Chillicothe hasn’t changed much. In 1890 Charles Lummis puts away the ink blocks. Takes one last look at the last newspaper page he will print in Chillicothe. He is married to a woman doctor. He has no children. But, he is leaving. He will never come back. A Yankee born in Massachusetts he walked out of Harvard one month before graduation. He is the successful editor of the Chillicothe Paper. He is about to become the first blogger or twitterer in history. He will walk 145 days to Los Angeles where he will write everyday about his travels. He will send these dispatches to papers around the country, generating so much interest that he will be offered the first editorship of the Los Angeles Times by General Otis. A parade will be waiting for him when he makes his first steps into Los Angeles County. He will discover a Latin culture and way of life that he has never seen before. He will also meet my great-grandmother and that will be the end of his Ohio wife and Ohio, though they would still write to each other for years to come.
The thought had crossed my mind as I got off the plane in Covington if I would see Chillicothe or meet any Lummis’s. I had named my Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay for my great-grandfather Lummis. I thought it would be fun to drink a bottle in Chillicothe where it all began.