Maple Crest resident JoAnn Hilty may not have worked her fingers to the bone, but she does have a few bumps on them from years of “knotting” comforters. A talented quilter and flower arranger, Hilty is a Pandora “city girl” who moved with her husband to a dairy farm near Bluffton at age 18.
“I didn’t know a thing about farming,” Hilty laughed, “but I found out soon enough why Arthur was always late for our dates. Farming is hard work. There were cows to milk, calves to feed and chores to finish.”
Extensive work on the Interstate 75 widening and reconstruction project in Findlay allowed the project to reach its first major milestones last year, and work continues as the project enters its third year of construction.
In 2018, the most notable changes in traffic patterns occurred off the mainline lanes of Interstate 75. In October, Lima Avenue closed to through traffic and pedestrians under U.S. 68/state Route 15 for approximately one year.
What's your new year's day tradition? For Kevin Nickel, Wendell Miller, Everett Collier and Mitch Kingsley, it means taking the first bike ride of the year. Here's a Facebook selfie of the four in this year's ride. Their report states that it was a bit chilly .... in the mid-30. Still, the four put in 21 miles. Apparently a nice-sized bulldog accompanied them on a stretch of the road.
Although Mark Twain is believed to state that everyone complaints about the weather, but no one does anything about it, (**see footnote) Guy Verhoff from the official weather station at Pandora, does the next best thing.
He records it.
And, here’s what he found about our weather in 2018:
James L. Oberly, 97, died Dec. 31, 2018, at the Hilty Memorial Home in Pandora. James was born Aug. 27, 1921, to the late Reno and Bertha (Hochstettler) Oberly. On July 10, 1943, he married Betty Moffitt Oberly who preceded him in death on April 30, 2001.
James retired from Cooper Tire in Findlay and was also a farmer. He was a member of First Mennonite Church in Bluffton, Lima Moose Lodge #199, American Legion Post #382, Bluffton, the VFW and the Bluffton Senior Citizens. James enjoyed flower and vegetable gardening and was served in the U.S. Navy.
If you watched the Today Show this morning, you might have caught two familiar faces.
Jerry and Julia Szabo of Bluffton were among the new year's eve morning throng awaiting to be panned by the NBC cameras. Jerry informed the Icon earlier this week of their plan. He said that he and Julia hoped to be in line at the NBC studio by 5 a.m.
Looks like they made it.
Asked if we should watch for them in Times Square when the ball drops, he replied: "No way." Adding that most of those people show up around noon.
