ALSO INSIDE
Sunny and hot, with a chance of blackouts
POWs of Camp Perry
All about lightning bugs
We united to get reliable electricity in 1935, and Ohio’s electric cooperatives fight to keep it today. It’s our #1 priority.
R.E.A.L. Value
22 NATURE’S FIREWORKS
The blinking of fireflies on a summer night evokes a sense of wonder in people of all ages.
24 FIELD OF DREAMS
Farming allows a Mechanicsburg mom to ‘live the best of both worlds.’
27 PERRY’S PRISONERS
Camp Perry, on the shores of Lake Erie near Port Clinton, was a major prisoner-of-war camp during World War II.
The concept of energy independence is complicated. In the U.S., we’ve generally talked about it in reference to oil and gasoline, but in fact, there are many more forms of energy that matter to our security, safety, and general well-being. In addition to oil and gasoline, for example, we need things like natural gas supplies and electricity derived from a variety of sources.
It’s easy to observe the negative effects that energy dependence has had on much of Europe over the past year. The higher prices, uncertain availability, political threats, and sabotaged infrastructure we’ve seen there all seem like problems we would like to avoid. But independence also has a price. Yes, it requires investment in things like infrastructure, mining, drilling, and fracking — but it’s not only monetary; all of those things also come with environmental impacts that no one wants in their own backyard but must be considered in any calculation of their overall cost.
Our electric system is immensely complicated as well. It consists of thousands of power plants owned by countless companies and organizations — public utilities, municipal utilities, independent power producers, private equity funds, federal agencies, and even not-for-profit electric cooperatives. And each of those plants requires its own specific fuel, ranging from coal, nuclear fuel, or natural gas to sunshine, wind, or water, to generate power, feed it into the transmission grid, and ultimately deliver it to local distribution systems like your electric cooperative, which then deliver that electricity to your home or business.
There is some oversight by system operators, which set operating parameters and monitor system conditions, but there is little a system operator can do once supply shortages occur. So having excess reserves helps take stress out of the system. Unfortunately, we’ve seen the reserves in our electric supply system dwindle in recent years, threatening the reliability and resiliency of our system, especially under extreme conditions.
Independence is never free, and that’s true of energy independence as well. It requires ongoing investments and long-term commitments to dependable infrastructure. While electric cooperatives are committed to doing our part to build and maintain reliable and dependable systems, energy independence is dependent on each actor in the system doing their part for every minute of every day. Our independence still depends on others.
Thanks for your support of your electric cooperative. We wish you and yours a safe and happy Independence Day.
Pat O’Loughlin PRESIDENT & CEO OHIO’S ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES
Energy independence is dependent on every actor in the system doing their part for every minute of every day.
6677 Busch Blvd. Columbus, OH 43229 614-846-5757
www.ohiocoopliving.com
Patrick O’Loughlin President & CEO
Caryn Whitney Director of Communications
Jeff McCallister Managing Editor
Amy Howat Associate Editor
Crystal Pomeroy Graphic Designer
Contributors: Colleen Romick Clark, Victoria Ellwood, Getty Images, W.H. “Chip” Gross, Catherine Murray, and Craig Springer.
OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING (USPS 134-760; ISSN 2572-049X) is published monthly by Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. It is the official communication link between the electric cooperatives in Ohio and West Virginia and their members. Subscription cost for members ranges from $5.52 to $6.96 per year, paid from equity accruing to the member.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to editorial and advertising offices at: 6677 Busch Boulevard, Columbus, OH 43229-1101. Periodicals postage paid at Pontiac, IL 61764, and at additional mailing offices. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. All rights reserved. The fact that a product is advertised in Ohio Cooperative Living should not be taken as an endorsement. If you find an advertisement misleading or a product unsatisfactory, please notify us or the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Section, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, OH, and at additional mailing offices.
4 POWER LINES
Summer forecast: Weather extremes and tightening electricity supply bring an increased chance of summer blackouts.
8 CO-OP PEOPLE
On target: His job’s safety focus and attention to detail translate perfectly to one co-op lineworker’s hobby.
10 WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE
Conservation corps: Appalachia Ohio Alliance members are used to getting their hands dirty for a cause.
13 GOOD EATS
Do yourself a flavor: Rubs and marinades add a powerful punch to everyday food.
17 LOCAL PAGES
News and other important information from your electric cooperative.
33 CALENDAR
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National/regional advertising inquiries, contact Cheryl Solomon
American MainStreet Publications 847-749-4875 | cheryl@amp.coop
Please report changes of address to your electric cooperative. Ohio Cooperative Living staff cannot process address changes.
Alliance for Audited Media Member
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photos and find content
What’s happening: July/August events and other things to do around Ohio.
Fair food: Members share shots of their favorite festival fare.
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In June of 2022, after fierce storms ripped through the region, areas in and around Columbus were hit with power outages. Residents flocked to cooling centers as temperatures soared into the 90s. Animal shelters begged for donations of ice to relieve overheated dogs, and two local hospitals ran on backup generators.
Six months later, during the bitter chill of Winter Storm Elliott, consumers in Kentucky and eight other states experienced interruptions to their electric service.
In both cases, many of the outages were not due directly to the extreme weather events, but were mandated by the regional grid operator to quickly reduce electricity consumption and maintain the necessary balance between supply and demand.
That emergency balancing act is known by many names, including “intermittent outage” or “forced outage,” but is most commonly called a “rolling blackout.” It can happen when a peak in electricity use — usually during extremely hot or extremely cold weather — coincides with significant gaps in the generation or transmission of electricity, says Ben Wilson, director of power delivery engineering for Buckeye Power, which supplies electricity to Ohio’s electric cooperatives.
“It’s always a possibility, but it takes a perfect storm of factors converging to get us to that point,” Wilson says.
“Rolling blackouts are a last resort when the normal lines of defense have failed.”
Rolling blackouts reduce demand on the stressed electrical grid to prevent wider outages. “We could be called upon to reduce, say, 5% of load or we all risk blackouts,” he says. “Co-ops have plans in place if this happens. We’re not going to cut power to hospitals or prisons. If it’s going to be sustained, we’ll cycle it, restoring power to some areas while cutting it somewhere else.”
The good news is that rolling blackouts happen rarely. The bad news is that a convergence of factors, including increased electrification and reduction in reliable power generation, is reducing the surplus of available electricity, closing the gap between supply and demand.
“The risk is higher now than it was five years ago, and it will continue to be elevated until more generation comes online,” Wilson says. “In the next three to five years, at least, we’ll be living with that elevated risk in summer and winter months.”
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, an industry organization charged with assessing and improving the reliability of electricity, has warned of an elevated risk of electricity shortfalls for about twothirds of the U.S. this summer during periods of low wind or drought along with extreme temperatures.
Outage: Any loss of power to an area is an outage. The vast majority of outages are unplanned and limited to a specific area. Most are caused by trees hitting power lines, small animals, or even vehicles crashing into utility poles. High winds and storms increase the likelihood of such outages. Occasionally, a local utility will plan an outage to do repairs or upgrades to its electric distribution infrastructure. Consumers generally receive prior notice for a planned outage.
Thankfully, the outlook for Ohio is a little less urgent, says Asim Haque, vice president for state policy and member services for PJM Interconnection, which is responsible for the part of the electric grid that includes Ohio. Because the region still has higher baseload capacity from coal and natural gas plants, the worstcase scenarios of demand outstripping supply are less likely here, at least for now.
“If you look at the NERC summer assessment, we’re not one of the more volatile areas that the report identifies,” Haque says. “But the states that border us are. We’re very concerned about whether we’ll continue to have adequate resources later in this decade.”
A strain on the supply of available electricity can come from inadequate power generation or from problems with transmission, says Tom Schmidt, principal planning engineer for Buckeye Power.
It was a culmination of transmission problems, in fact, that led to the events last June. “Some planned outages weren’t wrapped up in May, as they were supposed to have been,” Schmidt says. “Power lines were under construction or being upgraded, so that was the first line of defense down. The second was
Sometimes called a “forced outage” or an “intermittent power interruption,” a “rolling blackout” is a systematic outage implemented by electric utilities to reduce total electricity usage at times of exceptionally high demand when the supply of available electricity falls short, or the means to transmit it to areas where it’s needed are compromised. Generally, power to an area is shut off for a specified time, then restored as another area is shut off, to limit the outage duration for each area.
the storms that rolled through, taking additional lines down, and then extreme heat came in on top of that.”
Any one of those problems wouldn’t be nearly enough to necessitate rolling blackouts, Wilson says. “A 100year heat, a storm, or an outage issue alone wouldn’t do it,” he says. “It just all happened at the same time.”
In December 2022, the shortfall came in generation and affected a much wider area, Wilson says. The winter storm brought sudden extreme cold, and some natural gas plants experienced problems and didn’t come online quickly enough to meet the jump in demand.
“There was not enough power generated for the power consumed,” he says. “It was a different path to the same conclusion. Users were asked to curtail load across multiple states.”
In Kentucky, five electric co-ops were among the utilities asked to reduce energy use, says Joe Arnold, vice president for strategic communications for Kentucky Electric Cooperatives. “Utilities asked account holders to cut back on unnecessary power use, and some had to take the extraordinary step of creating short, temporary power outages,” he says. “The co-ops did everything they could to protect the grid and minimize disruption to their members.
Continued on page 6
Brownout: A lowering of voltage in the electric system is called a “brownout” because incandescent lightbulbs will dim with less voltage. Grid operators may purposely lower voltage to slightly reduce system loading (called “voltage regulation”) but are required to maintain an acceptable level because voltage that’s too low can damage equipment. At times, consumers may observe low voltage during periods of especially high demand, but those brownouts are not intentional, perhaps the result of equipment failure or insufficient voltage regulation.
Utilizing social media and news media, the affected co-ops kept members updated as much as possible during the event.”
Ohio’s co-ops are likewise prepared, and should the need for conservation or forced outages arise, they would communicate closely with their members, Wilson says.
The growing possibility of such shortfalls in generation is causing concern about electric reliability going forward, Haque says.
“We’re going to see demand increase on the system due to data centers and continued electrification, both in the auto industry and in homes,” he says. “Supply is dwindling, primarily because of state and federal policies that are prematurely pushing resources out of the generation mix.
“We are not seeing replacement generation come on at a rate to match the supply that is being forced out,” he says. “Thermal resources — coal, natural gas, and nuclear power — provide essential reliability services. If we’re pushing them off the system, we’ll have grid reliability issues. We need those thermal sources until replacement technology can be deployed at scale, whether that’s long-duration batteries for wind and solar, or small modular nuclear reactors.”
Simultaneous growth of demand and reduced supply means less redundancy, and a higher probability that demand will outstrip supply.
“We’re seeing loads increasing, but also generation going away more quickly than it can be replaced,” Wilson says. “We’re getting closer than we’d like to be with the amount of generation compared to the amount of load we might see during extreme weather.”
The primary driver, Haque says, is the rapid progression of environmental policy — from the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which promoted use of natural gas to replace coal, to current policies aiming to eliminate all thermal sources.
“This is being done devoid of the reliability impact,” Haque says. “We need to slow down on retirements across the country, so we can continue to bring renewable resources online.”
The forecast going forward is even worse, as proposed new rules by the Environmental Protection Agency could force nearly all fossil fuel plants to shut down in the next decade.
“The rolling blackouts and calls for emergency curtailments in December should serve as a wake-up call to politicians and regulators who apparently take electric service for granted,” says Kentucky’s Arnold. “When policies discourage the most reliable energy sources, local electric consumers are the ones who pay the price.”
Reducing total demand for electricity can relieve stress on the grid and reduce the likelihood of rolling blackouts. Cooperative members can help by:
• Conserving electricity, particularly during peak times of the day (generally in the morning, as people are getting ready for work and school, and in the evening, from about 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.). This can include doing high-energy tasks, like charging electric vehicles and doing laundry, during off-peak times.
• Being aware of weather events that will stress the grid. Adjusting thermostats a bit higher in the summer and lower in the winter and making extra conservation efforts during extreme weather can make a difference.
• Participating in their utility’s load management system, which can save money and help cooperatives manage electricity use during the very highest usage peaks. Load management devices on electric water heaters and HVAC systems allow the co-op to turn power to the appliance off and on during the peak alert period. This means that, for instance, everyone’s air conditioners (which cycle on and off to maintain thermostat temperatures anyway) aren’t cycled on at the same time, evening out the highest demand peaks and relieving some of the pressure on the grid.
Don’t be so demanding!
BY VICTORIA ELLWOOD
At first glance, shooting clay pigeons and working on electric power lines may not seem to have a lot in common. But Dave Salmons, who’s no stranger to either endeavor, sees some definite commonalities.
Salmons is a first-class lineworker with 35 years of line work under his belt, the longest-serving lineman currently working at Logan County Electric Cooperative in Bellefontaine. He says it’s the day-to-day challenges and camaraderie with his team that keep him going.
You might say those same work aspects — along with a paramount focus on safety and propensity for braving the elements — also apply to Salmons’ hobby of shooting sporting clays.
Salmons picked up the hobby about 17 years ago after visiting a local fish and game club, and quickly found it got his competitive juices flowing. Competitors walk through the woods, stopping at stations where they take aim at clay “birds” — targets mechanically thrown into the air.
Each competitor shoots 50 targets, keeping score and trying to improve over time.
“We have a group of six or seven guys that get together,” he says. “We don’t shoot in the big state tournaments or anything like that, but we have three gun clubs within 30 minutes of us, so we have a traveling rotation of those courses that allows us to shoot almost every weekend. We’re pretty competitive just among us; we have our own traveling trophy and everything.”
Like co-op line work, he says, “Safety is paramount. We’ve been shooting together for years, and if one of us steps out of the station and doesn’t (safely) open his gun, the rest of the guys are watching.”
It’s the same on the job, where all the lineworkers — seasoned veterans and younger ones alike — watch out for one another, he says. “The camaraderie we have with each other is important,” he says. “We may joke around, but we take things seriously, too.”
Salmons’ group heads out most weekends, in all sorts of weather. “We shoot if it’s raining or snowing,” he says. “We’ve even been out there when it’s 4 below zero. We can be pretty ‘die-hard.’”
Salmons and his wife, Marna, a retired fourth-grade teacher at Indian Lake Elementary in Lewistown, were high school sweethearts at Elgin High School in Marion. They have two grown sons: Colman, 34, a supervisor at Amazon in Columbus; and Mark, 31, a supervisor at Midwest Express in East Liberty.
When he’s not working on power lines or out shooting with his group, Salmons also enjoys a bit of woodworking, but lately, he’s found another pursuit that’s taking up more and more of his time.
“We have three grandkids, and another on the way this month,” Salmons says. “We’re learning that, as grandparents, you can’t ever get enough time with your grandkids, but they’re nearby, so we try to test that as much as we can.”
Dave Salmons says his job as a lineworker at Logan County Electric Cooperative is similar to his hobby because both require intense concentration on safety. Dave Salmons (opposite page, with the trophy that gets passed around among the friends in his shooting group) enjoys the camaraderie that’s an integral part of both his work and his hobby.Job’s safety focus, attention to detail translate perfectly to lineworker’s hobby.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY W.H. “CHIP” GROSS
Some natural resources conservation groups talk a good game. Others diligently and quietly go about their stated mission, making a decided difference in the out-of-doors year by year, decade after decade. Appalachia Ohio Alliance is definitely one of the latter.
“AOA is a private, nonprofit land conservancy organization, one of 1,700 in the United States,” says the alliance’s director, Steve Fleegal. “We cover most of central and southeast Ohio, with a focus on maintaining and improving water quality in four areas: the Scioto River, Big Darby Creek, the Hocking River, and Hocking Hills.”
It’s not the group’s only focus, of course; the group also works to preserve Native American sites, cultural heritage sites, historic farms, and geologic features across the region.
To get a feel for AOA, I tagged along on one of the organization’s many annual educational events open to the public. The field trip attracted some 30 people to Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, a few miles south of Urbana. It’s the oldest nature preserve in the Buckeye State purchased with state funds (in 1942), and is owned, operated, and managed by the Ohio History Connection.
During its 20 years of existence, Appalachia Ohio Alliance has totaled an impressive list of accomplishments. Among them:
15,000+ Number of acres conserved
164 Number of properties conserved
32 Number of conservation preserves
19 Number of Ohio counties involved
I had an added incentive for attending the leisurely guided hike along the mile-long boardwalk that spans the bog. I’d always wanted to photograph one of Ohio’s rarest and most spectacular spring wildflowers: the showy lady’s slipper orchid, which blooms in late May and early June. Cedar Bog did not disappoint.
Other annual AOA nature-based field trips — some 25 or so per year — include spring birding hikes, summer creek explorations, and fall Monarch butterfly tagging. One of their more popular mid-summer events is always the canoe and kayak float down a state scenic river, where participants make frequent stops along the route to seine fish and other aquatic critters, which are identified and released.
“The goal of our field trips is to get people out onto the land to enjoy our properties,” Fleegal says. “After all, we’re conserving these sites for public benefit. And kids are always welcome.”
The alliance also hosts two dozen or so yearly “stewardship events” — hands-on, get-grubby work details where volunteers improve AOA preserves. Volunteers work to eradicate invasive non-native plants such as Japanese honeysuckle, multi-flora rose, tree of heaven, autumn olive, and garlic mustard. They also conduct controlled burns to maintain prairie openings, plant native
Whether you’re looking for a fun, safe field trip for you and your family, or you’re ready to volunteer and get your hands dirty for conservation, Appalachia Ohio Alliance is a worthwhile organization with a proven track record spanning two decades. Their members make a difference for Ohio’s outdoor future. To get involved, go to www.appalachiaohioalliance.org.
tree seedlings, and reintroduce declining wildflower species such as yellow lady slipper orchids and forest medicinal plants to their former habitats.
One of AOA’s largest ongoing projects is the acquisition of Bison Hollow Preserve in the Hocking Hills region. Located south of Ash Cave at Hocking Hills State Park, Bison Hollow straddles the Hocking-Vinton county line and, according to Ken Mettler, an AOA board member, is an important component of AOA’s Greater Hocking Hills Conservation Initiative. “The total area protected is now over 660 acres.”
W.H. “Chip” Gross is Ohio Cooperative Living’s outdoors editor. Email him with your outdoors questions at whchipgross@gmail.com. Be sure to include “Ask Chip” in the subject of the email. Your question may be answered on www.ohiocoopliving.com!
www.ohiocoopliving.com
Rubs
Have you tried one of our recipes? Do you have a recipe to share with other Ohio co-op members? Visit the Member Interactive page on www.ohiocoopliving.com to find recipes submitted by our readers and to upload yours.
www.ohiocoopliving.com
While you’re there, check out a video of a few of our recipes being prepared.
Prep: 25 minutes | Chill: 1 to 24 hours | Cook: 10 minutes |
Servings: 4
1 pound extra-firm tofu
2⁄3 cup honey
1⁄2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small carrot, grated
1 small onion, diced
1 cup diced red and/or green pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
2 cups cooked rice
Press tofu between two clean towels with a weight on top for 20 minutes. (A cast-iron skillet works well.) In a large container with lid, mix together honey, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and grated carrot. Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes and toss to coat with marinade. Cover container and place in fridge for at least an hour and as long as 24 hours.
Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and lightly sauté onion and pepper over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer them into a bowl to cool. Spray skillet again, then toss in tofu, reserving the majority of the marinade for now. Let the tofu brown and caramelize a bit on each side, then pour in the marinade. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with water, then pour into marinade. Continually stir until sauce thickens. Mix in pepper and onions, cooking another minute. Serve over rice. Per serving: 496 calories, 9 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat), 0 milligrams cholesterol, 554 milligrams sodium, 95 grams total carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 14 grams protein.
and marinades add a powerful punch to everyday food.
Tandoori chicken is a well-known Indian dish usually cooked in a tandoor (a charcoal or wood-burning clay oven), but this recipe is made in a conventional oven. Even though all the spices would make a great dry rub, the lime and Greek yogurt make the chicken extra moist and tender.
Prep: 20 minutes | Cook: 45 minutes | Servings: 8
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 to 4 pounds chicken drumsticks and thighs (skinless, bone-in)
Raita Sauce (optional)
¾ cup yogurt or sour cream
¼ cup finely chopped cucumber
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon garam masala
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix ingredients to make raita, if using, and refrigerate. Mix all remaining ingredients except chicken in a large container with a lid. Pat chicken pieces dry, then deeply score with a paring knife for the chicken to absorb the marinade. Generously coat chicken in marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a baking tray with foil and place an oven-safe metal rack on top. Spray rack with cooking spray. Lay coated chicken pieces on rack, leaving some space in between them. Roast on middle rack 20 minutes, flip chicken, then roast another 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes until lightly charred. Serve hot, with raita and naan bread if desired.
Per serving: 380 calories, 24 grams fat (7 grams saturated fat), 180 milligrams cholesterol, 536 milligrams sodium, 4 grams total carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 41 grams protein.
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 12 minutes | Servings: 4
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound salmon fillets
This salmon can be baked, pan fried, or (as shown) grilled. In a small bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Rub salmon with olive oil, then rub in the spices. Let rest for 15 minutes. Heat grill to medium, then spray with cooking spray. Lay salmon on the grill flesh side down until charred opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip so skin side is down and cook another 6 to 8 minutes, to the preferred doneness. Serve with favorite vegetables and side dishes. Per serving: 196 calories, 11 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated fat), 50 milligrams cholesterol, 342 milligrams sodium, 3 grams total carbohydrates, 0 grams fiber, 22 grams protein.
Prep: 20 minutes | Marinate: 8 to 12 hours |
Cook: 15 minutes | Servings: 8
2-pound flank or skirt steak
20-ounce can sliced pineapple
1 large lime, juiced and zested
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, diced ¼ cup red onion, finely diced 5 ounces arugula
Drain juice from canned pineapple into a medium bowl, then whisk together with honey, lime juice, lime zest, ginger, garlic, and salt. Pour half the marinade over the steak in a ziplock bag and reserve the rest as a dressing for the salad later. Zip bag and shake to coat steak. Refrigerate steak, dressing, and pineapple slices overnight. Set grill to medium-high and spray with cooking spray. Remove steak from marinade and lightly shake off excess. Use metal tongs to place steak and pineapple slices flat on the grill. Close lid and grill pineapple slices for 3 minutes and steak for 5 to 9 minutes on each side. Check for an internal temperature of 135 F on the thickest part of the steak for medium-rare. Steak will continue to cook once removed, by about 5 degrees. Let rest before slicing against the grain. Prep salad by tossing tomatoes, avocado, onion, and arugula with the reserved dressing. Per serving: 346 calories, 17 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat), 67 milligrams cholesterol, 387 milligrams sodium, 18 grams total carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 32 grams protein.
How can a rechargeable hearing aid that ts inside your ear and costs only $14 999 be every bit as good as one that sells for $2,400 or more?
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PLUS... It fits inside your ear.
Two of the most common questions we get are:
1. Why do I have to pay a flat monthly Service Availability charge even when I’m not there using power?
2. Why is it $35 per month? (Soon to be $45 starting with our September rate increase.)
Regardless of how much electricity a particular family uses, the base cost of making service available to each house is roughly the same. That is why every member pays the Service Availability charge each month to cover basic operational and reliability and outage repair costs.
There are four basic components to our monthly residential bill:
• the kilowatt-hour (kWh) energy charge
• the Ohio kWh electricity tax
• the flat monthly Service Availability charge (which is what I’m writing about this month)
• the Power Cost Adjustment, which reflects part of the cost of power generation and high-voltage transmission
Your monthly investment ensures you have access to safe, reliable, and affordable power 24/7 when you need it.
The Service Availability charge pays for nonstop investing in your power reliability. We need to constantly invest in the maintenance and upgrade of our electric system, usually $3–4 million per year. We all need a reliable local energy grid, so we all share in the costs of maintaining and upgrading it.
$45 monthly
Continued on page 20
Right-of-Way
*Note: This graphic is not drawn to scale. It’s meant to be a visual demonstration of the things we need to buy or do just to make electric service available and reliable. If you use zero kWh, we still have to provide all of these items (and more not on this picture). And we still have to pay for each of these items every month, even if you use no electricity. That’s what we mean by “fixed costs.” The costs are paid by us, meaning we pay for this every month regardless of how much you use. Therefore, a fixed cost should be paid with a fixed charge (the Service Availability charge).
Upcoming rate change details, inflation, supply-chain disruptions, and severe weather events were topics of discussion at Midwest Electric’s 86th annual meeting, held at St. Marys Memorial High School on June 3. Over 600 members, family, and guests attended and enjoyed tethered hot air balloon rides, free breakfast, kids’ games, bounce houses, a health fair, and more.
Quinn Holtzapple from St. Marys (parents James and Janelle Holtzapple) was the winner of the $1,000 scholarship drawing, and numerous members won a total of $2,000 in cash prizes. Director election results were announced, with Randy Heinl (District 1: Auglaize and Shelby counties) and Larry Vandemark (District 2: Allen and Putnam counties) being reelected to serve another three-year term on the board. It only takes 15 signatures on a petition for an eligible member to run for the board.
CEO Matt Berry provided an update on the upcoming rate adjustment, which members will see reflected on their bill starting in August (see page 17 for details, or visit www.midwestrec.com). There will be a $10 increase in the Service Availability monthly charge and less than a half-cent increase per kilowatthour for the energy charge portion. Overall, the average residential member will see a 9% increase.
Pat O’Loughlin, president of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives, gave a warning that “providing a safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible supply of electricity is getting more and more challenging.”
“Nationwide, we are facing the disorderly retirement of baseload coal and nuclear power plants due to harmful energy policies that include unreasonable environmental regulations with high costs and minimal benefits, unrealistic time frames to achieve carbon emission reductions, and poorly designed market rules that under-compensate reliable baseload power plants while overcompensating intermittent renewable energy sources,” O’Loughlin said.
He pointed out that in 2009, Ohio’s 21 coal power plants had 22,000+ of megawatt capacity; in
2023, Ohio now has just four coal plants left, with less than 7,000 megawatts of capacity. Though many of those plants that closed had recently completed environmental upgrades, they were hit with another series of more challenging and expensive requirements. Some were replaced with modern natural gas plants or solar installations, but this “has greatly reduced our capacity to produce electricity — especially during periods of severe cold weather like we experienced at Christmas.”
“On December 23 through 25, the grid operator for our region, PJM Interconnection, used all emergency steps, stopping just short of ordering rolling blackouts to stabilize our regional power grid. Just to our south in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina, rolling blackouts were required to keep the system from collapsing. We’ve seen similar events in California, Texas, and even Columbus, Ohio, last summer. The integrity of our national and regional electric grid is at risk and will only get better if we make a change in course.”
650+ members attend 86th annual meeting to hear rate change details, electric grid concerns, and election results
Join America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC to voice your concerns.
Over the past few months, cooperative leaders engaged our elected leaders at the Statehouse level and in Washington, D.C., to discuss our concerns over power reliability and the impact it will have on our communities.
You rely on the power we provide, 24/ 7, 365 days a year. For the first time since neighbors came together to form Midwest Electric in 1936, the reliability of power is at risk.
Buckeye Power, our generation and transmission provider, generates enough power for all 400,000 members of Ohio’s electric cooperatives, but we depend on the larger grid to balance supply and demand for electricity. Your cooperative works hard every day to ensure the local delivery system is reliable through planned maintenance programs and responsive service to local power outages.
• Demand for electricity is higher than ever, especially during extreme cold and hot weather, and with the growing electrification of our transportation network.
• The supply of reliable electricity is down due to the rapid retirement of coal and nuclear plants. A Wall Street Journal column in May called the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling “a death sentence for fossil-fuel power plants.” In 2009, Ohio had 21 coal plants, and by the end of 2023, just four will remain in operation. Intermittent sources such as wind and solar power have come online but haven’t filled the gap, and they aren’t reliable 24/7, 365
• Overreaching and unreasonable environmental regulations result in unnecessarily high costs and provide only minimal environmental benefits. This is clear from the EPA’s ruling in May, which requires technologies that aren’t yet cost-effective or feasible (and may never be).
• Poorly designed electricity market rules undercompensate reliable baseload power plants that provide steady, controllable output, while over-compensating less reliable, intermittent sources.
• Unreasonable goals and time frames have been set to achieve greater reductions in carbon emissions from electricity providers, even though the U.S. electric sector
has cut CO2 emissions by 36% since 2005 while producing nearly 5% more electricity.
• Supply chain challenges have resulted in unreasonable lead times on obtaining new transformers and line trucks we use for local service.
North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, and PJM Interconnection are organizations charged with ensuring a reliable electric grid. PJM manages Ohio’s electric grid. Each organization has published reports of concerning trends causing increased reliability risks. They point out that rolling blackouts, like those experienced in Texas, California, and nine other states — and threatened in Ohio — in December 2022 are inevitable without a change in energy policy.
For 87 years, the mission of your cooperative has been to deliver reliable, safe, environmentally responsible electricity at stable and affordable rates, to the member-owners of the local communities we serve. Our commitment has never wavered but is being challenged.
There are two ways to help us carry the message to our state and local elected leaders that you support common sense-energy policy:
1. You can write to your elected leaders using the mail list on the next page and our letter template available on our website (www.midwestec.com/political-action).
2. Join America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC (formerly ACRE Co-op Owners for Political Action) to voice your support to lawmakers. Complete the form on the next page and mail it back with your bill.
Send a letter
OHIO HOUSE:
District 78 – Susan Manchester
Allen and Auglaize Counties
77 S. High St. Floor 13
Columbus, OH 43215
District 82 – Roy Klopfenstein Putnam and Van Wert counties
77 S. High St. Floor 11 Columbus, OH 43215
District 84 – Angela King
Parts of Auglaize, Darke, and Mercer counties
77 S. High St. Floor 11 Columbus, OH 43215
YES!
OHIO SENATE:
District 1 – Rob McColley
Putnam, Wan Wert, and Shelby counties
District 12 – Matt Hu man Allen, Mercer and Shelby counties and parts of Auglaize and Darke counties
Senate Building 1 Capitol Square 2nd Floor 222 Columbus, Ohio 43215
U.S. CONGRESS:
Ohio District 4 – Jim Jordan
Allen, Auglaize, Shelby (part), and Union counties
2056 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515
Ohio District 5 – Bob Latta Mercer, Putnam, and Van Wert counties
2467 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
U.S. SENATE: J.D. Vance
B40-C Dirksen Senate O ce Building
Washington, DC 20510
Sherrod Brown
503 Hart Senate O ce Building
Washington, DC 20510
Need a letter template? Scan this QR code with your phone or visit midwestrec.com/ political-action.
For just $2.08/month, you can defend your way of life through America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC. Tell lawmakers to keep your power affordable AND reliable!
I want to help keep the voice of rural electric cooperatives heard in the political process by participating in America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC.
Monthly Bill Addition
REGULAR: $2.08 PER MONTH ($25/YEAR)
CENTURY CLUB: $8.33 PER MONTH ($100/YEAR)
PRESIDENT'S CLUB: $41.66 PER MONTH ($500/YEAR)
OTHER $
I a rm that my contribution has been made with non-corporate funds.
NAME: CITY: STATE: ZIP:
EMAIL:
ADDRESS: COOPERATIVE:
SIGNATURE:
*Federal Election Law requires the following information for contributions exceeding $200:
Contributions to the America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions to the PAC are voluntary and will be used for political purposes. You have the right to refuse to contribute without reprisal. Federal law prohibits contributions from foreign nationals who lack permanent resident status. Any contribution guidelines presented are merely suggestions. You are free to contribute more or less than the suggested amounts, or not at all. NRECA will not favor or disadvantage anyone by reason of the amount contributed or a decision not to contribute.
Peak demand is when electric use is approaching a record high. Increased demand for electricity from individual electric co-ops and utilities, the state of Ohio as a whole, or even the 13-state PJM Interconnection (the electric transmission territory that serves Ohio) can result in a new peak record being set. Peak demand does not indicate a shortage of power, only an increased consumption of electricity.
During peak demand, Midwest Electric’s power supplier, Buckeye Power, Inc., runs its large baseload power plants at full capacity. If the need arises, Buckeye Power can also fire up its supplemental gas-fired peaking plants or purchase power from additional sources. Implementing these measures increases the cost of the electricity being produced. To offset these costs, Buckeye Power will assign Midwest Electric a new demand charge, which directly affects the wholesale power portion of members’ electric rates.
Members who participate in Midwest Electric's voluntary load management program help the cooperative lower the demand for electricity and reduce the risk of setting a new peak — saving money for both the co-op and its members. Rebates and incentives are also available to members who choose to participate in these programs.
During periods of high electricity demand, Buckeye Power may issue a peak alert. These alerts ONLY occur when extreme weather conditions and temperatures take place — on the hottest days during the summer and the coldest days in the winter — and typically happen about a dozen times per year. Load control occurs less than 1% of the hours in a year, yet helps us save more than $500,000 annually. During a peak alert, load management devices installed on electric water heaters and HVAC systems
in participating members’ homes may be activated, temporarily interrupting the power from the appliance.
Summer load management efforts typically take place on very hot and humid days between 2 and 6 p.m. Winter load management may occur on bitterly cold days between 6 and 10 a.m. and/or from 5 to 9 p.m. Depending upon weather conditions and power loads, the time and duration of load management efforts may be adjusted.
For details on how each type of load management device operates, as well as the incentives that program participants receive, check out the next page. If you have questions regarding your load management device, or wish to become enrolled in Midwest’s programs, please visit www.midwestrec.com/cool-returns or contact us at 800-962-3830.
Members with mobile numbers on file will automatically receive a text notification from Midwest Electric notifying them of a peak alert; we ask that you reduce your energy use during this time.
• A load management device, like the gray plastic box shown at the bottom of the left-hand page, is typically installed above the water heater, near the HVAC system, at the outside disconnect for the HVAC system, or mounted next to the service panel, or breaker box.
• A green light on the device is normal and indicates that electricity is flowing to the water heater or HVAC system.
• A red or amber light indicates that load management is taking place and that the water heater or HVAC system is not receiving any power.
• The device receives a radio signal about every 10 minutes, so if the circuit breaker is flipped off and on, or the entire home loses power, you will need to wait up to 15 minutes for the device to reset and the green light indicator to reappear.
• During a peak alert involving load management, the device shuts off power to a member’s water heater for the duration of the load management period, which can last a few hours. To conserve hot water during this time, avoid laundry, dish-washing, and bathing until the peak alert has ended.
• This includes electric furnaces, heat pumps, geothermal systems, electric baseboard heaters, and electric thermal storage (ETS) units.
• During a peak alert involving load management, the device shuts off power to a member’s heating system for the duration of the load management. However, there is a temperature override in place to prevent your home from getting too cold.
• This style of load management device is installed on central air-conditioning systems, heat pumps, and geothermal units.
• Devices on air-conditioning systems are only controlled 8 to 10 minutes during each 30-minute period. As a result, your system will cycle off and on during summer peak alerts, helping to maintain the comfort level of your home.
• Air-conditioning controls are only connected to the system’s low-voltage side of the compressor and will not affect the blower or fan on the air handler.
• Essentially, your air conditioner turns off and on like normal. It’s just timed to prevent too many systems from running at the same time.
• Members receive an initial $50 bill credit plus a $5 bill credit from June to September for having this device installed.
Allow
left: This gray box is a radio-controlled switch (RCS) load management device. Midwest Electric members who are voluntarily enrolled in the cooperative’s Cool Returns program have one of these devices installed near their service panel, HVAC system, central air conditioner, and/ or water heater. The box has a green light displayed during normal operation, indicating that electricity is flowing to your system. If a red or amber light is displayed (as shown in the enlarged circle), a peak alert has been issued. This indicates that load management is taking place and that your system is temporarily not receiving any electric power.
the cooperative to install this radio-controlled switch (also known as a Cool Returns switch) on your central AC unit, and we’ll credit your electric bill $50, plus you’ll receive a $5 bill credit during peak months (June – September). This is all at no cost to you! We will cover the charge for a local contractor to visit your home for the installation of the switch.
significant resources. This flat charge ensures that equipment operates properly and staff is trained and ready so the lights turn on when you need them.
There are two types of costs that we have to pay to run our business: fixed costs and variable costs. For our business, fixed costs are those that don’t fluctuate based on the amount of electricity we sell. Whether we sell 1 kWh or 1 million kWh, we have the fixed costs of building and maintaining everything from the substation to your meter. Those fixed costs include poles, wires, transformers, re-closers, voltage regulators, meters, property taxes, substations, depreciation expense, interest expense, vehicles, billing system, mapping and outage management system, pole testing, tree trimming, line maintenance, and more.
To have electric rates that are as fair as possible to all customer classes, our philosophy is that fixed costs should be paid for with a fixed charge.
This means that even if you use 0 kWh for a month, you will have a $ 35 bill. This has been our charge since August 2010 and is increasing $ 10 starting in September, to $ 45 per month.
If we lowered our Service Availability charge, the costs don’t magically disappear. Let’s say we lowered it to a grand total of just $5 per month, a $40 reduction from the new rates ($45 – $40 = $5). That $40 monthly cost didn’t go away; it still exists to us and still has to be paid. So we would have to move it to your variable kilowatt-hour (kWh) energy charge. This will be $0 1004 per kWh with the new rates. So instead of $0 1004, it might have to be something like $0 15 per kWh, for example. That means people who use more electricity would end up paying more than it costs the cooperative to make service available. People who use less electricity will end up being subsidized.
Low-income members usually cannot afford energy e ciency upgrades such as extra insulation, heat pumps, and high-e ciency appliances. Therefore, across the electric industry, lower-income consumers typically use more electricity; their homes are not e cient. If we made our monthly Service Availability charge lower than what it actually costs us to make service available, this could hurt low-income consumers. Higher users — including lowincome — would be paying more of our fixed costs in our variable kWh energy charge.
I hope this explanation makes sense. Please contact me with your questions or concerns by phone at 800-962-3830 or by email at mberry@midwestrec.com.
BY CRAIG SPRINGER
It’s the dog days of summer, when the air is close and sultry and the heat oppressive. The nasally drone of insects that go sight unseen comes at you, swarming, rising and falling, lapping like waves that come and go off a lake shore.
If summer sound had colors, they’d be matte — flat, like the noir filter on a smartphone camera, near featureless.
But that belies what nightfall brings. Sirius, the dog star, rises into view near the sun this time of year — a harbinger of the sweltering warmth sure to follow for several weeks. This also marks another illuminating event: the rise of fireflies.
More than 2,400 species of fireflies exist around the globe, including about two dozen that make a home in Ohio. Fireflies, or lightning bugs as some people call them, are not flies at all, but beetles characterized by heavily armored shells over wings.
When they take to the wing, they move about as though they carry a heavy load; speed through the air is not a defense mechanism. Heck, they advertise their whereabouts, from just above the grass to chesthigh to weaving through the treetops, for any wouldbe predator to swoop in and make them a snack.
The height where they fly may very well distinguish one species from another to the discerning eye. No matter the species’ name, they all have similar missions when their hindmost is lit: to find a mate and thereby create more fireflies. (The exception is the femme fatale in the Photuris genus of fireflies, among which the females use light for another purpose: to attract males of another genus and make a meal of the amorous suitors. Nature is fascinating — and brutal.)
Typically, it’s the male firefly that blinks to females that rest on the ground or among the boles of trees or in shrubbery. Some populations of fireflies turn the affair into a disco — synchronously flashing en masse,
followed by a pause, then a random and chaotic display, a pregnant pause, then they start it all over again. How they communicate the timing is a curious matter, and it is a wondrous event to witness.
Fireflies are ordered by entomologists into the family Lampyridae , which makes sense if you think about it. The bioluminescent blinking bottom — the lamp — is the most distinguishing characteristic among a litany of beetles. The blink is made up entirely of chemical reactions wired in the nervous systems, and it gives off no heat. You might say it is energy efficient, yet it is a primitive technology eons old.
All of the fireflies around the world live in warm, humid climates. So while the sweltering heat of a Buckeye July may cause you to retreat to the AC, it’s what fireflies live for — literally — during the critical reproduction arc of their life cycle.
Fireflies spend most of their two-year life span on or in the ground as a grub, a wormlike creature living in
the forest leaf litter or in the fields plowing soil just below the surface. That’s where they turn soil or move through decaying leaves in search of food. These larval lamps eat worms, other grubs, snails, and bugs. Farmers appreciate firefly larvae because they keep down slugs and snails that otherwise sup on soybean seedlings fresh out of the ground.
With the coming rise of Sirius and the heat of summer’s swelter, they undergo one of the most remarkable wonders of nature: the metamorphosis that turns them into winged beetles. Adult fireflies live only about two months after they have reproduced.
The lumbering flight of fireflies makes them easy to catch — and to marvel over as they blink in your cupped hands. Their transformation from grub to blinking beetle evokes a sense of wonder in children from age 8 to 80 as the beetles put on their fireworks display, which will continue during evenings well past Independence Day.
Farming allows stay-at-home mom to ‘live the best of both worlds.’
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY VICTORIA ELLWOOD
With her quick smile and no-nonsense air, Brandi Anderson is warm and approachable, with two friendly St. Bernard dogs wagging their tails by her side. Beneath that cheerful exterior, she blends fierce determination, a readiness to develop new skills, and a love of demanding outdoor work to achieve what she wants for her family.
She’s also determined to help others know exactly where their food comes from.
Brandi owns Women That Farm (also known by its acronym, WTF), a farm that raises cattle, hogs, chickens, and turkeys to be butchered and sold locally.
“If someone asks me what I do, the short answer is that I farm,” she says. “But if you dig a little deeper, this is my way to be both a stay-at-farm mom and provide an income for my family. I like to say I live the best of both worlds.”
Her world includes her husband, Nick, three little girls (ages 6, 7, and 9), and, at any one time, more than 100 head of black Angus cattle, 48 turkeys, and 350 chickens, all on their 13-acre farm near Mechanicsburg. Hogs are kept at her sister-in-law’s farm down the road. They also have two bulls (with rings in their noses), three dogs, a horse, and a cute little pony just for fun. They also have land that serves as a storage facility for their semi-truck, farm equipment, and hay near Urbana, where they are members of Pioneer Electric Cooperative.
“We raise everything here. I have a herd of cattle, and I buy weaned calves each year in the fall, along with bottlebaby calves from a local dairy to make sure I have enough cattle year-round for meat,” she says. “I also do all of our marketing, I haul live animals in a livestock trailer, and do all of the scheduling with local butchers.”
She delivers meat and eggs twice a month directly to customers at three locations in the Hilliard-DublinColumbus area, and she enjoys interacting personally with them. She also sets up regularly at the Westgate Farmers Market in the Columbus Hilltop area.
“I want to be the face of what you feed to your family; that’s important to me because I have kids. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know where their food comes from,” she says. “As a producer, my goal is to have the highest-quality product available.”
People place orders online, choosing from a variety of cuts and processed packages. Customers have a window of time to pick up their orders at certain stops. Brandi figures she fills about 40 orders every other week, which is about one or two cows a month.
She’s quick to admit the cattle are by far her favorite animals on the farm (they’re docile and take a long time to raise) but the chickens, not so much (smelly). Her typical day involves getting the girls on the school bus at 7 a.m., then making rounds with the animals. “I walk through the birds first; they’re the easiest. Then I check on all the cows, the mommas ready to have calves, and the cows in the pasture. Once I make sure everyone’s OK, I mix up their feed, and tackle the rest of the day.”
Brandi and Nick were high school besties who reconnected after college and married on a whim in Las Vegas after a skydiving adventure where he placed a “Will you marry me?” sign at the landing site. The two dove into farming in 2012 , building on his experience working on a dairy farm and her work at an agriculture cooperative. Along the way, they raised dairy heifers and bottle-babies, and she learned to drive a semi-truck. Today, the couple, her brother, and her brother’s wife also own a manure-handling and forage-chopping business, and the guys plow snow in Columbus in winter.
Between them, the two couples have six young daughters. “It’s important for us to show the kids that hard work never hurt anyone,” Brandi says. “Nick and I are both very hard-headed, very determined, and that’s why it works. We both came from rather poor backgrounds, and our whole goal in life is to make something out of it that we want,” she adds. “He’s self-employed and I’m self-employed. I want to show that the American dream is still attainable. You just have to work for it.”
To order meat from Women That Farm, visit www.wtfmeatsohio.com. Brandi makes deliveries twice a month to three pickup locations in the Columbus area, and customers may also arrange to pick up orders right at the farm in Mechanicsburg.
Camp Perry, on the Ohio shores of western Lake Erie a few miles west of Port Clinton, boasts the secondlargest outdoor rifle range in the country. The facility has hosted the National Rifle and Pistol Matches — drawing competitors from around the world to the “world series of shooting sports” — for more than a century.
But few people today realize that for several years during the mid-1940s Camp Perry served a different purpose: It
was a major prisoner-of-war camp, housing some 6,000 German and Italian prisoners in America’s heartland. Today, three-quarters of a century after the last POW marched out of Camp Perry, there is still much tangible evidence of that era remaining, thanks to ongoing historic preservation efforts. For instance, the brick buildings known as “Commercial Row” that house firearms vendor
Continued on page 28
Most prisoners of war who were detained at Camp Perry in the early 1940s were put to work, including this group of Italian POWs who prepared meals in the camp kitchen.
displays during the National Matches once served as mess halls for the POWs during World War II.
The United States maintained nearly 700 camps, in all but three states, during the war — established to help alleviate the overcrowding of POWs housed in Great Britain. Had just Italian (50,273) and Japanese (3,915) POWs been sent to the U.S., existing American camps could have handled those numbers. But late in the war, as Allied troops began to take control, an additional 371,683 German prisoners began debarking from troop ships onto America’s shores, and the POW prison system was quickly overwhelmed. U.S. military leaders scrambled to find suitable camp locations and construct facilities, and also to train guards, interpreters, and other support personnel; it was a monumental task.
Camp Perry was designated as a main POW base camp in September of 1943; smaller branch camps were located in or near Columbus, Bowling Green, Defiance, Marion, and Wilmington, as well as in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Italian soldiers captured on European battlefields began arriving at Camp Perry right away, followed by German soldiers in 1944. The prisoners were housed in small, wood-framed, tar-paper-covered 16-by-16-foot buildings, groupings of which were called hutments. Each building was a single
story constructed on a concrete slab, double-walled with double-pane windows, heated by a wood-burning stove. Five prisoners were assigned per building. Eleven guard towers and nine-strand barbed-wire fence 9 feet high enclosed the entire encampment.
Prisoners were required to work while at the camp. (Officers were exempt, but many chose to work to alleviate the boredom of prison life.) Prisoners performed the daily routine maintenance of the many buildings, cooked, cleaned, and did other chores as needed. As a result, they earned a small number of coupons per day that they could then redeem at the prison camp PX, or Post Exchange.
According to numerous accounts, German prisoners did not think much of the American 3 2% alcohol beer they could purchase at the camp PX for 10 cents per bottle — it was just too bland and mild for their tastes. However, they did like the Coca-Cola that sold for 4 cents, and they bought many a pack of Spuds cigarettes, which cost 14 cents.
POWs were also often pressed into service outside the camp, which was not always popular with local civilians.
POWs even worked at two Ohio hospitals, Crile General in Parma and Fletcher General in Cambridge. Others served as farmhands in northwest Ohio or worked in
factories alongside American civilian women whose husbands and sons were fighting overseas. The Americans also watched as the prisoners were provided three square meals a day — often eating food that citizens couldn’t readily obtain because meats and canned goods were subject to strict rationing.
Some local civilians took the food disparity issue, and the fact that they had a POW camp in their backyard, philosophically, and even went out of their way to interact with the prisoners, while others refused to have anything to do with them. One Ohio resident, who chose to get to know some of the men “behind the wire” at Camp Perry, commented, “You could tell the Germans from the Italians because the Italians were laid-back and so friendly, while the Germans were stoic, stern, and did not talk much, although they worked hard.”
After May 8, 1945, V-E Day, which marked the end of World War II in Europe, American POW camps began to empty almost immediately as prisoners were sent home to their native countries.
Interestingly, a number of German and Italian prisoners eventually returned to America to live permanently and even become citizens. Impressed by how relatively well they were treated as POWs, they wanted to experience the opportunities and freedoms they had seen while in America that their home countries did not offer.
During the time Camp Perry housed prisoners of war during the Second World War, some POWs worked off-site — employed at area businesses, or planting and harvesting crops at local farms. Of course, they were overseen by armed camp guards. Well, at least most of the time.
Kenny Libben (above), curator of the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum in Loudonville, relates a story handed down from his grandfather:
“My family owns a farm adjacent to Camp Perry, and during WWII, our farm included a large commercial orchard.
“My grandfather, who was a young boy at the time, told me stories about the POWs: how they would be marched from the camp to the farm to help pick fruit during harvest and surprisingly just left there. The guards would drop them off in the morning and then go back to the camp for the day, leaving my grandpa and great-grandpa to keep an eye on them. He said the POWs always behaved well, so escape wasn’t much of a concern, but one day the guards forgot to come back to get them.
“My family ended up feeding all the men supper, and eventually my grandfather had to go to the camp to remind the guards that there were a few dozen Nazis sitting in our front yard and would someone please come get them.”
Many of the buildings that housed prisoners at Camp Perry still stand today.Bowling Green United Home Comfort (419) 352-7092
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and a car and motorcycle show. 419-673-4131 or www. facebook.com/KentonHistoricCourthouseDistrict.
JUL. 15 – Malinta Days Festival, Henry County, Monroe Twp. Fire Station, 8931 Co. Rd. K-2, Malinta, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Classic car show, chicken BBQ, axe throwing, entertainment, inflatables, live auction, flea market, wagon and train rides, and more. 419-966-9909 or www.facebook.com/Malintafest.
AUG. 3–6 – Northwest Ohio Antique Machinery Association Show, Hancock Co. Fgds., 1017 E. Sandusky St., Findlay. Featuring John Deere tractors and engines, along with arts and crafts, consignment sales, flea market, truck and tractor pulls, tractor square dance, and other fun activities. www.facebook. com/NorthwestOhioAntiqueMachineryAssociation.
THROUGH JUL. 21 – “All Together Now”: Summer Library Program, Shelby County Libraries, in Anna, Botkins, Ft. Loramie, Jackson Center, Russia, and Sidney. Themed programs, special guests, crafts, snacks, and more, plus prizes. Sign up at any of our six locations. www.shelbycountylibraries.org.
THROUGH AUG. 4 – Limaland Motorsports Park Races, 1500 Dutch Hollow Rd., Lima, 7:30–10:30 p.m. Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Thunderstocks, and more! Pit gates open at 4:30 p.m., grandstand gates at 5 p.m., warmup laps begin at 6:30 p.m. See website for updated information. www.limaland.com.
THROUGH SEP. 10 – NWORRP Museum Summer Hours, Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation Inc., 12505 Co. Rd. 99, Findlay, Sat./Sun. 1–4 p.m. $3; 12 and under, $2. Museum tours, quarter-scale train rides, model train displays, games, play area, and more. 419423-2995, www.nworrp.org, or www.facebook.com/nworrp.
THROUGH OCT. 14 – The Great Sidney Farmers Market, Shelby County Court Square, 100 E. Court St., Sidney, Sat. 8 a.m.–noon. Fresh produce, baked goods, jams and jellies, crafts, plants, and flowers. 937-658-6945 or www.sidneyalive.org.
JUL. 15 – Eats on the Street, downtown Kenton. 5–10 p.m. Food trucks, live music featuring multiple bands, craft and draft beer, local wine, kids’ fun zone,
JUL. 20 – “Croce Plays Croce,” Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center, #7 Town Square, Lima, 7:30 p.m. A.J. Croce presents a special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by his late father, folk and rock singer-songwriter Jim Croce; some of his own tunes; and songs that influenced both him and his father. 419-224-1552 or www.limaciviccenter.com.
JUL. 22 – Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, Ottawa Metro Park, 2632 Ada Rd., Lima, 7–8 p.m. Free. 419-221-1232, 419-223-1025, or www.jampd.com/ parks-facilities/ottawa-metro-park.
JUL. 29 – Family Fun Day: “Mid-Summer Celebration,” Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation Inc., 12505 Co. Rd. 99, Findlay, 1–4 p.m. $5. Enjoy games, quarter-scale train rides, bounce house, and other fun activities. 419-423-2995, www.nworrp.org, or www.facebook.com/nworrp.
JUL. 30 – Westminster Music in the Park, 6825 Faulkner Rd., Westminster, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Free. Annual Christian music festival, with free food/beverages and a car show. Bring your lawn chairs. www. musicinthepark.info.
AUG. 2 – Down on the Farm Story Time, Proving Ground Farm, 5670 E. Twp. Rd. 138, Tiffin, 10 a.m. Stories and activities are geared for preschoolage children and focus on farming and nature in a picturesque outdoor setting. Families welcome! 419447-7073, www.conservesenecacounty.com, or follow Seneca Conservation District on Facebook.
AUG. 3 – Concert: All-4-One and Naturally 7, Greater Lima Region Park and Amphitheatre, Pangle Pavilion, 128 E. Spring St., Lima, 7:30 p.m. $25–$55. www. limaciviccenter.com/panglepavilion.
AUG. 4 – Concert: Al Jardine, Greater Lima Region Park and Amphitheatre, Pangle Pavilion, 128 E. Spring St., Lima, 7:30 p.m. $25–$55. Enjoy an evening of music by one of the founding members of the Beach Boys. www.limaciviccenter.com/panglepavilion.
AUG. 5 – Annual Car Show: “Car Tunes on Main,” downtown Findlay, 1–4 p.m. Free. Registration noon–1 p.m. ($15 fee). All vehicles welcome! Awards, raffles, 50/50 drawing, vendors, and food. All proceeds benefit Open Arms Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services. lawebb@dalawinc.com or www.flagcitycorvettes.com/car-tunes-2023
AUG. 5 – Defiance County Hot Air Balloon Festival, 20399 Airport Rd., Defiance. $10 per car. Tethered hot air balloon rides, marketplace, food trucks, inflatables and kids’ rides, live music, and more. 419-782-3510 or www.defianceballoonfest.com.
AUG. 10–12 – Lincoln Highway “Buy-Way” Yard Sale, locations along and near U.S. 30 across the state, including Crawford, Wyandot, Hardin, Hancock, Allen, and Van Wert counties. www.historicbyway.com.
AUG. 10–13 – St. Marys SummerFest Bicentennial Celebration, Skip Baughman Complex on East South Street, St. Marys. See website for schedule. Free. Entertainment, games, National Guard obstacle course, food and beer, rides, beard contest, parade Sat. 4:30 p.m., fireworks Sat. night. 419-300-4611, info@ stmarysohio.org, or www.stmaryssummerfest.com.
AUG. 13 – Sunday Sunset Jazz and Art Fest, Towpath Trail, downtown Grand Rapids, 2 p.m. to dusk. Free. Music, food, art, adult beverages. Bring lawn chairs; NO coolers. Rain date: Aug. 20 www.grandrapidsartscouncil.org.
JUL. 28–30 – Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival, Water Street, Wheeling, Fri./Sat. 11 a.m.–midnight, Sun. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Celebrating our Italian heritage with live music, entertainment, and, of course, great food! /www.italyfest.org.
distilleries, a ghost trek, a whiskey museum tour, and an overnight stay at Hampton Inn in Bardstown. 419-8536016 or www.ormaco.org/upcoming_events.
JUL. 15–16 – Revolution on the Tuscarawas, Fort Laurens, 11067 Fort Laurens Rd. NW, Bolivar, Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $10; 12 and under free. Revolutionary War battle reenactment with the Brigade of the American Revolution. Demos in 18th-century cooking, artillery, music, and medicine. 330-874-2059 or www.fortlaurensmuseum.org.
online entry fee. Proceeds benefit the Love Center Food Pantry. https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Millersburg/ MillersburgFoodRun.
JUL. 31–AUG. 6 – Columbiana County Fair, 225 Lee Ave., Libson. 330-424-5531 or www. columbianacountyfair.org.
JUL. 31–AUG. 6 – Medina County Fair, 720 W. Smith Rd., Medina. 330-723-9633 or www.medinaohiofair.com.
THROUGH JUL. 29 – “Susan Cook’s Award-Winning Quilts,” McCook House Museum, Carrollton, Fri./Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $3. Susan has completed more than 200 quilts and has given away machine-made quilts to veterans, cancer patients, and many others. This exhibit features hand-sewn projects only. 330-437-9715 or kathorn4120@gmail.com.
THROUGH AUG. 3 – Fort Steuben Summer Concert Series, Fort Steuben Park, 120 S. 3rd St., Steubenville, Thur. 7–9 p.m. Free. Bring a blanket and picnic basket and enjoy a variety of live musical performances. 740283-1787 or www.oldfortsteuben.com.
THROUGH OCTOBER – Quilt Exhibit: “History in Pieces,” Bimeler Museum, Historic Zoar Village. Featuring fine quilts from the National Quilt Museum in Kentucky (including one from an Ohio quilter) and Zoar-made quilts from the 19th century. See website for museum schedule. 800-262-6195 or www. historiczoarvillage.com.
JUL. 1–3 – Village of Spencer Bicentennial Celebration, Firestone Park, Spencer. Ice cream social, kids’ games, vintage baseball game, concert, dinners, movies, and more. Hours vary. 330-441-1546
JUL. 14–15 – Kentucky Bourbon Trail Bus Trip, departing from Buehler’s River Styx in Medina, Fri. 6 a.m., and returning Sat. 6:30 p.m. $320–$330. Trip to Bardstown, KY, includes tours and tastings at two
JUL. 21 – Joe Leaman and Friends: “An Evening of Steel Drum,” John Streeter Garden Amphitheater, 2122 Williams Rd., Wooster, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and picnics to enjoy this free concert. Rain location: Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave. Reservations recommended by registering online at www.ormaco.org or calling 419-853-6016
JUL. 21–22 – “Wine on Rails,” Lorain & West Virginia Railway, 46485 St. Rte. 18, Wellington, Fri. 7 p.m., Sat 6 p.m. Must be 21 or over. $38 50 ticket includes wine; $25 for designated driver ticket. Ride lasts about 11⁄2 hours. Enjoy tasting a variety of wines from Matus Winery. 440-647-6660 or www.lwvry.org.
JUL. 29–30 – Holy Fair and Festival, Brighton Congregational Church, 22086 St. Rte. 511, Wellington. Free. Sat. 12–10 p.m., petting zoo, craft show, bounce houses, games, food trucks, live music, and Christian speakers. Sun. 9 a.m., food truck starts serving breakfast; outdoor worship service at 11 a.m. For more information, contact John Burgess at 419-651-9622
JUL. 29-30 – Zoar Antiques Show and Artisan Tent, 198 Main St., Zoar, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $12; 12 and under free. More than 60 dealers of high-quality country antiques. Includes juried artisan showcase, contemporary crafts, historical demonstrations, and museum tours. 800-262-6195 or www. historiczoarvillage.com.
JUL. 30 – Millersburg Food Run 5K/10K and 1-Mile, Hipp Station, 62 Grant St., Millersburg, 8 a.m. $8-$40
AUG. 4 – First Fridays on Fourth, 155 N. 4th St., Steubenville, 6–10 p.m. Free. Art, crafts, games, food trucks, live entertainment, and activities to stimulate the imagination. www.theharmoniumproject.org/ first-Fridays.
AUG. 4–6 – Twins Day Festival, Glenn Chamberlin Park, 10260 Ravenna Rd., Twinsburg. The world’s largest annual gathering of twins features contests, games, parade, talent show, and other entertainment. 330-425-3652 or www.twinsdays.org.
AUG. 5 – “Jazz Under the Stars”: Nick Puin Band, Uptown Park, Medina, 7–9 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and picnics to enjoy this free concert. Rain location: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 317 E. Liberty St. Reservations recommended by registering online at www.ormaco.org or calling 419-853-6016.
AUG. 10–12 – Lincoln Highway “Buy-Way” Yard Sales, locations along and near historic U.S. 30 across the state, including through Columbiana, Stark, Wayne, Ashland, and Richland counties. www.historicbyway.com.
AUG. 12 – Last Stop Willoughby Festival, downtown Willoughby. Free. Enjoy shopping at the outdoor market, kids’ activities in Point Park, the annual Chalkfest, and the annual parade. Continuous screenings of the Twilight Zone episode titled “A Stop at Willoughby” will play 10 a.m.–4 p.m. www.heartofwilloughby.com.
AUG. 13 – Cliff Habian Trio, Wadsworth Public Library, 132 Broad St., Wadsworth, 2–3 p.m. Free. Delight in American Songbook classics. Reservations recommended by registering online at www.ormaco.org or calling 419-853-6016
9 a.m.–noon; Apr. 20–Nov. 23, Wed./Sat. 9 a.m.–noon. Voted Ohio’s #1 favorite farmers market! 740-593-6763 or www.athensfarmersmarket.org.
THROUGH DECEMBER – Athens Art Market, Athens Community Center, 701 E. State St., Athens, Sat. 9 a.m.–noon. Members of Athens Art Guild offer handmade and juried arts including pottery, live edge furniture, fiber arts, paintings, glassware, jewelry, wood, and much more. For more information, email athensartguildevents@gmail.com.
JUL. 29–30 – Frankfort Sunflower Festival, downtown Frankfort, Sat. 10 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Free. Concessions, car show, antique tractors, games, live music, parade, and, of course, a sunflower contest! www.sunflowerfestival.net.
AUG. 5 – Lewisville Community Carnival and Car Show, 33261 Back St., Lewisville. Enjoy games, vendors, country store, live music, bounce house, and other fun events. Best chicken dinners around 4 p.m., with parade to follow at 6 p.m. Car show registration starts at 9 a.m.; awards at 3 p.m. 740-228-1327 or follow Lewisville Community Center on Facebook.
AUG. 5–12 – Ross County Fair, Ross Co. Fgds., 344 Fairgrounds Rd., Chillicothe. 740-775-5083 or http://www.rosscountyfair.com.
THROUGH SEP. 3 – Tecumseh! Outdoor Drama, Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre, 5968 Marietta Rd., Chillicothe, Mon.–Sat. 8 p.m. $30–$50. The epic life story of the legendary Shawnee leader as he struggles to defend his sacred homelands in the Ohio country. www.tecumsehdrama.com.
THROUGH DECEMBER – Athens Farmers Market, Athens Community Center, 701 E. State St., Athens, Sat.
AUG. 3–5 – Roy Rogers Festival, Anerican Legion Post 23, 705 Court St., Portsmouth. Meet Roy Rogers’ family and celebrity guests, and enjoy music, food, and entertainment. https://royrogersfestival.com.
AUG. 4–5 – Deerassic Classic Giveaway, Deerassic Park Education Ctr., 14250 Cadiz Rd./U.S. 22, Cambridge. Outdoor exhibitors, stage shows, raffles, prizes, food, and entertainment. Purchase tickets at 740-435-9500 or https://deerassic.com.
AUG. 11–13 – Salt Fork Arts and Crafts Festival, Cambridge City Park, Cambridge, Fri. 12–7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Free. Award-winning artists and craftsmen, live music, Appalachian heritage art demonstrations, Ohio-made products, concession food, and much more. 740-630-8935 or www. saltforkfestival.org.
AUG. 10–13 – Rivers, Trails, and Ales Fest, Muskingum Park, 300 block of Front St., Marietta. A full weekend of paddling, road and mountain biking, hiking, trail running, and enjoying regional craft beers in Ohio’s #1 destination for outdoor adventure: Marietta! www.facebook.com/RTAfest.
of steam engines, antique tractors, and gas engines, featuring International Harvester. Fun for the whole family. 614-270-0007, mvstashow@gmail.com, or www. miamivalleysteamshow.org.
JUL. 13, AUG. 10 – Inventors Network Meeting, The Point at Otterbein University, 60 Collegeview Rd., Westerville 43081, 7 p.m. Educational presentations and discussion about the invention process. Zoom meetings
Jul. 20 and Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. 614-470-0144 or www. inventorscolumbus.com.
activities, fan-cooled dining areas, and a beer and wine garden. 614-270-5053 or www.bluesandribfest.com.
AUG. 4–5 – Y-Bridge Arts Festival, Zane’s Landing Park, Zanesville, Fri. 2 p.m. till dark, Sat. 11 a.m. till dark. Free. Unique art vendors, live music, food trucks, beer garden, and children’s activities. http:// ybridgeartsfestival.com.
AUG. 4–6 – Dublin Irish Festival, Coffman Park, 5600 Post Rd., Dublin. $20–$30, 12 and under free. www. dublinirishfestival.org.
THROUGH JUL. 16 – CAPA Summer Movie Series, Ohio Theatre, 55 E. State St., Columbus, Wed.–Sun. 7:30 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. $5–$6. America’s longest-running classic film series. 614-469-0939 or www.capa.com.
THROUGH SEP. 30 – Sunbury Farmers Market, Sunbury Town Square, 9 E. Granville St., Sunbury, Sat. 9 a.m.–noon. Offering local handmade, homemade, and homegrown products. 740-513-9192 or sunburyohiofarmersmarket@gmail.com.
THROUGH OCT. 28 – Coshocton County Farmers Market, 22375 Co. Rd. 1A, Coshocton, Sat. 8:30 a.m.–noon. Local fresh produce, baked goods, and artisan crafts at our new location by the Walhonding River. market.manager@coshfarmmarket.org or www. facebook.com/coshoctonfarmersmarket.
THROUGH OCT. 28 – Spring Farmers Market, Adornetto’s, 2224 Maple Ave., Zanesville, Sat. 9 a.m.–noon. Locally grown produce, homemade food, locally raised/processed meat, farm eggs, Ohio cheese, and more. www.zanesvillefarmersmarket.org.
THROUGH OCT. 29 – Rock Mill Days, Stebelton Park at Rock Mill, 1429 Rockmill Place NW, Lancaster, Wed./ Sat. 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Sun. 1–4 p.m. Free. Tour the restored 1824 gristmill and enjoy the view of Hocking River Falls. 740-243-4436 or www.fairfieldcountyparks.org.
JUL. 13–16 – Miami Valley Steam Threshers Association Annual Show and Reunion, Pastime Park, Plain City. $5, 12 and under free. Displays and demos
JUL. 14–16 – Lilyfest, Bishop Educational Gardens, 13200 Little Cola Rd., Rockbridge, Fri. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Free. Arts and crafts, food, music, educational programs and hikes, and 3 acres of beautiful gardens to explore. 740-9692873 or www.lilyfest.com.
JUL. 16 – Buckeye Comic Con, Courtyard Marriott Columbus West, 2350 Westbelt Dr., Columbus, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $5; 6 and under free. Comic and toy vendors, guest comic creators, hourly prizes. 330-4623985 or www.harpercomics.com.
JUL. 18, AUG. 1 – Farmers Market, Roseville Branch Library, 41 N. Main St., Roseville, 4–6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Roseville Branch Library Friends Group. Book sale planned for Jul. 25 740-697-0237 or juanita@muskingumlibrary.org.
JUL. 26–AUG. 6 – Ohio State Fair, Ohio State Fgds., 717 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, Mon.–Fri. 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Sat./Sun. 9 a.m.–9 p.m. $10–$12; 5 and under free. 888-646-3976 or www.ohiostatefair.com.
JUL. 27–29 – Goodtime Quilters Guild’s Annual Quilt Show, Ohio Christian University Maxwell Center, 1476 Lancaster Pike, Circleville, Thur./Fri. 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. $6 daily, 3-day admission $10 (cash only). 150+ quilt displays, raffle quilt, vendors, door prizes, silent auction, knife and scissor sharpening, and more. www.goodtimequilters.org.
JUL. 28–29 – Canal Winchester’s Blues and Ribfest, historic downtown Canal Winchester. Free. Ohio’s only blues and ribs festival features live blues music, worldclass ribs, a variety of quality non-rib food options, kids’
Collinsville Community Center, 5113 Huston Rd., Collinsville, 7–9 p.m. Free. Lively bluegrass music. Home-style food available on-site. 937-417-8488
JUL. 22–23 – CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show, Dayton International Airport, 3700 McCauley Dr., Vandalia, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. $25–$35 plus fee. U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and full lineup of performers and aircraft displays. www.daytonairshow.com.
AUG. 5 – Dresden Melon Festival, Dresden. $1–$2 Games, kids’ activities, food, craft show, live music, and fun competitions, including the Melon Derby. See website for schedule of events. 740-607-7804, 740252-2651, or www.dresdenmelonfestival.com.
AUG. 10–12 – All Ohio Balloon Fest, Union Co. Airport, 15000 Weaver Rd., Marysville. Cash only! Hot air balloons, aerial entertainment and rides, kids’ area, food, and live music, including the Beach Boys and the Wallflowers. Bring your own lawn chairs. 937-243-5833 or www.allohioballoonfest.com.
AUG. 11 – Concert: McGuffey Lane, Public Square, downtown Mount Vernon, 8:30 p.m. www.mvac.org.
AUG. 11 – Pickerington Wizard Faire, Victory Park, 75 Lockville Rd., Pickerington, 4–8:30 p.m. Part of Wands & Wizards Weekend, this free community festival will feature games, food, music, and more. Costumes are welcome at this “magical” event. www. pickeringtonvillage.com.
AUG. 12 – Books in the Barn, 5530 Radnor Rd., Radnor, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Family-friendly authors, arts and crafts, food, music, and more. www.maryrodman.com.
AUG. 12 – Concert: Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, Public Square, downtown Mount Vernon, 8:30 p.m. www.mvac.org.
AUG. 12 – Union County Master Gardeners Annual Plant Sale, Union Co. Fgds., 845 N. Main St., Marysville, 8 a.m.–noon. Sun and shade perennials, native plants, shrubs and trees, grasses, bulbs, and daylilies at reasonable prices. 937-644-8117 or https://union.osu. edu/program-areas/master-gardener-volunteers.
AUG. 5 – Family Program: “Legend and Storytelling Hike,” Wagers Memorial Park (Devil’s Backbone), 1301 OH-725 W., Camden, 1–3 p.m. Free. Led by Rainbow Eagle, an Oklahoma-Choctaw American Indian naturalist and teacher. 937-962-5561, pcpdevents@ gmail.com, or www.preblecountyparks.org.
THROUGH AUG. 30 – Bluegrass Wednesdays, Vinoklet Winery, 11069 Colerain Ave., Cincinnati, Wed. 6:30–8:30 p.m. Dinner, wine, and free entertainment by Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. Reservations recommended. 513-385-9309, vinokletwinery@fuse. net, or www.vinokletwines.com.
THROUGH AUG. 31 – Uptown Music Concert Series, Uptown Park, Oxford, Thur. 7 p.m. Free. 513-523-8687 or www.enjoyoxford.org.
JUL. 21 – Bluegrass Night, Fibonacci Brewing Company, 1445 Compton Rd., Cincinnati, 7–9 p.m. Free. Lively bluegrass music by Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, craft beers in the Beer Garden, food truck. 513-832-1422 or http://fibbrew.com.
JUL. 28, AUG. 11 – Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, Butler County Bluegrass Association,
JUL. 28–30 – Annie Oakley Festival, Darke Co. Fgds., 800 Sweitzer St., Greenville. Honoring Darke County’s most famous daughter. Shooting contests, fast draw competitions, bullwhip exhibitions, food, car show, and more. www.annieoakleyfestival.org.
JUL. 29–30 – Gathering at Garst, 205 N. Broadway, Greenville, Sat. 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Living history encampment, antiques, entertainment, arts and crafts, food vendors. 937-548-5250 or www. gatheringatgarst.com.
JUL. 29–30 – History Alive at the Johnston Farm, 9845 N. Hardin Rd., Piqua, Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $5–$10, under 6 free. See life as it really was in Ohio from 1745–1862. Visit the Johston home, tour the Indian and Canal Museum, and ride on the canal boat General Harrison of Piqua 800-7522619 or www.johnstonfarmohio.com.
AUG. 3–6 – World’s Longest Yard Sale, locations along U.S. 127 through Greenville. www.127yardsale.com.
AUG. 5 – Family Program: “Shelter in the Woods,” Wagers Memorial Park (Devil’s Backbone), 1301 OH725 W., Camden, 1–3 p.m. Free. Led by naturalist and teacher Bev Holland. 937-962-5561, pcpdevents@ gmail.com, or www.preblecountyparks.org.
AUG. 5 – Biergarten: “Rock the Haus with 13:30,” Liberty Home German Society, 2361 Hamilton Cleves Rd., Hamilton. Opens 5 p.m.; band plays from 6 to 10 p.m. Food served 5:30–8 p.m. 513-571-6198, www. libertyhome.net, or on Facebook.
AUG. 11–17 – Miami County Fair, Miami Co. Fgds., 650 N. County Rd. 25A, Troy. $6 day pass; under 9 free. 937-335-7492 or www.miamicountyohiofair.com.
AUG. 12 – Adult Program: “All About Birds,” Garber Nature Center, 9691 OH-503 N., Lewisburg, 7 p.m. Presentation by naturalist and nature photographer Tom Hissong 937-962-5561, pcpdevents@gmail.com, or www.preblecountyparks.org.
My
Wren’s first bite of cotton candy at the Brown County Fair!
Send us YOUR picture!
Fried cheese sticks for the queen: my granddaughter, Paige!
My
and his
enjoy
Family members have worked at Tracey’s Concessions at the Ohio State Fair since 1956! Sadly, Grandpa passed earlier this year, but his legacy lives on!
Our daughters share a lemonade at the Lorain County Fair, a family highlight for generations.
For October, send “Camping” by July 15. For November, send “Raking leaves” by August 15.
Upload your photos at www.ohiocoopliving.com/memberinteractive. Your photo may be featured in our magazine or on our website.
Nancy Mullins, Adams Rural Electric Cooperative member Deanna Robinette, Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative member daughter, Bridgette, enjoying a caramel apple. Carrie Bussing, North Western Electric Cooperative member Molly Baker, Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative member Rosie and her corn dog at the fair. Lisa Archer, Logan County Electric Cooperative member grandson, Kayden, friends, James and Olivia, their Icees. Delona Joiner, South Central Power Company member Maggie enjoys our favorite ice cream at the Miami County Fair. Jeasica Woods, Pioneer Electric Cooperative member My granddaughters, Jazmin and Alizah, with cousin Tristan, enjoying ice cream from the ice cream eating contest at the Perry County Fair. Katie Grubba, South Central Power Company member Patricia and Michael Gonda, Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative membersAs a member of an Ohio electric cooperative, you can help keep the rates stable and affordable by reducing energy use during peak hours on hot summer days. The hottest times of day — usually between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. — create the highest demand for electricity and when demand is high, so is the price. If we can reduce electric use during peak hours, we can reduce power costs for all the members.
Here are a few simple ways you can help your cooperative “beat the peak” this summer by shifting your energy use to off peak hours:
R
Turn off unnecessary lights and electronics when they aren’t being used
R R R
Run your dishwasher and do laundry early in the morning or later in the evening
Shut blinds and curtains during the day to keep the sun from warming your home
Schedule your pool pump to run during off-peak hours
By adjusting the times you use electricity this summer, you can help us keep stable despite the heat! If we all work together, we all will benefit. That’s the power of cooperation and your electric cooperative membership.
