Birthplace of Presidents & 5-Way Chili

On Monday, we went looking for President and Chief Justice Taft’s birthplace and boyhood home, now a national historic site in the middle of Cincinnati, but had no luck in finding it. I’d thought about printing out a locator map before leaving home, but blew it off. On Sunday when a laptop was in our room, I had another opportunity to pin down Mr. Taft, but neglected to use the hotel’s wifi to get the information. I figured there would be signs.

Wrong. Mostly wrong, anyway. There was, on I-71 heading north from the Ohio-Kentucky line, one that told us to use exit 2 to find the Taft NHS. That was it. No other guidance afterwards, so we wandered around a while. Which has a value all of its own, if you’re open to it. We discovered, for example, that the Over the Rhine neighborhood, long ago a German immigrant community, really isn’t a place you want to linger in the early 21st century.

Ohio being the birthplace of presidents, there were other presidential sites for us to miss too. Coming into the state of Ohio on US 50, there’s William Henry Harrison’s burial site. It’s supposed to be in North Bend, Ohio, maybe three miles east of the Indiana-Ohio border. I kept looking for a sign, but must have missed it. By the time I figured out that it was behind us, I didn’t want to bother with turning around.

Finally, US Grant’s birthplace is on the Ohio River some miles southeast of Cincinnati. I’ve seen his tomb, his home near St. Louis and another home in Galena, Ill., so the birthplace would have been a nice addition. But time was short, and it was out of the way.

Ah, well, just another few reasons to visit Cincinnati again someday, besides the fact that my nephew goes to school there now, and all the other cool places we missed. But at least I got to try 5-way chili. Five way because it contains beef, spaghetti, beans, onions, and cheddar cheese in a chili sauce base. By visiting a Gold Star location, one of a local chain, I suspect I got a mediocre version of the dish. Still, not bad. But I had to wonder—spaghetti? Who thought of that?