It is Friday and, boy, have I had a busy week in southern Ohio!  Sallie Jayne is my girlfriend from nursing school.  We went to Springfield Community Hospital School of Nursing in Sprinfield, Ohio.  When I arrived in Piketon, Ohio, on Tuesday, Sallie was afraid that there was not much to show me in southern Ohio but she was sooooo wrong!  It is kind of like the idea that everyone has a story and I find it is the same for places. Every place has a story to tell. So the first place we went to see was Portsmouth, Ohio.        
        As usual, I was distracted and now it is Monday, July 14th, and now just getting back to completing this entry.  Portsmouth is on the Ohio River and Scioto River.  Sallie took me on Wednesday, July 9th, to tour around the city. It was once a thriving city in the first half of the 20th century with shoe factories, steel mills, etc., but boom times have long past and it is just now starting to make somewhat of a comeback.  The Erie canal that ran from Lake Erie to the Ohio River was a vital part of Portsmouth in the 1800's.  Portsmouth also played an important link in the Underground Railroad.
          When Sallie and I arrived in Portsmouth she took me to the floodwall murals.  Even though the city was built on high ground, it still had floods occasionally and after an especially devastating flood in 1937 a floodwall was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  In 1993 a nonprofit organization commissioned mural artist, Robert Dafford and the result was over 60 murals 20 feet tall spanning a length of 2000 feet.  At the beginning of the murals is a short introduction and a phone number is available for a self guided tour that tells about each mural.  I highly recommend anyone taking time to see these murals. It is well worth the trip to Portsmouth! View a few of the murals at end of this blog entry.
         On Thursday Sallie took me to Adena Mansion and Gardens in Chillicothe, Ohio.  Adena was home to Thomas Worthington (1773-1827) who was the sixth governor of Ohio and one of the first United States senators for Ohio. During Worthington's life time, Adena was a 2000 acre estate and the Mansion was built by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and is currently only one of three homes still standing built by Latrobe.  Latrobe is considered the first professional American architect and was the architect for the United States Capital. (Information obtained from the Adena Mansion website)  What fascinated me was the blue ceilings troughout the mansion.  When our guide was asked about this she said this kept wasps from nesting in the house. When I was in Key West this past January I heard the same information about their historical homes only they painted their porch ceilings blue to cut down on the insect problem and they are still mandated to do this.  In the dining room at Adena, the walls were painted green.  This was unusual because the "public rooms" were usually the only ones wallpapered and since this was room in which the guests dined it should have been papered not painted.  However, this particular green paint discouraged insects and to this day, the guide said that during the season when lady bugs are so bad and they are sweeping up piles in other parts of the mansion, this is only room there is not a problem.  Fascinating!  In addition to the wonderful history of the house, the gardens and grounds are beautiful.  The Seal of Ohio is actually taken from a view on the property.
       On Friday, we went to the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park near Chillicothe.  These burial grounds are 2000 years old and were declared a national monument in 1923 by President Harding.  As described in the literature these mounds are not just piles of dirt but long and complicated procedure of layering earthen materials often of clay and sand. There are several of these sites atound Chillicothe that have been included within the national park but the visitor center remains at the Mound City Group. It was pointed out in the film that the mound formations are the same at the different sites.  It is amazing to me that 2000 years ago these people could be so precise!
          Saturday was a time to reconnect with friends from nurses' training so we drove up to the farm of Nancy and Ray Steele in New Carlisle.  Pam Groves and Becky and Wayne Guy also joined us.  We had a wonderful afternoon of sharing our lives and eating good food!  On the way back Sal and I drove past the site of our school of nursing and we were saddened to see both Springfield Community Hospital School of Nursing and the adjacent Community Hospital both totally demolished and new grass growing where both buildings once were. I suppose it was the practical thing to do but sometimes I hate change!

The four pictures below are panoramic shots of the Portsmouth Floodwall.

Roy Rogers was from Portsmouth.

Branch Rickey was from Portsmouth and was well known in baseball. He was first manager to sign Jackie Robinson to play baseball.

Sallie having some fun with cat in the mural.

Below is Sallie with her friends from the Bristol Retirement Village, Dr. Claude and Ruby Hambrick.

Below is a historical marker explaining the Ohio Erie Canal.

Picture below shows a small, dismantled section of the Ohio Erie Canal

Barn at Adena

Below is a contract Thomas Worthington made with a gardner.  Interesting!

The following three pictures tells a bit about guest to Adena.

The marker below explains the Ohio Seal.

This picture is taken from the same site and view that is on the Ohio Seal .

The marker below explains the indian mounds at the City Mound Group.

Example of an Indian Mound.

Some fun road signs! This one was in country close to Nancy's farm.

This sign is outside of Piketon, Ohio.  Being a former urology nurse it of course caught my attention.

I have never seen a tractor pattern on a barn's shingled roof.  Kind of neat.

This is what student nurses look like 41 years after graduation!  :-) 

L-R  Nancy Steele, Pam Groves, Sallie Jayne, Becky Guy, me

Finally had a Hickie and it was great!  Actually these are little slider hamburgers that are delicious.  Hm, could it have anything to do with the lard used on grill? Ah, one Hickie can't kill me, right?

Below: Meet DC, Sallie and Henry's dog.

     
     

      On Wednesday, July 2nd, I drove north to Monroe, Michigan, to my cousin's, Rhonda Fogt Shull.  She and her husband, Fritz Shull, always host a July 4th family reunion. I have only made it maybe one time so this was a real treat. It was also a celebration of their daughter, Alexa, graduation from the University of Michigan. She graduated with a degree in psychology.  I stayed from Wednesday till Sunday and once again it was time well spent getting to know Alexa and Fritz better and helping Rhonda prepare for the reunion.  I must say that Alexa is as beautiful inside as she is outside.  Rhonda and Fritz have a beautiful setting for the reunion. Their house sits across from a park and on the other side of the park is Lake Erie!  So they see Lake Erie from their yard and from their porch off their upstairs bedroom they have a perfect view.  If that is not enough, they have a heated pool and jacuzzi in their large backyard!  No surprise they have a great turnout at the reunions.  Fritz also sits up the volleyball net and brings out the corn hole game.  There is plenty to do whether you are young or not so young.  The event lasted Friday and Saturday and then I left on Sunday.
         On Saturday, after all the family left, Rhonda took me on a tour of Monroe.  I was never aware of its history.  As I recall from what Fritz and Rhonda said, their county has the most historical markers of all the counties in Michigan.  The River Raisin is a prominent feature in the area.  The name itself was just weird to me. Why on earth would someone name a river, raisin?  Well thanks to Google I found the answer.  The French settlers named it "La Riviere aux Raisins" for the wild grapes growing along the banks.  To the Americans it became River Raisin.  The city of Monroe is the site of some fierce fighting during the War of 1812 which involved such historical characters such as William Lewis before he became so well known for the Lewis and Clark expedition and William Henry Harrison who became the ninth president of the United States. Please read the pictures of the historical markers below. Additionally it was the boyhood home of George Armstrong Custer. Thank you Rhonda for a wonderful tour of Monroe!
          After leaving Monroe Sunday morning I passed a Bass Pro Shop on I-75 so I, of course, had to stop and get a pressed penny.  Then I traveled on down to Dayton to have dinner with high school friends. I drove to Kathy Taylor Adams house and had a short visit with her husband, Mike, daughter and son-in-law.  And then we were surprised by an impromptu show by Kathy's five year old grandson and his little sister.  What a treat!  Then Kathy and I excused ourselves and we were off in a hunt for another pressed penny!  We found it at the Carrillon Historical Park! See pictures below.  In going through the park we were remined of how much Dayton and the state of Ohio has contributed to modern society, everything from flight to presidents and everything in between.

         

July 4th Fogt-Wical family gathering

N

The top and bottom plaques were from a battlefield in Monroe, MI.

This is plaque at the River Raisin Battlefield and explains the battle.

The above plaque was in one of the neighborhoods in Monroe.

The above picture and one below are plaques found next to statue of Custer.

I have included this plaque and picture of the St Pauls Methodist A Church because it was reportedly the church that held a memorial service for Custer.

Yes! Another penny found in Rossford, Ohio.

Almost 21 lb steelhead rainbow trout caught in Lake Erie. I guess Texas doesn't have all the bragging rights!

Picture of a huge 3D mural inside Bass Pro Shop.

Along the walls were quotes.

L-R Mike and Kathy Adams, grandson Luke, granddaughter Mia, daughter Tracie and son-in-law David.  What a beautiful family!

Yes!

The above plaque and two following are in the Carillon Park.

This picture shows 1/3 of the Corliss Engine. This was suppose to be a panoramic picture but obviously I am not as adept as the Dayton folks.

Kathy and Mary Jo, our greeter at the Carillon Park. She had connections with Botkins so needed to include her.  Plus she will be another follower of the blog!

Fran was one of our guides at the park.  She had great stories such as her grandfather had a building or house next to where Orville Wright worked in his later years.  The doctor across the street would make calls on Orville when he was feeling poorly and that same doctor delivered Fran.

THE WRIGHT FLYER III

This arch in downtown Dayton is the length of the first flight.

This plaque was of special interest to Kathy Adams since she works for a patent lawyer.

Dinner with high school friends!

L-R Catherine Crowell, Sharon Koenig, me, Diana Doseck, Kathy Adams

      Oh, my!  It is July 1st and what happened to June?  It was a busy end of June for me, that is certain.  On Friday, June 27th, cousin Jeff Wical and I left Botkins at 7 AM to drive to Dresden, Ohio.  We had a 10:30 factory tour of the Longaberger basket factory and since it was a two hour drive we didn't want to be late.  For those not familiar with these wonderful baskets, they are all hand made from real oak veneer strips and never wear out and if by chance they do get damaged you can send them back to the factory for repair.  We were able to watch a lady weave a basket and the process is quite interesting.   On our way to the factory we stopped in Newark, Ohio, where the corporate headquarters are located and of course took a picture of the building which is built to look like a Longaberber market basket. See picture below.
After our tour and checking out the merchandise at the company store we traveled into Dresden and looked through the different shops. I bought a few more baskets from a lady trying to liquidate her stock.  What a deal!!
       After we had our fill of baskets and basket accessories,  which took a few hours, we traveled a little over an hour north to the Amish country.  In Dalton, Ohio, is a hardware store extraordinaire!!  Lehman's Hardware store is a sight to behold!  They have a wonderful catolog or look at their website.  This is a non electric hardware store that caters to the Amish. And if that is not enough, THEY HAVE A PRESSED PENNY MACHINE! Of course there is a picture below, but I am sure I didn't have to tell you that.
       Holmes County and the surrounding area is a beautiful countryside with a fascinating Amish culture.  When driving the country roads one must be cautious and not speed due to the buggy traffic.  In the northwest I am use to signs that read, "Share the Road" with a picture of a bicycle but here the same sign had a picture of a buggy.  Unfortunately I did not get a picture of this.  Several times we past fields where the Amish farmers were working with their horses instead the tractor.  They were doing everything from raking the hay into rows to plowing the fields.  I could have watched them for hours.  Of course we had to sample their cooking which was very good, but Jeff and I decided it was not much different then the cooking with which we grew up, just good, down home, cooking.  After this big day, both of us were exhausted and we stayed at a Days Inn in Wooster, Ohio.
       The next morning we had a more leisurely start to the morning, leaving at 8 AM.  This was Saturday and we were off on another two hour drive to Newell, West Virginia, which is just across the Ohio River from East Liverpool, Ohio.  Until I started investigating this journey I was rather ignorant of the geography of this area. I had not realized that a small sliver of West Virginia went almost all the way up the eastern border of Ohio.  Consequently, East Liverpool and Newell are not far from Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  The reason Newel, WV, was a destination for me was Fiesta ware dishes!  They are made by the Homer Loughlin Company and Newell is the company's home.  When we arrived, I made a bee line to the second's room!  In making dishes of this nature, when kilm firing, the glazes are not easily controlled and so the result is one ends up with a lot of seconds, resulting in a good deal for me! However, I was quite proud of my self control.  I only ended up with three medium sized boxes.  I must say, Jeff was a very good sport through all of this, helping me search out the most flaw free seconds.
         After a couple hours at the Fiestaware factory, I decided it was time to leave and take pity on poor Jeff.  Since we still had half the day left, Jeff wanted to revisit some of the Amish country so we drove two hours to Berlin, Ohio.  (I must say we felt like we had been around the world by time we arrived home.  A few of the towns we went through were Berlin, Paris, East Liverpool, Lima and of course we can't forget Russia. We didn't actually go through Russia but it is close to where I grew up.)  We visited some of the furniture stores in Berlin and also found the pressed penny machine.  We finally made it back to Botkins around 9:30PM.  We were both exhausted.
         Sunday morning I went to my home church, Botkins United Methodist, and was pleased to see the progress in the construction of the church elevator that it was able to begin with the aid of my sister's seed money.  At noon my brother and niece joined cousins Jenny and Jeff and me for fried bread dough and sausage.  This was always comfort food for the Wicals and once again it did the trick!  For those of you who do not have a clue as to what I am talking about, it is frozen loaves of bread dough allowed to raise and then pieces are torn off, patted and pulled flat and fried in oil and served with apple butter on top.  Oh my!  Of course with that under one's belt, all I could do afterwards was take a nap and nap I did!  In the evening my nephew, David, came by for a visit and we watched a DVD that a history teacher had made perhaps 20 years ago of an interview of my father.  My father, Lincoln Wical, had been at Pearl War when it had been attacked during World War 2. Dad had many fascinating stores to share during the interview.  It was a nice evening of visiting.
          Monday morning at 8 AM found me visiting with Mary Jo Raberding, one of my mother's dear friends.  Then I was over in the Bellefontaine area at 10:30 visitng a couple with whom I went to nursing school, John and Vickie Singer.  I actually went to high school with Vickie.  John is retired now and they have some acreage and raise milk goats along with chickens.  They milk the goats twice a day and started many years ago due to a granddaughter's intolerance of cow's milk.  They have found many health benefirs over the many years including less allergies and more resistance to colds, etc., and they think it is due to the raw milk not losing its nutrients and probiotics, etc., through pasturation.   All I can say is that Vickie has never looked better.  I drank the goat's milk and really could not tell the difference from cow's milk.  It was a great visit and to reconnect after so many years!

Me in front of the Longaberger corporate office in Newark, Ohio.  The handles on top of the basket are heated in the winter so they don't ice over.

This huge basket of apples is at the Longaberger Homestead.

This flag is made out of Longaberger market baskets.

The sign says it all. This is in the town of Dresden, Ohio.

An Amish farmer with his teamof horses plowing his field.

Oh yes! The pressed penny from Lehman's Hardware store.  

This a stop sign at the exit of an Amish restaurant.

Yes! Another pressed penny from the Amish town of Berlin, Ohio.

This is tow bridge between East Liverpool, OH, and Newell, WV, across the Ohio River. This bridge is obviously old and barely allows two cars to pass each other.

Yes! Finally Jeff and I reached the Fiesta Outlet at the Homer Laughlin factory.  This is a panoramic picture with the Ohio River on the left side of picture. Notice the sharp drop to the river on the Ohio side of the river.  I never thought of the Ohio River having this topography. 

Cousin Jeff Wical, nephew David Wical and me.

My friends from nursing school, John and Vickie Singer.