Ohio Cooperative Living - March 2020 - Union

OHIO

MARCH 2020

COOPERATIVE Union Rural Electric Cooperative

There’s added

VA L U E in being a member

ALSO INSIDE Co-op member’s amazin’ story Sheriff Maude makes history Ohio’s cradle of rivers

Building a new home?

As an electric cooperative member, you have access to free information on how to save energy. In fact, we’ve been your community’s trusted source of energy advice for more than 80 years.

Contact your cooperative and learn about the latest energy technologies for running your new home efficiently.

ohioec.org/energy

OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

INSIDE FEATURES 26 MAKING HISTORY Maude Collins, a descendant of the infamous feuding McCoy clan, was the first woman in Ohio to be elected a county sheriff, in 1926.

32 RISING TO THE TOP The “locavore” movement inspired Dugan Road Creamery’s rebirth as a microdairy.

36 CRADLE OF RIVERS Ohio is home to more than 3,000 named rivers and streams — many springing to life from the same area in the western part of the state.

Cover image on most issues: The lack of high-speed internet access in rural areas of the state and nation is increasingly causing people in those areas to be at a disadvantage in their everyday lives. For example, broadband connection allows farmers to take advantage of technology to increase efficiency and yield on their farms.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 1

UP FRONT

“Las luces!”

(The lights)

O

hio electric cooperatives have a long history of bringing light to areas where it’s never before been available. In the 1930s, that meant neighbors helping neighbors bring electricity to the farms and homes in those rural parts of the state that for-profit utilities ignored. That spirit has, in more recent times, lit the way for us to carry the tradition beyond our borders.

In March, for the third time in five years, lineworkers from across Ohio’s electric cooperative network will venture to Guatemala. Our endeavor, Project Ohio 2020, benefits the 600 residents of Tierra Blanca Sebol, a village in the north-central region of the country, by connecting its 60 households as well as a school and a health post to the electric grid. While every project is different and each village unique, the work will be similar to our accomplishments in La Soledad (2016) and Las Tortugas/San Jorge (2018). We’ll install 3 miles of higher-voltage primary line to the village and 2.5 miles of lower-voltage secondary line throughout the community. We’ll also wire two light sockets and two receptacles into each household.

We know the effort will change lives.

By any measure, Guatemala is an impoverished country — and in rural areas, incomes are lower and opportunities even fewer. Essentials that we take for granted are unattainable without outside assistance, so electricity and the conveniences that it provides — light, heat, refrigeration, cooking, basic sanitation — are a game-changer for the community. Electricity means healthier food, cleaner water, more opportunity for education, and connection to the rest of the world. It brings light, yes, but more importantly, it brings hope.

Without modern equipment, but with help from the village residents, our lineworkers will set poles by hand and climb each one to install transformers, insulators, and wiring. The work will be physical and strenuous, the conditions hot and humid, and the challenge for our lineworkers immense.

We’ve seen it before, though, both here in the 1930s and on our previous trips to Guatemala: The first time someone flips that switch and turns on the lights, the work is worth it. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers this month, that we may complete a safe, successful, and enlightening mission.

2 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

Pat O’Loughlin PRESIDENT & CEO OHIO’S ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES

Electricity means healthier food, cleaner water, more opportunity for education, and connection to the rest of the world. It brings light, yes, but more importantly, it brings hope.

Volunteer lineworkers talk about Project Ohio 2018: www.ohioec.org/projectohio

MARCH 2020 • Volume 62, No. 6

MORE INSIDE Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives 6677 Busch Blvd.

Columbus, OH 43229 614-846-5757 memberinteract@ohioec.org www.ohioec.org Patrick O’Loughlin President & CEO

Patrick Higgins Director of Communications

Jeff McCallister Managing Editor

Rebecca Seum Associate Editor

Anita Cook Graphic Designer

Dava Hennosy Editorial Intern Contributors: Brian Albright, Colleen Romick Clark, W.H. “Chip” Gross, Catherine Murray, Damaine Vonada, and Kevin Williams.

OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING (USPS 134-760; ISSN 2572-049X) is published monthly by Ohio Rural Elec­tric Co­op­eratives, Inc. It is the official com­mun­ ication link be­tween the elec­­­­tric co­operatives in Ohio and West Virginia and their mem­bers. Subscription cost for members ranges from $5.52 to $6.96 per year, paid from equity accruing to the member. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. All rights reserved.

For all advertising inquiries, contact

Cheryl Solomon American MainStreet Publications 847-749-4875 | cheryl@amp.coop The fact that a product is advertised in Ohio Cooperative Living should not be taken as an en­dorse­ment. If you find an advertisement mis­leading or a product unsatisfactory, please not­ify us or the Ohio Attorney General’s Of­fi ce, Consumer Protection Sec­tion, 30 E. Broad St., Col­um­bus, OH 43215.

Periodicals postage paid at Colum­bus, OH, and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to editorial and advertising offices at: 6677 Busch Boulevard, Columbus, OH 43229-1101

Cooperative members: Please report changes of address to your electric cooperative. Ohio Cooperative Living staff cannot process address changes.

Alliance for Audited Media Member

DEPARTMENTS 4 POWER LINES

Connecting the country: Without broadband access, rural America is at a competitive disadvantage compared with the rest of the nation.

6 CO-OP SPOTLIGHT

Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative: The hometown-proud northern Ohio co-op pays particular attention to supporting programs for its community’s youth.

4

8 CO-OP PEOPLE

An amazin’ story: Carroll Electric Cooperative member Jack DiLauro has fond memories of his time with the “Miracle Mets.”

6

12 WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE

Woods woman: E. Lucy Braun played a pivotal role in the documentation and preservation of Ohio’s big trees.

17 GOOD EATS

12

Ranch to table: Local meat producers give an ultra-fresh taste to these hearty main dishes.

21 LOCAL PAGES

News and information from your electric cooperative.

17

41 CALENDAR

What’s happening: March/April events and other things to do around the state.

44 MEMBER INTERACTIVE

Tip of the hat: Readers flipped their lids at the notion of our subject matter this month.

44

Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 3

POWER LINES

Lack of broadband access is a

BY JEFF McCALLISTER

K

yle Hicks sat at his computer at his Lancaster-area home, the homework assignment for his College Credit Plus course due in a few hours. He knew he was cutting it close.

Not that he didn’t have the assignment done. He’d finished the presentation well ahead of time.

The only problem was that it was for an online course, and turning KYLE HICKS it in meant uploading it to a file-sharing site. With all of the images he had to include, it was a large file. Hicks was at the mercy of his internet connection, and he was sweating it.

Like a vast number of people in rural areas of Ohio and the rest of the nation, Hicks and his family have limited access to high-speed internet. The one company that provides broadband service where he lives promises connection speeds “up to 5 megabits per second,” but he says tests on the line show it’s rarely above 1 Mbps. What’s more, service in his area, even at that level, is expensive. Satellite broadband could be an option but costs even more.

Hicks, a senior at Amanda-Clearcreek High School, has been a vocal advocate for improved broadband coverage

4 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

in rural areas. He’s written to legislators and made public presentations to make the case for rural broadband, and he plans to study agricultural business and political science in college to take on the issue (among others).

He got that assignment in on time, but the file took hours to upload, rather than the minutes or even seconds it would have taken on the type of high-speed connection — often 100 Mbps or more — offered in urban and suburban areas.

“I feel like I’m fortunate to even have internet access where I live,” says Hicks, who represented South Central Power Company at the 2019 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., and was named the state’s representative on the prestigious Youth Leadership Council. “I know of at least five to seven people just in my class of about 100 who have to find the time and find a way to get to the county library just to get any internet access so they can turn in assignments. It’s a real struggle.”

High-speed internet isn’t a luxury. “Access to broadband isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a need-to-have,” says Brian O’Hara, senior director of telecom and broadband regulatory issues for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

“If there’s a lack of broadband, an employer may not set up shop in that community. Other employers may leave because it’s harder for them to sell their services, and young folks could leave the community for more opportunities.”

familiar problem for rural America.

Hicks also talks about the need for farmers to be connected so they can remain competitive. “Much of the newer technology that is being created for agriculture requires use of the internet, so in order for family farms to implement changes, they need high-speed access,” he says.

“Increasing yields and increasing production is needed in order to keep up with the world’s growing population, and that access will give them that power. It’s not just for farmers — that’s a benefit to everyone.”

If everybody should have broadband, why don’t they? On the surface, it looks similar to the rural electrification problem that was solved by the creation of electric cooperatives back in the last century, so it’s easy to assume that those same co-ops can, or even should, bridge the digital divide today. Of course, it’s not nearly that easy. As complicated as electrification was in the 1930s and ’40s, broadband is far more so — technologically, logistically, and economically.

Electric co-ops, being so closely tied to the communities they serve, are in a strong position to know what’s possible.

They may have justifiable concerns about terrain, for example, that make deployment cost-prohibitive. Also, portions of many cooperatives’ territories now include relatively dense populations that are already well-served by competitive high-speed providers, which would limit potential revenue to cover new investment in rural areas.

The staff and management at all of Ohio’s electric cooperatives understand the need is there and are genuine in their desire to help. They also know, however, that a co-op’s money is members’ money, and they all take fiscal responsibility seriously.

The solution to electrification came from politics and partnerships — advocates moved the federal government to set up the Rural Electrification Administration — and it’s likely that broadband will need a similar push. There are signs that activity may be picking up on that front. In fact, Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative, based in Rio Grande, recently received a $2.5 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to install optical fiber that could eventually connect residents and businesses in remote areas of six southeastern Ohio counties with highspeed service.

Without additional state or federal funding, however, most Ohio cooperatives have found that deploying a meaningful fiber network that could reach all of rural Ohio, without harming the cooperative’s electric business, is not yet a reachable goal. The best current answer, they say, is to intensify their own and their members’ lobbying efforts toward representatives who have the power to make that additional funding available.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 5

CO-OP SPOTLIGHT

LORAIN-MEDINA RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

J

ust to the west of Cleveland and a little south of Lake Erie, Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative (LMRE) serves more than 16,700 consumer-members on 1,541 miles of electrical line across five counties. Hometown pride is a defining characteristic of the people in the area, who believe in bettering the community and looking out for one another. LMRE prioritizes providing opportunities for their youth.

Who they serve In addition to residential service, LMRE provides service to some unique companies. They serve Green Circle Growers, one of the largest greenhouses in North America. Green Circle Growers is a familyowned company in Oberlin with over 100 acres of indoor space for growing seasonal crops, tropicals, foliage, succulents, and more. LMRE also serves Goldrush Jerky, a company that originated with its owners selling snacks out of the back of a car.

Goldrush Jerky now sells beef jerky and beef smokies in all 50 states.

Lorain County Metro Parks is a popular, expansive set of parks with activities and events throughout the year. Members of the community can sign up for activities like tapping sugar maple trees, competing in cook-offs for prizes, and taking in a show at the French Creek Theatre.

Opportunities for youth In 2018, LMRE and its sister cooperative, North Central Electric Cooperative, held their first Youth Day. Patterned after the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., LMRE’s Youth Day trip takes a group of high school sophomores and juniors to Columbus to tour the Ohio Statehouse, meet with legislators, and learn how the decisions made by the state government affect their communities. They also visit the Ohio History Center. Two of the students who attend Youth Day are selected as representatives to attend Youth Tour, and one of those students is offered an internship with the cooperative. LMRE will hold its second annual Youth Day this month.

Co-op Spotlight appears regularly in Ohio Cooperative Living to give a glimpse into the land and the people of Ohio’s 24 electric cooperatives.

6 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

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CO-OP PEOPLE

An

AM A Z IN ’ story

One Carroll Electric Cooperative member has fond memories of his time with the ‘Miracle Mets.’

BY DAVA HENNOSY; PHOTO BY AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES

Jack DiLauro talks about his storied career at www.ohioec.org/amazin.

8 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

J

ack DiLauro hadn’t really thrown a baseball meaningfully for many years, but as a former major leaguer — a World Series champion, no less — he figured it would be like riding a bicycle.

DiLauro is a member of Carrollton-based Carroll Electric Cooperative, and he’s also an Akron native and a member of the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame. When Carroll Electric and a few other Ohio co-ops hosted a business development event at an Akron RubberDucks minor league baseball game in 2017, it seemed natural to have him throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

He bounced it — several feet in front of the plate.

So, when he got another opportunity at a similar co-op event at a RubberDucks game last season, he took no chances. “I went out and bought a baseball and started throwing it against the wall in the garage to get ready,” he says, adding, in his defense, that he has had hip surgery since his baseball career ended. “I went out to the mound and I bounced it again. I called it a waste pitch because I must have been ahead of the hitter. I still had a great time.”

DiLauro spent 10 years playing professional baseball, mostly in the minor leagues in the Detroit Tigers organization. Though his stats were respectable in the minors, DiLauro says he was never overly optimistic about his chances to break onto a major league roster. Then, just before the 1969 season, he was traded to the Mets.

The New York Mets had been established as a major league team in 1962 and had been one of the worst teams in baseball up to that point — losing more than 100 games in five of their first seven seasons. Going into 1969, though, the team seemed poised for a breakthrough, in large part because of its stacked pitching staff.

DiLauro decided that he’d had enough. He quit baseball and moved back to Ohio.

“I had my roots here, I was married, there was no reason for me to go anywhere else,” he says. DiLauro managed a chain of sporting goods stores after returning.

He occasionally serves as an unofficial Carroll Electric coop ambassador at business development events like those minor league baseball outings. He’s slated to appear at two such games this summer, in Akron and Toledo.

In his short major league career, DiLauro pitched against some of the biggest names in the history of baseball — like Willie Mays, Willie Stargell, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, even Hank Aaron. “I only pitched against Willie Mays once, and I don’t know if he was scary [to pitch against], but I was in awe,” he says. “I walked him on four straight pitches. I don’t remember ever doing that.”

DiLauro heads back to New York every now and then for “Miracle Mets” reunions, including last year for the 50th anniversary of that “amazin’” year.

“My first reaction was ‘oh crap.’ I’m thinking that I have no way of cracking that lineup,” DiLauro says. “To be honest, I had it in my head that it was going to be my last year. We didn’t make any money in those days, and I was married. It became very stressful.”

A funny thing happened, though. DiLauro performed well in spring training, and when young hotshot pitcher (and future Hall of Famer) Nolan Ryan was injured, DiLauro got his chance. He made his major league debut on May 15 — working two scoreless innings in relief against the Atlanta Braves, giving up a single base hit and striking out one batter — and stuck with the roster.

DiLauro’s best outing came against the Los Angeles Dodgers in early June. “I started against the Dodgers and I threw a nine-inning, two-hit ballgame, retired the last 16 guys. So that was cloud nine for a while,” he says.

Even with their strong pitching, the Mets struggled early in the season. They entered June with more losses than wins, and it looked as if the Chicago Cubs would run away with the division title. In one of the all-time historic turnarounds, however, the “Amazin’ Mets” won 38 of their last 49 games, the Cubs collapsed, and New York went on to become the “Miracle Mets” when they won the 1969 World Series title over the Baltimore Orioles.

DiLauro had a respectable season. In 632/3 innings, he compiled a record of one win and four losses with a save and a stellar 2.40 earned-run average. He didn’t pitch at all in the postseason, though, and after the World Series, his rights were claimed by the Houston Astros. He bounced around to a few other minor league teams until 1972, when it became clear to him that he wasn’t going to earn his way back to the majors. At 29 years old,

Jack DiLauro (right) gets ready for introductions of the 1969 “Miracle Mets” during a 50-year reunion celebration last season at Citi Field in New York.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 9

Technical Scholarships Available For adult and high school consumer-members

Rules and applications are available at www.ohioec.org/TechnicalScholarship APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 30 10 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

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WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE

WO O D S WOMAN E. Lucy Braun played a key role in the documentation and preservation of Ohio’s big trees.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY W.H. “CHIP” GROSS

I have a recurring daydream where I try to imagine what it must have been like to see the Ohio country hundreds of years ago, long before European settlement. We know that half a dozen major Indian tribes lived on the land — it would have been interesting to visit their villages and learn their way of life.

The birdlife at the time would have been amazing: innumerable flocks of waterfowl and shorebirds inhabiting the extensive Lake Erie marshes and Great Black Swamp. As late as 1813, John James Audubon wrote in his journal of standing on the bank of the Ohio River and watching an estimated one billion (nowextinct) passenger pigeons fly over during migration, darkening the sun and taking three full days to pass.

Large apex predators once lived here, too: mountain lions and wolf packs preying upon myriad white-tailed deer and elk.

Ohio even had buffalo herds (I’ll write more about those later this year).

As fascinating as all of that would have been to experience, I believe it’s the virgin forest itself that would have been most awe-inspiring — trees so large they make most of today’s woodlands trees look like mere sticks. If you’d like to get a sense of what it was like living among those giants, I’d suggest reading Conrad Richter’s

12 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

classic 1940 novel about the Ohio frontier, The Trees, which is the first book in his trilogy, The Awakening Land.

Ohio was once nearly totally forested. That vast forest disappeared in the blink of an eye, historically speaking — roughly from 1750 to 1900 — the trees felled to make way for future farms and cities. By the beginning of the 20th century, forest cover had fallen to a sparse 11% of the state’s land. Ohio woodlands have rebounded since then, however, and now cover more than a third of our state.

Someone who extensively studied the Buckeye State’s early forests was E. Lucy Braun (1889–1971). Hailing from Cincinnati, Braun and her sister, Annette, were early botanists and ecologists during a time when those professional fields were dominated by men. Her efforts led directly to the establishment of what would become the largest conservation organization in the world — The Nature Conservancy, which would go on to help conserve over 119 million acres worldwide.

Among her 180 pieces published, Braun wrote four books — the most memorable being her Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America, a nearly 600-page scientific tome published in 1950. She traveled more than 65,000 miles over 25 years of field research, covering most of that distance in a car she first obtained in 1930 and taught herself to drive. In a letter written to a friend, Braun even boasted of once going as fast as “38 miles per hour.”

One of the Ohio woodlands Braun studied was Johnson Woods in Wayne County, a few miles northeast of Orrville. Today, Johnson Woods is a state nature preserve open to the public, and many trees on the property — some of which are more than 400 years old — stand 120 feet tall, with trunks 4 to 5 feet in diameter.

It’s still possible to return to the Ohio woodlands of hundreds of years ago and experience the cathedral-like environment of oldgrowth forest. March is a good time to do so, before the leaves grow back on the trees, limiting the view. Thanks to E. Lucy Braun and hundreds of her forward-thinking ilk, small vestiges of such woodlands have been preserved throughout the Buckeye State, and a leisurely visit to any or all of the following locations is highly recommended: • Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve (Wayne County) • Goll Woods State Nature Preserve (Fulton County) • Dysart Woods (Belmont County) • Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve (Preble and Butler counties) • North Chagrin Reservation (Lake and Cuyahoga counties) • Bole Woods, Holden Arboretum (Lake County) • Clear Fork Gorge State Nature Preserve (Ashland County) • Lawrence Woods State Nature Preserve (Hardin County) Opposite page: Johnson Woods is home to several of the large trees that were documented and preserved by Lucy Braun (inset). Above, a family enjoys a stroll along the boardwalk trail at Johnson Woods. Fowler Woods (top) boasts plenty of gorgeous scenery, highlighted by its big trees.

• Fowler Woods State Nature Preserve (Richland County) W.H. “Chip” Gross (whchipgross@gmail.com) is a member of Consolidated Cooperative and is Ohio Cooperative Living’s outdoors editor.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 13

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LIMITED-TIME OFFER Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, firstserved basis. So please respond as soon as possible to reserve your “Words of Wisdom” Grandson Pendant & Valet Box.

©2019 The Bradford Exchange 01-28075-001-BIPR

Mrs. Mr. Ms. Name (Please Print Clearly)

P.O. Box 806, Morton Grove, IL 60053-0806

Address

YES. Please reserve the “Words of Wisdom” Grandson Pendant & Valet Box for me as described in this announcement, City in the quantity indicated below. (Please print initials below).

E-Mail (Optional) ❑ 1 Pendant

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16 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

*Plus a total of $9.98 shipping and service (see bradfordexchange.com). Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery after initial payment for shipment of your jewelry.

Sales subject to product availability and order acceptance.

State

Zip

01-28075-001-E22451

10 ⁄8 1013⁄16 3 10 ⁄4 101⁄2

GOOD EATS

table Ranch to The bounty of small farms in the state means the main ingredients for these meaty dishes are always right around the corner.

OINK MOO CLUCK FARMS MOROCCAN POT ROAST Prep: 20 minutes | Cook: 7 to 9 hours | Servings: 8 1 large yellow onion, diced 11/2 cups water 2 tablespoons olive oil 11/2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons paprika 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Price 2 tablespoons garam masala 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast ❏ 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 5 medium multicolored carrots, cut diagonally 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained 1 small eggplant, cubed Logo & Address 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint ❏ drained and rinsed 6 ounces couscous, cooked Job 2 cubes beef bouillon Code In a skillet over medium heat, sauté onions in oil with paprika, 1 tablespoon garam

❏

masala, and cayenne until tender. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker, then stir in

Tracking tomatoes, chickpeas, bouillon, and water. Sprinkle salt, black pepper, and remaining Code 1 tablespoon garam masala onto roast. Place in slow cooker. Add carrots and eggplant.

❏

Cover and cook until meat and vegetables are tender, 7 to 9 hours. Remove roast from

Yellow slow cooker, break into pieces, then return to slow cooker for another 10 minutes.

Snipe Sprinkle with mint and serve over couscous.

❏

Per serving: 682 calories, 18 grams fat (5 grams saturated fat), 61 grams total carbohydrates, Shipping 15 grams fiber, 67 grams protein.

Service

HYPERLOCAL MEAT

OINK MOO CLUCK FARMS is a third-generation, smallscale, family operation based in Sunbury, specializing in hogs, beef, and chickens. All butchering is done in-house, and products are available at eight farm markets around central Ohio and for limited home delivery.

614-427-9313; www. oinkmoocluckfarms.com.

❏

101⁄2 13

10 ⁄4 3

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 17

STONEFIELD NATURALS PORK MEATBALL BAHN MI Prep: 25 minutes | Marinate: 1 hour | Cook: 10 minutes | Servings: 4 1 cup julienned carrots 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 cup julienned daikon radish (white or purple) 2 teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon black pepper ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound ground pork 1/4 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro 2 teaspoons Sriracha 3 scallions, chopped fine fresh baguette for 4 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced 1 tablespoon Sriracha (hot chili sauce) fresh cilantro Toss the julienned carrots and radishes in a medium bowl with 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

While that’s going, thoroughly combine all meatball ingredients (ground pork through cornstarch) in a bowl, then form into 16 meatballs. Place meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes. After the meatballs have been chilled, heat olive oil in a cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until browned on all sides and cooked through.

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and 2 teaspoons Sriracha.

Cut baguette into 4 pieces, then split open lengthwise, just enough to open, leaving the two pieces connected in the middle. Scoop out some bread from the middle to make room for sandwich fillings. Place on cookie sheet open side down and broil in the oven for 1 to 3 minutes, until lightly toasted.

Spread mayonnaise on insides of bread. Fill each baguette with pickled vegetables, cooked meatballs, jalapeños, and cilantro sprigs. Serve hot.

Per serving: 638 calories, 15 grams fat (3 grams saturated fat), 83 grams total carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 41 grams protein.

18 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

HYPERLOCAL MEAT

Al Dolder had given up hog farming in the 1980s, but never lost the bug. “After the animals and farm equipment were sold, I missed the hogs and would sneak away to an occasional hog show or drive by a neighbor’s farm just to look at the hogs,” he says. He started up again in 2001, and today, Dolder’s Baltimore-based STONEFIELD NATURALS pork and organic vegetables are available at various farmers markets around the state, as well as through special orders.

740-862-3165; https:// stonefieldnaturals.wixsite. com/pork.

BROWN BROS. FARMS MARYLAND CHICKEN WINGS Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 30 minutes | Servings: 6 3 pounds chicken wings 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, more for dusting cocktail sauce for dipping, optional Separate wings from drums by breaking the bone and cutting through the skin. Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix together flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon Old Bay together in a large bowl. Wash wings in cold water. Shake off excess water and toss in bowl with flour mixture to coat. Arrange wings in one layer on two baking sheets lined with aluminum foil. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

In the meantime, make sauce by melting butter in a small pot, whisking in 1 teaspoon Old Bay and lemon juice. Let cool to lukewarm.

When wings are done, turn on the broiler.

Flip wings on the baking sheet and broil 3–4 minutes, or until crispy. Toss wings in butter sauce and set on a plate. Dust with more Old Bay and serve with cocktail sauce.

Per serving: 457 calories, 32 grams fat (14 grams saturated fat), 24 grams total carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 17 grams protein.

HYPERLOCAL MEAT

BROWN BROS. FARMS is a freerange poultry operation that started as an FFA project in Paris, Ohio, and now specializes in pastured chicken and turkey. Available at select farmers markets, for pickup at locations around the state during the holiday season, or for shipping nationwide. 330-771-2679; https://brownbrosfarmsllc.grazecart.com.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 19

PENCIL BISON RANCH BLOODY MARY KABOBS Prep: 10 minutes | Marinate: 24 to 48 hours | Cook: 5 minutes | Servings: 4 1 cup tomato juice 1 teaspoon black pepper (no salt) 1/2 teaspoon garlic 3 tablespoons ground powder horseradish 1 pound bison loin 3 tablespoons olive juice (sirloin steak), cut into pieces 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 pound grape tomatoes 2 tablespoons 8 dill pickle spears, cut Worcestershire sauce in half horizontally 1 teaspoon tabasco 8 large green olives 1 teaspoon celery seed Mix ingredients for marinade (tomato juice through garlic powder) in a medium bowl. Add bison meat and marinate in refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours. The longer it marinates, the more flavor the bison will absorb.

Soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes.

Preheat grill. Alternate skewering one piece of bison and one grape tomato (leaving room for olives and pickle spears once the skewers come off the grill). Place skewers on the grill until steak is cooked medium rare, about 3 to 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. Make sure the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 145 F. Remove from grill and add pickles and green olives to each skewer. Makes about 8 kabobs.

Per serving: 233 calories, 8 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat), 11 grams total carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 27 grams protein.

HYPERLOCAL MEAT The herd at PENCIL BISON RANCH in Urbana has a heritage that can be traced to Custer State Park in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota — a lineage that owners Megan and Jeb Pencil say is historically known to produce highquality bison. Available at the ranch store (by appointment) and at various farmers markets around Dayton. 937-788-2333; https://pencilbisonranch.com.

20 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

UNION RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL CONNECTIONS

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO/PRESIDENT

STAY IN THE At Union Rural Electric Cooperative, we are continually striving to improve our operational efficiency so we can provide the most reliable electric service possible for our consumer-members (that’s you!). Many of you have been members of URE for years, and it’s likely that your account information hasn’t been updated for some time. Also, many members now use a cellphone as their primary phone service, and we might not have that number in our system.

I want to emphasize that we will never share your contact information with any third parties. It is only used by URE to send important information to you. Please take a moment to confirm or update your contact information by emailing us at services@ure.com or calling us at 937-642-1826 — go ahead, and do it right now, I’ll be here when you get back.

By doing so you will be helping us improve service and efficiency so we can better serve you and all members of the co-op.

We rely on data for nearly every aspect of our operations, which is why we need your help. With your most accurate and complete contact information, we can continue to provide the high level of service that you expect and deserve. We can also let our co-op members know about important programs, events, and activities.

Up-to-date contact information can potentially speed up the power restoration process during an outage. For example, the phone number you provide is linked to your service address in our outage management system. This means when you call to report an outage, our system recognizes your phone number and matches it with your account location. Accurate information helps our outage

KNOW management system predict the location and extent of an outage, making it easier for our crews to find the problem.

While we always do our best to maintain service, we Anthony Smith occasionally plan CEO/PRESIDENT outages in advance to update, repair, or replace equipment. In these instances, we can provide advance notification to affected members through automated phone messages, text messages, or email.

Keeping the co-op updated with your information also helps us when there’s a question about energy use or billing and we need to contact you. In addition, discrepancies on your account can be taken care of promptly if URE has accurate account information.

Finally, even if you move away from URE’s service territory at some future point, please remember to keep your contact information updated with the co-op. When we retire capital credits, we use your most recent information to return your investment in your electrical cooperative to you. Everyone likes to get their money, right?

Even though the ways in which we communicate may constantly change, we need to stay in touch because remember, URE is YOUR electric cooperative.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 21

OPERATIONCOOPERATIVE ROUND UP UPDATE: UNION RURAL ELECTRIC LOCAL CONNECTIONS

BIG THANKS TO KATHY!

The Operation Round Up board extends their gratitude to Kathy Thaman for her six years of service on the board. Kathy’s final meeting was in January, and she has reached the maximum number of years allowed under term limits.

Kathy was secretary of the board for five of the years she served.

Board President Jeff Grose says, “We thank Kathy for all of her hard work, attention to detail, and dedication to Operation Round Up since her appointment in January 2014.”

Operation Round Up president Jeff Grose presents Kathy Thaman with a certificate and gift card from URE.

Sally Ward of Marysville will take Kathy’s place on the board.

Sally is an active member of the community, and her familiarity with charitable and service organizations in our community will be an asset to the board.

DOES DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

REALLY SAVE ENERGY?

Every year, we move the clock forward an hour in spring and back again to standard time in the autumn.

How is changing the clock supposed to save energy?

The idea behind daylight saving time (DST) is to provide us with an extra hour of daylight in the evening, giving us the opportunity to spend more time outdoors. When we spend more time outdoors, we tend to use less energy for lighting, watching television, or operating appliances.

That all sounds good, but does it really work?

What research says about daylight saving time Although DST has been in use for decades as a way to conserve energy, its effectiveness has been difficult to prove. Early research focused mostly on lighting and found some energy savings. Later studies on the impact of DST, however, included wider energy use patterns and produced mixed results.

22 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

A European study found that lighting energy use decreased slightly, while heating demand increased by 9%. A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that while lighting energy use decreased, the savings were offset by increases in heating and cooling demand.

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization confirmed earlier findings — DST does little to conserve energy and may even increase energy use overall.

The lack of solid evidence supporting DST as an energysaving measure may be due to inconsistencies in study methods and lifestyle changes since it began. Lighting is much more efficient, and overall energy-use patterns are more complex, since DST was standardized in 1966. It’s likely that the growing use of computers and electronics has reduced the energy-saving impact of changing the clocks.

Recently, there’s been debate over whether to end daylight saving time or even extend it year-round. Future research will be helpful in weighing its cost and benefits and comparing it with other energy conservation methods.

5

WAYS TO

SAVE

Spring is here. The weather is getting warmer, and the days are growing longer. It’s the perfect time to start those outdoor projects you’ve been planning and explore new ways to make your home more energy efficient. The following home improvements and lifestyle changes will help lower your utility bills and reduce your environmental impact.

• SPRING CLEANING While you’re chasing those dust bunnies around, look for ways to save energy. Clean under and behind your refrigerator to keep it operating efficiently. Dust lightbulbs to get more light for your money. If you have a sliding glass door, wash the track. Dirt buildup can damage the door seal and create gaps where cool air can escape.

• CHECK YOUR COOLING SYSTEM Hire a qualified professional to inspect and clean your air conditioning system.

Replace the system’s air filter and adjust thermostat settings for warmer weather. If you haven’t done so already, install a programmable thermostat. It will optimize savings and add convenience by adjusting the temperature to fit your schedule — automatically!

• INSTALL CEILING FANS Ceiling fans circulate the air, making rooms feel cooler, which means you can raise the temperature setting up to 4 F without compromising comfort. Remember that ceiling fans only make you feel cooler, not the room.

Turn them off in empty rooms to avoid wasting energy.

• SEAL AIR LEAKS Gaps and cracks in doors and windows send conditioned air — and your energy dollars — outside.

Weatherstrip exterior doors and seal windows with caulk.

Check for any gaps around outdoor plumbing and wiring access and seal with expanding foam insulation.

• PLANT SOME SHADE Arbor Day is coming. Celebrate by planting a shade tree along the south- or west-facing side of your home. Trees help shield your home from the sun in summer, keeping you cool and reducing your energy bill. They are good for the environment, too. Remember to call 811 before you dig and consider the mature height of trees; select a location away from power lines.

In addition to saving energy, spring is the perfect time to renew your commitment to living a greener lifestyle. Walk or ride a bike instead of driving a car whenever possible. Start a compost bin for recycling kitchen and yard waste. Install a rain barrel to save water for landscaping. Also, remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle whatever you can!

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 22A

UNION RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL CONNECTIONS

THE COOPERATIVE DIFFERENCE LOOK FOR YOUR ALLOCATION CREDITS AND BILLING CREDITS As a consumer-member, all the money you pay throughout the year — above our operating costs — is tracked and entered into a special account earmarked for you. This is what we call “allocation of credits,” and it’s something we do every year that we earn more than what we spend. This money is used, along with long-term loans, to continue upgrading and building electric distribution facilities that benefit our current and future members.

Your April URE electric bill will show the 2019 allocation for your account, along with your total allocation of credits. Gas bills will show the allocation in May. When the board gives their approval (typically within 20 years), we “retire” the allocated credits, which means we actually pay you back in the form of a credit on your bill. If you are no longer a consumermember of URE, we send you a check.

In 2019, URE paid nearly $2.9 million back to our consumermembers. Ohio electric co-ops pay back over $30 million annually, and nationally, co-ops pay back over $1.2 billion per year. That’s added value for being a consumer-member of a cooperative!

In 2014, URE’s natural gas division, CERC, began allocating credits that will be retired at some point in the future as equity in that business increases.

Current electric members will find a bill credit on their May bill for any retired credits.

Any checks for retired credits that are returned to the cooperative as “undeliverable” are placed on an unclaimed funds list. URE will attempt to find the members to whom this money belongs, and the funds will be redistributed to the rest of the membership if no claim is made.

It’s important that you let us know your new address when moving off URE’s system so we can continue sending checks when we retire future credits. You can email services@ure.com or give us a call at 800-642-1826 to let us know your new address. After all, you earned it for being a consumer-member, and we want to make sure you continue receiving these funds.

COST, ANY EXCESS REVENUES, CALLED MARGINS, ARE BECAUSE ELECTRIC CO-OPS OPERATE AT

RETURNED TO MEMBERS IN THE FORM OF

CAPITAL CREDITS. 22B OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

Your co-op tracks how much electricity you buy and how much money you pay for it throughout the year.

At the end of the year, your co-op completes financial matters and determines whether there are excess revenues, called margins.

Your co-op allocates the margins to consumer-members as capital credits based upon their electric use during the year.

When the co-op’s financial condition permits, your board of trustees decides to retire, or pay, the capital credits.

Your co-op notifies you of how and when you’ll receive your capital credits retirements.

ELECTRIC CO-OPS HAVE RETIRED

OVER $17 BILLION TO MEMBERS SINCE 1988.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 22C

UNION RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL CONNECTIONS

Pi may be an irrational number, but celebrating National Pi Day with a warm piece of pie and some fun facts is a completely rational choice.

Did you know that pi is an infinite number, and it took 25 virtual machines 121 days to calculate it out to 31 trillion digits in 2019?

Dig in to some more 3.14 facts to celebrate on 3/14.

22D OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

4 WAYS TO

GO GREEN THIS ST. PATRICK’S DAY If you’ve been looking to change your lifestyle and live more sustainability, what better time to start than St. Patrick’s Day, the greenest of all holidays? You don't even need to find a four-leaf clover, although that wouldn’t hurt. Here are a few simple tips to help you get started. Good luck!

1. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE If you just throw something away, it’s not only wasteful, but it will probably end up in a landfill where it will contribute to a host of environmental problems. Learn how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle materials to decrease household waste. Don’t stop at your doorstep. Get involved in community recycling programs and be a green consumer.

Select products and packaging made from recycled and recyclable materials.

2. SAVE ENERGY Saving energy is one of the best ways to reduce your household’s environmental footprint. Simple conservation strategies can yield big savings. Turn off lights and home electronics when they’re not in use. Adjust your thermostat at night or when you're not home. Switch to high-efficiency, long-lasting LED bulbs.

3. EAT LOCAL AND ORGANIC Organic foods are produced using sustainable practices and local foods reduce transportation and storage, which can also have an impact on the environment. Look for organic food at your grocery or food cooperative and visit your local farmers market. The organization Local Harvest and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Directory are useful resources.

4. USE WATER WISELY Fresh, clean water is not an infinite resource. Take shorter showers and only use the dishwasher or washing machine when you have a full load. Fix leaks as quickly as possible.

Consider installing faucet aerators and low-flow showerheads. Use water-efficient irrigation practices for your lawn and garden. See Simple Steps to Save Water from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for more ideas on how you can conserve water.

GREEN ON A BUDGET Think that sustainable living is not financially sustainable? Think again. While some items — such as organic produce — may cost more, many sustainable practices have little or no cost and may even save you money. So going green will not necessarily leave you in the red.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 23

UNION RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL CONNECTIONS

5

Second nominating committee meeting notice (if necessary, two weeks after first meeting)

April board meeting will be May 5

28

Last day nominations by committee or petition can be filed with the secretary (70 days prior to annual meeting)

31

1

CONTACT

1-800-642-1826 | 937-642-1826 www.ure.com

OFFICE HOURS

Mon.–Fri. 7:30 a.m.– 4 p.m.

24 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

1

Final meeting notice in June OCL magazine

April board meeting

May board meeting

5

2 3 6

15

Latest weekday ballots can be mailed to members (20 days prior to annual meeting)

Ballots due

2021 election will be for Districts 1, 4 & 5 2022 election will be for Districts 2 & 7

Annual meeting, 9 a.m. at URE office

30

Reorganization meeting to elect board officers

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jeff Wilson

LOCAL CONNECTIONS Anthony Smith

Chairman

CEO/President

Jeff Reinhard Vice Chairman

Bill D’Onofrio OFFICE 1461 U.S. Route 36 P.O. Box 393 Marysville, Ohio 43040

DISTRICT ELECTIONS

Official meeting notice in May OCL magazine

March board meeting

UNION RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.

Looking ahead

Treasurer

Steve Patton Secretary

Dale Scheiderer David Thornton Dan Westlake Trustees

Mike Aquillo CXO/VP of Member Services

Sue Gibson, CCC Director of Communications

HAVE A STORY SUGGESTION? Email your ideas to: services@ure.com

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MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 25

SHERIFF MAUDE MAKES HISTORY Vinton County’s Maude Collins was the first woman in Ohio to be elected sheriff.

BY BRIAN ALBRIGHT

I

n November 1927, Edgar Foy and Rose Waldron were delivered to the Ohio State Penitentiary for their part in a violent robbery.

They were also inadvertent witnesses to a nearly forgotten moment in Ohio history: They were the first prisoners ever escorted to the penitentiary by a woman — Maude Collins, the first woman in state history to be elected sheriff.

Originally appointed to the job after her husband, Vinton County Sheriff Fletcher Collins, was murdered, Sheriff Maude (as she was called) was elected by an impressive majority the following year. During her groundbreaking tenure, Maude Collins not only transported a fair number of prisoners, she also took down moonshine stills, investigated five murders, and even took the former marshal of Hamden into custody after he was convicted of killing a suspect.

Widow with a badge Born in 1893, Maude Collins was the granddaughter of Randall McCoy, patriarch of the McCoy clan during its infamous feud with the Hatfields. Maude’s husband, Fletcher, was a former Navy fireman and a popular sheriff.

Fletcher, however, was shot in October 1925 while attempting to serve an arrest warrant, leaving Maude to raise their five children alone.

When the local coroner (next in line for the position of sheriff) turned down the job,

26 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

Maude Collins (above and at right on the top photo, opposite page) was the first woman to be elected as a county sheriff in Ohio. She first got the job when she inherited it from her husband after he was killed while in office, but was reelected in a landslide and later elected as the county’s clerk of courts.

Ohio’s trailblazing sheriffs Maude Collins’ election was a first in Ohio, but she was almost forgotten outside of Vinton County until 1976, when Kathy Crumbley was elected sheriff of Belmont County, and folks there claimed she was Ohio’s first female elected sheriff.

Officials in Vinton County wanted to set the record straight. “After they made a big deal about the Belmont County election, we wanted to make sure people knew about Maude Collins,” says Deanna Tribe of the Vinton County Historical and Genealogical Society. “We didn’t want to create a big fuss, but we wanted the stories to be accurate.”

county officials offered the post to Maude. It was not uncommon at the time for widows to inherit political positions — typically to hold the post for the local political party until the next election.

With her husband gone, Maude’s decision to carry on as sheriff likely was a financial one. In Vinton County, the sheriff’s house was adjacent to the jail, and as the sheriff’s wife, Maude would have served as the jail matron, feeding prisoners, cleaning the jail, handling paperwork, and taking care of female prisoners.

“When Fletcher was murdered, the county commissioners appointed Maude as sheriff. Had she turned them down, she and her five children would have lost the roof over their heads, and she would have had no other way to support them,” says author Jane Ann Turzillo, who wrote about Collins in her book, Wicked Women of Ohio.

Crumbley, like Collins, has a fascinating story. She was the only female sheriff in the nation when she took office, and gained fame not only for her barrier-breaking election but also for her outspoken personality and her imposing physical presence (she was over 6 feet tall). She demonstrated judo holds on Johnny Carson during an appearance on The Tonight Show, and at one point was even in discussions with Paramount Studios to develop a TV series based on her life story. After serving one term, she later worked as a fraud investigator for the Belmont County Department of Jobs and Family Services. She died in 2011.

It would be another 40 years before another woman was elected as sheriff in Ohio. Deb Burchett was elected in Clark County in 2016, and is still the only woman serving as a sheriff in the Buckeye State.

Sheriff Maude served out the last year of her husband’s term and then made the unprecedented decision to run for re-election. Women had only recently gained the right to vote, and while women had made some inroads in law enforcement elsewhere, the few who had been appointed sheriff via widow’s succession had always left the post when their terms were up.

In the 1926 election, Collins handily beat her opponent in the Democratic primary (winning 964 votes to 232), and received nearly 60% of the vote in the general election.

Continued on page 28

Kathy Crumbley of Belmont County gained fame in the 1970s, when she was the nation’s only woman serving as a sheriff.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 27

Illegal moonshine operations such as this one were among the primary crimes investigated by Maude Collins in her time as Vinton County sheriff. Collins has her own section in Jane Ann Turzillo’s Wicked Women of Ohio.

Continued from page 27

Moonshine and murder Vinton County is a largely rural area with a relatively small population, but Collins’ time as sheriff was far from easy. Prohibition was in full swing, and while moonshine stills had always been common in southeast Ohio, illegal liquor operations in the region had grown in scale and scope and brought an increase in violence.

Collins investigated at least five homicides while sheriff.

The most notorious of those came in 1927 when Sarah Stout, the wife of local farmer William Stout, was murdered. Collins arrested Stout’s son, Arthur, for the murder of his stepmother that winter. A few months later, after William Stout himself went missing, Collins determined that Arthur Stout’s teenage girlfriend, Inez Palmer, had murdered the elder stout. Collins’ investigation showed that Palmer bludgeoned Stout to death, donned his boots to create footprints in order to fake his disappearance, forged a will, and then dropped his body down a well.

The lurid case received attention around the state and nationwide, and it was through reports on the Palmer case that Turzillo first discovered Maude Collins. “The first thing I saw when I started to research the murders was Maude’s picture — the one of her in the Annie Oakley hat,” Turzillo says. “There was something about her expression that drew me to her. There was a confidence there, even a bit of haughtiness, and, of course, the fact that she was the first female sheriff in Ohio.”

28 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

After Collins’ time as sheriff, she was elected twice to the position of clerk of courts in Vinton County, and then served as a matron at the Columbus State School. She later moved to California, but eventually returned to Ohio, where she died in 1972. She is buried in Hamden Cemetery, next to her husband.

Collins’ story was presented as a play by the Ohio History Center in 2014 and was given even more exposure via Turzillo’s book. Sheriff Maude was also elected to the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000.

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MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 31

I

n the pale light of a wintry afternoon, Joyce Nelson leads the way past the milking parlor and into the barn at Dugan Road Creamery. The contented sound of lowing mingles with the faint aroma of hay as two Holstein calves step out of their stalls to greet Joyce and eagerly press their soft, pink muzzles into her outstretched hands. “This is Wilma, and this is Penny,” she says proudly. “Wilma is two weeks old, but Penny was born last week.”

Joyce and her husband, Chris, are Pioneer Electric Cooperative members who live on a 22-acre farm near Urbana. They’ve raised Holsteins for decades. Chris grew up on an Arizona dairy farm that boasted one of the largest herds in the nation in the 1950s.

“I’ve been milking cows since I was 8 years old,” he says. “I hardly know anything else and always do it the best I can.” Joyce, who is from Ontario, met Chris when he was working on a farm his father had in Canada. The self-described “city girl” fell for Chris — and for dairy farming. “I started out feeding one calf, and before I knew it, I was milking cows every day,” says Joyce. “When our second child was just 6 hours old, she was out in the barn with me while I milked.”

32 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

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STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAMAINE VONADA

After moving to Champaign County in 1988, the Nelsons worked their family dairy farm with the help of their four children and sold their milk to a national milk-marketing cooperative. In recent years, however, plummeting milk prices soured their profits. The couple made the difficult decision to sell most of their 45 cows and take advantage of the “locavore” trend by changing their business model from a conventional dairy farm to a microdairy processor and retailer.

“Microdairies are already big on the East Coast, especially in places like New Hampshire and Vermont,” Chris says. “The appeal is that people want to buy milk directly from a farmer and see for themselves how the animals are treated. Microdairies are much more artisanal than the big commercial operations.”

After purchasing a vat pasteurizer and bottler, the Nelsons converted part of their farm’s milk house into a processing plant and opened Dugan Road Creamery in 2017. They now produce fresh whole milk; soft cheeses, such as mozzarella and halloumi; cream cheese in several flavors; Greek-style yogurt; and kefir, a fermented beverage

Dugan Road Creamery currently keeps five Holstein cows that each produce about 8 gallons of milk per day.

with a tart taste. “Kefir is a probiotic drink,” Joyce says. “It’s like Activia times a thousand.”

Dugan Road Creamery specializes in creamline milk, which is pasteurized but not homogenized. “With our milk, the cream rises to the top, so you have to give the bottle a good shake before pouring it,” Joyce says.

There are people who believe that homogenization compromises milk’s health benefits by using high pressure to break up its fat molecules. “The fat in milk is what helps your stomach digest it,” Joyce says. “People come here because they can’t drink store-bought milk.

One guy who was told he was lactose intolerant is so excited because he can drink our creamline milk.”

The Nelsons currently have five cows that each produce 70 pounds (about 8 gallons) of milk per day. They’ve expanded their product line to include chocolate, strawberry, orange creamsicle, and cookies-and-cream flavored milk, and in addition to their farm store, which is open most evenings and by appointment, several independent grocers and specialty shops now carry Dugan Road Creamery’s milk and cheese. Like the milkmen of bygone days, Chris even delivers to dozens of businesses and homes. His route extends from Sidney to Lebanon, and individual customers simply put their money in an insulated cooler by their front door.

Chris and Joyce Nelson have raised milk cows for decades and recently converted their Dugan Road dairy farm to a microdairy and creamery that produces milk products they sell in their farm store and at a few independent grocers.

“Operating a microdairy is almost more work than when we were milking 45 cows because we’re processing milk and cheese daily,” Chris says. “That daily processing is what allows us to sell a very fresh product to our customers.”

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source To the

Ohio’s rivers inspire reflection, inspiration for a modern Ohio explorer.

BY KEVIN WILLIAMS

O

ur state’s very name, translated from the language of its original inhabitants, means “Good River.”

While Ohio is named specifically for the mighty waterway that forms its eastern and southern borders, that name serves as an apt description of the entire place.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio is home to more than 3,000 named rivers and streams, and while our namesake obviously is the most acclaimed, each has its own story to tell.

Rivers, to me, are analogies of our humanity: They begin as spindly streams, unglamorous trickles, and, like people, they find their way — carving their character as they go, widening and deepening with distance. If a river can have such an ignominious beginning yet end with a glorious, glowing connection to something larger, then couldn’t that be a template for a life well-lived?

I grew up on the banks of the Great Miami River, which carves a 160-mile course from Russells Point to Cincinnati.

Towns along the Great Miami are still — more than a century later — haunted by the ghosts of 1913, when its waters rampaged. In my hometown of Middletown, the downtown still displays high-water marks from that disaster.

36 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

The tales from old-timers about the Great Flood spurred my interest in rivers, and since that time, I’ve embraced other Ohio waterways. I’ve been tubing in Twin Creek. I’ve gotten stuck in floodwaters on the Wabash. I’ve strolled along both the Stillwater and the Scioto, biked along the Mad, tossed rocks into the Olentangy. I explored the nightclubs and bars along the Cuyahoga when I was a college student and picnicked along the Hocking as an adult. I’ve endlessly entertained my 6-year-old by contemplating the lack of a “Daddy River” while hanging out on the banks of the Maumee.

I’ve spent untold hours absorbed in Google Earth, following the routes of my favorite Ohio rivers — tracing those broad strokes that fade to chocolatecolored squiggles and then vanish in a thicket or a field. I always imagined springs bubbling up from nowhere, and being able to leap across the Scioto, for example, in a single bound. I recently realized I needed to jump off of the glowing screen and seek those sources in real life.

As I studied the maps, I noticed a pattern to Ohio’s rivers: A bunch of them start in a seeming no-man’sland north of Dayton and south of Toledo. The Great Miami, Stillwater, Mad, Auglaize, St. Mary’s, and Scioto all have their sources there. Even Indiana’s river is Ohio’s — the famed Wabash, whose graceful currents have sparked many a Hoosier ballad, gets its start in the same cradle of rivers, south of Fort Recovery.

It seemed only fitting to start my quest with the Scioto.

The Scioto is Ohio’s river. Its gracefully swirling waters give the city of Columbus a waterfront, then slice southward toward a watery rendezvous with the Ohio. I had traced its route many times on Google Earth, each time pinning its humble headwaters to a farm field in eastern Auglaize County. But when I got there in real life, it wasn’t the near-spiritual experience of a bubbling spring. I was instead greeted by a drainage ditch in a desolate field. A weathered sign marked the Scioto’s start, but the waters soon drained into underground pipes and disappeared again.

Continued on page 39

At left, the Stillwater River widens as it flows through Ansonia.

Above, the Stillwater “begins” from a rusty pipe under an unmarked bridge on Zumbrun Road in rural Darke County.

At right, Jim Davis of Roundhead, Ohio, watches the Scioto just a few miles from its source. Roundhead is the first town the river reaches after its source. Davis recalls playing in the river as a child and drinking from springs that fed it.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 37

Cradle of rivers That the area of western Ohio between Toledo and Dayton is a source for so many rivers owes to its geological history.

Two million years ago, before the start of the last ice age, the giant Teays River flowed from North Carolina toward the north and west all the way to what is now Illinois, including roughly the course that the Scioto and upper part of the Wabash take today.

That one long river and its watershed drained most of the Midwest. But as the ice age dawned, glaciers smothered the Teays — the reflow created, among others, the Ohio River.

“As the ice sheets were retreating, it reconfigured the surface drainage. You will see the divide between the Great Lakes drainage and the Mississippi drainage. You have a massive watershed divide,” says Wright State University Professor Stephen Jacquemin, an expert on wetlands.

The glaciers also left behind rich underground water reservoirs that still bubble up to the surface, as well as a patchwork of ponds and lakes. All of those serve to birth and feed the many trickles that come together and form the cricks, streams, and, eventually, the mightiest of rivers.

The Great Miami River lazily flows near Port Jefferson, which was once a promient stop on the Miami-Erie Canal route.

38 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

Continued from page 37

At least the Scioto’s start, in tribute to being Ohio’s river, is marked with a sign. The Stillwater River begins under a nondescript bridge, water running out of a rusty pipe. Beer bottles were strewn around the bridge when I visited. A bit later, freed from its straitjacket of ditches and field tiles, it snaked as a small stream into a nearby forest. I looked again at the pipe, searching in vain for any trace of a spring.

I turned to Stephen Jacquemin, a biology professor at Wright State University and a nationally known expert on wetlands, for answers.

Jacquemin says that if I had visited the area before it was cleared for agriculture in the 1800s, I would have found what I was hoping for: groundwater seeping to the surface, a marshy swamp, and a river’s humble headwaters.

When settlers came along and decided they needed agricultural land, he says, they buried tiles about 3 feet below the surface. Those tiles drain the naturally occurring springs and wetlands into pipes that then empty into human-made ditches, which only then launch the river into its natural course — leaving behind rich, nutrient-dense farmland.

“We have been digging those ditches since we started farming,” Jacquemin says. “Agriprofessionals will channelize the ditch to move water more quickly out of the field.”

Not all of the wetlands were drained. Grand Lake and Indian Lake were created out of existing wetlands and made into large lakes to feed the water-hungry Miami and Erie Canal in the 1830s and ’40s. Because of that, the Great Miami gets a bit more of a glamorous start than a field pipe — spilling over a dam on the south side of Indian Lake. Its source would otherwise have been in the same general area, which was a muddy, swampy marsh before the canal was constructed.

I went back to find the reemergence of the Scioto, and when I found it, crossing under Ohio Route 385, it looked more like the natural stream I was expecting. I happily leapt across in a single bound and, now satisfied, headed home.

The Scioto begins in this barren drainage ditch on a farm in Auglaize County.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 39

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MAR. 20–21 – Militaria Collectors Show, Lakeland Community College, Athletic and Fitness Ctr. Main Gym, 7700 Clocktower Dr., Kirtland (Rt. 306 and I-90 exit 193), Fri. 4–8 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. $5; students, veterans, and active military with ID, $3. lakelandmilitariashow@ gmail.com or www.facebook.com/lakeland.militaria.show.

MAR. 21 – Campbell-Dickinson 5K Run Bike Walk and Kids’ 1K, 201 S. 4th St., Toronto. Proceeds benefit cancer research. 740-537-9500 or www.thegemcity.org.

MAR. 21–22 – Chagrin Fall’s Spring Avant-Garde Art THROUGH MAY 31 – “Tying the Knot: The History and Craft Show, Federated Church- Family Life Ctr., of Bridal Fashion,” McKinley Presidential Library and 16349 Chillicothe Rd., Chagrin Falls, Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Dr. NW, Canton.

Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. $3, under 12 free. Features a variety Exhibit explores wedding fashions from the 1860s to of local artists and crafters selling their original handmade the present day. Learn more about the history behind items. Full concession stand on site. 440-227-8794 or timeless wedding traditions, such as the bouquet www.avantgardeshows.com. toss, wedding cakes, the engagement ring, the role of the best man, and more! 330-455-7043 or www.

MAR. 22 – Flea Market of Collectables, Medina County mckinleymuseum.org/events.

Fgds. Community Ctr., 735 Lafayette Rd. (St. Rte. 42), Medina, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. $2. Early bird special admission, MAR. 14 – Medina Gun Show, Medina County Fgds.

Community Ctr., 735 Lafayette Rd. (St. Rte. 42), Medina, 9 6–9 a.m., $3. A treasure trove of vintage items and collectables. 330-948-4300 or www.conraddowdell.com/ a.m.–3 p.m. $7. 450 tables of displays. 330-948-4400 or event/listing. www.conraddowdell.com/event/listing.

APR. 4 – “Did Your Ancestors Wear Tartan?,” MAR. 20 – Adult Swim: Ohio Wine and Beer Tasting, Cleveland History Ctr., 10825 East Blvd., Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Aquarium, 2000 Sycamore St., noon. $15. Trace your ancestors from America to Cleveland, 7–10 p.m. $40 admission ($30 for GCA Scotland. www.wrhs.org/events. members) includes food samplings, 20 tasting tickets, and souvenir tasting glass. $20 non-drinking “designated APR. 4 – History on Tap: “A CLE Speakeasy,” Cleveland driver” option also available. Local wineries and breweries History Ctr., 10825 East Blvd., Cleveland, 5–9 p.m. are spotlighted, with food from some of Celebrate the Jazz Age as you enjoy a craft cocktail in our historic mansion. We’ll be exploring how Prohibition

closed many Cleveland breweries while also sparking a speakeasy boom and the rise of the Mob era. Dress to impress, wear your dancing shoes, and enjoy an evening out in the Roaring ’20s. www.wrhs.org/events.

APR. 4–5 – Strongsville Spring Avant-Garde Art and Craft Show, Strongsville Ehrnfelt Recreation Ctr., 18100 Royalton Rd., Strongsville, Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. $3, under 12 free. Features artists and crafters selling their original handmade items.

Full concession stand on site. 440-227-8794 or www. avantgardeshows.com.

APR. 5 – Teddy Bear Concert: “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” Renaissance Theatre, 138 Park Ave. W., Mansfield, 2:30 p.m. $5. An engaging musical adaptation of the classic tale, featuring audience participation, interactive storytelling with local actors, and live music from the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra. 419-522-2726 or www.mansfieldtickets.com.

APR. 5 – Train and Toy Show, Medina County Fgds.

Community Ctr., 735 Lafayette Rd. (St. Rte. 42), Medina, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. $6. 330-948-4400 or www.conraddowdell. com/event/listing.

APR. 13 – Cleveland Dyngus Day Festival, Detroit Ave. and West 58th St. (Detroit Shoreway area), Cleveland, 10 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Celebrate Cleveland’s Polka heritage and other Eastern European cultures still thriving in northeast Ohio. Polka bands, authentic Polish food and beer, a designated family area, parade, entertainment, Miss Dyngus Day pageant, Lolly the Trolly free rides, and an avant-garde artisan and crafter market. https:// clevelanddyngus.com.

SOUTHEAST

MAR. 28 – Southeast Ohio Poultry Breeders Assoc.

Show, Washington Co. Fgds., 922 Front St., Marietta.

740-444-9505, seohiopoultrybreedersassoc@gmail.com, or www.poultryshowcentral.com/Ohio.html.

APR. 3 – “The Talking Machine Works,” Campus Martius Museum, 601 Second St., Marietta, noon–1 p.m. Free. Greg Brown discusses the history of recordings and the importance of preserving antique phonographs, gramophones, and records. https:// mariettamuseums.org/events.

APR. 4 – Easter Egg Hunt, Buckeye Furnace Historic Site, 123 Buckeye Park Rd., Wellston. Begins at eggsactly 12 noon, so we recommend you come early! Three age groups: 1–4, 5–9, and 10 and up. The Easter Bunny will be there for photo opportunities. janmckibben@gmail.com.

APR. 4 – Guided Hike at Gladys Riley Preserve, Tick Ridge-Koenig Hill Rd., Otway. Arrive at 9:45 a.m.; hike is from 10 a.m. sharp to mid-afternoon. See the Golden Star Lily in peak bloom. The preserve is the first refuge specifically created for the protection of this extremely rare and endangered early spring wildflower.

Registration required. http://arcofappalachia.org/gladysriley-guided-hike.

APR. 4 – Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, Stuart’s Opera House, 52 Public Square, Nelsonville, 7:30 p.m. $23–$33. 740-753-1924 or www.stuartsoperahouse.org.

singer and songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. 740-371-5152 or www.peoplesbanktheatre.com.

MAR. 20 – Living Word Auction and Banquet, Pritchard Laughlin Civic Ctr., 7033 Glenn Hwy., Cambridge. Doors open at 5 p.m., program and dinner at 6 p.m. $30. 740439-2761 or www.livingworddrama.org.

MAR. 20–21 – River City Blues Festival, Lafayette Hotel, 101 Front St., Marietta. The festival brings together some of the most talented blues and jazz performers from around the country to perform in front of a longtime and loyal fan base. 740-376-0222 or http://bjfm.org/blues-festival.

MAR. 21 – Lorrie Morgan, Peoples Bank Theatre, 222 MAR. 7–8, 21–22, APR. 4–5 – American History Putnam St., Marietta, 8 p.m. Starting at $37. 740-371-5152 Lecture Series, Campus Martius Museum, 601 Second or www.peoplesbanktheatre.com.

St., Marietta, Sat. 11 a.m.–12 p.m., Sun. 2–3 p.m. $5. Learn MAR. 21 – Storybook Breakfast, First Presbyterian about the ideas that drove the Founders to establish Church, 725 Steubenville Ave., Cambridge, seatings our republic and set out on the greatest experiment in at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. $5. Bring your children to self-government in history. Lectures by Veritas Academy meet their favorite characters! Every child gets a free co-founder and history instructor Kevin Ritter. https:// autograph book, opportunities for character photos, and mariettamuseums.org/events. a full breakfast. Contact Stephanie at 740-439-2667 or MAR. 14 – National Cambridge Collectors Alluwguernsey@guernseyunitedway.com.

Cambridge Benefit Auction, St. Benedict’s Gym, 701 MAR. 22 – Paul Francis Quartet, Majestic Theatre, 45 Steubenville Ave., Cambridge, preview at 8:30 a.m., E. Second St., Chillicothe, 5 p.m. $5–$12. Enjoy the music auction at 9:30 a.m. $2. Over 400 items for auction. 740- of the Grammy Award-winning drummer, educator, and 432-4245 or www.cambridgeglass.org.

Chillicothe native, who has worked extensively with some MAR. 15 – King Kong, Athena Grand, 1008 E. State St., of the world’s greatest musicians. 740-772-2041 or www.

Athens, 7 p.m. $12.50. The 1933 classic, with exclusive majesticchillicothe.net. insights from Turner Classic Movies. 740-593-8800 or MAR. 22 – Southeastern Ohio Symphony Orchestra: www.athenagrand.com.

Children’s Concert, Pritchard Laughlin Civic Ctr., 7033 MAR. 19 – Aoife Scott, Peoples Bank Theatre, 222 Glenn Hwy., Cambridge, 3:30 p.m. 740-826-8197 or Putnam St., Marietta, 8 p.m. $19–$44. Award-winning folk www.seoso.org.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 41

2020 CALENDAR

MARCH/APRIL

Continued from page 41

CENTRAL

MAR. 20–22 – Outdoor Life/Field & Stream Expo, Ohio Expo Ctr., Bricker Bldg., 717 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, Fri. 2–9 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. $5–$15, under 6 free. Weekend passes available. Formerly Ohio Deer and Turkey Expo. Hundreds of exhibitors, demos and displays, trophy contests, seminars, shooting ranges, and the latest products. www.fieldandstreamexpo.com.

MAR. 21 – Sewing Smorgasbord, Sheridan Middle School, 8660 Sheridan Rd., Thornville, 9:15 a.m.–3:05 p.m., doors open at 8:30 a.m. $10. The clothing and textile update of the year for 4-H youth and sewing/quilting enthusiasts of all ages. Over 30 classes and 15 exhibitors.

Attend classes of your choice; no pre-registration. Fat THROUGH MAR. 29 – “Chihuly: Celebrating quarter raffle; sewing machine raffle. 740-405-7891, Nature,”Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E. Broad St., crshuster1@gmail.com, or https://perry.osu.edu.

Columbus, daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $12–$19, under 3 free.

Exhibit featuring the Conservatory’s full collection of the MAR. 22 – Columbus Toy and Collectible Show, Ohio bold and colorful glasswork of Dale Chihuly. 614-715Expo Ctr., Lausche Bldg., 717 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, 9 8000 or www.fpconservatory.org. a.m.–4 p.m. $10 (cash only), under 11 free. Early buyer, 8–9 a.m., $14 (cash only). Parking $5. Buy, sell, and trade MAR. 8 – Lancaster Community Band Concert: new and used toys, video games, and collectibles at “Rejoice,” Faith Memorial Church, 2610 W. Fair Ave., Ohio’s largest gathering of vintage collectors and dealers.

Lancaster, 2 p.m. Free. 740-756-4430.

Video game tournaments, free arcade games, door MAR. 14 – St. Patrick’s Day Celebration and Parade, prizes. www.ctspromotions.com. downtown Dublin, 7 a.m.–1 p.m. Free. Events take place throughout the city, starting around 7 a.m. with a pancake MAR. 28–29 – Scott Antique Market, Ohio Expo Ctr., breakfast, “Inflation Celebration” at 9 a.m., and parade at Bricker and Celeste Bldgs., 717 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, Sat. 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Free admission; 11 a.m. 800-245-8387 or www.irishisanattitude.com. $5 parking. 800 exhibit booths. info@scottantiquemarket.

MAR. 19 – Yoga for Gardeners, Pickerington Public Library, Main Branch, 201 Opportunity Way, Pickerington, com or www.scottantiquemarkets.com.

APR. 2–5 – Equine Affaire, Ohio Expo Ctr., 717 E. 1 p.m. Hosted by the Pickerington Garden Club. Public is 17th Ave., Columbus, Thur.–Sat. 9 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. 9 welcome. 614-582-4977.

a.m.–5 p.m. $8–$15, under 6 free. The nation’s premier equine exposition, featuring an impressive educational program, the largest horse-related trade show in North America, top equine entertainment and competition, and opportunities to experience, buy, and sell horses of all types. 740-845-0085 or www.equineaffaire.com.

APR. 3–4 – Nunsense 2: The Second Coming, Marion Palace Theatre, 276 W. Center St., Marion. $20 for show only; $42 includes pre-show dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the May Pavilion. The Little Sisters of Hoboken, those humble nuns with a touch of showbiz flair, return in style. 740383-2101 or www.marionpalace.org.

APR. 4 – Egg Scramble: An Adult Easter Egg Hunt, Clary Gardens, 588 W. Chestnut St., Coshocton, 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For ages 21 and over. Enjoy a social hour with drinks and food prior to your hunt, then rush to find as many eggs as you can! 740-622-6524 or www. visitcoshocton.com.

APR. 14 – Inventors Network Meeting, Rev1 Ventures for Columbus, 1275 Kinnear Rd., Columbus, 7 p.m. Educational presentations and discussion about the invention process.

Meetings held the 2nd Tuesday of each month. 614-4700144 or www.inventorscolumbus.com.

MAY 1–3 – Columbus Audubon’s EcoWeekend, Hocking Hills. The best family nature weekend retreat in Ohio.

Pre-registration required. Register by Apr. 7. Contact Maura Rawn at 740-653-8574, email at ecoweekend@ columbusaudubon.org, or visit www.ecoweekend.org.

SOUTHWEST

MAR. 28–29 – Ruffles and Rust Expo, Butler Co. Fgds., 1715 Fairgrove Ave., Hamilton, Sat. 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–3 p.m. $5 admission good both days, under 13 free. Vintage items, home decor, handmade items, gourmet food, and boutique clothing and jewelry. www. rufflesandrustexpo.com/ohio.

MAR. 31 – Drawing Room Chamber Concert, TroyHayner Cultural Ctr., 301 W. Main St., Troy, 7:30 p.m.

Hosted by Steven Aldredge. Kun Dong and Benita TseLeung, the critically acclaimed violin-piano duo, return for an encore performance. www.troyhayner.org/music.html.

APR. 3 – Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, Butler County Bluegrass Association, Community Ctr., 5113 Huston Rd., Collinsville, 7–9 p.m. Enjoy lively bluegrass music with lightning-fast instrumentals, close harmonies, and entertaining novelty songs. Food available on site.

513-410-3625 or www.fotmc.com.

APR. 4–5 – Dollhouse and Miniatures Show and Sale, EnterTRAINment Junction Expo Room, 7379 Squire Ct., West Chester, Sat. 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. noon–4 p.m. $5, C. (4–12) $3, under 4 free. https://entertrainmentjunction. com/calendar.

APR. 5 – Salute to the Railroaders, Bradford Railroad Museum, 200 N. Miami Ave., Bradford, 2–6 p.m. Learn about railroad history. Meet with past and current railroaders to find out what it’s like living the railroad life. www.bradfordrrmuseum.org.

2747, cabinfeverartsfestival@gmail.com, www.apartguild. com, or on Facebook.

MAR. 21 – G-Scale Swap Meet, EnterTRAINment Junction, 7379 Squire Ct., West Chester, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Free. Presented by the Greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Society. https://entertrainmentjunction.com/calendar.

MAR. 21 – Jazz in March: Robin Eubanks and the Keigo Hirakawa Trio, Troy-Hayner Cultural Ctr., 301 W. Main St., Troy, 7 p.m. www.troyhayner.org/music.html.

MAR. 21 – LEGO Brick Blowout, WACO Air Museum, 1865 S. Co. Rd. 25A, Troy, noon–5 p.m. Creative event for all ages! Includes a LEGO Build Zone, LEGO Scavenger Hunt, MAR. 11–APR. 15 – Bluegrass Wednesdays, Vinoklet Winery, 11069 Colerain Ave., Cincinnati, every Wednesday, building competition, and much more. wacoairmuseum@ gmail.com or www.wacoairmuseum.org.

6:30–8:30 p.m. Enjoy dinner, wine, and an evening of lively bluegrass music by Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian MAR. 27 – Community Concert: Jerry and Vaughn Grass. 513-385-9309, vinokletwinery@fuse.net, or LIVE!, Troy-Hayner Cultural Ctr., 301 W. Main St., Troy, 7:30 www.vinokletwines.com/post/2018/09/30/bluegrassp.m. The duo performs folk songs, oldies, and new songs. wednesdays-spaghetti-meat-balls.

They write their own tunes about life, love, and laughter. www.troyhayner.org/music.html.

MAR. 17 – St. Patrick’s Day 5K Beer Run, Can’t Stop Running Co., 321 N. Main St., Piqua. Drink a beer — or MAR. 27–29 – Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival, a root beer — at every mile. www.cantstoprunningco.com. Roberts Convention Ctr., 123 Gano Rd., Wilmington, doors open at 10 a.m. $35–$65. Award-winning bluegrass, MAR. 20–22 – Quilt, Vintage, and Fabric Arts Show, Warren Co. Fgds., 665 N. Broadway, Lebanon, old-time, and gospel music. 937-372-5804 or http:// somusicfest.com/index.html.

10 a.m.–5 p.m. $5 online, $7 at door. Free parking.

Browse quilts, quilting and craft supplies, patterns, MAR. 28 – Routes for Roots, Fort Piqua Conference fabrics, vintage textiles, and more. 513-932-1817 or Ctr., 116 W. High St., Piqua. Registration starts at 8 a.m., www.wchsmuseum.org. welcome opening at 8:45 a.m., and classes at 9:15 a.m. Preregistration $25, walk-ins $30. Historical and MAR. 21 – Cabin Fever Arts Festival, Southern State Community College, Patriot Ctr., 100 Hobart Dr., Hillsboro, genealogical workshop presented by the Miami County Historical and Genealogical Society and sponsored by the 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Free. Presented by the Appalachian Piqua Public Library. Four teachers present eight classes.

Artisans Guild. More than 60 artists selling handcrafted Door prizes. www.mchgs.org. items. Live music. Food available on campus. 937-393-

42 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

NORTHWEST

MAR. 14–15 – Maple Syrup Festival, Indian Lake State Park, 12774 St. Rte. 235 N., Lakeview, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Enjoy a pancake and sausage breakfast. Learn how maple syrup is extracted from the tree, then it’s on to the Sugar Shack for a demonstration of the process by which sap is transformed into true maple syrup. Pure maple syrup available for purchase. 937-843-2717 or http://parks. ohiodnr.gov/indianlake.

MAR. 14–15 – ARRL Great Lakes Convention and Toledo Hamfest, 30335 Oregon Rd., Perrysburg, Sat. 8:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Convention forums, banquet, and Wouff Hong on Saturday; Hamfest on Sunday. Register at www.toledoglc.org.

MAR. 21 – Camp Creek Poultry Show, Allen Co. Fgds., 2750 Harding Hwy., Lima. 419-3718881, campcreekshow@gmail.com, or www. poultryshowcentral.com/Ohio.html.

MAR. 22 – Flag City Model Train Show, Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation Inc., 12505 Co. Rd. 99, Findlay, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $4; under 13 free if accompanied by adult.

Model trains, toy trains, and railroad memorabilia on display and for purchase. Quarter-scale train rides will be available for additional cost: $3 adult, $2 child. 419-4232995, www.nworrp.org or www.facebook.com/nworrp.

MAR. 26 – Waitress, Veterans Memorial and Civic Ctr., 7 Town Square, Lima, 8 p.m. $44 and up. A Broadway musical baked from the heart. www.limaciviccenter.com.

MAR. 28 – Annual Market Day and Fiber Fair, hosted

by Black Swamp Spinners Guild of Northwest Ohio, Wood Co. Fgds., 13800 W. Poe Rd., Bowling Green, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. $1. For hand spinners, weavers, knitters, crocheters, felters, and anyone with fiber interests. www.facebook.com/blackswampspinnersguild or www. blackswampspinnersguild.org.

the wondrous underwater world of Bubblelandia. www.limaciviccenter.com.

APR. 3–5 – Southern Gospel Expo, Trinity Friends Church, 605 N. Franklin St., Van Wert, Fri. 5 p.m., Sat. 4 p.m., Sun. 6:30 (doors open at 4:30 p.m.). Free. Over 25 gospel groups from around the country. Food court available each night. 419-238-2788 or www.trinityvw.com.

APR. 4 – Blacksmith Open Forge Demo, Wood County Historical Ctr. and Museum, 13660 County Home Rd., Bowling Green, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Free. 419-352-0967 or http://woodcountyhistory.org.

APR. 4–5 – Tri-State Gun Show, Allen Co. Fgds., 2750 Harding Hwy., Lima (2 miles east of Lima on St. Rte. 309), Sat. 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m. $6, free for members, under 18 free if accompanied by adult. Over 400 tables of modern and antique guns, edged weapons, and sporting equipment. 419-647-0067 or www.

MAR. 28 – Dagan Hawkins Purse Bingo Fundraiser, tristategunshow.org.

Cairo Gymnasium, 519 Wall St., Cairo, 6 p.m. $35.

APR. 9 – “Wood County Bicentennial: Whose History Dagan is 12 years old and was diagnosed with leukemia Is It?” Wood County Historical Ctr. and Museum, 13660 in 2019. Proceeds assist him and his family with County Home Rd., Bowling Green, 2–4 p.m. $23 travel, food, lodging, and other expenses as he goes (museum admission included). Reservations required. through treatment. https://z-m-www.facebook.com/ Hear about some of the lesser-known people and events events/703043446874235. in northwest Ohio’s history as we explore how history MAR. 28 – Maple Syrup Festival, Williams Co. Fgds., 619 “is not what it was.” Includes catered luncheon and tea.

E. Main St., Montpelier, 8 a.m.–noon. Contact the Williams 419-352-0967 or http://woodcountyhistory.org.

SWCD at 419-636-9395 ext. 3 or email amichaels@ APR. 11 – Easter Egg Hunt on the Square, 100 E williamsswcd.org.

Court St., Sidney, 11 a.m. Free. For ages 1 through 11.

APR. 3 – B: The Underwater Bubble Show, Held on the Court House lawn. 937-658-6945 or www.

Veterans Memorial and Civic Ctr., 7 Town Square, sidneyalive.org.

Lima, 7:30 p.m. $25–$65. A modern fairy tale set in

off quilting projects. Spend your days quilting and your nights relaxing by the fire in the lodge lobby. 304-6432931 or www.northbendsp.com.

APR. 4 – Civil War Symposium, I.O.O.F. Hall, Beverly.

The topic is “Rascals, Rangers, and Swamp Dragons: Civil War Irregulars.” Sponsored by the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation. Symposium followed by soirée dinner at 6 p.m. at the Beverly Heritage Center. 304637-7424, info@beverlyheritagecenter.org, or www. beverlyheritagecenter.org.

APR. 12 – Easter Sunday at North Bend, 202 North Bend Park Rd., Cairo, Visit the Easter Bunny and join in MAR. 22–27 – Quilters’ Retreat, North Bend State for the egg hunt. Fun and games for all ages. 304-643Park, 202 North Bend Park Rd., Cairo. Enjoy the peaceful 2931 or www.northbendsp.com. atmosphere of the park while working on some long-put-

WEST VIRGINIA

PLEASE NOTE: Ohio Cooperative Living strives for accuracy but urges readers to confirm dates and times before traveling long distances to events.

Make sure you’re included in our calendar!

Submit listings AT LEAST 90 DAYS prior to the event to Ohio Cooperative Living, 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229 or send an email to events@ohioec.org.

Ohio Cooperative Living will not publish listings that don’t include a complete address or a number/website for more information.

MARCH 2020 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 43

MEMBER INTERACTIVE

tip of the 1

2

1. My first grandson, Alexander “Lex” Hendrix, on his first St. Patrick’s Day in 2011.

Joyce Willison South Central Power Company member 2. Our daughter, Rylee, putting a hat on her great-grandpa, who is a 98-year-old World War II veteran!

Dana Melvin Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative member 3. My daughter, Molly Prochaska, overcame a devastating illness to dominate in many 5K races.

Dena Prochaska South Central Power Company member

4

4. Our little man, Miles, being festive in his little hat.

Linda Iles South Central Power Company member

3

5. Our sweet granddaughter wearing grandma’s hat!

Pat and Larry Quaglia South Central Power Company members 6. My 4-year-old Chihuahua, Cindy Ellen, thinks her hat makes her look all grown up!

Bobby L. Barnett Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative member

5

7. I create fascinator-style hats. This is one of my favorites that I wore for a Mad Hatter’s Ball.

Jill Ann Ladrick South Central Power Company member

6

7 Send us your picture!

For June, send “I want to ride my bicycle” by March 15; for July, send “Corn-y” by April 15. Upload your photos at www.ohioec. org/memberinteractive — and remember to include your co-op name and to identify everyone in the photos.

44 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • MARCH 2020

power future

Electric cooperatives the

We’ve come a long way from starting cars by hand. Now, we can plug in to motor out.

What will they think of next?

Whatever new technology is on the horizon, electric cooperatives will be there to power the future.

ohioec.org/energy