Saturday, June 22, 1996
Day 42
Willard, Ohio
Today's Miles: 0
Cumulative Miles for the Tour: 2780
Degree of Difficulty: Rest Day
Terrain: City Park
Find of the Day: Charlie Hastings
Ken had to go back home for a couple of days to take care of some personal business. He'll meet back up with us as we begin the ascent of the Appalachians on Wednesday. Adam and I started the day at the local laundromat. Normally, this wouldn't be worth mentioning but, today it turned into something special.
Earl and his family
at Cok's Laundry Service
Earl used to be a farmer until he and his wife started the laundromat. Somehow, I think farming is still in his blood. When he heard that we weren't local, he got excited, telling us about the surrounding "muck" area that is known as the salad basket of the United States. Some of the largest lettuce, radish and onion farms in the US are located 2 miles south of Willard, where Earl used to own land. He offered to give us a tour. Everyone at camp was interested, so we piled into the red pickup support truck and took off for the "muck" of Ohio.
100 years ago, most of southern Willard was swampland. It was drained in 1886 and became some of the most fertile farmland on the continent. The soil is as black as a registered labrador. This area is called the "muck".Wherever we went on the farms, people knew Earl. We stopped at a radish field where he showed us the tractor that digs up the radishes, clips off the green tops and throws them into the truck bed behind the tractor. Did you know there are 1,000,000 seeds in a pound of radish seeds? I'm never going to need that knowledge, but now it's something that's stuck in my brain.
Radish Processing Machinery
Earl took us to the packing plant at the 100 year old Buurmas Farms where we met 19 year old Sarah Buurmas. She walked us through the plant, describing the process of packing vegetables. I was sceptical at first, thinking I'd get bored, but if you ever get a chance to see a food processing plant, it's mind boggling. The functions of the machinery, alone, make it worth the visit.
We dropped Earl off at the laundromat, after he turned down our offer to take him to lunch. Earl is the type of person who has made this cross country bicycle trip a special event for all of us. People take time out of their day to help us or make suggestions about what to do in the area. It's good to see people who are proud of their town and aren't afraid to show it. Thanks, Earl...it was a morning well spent.After a quick lunch, Adam, Dave and I jumped in the van and drove a half hour to see the birthplace of Thomas Edison. I was all jacked up to see his laboratory, but it turned out the lab is in Orange, New Jersey. Milan, Ohio is where he was born and the house has been set aside as a historical landmark.We came back to camp just as Donna was fixing stirfry for dinner. The park we are staying in has two large, covered picnic areas. We had taken over one for our rest day while there was a small group of people who had taken over the other one for, what looked like, a small party. That's how we met Charlie Hastings.
Dave and Adam with Charlie
on his 90th birthday
We were just finishing dinner when one of the participants of the party at the other gazebo 100 feet away, came walking slowly over to our table. He was using a cane to support himself as he walked through the grass. He walked right up to Dave Blair and introduced himself..."Hi, I'm Charlie. It's my 90th birthday, today. I used to work for the railroad for 47 years. Would you like to see my watch? The railroad didn't give it to me." That's how we met Charlie Hastings, his wife Lucille, and their three friends who had come out to celebrate Charlie's birthday.
Charlie and Lucille have lived in Willard since the 1920's. They married when he was 21 and she was 16. It was a fascinating half hour as they talked about their life...Charlie on "The Price is Right" and how he won a trip to Switzerland...Lucille on 69 years of marriage...their friends on living in Wyoming and Colorado, servicing the interment camps during World War II...Charlie about working on the railroad for 47 years.Charlie got a birthday card from the White House, today, in honor of his 90th birthday. I'd like to give you Charlie and Lucille's address so you can send them an anniversary card to help them celebrate their 69th year together on June 30th. (If you do the math, that comes out to 1927...think about it.) They'd VERY much appreciate it and it would be my way of thanking them for the early evening friendship they extended to strangers.
706 Myrtle Avenue
Willard, Ohio 44890
8 days and counting 'till we reach the capitol steps in DC...the same day as Charlie and Lucille's anniversary...
Bike America Tours
dblair@wtp.net
1-800-738-7271