Project 88: recent endeavors

So I launched "Project 88" -- my effort to visit all 88 counties in my home state of Ohio -- a couple of weeks ago; it was something that occurred to me as I was preparing to cross the state for a priest conference in Wheeling. That's when I picked off Logan County with a visit to Ohio Caverns.

Oh, and I don't think I told you about my visit to Lock 10 along the Muskingum River in Zanesville, did I? That got me Muskingum County. It wasn't easy finding it; my research suggested it was in a park on the river bank; but when I arrived there, it was pretty desolate; barely a soul in sight (but plenty of geese, including one with a broken wing; and lots of goose leavings). Well, I parked and walked down to the riverbank to get a better look. That's when I decided this wasn't such a good place to be; it gave me a bad vibe. Just as I started walking back to my car, one lone car came down the drive, and the guy driving gave me a look. I had a strong suspicion about what he was looking for, and I was definitely not his guy. He slowed down and said "hi?" I nodded politely and kept walking. So now I drove around, and figured out the the lock was on the other side of the river. I found my way to a road which led to it; parked, and walked down. A group of folks were happily fishing for bluegills on the locks. Sorry no pictures!

At any rate, when I got back, I started thinking about my next venture; it would involve the northwest. As it happened, I had a funeral come up in a town called Rossford, in Wood County; the funeral was at All Saints Church. It was to be a traditional Latin Mass, so no concelebrating; I got up early and had Mass before hitting the road. I left early, allowing me to meander a bit on the way.

So I drove up I-75, and found a Panera Bread in Allen County. I did some quick research on sites to see in counties further north, and decided to head up S.R. 65 into Putnam, and then to Wood for the Mass; after, I'd circle through Henry, Fulton and Williams, and turn for home through Defiance, Paulding and Van Wert. I didn't know how many stops I would be able to make, however, but I had several in mind. After getting a look at Ottowa as I drove through, my first stop was St. John the Baptist Church in Glandorf, which will celebrate 200 years in 15 years. Here are some pictures; more at the website:

I will also add the church has a lovely bathroom, which was spotlessly clean, thank you!

From there I drove up through Napoleon, in Henry County; but now that I think about it, I don't recall where I stopped, but I thought I did? Only God knows. Then I drove along U.S. 24 into Rossford.

After the funeral, I charted a course for Winameg, in Fulton County, to view the Indian mounds there:

The mounds were spread out pretty widely, so I didn't really get much of a look. From there I drove south to Wauseon, where I visited the old depot for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad (LS & MS RR), which is now divided between CSX and Norfolk Southern:

I couldn't tell if the old depot is used for anything, but it was nice to see.

Then I turned west to get the northwestern-most county, Williams. I headed for Bryan, the county seat. Once again, I don't recall if I got out of the car, but I got some ice cream at the Dairy Queen. That's a visit, right? (I'm going to have to take more pictures!)

There I got on U.S. 127, and drove south through Defiance, Paulding and Van Wert Counties. There's a city of Defiance also, home of Defiance College, but that's to the east; 127 goes through the quieter western part. I drove right through Sherwood. Send them a bunch of clicks, they'll think my blog is da bomb! They have a handsome courthouse in Paulding; but I do think I like Van Wert's better.

And that gets me to 64 counties, visited or passed-through, leaving 24 for which I have no memory of any contact. By the way, part of my plan is precisely to visit counties on the "driven through" list. In fact, I have itineraries already in mind.