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Ohio has many claims to fame, but to me Ohio means family: my mom’s whole side of the family is from there. We visited family many times through the years and Ohio will always be the place where I had many adventures (and misadventures) with my extended family.

Hocking Hills State Park? Oh, that’s the place where I fell down a waterfall (don’t ask, I was a tomboy, ‘nuff said). Cleveland? That’s where I contracted strep throat after a late night of clubbing with my cousins and walking barefoot in the street (my stupid shoes hurt my feet, OK?). Granville? That’s where I learned to skateboard (not very well mind you). Dayton? That’s where I went on an field trip to the Incinerator Site (now called SunWatch) during a summer archeology camp. Circleville? That’s where I went to the Pumpkin Festival with my brother. Newark? That’s where my aunt took us cousins for a walk at night through Blackhand Gorge. She told us ghost stories, then turned off the flashlight and ran. We all screamed and screamed (that sick sense of humor runs in the family). Savannah? That’s where I watched my second cousin wow the crowd when she showed up for her first Homecoming Dance.

I was lucky enough to learn about the state through doing—one of my favorite ways to learn. One summer my aunt sent my cousins and I to Camp Wyandot in southern Ohio. We had a grand time; singing songs, riding horses, floating down the river. The camp’s name comes from a Native American tribe, the Wyandots, which were part of the Iroquois confederacy. They and other Iroquois groups, along with the Miami tribe, were living in Ohio when the first Europeans came through in the 1500s.

A couple summers later my passion for archeology was fanned when my aunt sent us to an archeology camp in the middle of a soybean field. For two weeks we scraped in the dirt looking for clues to the lives of the Mississippian people who used to live there (the Miami tribe is believed to be descendant from the Mississippian culture). I was incredibly fortunate that my aunt agreed to let me volunteer at the site long after the kid’s camp was over, driving me miles every weekday so that I could delve into the “Moundbuilder” culture. I visited the old site about ten years ago and found a large subdivision in its place. Appropriately enough it was named Erinwood, probably for some other Erin but I’ll make of it what I will.

Since some of my relatives are from Zanesville I knew that Zane Grey was born and raised there. It was not named after him, though. His mother gave Zane her maiden name as a first name; the town was actually named after his maternal grandfather. A neat connection to Zane was that he had a home in Arizona where I grew up and a home on Catalina Island. His island escape is now run as a hotel called the Zane Grey Pueblo and it is where Lance and I spent our honeymoon.

Other relatives live near Mansfield so I knew that Pulitzer Prize winning author Louis Bromfield was born there. In his time he was a successful author who had many books made into movies. As a result he had many glitzy friends including Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, who were married at his house on Malabar Farm. Bromfield’s experimental farm in Pleasant Valley is where he actively pursued new ways of deriving goods from the soil.

In yet another example of how small and connected this world is we were recently introduced to the Doris Duke story while exploring North Carolina. Turns out that she and Bromfield were good friends and that after his death Duke helped purchase Malabar Farm. Her generous act eventually led to the farm becoming a working-farm state park, something Bromfield had always wanted. The state does a great job managing this sprawling farm; I’ve enjoyed every visit out there and this last time I was impressed by their new visitor center. I think Bromfield would be proud.

It is also while staying with family, which has spread both north and east of Columbus through the years, that I saw first hand the work of Johnny Appleseed. The folk hero was a real man named John Chapman. While he did plant apple trees it wasn’t willy-nilly. He planted nurseries throughout the area we call the Midwest. His first nurseries in Ohio were planted in 1800, several years before it became a state. Since Chapman enjoyed being on the move he had managers who sold the trees to incoming settlers for him. Over the years Chapman accumulated many acres and was turning a tidy profit which he promptly gave away. Some of my relatives near Mansfield were told that two of the old apple trees on their property were from Chapman’s nursery. That’s pretty amazing.

Driving north through Mansfield on my way to visit more family I passed the old, castle-like Ohio State Reformatory. The 250,000 square foot prison was built in 1886 in a style designed to inspire a spiritual rebirth of its inmates. I am not making this up, the structure’s architecture was supposed to lead prisoners “away from sin and toward repentance.” I don’t know if it worked or not but the sprawling building does make you look twice. I heard they offer tours which I would like to take one day. I also heard they rent part of the facility out for special events, like weddings. Now that is one unusual couple that would choose to get married in an old prison. The shackles of love, eh? The preserved building has been in several films, most notably Shawshank Redemption and Air Force One. Every time I drove by the place I tell myself, “Next time I’m going to stop and take some pictures.” But I was so excited to see my family that I didn’t.

Another aspect of Ohio that I am familiar with is the Amish culture. Ohio is known as Amish country and has the highest concentration of Amish people in the U.S. Nearby Pennsylvania comes in a close second. Defining Amish is not easy as there is not one cohesive, universal group with shared cultural elements; there are many small groups who differ slightly. It all started in the 1600s with German-Swiss Protestants. They were originally called Anabaptists and branded as heretics. The Anabaptists were forced to leave their lands and many of them organized in Holland. They became known as Mennonites. By the late 1600s a faction, who felt that Mennonites were becoming too worldly, broke away and became known as Amish.

Many families of both groups came to America seeking freedom. They flocked to Pennsylvania, because of its religious tolerance and soon spread to nearby Ohio. As an outsider there is much I do not know about the Amish but I do find it refreshing in this age of super-consumerism to see a lifestyle so simple. I recently read this from an Amish writer:

If you admire our faith—strengthen yours. If you admire our sense of community spirit—build your own. If you admire the simple life—cut back. If you admire deep character and enduring values—live them yourself.

As anyone who has tried to drive through the state has probably noticed, Ohio is the most densely populated state not on the eastern seaboard. There are people everywhere! Ohio is not only in the Midwest, it is part of the Great Lakes region, since its northern border is formed by the shore of Lake Erie. It is also considered part of the Grain Belt because of its large agricultural output: corn, soybeans, dairy, hogs, poultry, and cattle. Ohio owes its fertile soil to the massive glaciers that once covered the entire area.

Here are a few things I have not personally explored but that I know about Ohio. It claims it is the “Birthplace of Aviation” since the Wright brothers, who invented the plane, were born there as was John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth. Ohio also touts the fact that it has produced more U.S. Presidents than any other state: William Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Taft, Warren G. Harding.

I must stray from my topic just for a bit, you know I can’t resist sharing fascinating tidbits with you. William Harrison, our 9th President, was the only one from the above list not born in Ohio. He was born in Virginia in 1773, thirty years before Ohio became a state. He did move to Ohio and was a State Senator representing Ohio in Congress. Harrison has the unique distinction of having the briefest Presidency since he died 31 days into his term. Grant was the 18th President and fellow Ohioan, Hayes, followed him into office as the 19th President.

Next up was Garfield, our 20th President. The unlucky man not only served the second shortest term (after #9) but he was also the second President to be assassinated (Lincoln was the first). Talk about weird but guess who was walking with him when he was shot? Robert Todd Lincoln, Garfield’s Secretary of War and Abraham Lincoln’s son. Benjamin Harrison, President #23, was the grandson of William Harrison. McKinley, our 25th President, was also assassinated, at least he had already finished one term. He was shot shortly after being re-elected. Taft, the 27th President, is the man whose term saw the 16th Amendment passed (which allowed for the taxation of individual income). I shall think of him every April from now on!

Harding rounds out the list as the 29th President, he also served a short time as he died two years into his Presidency. It appears that the Ohio Presidents didn’t take to our country’s highest office, since two of them were assassinated and two of them died while in office.

The word Ohio is a Seneca term that translates as beautiful or large river, and I think that is an appropriate name for the state that is crossed with fertile river valleys. The most common nickname for Ohio is “The Buckeye State.” The Buckeye is also the state tree which produces a large, lumpy, roundish, brown, highly polished seed that looks like a deer’s eye (hence the name). The seeds and the tree have no commercial value or as my uncle likes to put it, “Ohio is full of worthless nuts.” I think he’s talking about the buckeyes, but then again, I’m not so sure. Something to think about…

Photos: View our photographs from Ohio.

Recipe: See a yummy recipe for Ohio Buckeyes. Great for holiday parties (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

Notes: We stayed in Ohio from 09/23/07 to 10/13/07.