Arising From the Ashes

After year's of talk and thinking, I broke down and purchased an Ancestry.com account last night to beginning building the family-tree so that I can figure out where my history goes.
Already found a couple of very-cool things.

• I'm third-generation from Sweden as John I Anderson, or Dad's Mom's dad, made the trip from Sweden to the United States when he was very young.
• My third great grandfather Rev. Isaac Leedy was a Private during the Civil War with the Fostoria Seneca Company.

It has been very interesting to begin diving into the first part of the search and now I'm getting to the hard part where I have to begin digging for particular people. But it is going to be fun!

Ohio Fallen Soldiers Memorial

“Never surrender opportunity for security.” -- Branch Rickey

The fourth of July.

What a special day in the United States. It is the day that we honor our country's marvelous heritage and celebrate her birthday.

But, I woke this morning with a heavy heart.

A heavy heart for those that are across the seas protecting the freedom of not only fellow Americans but also citizens of other countries.

I had to make a trip to Sunbury, Ohio, this morning and the recently dedicated Ohio Fallen Soldiers Memorial to honor my fallen friend former Staff Sergant Shamus Goare. The only thing falling faster than the rain on this muggy morning, were the tears running down my face.

Sadie Lynn appeared to understand the situation as she curled up on the passenger seat of the Blazer and rested her head on my arm on the center compartment. She wasn't her normal “excited” self, but the mood was somber as we made our way to the monument to honor my friend.

I had misread the Delaware Gazette reporting of the event and found that only about a quarter of the crosses were completed. The site was dedicated only a few days ago to much deserved fanfare. I felt incomplete as Shamus' cross wasn't completed yet. I had been building myself up to “be strong” when I saw his name on that cross, but then when it wasn't there the feeling was hard to explain. There was some relief, but yet this sense of unfinished business.

I will be returning soon to finish my fourth of July travel.

If you go: The memorial was only dedicated last Saturday and is not yet completed. There are currently about 15 crosses up honoring the first 15 Ohioans to fall, and flags represent the remaining heroes. If you continue into Sunbury, you'll find a wonderful town square. But that is a write-up for another time.




How to get there: Located about ½ mile east of the intersection of U.S. 36 and State Route 3 just west of the village of Sunbury, Ohio.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry about the lack of new posts. This has been an amazingly busy January and I have decided that I wanted to hold off on The Ohio County Project until I was able to commit the time and energy that it deserves.

I’m hoping to get the places I’ve visited updated through out February and start some new travels in early March.

Have a wonderful day!

Toby

Out & About: Where's Waldo?

Another cross-posting, that may be of interest to Ohio travelers.

Where's Waldo?

A question asked in Central Ohio long before the man in the funny red-and-white hat emerged on the scene. And that's no bologna.

Well actually, it is a lot of bologna, since bologna is the reason that thousands visit this village of 332 people located just off U.S. 23 at state route 98, 11 miles north of Delaware, each year.

G&R Tavern is the "home" to Waldo's bologna heritage. G&R Tavern was recently featured on the Food Network's "Roker on the Road" and its lore has only continued to expand. Ordering a bologna sandwich will get you a thick hunk of the fried meat with sweet pickles, onion and mustard on a bun. Add it to your favorite deep-fried entree and you have a great meal for a reasonable price. Be sure to hit the ATM before heading to G&R, as it's cash only for out-of-town folks.

Continue reading: "Out & About: Where's Waldo?"

This article was orginally published in Ohio Wesleyan University's Connect2 OWU, a weekly e-magazine from the Office of Public Relations.

Where Were You 20 Years Ago?

Please take a moment with me to remember the lives of the seven astronauts that lost their lives 20 years ago when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded over the coast of Florida. This is a story that I wrote for work this week, that I wanted to share here as well. I apologize for the non-baseball post, but - occasionally - things go beyond baseball and this is one of those instances.

My grandfather has Pearl Harbor.

My dad has JFK.

I have the Space Shuttle Challenger.

They are the memories that stay with you forever, those "where were you when" moments that every generation – unfortunately – experiences. Twenty years ago Saturday, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after take-off killing all seven crewmembers.

Continue reading "Where Were You Twenty Years Ago".

This article was originally published in Connect2 OWU, a publication by the Ohio Wesleyan University Office of Public Relations.

Don't Be a Scrooge

I'm still working on posts, but this time of year can play havoc with schedules. But the key is to remember the reason for the season - and to not get caught being the scrooge!

Happy Holidays

Snow, Ice: Must be December in Ohio

They were calling for our second measurable snow fall last night. One to three inches mixed with freezing rain, an excting prospect for me with my new camera.

Wound up getting a dusting on the roads and paved surfaces that was iced over. Nothing too pretty, but I was able to get this shot on the garland of our deck.

Knox County: A trip down memory lane

Sitting here one day past my anniversary of thirty years on Earth, I thought I’d go back to where it all began, or at least my memory of it begins. Knox County, Ohio.

Being honest, I was actually born in Mansfield and lived in Butler for a couple of years, but my family moved to Danville in the summer of 1978.

But enough about me, that’s not why you’re here to read this.

Knox County is an interesting county in that it sits at the very foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Head east or south and you’re into Appalachia, head west and it becomes the plains area and if you head north your getting into the glacier region of Lake Erie. But, Knox County blends all of them.

Mt. Vernon (city Web site) is the county seat and serves the county well – now. There is a tale told about how Mt. Vernon landed the county seat. According to local lore, Cavallo and Mt. Vernon were locked in a battle to be named the county seat and on the day when the county elders were surveying Cavallo, Mt. Vernon hired men to serve as “vagrants” on the streets of the thriving river town. The bid went to Mt. Vernon and the community hasn’t looked back since, being named “Ohio’s Most Livable City” by Ohio Magazine a few years back.

By contrast, as the river and train traffic began to leave, Cavallo has collapsed into a virtual “ghost town” with only a few old – and mostly in disrepair – home remaining. These towns dot the majority of the county’s eastern edge. Brinkhaven is even named after one of these feuds. Gann was a thriving river town served by two railroads and was going gangbusters on the Mohican River (just off St. Rte. 62 today), when its founder (Gann) got into a feud with the railroad and they quit stopping in the community. Which gave it the nickname Brinkhaven, of course the numerous Mohican floods – including one that wiped out 65 percent of the community – didn’t help.

But at least they rebuilt, the community of Funk was located off the Kokosing River and when the flood of 1913 came through, it was wiped off the map, never to be rebuilt.

In the extreme northeast corner of the county is Greer a community of 45 residents that used to be home to the most hopping baseball field in central Ohio. It sat a “good ride” from Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Mansfield, and Wooster and the report was that teams would just catch the train to Greer for a game on the weekends. The old backstop is all that remains in this community of less than 50 people.

Danville is the lone “thriving” town in eastern Ohio with about 1,000 residents. The community has undergone a bit of resurgence in the past 3-4 years as more Amish have moved in from Eastern Holmes County. They have brought with them the tourism and travel dollars which is helping the community to shake that “sleepy” look.

Gambier, located about 10 miles from Mt. Vernon is home to Kenyon College and is the “crossing spot” for the Kokosing Gap Trail – one of the most successful Rails-to-Trails experiences in the country. The Gap runs from Mt. Vernon to Danville, through Gambier and Howard. In Danville another trail – this one a multi-purpose trail – will take riders the four miles to Brinkhaven and across the “Bridge of Dreams” – a covered bridge on the old railroad trestle – to Holmes County.

On the county’s western side sits, Fredericktown. The Leedy and Merrin families were cornerstones to this community’s development and I happen to be related to both of them.

Head south and you’ll come to Centerburg, which surprise, sits in the geographical center of Ohio according to the marker on St. Rte. 36 just north of town.

The Other Ohio County Courthouse Project

Was just cruising the Web and found this site for the Ohio County Courthouse Project.

Maggie Stewart Zimmerman has an interesting site that uses postcards to depict the courthouses of Ohio.

Revamped Layout

A slightly revamped layout, that has reminded me how many counties I have sitting on my computer at home that I need to get written up and shared.

From memory...
1. Knox
2. Richland
3. Guernsey
4. Union
5. Muskingum
6. Jefferson
7. Seneca
8. Coshocton
9. Pickaway
10. Concord, NC.

and I'm sure there are a couple of more that I'm forgetting from my travels over the summer.

Site to Visit - New Link

Got an e-mail on Sunday night from Mark Spearman about his site, Ohio Sights.

Ohio Sights has some beautiful photography on it! I'd strongly suggest that if you like what is going on on at Ohio County Project to head on over to Mark's page.

Am I a Liar?

Wow, so here I was telling Nanina in the comments on an earlier post, that this was going to be a good week to visit Ohio.

Umm...Sorry.

It was 75 degrees on Monday afternoon.

This afternoon, it will be lucky to hit 40.

And it snowed.

Sounds like a good night to kick-back and catch up on some of those county reports I'm missing from earlier this summer.

Licking/Muskingum County: Longaberger Homestead

The wife and I are establishing a ritual where we both take our Anniversary off and head off on a short little “honeymoon” trip.

Last year, we took a long weekend and spent it at the Maumee Bay State Park Lodge and loved every minute of it. This year, with the new puppy, we didn’t feel right about taking off for a long weekend and leaving her.

So we elected to make the two hour drive east along State Route 37 to Licking County and Newark, Ohio.

We actually passed through Newark on 16 to the Longaberger Basket Company’s headquarters. The giant “basket” can be seen from at least a ¼-mile away and provided some interesting chatter. The corporate headquarters was not that exciting as they only allowed you to visit the downstairs.

The people at the front desk were very nice and quick to share a story about the building. The Cherry wood was cut down from where the Longaberger Golf Course sits and was milled in the company’s own mills. And the baskets’ handles weight 18 tons and are equipped with a special heating mechanism to keep them from allowing icicles to form that could fall through the glass ceiling on the building.

They also made it a point to share the experience that could be had at the Company’s homestead located about 15 miles east of Newark in Dresden (which actually lies in Muskingum County).

We took them up on the offer and made the easy 15 minute drive to the Homestead. Visiting on Halloween was a very good idea, as the place was nearly empty. The Homestead is set-up like a park – with a lot of gift shops. You enter and they have a “welcome station” with another smiling face – you see a lot of those – that gives you the explanation of the grounds and where everything is. It could easily take you 4-5 hours to get through everything. But don’t worry about getting hungry they even have two full-service restaurants on the grounds and numerous snack shops.

We saw the world’s largest basket of apples (photo right) and it was a big basket of “fake” apples. You could take a free walking tour of their basket making facilities and for only $59.99 you can weave your own basket, on the hour. Fortunately for me – and unfortunate for her – we got there about 11:05 and didn’t want to wait 55 minutes to make a basket. There are also several of the original buildings – and replicas of others – where the family got into the basket making process. There is a long building, nearly the entire front of the facility that lays out how you could use Longaberger in every room of your home – and you’d be surprised they also sell the stuff there. While most of it was of little interest to me, they did have some neat foods additives and sample sections in the kitchen section. They also provided entertainment in the “foyer” while we were there. The young lady singing was pretty good, singing a Shania Twain tune.

We left there with a couple of baskets – and $100 lighter – and considered our course of action. There was still the barn, memorial garden, and several other sites that we could examine before heading off into the sunset.

Unfortunately, we’d packed the day very full – wanting to go hiking, pick apples, and make it home in time for trick-or-treat.

We chose to continue our explorations another time and headed off to find our next destination -- which is another issue of "The Ohio County Project"!

If You Go: Be prepared to spend money. They offer some good freebies, but lots of Longaberger baskets and eventually most people have to buy one. This is in a very rural section of the state, so if you are not interested in eating at Longaberger, I’d suggest stopping at Ms. Miller’s Restaurant in Newark.

What’s Special: Nothing too special, for me. They were quick to point out that there are several baskets that you can only purchase at the Homestead. Sounds like an EBay project to me!

It's all over...

The winter season appears to breathing down our neck.

This is one of the few trees on the block still with its leaves, in the light of a streetlamp.

With the way the wind is hitting the house this evening, I'm afraid our "solitary traveler" will soon join its friends in its winter coat.

One nice thing to the cold front, was that we had three deer walking across our back yard last night.

I'm now an authority on Ohio?

Scary thought. But, I was browsing sites that link to Ohio County Project and Planeta.com, an ecological travel site, has included the Ohio County Project as one of only two sources for Ohio travel news with "Ohio Tourism" being the other.

You can check out Planeta: http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/usa/midwest.html

Ohio County Project -- The Plan

Change of seasons, change of plans.

My wife purchased me a beautiful Nikon D-70 camera for our Anniversary. It takes a lot better photos than my old HP point-and-click digital that I was using.

So with that I’m going to change the format of the Ohio County Project a bit, and for a couple of reasons.

First, There are some beautiful courthouses in Ohio, but I’m finding that after a dozen they all have very similar traits and items. Plus – despite living in one of the nation’s fastest growing counties – I’m a rural type guy. So going into downtown Mansfield and taking a photo has me wondering why? I’ve got the opportunity to head to beautiful Mohican State Forest, Malabar Farms, Gatton Rocks outside of Butler and instead I’m taking pictures of this “boring” building in downtown Mansfield.

So I’m no longer “tying” myself to simply putting the photo of the court house up.

This will also allow me to have a little more fun with the blog and the writing. I have a lot of updates to get on here and I’m hoping to make regular updates to the site and developing another side of my “story”

If you’re bored, take a moment and visit Connect2 OWU, it is a six-week old publication that we’ve created in the Office of Public Relations at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Falling into Winter

This was supposed to be such a beautiful time of year. The leaves turn their glorious colors and the Indian Summer gives beautiful days to enjoy the color.

Umm...somebody forgot to share that with the weatherman, and I don't mean the local one, you know that one upstairs.

We got our first killer frost on a Friday morning and the rain and wind came through that weekend and the majority of the leaves were gone. The ones that survived were gone this weekend with the 20 mile-per-hour gusts that visited Central Ohio after causing havoc on those poor people in Indiana.

The photo above is of our new puppy - Sadie Lynn - was an anniversary present for my wife and she joined us about three weeks ago and is now 10 weeks old. She wasn't too fond of the "cameraman" trying to get a cute picture of her with the pumpkin.

The Little Brown Jug

The Little Brown Jug
Dave Palone and P-Forty-Seven took 1:52 1/5 to cover the one-mile that makes up the Little Brown Jug and become part of the event’s rich tradition on Thursday.

How big is the Jug? The attendance was nearly 53,000 or double the population of the city of Delaware. Thousands more watched the race live on Ohio News Network and still more read about it in newspapers – from USA Today to London, Ontario.

The 60th running of the Jug – the second leg of the pacing Triple Crown – was my first onsite experience. Growing up in Central Ohio, you know about the Jug but being there provides a completely different perspective. The day begins early, with the first races going off at 11 a.m., but those sitting along the fence needed to be there at least two hours before to secure a prime location.

The first race went off as planned and the man to my right hit the trifecta and won a cool $665 – and the right to buy lunch and supper for his traveling party from Crestline. That was probably the most interesting aspect, standing in lines you met people from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Canada, Kentucky, and New York to name a few. They were all in Delaware because of their love of harness racing and were quick to pass along a tip on a horse or share their favorite racing story.

As the day went along the few remaining seats filled and the tension around the stadium continued to build. By the time the Jug – the day’s 23rd race – went off, the crowd was at a fevered pitch. P-Forty-Seven drew the rail and rode its favored starting position – and raw talent – to the victory. I have seen national championship games in football and basketball, been to a playoff game at Jacobs Field and many other sporting events, but there was something about those two minutes that eclipsed those other events.

It was enough that I can say, “I’ll see you next year at the Little Brown Jug!”

For more coverage of the Jug results read, “P Forty Seven Wins The $569,032 Little Brown Jug In Straight Heats.”

--Toby Boyce

Road Trip: Oglebay Resort, West Virginia

Ohio and Michigan nearly went to war over Toledo.

Toby Boyce (c)

An interesting piece of history, but personally I would have much rather seen us battle Pennsylvania and Virginia for the sliver of land that gives West Virginia its unique northern point.

Recently, I attended the Independent College Advancement Associates Conference at Oglebay Resort just north of Wheeling and had my love of the region restored.

Ogelbay is only a couple miles from the hustle of I-70 and downtown Wheeling, but it could easily be 150-miles from civilization. As you head up Route 88 North, the winding road seems to leave stress and tension behind.

Toby Boyce (c)

As I walked into my room at Wilson Lodge, I kept expecting Jennifer Gray to be getting whisked off her feet by Patrick Swayze. The Lodge has been able to maintain a rustic and classic feel despite being updated and brought into a more recent times. The majority of rooms do not have internet access (there is a library on the second floor with wireless capabilities) or the newest gadgets and toys and the bathroom in my two double bed room was small -- but for some reason this lack of amenities made the Lodge even more special.

The meeting rooms were well-kept and clean and provided a nice environment for the conference. The location's food was very good and I found every member of the staff to be helpful and ready to make our visit even better.

Toby Boyce (c)

But the true beauty of the Resort is located outside the walls of Wilson Lodge. The Lodge has four golf courses for the hacker. Arnold Palmer and Robert Trent Jones give it two premiere courses that cannot be matched for beauty. Crispin Course is an 18-hole course that works its way through the facilities and has some beautiful holes and throw in the driving-range and Par III course and any golfer would be happy for a weekend in the West Virginia hills. Personally, I didn't play any of the courses - something about being in my first year of playing golf that I thought these were a notch above my level - but did walk around the Robert Trent Jones course to get a feel for it and I don't think there was a flat-lie on the course at all.

Toby Boyce (c)

If you don't golf, there are numerous other options for the person planning to visit Oglebay. The outdoor pool is beautiful but I made my way toward the lake and the nature center and walking trails. The trails led you through the steep hills and I would suggest good hiking shoes and being ready for a nice level of physical activity before heading over the hills. But my personal favorite was a butterfly park located behind the nature center, which also became the feeding place of three Hummingbirds while I was watching.

All told the trip was a good one and only sitting 2-1/2 hours from Columbus this is a must-visit for all stressed out Buckeyes.