Friday bits from the street

Just a few things that I heard on the streets in the last week.

First off, Hanna's is getting a new neighbor. The building at 208 S. Limestone is going to be remodeled into a night spot called the BLU Lounge. From what I understand, the ground floor is the first part to be redone and if successful, then the upstairs will be made into additional space. I don't know the age group that they are aiming toward but I would guess it is the "creative class".

From there, I have noticed that North Mill St. is starting to look real nice, with all the renovations going on. Cheapsides will look very good when they are finished. Someone stated the other day that the CentrePointe block was a location that had "critical mass" prior to the demolition of the Dame building. Now, I'm no engineer but do we want to exceed critical mass, with the resultant explosion, or do we want the controlled chain reaction of a vibrant power plant? Cheapside, N. Mill, W. Short and on down to Broadway is becoming a bonafide entertainment district and I've posted scads on that before.

Then there is the newest rumour, from out along Winchester Rd.(I still want to call it E Third St.). You may know about a little business out there that was started by a 1939 mechanical engineering grad from UK. In 1946 , after a stint in the Army he began a food processing plant making Big Top Peanut Butter on land that had previously been the L&N Railroad yard. This is not to be confused with the C&O yard, across the street, which lasted up into the late '70s. This plant was across a small access way(side street) from the local National Biscuit Company plant that made Saltines. In 1955, he sold the peanut butter plant to Proctor& Gamble, out of Cincinnati, and stayed on to run the company. The product name was changed to Jif although I still find some jars labeled Big Top for some off brands stores. The entrepreneur's name was William T. Young and he also gained success in the soft drink, storage and trucking business'.

I have heard that the current owner of Jif, the J. M. Smucker Co, now wishes to expand the plant, which is claimed to be the largest peanut butter factory in the world. Even in this down economy Smucker's is doing well, thanks to having recently bought the Folgers coffee brand from P&G, their profits for the third quarter rose 84%.

Don't forget to send in you guesses on the Photo of the Month. Somebody has to know where it is.