Margo Bartlett

Dorothy Montgomery

Dorothy Montgomery is old enough to remember when the men from “the REA” (in this case, Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Cooperative) started digging holes, by hand, to set electric poles along her country road after the creation of the Ru

Montgomery recalls the excitement that spread among her family and neighbors as more and more signed up to join the co-op to bring electricity to their homes and farms — which had previously been lit by oil lamps or “Aladdin lamps.”

There’s one detail in particular, however, that is still fresh in her mind to this day. “I remember the shock if you stuck your finger in the socket,” she says. She’d been told doing that would hurt — “and it did,” she confirms. “Oil lamps never shocked you.”

"Celebrity" - one of Mac Worthington's signature looks. He is best known for his metal sculptures.

A Mac Worthington piece of art is almost instantly recognizable. Worthington’s work (he’s best known for his metal sculpture) can be found in public, private, and corporate collections across the country and around the world.

Worthington was born in Canton, the son of artists. His father, Jack, made many of the bronze busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His mother, Marion, worked with enamel and silver. 

Before turning to art, Worthington built washing machines, served in Vietnam, and worked for a finance company — all good experiences that proved useful when he opened his own galleries.

Ohio’s urban garden cemeteries are some of the country’s most distinctive memorial parks, and stunning examples can be found in nearly every population center.

In the early 19th century, public city parks were virtually nonexistent. That doesn’t mean, however, that there was no green space in urban areas.

Ohio’s urban garden cemeteries are some of the country’s most distinctive memorial parks, and stunning examples can be found in nearly every population center. Here are three that are particularly outstanding and accessible. 

Ohio Light Opera has been a College of Wooster summer tradition since 1979.

This summer, you can take a voyage on a 19th-century British ship, visit ancient Rome, witness 50 years in a couple’s bedroom, travel to the underworld, and even go to the prom, all within the confines of the Buckeye State.

Ohio Light Opera at the College of Wooster

Freedlander Theatre, 329 E. University St., Wooster, OH 44691. 330-263-2345; www.ohiolightopera.org

At its peak, Ohio Light Opera’s program allows ambitious theater lovers to see as many as six shows in one week. While there are some devoted ticket holders who do just that, many others come to see one or two favorites.

Troy Fletcher acknowledges a sense of survivor’s guilt after he received his friend Joe Hedges’ kidney when Joe died in March 2021.

Shawana Mitchell and her fiancé, Joe Hedges, were regulars at Circleville’s VFW lodge poker nights, and, as they often did, joined the card-playing crowd one Friday evening in March 2021 with their friend Troy Fletcher.

The emergency squad arrived, and Joe was taken to Circleville’s Berger Hospital, then flown to Riverside Methodist in Columbus for emergency surgery. 

Joe, 52, had suffered an aortic dissection, a tear in the inner layer of the body’s main artery. When Shawana saw him after surgery, his color had improved and she dared to hope. But brain swelling ensued, and Sunday morning, Joe’s family was called to the hospital. 

McPeek’s Mighty Maze is part of the annual fall festival at the Colonial Campground in Coshocton. Here, Lane, Rowdi and Sylvie Mullett reach the exit of the maze (photo by Marissa Mullett — @keenecreekfarmandmakery on Instagram).

As viewed from above, some corn mazes are complicated labyrinths of intricate, themed designs. Whether they’re looking for a challenge or just an autumn atmosphere, enthusiasts of all ages are attracted to corn mazes. 

McPeek’s Mighty Maze and Fall Festival 

Located at the Coshocton KOA Holiday in Coshocton, the Mighty Maze is a part of the fall festival held by Ryan and Camille McPeek. Employee Amy Hamilton says they plant the corn like normal, and the maze is cut with a tractor and a GPS device.

Do mazers ever get lost?

“Some do need help,” she says, noting that guides are always available. Before closing each evening, employees sweep through the maze, looking for stragglers.

“We leave no man behind,” Hamilton jokes.

A working air conditioning unit made from Legos.

Like many kids, Conrad Brown loved Legos. He knew his dad shared that love, too.

The building’s main hallway features life-sized Larry Byrd and Kobe Bryant figures, among others. A prone man made of red Legos appears contemplative inside a case; nearby, a Lego dragon sits at a Lego campfire, roasting a Lego marshmallow. 

Highlights for Children founder Garry Meyers reads the magazine to his grandchildren.

When Garry and Carolyn Meyers created Highlights for Children in 1946, they did so with the belief that children have an innate ability to think and learn and create and that they should be encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings.

Highlights' 75th Anniversary Edition

Highlights, based in Columbus, recently celebrated its 75th year of “fun with a purpose”— presenting opportunities for parents to “lean in and listen” to encourage curiosity and self-confidence. 

Rusty Baker

Rusty Baker’s earnest love for life and his willingness to take chances have led him along a path few others could tread. 
“Where my two feet are is the greatest place on earth,” says Baker, a Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative member — and it’s easy to believe he means what he says. 

A snow-covered road with large piles of snow on either side of it.

For most Ohioans, the first sign that something unusual was happening on that night 40 years ago was the shriek of a fierce, unrelenting wind.

In the late evening of Jan. 25, 1978, a low-pressure system from Canada met another low-pressure system from Texas. Such storms approach from opposite directions several times each winter, according to the National Weather Service. Usually they miss each other. This time they collided, causing what has come to be widely known as “the storm of the century.”