take on ancient historical significance.
Image via Wikipedia
This old map is still accurate and shows the size of the structure. The wide paths connecting the different mounds are the size of a modern day expressway. The scope of this project would have been huge. At the very least, it shows that the ancient American Indians were organized and technologically advanced enough to do the math and surveying. What I don’t understand is that this project is really only impressive from an aerial views. To the best of our knowledge, they didn’t have a way to enjoy an aerial view, so why would they bother?
There are so many unknowns about the mounds that we get all sorts of explanations, from a similar structure on Mars to great similarities with the Great Pyramids. It’s been my experience that those claiming to have the answers are very convinced about their explanations too. As soon as you start asking questions, they usually get defensive. This has been going on since 1861 when David Wyrick claimed to have found “Holy Stones” buried in the mounds, suggesting that the Indians in Ohio were actually The Lost Tribes Of Israel.
Glen Beck has even mentioned it in his TV show. Of course, this sparked even more controversy due to it being Glen Beck.
As for this video, don’t hold me to whatever it says, I just found their version of the history of The Holy Stones interesting, whether it’s true or not. I’ve heard that the church associated with it has some problems, but that’s about all I know about them.
I don’t think it’s hard to see how a Layman only interested in a short and accurate description can easily lose a depth of interest. The explanations, even the attempts at scientific explanations are just to murky. The Newark Mounds are still fun to enjoy and the facts that do endure scrutiny, like the lunar alignments. My opinion is that they are a bore to visit unless you know at least some of the mystery that surround them. Once you have some basic knowledge about them, it is much more fun to try and understand some of their mysteries.
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Newark, Ohio Video Created With Picasa and YouTube
I did this Newark, Ohio video using some photos I’ve taken. I am promoting a website and I read a suggestion to make a video for YouTube for promotion purposes.
For a person that enjoys photography as much as I do, videos allude me. I’m still working on creating a video that is worth anything at all and will show up correctly on YouTube. My first attempt was fun, but a failure. I made a mount out of PVC pipe and placed the camera on my motorcycle handlebars to make this video of a motorcycle ride in Licking County, Ohio. It turned out shaky and pixelated. It was a start though.
I need to do a real video of Newark, Ohio sometime, but for now a photo collection would do. I found a tutorial for making movies with Picasa that worked. I did a search for “open source music” and found some music I could use legally. I gave the musician mention in the video. I’ve used popular music, but I don’t know for certain what the legalities are for doing it. I feel much better using music that the owner is asking you to use.
Here are the results.
Looking at Owens Corning in 2009. This Used to Be a Place to Get a Job
On a geocashing excursion today with The H Man, we stopped to overlook the Owens Corning Plant in Newark, Ohio. I actually looked at the plant with a little bit of disgust. I thought about all the people that had worked there making a good living, but now it’s just a handful. They take advantage of some folks with temp service types of deals. The area around the plant is pretty much as much of a slum as you would expect in this semi-rural area. I noticed a burnt out house with no efforts being taken to rebuild, it was just abandoned.
After reading the history of the plant, the story with Owens-Corning isn’t as bad as it would seem looking at the place today. At one time this place served a vital function in the technological advances, energy savings, and even the country’s naval warfare capabilities. It is so ironic to find out they truly were on the leading edge of the “green” movement, from way back in the 1930′s. They were doing their best with what they understood at the time, without knowing what mess they were creating and how many lives they were effecting with their pollutants. I would estimate that overall, they helped much more than they hurt, and the company has made huge efforts to be as clean as possible now. The were hardly wreckless or irresponsible when you look at what they were trying to accomplish with the knowledge they had. Owens-Corning made many people wealthy for a LONG time too. You can’t really blame them for not being able to keep it going forever.
Owens-Corning and other leading edge companies had the type of innovators that the country needs now. Instead, the corporations are pulling greedy financial stunts, producing poor outdated products, and wondering what’s wrong with the system. The rest of us that should be supporting companies with the new world changing technologies are powerless to help them. We let our government fund crackpot “green” companies and the politicians retire on yachts with the kickbacks. To calm us all down, they tell us that manufacturing is no longer our forte’ and that we should all concentrate on the service sector. Meanwhile, any innovation is being squashed. The old tech companies want no mention of them because that could destroy their Chinese and Vietnamese operations. They can make crap while still relying on the good name their employees of the past created for them.
So while we are out looking for jobs in this great “service” sector, we can take some unemployed days off to gaze at the last plumes of smoke belching out of the once great companies of the past. We can watch the last American jalopies lumbering off the assembly lines, the last jumbo jets gracefully edging out of their hangers, the last Peterbilts coming out for the short hauls in place of the usual coast-to-coast runs, and the lasts of many other great American industrial innovations as they fade away. We can take our place as busboys, waiters, lawncare technicians, and handymen out in this great service sector world.
Maybe we need to forget all this “service sector” talk and get back to making real products again. Maybe this economic downturn will wake some people up. It would certainly brighten up the skies over Owens-Corning if we did.
Plan Aims to Abate Sharon Valley Traffic
Plan aims to abate Sharon Valley traffic – NEWARK — Buses leaving Liberty Middle and Legend Elementary schools Monday couldn’t turn left from Evans Boulevard onto Sharon Valley Road. Instead, they turned right and used the North Newark Little League complex as a turnaround. [The Newark Advocate]
Looks like the Newark City schools and the city got so excited about fleecing all of us with these unnecessary schools that they forgot that we had to get the kids to the school. No thoughts about traffic or safety, even after countless citizens addressed concerns before they were built.
Oh yeah, they “forgot” that we need to maintain the new school and some upkeep is still needed for the old schools, so the begging for levy money again will come again soon. Just a few dollars more a month, right? Just another “re-assessment” on our house values to get more taxes, right?
A Day Away From the Truck.
I finally got my chance to have a day off when it wasn’t raining. I took my motorcycle out to Dawes Arboretum near Newark, Ohio and enjoyed a walk. It’s a great place to go enjoy a nice day. I also got some much needed exercise. One thing for certain, a long overdue vacation may be needed. I enjoyed this to much.
This picture is from the Japanese garden. I’m still perfecting the settings on the new camera, but the quality is getting better.
Here are a more pictures of Dawes Arboretum and Licking County, Ohio.
