CARROLL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
OCTOBER 2016
Official publication of your electric cooperative www.ohioec.org
Annual meeting focuses on service
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Operation Round Up helps communities 4 Paranormal at Punderson Manor 10 Apple-recipe contest winners 14 23 Ohio’s 8 presidents
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HAPPY TO WORK ALL NIGHT.
If it means getting the lights back on for even one family, we do whatever it takes. We’re not your typical electric company– we’re Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives. Our customers are our members and our top priority. To learn more about the cooperative difference, visit ohioec.org.
YOUR SOURCE OF POWER. AND GREAT SERVICE.
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inside FEATURES
4 OPERATION ROUND UP
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Spare change, donated by electric co-op members across the state, adds up to make a big difference in their local communities.
6 NATIONAL CO-OP MONTH
Cooperatives of all kinds celebrate each October by educating their communities about the benefits of the unique co-op business model.
10 PUNDERSON’S PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
A state park and lodge, Punderson Manor is famous for ghost sightings and spooky tales.
23 OHIO’S 8 PRESIDENTS
Ohio has sent more residents to the White House than any other state — learn more in our presidential compendium.
26 PUNT GUNNING
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The phrase “get your ducks in a row” derives from this early waterfowl hunting practice.
38 ZANESVILLE: THE MUSKINGUM’S SOHO Artists are repurposing old buildings and
reviving the city’s arts heritage.
40 BE A CO-OP VOTER
The November election needs you!
DEPARTMENTS 2 COOPERATIVE CONNECTION 4 POWER STATION 8 OHIO ICON 14 F O O D S C E N E 16 C O - O P P E O P L E
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1 9 L O C A L C O - O P P A G E S 2 6 WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE 28 GARDENING LANDSCAPE 32 M E M B E R I N T E R A C T I V E 3 4 C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S 37 O H I O Q U I Z
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Cooperative Connection
PAT O’LOUGHLIN, PRESIDENT & CEO • OHIO RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES & BUCKEYE POWER
Rounding up support for our communities National Cooperative Month has been celebrated in October for more than half a century. This year’s theme, “Cooperatives Build,” recognizes not only the physical facilities needed to serve members, but also the important role that cooperatives play in building community. Nationwide, 40,000 cooperative businesses, including electric cooperatives, credit unions, and agricultural cooperatives, offer various services and products to 120 million people. While each cooperative is unique in some ways, we all share a common set of business principles. We’ve featured each of these seven principles over the past several months. During Cooperative Month, we’re highlighting one more way that Ohio’s electric cooperatives express our concern for community. Operation Round Up is one of our most notable initiatives because it demonstrates how cooperative members, working together, can leverage small individual contributions to make a very real difference to the communities and members we serve. Member-consumers who allow their bills to be rounded up to the nearest
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dollar make a small contribution to the community fund administered by their electric cooperative, which helps with unmet needs in their local communities. Penny by penny, Operation Round Up infuses hope and help where and when the supply is scarce. From sanctuary for victims of abuse to emergency services; from end-of-life care to support programs for trauma survivors; and from horsing around to treadmill therapy, Operation Round Up demonstrates the cooperative spirit. Please read more on page 4 about how, working together, a handful of change can change lives. At Ohio’s electric cooperatives, it’s important that we provide power that is clean, safe, reliable, and affordable. Keeping the lights on is vital, but real power also comes from our support of community-based services.
Via Operation Round Up contributions throughout the past year, Ohio electric cooperatives have provided approximately $1.5 million to local community needs and projects.
Oh, and don’t forget — turn on the porch light on Oct. 31. Happy Halloween.
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October 2016 Volume 58, No. 13
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 Dir. of Communications Magen Howard Interim Managing Editor Samantha Rhodes Associate Editor Nikki Heath Communications Specialist
COUNTRY LIVING (ISSN 0747-0592) is the official publication of Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. With a paid circulation of 294,359, it is the monthly communication link between the electric cooperatives in Ohio and West Virginia and their members. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without specific written permission from Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. All rights reserved. Alliance for Audited Media Member
National advertising representatives: NATIONAL COUNTRY MARKET, 800-NCM-1181 State advertising representatives: Sandy Woolard 614-403-1653 Tim Dickes 614-855-5226 The fact that a product is advertised in Country 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 Of fi ce, Consumer Protection Section, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215, or call 1-800282-0515. 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. Country Living staff cannot process address changes.
ohioec.org Check out the mobile-friendly website and digital edition of Country Living, as well as other timely information from Ohio’s electric cooperatives. Online exclusives Ohio’s popcorn museums Did you know that the Buckeye State claims not one, but two popcorn museums? Read about where to see antique popcorn machines and how popcorn came to be a movie-theater staple.
An apple a day ... Registered Dietitian Diane Yoakam explains why apples are extolled for their abilities to keep the doctor away. She also offers ideas and recipes to enjoy apples beyond grabbing one from the fruit bowl and eating it whole.
Apple recipes galore Take advantage of prime apple season — find more apple recipes from Food Editor Margie Wuebker and from Wayne County’s Moreland Fruit Farm, which is featured on page 16.
Follow Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives on social media Search for Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube to learn about careers with co-ops and how co-ops make a difference in communities all across Ohio.
Clarification In the September issue, The Ohio State University Marching Band’s Script Ohio was reported as debuting at Ohio Stadium on Oct. 10, 1936, during halftime at the OSU-Pittsburgh game. This Script Ohio, which became an OSU legend and is performed today, was set to “Le Règiment de Sambre et Meuse,” and the band moved in formation. The University of Michigan Marching Band formed a stationary script Ohio in 1932 at Ohio Stadium, set to OSU’s marching song, “Fight the Team.” According to OSU’s library website (https://library.osu.edu/projects/OSUvsMichigan/ scriptohio.htm), “So which marching band performed a script Ohio first? Michigan. Which marching band created ‘Script Ohio’? Ohio State.”
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POWER STATION
Operation Round Up Small change adds up to make a huge difference in the communities served by Ohio electric co-ops
Not-for-profit electric cooperatives have a responsibility not only to fulfill the needs of their consumer-members, but to help their neighbors in need. To that end, Operation Round Up was born. Operation Round Up is a voluntary program in which more than 200 electric cooperatives across the country participate, including most Ohio electric cooperatives. The programs go by different
names, but they all operate under the same premise: Small change makes a big impact in communities all across Ohio. How big? Ohio electric co-ops gave back $1.57 million in just the past year. Participating members’ monthly electric bills are rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the extra pennies go into a fund. The typical annual donation is $6 a year, or just 50 cents a month. That small change adds up to create a significant pool of money, which is then distributed to individuals, schools, nonprofit organizations, and other groups, depending on the cooperative’s program guidelines. Read on for just a few of the many success stories yielded by Ohio co-ops’ Operation Round Up programs.
Kathy Fleenor, a pediatric physical therapist from the early-intervention division of Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities, helps Lucas walk on the infant treadmill for the first time.
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B Y M AU R A G A L L AG H E R
Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, Oxford, has helped many local organizations with its Community Connection program, including a grant to the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities that enabled the agency to purchase a pediatric treadmill. The equipment specifically helped little Lucas Myers take his first steps, a difficult task because of developmental impairments. Using the pediatric treadmill for eight minutes each day over the course of about three months, Lucas was able to walk about six months earlier than he would have without the therapy. The Myers family says that the early intervention and equipment, thanks to the co-op’s Community Connection program, changed their lives.
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Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Cooperative (GMEC), New Concord, has supported a therapeutic horse-riding center called Breaking Free through its Operation Helping Others program. Breaking Free is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) PATH Premier Center member that provides therapeutic equine services to individuals, people with disabilities, and veterans. GMEC recognized that BreakBreaking Free helps individuals, ing Free cannot operate people with disabilities, and veterans through equine therapy. and help individuals in need without the caring of generous donors. “This story is a success. Breaking Free has been growing for eight to 10 years and looks to have a strong future. Though dreams like these often fall short of funds and passion with time, this one perseveres,” says Brian Bennett, GMEC’s manager of marketing and member services. Logan County Electric Cooperative, Bellefontaine, has made Operation Round Up grants to many local organizations, including two shelters in the county. The Lighthouse Emergency Shelter is a safe place for the homeless, and New Directions Consolidated Care established Soteria House, a haven for victims of domestic violence and abuse. Grant money has assisted in remodeling the Lighthouse Emergency Shelter, creating a healthy and secure environment. New Direction officials say the co-op’s Operation Round Up grant gave them the opportunity to fund the curriculum for their Survivors of Trauma Embracing Positive Support program.
Midwest Electric, St. Marys, received a letter from a member who wrote about how the co-op’s Community Connection Fund (CCF) helped his father, who had recently passed away. The writer said that his father had received care from Grand Lake Hospice during his final days of life, and a woman from the hospice’s music therapy program offered great comfort to the entire family by playing music and singing. The member later found out that his own cooperative’s CCF had donated to the music therapy program. The member feels a strong personal connection to CCF, and he is thankful for the resources that it provides. Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative, North Baltimore, awards the bulk of its grants to local organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity; police and fire departments; libraries, schools, and museums; county services agencies; city missions; and centers for children’s aid. The words of the co-op’s grant recipients tell the story of why the Operation Round Up program is crucial to improving the quality of life in local communities: “Your humanitarian efforts provide comfort and hope to so many during their times of need. Thank you for your commitment to this critically important work. Our mission depends on the support and compassion of donors like you.” “We truly appreciate your partnering with us and allowing us to be your hands, as together we meet the needs of individuals and families right here in our own community. Your willingness to share with others will bring much joy to those who find themselves in difficult situations. Thank you for being a beacon of hope.” “It’s partners like you who make this a great place to live.”
For more information, or to find out if your co-op offers an Operation Round Up program, contact your electric cooperative. MAURA GALLAGHER is a strategic communications major at Ohio University who interned at Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives this summer.
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Why we celebrate
National Co-op Month The cooperative business model nurtures strong communities Florida’s Natural orange juice, Equal Exchange coffee, Land O’ Lakes butter, Ace Hardware, and Best Western hotels — did you know all of these companies are not-for-profit co-ops guided by the same seven principles? Every October since 1930, co-ops of all kinds have recognized National Cooperative Month as a way to educate the public about how co-ops work and to appreciate their many members. After all, there is no other model like the cooperative one. Co-ops have historically arisen when people refuse to wait on big business or government to meet the pressing needs of local communities and their residents. The can-do spirit of public entrepreneurship is exemplified by electric co-ops — people across the U.S. who plan, finance, build, and operate what now numbers more than 900 electric co-ops covering 75 percent of the nation, owned by 42 million Americans who also receive electric service from their co-op. The electric grid is considered one of the most complex technical systems in the world. But persistent people without industry expertise were able to unify and now own a large share of the energy economy. It happens with co-ops in every sector: retail, health care, finance, agriculture, child care, housing, and even entertainment. Yes — craft brewery, indie film, and outdoor recreation cooperatives exist, too. They’re all inherently interwoven with the communities they serve, giving member-owners the ability to take control of their own lives. In fact, U.S. co-ops provide more than 850,000 jobs with $74 billion in annual wages, serving nearly 120 million people. 6
About 48 percent of the money spent at local businesses is also recirculated within those local communities, compared to only 14 percent from non-local businesses, according to the American Independent Business Alliance. The local impact is further magnified by the fact that co-op profits are more equitably distributed across a wider ownership base than traditional companies with shareholders.
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The Cooperative Principles 1. Voluntary and Open Membership 2. Democratic Member Control 3. Members’ Economic Participation 4. Autonomy and Independence 5. Education, Training, and Information 6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives 7. Concern for Community Cooperatives are hardy, stable organizations built from the ground up by those who use their services. Data from the World Council of Credit Unions found that within five years of startup, 90 percent of cooperatives were still in operation, versus only 3 to 5 percent of non-cooperative businesses. Because of the cooperative commitment to excellence, the model of ownership-by-consumers who also have democratic control, and a laser focus on education and service, co-ops continue to bring immense value and growth to their surrounding communities. Co-ops and their communities share a direct, symbiotic relationship — one that you’re a part of, too. To learn more about cooperatives, visit www.coopmonth.coop.
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Coming in 2017 1959
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a new look for your co-op publication!
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Brumbaugh Fruit and Fun Farm S T O R Y A N D P H O T O BY DA M A I N E V O N A DA
Location: In Darke County about one-quarter mile west of the village of Arcanum. Provenance: Growing up on a west-central Ohio farm, Winston Brumbaugh helped his mother sell the vegetables she raised by going door-to-door in Dayton. “My older brother cleaned out the chicken house, but I chose to pick and shell beans,” recalls Brumbaugh. “That’s how I got started in produce.” In 1962, he and his wife, Jeanie, purchased farmland near Arcanum, where they began an orchard by planting 100 apple trees. The couple raised three daughters on the farm, and for many years, Brumbaugh was also an airline ground handler. “I worked lots of second shifts for TWA,” he says. “That allowed me to work the farm in the morning.” The Brumbaughs eventually opened a seasonal farm market, as well as a year-round bakery, and in the 1990s, they also began holding weekend events during apple season. Significance: Still owned and operated by the Brumbaugh family, the 40-acre fruit farm is a popular destination, not only for fresh-picked produce, but also for kid-friendly agritourism activities. “Our farm is Darke County’s agricultural playground,” says Brumbaugh. Currently: Brumbaugh Fruit Farm grows and sells peaches, pears, pumpkins, and 28 different kinds of apples, including Jonathan, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Winesap, Grimes Golden, and Honeycrisp. Customers crave the Farm Market’s homemade caramel apples, rich apple cider, and
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sweet cider slushies, but apple dumplings and apple fritters — prepared, of course, with the Brumbaughs’ own apples — are bestsellers at the Farmer’s Daughter Bakery. “It’s just a little country bakery, but we make everything from scratch,” says Winston. Although the Brumbaughs often host school field trips, company picnics, and even weddings, their farm becomes a magnet for families on fall weekends. Scattered around and among the fruit trees are a zipline, corn mazes, a barrel train, and a goat fort, designed with small fry in mind. “Everything here is geared for children, and there’s not a lot of plastic or playground stuff,” notes Brumbaugh. “We’re a fun farm, not an amusement park.” Youngsters can slide down Monster Mountain’s 40-foot tunnel; shovel and scoop corn kernels in the Cracked Corn Box; and even ride the Pumpkin Express wagon into the farm’s pumpkin patch. Oldsters can sit in the shade, watch the fun, and smile. “If the kids are having a good time,” says Brumbaugh, “it’s nice for the parents and really nice for the grandparents.” It’s a little known fact that: The first 100 apple trees that the Brumbaughs planted in the 1960s are still yielding fruit. Brumbaugh Fruit and Fun Farm, 6420 Arcanum-Hollansburg Road, Arcanum, OH 45304. For dates, times, and other information about the Farm Market and Country Bakery; Fun Farm activities and admission fee; school field trips; company picnics; and weddings, telephone 937-692-8084 or visit www. brumbaughfruitfarm.com.
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Punderson’s Poltergeists The state park’s Manor House is a haunting destination B Y DA M A I N E V O N A DA
Something peculiar happened to Melissa Arnold shortly after she started her job as general manager of Punderson Manor Lodge and Conference Center. While walking past an office in the Manor House, she caught a glimpse of a strange man in a white shirt standing beside an employee. The employee, however, swore that nobody else was in that office. “When I mentioned the incident to some staff members,” says Arnold, “I learned that others have sighted the man with the white shirt too.” Like many Punderson personnel, Arnold also has caught a chill in the hallway at the top of the Manor House’s curved staircase. A medieval knight’s suit of armor stands at the hall’s entrance, and just past it, there is a spot where the temperature plummets unpredictably. “I’ve felt freezing cold in that one little area of the hallway,” says Arnold. “It starts and stops suddenly.”
Photos on this page courtesy of Punderson Manor Lodge and Conference Center
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In the 1970s, in fact, a Punderson park ranger reported that when he climbed the staircase one night, he heard high-pitched laughter and could see his breath in the frigid hallway. Then the laughter stopped, and the hall immediately got warm. The Manor House is Punderson State Park’s showpiece hotel, but given its 31 guest rooms, Tudor Revival architecture, and history of eerie episodes, the stately mansionturned-lodge looks like the setting for a real-life game of Clue. Located east of Cleveland in Geauga County’s lush and lovely countryside, the Manor House overlooks Punderson Lake, a natural wonder created by glacial meltwater some 14,000 years ago. Lemuel Punderson, an ambitious Geauga County settler, erected a gristmill along the lake in the early 1800s, and in the 1920s, Detroit businessman Karl Long began building a Tudor mansion there as a home for his family. Because he lost everything when the stock market crashed, the Longs never moved in. After the State of Ohio acquired the old Punderson property and completed Long’s mansion, Punderson State Park opened to the public in 1956. It was Ohio’s second state park and featured lodging and dining in the Manor House. A decade later, the state added a new guest room wing to the Manor House and constructed numerous cottages in the park. Governor James Rhodes, who was a strong advocate of state park lodges, particularly liked the Manor House and frequently used the new wing’s Hospitality Room as a hideaway.
Though Rhodes was bewitched by the Manor House’s beauty and tranquility, he probably never People reputedly noticed anything mysterious during his stays, hear invisible because the original portion of the mansion children giggling — including its seven and playing, and English and Victorian-themed rooms — a blonde-haired seems to be Punderson’s girl sometimes paranormal focal point. Those “estate” rooms are materializes near where employees say lights inexplicably switch on and off; where the staircase. guests have thought someone was tugging at their blankets; and where a woman couldn’t open her bathroom door because something was blocking it. People reputedly hear invisible children giggling and playing, and a blonde-haired girl sometimes materializes near the staircase. “A local pizza delivery man also claims that a little girl always watches him through an upstairs window,” says Arnold. The specters of a young boy and girl and their mother even lurk in the dining room. “Since the woman is dark-haired and has a long dress, it’s believed that she is Mrs. Long,” says Arnold. “As soon as she realizes someone has spotted the children, she calls them to her and wraps them in her dress. Then they all disappear.” By all accounts, the Windsor Suite, which was supposed to be the Longs’ master bedroom, is the (Continued on page 12)
onference Center
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Punderson’s Poltergeists most haunted estate room. “Brides typically stay in that suite,” says Arnold, “and many of them have sensed somebody staring at them. They also see indentations on the bed, as if someone had been sitting beside them while they slept.” A male guest recently complained that a loud party in the Windsor Suite was keeping him awake, yet the suite was unoccupied. “That same night,” says Arnold, “the phone from the Windsor Suite rang at the front desk, and no one was on the line.” While some guests avoid the estate rooms, others relish the chance to get up close and personal with an apparition. Fall is always a busy time at Punderson because of the park’s gorgeous grounds, and as Halloween approaches, Manor House bookings surge. “Guests stay awake all night hoping to hear or see something unusual, and they bring ghost-hunting equipment,” notes Arnold.
Photos above and below by Damaine Vonada
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This October, the Manor House is offering a Halloween weekend package, featuring psychic medium Laura Lyn. “Our overnight guests,” says Arnold, “will get a reading, followed by a tour that includes the attic, where a man supposedly hanged himself.” For more information about the Manor House, upcoming events, and Punderson State Park, call 800-2827275 or visit www.pundersonmanorstateparklodge.com or www.ohiostateparklodges.com.
DAMAINE VONADA is a freelance writer from Xenia.
Photo above courtesy of Punderson Manor Lodge and Conference Center
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FOOD SCENE
The perfect combination Co-op member lightens sweet potato casserole with apples to win apple-recipe contest
FALL APPLE AND SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE (contest winner) 8 medium tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped 6 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped smaller than apples ¾ cup brown sugar 4 Tbsp. butter, melted 1-1/2 tsp. salt 4 Tbsp. orange juice 2 cups miniature marshmallows ½ cup finely chopped pecans
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 11 x 7-inch pan with butter or butterflavored cooking spray. Mix apples, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, and orange juice; pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes; then sprinkle miniature marshmallows, followed by pecans, over casserole. Place pan back into oven for 5 minutes or slightly less, watching for marshmallows to melt and pecans to toast. Yields 12 servings of ½ cup.
BY MARGIE WUEBKER P H O T O S B Y C H E R Y L B AC H
Nancy Kasicki’s award-winning Fall Apple and Sweet Potato Casserole, submitted for Country Living’s October apple-recipe contest, sprang from a kitchen experiment that turned out even better than expected. Kasicki, a resident of Wellington and a member of Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative, was inspired by a productive garden plot that yielded piles of sweet potatoes. She set out to create a lighter version of sweet potato casserole, complete with miniature marshmallows and chopped pecans. “I decided to incorporate apples in order to lighten the mixture,” Kasicki says. She has made the casserole numerous times since, trying different tart apple varieties to determine the best taste. She found the best results using Cortland, Melrose, Goldrush, McIntosh, Jonathon, or Empire apples. The ultimate test came when she prepared the dish for a family gathering. Hungry diners came back for seconds, leaving clean plates and confirming her experiment was a success. This marks the second time Kasicki has entered a Country Living recipe contest, and this time she landed the grand-prize KitchenAid mixer, which she says will help at Christmas cookie time. Contest runners-up were Rosella Bornhorst of New Bremen with Apple Surprise and Julie Riley of Ostrander with Apple Salad.
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APPLE SURPRISE (contest runner-up)
Riley, a member of Consolidated Electric Cooperative, earned honors with a recipe handed down from her grandmother, the late Betty Sweeney. “I knew I would enter Grandma’s salad as soon as I saw the contest announcement,” she says. “The recipe is one of my standbys, especially when our apple trees have a good year.” She has no favorite apple variety when it comes to making the salad because, Riley says, she believes homegrown or store-bought apples are equally good. Chilling the salad provides optimum flavor by giving the ingredients time to meld. When her apple tree out back produced a bumper crop one fall, Bornhorst, a member of Midwest Electric, altered a recipe she had found in the newspaper to use up the bounty. The original recipe specified 8 cups of chopped rhubarb, but she experimented with a like amount of apples, and the finished product drew rave reviews from family members. The secret to the “ooey-gooey” topping of her Apple Surprise, Bornhorst says, is to pour a cup of boiling water over the dish before it goes in the oven. “I made it quite often and even took it to a family reunion,” she says. “The dish was scraped clean — that’s the sign of a really good recipe.” For more apple recipes, visit www. ohioec.org.
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8 cups apples, peeled and chopped 1 tsp. cinnamon ½ cup butter 3 cups sugar, divided 1-1/2 cups flour 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt ½ cup milk 2 Tbsp. cornstarch 1 cup boiling water Spread chopped apples evenly in greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cream butter and 1-1/2 cups sugar. Add flour, baking powder, and salt alternately with milk. Spread mixture over apples. Combine remaining 1-1/2 cups sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Pour boiling water evenly over all. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees. Yields 12 to 15 servings.
APPLE SALAD (contest runner-up) 2 cups apples, diced 1 cup celery, diced ½ cup white grapes, chopped ½ cup nuts, chopped ¼ cup raisins ½ cup water 2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 Tbsp. lemon juice Place apples, celery, grapes, and nuts in medium bowl; set aside. Cook raisins in water 5 to 10 minutes; drain but reserve liquid. Allow raisins to cool. Mix warm cooking water with peanut butter and mayonnaise. Add sugar and lemon juice. Cool mixture. Pour liquid over apples, celery, grapes, raisins, and nuts. Serve cold. Makes 6 servings.
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CO-OP PEOPLE
Moreland Fruit Farm A delicious Wayne County destination STORY AND PHOTOS B Y DA M A I N E V O N A DA
Above: Customers can ship gift baskets of jams, jellies, and apples from the farm. Below: An oldfashioned cider press is on display.
Autumn is apple season in Ohio, and for folks who like their Galas and Granny Smiths homegrown and orchard-fresh, that means a trip to Moreland Fruit Farm in southern Wayne County. Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative members Fred and Marilyn Finney own the 110acre farm and offer both pick-your-own produce and a year-round farm market. “We keep the market open during winter because we supply schools and colleges, and lots of local people like coming by for apples and cider,” Marilyn says. The Finneys are first-generation farmers who moved to the farm in 1971, when Fred took on the job of managing it. “Back then, we had a half-acre of grapes, 10 acres in peaches, 30 acres in apples, and a few rows of raspberries,” Marilyn says. They gradually added more crops and the farm market building, and in 1985, they purchased the farm. The couple also raised three sons there: Chris, an attorney; Brian, a teacher; and Steve, who is part-owner of the farm and a full-time farmer. Today, Moreland Fruit Farm has 70 acres in fruit production, three high-tunnel greenhouses for growing vegetable plants and flowers, and a large bed for raising mums. “We do a little bit of a whole lot of things,” Marilyn says. The farm’s fruit harvest begins in early June, when the first strawberries ripen, and continues through late October’s crop of Fuji, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, and Winesap apples. In between is a cornucopia of blueberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, peaches, plums, pears, grapes, and dozens of apple varieties. “We’re one of the few orchards with Transparent and Northern Spy apples,” Fred says. He also grows Ohio’s official apple, the Melrose, and this fall, he’ll introduce a new eating apple called Evercrisp that’s a cross between Fuji and Honeycrisp apples. In the farm market, the Finneys sell pies baked by local Amish women, as well as jams and jellies made from their own berries. Fred displays his collection of antique apple peelers there, and Marilyn offers free copies of recipes. Sharing her favorite recipes with customers is part of the friendly Moreland Fruit Farm experience. “This a place where we want people to see how things grow, spend time together picking fruit, and enjoy a wonderful day out in the country,” she says. DAMAINE VONADA is a freelance writer from Xenia.
If you go: What: Moreland Fruit Farm Where: 1558 W. Moreland Rd., Wooster, OH 44691 For more information: 330-264-8735; www.morelandfruitfarm.com. Hours and products vary seasonally.
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Marilyn and Fred Finney own and operate the 110-acre farm and market (below).
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Become a Co-op Voter When was the last time you voted? By Larry J. Fenbers, CEO/General Manager As member-owned electric cooperatives, voting is already in our DNA. It’s how we maintain an electric utility that is responsive to the consumers it serves. But voting also plays a crucial part in our representative democracy. Federal, state, and local elections offer an opportunity to exercise a civic responsibility — to select the best leaders for our communities. Yet in places all over America, even those served by electric cooperatives, citizens aren’t exercising that right. In the 2012 national elections, voter turnout dropped overall, but the decline in rural counties was 18 percent — twice that of the nation as a whole. And when voters miss the chance to vote, they also lose the opportunity to communicate their concern to our leaders about the issues that matter to us, where we work, live, and raise families. Reliable electricity, access to rural broadband, and the quality of our health care system are just a few issues we all care about. Still, they only become priorities if enough people show elected officials that they are paying attention. Registering to vote and voting are the most effective ways to send this message. When we go to the polls with the cooperative principle of “Concern for Community” in mind, we instantly improve our political system. It’s a system designed to produce a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” People like you and me. I’d like you to join me in an initiative to get every eligible person to the polls to vote — you, me, our family and friends. Carroll Electric has joined America’s electric
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Harold Sutton • president Gary Snode • vice president Harold Barber • secretary-treasurer Kenneth Brown • Robert McCort • Diane Tarka Frank Chiurco • William Casper • Kevin Tullis Larry Fenbers • CEO/general manager
cooperatives in launching a campaign to help get out the vote and insert issues important to co-ops into the public discussion. Called “Co-ops Vote,” this effort will help boost voter turnout in areas served by cooperatives across the country to ensure that our voices are heard loud and clear every day, and especially on Election Day. Co-ops Vote is a nonpartisan program developed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives. With 42 million members across the nation, electric co-ops are a powerful voice on national issues that have a local impact. There are millions of cooperative members eligible to vote, and together, we have the ability to impact election results. So, here’s your checklist for this election: 1. Register to vote by Oct. 11. 2. Remember that early voting starts Oct. 12 (avoid the lines). 3. Absentee/mail-in ballots are available by contacting your county election board. 4. Visit www.action.coop to let your voice be heard on issues important to electric co-ops. 5. Contact Carroll Electric to join ACRE Co-op Owners for Political Action® or to become more informed on issues that affect your cooperative. 6. Vote on Nov. 8, if you didn’t vote early. Express your point of view — stand up and cast your vote this election season.
CARROLL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. P.O. Box 67 • Carrollton, Ohio 44615 1-800-232-7697 • www.cecpower.coop Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Carroll Electric accepts Visa and MasterCard, personal checks and money orders for bill payment. Yvonne Ackerman, editor (e-mail: yackerman@cecpower.coop)
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Annual Meeting focuses on
ERVICE Carroll Electric held its annual member meeting on Saturday, Aug. 27, at the Carroll County Fairgrounds, amid a carnival-like family event that included country music, children’s inflatables, bill credits, and prize giveaways. CEO/General Manager Larry Fenbers noted the organization’s varied accomplishments during the past year, including the fortification of service reliability via the successful installation of a new transmission line from Carrollton to its Atwood substation; an aggressive outage reduction strategy; the return of $723,141.12 in member capital credits; the transition to an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI); and the rollout of a user-friendly website. Fenbers further cited Carroll Electric’s fifth year with “zero lost time” accidents, as well as the donation of $18,788.04 to the Carroll County Relay for Life and the participation of linemen Bryan Wey and Paden Spilker in “Project Ohio” — a group effort in which linemen from across the Ohio electric cooperative network brought electricity to a remote Guatemalan village. Fenbers also praised the cooperative spirit, as evidenced from the support offered by South Central Power, Holmes-Wayne, Buckeye Rural, and Consolidated electric cooperatives during weather-induced power outages. In 2015, Carroll Electric bestowed a total of $19,500 through seven community grants from its People for People Fund and gave away $4,800 in college scholarships. Over $11,000 was also returned to members of the co-op for their qualifying energy-efficient rebate purchases. Doug Miller, vice president of statewide services
for Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives, which comprises of the state’s 24-member electric co-ops, urged Carroll Electric members to exercise their right to vote, conveying that rural voter turnout saw a dramatic 18 percent reduction in the 2012 election cycle. Miller went on to illustrate the strength and stability of the cooperative business model; the efficiency and environmentally friendly emission rates at the Brilliant, Ohio-based Cardinal Generating Plant; and the diverse power generation portfolio of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives. Carroll Electric Board of Trustees President Harold Sutton praised co-op management for sustaining expenses at acceptable levels, and iterated that member rates haven’t seen an increase in five years. Incumbents Harold Barber (district 3), Bob McCort (district 6), and Kevin Tullis (district 5) were re-elected to three-year terms on the board.
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Your co-op: A year in review Presented by CEO/General Manager, Larry J. Fenbers, at the Aug. 27 annual member meeting Good morning and welcome. Another year has gone by and we continue to see change in our communities and in our lives. The past several years have brought significant changes to our communities with the oil and gas shale boom and then a quick decline. Still, that brought lasting impacts to this area and to Carroll Electric. Last year you voted on bylaw amendments that provide for more options in how you vote and elect your trustees. We are seeing that change in action by the number of members who voted online, by telephone, or by mail-in ballot. It’s also caused some changes in how we run this meeting. We’ve hired an outside firm to handle the voting, and voting is no longer done from your seat in the grandstands. Last year it was hot, and the heat had an adverse effect on some of our members here. Your safety and well-being is important to us, so we looked at what we could do to help. We decided to move the start time of the meeting up so we could get you out earlier. The most common complaint I hear about our meeting is how long it is and how you have to wait for all the prize drawings. We’ve heard your concerns and we have changed how prizes are awarded. • We’ve replaced the kids’ drawing with a kids’ zone under the grandstands to pass out small prizes to the kids and randomly give away a 20B
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few gift cards. • We are giving away the same cash prize amounts, but we will give them as credits to your electric bill. We will announce your name, but you won’t have to wait on Al or anyone else to run your prize to you. That way we save a little wear and tear on Al, as well as time.
What’s been going on the past year? What does the future hold? On the reliability front — the new transmission line from Carrollton to our Atwood Substation was completed. This line completes a loop that will provide support and better reliability to both our Atwood and Merrick substations. Trees continue to be a cause of outages, and we are continuing the more aggressive approach to this problem that we started in 2010. This year we are addressing areas served by our Leesville and Merrick, and part of Atwood substations. Next year we will be in the rest of Atwood and in the Malvern Substation areas. Weather continues to play a part in our lives and our financials. Last winter we saw mild weather overall, which cut into our kilowatt-hour sales; while it may have helped your monthly bills it hurt our bottom line. The February snowstorm didn’t help either. The heavy, wet snow brought down trees and power lines, blowing fuses and leaving over half
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our members in the dark for a couple days. In all we had 338 separate line outages affecting 6,792 members. Thanks to our friends at South Central Power, Holmes-Wayne, Buckeye Rural, and Consolidated electric cooperatives for their help. Those four days negatively affected our bottom line by over a quarter million dollars. With the hot summer we are seeing some rebound in sales on the residential side but not the commercial side. We’ve lost several large commercial loads, which has lessened revenues even more. Atwood Lodge closed in March. We hope to see some load come back in that location, since it was sold earlier this month. With an increase in production of natural gas and a subsequent decrease in price for both gas and coal, several of our coal mines have closed or curtailed production. The decreased kWh sales and reduced commercial loads have affected our bottom line, but your trustees and staff are looking at ways to mitigate the impact on you, our member-owners. We may have one large load come on line in 2017, which will lessen this impact slightly. A Financial Report was included in this month’s Country Living magazine. One very positive note from our 2015 financials is that we returned $723,141.12 in capital credits to our members. Two years ago we completed our most recent Strategic Planning Session and have been implementing some of those initiatives. • We completed changing the AMI meters we use to receive your meter readings. The existing system had reached the end of its useful life; we were experiencing failure in the modules and can no longer get replacement parts. While these meters provide more frequent reads and allow us additional benefits in identifying problem areas in larger-scale outages, they don’t tell us when you lose power. Please continue to call in and report your outage. • We completely changed our website and unveiled SmartHub. With SmartHub you can access your account, track usage, and even report an outage with your smartphone. • We’ve made some changes at our office too. In an effort to better protect our employees, we made some security improvements in our office. We still want to be responsive to our members’ needs, but we need to protect our employees in the process. We continue to implement other initiatives and will be conducting another Strategic Planning session in the early spring.
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Employee milestones I’d like to take a moment to talk about our employees. Together we have completed another year, five in a row, with an impressive record of zero lost time accidents. And we are quickly approaching our sixth year. This accomplishment is something we are very proud of. 2016 also marked year six of our participation in the Carroll County Relay for Life. Through various fundraisers, our team raised $18,788.04, bringing our six-year total to $96,758.97. Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts. And this past year we did something we’ve never done before. Two of our employees joined other cooperative linemen from around Ohio and spent two weeks electrifying a small village in Guatemala. They made personal sacrifices, left their families, left the comforts of home, and traveled to a foreign land to bring the joy of electricity to a mountain village in northwest Guatemala. I hope you got a chance to watch some of the video as you entered the grandstands today. Let’s have a round of applause for Bryan Wey and Paden Spilker. We’ve had a few employee changes this past year as people were promoted and moved into different roles. Bill Meese was promoted to manager of operations and engineering; Shiloh Neice was promoted to line superintendent; Tim Dingess was promoted to IT supervisor; and Vince Cunningham moved into an apprentice lineman role. We have one new employee. Ken Richards joined us as the Warehouse Coordinator. Let’s welcome Ken. We also will be losing one employee at the end of this year. Randy Leslie will be retiring after 27 years of service. And last — let’s recognize the rest of the staff and your board of trustees and thank them for their work throughout the past year. Let’s give them a round of applause! Thank you.
Energy Efficiency Tip of the Month
An average household dedicates about 5% of its energy budget to lighting. Switching to energyefficient lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. By replacing your home’s five most frequently used light fixtures or bulbs with models that have earned the ENERGY STAR® rating, you can save $75 each year. Source: energy.gov
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Incumbents re-elected Incumbents (from left to right) Harold Barber (district 3), Bob McCort (district 6), and Kevin Tullis (district 5) were re-elected to three-year terms on the Carroll Electric board. Photo by Forever A Masterpiece, LLC
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Balancing co-op finances Presented by your Board of Trustees President, Harold Sutton, at the Aug. 27 annual member meeting
How do we keep the cooperative financially solvent with the closure of multiple coal mines and the loss of Atwood Resort? Your board and I began talking about the cost of service study. This study is done by a third party who has completed multiple studies for co-ops across the state. When we look at rate classes, or, in other words, large loads versus small loads, we ask ourselves if each of these rate classes is paying their fair share without supplementing the other. We also look at rate philosophy: Should rates be based on kWh usage or the cost of supplying service? Regardless of how much energy a member uses, the co-op still incurs costs to supply that service, including wires, poles, transformers, and meters. These all have an investment cost along with an insurance cost and depreciable life. We try to look at every scenario we can possibly think of. How will any type of rate increase affect membership, as a whole and individually? In other words, how is this going to affect a retired couple on a fixed income who have paid their bill faithfully for the past 30 years? We don’t want to overcharge them or have a young couple just starting a new business supplement them. Everyone has to pay their fair share. Larry and his team have done a fantastic job at holding down expenses over the past five years. The last rate increase we implemented was in the spring of 2011. (It was a $2 per month increase in your service availability charge.)
Whenever we talk about a possible rate increase, we’re questioned about recent equipment purchases or building updates. For instance, one might say the purchase of the track digger that we had on display at last year’s meeting does not look like “holding down expenses.” The track digger was purchased with the funds the employees saved on worker’s compensation costs by implementing a safety committee and becoming diligent in their goal to get everyone home safely, every day. That track digger is also the safest way to set a pole in our rugged terrain. It not only forwards the safety goal, but also decreases restoration time and saves money in overtime compensation. Another example is the white bucket truck you saw on the way in. nine nine nine eight zero one Properly equipped trucks are necessary for our linemen to safely maintain our system and restore power following storm events. We were able to save nearly $20,000 just by choosing a white stock truck instead of a red custom truck. The cost savings do not stop there. Your cooperative staff and trustees make every decision with cooperative members in mind. As our mission states: “Carroll Electric, [dedicated to its members and their communities,] safely and responsibly provides reliable and competitively priced electric service on a not-for-profit basis.” So, be assured that we are looking out for your best interests. If the cost of service study indicates a rate increase is needed (because of our recent loss of load), we will do everything humanly possible to make sure it is fair and equitable.
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Members are the reason we exist. Consumers are owners of the co-op.
You are a Carroll Electric customer.
Meet our
You are also an OWNER of the business — a CO-OP MEMBER.
Carroll Electric was organized by farmers and rural residents from this area in 1937, with support from the federal Rural Electrification Administration (REA). At that time, investor-owned utilities said there wasn’t enough profit to be made to warrant the expense of building power lines into the countryside. REA offered low-cost loans for bringing electricity to unserved homes and farms. So folks began forming electric cooperatives to meet the need. A fee of $10 was collected from each family — making them co-op members and owners — to generate capital for
borrowing. Back in those days, members even helped erect poles and install wires to the homes and farms within Carroll Electric’s service territory. Though members are no longer responsible for construction and maintenance, each member still provides capital to help us operate the business. Since we are a not-for-profit organization, all revenues, except that portion of which is needed to operate the business, are returned to the members as patronage capital, also called capital credits.
OWNERS It’s your cooperative.
Power to the people, for the people, from the people. 20F
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Membership represents a vested interest.
You have a voice in your co-op.
As a member of Carroll Electric, you have the power, a voice, and control in how your electric coop is run; in what’s best for the community; in the decisions that allow us to provide affordable electricity for your home. Membership represents a vested interest — everyone is more engaged and attentive to something they feel a responsibility for. As a Touchstone Energy® co-op, we work to engage our members in all the issues surrounding the co-op. When members are engaged and informed, they become advocates for the co-op, not just consumers.
Carroll Electric members have the opportunity to vote on cooperative business and for the board of trustees — the men and women who serve your interests. As a member you have the opportunity to run for the board of trustees or you can vote for a candidate that will best serve your interests on the board. Either way, you are in the driver’s seat. In addition, we survey more than 400 members a year to find out if we are providing the best service possible. Our survey results are paired with our strategic planning to help build a better cooperative.
YOUR photo here
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ELECTION BY THE NUMBERS
3.17% voter turnout out of 8,897 eligible voters
The following list represents the percentage of ballots cast using each voting method available during the 2016 Carroll Electric Board of Trustees Election.
Progress report: Election process For the last 79 years, Carroll Electric members have only been able to vote on cooperative business at the annual meeting — one day each year. The election process received a drastic makeover this year with the addition of three voting methods — online, telephone and mail-in voting — making it possible for everyone to vote at their convenience. Carroll Electric hired Co-op Ballot to provide election services at a cost of just $1,500, which included voting from our website, via a toll-free phone number, through the mail and in-person at the annual meeting. The additional voting methods also added a significant amount of time to the election process, going from a few hours’ window to nearly a month-long voting period. The election process also added a level of security never seen before in a co-op election. Employees, who used to hand out the ballots during registration at the annual members meeting, and members, who served as tellers (vote counters), were taken out of the election equation. Co-op Ballot was solely responsible for ballot distribution and tabulation. Coop Ballot also narrowed the window of potential voter fraud by requiring a combination of account numbers and Social Security Numbers to vote online and by phone. The new voting process has proven to be fair, accurate, and easy for co-op members. Find Co-op Ballot’s election results at the right. 20H
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16.3% online. 3.9% by phone. 1.8% by mail. 78.0% in person. 19 invalid ballots were cast, Including two duplicates and seven ballots with invalid account numbers. Additional invalid ballots contained too many votes for each district. Photo by Forever A Masterpiece, LLC
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UNPLUG THE ELECTRONICS,
PLUG IN WITH YOUR
FAMILY The average American child spends 5 to 7 hours per day on a computer, mobile phone, or other mobile device.1 Kids who have more screen time and less time outside have narrower blood vessels in their eyes, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease in adulthood.3 For every hour playing video games, children are 50% more likely to experience pain in their fingers and wrists. 84% of 18-24 year-olds report having back pain resulting from looking down at screens.2 Over 60% of obese children report watching more than 2 hours of television each day.
Here are 3
ways to trade screen time for healthful family time: 1 Cook together
Children who eat 3 or more family meals a week are 12% less likely to be overweight and 24% more likely to eat healthy foods than those who don’t.3
2 Unwind at the end of the day
Unplugging at least 15 to 30 minutes before bed has been shown to help everyone in the family sleep better.4,5
3 Read a book
Reduce your stress by up to 68% when you pick up a book.6 Choose a book the whole family might enjoy and discuss it over dinner or on the way to school.
SOURCES: 1. ”Screen time and children.” Medline Plus 2. “’Tech Neck’ and other Tech Troubles.” WebMD 3. “This Is Your Teen On Screens.” HuffingtonPost 4. “Unplug Before Bed.” Bastyr University 5. “Power Down for Better Sleep.” WebMD 6. “Reading For Stress Relief.” University of Minnesota
© 2016 WebMD Health Services Group, Inc.
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Celebrate month E L Ecooperative CT R IC CO - OP S BU I L D
COM MU N I TY
Every October, cooperatives from all sectors across the country celebrate National Cooperative Month. The purpose of this annual celebration is to recognize the cooperative difference and remind you, the members of the co-op, about Carroll Electric’s purpose. National Cooperative Month is truly an opportunity to celebrate and inform others about our unique business model, which is based on the seven cooperative principles: Voluntary and Open Membership; Democratic Member Control; Members’ Economic Participation; Autonomy and Independence; Education, Training, and Information; Cooperation Among Cooperatives; and Concern for Community. For co-op employees and members who are familiar with
the principles, the month of October is a great opportunity to renew our connection to each other and the purpose of our co-op. Carroll Electric, dedicated to its members and their communities, safely and responsibly provides reliable and competitively priced electric service on a not-for-profit basis. To celebrate National Cooperative Month, Carroll Electric will serve doughnuts to members who stop in the office before noon to pay their bill on October 14. In the U.S., there are more than 29,000 co-ops serving in every single industry. Many coops from different sectors join together during the month of October to educate members in the community about cooperatives. There are more co-ops in our local community than most people
ON THE COVER:
Carroll Electric linemen prepare for the flag raising ceremony at the Aug. 27 annual members meeting at the Carroll County Fairgrounds, Carrollton. Cover photo by Forever A Masterpiece, LLC.
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realize. Ace Hardware, True Value, and Do It Best Hardware are all co-ops. Co-ops are even represented on the shelves at our local grocery stores, such as Land O’Lakes, Welch’s, Organic Valley, Cabot Cheese, Sunkist, and Ocean Spray. According to the latest data, more than 130 million people belong to a co-op in the U.S. alone, and co-ops employ more than 2 million Americans. This speaks to the heart of why we must take every opportunity to celebrate and teach others about the cooperative business model. So plan your own co-op celebration by purchasing co-op products, look to do business with co-ops right here in our local community, and be an active member of Carroll Electric co-op.
Hidden account number Check the Carroll Electric local pages (the center pages) of this magazine for the hidden account number. Somewhere in this section is an account number spelled out. If this number matches your account number, call the co-op office to claim your credit. You must call by the end of the month in which your account number appears.
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The Ohio
Presidential Compendium An overview of Buckeye-born — or bred — chief executives B Y DA M A I N E V O N A DA PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION
Ohio has sent eight citizens to the White House — more than any other state. In fact, during the half-century between Reconstruction and the Roaring Twenties, it was mostly Ohioans who led the nation as new states emerged, industries flourished, and the American century dawned. (Continued on page 24)
Memorial for the first Ohio president, William Henry Harrison.
Spiegel Grove, home of Rutherford B. Hayes, who served as president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, is in Fremont.
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Ohio’s Eminent Eight 1. William Henry Harrison 9th president; March 4–April 4, 1841
(—continued from page 23)
5. Benjamin Harrison 23rd president; March 4, 1889–March 3, 1893
Born February 9, 1773, in Virginia. Born August 20, 1883, in North Bend. FYI: Harrison arrived in the Ohio TerriFYI: He was seven years old when his tory soon after joining the Army in 1791. grandfather was elected president. He served under General Anthony Wayne 6. William McKinley during the Indian wars and eventually settled on a farm near Cincinnati. 25th president; March 4, 1897–September 14, 1901
2. Ulysses S. Grant
William Henry Harrison
18th president; March 4, 1869–March 3, 1877
Born April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant. FYI: He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but his name changed after he was mistakenly enrolled as Ulysses S. Grant at West Point.
3. Rutherford Birchard Hayes 19th president; March 4, 1877–March 3, 1881
Born October 4, 1822, in Delaware. FYI: After Hayes’s father died, his uncle Sardis Birchard helped raise him.
4. James Abram Garfield 20th president; March 4–September 19, 1881
Born November 19, 1831, in Orange Township. FYI: The site of Garfield’s log cabin birthplace is in present-day Moreland Hills.
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford Birchard Hayes 24
James Abram Garfield
Born January 29, 1843, in Niles. FYI: In 1852, McKinley’s family moved to Poland, Ohio, to better their children’s schooling.
7. William Howard Taft 27th president; March 4, 1909–March 3, 1913
Born September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati. FYI: His father, Alphonso Taft, was Grant’s attorney general.
8. Warren Gamaliel Harding 29th president; March 4, 1921–August 2, 1923
Born November 2, 1865, in Morrow County. FYI: Harding’s father practiced homeopathic medicine, and his mother was a midwife.
Benjamin Harrison
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In School
In Passing
William Henry Harrison — University of Pennsylvania (dropped out after his father died) Grant — U.S. Military Academy Hayes — Kenyon College Garfield — Williams College Benjamin Harrison — Miami University; Harvard, Law McKinley — Allegheny College and Mount Union College (dropped out because of finances) Taft — Yale University; University of Cincinnati, Law Harding — Ohio Central College FYI: While Hayes was his class’s valedictorian and Taft was his class’s salutatorian, Grant’s West Point performance was lackluster. “A military life,” Grant later wrote, “had no charms for me.”
William Henry Harrison — After delivering his inaugural address in a snowstorm, he developed pneumonia and died one month later.
In Service
Benjamin Harrison — Six states joined the Union during his watch, but an economic slump and unpopular tariff made him a one-term president.
Commanding General — Grant, Civil War Major Generals — William Henry Harrison, War of 1812; Garfield, Civil War; Hayes, Civil War (brevet) Brigadier General — Benjamin Harrison, Civil War (brevet) Major — McKinley, Civil War (brevet) FYI: Neither Taft nor Harding served in the military.
In Politics Democrat Ohio presidents — 0 Whig Ohio presidents — 1: William Henry Harrison Republican Ohio presidents — 7: Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Harding FYI: In the hotly disputed 1876 election, Democrat Samuel Tilden received more popular votes than Hayes, but the electoral vote count was problematic. A bipartisan commission awarded the presidency to Hayes.
Grant — Though personally popular, he was politically naive. Scandals plagued his administration and overshadowed Grant’s support of civil rights and the Fifteenth Amendment. Hayes — After ending Reconstruction by removing federal troops from the South, he appointed civil rights advocate John Marshall Harlan to the Supreme Court. Garfield — He intended to end patronage, but was assassinated just months after taking office.
William McKinley — He made the U.S. a global player by annexing Hawaii; by initiating an Open Door policy toward China; and by winning territories in the Spanish-American War. Shortly after being re-elected, McKinley was assassinated. Taft — Caught between the conservative and progressive party factions, he lost his re-election bid. Taft put six people on the Supreme Court, and in 1921 President Harding picked Taft for chief justice. Harding — He convened an international disarmament conference, but the Teapot Dome scandal stigmatized his presidency and probably hastened Harding’s death. DAMAINE VONADA is a freelance writer from Xenia.
William McKinley
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William Howard Taft
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WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE
Punt guns:
Getting your ducks in a row It was both the most demanding and dangerous form of waterfowl hunting. Some hunters even died doing it. Termed “punt gunning” — a punt being a small, flat-bottomed boat — the practice was used during the 1800s and early 1900s, resulting in the mass slaughter of waterfowl. Upwards of 100 ducks, geese, and swans could be killed with just one shot.
State hunting laws and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 finally outlawed use of the big guns, but during their heyday they were very much a part of legal waterfowl hunting. The guns were especially favored by market hunters. A punt gun, in essence, was an exceptionally large muzzleloading shotgun, weighing as much as 200 pounds and measuring 10 to 12 feet in length. Its bore diameter could be 2 inches and shoot 2 pounds of shot. Obviously, punt guns were not fired from the shoulder. Rather, the big guns were usually mounted in a skiff, 16 to 18 feet long, and the boat and gun then rowed or paddled to the ducking grounds. Punt guns were usually used at night, the dark26
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ness helping conceal the approach of the boat and hunter from the birds. The hunt began once a large flock of rafting waterfowl was sighted. Lying in the boat on his stomach alongside the big gun, the hunter would keep any wind to his back and stalk the birds by using small hand-paddles to slowly and silently propel the skiff forward. Once within range — usually about 50 yards — the hunter would aim the punt gun by sighting along the side of the barrel and shifting his weight slightly forward or backward. By moving forward, the gun’s muzzle would lower, and by moving backward, it would rise. Before touching off a shot, the hunter would intentionally bump the gunnel of the skiff with one of the paddles or make some other subtle, yet unnatural, sound. It caused the birds to raise their heads in the split-second before the shot, resulting in the killing or wounding of as many waterfowl as possible. Early punt guns were flintlocks, and the hunter closed his eyes and turned his head away from the gun as he pulled the trigger, protecting himself from the flash of gunpowder that ignited in the lock’s firing pan. Doing so also shielded his eyes from the much larger flash that instantly emanated from the gun’s muzzle, preserving his night vision. Many early flintlock punt guns were eventually converted to percussion cap, a much more reliable ignition system, given the damp conditions of waterfowling. As can be imagined, the roar of such a gun on a still, black night, over open water, was deafening. One hunter referred to his punt gun as his “headache gun” because he said he took two aspirin before firing it and two again afterward. The big guns were dangerous not only to waterfowl, but to the hunters themselves. The guns’ recoil was fierce, and if not properly controlled, it could damage the skiff in which the gun was mounted — even knocking out the boat’s transom and drowning the hunter, if he couldn’t swim. Modern-day waterfowl hunter and duck-hunting historian Jim Marsh of Newport, Michigan, owns several punt guns. For 24 years, he demonstrated shooting one of the antique firearms from an antique duck boat at the Pointe Mouillee Duck Hunter’s Tournament, known today as the Pointe
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Mouillee Waterfowl Festival. That annual get-together of all things waterfowling is held each September at the Pointe Mouillee State Game Lands on the shore of western Lake Erie near Monroe, Michigan. “Punt guns were not common and actually pretty rare,” says Marsh. “In 1865, Michigan was one of the first states to outlaw them for duck hunting. Most punt guns had individual names, taking their names from the families who built and owned them.” Marsh and his wife, Barbara, are authors of the new book Pointe Mouillee Shooting Club, and in it they recount the following tale about a punt gun owned by the Story family of Michigan. It seems that in the 1920s, Henry Ford (yes, that Henry Ford) had heard about the Story punt gun, was interested in acquiring it for his Henry Ford Museum, and offered John Story a brand-new Ford car in trade.
A punt gun weighed as much as 200 pounds and measured 10 to 12 feet in length. “You know, I got to thinking,” Story told Ford. “Your car would be rusted out, and I’d have no car and you would still have the gun.” In other words, no deal. When John Story died, the punt gun passed to his son, George, and ironically George donated the gun to the Henry Ford Museum in 1968. Today, that same punt gun is on loan from the Ford Museum, currently displayed at the Monroe County (Michigan) Historical Museum. A figure of speech remains in our language yet today from the era of punt gunning. When we are preparing for a project, we often talk of “getting our ducks in a row.” That’s literally what punt gunners used to do before touching off a shot from their infamous, deadly guns. W.H. “CHIP” GROSS is Country Living’s outdoors editor and a member of Consolidated Electric Cooperative. Have an outdoors story idea or photograph to share? Send it to Chip at whchipgross@gmail.com or visit www.chipgross.com.
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GARDENING LANDSCAPE
Winterizing
outdoor plants
BY KRIS WETHERBEE
Helping defenseless plants take cover from a deep freeze Winter weather can be unpredictable at times — dormant at one moment and quite dynamic the next. When a deep freeze is in the forecast, the term “bundle up” applies to more than just people. Some plants need special protection from the ravages of winter, especially if the ground lacks an insulating blanket of snow. Early-flowering shrubs, marginally hardy plants, and new plantings that went in the ground in late summer to late fall can easily be protected in a matter of minutes. Here’s a quick guide to sheltering outdoor plants. 1. Mulch vulnerable trees, shrubs, and perennial beds with a 2- to 4-inch-thick layer of organic material, such as bark, straw, sawdust, or leaves. Lightweight evergreen branches offer another option, allowing air and water to flow freely. These winter mulches help protect plant roots from frost heave and damaging temperature fluctuations. Be sure to leave a mulch-free zone of about 12 inches around the base of deciduous trees or the main stem of shrubs, and several inches away from smaller shrubs and plant crowns. 2. Mound a 1-foot-thick layer of compost, bark mulch, or loose soil around the base of bush-type roses. Make sure that you cover the graft union, which appears as a nubby growth where the rootstock and scion meet. Shredded leaves also work as an insu28
lating cover and are quick to decompose, often by the following spring. 3. Cages filled with an insulating material offer a quick and easy way to protect tree roses, young trees, and other tender woody plants from freezing temperatures. Simply surround the plant with a 2- to 3-foot-high cylinder cage made of chicken wire or use wire mesh fencing. Then, secure the ends together and loosely fill with an insulating material, such as straw or leaves. 4. Cloches or row covers offer a fast way to protect low-growing plants, overwintering vegetables, and tender seedlings. You can easily make your own from wire cages and bubble wrap, or use PVC pipe to form a tunnel of low arches, and cover with plastic. 5. Frames or structures covered in plastic sheeting, bubble wrap, burlap, or some other type of cloth material can be used to insulate marginally hardy shrubs and small trees. (Remember to remove plastic-lined shelters once temperatures stabilize and the danger of a heavy freeze has passed.) For example, you can make shelter teepees using sturdy bamboo poles that are then wrapped in burlap or other loosely woven fabric. 6. Cover vulnerable plants and shrubs at a moment’s notice with burlap, old blankets or sheets, or even layers of newspaper
or cardboard boxes. Several thicknesses of newspaper also make a good insulating wrap or cover around smaller evergreens that are tender. Remove the cover completely as soon as the threat of a heavy freeze has passed. 7. Water is essential to keeping plants protected. When snow or rain is lacking, be sure to keep outdoor plants well-watered into winter — up to 1 inch per week during dry spells — even if they aren’t actively growing. Dry ground and freezing temperatures can make for a deadly duo, but ensuring that the soil is moist before the ground freezes makes plants more resistant to winter damage. Pay particular attention to plants growing under the eaves of your home or underneath tall evergreens, such as hollies, rhododendrons, boxwood, and conifers.
DIY project: Wrap it up Wood boards and chicken wire are all it takes to create a 2 x 2-foot shelter box or an outdoor container up to 14 inches in diameter for protecting a small shrub, miniature rose, or newly planted dwarf conifer. Materials: (12) 2 x 2 wood boards, each 2 feet long 2 x 8-1/2-foot piece of chicken wire Outdoor construction adhesive (8) 1-1/2-inch galvanized wood screws 1/2-inch staples Tools: Wire cutters Drill Staple gun or hammer
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1. Use construction adhesive and screws to attach all wood pieces. To make the frame, form a square using four of the 2 x 2 wood boards, with two opposing boards set inside the other two boards. Make a similar square using four more of the 2 x 2’s. 2. Use the four remaining 2 x 2 boards to form the corners of your shelter box. Attach one end of each 2 x 2 to each corner on one square, using one screw per 2 x 2. Attach the remaining end of each 2 x 2 to each corner of the remaining square, again using one screw per 2 x 2.
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3. Bend the chicken wire around each 2 x 2 corner to create a tight fit. Trim off any excess using wire cutters, then firmly attach the chicken wire at each corner by using a staple gun or hammering in staples. You should now have a complete box with an open-ended bottom and top. 4. Place the box around the outdoor plant or container needing protection, then loosely stuff straw, hay, bark mulch,
or leaves carefully around the plant that is inside your shelter box. For added protection, line the inside of the shelter box with burlap before using your filler material. A burlap-lined shelter box will prevent finer filler materials like shredded leaves, grass clippings, or pine needles (which are ideal for acid-loving plants) from coming through the chicken wire.
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MEMBER INTERACTIVE
My best
Halloween costume ever
Submitted by Jim and Cheryl Fortman, members of Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative. Grandma made the costume for their grandson, one-eyed Jack the Pirate.
See our guidelines and deadlines for future months’ submissions on page 36.
Submitted by Lori Baird, a member of South Central Power Company.
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Submitted by Brandy Vannoy, South Central Power. Pictured is her neighbor, Will Riffle, a freshman last year who started varsity for the AmandaClearcreek Aces.
Submitted by Lawonha Baisden, a member of Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative. “The kids freak out because the puppet baby’s eyes bulge out, the mouth moves, and the baby screams!”
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Submitted by Cynthia Boles, a member of South Central Power Company. She was Tweety Bird, and her cat Tigger was Sylvester the “Puddy Tat.”
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Submitted by Jessica Stimmell, a member of South Central Power Company. The crazy old cat lady is her daughter, Allisyn.
Submitted by Sandy Cramer, a member of South Central Power Company. The headless horseman rides again, on a mare named Raven.
Submitted by Erika Klaber, a member of Butler Rural Electric Cooperative. Meet the Addams Family!
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OCTOBER 2016 CALENDAR
NORTHWEST THROUGH NOV. 8 – “I Approve This
Ad: Decoding Political Messages,” Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe St., Toledo. Free. Nonpartisan exhibit shows how political ads are used to stir emotions and capture votes. 419255-8000 or www.toledomuseum. org/exhibitions. THROUGH NOV. 23 – “Fighting for
Freedom: WWII in Fulton County,” Fulton Co. Museum, 229 Monroe St., Wauseon, Tues.–Sat., 12–5 p.m. Exhibit shows how everyday life was affected by the war. 419-337-7922 or www.fultoncountyoh.com. THROUGH DEC. 16 – “Be Your Own
Museum: Our Community’s Collections,” 13660 County Home Rd., Bowling Green. A new museum experience where the public becomes the curator. 419-352-0967 or www. woodcountyhistory.org. OCT. 1–30 – 29th Annual Mums and
Pumpkin Festival, Lincoln Ridge Farms, 6588 Pollock Rd., Convoy, every Sat., 11 a.m.–6 p.m., and Sun., 12–6 p.m. $9, age 3 and under free. 877-989-2282. OCT. 2 – Farm Toy Show, Van Wert Co. Fgds., S. Washington St., Van Wert, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. $2. 937-826-4201. OCT. 2 – North Auburn Harvest
Festival, 7212 N. Auburn Rd., Tiro, 11:30 a.m.–6 p.m. Pork dinners, craft beer, bratwurst, ice cream, and music. 419-492-2295. OCT. 2–31 – Lake Eerie Fearfest,
Ghostly Manor Thrill Ctr., 3319 Milan Rd., Sandusky, every Fri. and Sat., 7:30–11:30 p.m.; Sun. 18 and 25 only, 7:30–9:30. $25. 419-626-4467 or www.lakeeeriefearfest.com. OCT. 8 – Fall Fest, 611 E. Main St.,
Montpelier, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $1, age 12 and under free. Craft show, gourmet bake sale, chili contest, cider making demonstrations, wagon rides, and kids’ activities. 419-485-8200. Evidence Explained 50 Years Later,” Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum, Spiegel Grove (Hayes and Buckland Aves.), Fremont, 10-11:30 a.m. Roundtable with Mike Gilbert will examine new and intriguing evidence about the assassination. $5. Preregister at 419-332-2081, ext. 239, or ncard@rbhayes.org.
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OCT. 22, 23 – By My Lantern’s Light, Amherst Sandstone Village, 763 Milan Ave., 5–8 p.m. Step back in time for tales of spooky history. 440-988-7255 or www.amhersthistoricalsociety.org.
PLEASE NOTE: Country Living strives for accuracy but strongly urges readers to confirm dates and times before traveling long distances to events. Submit listings AT LEAST 90 DAYS prior to the event by writing to Country Living, 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229 or events@ ohioec.org. Country Living will not publish listings that don’t include a complete address of where the event takes place or a number/website for more information. OCT. 8, 9 – Apple Festival, downtown
Oak Harbor. Baking contest, parade, car show, tournaments, 5K Apple Run, and more. 419-898-0479 or www. oakharborohio.net. OCT. 15 – Pet Fest ’16, Allen Co. Fgds.,
Lima, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Free. Meet the breeds, K-9 demos. Raffles, contests, prizes, concessions, vendors. 5K fundraiser, 9 a.m. 419-339-3208 or www.thatplaceforpets.com/specialevents. OCT. 15 – 26th Annual Folklore and Funfest, Wood Co. Historical Ctr. and Museum, 13660 County Home Rd., Bowling Green, 4–9 p.m. Free. Horsedrawn wagon rides, kid-friendly activities in Boo-ville, apple cider press, and more. 419-352-0967 or www.woodcountyhistory.org. OCT. 15, 16 – Oak Ridge Festival, 15498 E. Twp. Rd. 104, Attica, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $6, Srs. $5, C. (8-12) $4, age 7 and under free w/paid adult. Military vehicles and weaponry display. 419-426-0611 or www. oakridgefestival.com. OCT. 28 – Friday Night Folklore
Tours, Wood Co. Historical Ctr. and Museum, 13660 County Home Rd., Bowling Green, tours at 7, 8, and 9 p.m. $12, Stds. $10. Reservations required. 419-352-0967 or www. woodcountyhistory.org.
NORTHEAST Corn Maze, Beriswill Farms, 2200 Station Rd., Valley City, Tues.–Sun., 11 a.m.– 6 p.m. 330-350-2486.
THROUGH OCT. 30 –
Pumpkins and Ponies, Spring Mist Farms, 691 Pearl Rd., Brunswick Hills, every Fri., 6–8 p.m., and Sat., 4–8 p.m. Animal rides and viewing, plus hayrides. 330-2253565 or www.springmistfarms.com/ pumpkins.htm.
OCT. 1–29 –
OCT. 8 – “JFK Assassination:
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Spooky Ranch, Rockin’R-Ranch, 19066 E. River Rd. (St. Rte. 252), Columbia Station, Fri./Sat. 7–11:30 p.m., Thur./Sun. 7–9:30 p.m. From $12. 440-236-5454 or www. spookyranch.com. OCT. 1–31 –
THROUGH OCT. 31 – FALL FUN DAYS , Circle S Farms, 9015 London
44th Annual Woollybear Festival, downtown Vermilion. The largest one-day festival in Ohio. 440967-4477 or http://vermilionchamber. net/festivals/woollybear.
Groveport Rd., Grove City, 9 a.m.– 7 p.m. daily. $8.50, under age 2 free. Hayrides, barn with slides, bale cave, petting zoo, plus corn and sunflower mazes. 614-878-7980 or www. circlesfarm.com/fallfundays.html. Antique Appraisal, Kingston Residence, 464 James Way, Marion, 3–6 p.m. Antiques appraised for $5 per item (limit three per person). 740-387-4255 or www. marionhistory.com.
OCT. 8, 9 –
Holmes Co. Antique Festival, downtown Millersburg. Markets and auctions, parades, arts and crafts, lumberjack show, and much more. http://holmescountyantiquefestival.org.
OCT. 3 –
OCT. 8, 9, 15, 16 – Old-Fashioned Christmas in the Woods, 44337 County Line Rd., Columbiana, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $8, age 12 and younger free. Holiday gift items made by some of the country’s best craftspeople. 724-774-6341 or www.christmasinthewoodsohio.com.
OCT. 3 –
OCT. 14, 15 – Ghost Tours, Dennison Railroad Depot Museum, 400 Ctr. St., Dennison. $10, Srs. $8, C. $6. Reservations required. 740-922-6776 or http://dennisondepot.org. OCT. 14–15, 21–22, 28–29 –
Halloween Fair, Carlisle Visitor Ctr., 12882 Diagonal Rd., LaGrange. $2, free for age 3 and under. The loop trail is “family-friendly” from 5 to 7 p.m. but turns scary from 7 to 10 p.m. 440-458-5121 or http://metroparks. cc/halloween.php. Country Crossroads “Education of Yesterday,” 12th Annual Farm Show, 3585 Cass Irish Ridge Rd., Dresden, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Free. Displays of working antique farm and construction equipment. Tug pulls on Sat. 11 a.m., weather permitting. 740-754-6248 or e-mail educationofyesterday@gmail.com.
OCT. 15, 16 –
Haunted Ghost Tours, Historic Zoar Village, 198 Main St., Zoar, 6:30–7:30 p.m. $15, C. $10. Tour historic buildings as guides share haunted tales from past and present. Reservations required. 800-262-6195 or www.historiczoarvillage.com.
OCT. 21, 22, 28, 29 –
Tablescapes, First Presbyterian Church, 621 College Ave., Wooster, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $10. An exhibit of festive holiday tables designed to inspire creative home decorators. 432-559-5157.
OCT. 22 –
A Taste of the Harvest, OSU Marion, 1465 Mt. Vernon Ave., Marion, 6:30–8:30 p.m. $40. Advance purchase only. Sample wines from around the world and enjoy specialty hors d’oeuvres. 740-725-6340 or www.osumarion. osu.edu.
OCT. 6–30 – All American Quarter Horse Congress, Ohio Expo Ctr., 717 E. 17th Ave., Columbus. $25/vehicle single show, $70/vehicle entire show. 740-943-2346 or www.quarterhorsecongress.com. OCT. 7–9 – 54th Annual Ohio Gourd Show, Delaware Co. Fgds., 236 Pennsylvania Ave., Delaware, Fri. noon–5 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $5 ($7/ weekend), under age 12 free. Daily workshops. 740-965-4661 or www. americangourdsociety.org/ohiochapter.
Firelight Fridays, Geneva Hills, 1380 Blue Valley Rd. SE, Lancaster, 6–9 p.m. $3. Hayrides, night hikes, campfires and s’mores, field games, and more. 740-746-8439 or www.genevahills. com.
OCT. 7, 14, 21, 28 –
Annual Scout Pilgrimage, Harding Memorial, corner of Delaware Ave. (St. Rte. 23) and Vernon Heights Blvd.., Marion, 3 p.m. Over 500 Scouts gather each year to pay homage to the late President and First Lady for their support of Scouting. 740-387-9630 or www. hardinghome.org.
OCT. 9 –
Historic Ghost Tour, 22 South Trine St., Canal Winchester, 7–7:45 p.m. Features six legends of Canal Winchester’s past. 740-5035636 or www.cwhistory.org.
OCT. 14, 15 –
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Grandma Gatewood’s Fall Colors Hike, Hocking Hills State Park, 19852 St. Rte. 664 S., Logan, 1 p.m. A strenuous hike that spans 6 miles of the Grandma Gateway Trail. 740-385-6841.
OCT. 15 –
Circleville Pumpkin Show, downtown Circleville. Free. Ohio’s oldest and largest pumpkin celebration. Seven different parades. 740-474-7000 or www. pumpkinshow.com.
OCT. 19–22 –
OCT. 21–23 – 47th Annual Apple Butter Stirrin’ Festival, Historic Roscoe Village, 600 N. Whitewoman St., Coshocton, Fri./Sat. 10 a.m.– 6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $5, under age 12 free. Stirring and sampling of apple butter made over an open fire. More than 100 craft and food vendors, plus entertainment, kids’ activities, and more. 740-6227664, ext. 16, or www.roscoevillage. com.
Marion Co. Historical Society’s “Dinner with the Presidents,” META Solutions Bldg., 100 Executive Dr., Marion, 5:30– 8:30 p.m. Prices vary. Step back in time to meet and dine with different presidents from U.S. history. 740387-4255 or www.marionhistory. com.
OCT. 22 –
Haunted Village, Olde Pickerington Village, St. Rte. 256 (Columbus and Center Sts.), Pickerington, 6–8 p.m. Free ghost tours, hayrides, haunted museum, haunted house. 614-833-2211 or www.pickeringtonvillage.com/ events.html.
OCT. 27 –
Applebutter Stir and Horseradish Day, Lawrence Orchards, 2634 Smeltzer Rd., Marion, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Free. Apple butter is cooked in a copper kettle over a wood fire, while the horseradish crop is ground fresh. 740-389-3019 or www.lawrenceorchards.com.
OCT. 29 –
Kerry Price and Friends, Dixieland Jazz Concert, Makoy Ctr., 5462 Center St., Hilliard, 3–6 p.m. Presented by Central Ohio Hot Jazz Society. Members $15, non-members $20, dance club members/ college stds. $10, music educators/ stds. under 18 free. 614-794-1977 or www.cohjs.org.
OCT. 30 –
SOUTHEAST National Imperial Glass Museum Tours, 3200 Belmont. St., Bellaire, Thur.– Sat. 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Learn about and view extensive displays of Imperial glassware. 740-671-3971. THROUGH OCT. 29 –
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“Another Fine Mess: A Collection of Laurel and Hardy Memorabilia,” Bob Evans Farm Homestead Museum, 10854 St. Rte. 588, Rio Grande, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Free. 740-245-5305 or www. bobevans.com/aboutus/the-farm.
THROUGH DEC. 23 –
Fall Foliage Trains, Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, Nelsonville Depot, 33 West Canal Street, Nelsonville, 1 p.m. $17, Srs. $15, C. $12. Take a 2-hour train ride through the historic Hocking River Valley to view the beautiful colors of autumn. 740-249-1452 or www.hvsry.org.
OCT. 7, 14, 21, 28 –
OCT. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-29 –
Haunted Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre, 5968 Marietta Rd., Chillicothe, 8–11 p.m. $13. An outdoor haunted trail, with special effect lighting, animation, and live actors! Laser Tag for an additional $5 after you conquer the woods. 740-775-0700 or http://hauntedmountain.org. OCT. 7–9 – Paul Bunyan Show, Guernsey Co. Fgds., 335 Old National Rd., Old Washington, Fri./ Sat. 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. $8, Srs./C. (7-12) $4, age 6 and under free. The original American forestry show, with competitions, demos, wood crafts, and more. 614497-9580 or www.ohioforest.org.
Cambridge October Fall Festival, downtown Cambridge. Free. Bands, food, and craft vendors. Activities for the whole family with a fall theme. 740-439-2238.
OCT. 8 –
Monroe Co. Fall Festival, Monroe Co. Fgds., 46760 St. Rte. 26, Woodsfield. Free. Car show, truck/tractor pull, Demolition Derby, antique tractors, corn grinding, chain-saw artist, and more. 740-926-1466.
OCT. 8, 9 –
Belmont Co. Rubberneck Tour, 67800 Mall Ring Rd., St. Clairsville, 12:30–5 p.m. Follow the signs and maps to see what Belmont Co. has to offer! 740-695-4359. OCT. 9 –
Bob Evans Farm Festival, 10854 St. Rte. 588, Rio Grande, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. GPS: 791 Farmview Dr., Bidwell. $5, C. (6–18) $3, age 5 and under free. Downhome entertainment, great food, and more than 100 demonstrators and crafters. 740-994-3276.
OCT. 14–16 –
Fall Festival of Leaves, Bainbridge, U.S. 50, Ross Co. Celebrate the season with parades, pageants, entertainment, contests, plus self-guided scenic tours of the colorful landscape. http://fallfestivalofleaves.com.
OCT. 14–16 –
OCT. 15 – Fall Hike, Shawnee State Park, 4404 St. Rte. 125, Portsmouth, 9–11 a.m. Take an invigorating 5-mile walk through the park. Enjoy hayrides around the campground and fresh apple butter and cider. 740-858-6652 or http://parks. ohiodnr.gov/Shawnee.
Un-haunted Forest, Shawnee State Park, 4404 St. Rte. 125, Portsmouth, 6–9 p.m. A guided, lantern-lit walk to learn more about creatures of the night on an easy half-mile loop trail. Costumed animal characters tell their stories. Marshmallow roasting and music around the campfire and more. 740858-6652 or http://parks.ohiodnr. gov/Shawnee.
OCT. 22 –
SOUTHWEST “Da Vinci — The Genius,” Cincinnati Museum Ctr., 1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati, Mon.– Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. $8.50–$19.50. 200-piece interactive exhibit. 513-287-7000 or www.cincymuseum.org. THROUGH OCT. 9 –
Scott Antique Market, Fayette Co. Fgds., Washington Court House, Fri./Sat. 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. America’s favorite treasure hunt! 740-569-2800 or www.scottantiquemarket.com.
SEPT. 30, OCT. 1, 2 –
Adams Co. Heritage Days, John T. Wilson Homestead, 92 Old St. Rte. 32, Peebles, Fri. 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m. concert, Sat. 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Free. Demos of old-time skills and crafts, Indian and pioneer displays, re-enactors, muzzle loader firing contests, and much more. 937-386-0143 or www. johntwilsonhomestead.com.
SEPT. 30, OCT. 1 –
Ohio Renaissance Festival, Renaissance Park, Harveysburg, St. Rte. 73 between I-71 or I-75, north of Cincinnati, every Sat. and Sun., 10:30 a.m.–6 p.m. $21.95, Srs. $19.95, C. $9.95. 513897-7000 or www.renfestival.com.
OCT. 1–23 –
Fall Farm Days, Bonnybrook Farm, 3779 St. Rte. 132, Clarksville, every Sat. and Sun., noon–6 p.m. Free. Pumpkin picking, wagon rides, corn maze, petting zoo, games, and food. 937-2892500 or http://bonnybrookfarms. com.
OCT. 1–30 –
Lantern Light Wagon Rides and Corn Maze, Bonnybrook Farm, 3779 St. Rte. 132, Clarksville, 7:30–10:30 p.m. $8–$21; free for age 5 and under. 937-289-2500 or http://bonnybrookfarms.com.
OCT. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 –
OCT. 1 – Fall Celebration, Johnston Farm, 9845 N. Hardin Rd., Piqua. Take a ride on the General Harrison of Piqua, a replica of a 19th-century canal boat. 800-752-2619 or www. johnstonfarmohio.com. Fall Lost Creek Garden and Antique Show, 1058 Knoop Rd., Troy. $5. Antiques, country furniture, vintage garden accessories, flowers, herbs, plants, landscape design, and much more. 937-335-1904 or e-mail acornstudio1@verizon.net.
OCT. 1 –
OCT. 4–8 – Bradford Pumpkin Show, downtown Bradford. Free. One of the most popular festivals in Ohio. Parades, rides, games, crafts, concessions, and merchandise. 937448-2710 or www.bradfordpumpkinshow.org.
Chocolate Walk, downtown Piqua, 5:30–8 p.m. $15. Make your way to the over 20 downtown businesses participating in the walk. Some treats can be enjoyed on the spot and others will be placed in your bag to enjoy later. 937-7739355 or www.mainstreetpiqua.com.
OCT. 7 –
OCT. 8, 9 – Fall Farm Fest, Lost Creek Reserve, 2645 E. St. Rte. 41, Troy, Sat. 12–7 p.m., Sun. 12–5 p.m. $5, C. (5-11) $3, age 4 and under free. Corn maze, corn cannon, scarecrow contest, wagon rides, and kids’ activities. 937-335-6273 or e-mail jessie@miamicountyparks. com.
Ohio Sauerkraut Festival, 10B N. Wayne St., Waynesville, Sat. 9 a.m.–8 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Try sauerkraut pizza, fudge, doughnuts, cookies, and pies. 513-897-8855 or www. sauerkrautfestival.com.
OCT. 8, 9 –
WEST VIRGINIA Autumn Harvest Buffet, North Bend State Park, 202 N. Bend Park Rd., Cairo, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. $12.95, C. (7–11) half-price, under age 6 free. 304-643-2931 for reservations.
OCT. 2 –
OCT. 7–9 – Oglebayfest, Oglebay Resort, Wheeling. The area’s premier fall festival. 877-436-1797 or www.oglebay-resort.com/oglebayfest.html
WV Chestnut Festival, Rowlesburg, 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. www.wvchestnutfestival.com.
OCT. 9 –
OCT. 28, 29 – WV Book Festival, Civic Ctr., 200 Lee St. E., Charleston. Free. http://wvbookfestival.org.
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Member Interactive: Send us your photos! If we use your photo, you’ll get a Country Living tumbler. For March, send us photos of “the arrival of spring” by Dec. 15. For April, send us photos of “cutest Easter kids” by Jan. 15. Guidelines: 1. One entry per household per month. 2. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want anything returned. 3. Include your name, mailing address, and the name of your electric co-op. 4. E-mail: memberinteract@ohioec.org By U.S. mail: Editor, Country Living, 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229
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OHIO QUIZ
Presidential Primaries They may not be first in war, first in peace, or even first in the hearts of their countrymen, but the eight presidents from Ohio nonetheless achieved many firsts, both inside and outside the White House. We’ll provide clues about their inaugural achievements; you elect the correct answer. For example, if the clue is “He made President William Henry Harrison the first grandfather of a U.S. president,” the answer would be “Benjamin Harrison.”
CLUES 1. Because the Equal Rights Party nominated Victoria Claflin Woodhull as its 1872 presidential candidate, he was the first president to run against a woman. 2. He had the first White House telephone (1878). 3. His was both the first mother to attend her son’s inauguration and the first to live in the White House. 4. He was the first president to put a Christmas tree in the White House (1889). 5. His inauguration was the first recorded on motion picture film (March 4, 1897).
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) Date of filing: Sept. 1, 2016. Country Living (ISSN 0747-0592) is published monthly at 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229, with headquarters or business offices of the publishers at 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229. Name and address of publisher: Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229. Director of Communications: Patrick Higgins, 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229. Owner of publication: Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., 6677 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229. There are no bondholders, mortgagees or security holders. Total number of copies printed (average for preceding 12 months) — 298,627; copies through dealers — none; mail subscriptions 297,751; total paid circulation 297,751; free distribution 1,009; total distribution 300,134; office use, etc. 850; returns from news agents — none; total 300,984. Percent paid or requested circulation — 99.21%. Actual number of copies printed (single issue nearest to filing date) — 299,778; sales through dealers — none; mail subscriptions 298,627; total paid circulation 298,627; free distribution 1,151; total distribution 300,140; office use, etc. 689; returns from news agents — none; total 301,829. Percent paid or requested circulation — 99.17%. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. PATRICK HIGGINS, Director of Communications
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6. On April 14, 1910, he was the first president to toss the ceremonial first pitch in a major league baseball season opener, at a Washington Senators– Philadelphia Athletics game in Griffith Stadium. 7. He was the first president elected after the 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote. 8. On March 3, 1877, his was the first inauguration inside the White House, in the Red Room. 9. On April 4, 1841, he was the first president to die in office. 10. He was the first to have electricity in the White House (1891). 11. He was the first nominee to use a telephone to campaign for president (1896). 12. He was the first to ride to his inauguration in an automobile, March 4, 1921.
ANSWERS ON PAGE 39
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Soho on the Muskingum STORY AND PHOTOS B Y DA M A I N E V O N A DA
Downtown Zanesville is home to a thriving artists’ colony work, and host events like the First Friday Art Walk, a In downtown Zanesville, a silent flock of bronze monthly gallery hop that also includes antique shops sheep stretches along a sidewalk. They’re the first and eateries. Indeed, art seems to pop up everywhere in a motley parade of figures — a fearsome bear, a in Zanesville, in locales ranging from the library to rearing horse, a proud poodle, a poignant firefighter, a brewpub. “If you have a vibrant arts community,” a sorrowful soldier, and a notes Cottrill, “it helps the whole community.” coal miner clutching an apple — that culminates in a larger-than-life statue of Chief Nemacolin on the roof of the Alan Cottrill Check out these destinations. Sculpture Studio and Gallery. Zanesville’s Welcome Center Chief Nemacolin never Head here first to get maps, visitor guides, and insider fails to attract attention information about Zanesville and Muskingum County artists, to Cottrill’s workspace, events, and attractions. Easily accessible from Interstate 70, but the Native American’s the Welcome Center has a pleasant, park-like setting featuring dynamic, reach-for-theCottrill’s statue of Karl Kappes, a renowned artist and Weller sky pose is also an apt Pottery designer. Also look for the building’s bas-relief metaphor for Zanesville’s depicting a working potter and Zanesville’s iconic Y-Bridge. 740-455-8282, 800-743-2303; www.visitzanesville.com downtown, where artists are repurposing old Historic Artwall at John McIntire Library buildings and reviving the Located across from the Welcome Center, the library lawn city’s arts heritage. A century ago, Zanesville was the boasts a 40-foot ceramic tile wall with a series of scenes “Pottery Capital of the World,” dominating a corner summarizing Zanesville’s rich history. Its pictorial highlights of southeast Ohio where companies such as Weller include Ebenezer Zane, the city’s trailblazing founder; his and Roseville produced exceptional art pottery and great-grandson, the bestselling novelist Zane Grey; and ceramics by combining the region’s fine clay with assorted versions of the Y-Bridge, an architectural marvel quality craftsmanship. that dates to 1814 and spans both the Licking and Muskingum Cottrill, who was born and raised in Zanesville, rivers. For a unique — and artistic — Zanesville souvenir, get jump-started its current art movement in 2003, when some paper and crayons and make “rubbings” of the Artwall’s he moved back to his hometown and turned a 1930s images. 740-453-0391; www.muskingumlibrary.org newspaper building into a sculpture studio. “The first time I saw this place, I felt like I was in Soho,” says Cottrill. “It has huge windows and is built like a fortress.” Today, about 20 revamped buildings serve as homes, studios, and exhibition venues for scores of artists who have organized The Artist Colony of Zanesville — aka Art Coz (www.artcoz. org) — to promote culture and the city’s downtown. While colony members run the gamut from Sunday painters to professionals with Master of Fine Arts degrees, they are anything but art snobs. Unpretentious and remarkably approachable, Zanesville’s artists open their studio doors to Enormous vases decorated by local artists stand beside the Y-Bridge visitors, encourage questions, eagerly discuss their downtown.
Want to experience Zanesville’s art scene?
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Vasehenge Zanesville’s answer to Stonehenge is an array of enormous vases that salute a classic Weller Pottery shape. Imaginatively decorated by local artists, the vases stand beside the Y-Bridge near Pine and Main streets. Tip: The Putnam Hill Park overlook affords spectacular views of both Vasehenge and the Y-Bridge. www.visitzanesville .info/putnam-hill-park
Alan Cottrill Sculpture Studio and Gallery Cottrill’s intense style and ability to capture expressions have earned him a national reputation and high-profile commissions, such as the bronze of Thomas Edison recently installed in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall. You can catch Cottrill in action in his studio, but to appreciate his prolific and eclectic output, visit his vast gallery. 740-453-9822; www.alancottrill.com
Paul Emory Studio and Gallery
Michael Seiler from Seilers’ Studio and Gallery
Although Emory lives in a farmhouse and is a Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Cooperative member, he has been rehabbing downtown buildings since the 1980s. An excellent colorist with a flair for re-imagining everyday objects, Emory now creates paintings and assemblage pieces in a converted storage facility. 740-6075283; www.paulemory.com
Seilers’ Studio and Gallery Inside a former church, accomplished painter Michael Seiler produces abstract canvases using asphalt and alkyds, yin and yang mediums that reflect the dualities of life. Seiler’s poet wife Kathleen complements his contemporary works with her original verses. 740-704-5338; www.michaelseilerstudios.com
Studio 202 and Art Gallery Mixed media artist Susan Stubbins and textile artist Susan Nash share a spacious loft in an erstwhile grocery warehouse. Stubbins specializes in geometric paintings and collages, while Nash has a knack for embellished quilts. 740-452-8262; www. studio202andartgallery.weebly.com
Susan Stubbins, a textile artist
Zanesville Museum of Art The grande dame of Zanesville’s art attractions is famous for its pottery collection and devotes an entire gallery to Weller, Roseville, McCoy, J. B. Owens, and other locally made wares. Go to see that splendid pottery, but stay to enjoy the works by Gainsborough, Bierstadt, Picasso, and Matisse in the museum’s American and European collections. 740-452-0741; www.zanesvilleart.org DAMAINE VONADA is a freelance writer from Xenia. Paul Emory with his painting in the building he rehabilitated
Ohio Quiz
(Answers from page 37) 1. Ulysses S. Grant 2. Rutherford B. Hayes 3. James A. Garfield 4. Benjamin Harrison 5. William McKinley 6. William Howard Taft 7. Warren G. Harding 8. Rutherford B. Hayes 9. William Henry Harrison 10. Benjamin Harrison 11. William McKinley 12. Warren G. Harding
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Co-ops
VOTE!
It’s been said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. It’s easy to take our right to vote for granted, perhaps because there are so many opportunities to exercise that right, including national, state, and local elections, as well as elections for social and civic organizations. It’s easy to see how “election fatigue” can take hold. Next month, Americans will go to the polls and cast votes for a president, 34 senators, 435 members of Congress, 12 governors, 5,920 state legislators, and countless local races. As we head into the final stage of what has been a divisive national election, we should remember that elections don’t have to be about name-calling and bitterness. Co-ops can and do play a role in cultivating a civil society, where democracy is practiced at the local level. The challenges facing rural America
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won’t be solved by one person, idea, or action. But on Nov. 8, we’ll determine which leaders we trust to enact policies that will help small communities help themselves. Study the issues that are critical to the future of your cooperative. Look at the positions and backgrounds of every candidate running for every race, from president to county road commissioner. Decide who’s best qualified to address those issues. Then, join millions of your fellow electric cooperative members at the polls. Although the challenges facing rural America are national, the prevailing sentiment among rural stakeholders and researchers is that the solutions are largely homegrown. To learn more about the issues at hand this election season, visit www.vote.coop.
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