The Beacon

I am writing today from a guest suite at Mel and Mary’s Cottages near Charm, OH.  The drive to get here yesterday (Thursday, in the late afternoon) was easy and through very pretty scenery.  It was a typical autumn day.  Again this morning it was very nice, warm and fairly sunny.  But then in the early afternoon the weather turned rainy and temperatures cooled down.

I am very thankful to be getting a little vacation time away from home although it’s a short trip.  It’s something I had planned to do several weeks ago and then postponed because other things got in the way.  
I have stayed at the cabins here before.  This time the cabins were already booked.  So I have a large loft-like room.  At first I didn’t really like the looks of it.  It seemed to need more furniture or something to make it cozier and more appealing.  After a while I started to get used to it, and now I really like it.  There is plenty of room to move around, and it is quite comfortable.  That’s good - because if it’s going to rain and get cold - I’ll prefer to do a little “retreat” and just snuggle in, stay warm and write, read and study.  

I have plenty to do…because I’ll be going over to Kelleys Island on these Sundays: November 23 and 30 and December 14 - to lead worship services and preach the meditation at Zion United Methodist Church there.  I’m really looking forward to it.  But I will need time to prepare, so a short retreat now will provide time for planning the services and the meditations.

The first date will encompass a Thanksgiving service (the date is also designated as “Christ the King” Sunday in the church year). The later dates are the first and third Sundays of Advent.  It’s an exciting time to have such an assignment.

Now… about the village of Charm, and the country side surrounding it.  This is the very heart of “Amish country” and it’s always interesting to visit here.  Holmes County (with county seat of Millersburg) is home to the nation’s largest Amish (pronounced Ah-mish) community.  

I don’t know much about the Amish people but it is easy to see some of their customs when visiting here.  The people dress in plain clothes of solid colors, even the children. Farmers use teams of horses rather than motorized equipment. Riders use horse-drawn buggies or bicycles rather than automobiles.  The Amish illuminate their buildings with gas light, rather than electricity.  Most do not have telephones, but some sects do allow phones and even cell phones.

Amish country is a good place to shop, especially for hand-crafted items such as candles and homemade baked goods.  You will find fine art pieces here, too.  Woodworking is so prevalent that the number of furniture stores and manufacturers of wooden items represents the largest solid wood furniture industry in the entire country.

While eating lunch today I looked over a list of area attractions:  
     - ‘Tis the Season’ in Berlin claims to be the largest year-round Christmas shop in Ohio.  I went there this afternoon.  It was amazing.
     - Hot Air Balloon Rides over Holmes County…who would have thought of that in the heart of Amish country?
     -  Gateway Place at Wilmot offers the largest selection of Ohio wines found anywhere.
      -  Grandma’s Alpine Homestead, also in Wilmot, has the world’s largest cuckoo clock, and apparently there is a sizable collection of other kinds of clocks there, too.
     - Holmes County Pottery at Big Prairie has handmade pottery fired in Ohio’s largest wood-burning kiln.  Standard and non-traditional pieces are produced there.  
     -  The Thrift Shop at Millersburg is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen.  It is a “non-profit”, operated for the charitable benefit of the Mennonite Church.

I am thoroughly enjoying my visit to this area but will be back home early on Sunday.

And here is something else you might enjoy.  The Rutherford B. Hayes Museum and Presidential Home in Fremont has an exhibit of quilts (now through January). These quilts were made in northwest Ohio in the 1800s. The more durable of these are displayed on big boards in the museum, and the more fragile ones are in the house.

The quilt that would have the most interest for local readers is one on loan from Denny Park of rural Oak Harbor. This was made by Caroline Park in 1856.  She lived in a cabin on the park homestead in Bay Township. It was located on land now owned by the Little Portage Wildlife Area (Darr-Hopfinger Road).  The quilt is signed, dated and is displayed in a sitting room on the second floor of the Hayes house.

At this season of the year, as we approach the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the tempo of life increases and things sometimes get a bit hectic.  But there is always a sense of fun, joy and laughter in the air as we count down the remaining days of an old year and prepare to face a new one.

For the past several years I have written a short story as a Christmas present for the readers of Beacon Bits. Now, I regularly get inquiries about it throughout the months proceeding the holiday season.  

So this year, not wanting to break what has become a tradition, I’ve again been writing.  But this time I’ve done a complete short story for each week rather than one longer serialized story.  This year there will be six stories covering a range of fictional topics – everything from two feuding families in the back hills of Kentucky to people who live in a magnificent summer cottage along a river in a small resort town.  

There is also a story about a perspective bride who has a bad case of pre-wedding jitters, and a story about two twelve year old boys who feel the heady sense of freedom as they are first allowed on their own without constant adult supervision. Another story is about a college age woman who is tormented by her younger brothers.  You’ll appreciate how that situation was resolved…  

I like all of these stories.  But perhaps my favorite is the one that will appear last, actually in Christmas week.  It’s about a young boy, ten years old, who learns some things that amaze and mature him during the Christmas season of 1860.

The first story appears next week when sparks fly between two very different people who meet in a story called “Summer Cottage”. I hope that you enjoy it and the other stories that follow it in succeeding weeks.

I won’t be writing a “normal” Beacon Bits column until the New Year edition of The Beacon (January 1, 2009).  In the meantime my wish for all of you is that you will have a fun-filled, food-filled Thanksgiving on November 27.  Remember, if you don’t want to cook a big traditional meal that day you will be welcome at the Community Feast hosted at Trinity United Methodist Church, corner of Second and Adams Streets, Port Clinton, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.  

This is not a “charity meal”.  This is for anybody who wants to be together with a group of people on that day. There is no set charge, and if you’d like to give a donation, you may.  And if you want to contribute to the effort to provide this meal, just contact Ginna Fall or call the church at 419-732-3161.  

If you are home-bound and cannot get out of your house to go to the church fellowship hall to eat, call the church in advance.  A meal will be delivered to you.

Advent, the season leading up to Christmas, begins on November 30 this year.  Advent is a time of preparation, a time to contemplate the birth of the baby who would become the Savior for Christian believers.  Christmas Eve on Wednesday, December 24 brings worship services in most churches in the evening.  Some of these are candlelight services. Then on Christmas, December 25 some churches host additional worship experiences.

If you want to attend, call any church to ask what time the services there begin. If you reach an answering machine, someone will call you back.  You will be welcome at any church anywhere.  
 
Have a great holiday season, and at the first of the year we’ll resume a “regular” Beacon Bits column.  That’s only seven weeks from the date of this paper.  So time is flying.  Why not get started now on those things you want to do to celebrate your kind of Christmas?  The day will be here before you know it!