Mansfield, Ohio.

After touring the prison Friday John and I drove into the town of Mansfield.  In the heart of the city is the Historic Carousel District. In this area there are tree lined streets and brick paved pathways.  The tourist may either wander in the quaint antique shops or ride the carousel. The historic area of Mansfield became home to the first hand-carved indoors wooden carousel in the 1930s. The charming carousel has, besides the usual prancing horses, a wide menagerie of other animals.

 The town also has a few native sons of whom they are quite proud. In the city park we found a memorial to John Sherman, brother of William Sherman and author of the Sherman Anti-trust Act.  Nearby, on the outside wall of a building, is a mural honoring Johnny Appleseed. He is known for not only planting apple seeds, but also for  a courageous overnight run in 1813 from Mansfield  to nearby settlements for reinforcements after Indians had killed a local shopkeeper. That was a piece of American history new to me!

 Saturday John and I drove  to Holmes County, a farming area which has the largest number of Amish  in the United States. This is quite a beautiful area with rolling green hills dotted with large barns and  austere farmhouses.  Crafts, antiques, produce and homemade foods can be bought from the Amish at roadside stands or in area shops.  The traffic was heavy on Saturday, I worried about the safety of  the  many Amish in their horse–drawn buggies driving on the roads among many high speed cars..However,the Amish did not seem concerned about traffic building up behind their buggies and drivers were patient with them. I guess this happens frequently for the Amish and they have learned to live with it.

Returning to our campground later that day we noticed the 100 mile marathon runners running/jogging by our motorhome. According to the locals this is a yearly event. The run had started earlier in the day, and according to the runners, was going to go all night until four loops of  25 miles were completed One runner commented to me: “I don’t know why I put myself through this”. I bet the little fawn, who was following the runner's path, also wondered what it all was about!