The art exhibition I wrote about Sunday featured a number of fascinating items and I had a few favorites. One of them was the least showy and least noticeable. It hangs in a corner next to some truly fascinating items including a collection of decorative axes and a ceremonial robe.
It’s a nineteenth century International Order of Oddfellows crook. This picture is truly terrible and I honestly think I took it by mistake but it’s all I have that shows the crook.
Here’s what the card says:
The crook, as the “staff of the shepherd,” is associated with the Odd Fellows Encampment Degrees. These degrees have rituals that tell stories of a shepherd’s life. The curved head is used to reach after and draw a member back to safety. The members recognize the crook as a symbol of watchful care, which they are expected to exhibit toward other members, family, friends and their community.
What an extraordinary message of community and compassion.
To think that this organization places such emphasis on looking out for one another is inspiring. It doesn’t say “look out for those who live by the rules we like.” Just look out for those around them and help pull them back from life’s dangers.
Seems like we all could benefit from the tug of a crook once in a while.
If you are observant while you’re out roaming the rural backroads of this country, you might catch a glimpse of a community from long ago. An old post office or school, a cluster of houses in a quiet setting, and an old store are good clues that the spot-in-the-road you’re speeding past was once something more.
In my community, there’s an intersection where you’ll find an old general store and a church but not much more. I remember going to Bible School at that church when I was little. I also remember the warmth and comfort of the old store years ago. Back then it was called Fout’s Store and it was owned by an elderly couple named Shag and Helen Fout.
The floor and fixtures, the lighting, the old pot belly stove and much of the stock harkened to another time. I’ll never forget the warmth and smells of that old place and going there at Christmas to buy bulk candy. Oh, what a treat that was! It always smelled like history to me. There’s something about old buildings and hardwood floors that their scents stay with you. In my memory, Fout’s store smells of kerosene, woodsmoke, pipe tobacco and wood polish.
Can’t you smell this picture?
It’s a pleasant aroma and one that’s almost impossible to describe. This old store was one of the first historic buildings I can remember stepping foot inside. Maybe that’s why I have such a soft spot for the place.
The store closed and has sat empty on Locust Grove Ridge for all these many years, a woeful reminder that people don’t live forever and that time marches on – even when you wish it would stand still.
But all that has changed. A friend of mine had a vision for this place and, with her partner, has transformed this amazing old building into something special for modern folk to appreciate.
They call it Stella’s Mercantile and it’s a place for residents and for tourists to find locally made items, snacks, local beef, homemade cinnamon rolls, cold drinks, things you might have forgotten to pack, and stuff you didn’t know you needed at all. They give local artists and artisans a place to sell their creations and those of us who are from here a place to feel proud to visit.
They just opened a couple of weeks ago and I finally made it in to shop last week.
My cousin Garrett sells his turkey calls there. The gentleman who makes turned wood animals, trees and mushrooms that I adore so much sells his handiwork there too. I bought an acorn for my collection as well as a small oil painting from someone I haven’t met yet.
An old portrait of Shag and Helen hangs by the door. Some vintage pieces decorate the space, houseplants await new homes, and an old display case of glass and wood is filled with cinnamon rolls and big slices of cake.
When I closed my eyes, I could almost feel the presence of Shag and Helen and the generations of others who shopped and worked here. Being there felt like a true gift. The original potbelly stove is long gone but they have replaced it with another one. It’s more ornate than the original and was made in Cincinnati, a testament to the craftsmanship and design of years gone by. They even fire it up on the cold days.
For some who visit, it’s a neat old building filled with nostalgia. For people like me, it’s a profoundly emotional place to visit. The manager says that people have cried when they saw it for the first time. I didn’t cry but I did smile at the idea that people I know have salvaged a valuable bit of my community’s past. I am so proud of the courage and elbow grease it took to breathe new life into this important place.
Find Stella’s Mercantile at 26560 Locust Grove Road, McArthur, Ohio. The Doughmaker food truck operates here as well so you can shop and then stay for a bite to eat. Be sure to peruse the selection of cold drinks in the old Coca Cola cooler too!
If you have small kids along, let them take a ride on this vintage merry-go-round. It came from an old five and dime store in Wapakoneta, Ohio that belonged to the father of one of the owners.
Take note that Le Petit Chevalier Vinyards and Farm Winery are just around the bend. You can even spend the night at the winery! And yes, the church still holds services and welcomes visitors. In other words, you could have a lovely weekend exploring the winery as an Airbnb guest and walk to Stella’s for dinner, snacks and a little shopping. Then attend Sunday services on a country church before heading home.
What a wonderful step back in time that would feel like!
If you’re a space fan and are in Ohio, stop by the Museum of the U.S. Air Force to see the Apollo Fifteen Command Module. It’s on loan from the Smithsonian and is by far one of the coolest things on display right now.
Apollo Fifteen was our fourth successful moon landing and the first to use a lunar rover so this mission was special back in 1971.
Made of aluminum alloy, stainless steel, and titanium, the command module carried three astronauts. It was named for the ship Endeavour that carried Captain James Cook on his famed 18th century scientific expedition.
It’s funny because it looks both modern and ancient like some kind of time machine meant to carry brave humans across both time and space. Something about the patina makes it appear even more unusual.
I like it.
Incidentally, we knew to look for it because we asked a docent about his favorite thing in that building. He said it was hard to choose as he pointed to an airplane down the way. He had flown one just like it for thirty years. Then he directed us to this piece of history, calling it “something special to see.”
Something special indeed.
If you haven’t been to this museum, it’s a good one and admission is free. I was there last Saturday and have written a series about it each day this week. Use their website to plan your visit. Here are links to the other stories this week.
If you were here yesterday, you read about the Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. I promised a deeper dive into a few specific topics from this place so here we go.
I have always liked how they tell the story of America through aviation. Starting with Civil War era military reconnaissance balloons and airplanes through all the wars, the evolution of the presidential aircraft and up to the space age, the stories are plentiful.
I noticed Saturday that an effort has been made to talk about individuals and groups whose stories haven’t been told well in museums and history books until recent years. Some of you might refer to it as a term that has been in the news a lot lately called Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity.
Personally, I call it the honest and fair telling of our nation’s history.
The last time I was there, I complained that the bulk of the stories told at this museum were about white men when we know well and good that plenty of people of color and women have served bravely and with distinction. You can tell that someone with more pull than yours truly complained as well. There’s now an area that celebrates women and the extensive contributions women have made in many ways.
They highlight Blanche Stuart Scott, the first American woman to solo in an airplane. She did it in 1910. They highlight Bessie Coleman, the first black licensed pilot in the world. She had to go to Europe to get her pilot’s license because no American flying school would allow her entrance due to her race and gender. That was in 1921. Incidentally, women had just won the right to vote a couple of years before that.
Then there’s the Women Airforce Service Pilots program (WASP) which gave us 1,830 women who enthusiastically signed up to ferry planes from factories to air force bases. Of them, Ann Baumgartner Carl was the first woman to fly a jet aircraft, fighting the stigma that women aren’t capable of handling such a plane.
Then there was Ola Rexroat, the only Native American to join the WASP. She was an Ogla Sioux who transported cargo and personnel and was one of the many women to tow aerial gunnery targets. That’s right. She towed targets for soldiers who we hoped had good aim when they fired in her direction. Tell me a woman like that doesn’t deserve a spot in this museum.
In more recent history, you’ll find Captain Kim “Killer Chick” Campbell who received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for her heroism during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She went on to be Colonel Campbell.
Throughout the museum, there are nods to the heroic women who were pioneers as Korean War flight nurses, who lost their lives in Operation Babylift, and who flew higher as astronauts. While there’s not much detail about any of them, there’s enough to inspire little girls and middle aged women to think that dreaming sky high is still something we should all do.
It means a lot to see someone who is like you represented in a place like this. Especially when you know that there are many others like them out there just waiting to have their stories told. And of course, this is no knock against men but it’s a good reminder that women make up half the world and that they are doing their fair share to hold up their part.
Last minute cancelled plans Saturday left me with nowhere to go even though I was dressed and ready to leave the house by about 7:30 a.m. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day so I asked my fella if he was interested in a different adventure than we had planned. We opted for a trip to the National Museum of the United States Air Force and some bookshopping, because well, bookshopping is what we do best. It was a true adventure day complete with an unexpected stop for a pre-museum snack at Tudor’s Biscuit World and lots of cool museum stuff to appreciate.
Dayton, Ohio is the well documented birthplace of aviation and the Dayton/Cincinnati region made quite the hub for the innovative technology that is necessary for aviation and aerospace development. We are fortunate to have so many cool aviation related spots in the Dayton area and the grandmama of them all is the Air Force Museum.
As many times as I go, I still stand in awe of some of these planes, missiles and artifacts. I still seek out the stories of the people who bring the legends of these great machines to life. I still become overwhelmed by the awesome amount of knowledge and inspiration accessible in one place.
And it’s no wonder. This museum dates to May 1923 and it is a world-renowned center for what the museum calls “air and space power technology and culture preservation.” Friends, there are 20 indoor acres as well as outdoor spaces to explore.
You know something? It’s all FREE. Admission, the parking, the tours – all free. There are ways to spend money – you can buy tickets for some simulators, you can buy food and there are museum souvenirs as well. But you can also pack a picnic to eat outside, skip the gift shop and make this the most extraordinary frugal adventure day you’ve ever encountered.
IF you like history and airplanes, of course. If you hang out here with me, I assume you like those things because I talk about them all the time.
Every time I go, I think I should spend a couple of hours exploring a single area of the museum like just early aviation or just Vietnam. It would be less overwhelming and I could absorb more information. Of course, I never manage to do that because I want to see everything! Plus, they do sometimes rotate items in and out so there’s a good chance there is something new to see when you only go occasionally.
I always look forward to seeing this fifties era experimental aircraft called the Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar. It was part of Canada’s effort to develop a supersonic, vertical takeoff and landing fighter bomber and it looks like a flying saucer! Read more about that here.
Seeing this display of World War II era bomber jackets always makes me wonder what happened to the men who wore them. Did they make it home safe? Did they ever dream their jacket would be exhibited in a world renowned museum?
And then there are new things like the Apollo 15 Command Module Endeavour which is on loan from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
Of course, I don’t always approve of their changes. I told you a few years ago about the Memphis Belle being permanently installed here. I took my dad and we had a fabulous day including the exploration of the Memphis Belle exhibit which included biographies and pictures of all the crew and a thought provoking explanation of why this plane is so important.
They seem to have taken away all of those extras and have downgraded to just a small sign that makes the Memphis Belle seem like any other plane. Hopefully they will rotate all that back in at another time because the story is important. Read more about that here.
I have written about this museum some here but there are a few specific stories I want to tell so I will spend this week highlighting some of them. Come back tomorrow to get started.
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!
