SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

85-Year Family Legacy Continues to Grow

Personal, well-informed service, best prices and a huge choice of top-value merchandise — these all combine to make Westrich Furniture & Appliances, the best place to do your furniture and appliance shopping.

Westrich Furniture is located at 1105 Elida Avenue in Delphos, which is well worth the pleasant country drive from anywhere in the region. As a destination shopping trip, shoppers know they are in for a treat when they drive up to the Westrich Furniture building that has an astounding 200,000 square feet of merchandise. It is the largest furniture store in northwest Ohio and continues to grow with the latest 30,000 sq ft warehouse just being built adjacent to the current store. With that comes the ability to stock more inventory so you don’t have to wait months on end for delivery. Purchasing in larger quantities, also allows Westrich Furniture to be more aggressive with their pricing. A walk through seven spacious showrooms reveals an extensive selection and something for every budget. Custom orders are always available as well.

Jack Westrich, owner of the business, explained that his family has been in the furniture and appliance business for 85 years this year. “My father started with one store in 1937 which eventually became three stores in downtown Delphos,” Jack said. It all began in October, 1937, when Melvin F. Westrich founded Westrich Furniture and Appliances, at 122 North Main Street where Mel sold small appliances & toys. The old Kroger store across the street was purchased for as a warehouse. In 1973, Jack, son of Mel, joined the firm and his first assignment was to get the Kroger Store ready for a permanent furniture sales room. In 1975, a big change took

place as the old Capitol Theater was purchased next door to the old Kroger store and Tom Broyhill gave Jack the opportunity to turn the theater into a Broyhill gallery; the 199th Broyhill gallery in the country. Also at this time, land was purchased and a new warehouse was built at the current location. Finally in 2005, business had grown to the point of moving the entire Westrich operation solely under one roof. Jack now has 60+ employees in his business, who, he said, “are just like family.”

The Westrich family is honored to have been chosen as the Allen County Small Business of the year in 2016 and the Delphos Area Chamber Small Business of the year in 2022. Whether shoppers are looking for a new sofa or a refrigerator, everyone can count on the friendly, personal

assistance of 20 friendly and knowledgeable, noncommissioned, sales staff to assist. Jack said his salespeople do not use the fast-talking, high-pressure sales tactics that offend so many shoppers. “Our people all work together,” he said. “So, they are most interested in helping the customer with his/her purchase.”

Westrich Furniture continues its service driven business with 5 highly-trained technicians and 5 office staff who service furniture in their in-house shop. Jack noted, “We have the ability to service and maintain what we sell and then some.” The appliance department is full of experience with Jim Mesker who has 65+ years with the Westrich Store.

“Customers can do their shopping and compare prices apples to apples,” Jack said. “They will find we can beat prices anywhere, even Internet shopping. We do not have the biggest sale of the year every week. We give our best

foot forward right from the start. We are really proud of what we do here. We have a variety of price ranges, too,” he said. Plus, a shopper at Westrich Furniture will have the extra benefit of free delivery in a 50-mile area. “We make your money go a long, long way,” Jack added. A delivery staff of 20+ will give a great ending to the shopping experience.

Westrich Furniture is open from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Monday-Friday; from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday; and 12-4 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 419695-6045 or visit westrichfurniture.com

Alaskan Adventure!

by Julie Lundin of Indianbrook

Beautiful. Inspiring. Wild. These three adjectives best encompass the 49th state, Alaska. I was fortunate enough to travel to Alaska this June with my brother, sister-in-law and my dearest friend since fourth grade. I have traveled a lot in my life and this was, perhaps, the most beautiful and awe-inspiring place I have ever visited. My nephew and his wife are dentists currently living in Alaska, but they will be leaving to head back to Michigan next summer. If I was ever going to go, this was the time!

We flew into Anchorage at midnight, with the sun still up in the sky. From that point on, I knew I was going to have an adventure I would never forget! Each day we would put our backpacks on our backs, hiking boots on our feet, and bear spray on our hip to hike trails through the woods, meadows, and mountains. The biggest hike took us to the top of “Little” O’Malley Mountain. The hike was long and exhausting, but I felt very accomplished as I reached the summit. Being on top of the world via my own two feet sure is good for one’s spirit.

Taking the Alaskan Railway to the small town of Talkeetna was as though I was thrust back in time 100 years. I met several people who live “off grid” and hearing their stories of how they get through each day without indoor plumbing, a refrigerator, electricity, or even a shower was amazing! To top it off, 50% of Alaskan residents who don’t live in a city, actually choose to live this way. In some respects, not having the Internet and constant bad news in the world at their fingertips is, perhaps, a “new” and happier way to live.

Going to visit five-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey’s camp was a true highlight. Seeing how over 150 Alaskan sled dogs live was intriguing. Each dog had a pulley from their dog house where they could run about 15 yards. This is all they know. Treated like athletes with the best medical care and food, they love to run! I was able to mush my own dog team, and when the handlers went to harness the team each dog was barking and running as if to say, “Pick me! Pick me!” My sled had wheels, which is how the dogs are trained during the summer months.

We also spent a day going up class five rapids in Devil’s Canyon Gorge. The boat actually goes against the current! Seeing several moose along the water was just as thrilling as the rapids. All of this at the base of the largest mountain in North America, Mt. Denali. While in a store later that day, the clerk announced that the man checking out had just reached the 18,000 foot summit! Hiking eight hours a day with 50 pounds on his back, his climb took 20 days. Everyone in the store clapped and cheered for his accomplishment!

If you like to visit local craft breweries and eat fresh salmon, Alaska is definitely for you! We even took a gondola to the top of Alyeska Resort in the Chugach Mountains for dinner, which (for you ski enthusiasts) has the longest double black run in North America. Beautiful views and wonderful food to boot!

Alaska is a state that is definitely good for the mind, body and soul.

Hocking Hills

by Diane Schoonover of Indianbrook

We finally visited a place I have heard many people recommend - HOCKING HILLS! Our first stop was Ash Cave in Hocking Hills State Park. A short hike brought us to an absolutely breathtaking horsehoe-shaped recessed cave. There is a small tributary that beautifully cascades over the rim into a small pool below that my son, Evan, loved playing in. We learned that Ash Cave was named after the gigantic pile of ashes found under the shelter by early settlers, which were most likely from Indian campfires built up over hundreds of years. Jack Pine’s Glass Studio and Lake Hope are two other attractions we plan to visit next time.

While Ash Cave was a fun highlight of our trip, our stay at the new and unique resort called The Treehouses at River Ranch was definitely memorable! We met the owners, Todd & Missy Hanby, and learned they wanted to build a tree house resort that could allow entire families or just a couple to be able to vacation in a luxury tree house that provided everything you needed other than your suitcase. The Hocking Hills has an amazing array of activities that everyone loves, but sometimes you might want to get to your vacation spot and not have to get back in your car for a few days. This 150acre resort has eight treehouses around the perimeter with a huge field on top of a hill in the middle that is filled with numerous handmade (by Todd) oversized wooden activities and games like: a giant Connect Four, colossal checkers, giant T game, horseshoe pits, a giant corn hole board that you shoot oversized bags with a water balloon launcher, giant Jenga, a 13-foot wall maze, super Skee Ball and more!

The treehouses are modern rustic design, very comfortable and all of them have firepits, hot tubs, hammocks and hanging beds on large wooden patios surrounding the treehouse! Each treehouse also has a fully equipped kitchen, coffee bar, fireplace, a lovely oversized spa-like walk-in shower, WiFi, smart TVs, binoculars, walking sticks and they even included an emergency teddy bear! The place is pet-friendly and there are plenty of hiking trails to explore right on the property!

They cut four trails of various lengths and difficulty that meander throughout the property and there is river access that allows you to launch or land your canoe and kayak, fish or just swim in the Hocking River. They are in the middle of building a deck that overlooks the river. As they begin their ninth tree house, they focus on making each one unique on the inside and out. Whether it be hidden rooms, hanging picnic tables, queen-sized bunk beds or extensive decking systems that allow you to move from treehouse to tree house without ever touching the ground, they make it a point to design every single one with the goal of hearing: “Oh my goodness I love this...I want to do this at my house” and they are lucky enough to hear that on a daily basis. They have the next three tree houses planned and will start brainstorming one after that pretty soon.

A few months ago they were finishing the day and ran into a mother and father whose teenagers were out in the field playing games. They waved Todd & Missy over, introduced themselves, and told them that they just wanted to thank them because, to their delight, their teenagers had not picked up their phones in two days. They said they had never had a family vacation where everyone had something to do at all hours of the day that did not involve wifi or their cell phones. Todd & Missy high five’d each other and thought, that is exactly what we were wanting to happen. If you really want to know what sets River Ranch apart from all the other cabins and vacation properties, they are the only stay and play resort in the Hocking Hills.