Monthly Archives: February 2025

A Step Inside The Guernsey County Courthouse

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It’s a common problem for a weekend adventurer. You find yourself standing outside a really cool public building and you’re dying to see inside but the doors are locked. It’s the weekend, after all. County courthouses are buildings I ALWAYS want to see inside and rarely have the opportunity. 

For example, I have stood outside the Guernsey County, Ohio Courthouse more times than I can count and, until a few months ago, never had a chance to see inside. But I did get to peek inside on my way home from Pittsburgh one gloomy December Monday. 

I have actually spent a lot of time studying the facade of this building after dark and during the holidays. You see, this courthouse presides over Cambridge, a town that transforms itself during the holidays by adding life sized Dickens style characters in vignettes along the streets. They also are known for a nightly music and light show on the front of the courthouse every night during the holidays. It is a festive and exciting way to embrace the Christmas season. 

Like other Ohio courthouses, there is one public entrance that’s monitored by a county sheriff’s deputy. Of course, it was the last entrance that I tried but that allowed me the opportunity to walk around the whole building. When the deputy asked me to state my business and I told him I was there because I like old buildings, he waved me through without a word.

Since it was December, the inside was decorated for Christmas. Since I was there at lunchtime, there were people cleaning but no office employees or members of the public to be seen. In other words, I had the place to myself and that was lovely. 

The woodwork, hand painted transoms, floor tile, and bones of the building feel mainly untouched since the building was dedicated in 1883. The rich red, grey, black and tan tilework is the star of the show but there are some lovely small things that many people likely take for granted including some gorgeous details on the door knobs.

I was dying to see inside the courtroom but it was locked for lunch and I had to settle for a peek through the door window. 

It’s interesting because the building has clearly been kept and cared for but you can also see signs where someone, likely some county commissioners, have done what they could with what they had by placing a counter here or a sign there that look too modern. They stick out like a sore thumb. This isn’t a criticism so much as a notation that this is the way the world works especially when budgets take precedence over doing something well.  We may preserve the old and care for it but the way we live with a historic building isn’t necessarily cohesive with the building itself. 

But time marches on, money matters, and this just means that Guernsey County is like everyone else. I’m sure they’re doing their best. 

If you ask me, Guernsey County has one of the most impressive and most beautiful courthouse exteriors in Ohio. The building is made of sandstone. It’s large and imposing as it presides over downtown and the National Road. A statue of Lady Justice keeps watch from above the former main entrance and a clock tower keeps the rhythm of passing time for usa lll. If you’re driving through and get a chance to stop and appreciate the exterior, you should absolutely do that. If you can get inside someday, do that too.

And here’s one more lesson for us all. If given the choice between admiring from the street or parking the car and going in for a closer look, always take the closer look. Lady Justice is more impressive when you are standing close to the building. All that outstanding tilework inside isn’t visible from the street but it’s a work of art deserving of someone to stop and study it. 

Want to see more pictures? Hop over to the Make The Journey Fun Facebook page. I’ll post more there!

Silent Sunday

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Happiness Is…

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Waking up to the sound of rain is one of my life’s great joys.

Would I like to be out hiking right now? You bet I would. I badly need the exercise and fresh air. My spirit, mind and body crave the feel of earth beneath my feet and tree bark on my fingertips.

But going to sleep without setting an alarm is a luxury. Combine that with awakening to the soft tapping of rain against the window and that, friend, is a sweet trade.

Factor in a soft bed, warm blankets and a little black cat snoozing at your feet and this becomes the definition of happiness. And then the cat begins to gently snore and you know he understands this is a happy moment as well.

Wherever you are today, stay warm and dry. If you’re out exploring, I expect a full report. As for me, I’ll adventure another day.

The Flavor Of Good Memories

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When I was a kid, my grandma had a seemingly endless supply of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum in her pocketbook. A stick of Juicy Fruit has a refreshing fruity flavor that lasts for approximately 22.5 seconds. Nonetheless, I enjoyed being offered a piece and did my best to make the flavor last before blowing bubbles until it was too stiff to chew.

I’ve been thinking a lot about her lately. My purse is about as disorganized as her pocketbook always was and there’s usually some gum lurking in there. Although, mine is always something minty and never Juicy Fruit.

Grandma didn’t drive so my mother typically took her to the grocery store when I was small. I often was offered a stick of gum while I hung out in the back seat of their car or slid around on the backseat of our family station wagon. This was back before seat belts were a big deal, of course. That leather seat was blazing hot in the summer and slick as could be the rest of the year, leaving me bouncing off the seat when we hit a bump and holding on tight as we took the curves.

We always went to a nearby town to hit a couple of grocery stores, a local bakery and a few other places. She liked going to more than one grocery store to get the buys and to find the products she wanted. I do that too.

Lunch often came from the Dairy Queen where we would get a Full Meal Deal – a sandwich, fries, drink AND sundae! That was a bargain and a treat. Now we call it the DQ. I drive by often but never think to go there. After all, they serve your Blizzard upside down but they don’t have the Full Meal Deal anymore.

Earlier this week I made boiled potatoes for dinner. These were a staple on her table and, as it turns out, a taste of my childhood. Every time I make them I simultaneously wonder why I don’t do it more often and why they taste so amazing. Really, if you want to eat a potato that tastes like the most potatoe-y of all the potatoes, just drop it in a pot of boiling water. I have vivid memories of my grandpa smashing a potato on his plate so that it was fluffy and soft. Now I take my time doing the same and enjoying the heat and the delectable smell of such a simple pleasure.

Last night I had to stop at the store to pick up something for my parents and was delighted to see Juicy Fruit flavored bubble gum on the rack at the check out. I bought a pack, tore it open and enjoyed popping bubbles as I headed down memory lane. I’ll put the pack in my purse and maybe pull out a piece and think of her the next time I go for a drive. While the flavor may not last long, the memories are forever.

Trolley Rescue At The Spaghetti Warehouse

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When the roof of the Spaghetti Warehouse in Columbus, Ohio partially collapsed back in March 2022, many of us gasped in dismay. Sure, it’s a chain restaurant but it felt special and the historic building that had given it shelter for so long was packed with unique antiques and decor including an old trolley car.

That’s right, there was a trolley car in the middle of the restaurant and it was used to hold tables for dining. Not to mention, this place was a destination for tourists and for locals who celebrated special occasions as well as regular old dinners in this late nineteenth century building.

I was there just a few weeks before the collapse and was shocked at the idea that this building that looked and felt so solid could just begin falling in on itself. 

News reports over time first gave hope that repairs could be made but became increasingly dark as it was clear the great old building we all knew and loved wasn’t long for the world. Many were especially concerned about the artifacts displayed inside including that historic trolley car. 

But we finally got a bit of good news this week as we learned the trolley had been safely removed. In fact according to local news reports in Columbus, the demo crew is treading carefully as they unearth a number of historic treasures including an 1890s era steam wheel from when the building was used as an ice house.

Photo courtesy NBC 4, Columbus

The trolley will be restored before being given a new home in a park on Livingston Avenue. That park is being built by the Rickenbacker Woods Foundation whose mission is to honor the accomplishments of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and of Granville T. Woods. Mr. Woods was a Columbus native and an African American inventor who held over sixty patents. He was the inventor of the third rail which today still powers subways and streetcars around the world. 

The new park will be part of the foundation’s campus which also includes the boyhood home of Captain Rickenbacker. 

Honestly, the salvaging of that trolley is a true bright spot in all of this. A week ago the future was grim for the old gal. No one had yet stepped up with the right combination of means and desire to fund the expensive project to remove it from a condemned building and give it a new home. 

Let us celebrate and say amen. 

Meanwhile back at the old Spaghetti Warehouse, the owner plans to develop the property into apartment buildings. 

Notice I referred to it as the old Spaghetti Warehouse? Well, they did open a new location in downtown Columbus. So, you can still get some of the old menu items but the menu is scaled back. I missed the manicotti.

It’s a nice restaurant with modern ambiance but it doesn’t hold a candle to the old location. So, if you’ve been there before and expect an experience similar to which you were accustomed, it will be a disappointment. If you’re just in the mood for some decent ravioli in downtown, they’ve got you covered.

Luckily, the Dayton location still gives us the classic vibe and you can eat in a trolley car there!

Can we also pause a moment to appreciate the fact that someone in this disposable society of ours saw fit to rescue a piece of local history? It’s encouraging knowing that it didn’t go down with the ship but will instead be preserved for generations to come.

Ghost Mural

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Downtown Petoskey, Michigan is one of the most utterly charming places I’ve visited. Lots of shoppers flock here for the fine stores and shops filled with gifts and clothing. We best enjoyed the breathtaking sunsets but I also liked the architecture and the details in so many of the storefronts.

This ghost mural clues in the curious visitor to the fact the upstairs of this building was home to the Normal Business College. Seeing things like this always makes me wonder about the people who taught and studied there. Where were they from and what ever happened to them?

What did they learn here and how did they apply that knowledge to bettering themselves and the world around them? Do their grandchildren’s children still live in Petoskey or did they travel west to live or go abroad on grand adventures?

Clearly, I will never know but these types of questions keep me entertained for hours.