The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for 137 miles (220 km)^[1] through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the Maumee Bay of Lake Erie at the city of Toledo, Ohio. It was designated an Ohio State Scenic River on July 18, 1974.

History[link]

Historically the river was also known as the "Miami" in United States treaties with Native Americans. As early as 1671, French colonists called the river was called Miami du Lac, or Miami of the Lake (in contrast to the "Miami of the Ohio" or the Great Miami River). Maumee is an anglicized spelling of the Ottawa name for the Miami Indians, Maamii.

The Battle of Fallen Timbers, the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, was fought 3/4 mile (1.2 km) north of the banks of the Maumee River. After this decisive victory for General Anthony Wayne, Native Americans ceded a twelve mile square tract around Perrysburg and Maumee to the United States by the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.^[2] Lands north of the river and downstream of Defiance were ceded in 1807,^[3] and the rest of the Maumee River valley was ceded in 1817.^[4]

Prior to the development of canals, portages between the rivers were important trade routes. US forces built forts such as Fort Loramie, Fort Recovery, and Fort Defiance. In honor of General Wayne's victory on the banks of the Maumee, the primary bridge crossing the river near downtown Toledo is named the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge.

A dispute over control of part of the Maumee River region led to the so-called Toledo War between Ohio and the Michigan Territory.

Natural history[link]

The watershed of the Maumee River was a large wetlands known as the Great Black Swamp. In the nineteenth century, settlers struggled to drain it to convert the fertile land to farmland, altering an important habitat for migrating birds and a variety of wildlife. The wetlands was the remains of Glacial Lake Maumee, the proglacial ancestor of Lake Erie.

Transportation[link]

The mouth of the river at Lake Erie is wide and supports considerable commercial traffic, including oil, grain, and coal. However, about 12 miles (19 km) upstream, in the town of Perrysburg, Ohio, the river becomes much shallower and supports only recreational navigation above that point. The abandoned Miami and Erie Canal paralleled the Maumee between Defiance, Ohio and Toledo; portions of its towpath are currently maintained for recreational use. The Wabash and Erie Canal continued on from Defiance to Fort Wayne, crossing the "summit" to the Wabash River valley. Both were important pre-railway transportation methods in the 1840-60 period. The Miami and Erie was north of the river, until it crossed an aqueduct and turned south at Defiance, headed for Cincinnati. The Wabash canal was south of the Maumee until it reached Fort Wayne.

Map of the Maumee River watershed.

Watershed[link]

The Maumee has the largest watershed of any Great Lakes river^[5]with 8,316 square miles (21,540 km²). Its watershed includes a portion of southern Michigan. In addition to its source tributaries the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, the Maumee's principal tributaries are the Auglaize River and the Tiffin River, which join it at Defiance from the south and north, respectively.

Islands[link]

There are several small islands in the section of the Maumee River in northwest Ohio. The names^[6][7] of the islands are:

• Indian Island - near Farnsworth Park west of Toledo
• Missionary Island - actually several islands; near Farnsworth Park west of Toledo
• Granger Island - near Waterville, Ohio
• Butler Island - near Side Cut Metropark
• Bluegrass Island - part of Side Cut Metropark
• Audubon Island - the largest island in the Maumee River, formerly McKee's Island or Ewing Island, part of SideCut Park
• Marengo Island - near Maumee, Ohio
• Horseshoe Island - near Walbridge Park in Toledo
• Clark Island - near Walbridge Park in Toledo
• Corbutt Island - in Toledo
• Grassy Island - near Cullen Park in Toledo
• Preston Island - near Defiance, Ohio

Walleye run[link]

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the annual walleye run up the Maumee River is one of the largest migrations of riverbound walleyes east of the Mississippi. The migration of the walleye normally starts in early March and runs through the end of April. Although the first week of April is "historically" the peak of the migration, it varies according to environmental conditions. When river flows rise due to snow melt-off and the river water temperature reaches 40 - 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the migration begins. Walleye come to spawn from the western end of Lake Erie, and the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair in Michigan. The most popular method of fishing for the migrating walleye is by wading out into the river and casting.

Cities and towns along the river[link]

The Veterans' Glass City Skyway in Toledo, Ohio.

Toledo, Ohio

Fort Wayne, Indiana.

• Antwerp, Ohio
• Defiance, Ohio
• Florida, Ohio
• Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Grand Rapids, Ohio
• Maumee, Ohio
• Napoleon, Ohio
• New Haven, Indiana
• Perrysburg, Ohio
• Rossford, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Waterville, Ohio

See also[link]

• Great Black Swamp
• List of Indiana rivers
• List of Ohio rivers
• USS Maumee (AO-2) — a fleet oiler built in 1915.

Further reading[link]

• Arthur Benke & Colbert Cushing, "Rivers of North America". Elsevier Academic Press, 2005 ISBN 0-12-088253-1

References[link]

1. Google Map of the Maumee River
2. Sidecut Metropark History

External links[link]

• Maumee River Wakeboard & Ski Site
• Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor
• EPA Maumee River site
• Maumee River Basin Commission (Indiana)
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Maumee River

Coordinates: 41°41′58″N 83°42′7″W / 41.69944°N 83.70194°W / 41.69944; -83.70194

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Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr, September 7, 2007
Born	Jameel Joseph Farah (1934-07-01) July 1, 1934 (age 77) Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–present

Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah, July 1, 1934)^[1] is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal (later Sergeant) Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.

Early life[link]

Farr was born in Toledo, Ohio, to Lebanese-American parents Jamelia M. (née Abodeely), a seamstress, and Samuel N. Farah, a grocer.^[2][3] He was raised in the Maronite Eastern Catholic Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch religion.^[4] Farr’s first acting success occurred at age 11, when he won two dollars in a local acting contest. After Woodward High School, where he was one of the standouts among his class, Farr attended the Pasadena Playhouse where an MGM talent scout discovered him, offering him a screen-test for Blackboard Jungle. He won the role of the mentally challenged student, Santini. With the encouragement of his mentor, Danny Thomas (who had a lot in common with him), he decided to become an actor.^[5]

Career[link]

Farr’s first film roles were in 1955, in Blackboard Jungle (billed as Jameel Farah) and as a fruit vendor in Kismet (uncredited).

Although Farr was off to a promising start, roles were infrequent for the young actor, and he took jobs as a delivery person, a post office clerk, an army surplus store clerk, an airlines reservations agent, and as an employee at a chinchilla ranch, all in all not very crediting roles. In 1958, Warner Brothers cast him as an airman in the Andy Griffith military comedy No Time for Sergeants, which also brought the young TV comic Don Knotts to motion pictures. Farr appeared as Thaddaeus in the 1965 film The Greatest Story Ever Told, along with minor roles in Who’s Minding the Mint? and With Six You Get Eggroll.

Farr began to carve out his niche in television when, in the late 1950s, he became a regular on The Red Skelton Show before becoming a second banana with Harvey Korman on The Danny Kaye Show. Farr also appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show and was a regular on the gangster-comedy series The Chicago Teddy Bears (featuring Huntz Hall). Farr also worked in TV commercials, including a memorable spot for Wonder Bread (as a vendor who says, “If it isn’t fresh, I’m outa business!”).

On the game show Stumpers!, 1976

He was hired for one day’s work as “Corporal Klinger” on the M*A*S*H episode, “Chief Surgeon Who?”. His character wore dresses to try to convince the army that he was crazy and he deserved a Section 8 discharge. Comedy writer and playwright Larry Gelbart has said that comedian Lenny Bruce’s attempt to be released from military service in World War II by dressing in a WAVES uniform was the original inspiration for the character of Klinger on the sitcom. He was asked back for a dozen episodes in the second season and he became a regular in the third. Eventually, his character gave up wearing women’s clothing (after a lecture from Colonel Sherman Potter, explaining how a Section 8 Discharge would adversely affect his life). Like most of the characters on M*A*S*H, Corporal Klinger matured as the years passed. He gradually progressed from being a cross-dressing visual joke, and became a more sensitive and resourceful character.

His favorite episodes are "Officer of the Day" and "Big Mac".^[6]

Farr and co-stars Harry Morgan and William Christopher spent two years starring in AfterMASH, the sequel that explored how civilian life treated their characters. While working on M*A*S*H, Farr also appeared in Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II (his appearance in 1989's Speed Zone makes him the only actor to appear in all three Cannonball Run films.) After cancelation of M*A*S*H, he continued to keep in touch or to run into Harry. Years later, on December 7, 2011, Farr lost his decades-long friend Morgan to pneumonia. He played Colonel Sherman Potter for nearly a decade, on both M*A*S*H, and its sequel, AfterMASH. Upon Morgan's death, Farr released a statement: "Harry was very special to all of us cast members. Not only was he a wonderful performer that made such a difference … he was a dear friend to every cast member. He was absolutely a pixie, a gremlin as mischievous as all get out. You couldn't be around Harry for very long without wanting to embrace him and I think our Lord will feel the same way." He also said of his mentor about joining the cast, replacing the unhappy McLean Stevenson, who left after 3 seasons of playing Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, "Harry came on as a guest on one of the shows as a crazy general. When McLean Stevenson decided to leave the series, [the show's producers] decided to hire Harry. He brought a different character to the show. Rather than him being one of the boys along with Trapper John, Hawkeye, and Hunnicut, he became more of a father figure to everybody."^[7]

Farr appeared as a panelist on several game shows, including: The $25,000 Pyramid, Super Password, The Gong Show, Body Language, Match Game, Hollywood Squares, Wordplay, The $1.98 Beauty Show, The Magnificent Marble Machine, Tattletales and others.

He appeared in several made-for-TV movies, such as Murder Can Hurt You, Return of the Rebels, and For Love or Money; he also guest-starred in Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Farr endorsed the U.S. Mars bar in commercials during the 1980s and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.

He was a regular judge, with Arte Johnson and Jaye P. Morgan, on The Gong Show.

In the 1990s, Farr (and Nathan Lane) played the role of Nathan Detroit in a Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. Farr is still active in regional theater and guest-stars occasionally on TV series.

Since 1984, he has hosted an annual women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA tour, the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, presented by Kroger, Owens Corning and O-I in Sylvania, Ohio (a Toledo suburb). The tournament has raised over $6.5 million for local children's charities.

On Memorial Day 2007, Farr hosted a multi-episode presentation of M*A*S*H on the Hallmark Channel. The featured episodes showcased Farr's performances on the show, with Farr providing commentary during the commercial breaks.

Farr, Chuck Woolery, and Bob Eubanks were rotating hosts of the $250,000 Game Show Spectacular at the Las Vegas Hilton until the show ended in April 2008.^[8]

On July 17, 2008, Farr and Anita Gillette opened "Flamingo Court," a three-act play at the New World Theaters in New York City.

Farr hosts a daily radio travel feature called "Travelin' Farr."^[9]

Personal life[link]

Farr's autobiography is titled Just Farr Fun.

After his role in the 1955 film, Blackboard Jungle, he entered the United States Army for two years, serving overseas in Japan and Korea. His tour of Korea was after the hostilities had ended.^[10] In his M*A*S*H role as Max Klinger, he can be seen wearing his actual issued set of U.S. Army dog tags.

The park where Farr used to hang out when he was younger was renamed "Jamie Farr Park" in his honor on July 5, 1998. About the park, he said, "I wanted to be an actor, a famous actor, and I wanted my hometown of Toledo, Ohio, to be proud of me." Farr told about 400 admirers and was quoted in The New York Post: "Jamie Farr Park is certainly a highlight of my life and career."

Further exemplifying Farr's love of Toledo was his frequent mention of Tony Packo's hot dogs on M*A*S*H, a Toledo staple. He also was shown in two episodes as a Toledo Mud Hens fan.

Since 2000, Farr has frequently donated to the Republican National Committee.^[11]

Farr has been married to Joy Ann Richards since 1963 and has two children, Jonas and Yvonne. He is also the grandfather of Dorian.

Since the early 1990s, Farr has battled severe rheumatoid arthritis in his hands.

Other roles[link]

• Appeared in a first season episode of I Dream of Jeannie.
• Played a restaurant delivery boy in four early episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
• Made two appearances in the first season of F Troop: an uncredited role as a lackey of Geronimo in the episode "Our Hero. What's His Name?" and a credited role as Standup Bull, a bumbling Native American stand up comic, in the episode "Too Many Cooks Spoil the Troop."
• An episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. had Farr in a bit part as a special effects man.
• Episode "Boot" of Emergency! (2nd season) had Farr as a patient who has a curse on him and couldn't move his right arm. Dr. Early was able to remove the curse.
• Played a gypsy named Gracos in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show titled The Gypsies.
• Starred in two episodes of The Rifleman, the first time under his own name and the second under his adopted name.
• Guest appearance on The Love Boat.
• Guest appearance on That '70s Show on the season 5 episode "The Girl I Love."
• Attended the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey defeat of the Soviet Union (ABC Sports).
• Hosted the unsold game shows pilots Oddball, Double Up, and Surprise, Surprise, and guest hosted Wordplay for a week in Summer 1987
• In the 1988 movie Scrooged had a cameo as himself, acting in a movie directed by Bill Murray's character.
• Played himself in the Family Guy episode "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air" as a video instructor for leg surgery.
• Appeared in Diagnosis Murder episode Drill for Death (#5.15) along with several other actors from the movie and TV versions of M*A*S*H.^[12]
• Substituted in 2004 for the ailing Frank Gorshin starring as George Burns in the national tour of the one-man show Say Goodnight, Gracie.^[13]
• Currently starring in Lend Me a Tenor at the New Theatre, a dinner theater in Overland Park, Kansas, where he has starred in several plays the last several years.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jamie Farr

• Jamie Farr at the Internet Movie Database
• Jamie Farr at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jamie Farr at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Jamie Farr Official Site