Shiloh, Ohio

Let’s go to Shiloh, Ohio. Okay. Where is Shiloh, Ohio? What is Shiloh, Ohio? Well, you get on SR 224, and drive west for about a hundred miles and then turn left. It is 10 miles down that country road. Be careful!! The road is “dippy” and you can’t see over the hill down the road apiece. Watch out for the buggies. The Amish are everywhere. Most important, when you get there, don’t blink. It has a railroad track, but still hasn’t installed a traffic light.

Welcome to small town America, USA. Located on Route 603 in Richland County about 15 miles northwest of Mansfield, Shiloh is the quintessential American small town. I know…we like to think of small towns as places like Salem or Warren. Those aren’t small towns. Those are cities. Shiloh is the real McCoy.

The 2000 census puts its population at about 750 people. It has a main street, a railroad crossing, several churches, and a factory which is going great guns, employing several hundred people. That is down from when I first visited there. The population was 850 way back then. It has its own water and sewer system, and a consolidated school system with the bigger town about 8 miles to the west, Plymouth, Ohio, pop: 1,852; 903 males and 949 females. Plymouth has several traffic lights and a town square. Moving up to the big time.

Seriously, we read about small town America and envision it as someplace in Iowa or Nebraska. The fact of the matter is that Ohio has its fair share of Americana, and it is only a short drive away. Shiloh is farm country. But for those of us from cities like Youngstown and Cleveland with a large ethnic population, it is exotic as anything you will find overseas. My wife is from Shiloh. Believe me, my first trip there was like visiting a brave new world. It was hard to believe I was in the same state.

Some of the “big” cities around Shiloh are Plymouth, Willard, and Greenwich (pronounced Green Witch). Smaller towns also abound like Shenandoah (pronounced Shawnador…don’t ask. I can’t figure it out either!). Towns akin to Salem would be Bucyrus (home of Ohio’s largest Bratwurst Festival), and Shelby, one of the centers of Ohio’s railroad industry.

Located nearby is the “muck” outside of Celeryville. The dirt here is rich and black and wet, and lends itself to growing, you guessed it, celery, as well as any kind of root vegetable like beets, and pretty much anything else you can think of. During harvest season, it is the home for hundreds of Mexican migrant workers. Some of them have found their way to Shiloh. During the season you can see them sitting outside cooking Mexican down home cuisine on grills and outdoor portable ovens.

This is one of the unheralded Amish population centers in the state. The Amish have quietly been buying up all of the local farms, and have made their presence known with buggies everywhere, and their schools and churches scattered throughout the countryside. The Amish store located a few miles outside of town sells dry goods and produce for unbelievably inexpensive prices, and draws people from all over Richland County.

But here’s the thing. If you want to get away from it all, there is no better place. When I would visit my wife’s home located on 40 acres on top of a hill, I could look up into the night sky and see stars as they were intended to be seen. The nights would be perfectly calm and totally quiet to the point where it was eerie. And in the background, you could hear the train and its whistle chugging through the center of town several times each hour. It doesn’t get any better than that.

And here is the other thing. Shiloh has a volunteer fire department, probably the most well equipped volunteer fire department in the state. Each year, it sponsors the Shiloh Ox Roast Festival. Tons of beef in a special seasoning are cooked for hours underground in a pit located on the outskirts of town. And the beef is devoured like nothing you have ever seen before. They start selling the sandwiches on Friday afternoon, and by Saturday night they are pretty well gone. Even the passing trains stop to buy these marvelous beef sandwiches.

In addition to the food which includes homemade baked goods, fries, and roasted corn, there is an old fashioned tractor pull, bingo at the town parlor, and plenty of beer in the VFW hall located next to the tracks.

But the highlight of the Ox Roast is the parade on Saturday night. It is one of the largest in the State of Ohio with floats and bands coming from as far away as Cincinnati and Toledo. The parade will last a good 2 – 2 ½ hours, and the town’s population swells from 750 to a good 20,000. And you would swear you saw Grandpa McCoy and Little Luke sitting in the folding chair in front of my late father-in-law’s barbershop.

I am not sure I would make Shiloh a sole destination when visiting this part of the state. But get a map and do some research, and you will find all sorts of interesting places to visit with a 30 mile radius. Accomodations are few and far between, but Mansfield has the standard chain motels giving you easy access to everything that northcentral Ohio has to offer.

By the way, the Shiloh Ox Roast is the weekend of July 25. More information available at http://www.shilohfire.net/.

Route 224 to State Route 61 south to Plymouth. Route 603 southeast to Shiloh.

Ligonier, PA

When I retire, it will be to Ligonier, Pennsylvania. What a great little town!!! Ligonier is one of those places I would hear about from time to time growing up, but I had no idea where it was. Two years ago, my wife and I attempted to visit a china outlet store somewhere southeast of Pittsburgh in what is known as the Laurel Highlands. When we got there, it was closed. The town we were in was a tad dumpy, so we looked at a map and saw that Ligonier was about 20 miles away…and decided to check it out.

Ligonier is one of those places that you can’t get there from here. It is not a particularly easy drive. It is not close to any freeway or the Pennsylvania Turnpike, although that is the best way to get there (Donegal exit off of the turnpike). It is located at the intersection of Route 30 (the old Lincoln Highway) and 711 in Westmoreland County, Pa., with not too many ways in or out. It is separated from the rest of the world by 2 relatively innocuous “mountains,” down in the valley, towards where Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania come together.

I suppose getting there could be deemed a pain in the neck, except that it is a spectacular drive. It is called the Laurel Highlands because it is up high. Here, the Pennsylvania mountains are more like rolling hills, and the way in and out is lined with manicured farms, some old time ski resorts (think rustic cabins in every sense of the word), clubs and golf courses accented by stunning vistas. It was fun exploring the area, taking side trips to visit what was advertised along the side of the roads.

Ligonier was originally one of a series of British forts built on the road west from Philadelphia, and played a major role in the French and Indian War, marking the site of a major French defeat at the hands of the British, allowing the Brits to march to the abandoned Fort Duquesne, renaming it Fort Pitt at the juncture of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. A replica of Fort Ligonier is built in its original location, and opened to the public for tours.

The town of Ligonier is built around a “diamond” which acts as the town square. It is neat and well kept, and loaded with stores offering all sorts of goods, including several jewelry stores, gift stores, and some spectacular ladies clothing stores. Its public buildings and facilities are new, and about as clean as you could want. Within the city limits, there is a Ramada Inn that is a step above the normal Ramada experience, as well as several Bed and Breakfasts. The Ligonier Tavern is probably the most upscale of the several local restaurants. But try one of the coffee houses. This is a town where everybody knows your name, and you can listen in on some of the local gossip.

Ligonier is a functioning town, and any tourist activity seems to be secondary to its daily business. Fort Ligonier Days, an October fall festival, is the centerpiece of the town’s celebrations. Christmas offers a town light up night, complete with a Santa parade and store open houses. Think Christmas in the movie Funny Farm with Chevy Chase. People actually live like this. The Mountain Playhouse and Green Gables Restaurant, about 10 miles from Ligonier, provides some serious theater to the area, as well as rustic-chic accommodations in The Huddleston Court.

After our visit, I checked out some of the real estate thinking it would be a very expensive place to live…and the entire Laurel Highlands area seems to be relatively affordable. Maybe it’s because of its isolation, or maybe it’s because the weather can be dicey in the winter, or maybe it’s because I can get to downtown Pittsburgh for an urban experience faster from my home in Canfield than from Ligonier, or maybe it’s because time simply forgot the area. Whatever the reason, Ligonier is worth the trip for a day, or for a weekend.