Mark’s Musings – September 19, 2018
Mark Fortune
Coshocton County is so much more than the sum of its individual parts as those that live here know very well. Sure, you can drive up and down the streets and look at the empty storefronts and not recognize that there are people working really hard to get them filled, retained and restored. Some have already made that move as the opening of a new restaurant on Third Street confirms.
We have people that have started breweries, wineries, and even a distillery. Not many small communities can boast that.
We have groups and organizations that are tasked with marketing our community working together and hand in hand to ensure that the positive vibes you feel about Coshocton County are real and are spread throughout the region.
Our parks, museums and libraries are a joy to visit and a great resource for tourism and locals alike. Roscoe Village remains a vibrant piece of the puzzle that is Coshocton County and the small business owners and Village officials that depend on tourism and locals make it a priority to be helpful, kind and courteous to our guests.
Sure, you can drive around and identify potholes and streets that need repaired. Name a city that doesn’t have that need in the state of Ohio? But you would have to be missing your glasses to not notice the work being done in the Three Rivers Bridge area that includes the ramps, the land bridge as it is called and more. It will be a very inviting pathway to our community when completed. And just in case you were wondering, the concrete abutments are patterned after the sandstone on the locks. Very cool!
We have plenty of small business owners, manufacturing plants and many, many people involved in the agricultural sector of our community – growing and supplying food for the rest of the world. As part of that circle we have an award winning cheesery at Pearl that I went to with my Grandma as a kid in what me and my cousins called “the Bubble”. It was loads of fun, lots of memories and great cheese. Still is.
Next Friday the grand-daddy event of our community kicks off at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds as the 167th Coshocton County Fair hits the ground running with all of the smells, flavors and family friendly fun that we all love. Has it changed over the years? The names and faces may have changed but a lot hasn’t and for many of us – that’s what we like about it. Friends and family from near and far can come to the fair and find things in pretty much the same place they were when they were kids. But there have been improvements – like the Grandstand and much more. And that’s what I like about it. There’s enough change in the world and it’s getting increasingly more difficult to keep up. Some things can stay the same and be successful.
I write several columns like this each year and each time that I do I am thankful to live here. Are we a perfect community? Is anyone? I imagine even New Albany or Granville have issues from time to time. Do we have challenges? Sure do. Are they being worked on? Yes – by some great people that only have our best interests at heart. You can’t ask for much more than that. What they do need is our support and encouragement.
Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion
