Mark’s Musings – July 15, 2015

| July 14, 2015
Mark Fortune

Mark Fortune

So, I presume that you have heard about our most recent ranking on some obscure website that barely deserves a mention but since some folks suggested to me that we take a look at it, we will as little ol’ Coshocton ranked in the number eleven spot. As in the 11th worst place to live in Ohio. We dispute that ranking. Here’s why.

I could talk about the recent Ohio Chautauqua held at the fairgrounds last week – where the performers said that “Coshocton is one of those special towns with good people”. Hmm? That does not sound like a number 11 ranking, does it?

Or maybe we could write about the many charitable causes in our community and the fact that they receive very positive support. When people need help, the people in Coshocton County respond. We all know this of course but somehow that was missed in the “scientific” rankings.

The website states that, “While there are some really awesome places to live in Ohio, the purpose of this post was to use science to identify the places that are not very desirable. If you’re analyzing places in Ohio with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.”

Really? Not a lot to do? That’s funny because each week the pages of The Beacon seem pretty filled with “things to do” – now granted, we don’t have a professional baseball or football team – but on some years you could argue that Cleveland does not have one either. (I am laughing now at my own writing)

Just this past weekend you could have attended the tractor and antique power show at the fairgrounds, listened to a portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or gone to see the latest Pixar movie, “The Minions” at our very own – locally owned I might add – theater, enjoyed a walk or a run or a bike ride around Lake Park or even camped there. What? A campground? We have several and the folks that camp at them always speak highly of all. Interesting.

Wineries? Oh yes, we have several of those too. Good ones with great food, good wine and service. Some of them even offer lodging and the opportunity to prepare your own meal. That’s cool.

And it seemed to me that there were a bunch of people enjoying a live band performing outdoors on Saturday night at the Army Navy Garrison 628. We even have a community band AND we have the Walhonding Rube Band. How many communities can boast that?

And what about the fireworks on the Fourth of July? We had someone come in last week and tell us that “the Coshocton fireworks were better than the city of Delaware”. I didn’t bother checking but I imagine that Delaware was ranked higher than Coshocton. And just so you have something to compare to – Zanesville was number 5 and Cambridge number 6. I am not giving you the website address – you can find it yourself but in reality it does not deserve the credibility.

Category: Mark's Musings

About the Author ()

Mark Fortune, along with his wife Nancy, is the former owner and founder of The Coshocton County Beacon, the highest circulated newspaper in Coshocton County. He has over 40 years in the publishing business with sales, marketing, and journalism experience. After selling The Beacon to the AloNovus Corp., in January 2020, Mark has been a Business Development Strategist with the company. They publish a network of weekly news publications with almost a half million distribution weekly, a quarterly tourism magazine and a digital division. Mark enjoys history, and has a passion for genealogy, currently researching and discovering his Fortune ancestry. He and his wife Nancy live on a small farm outside of Coshocton.

Comments are closed.