INDEPENDENCE Day is nearly here and the celebrations of our freedoms have already started.
THE Pork-A-Lean presented by the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce and Belleville Brothers’ Meats on June 19 was moved due to the heat from the Farmer’s Market to the Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Association property in Bowling Green.
The event, in support of the BG BOOM Festival and Fireworks, featured drive-through service for the “world famous” Pork-A-Lean sandwich.
The Independence Day celebration on Wednesday at the Wood County Fairgrounds will include games, inflatables, and food trucks, from 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. with the fireworks at dusk. For information go to bgchamber.net/bg-boom/ .
AS you celebrate, take a walk or fly a kite in one of our beautiful Metroparks, go swimming, play golf, tennis, and pickleball, or have a barbecue. Hula hoops, croquet, badminton, and corn hole are great backyard activities. Whatever you do, wear patriotic red, white, and blue!
But also, play it safe when it comes to fireworks. Prevent Blindness Ohio (PBO) warns of the dangers of fireworks saying to leave Independence Day fireworks to licensed operators in authorized displays only. Even sparklers are dangerous. Is it worth it to get a child burned or worse? For information go to https://preventblindness.org/fireworks .
HIGH school reunions are popular during the warm weather months, too. Remembering the Age of Aquarius and the Woodstock Festival, Notre Dame Academy’s class of 1969 celebrated their 55 year anniversary at the Firepit Grille in Holland. Graduates reminisced and renewed old friendships.
Event chairman Mary Jo Campbell was assisted by Kathy Nidek , Mary Lou Czerniak , Joan England , Shirley Haenggi , Carolyn Morris , and Laura Draheim .
Showcased was memorabilia: year books, old newsletters, and more. A memory board of classmates who passed away included Maureen Shea , their class president, the first to die. She was missed.
Distance did not prevent graduates from attending. Michele Baxter traveled from Maryland, Julie Zackrisson from Virginia, and Molly Witker from Kansas. Mingling were Janet Secrest , Mary Kurt , Bev Rideout , and Pat O’Connell ; as well as Karen Schuller , Sue Hickey , and Liz Dumas.
A BIG reunion was the Toledo Celtics Football Club's 50th anniversary celebration the weekend of June 24. It was like one big reunion with several events commemorating half a century of Toledo Celtics Rugby Football Club in Toledo. Festivities kicked off on Thursday with a welcome reception for alumni traveling from out of town at Doc Watson's on Byrne Road. Friday evening, more than 150 people assembled at the Madave social club owned by Jerry Brown , a former player, for a banquet featuring the induction of two new members including Jon Orser , a former club president for 4 years, and Ben Mantei , a solid player and contributor for many years, into the Celtics Hall of Fame.
The current club president is Randy Bollin .
Speeches and stories on Celtics history from many of the old timers were entertaining. On that Saturday, the team played one of its regular season games following which several "old boys" games were arranged so that former players could recapture the enjoyment they had gotten from rugby if only for a day.
The Celtics do not have a permanent office space, but they do have a website. They play at a field just off of the Anthony Wayne Trail between the Toledo Zoo and downtown off of City Park in Sterling Field tucked back in a neighborhood.
The Celtics were founded originally by Bill Bingle , a local attorney who at the time was a student at the University of Toledo law school. The team included students and other residents, some with rugby experience and some without.
Since that time, the Celtics have played every spring and fall against top level competition from around the Midwest and Ontario as well as visiting teams in England, France, Ireland, the Cayman Islands, Hawaii, and more.
MANY FOLKS gathered for the annual Toledo School for the Arts Undisclosed presented by Art Supply Depot on June 20 at Toledo School in the Martin D. Porter Gallery which raised more than $15,000.
More than 100 national and local artists created a 12" by 12" original piece of art. However, the name of the artist was known only after the work was chosen. Then the artist's name was revealed on the back of the artwork, and thereby "disclosed."
Guests bought raffle tickets at $100 each, then waited in anticipation for their number to be drawn so they could select their piece of art.
Among the artists who did paintings were Allison Clements , Danielle Herrera , Sue Ann Ladd , Steve Mockensturm , Shannon Eis , Richard Reed , Beverly Huss , Kevin Schroeder , and Jan Thomas .
Cynthia's Catering sated appetites as guests searched to see their favorite. If their art piece was taken by the time their raffle ticket was drawn, they had to choose other pieces, which caused some scrambling about.
Auction winner of ticket #1 went to Bill Horvath , and the artist he chose was Jordy Rengifo Poma .
The first three artists chosen this year were Jordy Rengifo Poma, Jules Webster , and Bree Shulters .
Among those with raffle tickets were Paul and Louann Cummings , Sally Goligoski , Paul and Rona Rothschild , Mona Shousher , Zachary and Ryan Miller , John Campbell and Molly Jordan , Emily Miller and Dusty Whitman .
Awards were presented, too. The Students' Choice Award winner was Nicole Witt . The Martin D. Porter's Choice Award winner was Bree Shulters.
The Community Choice Award winner was Jordy Rengifo Poma.
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