Oregon Embraces Germany
Thousands gather for the 58th German-American Festival
Oregon – Thousands of people crowded together to celebrate the heritage and culture of Germany at the 58th annual German-American Festival at Oak Shade Grove from Friday through Sunday.
Germany’s sights, smells and sounds filled the festival grounds over the weekend. Attendees had the chance to watch live dance and musical performances, sample authentic German food and drink over 150 different types of beer. Visitors could also purchase souvenirs, such as t-shirts or authentic beer steins.
Every hour, attendees witnessed a live performance of the Glockenspiel, where dancers dressed in costume would act out a skit and transition to a dance routine. The show would end with the performers enjoying a drink and throwing items at the crowd. This live show is an homage to the Glockenspiel at the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany.
Wendy Mueller, vice chair of the VIP area, explained that the festival started at the Toledo Raceway park in the 1960s, and moved to its current location at Oak Shade Grove in the ’80s.
Ohio’s population is over 20 percent ethnic German, according to the United States Census Bureau. Mueller gave her thoughts on why it is important to have this festival, and to provide people with a place to express their German heritage.
“You don’t want to lose the culture, and this is a way, once a year, to celebrate the culture and have a great weekend at the end of the summer and start the holiday season,” she said.
The festival draws people from a multitude of backgrounds. It also brings in a combination of first-time attendees and people who have attended for several years.
One long-time attendee is Karen Foster, who has been to the festival for 30 years. She used to work at the festival when she belonged to the GBU foundation with her parents. Since her mother was from Frankfurt, she has strong ties to Germany. She shared what she would say to someone who has never attended the German-American Festival.
I would tell them they’d have to just come out and enjoy the dancing, the food, everything. Come on out and enjoy it, it’s a good time.
Karen Foster
Mike Willinger, chairman of the VIP area, shared that all the food enjoyed at the festival is homemade. The world-famous potato pancakes and salad are made from the 2,500 pounds of potatoes peeled and sliced the night before the festival. He also discussed his favorite part of the festival.
“The fact that we can get between two and three thousand people to come out here and help us get design, the camaraderie, the friendship, all the people that work so very, very hard to accomplish all this,” Willinger said.
He concluded by saying that “it just really pleases me that we can share that culture with people, and they are coming to enjoy it. So we’ll continue to do it as long as they keep coming.”
Unique Wetland Restoration
Little Portage Wildlife Area provides cleaner water
Port Clinton – A quiet, hidden gem of a wild wetland about 45 minutes east of Toledo is thriving thanks to the recent completion of a restoration project.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) took about four years to transform the Little Portage Wildlife Area in Ottawa County into 357 acres of quality habitat that serves to improve water quality.
As part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative, the restoration project involved redirecting water from over 400 acres of farmland into the wetland before entering the Little Portage River. This project was distinctive because ODNR worked with two local farmers, Todd Winke and Dick Lano, to fund the new tile system diverting the water. This will help filter out excess nutrients contributing to harmful algae blooms, such as phosphorus, before reaching the rivers that drain to Lake Erie.
The most unique aspect of the project is that this is Ohio’s first depetitioned ditch. This means that a ditch was removed from the petition process so that it could remain a natural habitat and won’t be disturbed by maintenance every few years, a better solution for wildlife.
Sarah Schott, wildlife communication specialist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said “those landowners were crucial partners for us in that they allowed us to do work on their property and redirect the water through pump systems.”
The bulk of the project was funded with a $3,086,673 H2Ohio grant, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Ducks Unlimited and federal Pittman-Robertson funding making up the rest.
Water quality is just one aspect of the project. The project also greatly enhances the habitat for various species, such as ducks and other waterfowl, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
However, invasive species are a challenge and large amounts of both phragmites and purple loosestrife are visible throughout the property.
“It’s a constant battle all across the state with all sorts of different invasive plants that our wildlife management team is constantly battling,” Schott said.
She explained that the ODNR wildlife team will have to continue to manage the project in a way that balances their resources with benefiting wildlife as best as they can. The Division of Wildlife will also be able to use the new pump system to manipulate water levels for vegetation control, in addition to more traditional aerial treatments.
Another significant change is that the ODNR decided to remove the boat ramp and gate the main road leading back to the prior ramp area to better protect people and wildlife. Schott shared that their staff never wants to restrict access, but it was necessary in this case.
“There was just so much illegal activity going on that our officers and wildlife management people just couldn’t keep up with that,” she said. “So, this is a solution to hopefully curb some of that.”
She explained that people are still welcome to walk, fish, hunt and explore, and kayaking is also allowed, though she recommends that kayakers use a cart to walk the road and get further into the area.
The Little Portage Project is among over 100 completed H2Ohio water quality projects. Approximately 80 additional projects are underway, and Schott shared how busy her team is.
“Every single person in our wildlife staff in northwest Ohio is working on or is a part of an H2Ohio project in some capacity,” she added.
Visitors interested in exploring the new restoration can park in one of two gravel lots on each side of the wildlife area and walk the updated roads which lead to views of the Little Portage River on the west and the Portage River on the north.
Guests will experience a diverse ecosystem with trees, river marsh and dense flora.
Bloom of a cardinal-flower
Cardinal-flower for sale at upcoming plant sale at Blue Creek Metropark
BERKEY – The cardinal-flower isn’t a common wildflower, but, where it blooms it’s impossible to miss. Its time is now, from late summer into early fall. The spikes of deep red flowers stand on stalks up to four feet tall, typically in wet woods, along streams and other places where it can keep its feet wet.
It’s an ideal plant for attracting hummingbirds, which enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with this deep-tubed wildflower. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are attracted to the red flowers and enjoy a fine nectar meal. In doing so the forehead of the hummingbird brushes against the male part of the flower, depositing pollen on the bird’s head. The hummingbird pollinates the plant when it visits other cardinal-flowers.
This attractive member of the bellflower family is an ideal plant to incorporate in rain gardens. Look for it at the upcoming wildflower plant sale at Blue Creek Metropark in Whitehouse, Ohio on Sept. 14-15. It’s an ideal opportunity get acquainted with other wildflowers for your home garden, as well.
Port Authority levy on horizon
Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority seeks renewal of .4-mill property tax
TOLEDO – Voters will be asked on the Nov. 5 ballot to renew a levy for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority – funding that the agency said it uses in part to support local economic development projects.
“With your support, we can keep momentum going,” said Robin Whitney, chair of the Committee for Jobs, during a kickoff press conference Thursday at Ironville Terminal, located at 2863 Front St.
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority was established in 1955. Its core responsibilities involve cargo and passenger transportation via the Port of Toledo, Toledo Shipyard, Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport, Toledo Express Airport and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza.
But as explained at the levy kickoff and on the Committee for Jobs website, the agency’s impact goes beyond the sites under its jurisdiction, and supports a range of economic development projects.
Over the last few years, we have adopted the model that the Port Authority is ‘more than a port,’
Thomas Winston, Port Authority president and CEO
The real estate levy is for all of Lucas County. It has been on the books for decades, and was last passed in 2018. It is a five-year renewal of .4 mills using historic valuation, starting in 2024, with the first payment due in 2025.
For many taxpayers, Winston explained, the amount works out to about $8 in taxes a year for each $100,000 in property value.
Lucas County commissioner Anita Lopez, one of the presenters at the press conference, said in her previous role as Lucas County auditor that the port authority tax amounts were so minimal that it was “the levy no one complained about.”
But that collection results in about $2.5 million a year for the Port Authority, or about 7 percent of the agency’s overall budget. This is the money that supports capital improvement projects for maritime and aviation transportation services; investment into wetlands restoration and sustainability projects; along with providing local support toward economic development.
In some cases, the local financial support helps leverage state or federal funding.
Specifically, the Port Authority runs the Northwest Ohio Bond Fund, with 100 new business or business expansion projects financially supported since its launch 36 years ago. The bond fund earned a national rating of “A” earlier this year from S&P Global Ratings. Recent examples, according to the Committee for Jobs website, include the Toledo YWCA building renovations.
Administrative costs and salaries in the Port Authority’s budget, along with other operating expenses, come from other sources, such as revenue generated by its services.
Those speaking Thursday on behalf of the port authority work and the levy renewal request included Waterville mayor Tom Pedro and Wendy Gramza, president and CEO of Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Spinning through the ’90s
Perrysburg library’s ‘Listening Booth’ launches new music series
PERRYSBURG – Nobody said “Shush!” when a recording of Metallica’s Enter Sandman was blared inside the Way Public Library.
Not this night, anyway, because a librarian was the one spinning the vinyl and cranking the volume on this and 13 other songs in a program titled The Listening Booth.
The evening session on Tuesday was the first in a series of library programs titled, Explore Sound Waves: A Celebration of Music.
Natalie Dielman, programming coordinator for Way, said she was inspired to organize the music series after visiting a bookstore in Columbus and noting that Rob Harvilla, Ohio music journalist and author, had just given a talk there.
From there, she was able to contact Harvilla and make arrangements for him to speak at the Perrysburg library on Sept. 9.
Dielman also contacted Angela Pratesi, head librarian and associate professor at Bowling Green State University’s Music Library, and Bill Schurk Sound Archives, to help organize four more programs for the series.
The Listening Booth event featured 14 songs selected from Harvilla’s book, 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s.
“I had a difficult time narrowing them down,” Pratesi told the small group assembled in a basement conference room at Way. “One criterion was that the songs don’t grate on my nerves too much.”
She chose a variety of styles, with selections from each year of the 1990s, spanning country, pop, hip-hop, alt-rock, folk, blues, singer-songwriters, boy or girl groups, “at least one rocking guitar solo,” and a song from a movie soundtrack.
The tunes ranged from soft and reflective to loud, raging angst.
Harvilla’s book is a spinoff of his podcast of the same name, in which he ended up including well over 100 songs from the ’90s, but decided that 60 was a good number for the title.
Perrysburg resident Eric Britton said he decided to attend the Tuesday night listening session because he had enjoyed a previous discussion at the library about the Clash’s classic punk rock album, London Calling.
“I’m alone this week and saw this posted on the library bulletin board and thought it would be fun,” Britton said.
Pratesi had no trouble obtaining copies of the music, all on vinyl, for the library listening session.
BGSU librarian Patty Falk said they have 700,000 recordings on the shelves, including 215,000 33 1/3-rpm vinyl albums and 211,000 7-inch 45’s.
The Music Library & Bill Schurk Sound Archives has more than a million items, including records, reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, books, periodicals and videos, according to the BGSU official website. The website includes a catalog search button to look up specific materials.
It’s one of the largest collections in North America that is accessible to the public, Pratesi said. Anyone can go in and listen to music. The library staff will handle the vinyl, however, placing it on the turntable for visitors because the albums need to be handled with care. After all, it is an archive and the materials are meant to be preserved for generations.
“The Listening Booth” session at Way lasted about 90 minutes as Pratesi spun songs in the following chronological order:
- “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks (1990)
- “Vogue” by Madonna (1990)
- Pratesi asked the group for a “yes or no answer” on the third song, and got a thumbs up: Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” also from 1990. There was an interesting discussion about copyright laws as Vanilla Ice settled a dispute, without going to court, by paying an undisclosed amount of money to Queen and David Bowie for allegedly sampling the bass line from their song “Under Pressure.” Ice later said it was $4 million.
- “Enter Sandman” by Metallica (1991)
- Pratesi introduced the next selection as “the most required song of the ‘90s”: The raging grunge rocker “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana (1991).
- The group was asked to choose one song from a list of three released in 1992: “One” by U2; “Hey Jealousy” by Gin Blossoms, and “Nightswimming” by R.E.M. The vote was for “Hey Jealousy” but the vinyl Pratesi brought to the session was recorded as a 45 rpm and she didn’t have an adapter, giving “One” the spin by default.
- There were only two ‘90s soundtracks worth consideration, Pratesi said, choosing “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, from “The Bodyguard” (1992). The other possible pick? “Titanic.”
- This time the listeners were asked to choose between two singles from 1993, “It Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube or “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa. “Shoop” was the unanimous pick.
- The 1994 selection was another listeners’ choice, either “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys or “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden. The Beasties’ rap classic won the vote.
- “Just a Girl” by No Doubt (1995)
- “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls (1996)
- The song introduced as a “weird one from the anarcho-punk collection” was “Tubthumping” the catchy 1997 tune by British band Chumbawamba (with the irrepressible lyrical hook, “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you are never gonna keep me down.”)
- “To Zion” by Lauryn Hill (1998), featuring guitar god Carlos Santana
- Wrapping up the decade was the Santana’s 1999 classic, “Smooth,” with vocals by Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty.
Pratesi said she wanted to give an “honorable mention” to Sonic Youth, the influential New York group known for its experimental indie rock sound, but didn’t have time to play any of their songs as the listening session was running out of time.
The Listening Booth was not just for listening, it also included some lively conversations and interactions between audience and presenters about the artists, songs, videos and memories of the 1990s.
More music events
Upcoming programs in the Way Public Library’s “Sound Waves” series:
- Wednesday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m.: The Book Mixtape – Sample a mix of books by musicians and about music.
- Thursday, Sept. 5, 6 p.m.: Music Fun Night – An evening of music, games, and fun including karaoke, Guitar Hero, dancing, and creating your own mixtape.
- Saturday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m.: BGSU Music Library Tour. Tour the Music Library and sound archives at Bowling Green State University. Registration is required and participants must provide their own transportation. Call 419-874-3135.
- Monday, Sept. 9, 6 p.m.: Author talk with Rob Harvilla, Columbus-based author and podcaster best known for “60 Songs that Explain the ‘90s.”
The Way Public Library is at 101 E. Indiana Ave. in Perrysburg.
