Middletonian October 2020

FRIGHTS AND FUN

Land of Illusion continues their tradition of excitement and spooky scares LAURA LEAVITT

The Middletonian

WHAT’S GOING ON A resilient Middletown continues to change and revitalize

BY CHRIS VINEL

FALL 2020

Great Miami Riverway

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Fall 2020 • Vol. 2, No. 7

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6 Distilling Distinction

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The Middies March into Fall

The Middletown Middies received the green light to start competing in fall sports

12 Frights and Fun

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SCHOOLS, COLLEGES,

Land of Illusion continues their tradition of excitement and spooky scares

COMMUNITY

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What’s Going On

A resilient Middletown continues to change and revitalize

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MIDDLETOWN

PUBLISHER: One Pride Publishing, LLP WRITERS: Richard O Jones,

Laura Leavitt, Laura Marie, Reid Maus, Laurel Pfahler PHOTOGRAPHER: Bailey Osborne

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Eric Marquard PRINTER: Quality Publishing

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The Middletonian

CONTACT: The Middletonian, 6 South 2nd Street, Suite 205,

Hamilton, Ohio 45011 | 513-816-1450

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DISTILLING DISTINCTION Middletown distillery continues to expand its brand and product line BY REID MAUS it,” said Dranschak. “It got to the point where I was ready to start a distillery.”

MIKE DRANSCHAK took a visit to the Bourbon Trail over a decade ago. It was right then and there that he became interested in distilling his own spirits.

Now, in 2020, he has his own distilling company with a bar front in the heart of Middletown.

When he came back from that fateful trip to the heart of bourbon country he was already invested. “I bought a small still and started playing around with 6

The Middletonian

Mike and Debbie Dranschak

White Dog Distilling Company’s name has a two-pronged meaning.

“White dog” is jargon in the distilling community for unaged whiskey.

When the distillate enters a brand new charred oak barrel and starts the aging process is when the traditional bourbon amber color is formed. Dranschak also has a white

dog, named Cody, so the name was a perfect fit.

After he was committed to the idea and had the still, Dranschak started to get the ball moving on a proper location.

“I started looking for a place to open the distillery back in 2017, that was when I incorporated White Dog Distillery Company,” he said. “I was actually looking at a place in Fairfield.”

Then Mike Robinette, who owned Liberty Spirits, was looking to sell his storefront on Central Ave in Middletown. Enter Mike and Debbie Dranschak, who purchased a portion of the property. By November of 2018, White Dog Distillery was opened for business.

Because of the lengthy aging process of making most bourbon and whiskeys, White Dog currently only offers clear and unaged spirits, such as gin, vodka, rum and tequila. Though, Dranschak is very eager to release White Dog’s first bourbon by the new year.

‘White Dog Bourbon’ is a 4-year whiskey, distilled by nearby distillery Midwest Grain Products (MGP for short), who has earned a strong reputation for creating incredible sourced bourbon.

Dranschak is awaiting approval from the state, as well as labeling and bottling before White Dog starts selling, but he hopes for it to hit the shelves before Christmas-- so keep your eyes out for this stocking stuffer.

That isn’t the only developments that White Dog is making, as they are looking to open up their outdoor patio in the coming weeks. “We are trying to open an outdoor area,” he said. “So we can put a band outdoors. We are trying to put a fence around the patio, get bands to play outside.”

Though they have several objectives on the to-do list, the patio and bourbon take the top of the chart.

White Dog Distilling Company’s name has a two-pronged meaning.

“White dog” is jargon in the distilling community for unaged whiskey. Dranschak also has a white dog, named Cody, so the name was a perfect fit.

for gin and $24.58 for Vodka—plus tax. You can also buy bottles at the bar. Dranschak is working on getting his product out to more retailers, but working through Ohio Liquor is often a slow process.

The Coronavirus pandemic has taken a hit on everyone in the world, and White Dog has been no different. Like most distilleries, they started making hand sanitizer to help aid the fight against the pandemic as well as keep business afloat.

“If I knew how popular hand sanitizer was going to be now, I would make that instead of alcohol,” joked Dranschak.

“We have sold 3,500 gallons of hand sanitizer, and look to sell about 2,000 more gallons.”

Several schools in the area have been using White Dog hand sanitizer.

White Dog’s products can be found in ten local liquor stores at the moment.

The asking price for 750 ml bottles is $27.65 for tequila, $26.12 for rum, $29.61

The bar at White Dog Distillery is currently open Thursday through Sunday, opening at four on Thursday and Friday, and two on the weekends.

They offer a large selection of bourbon, an assortment of craft beers and a menu of cocktails. So stop in and see what has Middletown buzzing.

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THE MIDDIES MARCH INTO FALL

In September, Middletown received the green light to start competing in fall sports

‹‹ E LIJAH

ROCKHOLD

BY REID MAUS

FOR A WHILE there it was uncertain whether or not the Middies would take the field this fall, but just like the spirit of the city of Middletown itself, the high school’s athletics persisted.

In early September, fall sports received the green light to start competing. If you’re able to make it out this fall to a Middie sporting event, here are some of the athletes you’ll see dominate the Greater Miami Conference.

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The Middletonian

KAMARI FULLER

ELIJAH ROCKHOLD

THE STARTING quarterback for Don Simpson’s Middie football team might hold the key for the success in 2020.

Last season he passed for 1,289 and 11 touchdowns. With Josh Bryant in the backfield, Fuller wasn’t needed to move the ball on the ground. If Fuller can become more accurate in the passing game, that may just open up the entire playbook for Middletown, as they try to improve on a one win season in 2019.

Another key for Fuller in his second season as the starting quarterback is to not turn the ball over. In 2019, as a junior he threw 11 interceptions and committed four fumbles—hold onto the ball and the wins will start pouring in.

IF FULLER and the Middies want to

open up the passing game then the senior, Elijah Rockhold, holds a fair stake in that expansion. The wide receiver had 13 receptions last fall, scoring three touchdowns. Now as a senior, he will look to show out for his hometown and provide Middletown with a much needed weapon on the perimeter. As his senior season unfolds, he has begun to attract attention from colleges.

He received his first offer in the form of a spot on Otterbein’s roster. With a big senior year, more colleges will come knocking.

‹‹ KAMARI FULLER

ENRIQUE URIBE

AMANDA CAMPBELL

ASIA ESPIRITU

THE DIFFERENCE between a bad soccer team and a good soccer team is often the back row. Sure, it’s cliche to say “defense wins championships,” but take my word when I say “back rows win matches.” Uribe earned second team all GMC honors last season for his play aiding the Middies. Though he is a defender, he isn’t afraid to be the swiss army knife for his high school.

Winning tackles and scoring goals is a usual week for Uribe. The highlight of his junior season came late when he scored to give Middletown a win over rival Hamilton.

YOU MIGHT NOT think much of it, but

THE BACK ROW is crucial in soccer. But you can’t win if you can’t score and Asia Espiritu might be one of the best young strikers in the GMC. Espiritu is the type of player that the opponent will always keep tabs on. As a freshman, she scored three goals. Already in 2020 she has one kick that found the back net. If she continues to develop, she might just be a threat for the rest of the league to worry about for years to come.

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the Greater Miami Conference isn’t only known for it’s football/basketball/ baseball prowess. When a GMC school hits the links, you should watch out.

Amanda Campbell hasn’t fought for GMC superiority… yet. As a junior, she was the lone Middie on the All Conference honors list. This fall she has already improved her average score by eight strokes, from 52 over nine holes to 44 over nine. If that improvement continues, we might see Campbell in the district hunt.

Fall 2020

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e r u t n e v d gh A throu Art

Love art and the outdoors? So do we!

The New Discoveries Walking Mural Tour takes you through the heart of historic downtown Middletown and introduces you to a variety of surprises in our Midwestern city.

The New Discoveries Walking Mural Tour is a one-of-a-kind self-guided, s elf-paced walking tour of fourteen murals, which includes murals from international artists.

Follow along on your smart device, in google maps as mural stops provide you the history of each piece of public art. Use this link to access your interactive tour guide! https://bit.ly/MiddletownMurals The suggested walking loop is a flat, paved, one mile journey that can be enjoyed by all ages and physical abilities.

Middletown celebrates a long history of art appreciation and public artistic expression, so join us for this unique outdoor experience!

 

# its m i d d letown

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New Discoveries Walking Mural Tour a self-guided walking experience in Middletown OHIO Enter to win $150 by sharing your experince –– visit all fourteen murals, take a picture of yourself in front of each mural, create a Facebook album, and tag the Middletown Visitors Bureau. Two winners will randomly be drawn to win a $150 gift card. Must be uploaded by Oct 30th to be entered to win.

1.

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COCA COLA MURAL “LOOKING BACK IN TIME”

2.

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PERRY MURAL

3.

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TRANS-FORMATIVE UNION MURAL

4.

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JAMMIN’ MURAL

5.

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MIAMI-ERIE CANAL MURAL

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SUNSET AT THE SLICE

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THE GATHERING MURAL

etown .o rg/b log

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GROWTH MURAL

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LIFT OFF MURAL

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THE GODDESS OF THE STREET WATERS

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FLOWERS BY ROGER

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GEARS MURAL

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MAKE LIFE A RIDE

14.

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SHETTER CARNIVAL MURAL

FRIGHTS AND FUN LAND OF ILLUSION CONTINUES THEIR TRADITION OF EXCITEMENT AND SPOOKY SCARES Land of Illusion will return with their typical Haunted Scream Park, offering a variety of attractions to scare or delight the children and the child in us all.

THIS AUTUMN,

From the Middletown Haunted Trail, the longest and best trail of its kind, to the 3D clown maze Killer Klowns, the attractions of the park offer different scare factors and different experiences, all in a safe and fun outdoor environment.

“The Middletown Haunted Trail is really what built Land of Illusion,” says operations manager and marketing director Michael McKnight. “It’s the 12

The Middletonian

LAURA LEAVITT

best haunted trail throughout the nation, with a mixture of indoor and outdoor scenes. It’s a mile long and the 35-40 scenes range from an alien infestation, area 49 research lab, to a huge pumpkin patch infected with hazardous research material.”

that is called the Historical Mystery Mansion. It was originally built in 1960 as a part of a ride in Americana, and we bought it this year and themed it as a historical mansion. It includes a few things that kids will enjoy but there is some scariness as well.”

Two new attractions are debuting in the Haunted Scream Park this fall, just in time for visitors to enjoy some spooky surprises.

One of the most exciting parts of the Land of Illusion Haunted Scream Park experience is the Zombie Sniper Patrol, an experience now included in allnight passes along with the many other attractions of the park.

“We added Big Mama’s Revenge this year, a dark and mysterious tire maze that’s actually named after the owner’s mom, who has been a crucial part of the park,” says McKnight. “Another one

“People talk to us about the value of the park; this can be a whole night, it’s not just a quick walk through a haunted

One of the most exciting parts of the Land of Illusion Haunted Scream Park experience is the Zombie Sniper Patrol, an experience now included in all-night passes along with the many other attractions of the park house for 20 minutes, this is a whole 6 hours enjoying yourself, going through multiple attractions,” says McKnight. “We have a fully serviced bar and cafeteria, and theme nights on the weekends.”

COVID-19 isn’t slowing down the fun at Land of Illusion, with lots of space for social distancing and clear stickers to keep groups from standing too close together. Because so much of the fun is outdoors, the risk of spreading illness between people can be kept fairly low.

Masks are encouraged but not required for guests, and staff will wear masks to protect guests. The staff who will be keeping things clean will even be in character!

“We’re going to take most of the safety stuff in our hands, sanitizing door handles, tables, and a lot of the attractions where there are rails to hold on to,” says McKnight. “We’re going to have a park full of zombie janitors.”

While Land of Illusion draws guests from all over the area, they have a soft spot for Madison and Middletown, since so much of their staff is drawn from these areas and many people come back to work for them year after year. They’re proud to be part of the community and to share a little scare each Fall.

Want to get your tickets for Land of Illusion this Fall?

For more information check out www.landofillusion.com.

M Fall 2020

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WHAT’S GOING ON A resilient Middletown continues to change and revitalize

let anyone tell you there is nothing to do in Middletown, Ohio.

DON’T EVER

As the executive director of the Middletown Visitors Bureau, Mary Huttlinger spends her days dispelling that myth. And she has the proof to back up her argument. “Sometimes when I talk to people, they’re like, ‘There’s really not much to do here,’” Huttlinger said. “I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”

Earlier this year, Huttlinger attended a conference and drafted a list of more than 100 things to do in Middletown.

“And when I show that to people, they’re just floored,” she said.

That lack of public knowledge is partly why Huttlinger has a full-time job with the visitors bureau. Despite being created in the early 1990s, the Middletown 16

The Middletonian

Visitors Bureau was a part-time organization for much of its existence.

When Huttlinger joined two-and-a-half years ago, she came aboard with the task of making it a full-time operation.

It’s blossomed ever since. “I think, in a lot of people’s minds, there’s this old, antiquated perception of Middletown and what it was,” Huttlinger said. “A lot of people don’t realize all of the changes that have been happening the past couple of years.”

Middletown committed to revitalizing the downtown area and the community overall. For Huttlinger and the visitors bureau, that provides a good mix of old and new attractions to market.

There are the classics, like the Sorg Mansion, the Sorg Opera House and BeauVerre Riordan Studios, the oldest

BY CHRIS VINEL

operating stained glass art studio in the country.

There are the newer attractions, which have popped up since the inception of the visitors bureau: Land of Illusion Adventure Park, Start Skydiving—the No. 1-ranked skydiving drop zone in the world—Haute Fusion Glass Studio and Gallery, New Discoveries Geocache Trail and a new mural tour launching this fall.

And there are the annual specials, like the Ohio Challenge, the Women’s Wine and Chocolate Walk, Hops in the Hangar and Light Up Middletown.

“Really, when I first started and first mapped this out, I was like, ‘Holy crap, there’s a lot of stuff that’s going on here,” Huttlinger said.

That is until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. That halted most events, shuttered

some local businesses and hurt the visitors bureau budget.

Typically, Huttlinger said the organization receives about $160,000 to $220,000 a year. It’s entirely funded by the city’s hotel lodging tax. But because hotels emptied in March and stayed mostly vacant for months, the funds dipped.

Huttlinger was forced to make changes. She canceled some of the bureau’s scheduled advertisements and eliminated a social media manager position, making her the sole fulltime employee. In place of in-person gatherings, Huttlinger ran a few online events, like virtual bingo with more than 700 participants.

She also moved offices, from the Chamber of Commerce building to the

Windamere, in April.

The rent at the Windamere is less than half of what it was at the Chamber of Commerce, and the new building is more centrally located in the downtown area.

It also features a drive-thru window that Huttlinger fashioned into an information and brochure kiosk.

She sees it as beneficial because people can still get information when she’s out of the office. Plus, she said she didn’t receive much foot traffic anyway. “I think (the drive-thru kiosk) is going to be the pleasant surprise that we didn’t expect moving there,” she said.

After a two-day move a few months ago, Huttlinger and the visitors bureau are situated in the new space. And the

attractions are starting to recommence.

“Now, we’re starting to see things open up and people venture out, and we’re seeing numbers that people are all about day trips and weekend road trips,” Huttlinger said. “And so for us, that’s ideal because we can pull from Columbus and Cincinnati and Lexington and Louisville.”

After Hops in the Hangar and the Middletown Pickleball Tournament in late summer, work usually slows down a little bit for Huttlinger until Light Up Middletown begins in November. This year, as more people look to get out of the house, she hopes that isn’t the case.

She knows there are plenty of activities to do.

Just ask her for her list.

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JAMES E. CAMPBELL:

BORN INTO POLITICS By richard O Jones IN HIS LATER YEARS, James Edwin Campbell, born in Middletown, July 7, 1843, would proclaim, “The proudest thing in my life was that I was the first governor whose parents were born in Ohio,” or more poetically that he was “the first specimen of the second growth of timber.”

His family was in Butler County as early as 1795, in America as early as 1645, and his father Andrew Campbell was a country doctor who is reported to have never lived anywhere else. His mother, born Laura P. Reynolds, was the daughter of the Black Horse Tavern, where plans were laid to incorporate the city of Middletown.

Andrew Campbell was also a devout Whig who painted campaign slogans in large letters on the third floor of their home, and family lore had it that 15-month-old Jimmie was singing along 18

The Middletonian

to James Polk campaign ditties before he knew what words were.

One of James’s earliest memories was going to Cincinnati with his father in 1849 to see General Zachary Taylor, who had just been elected president and was on his way from Louisiana to the inauguration. The procession and the regality of the affair left the five-yearold boy in awe. That his father would die unexpected just two years later made the memory indelible.

His uncle Lewis D. Campbell stepped into the boy’s life to provide a father figure. Lewis, too, was politically-minded and had already unsuccessfully run three times for the U.S. House of Representatives on the Whig ticket by the time his brother died, and successfully ran in 1850 and 1852. As the Whig party died, he turned Republican because

the Democrats tolerated slavery, but after the Civil War joined the Democrats because the Repubican party lost its liberalism.

So it was under the political shadow of his uncle that James Campbell grew to manhood, and would adopt many of the same characteristics of individualism and a firm moral core. When James was a teenager, he would accompany his Uncle Lewis on trips to Washington when he was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The youngster was able to sit in on important meetings, enthralled at the speeches of members of his party and opponents alike. In 1856, Uncle Lewis became great friends with Stephen Douglas, “the Little Giant” Senator from Illinois, even though they were of rival parties. This instilled in him a sense of fairness and empathy for the other side.

Another profound influence on his life was the Rev. John B. Morton, pastor of the Middletown Presbyterian Church, who was his private tutor while attending the public schools, and when he graduated from high school, he began his professional career as an educator while he studied law.

He had to give up his studies when hostilities broke out among the states in 1861. He joined the Union Army on November 29, 1863 and spent his military career on two gunboats, but the ravages of the mosquito got to him before the ravages of war, and he was sent home with a fever a year later, given a discharge by the medical board. As soon as he was able, he returned to his law studies in the offices of Doty and Gunekel in Middletown.

He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1865, but without funds to establish a private practice, he worked as a bookkeeper for the First National Bank of Middletown and then as a collector for the Internal Revenue Service in Hamilton. He received his first political appointment in 1867 where he once again found himself surrounded by political heavyweights. He finally set up his private law practice and became one of Butler County’s most successful attorneys, both wellinformed and eloquent.

In 1870, he married a Hamilton girl, Maude Elizabeth Owens, the daughter of a prominent industrialist, whom

he had known since childhood. They would have four children together.

During the 1872 election campaign, Campbell changed his political affiliation from Republican to Democrat and three years later, in 1875, he launched his political career, winning election as Butler County prosecutor, winning a second term in 1877.

He lost his first bid at Ohio politics when he ran for the state senate and lost by 12 votes. But two years later, he won the first of three consecutive terms as a representative to the Ohio General Assembly. He then turned for a time to the national arena with three terms as a U.S. Congressman.

In 1889, he ran against two-term Ohio Governor Joseph B. Foraker of Cincinnati. Campbell not only won every precinct in Butler County, but took the vote by a margin of 10,872 votes (379,423 to 368,551).

Stephen D. Cone, Hamilton newspaperman, historian, and a close friend of Campbell’s, wrote, “It does not take a long acquaintance with Governor Campbell to understand the secret of his remarkable personal popularity. His cordiality is of an unaffected, natural sort, which no matter how warm its manifestations never throws him off a certain poise of dignity, which his clean-cut positive face carries well. In speech, maner and expression, he is quick and decisive--quick to grasp a point and put it to practical use.”

Middletown historian George Crout called him “an idol of Ohio’s democracy.”

As governor, he worked to restore home rule to Ohio cities, eliminating the practice of the governor’s ability to appoint officials to election boards and other positions in local government.

Campbell believed that the cities should have the right to appoint their own officials, a view that was against his own party’s platform. Ohio adopted the secret ballot for the first time in 1891.

Campbell failed to win re-election in the 1891 election, losing to future president William McKinley, and he never again held elected office, but was still one of the most powerful Democrats in the state. It was a common belief that had he been elected governor in 1891, he would have been the choice of the Democratic Party in 1892 for the presidential nomination.

After leaving the statehouse, Campbell resumed his law practice in Columbus. He continued to serve the state in a variety of ways, including membership on the Ohio State University board of trustees and as president of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

In 1924, he had observed his 81st birthday while heading the Ohio delegation at the Democratic National Convention, and died the following December.

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October Recipe

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins INGREDIENTS

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 tbsp all-purpose flour 4 1/2 Tbsp white sugar 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 3 tbsp butter 3 tbsp chopped pecans 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups white sugar 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 2 large eggs 1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin 1/3 cup olive oil 2 tsp vanilla extract DIRECTIONS

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

STEP 2: To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar.

Beat until smooth, then set aside.

STEP 3: For the streusel topping: In

a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly.

STEP 4: For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.

STEP 5: Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

STEP 6: Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

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