One Summer in Vermilion. Vol. 1, Issue 7
During the Festival of the Fish Main Street gave away more than 800 bags of Goldfish crackers!. It felt like the perfect start to the summer. I worked Friday and Saturday afternoons and was able to enjoy the atmosphere! Here is a rundown the adventures in my eighth week,
After my Fish Festival shift, I walked around and saw the vendors. I tried the famous French fries from the Lions Club and I can see why they are famous. The Lions have been providing fries at the Fish Festival since 2004, and people keep coming back for more! They are also famous for their perch. Unfortunately, perch was hard to come by this year. There is currently a shortage because the population is down and perch is expensive.The Lions, along with Kiwanis and Rotary, are excellent at keeping up with community service. MSV constantly works alongside the Vermilion Rotary and these other groups on our events.
I took my friend to Cupcake Cravings. I ordered a confetti (birthday cake) cupcake, and my friend wanted a pineapple upside-down cupcake. I swear that Brenda puts something in her cupcakes that makes them so delicious! Could it be butter and sugar? Fair warning!
The Arts Guild artists do a wonderful job of capturing the beauty of Vermilion and nature in their artwork, and people recognize their talent! Our mission at MSV is to “bring the extras to our community”, and beautiful artwork is certainly a plus for any community! We’ve had quite a few people come in and look around. Some people look for specific artists, while others just want to browse. The “Spring Into Summer” show is going on now until July 11, so come on in and check out the beautiful things in our gallery!
I had the opportunity to water flower baskets with Vermilion in Bloom this week! I went with the Wednesday crew of Fred Miggins and Ken and Peggy Watkins. Over the watering season, we alone will water the basket more than 7,500 times on Wednesdays ! Add in all the other days all the baskets are watered and it’s getting close to a half million waterings. That’s volunteer commitment at its best! If you want to volunteer for VIB, follow the link above to get connected! I was also able to see Steinacker Hardware. Fred and Ken needed a part, and I wanted to find my way around a hardware store because as my boss says learning to navigate a hardware store is a “life skill.”
Speaking of life skills, I’ve learned a lot about common sense tasks along the way. One of the more fun ones was using a leaf blower to blow away Canadian Soldiers that cling to the building. Another fun task was pulling weeds out front. Thankfully, my experience with VIB was able to cultivate an appreciation for gardening, and it was a fun job! After all, I’m only 20 (will be 21 soon), and I need all the experiences that I can get!
I was able to talk with some train enthusiasts. I was out taking pictures for our 20th anniversary blog, and one of the places was the Main Line Rail observation deck. They are photographers on a mission to go cross-country and see as many trains as possible. One man had a scanner that measures railroad frequency and picks up on the engineers’ communications. It is very similar to the fire and police scanners some of you may have. One man was from Fostoria, Ohio, the guy with the scanner was from Alabama and one guy was from Manchester, New Hampshire. As you can see, our observation deck is quite a draw for train enthusiasts and people who want to spend time with their families! If trains aren’t rolling by, one can sit down and learn about interesting railroad history. For example, I learned that Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train passed through Vermilion in 1865. It had two Ohio routes: the northern route (cities such as Vermilion, Amherst, and Berea were visited) and the southern route (the train passed through Bellevue, Monroeville, and Norwalk). You really do learn something new every day and without our Main Line Rail Platform, look what I would have missed! If you’re a train buff, check out this information on the history and trains that ran through Vermilion.
Hayley Carter, MSV Intern
Note from the Director: “It’s true. We are constantly sharing our worldly accumulation of life skills with Hayley. As she says here: She’s only 20. We’ve mastered cord wrapping and coiling, using a drill, window washing, organizing, decluttering. They might not be the highlight of her internship, but where else are you going to hone paper shredding skills?”