Steele Mansion will have two functions when it opens- an historic inn and a special event center. Each of the rooms will have a distinct theme and character.  The Family Parlor on the first floor was where the Steele family spent their leisure time. How did they entertain themselves back then? There was no television or radio or computer!  They read books and talked about what they had learned. They played music on a variety of instruments. They played games. They loved to look at pictures.

We have been collecting interesting items that would have been used for entertainment in the last half of the 1800’s. The items will be displayed in the Family Parlor.  We have two Stereopticans, a popular way of viewing pictures. It was a hand-held device with two lenses surrounded by a shield that you held to your face. A card was inserted into a frame in front of the lenses that had two identical pictures. When viewed  this way, the picture looked three-dimensional! We also have two kinds of Magic Lanterns. The metal body of the lantern had a hole which allowed light to shine through a transparent picture.  The picture was projected onto a flat surface, such as a wall. This was a primitive version of our slide projectors. Unfortunately, a candle was often the source of light, which damaged both the lantern and the slides. The fragile glass slides rarely survived. Both of our Magic Lanterns have complete slide sets.

Small music instruments were popular because they were easy to learn, allowed for a lot of interaction and didn’t take much space. We have two “squeeze boxes”(accordions) which have intact bellows. They sound great! We have two antique zithers or lap harps, too fragile to play. But I have a new autoharp with all of the accessories, ready to play! We have an old German wooden horn, a ukulele, a bugle and a xylophone. We only have a couple of pieces of sheet music from the time period, and could use more. Any one who couldn’t play an instrument would probably sing.

The Steele family had an adjacent library to hold their book collection. Unfortunately, those books are long gone! We have managed to acquire only a few books so far. Such a lot of shelves to fill! They enjoyed reading and discussing a wide variety of topics, especially current events.

We will have special evenings at Steele Mansion that will begin with a meal characteristic for the time. We will continue with after-dinnner amusements, much as they would have done in the 1870-1880’s.  Good food, fun and educational too! Opening is anticipated in the Spring of 2014.

We are proud to announce that we are set to launch one of the first 25 GeoTours in the world, and the first GeoTour in Ohio.  The Visitors Bureau is joining the ranks with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Parks Canada, the Jim Henson Company, the National Park Service, and others as a proud host of these unique geocache groupings.

Caches have been placed under bushes, in birdhouses, at the top of giant wine glasses, and in ceilings all over Lake County.  For this first cache launch, we chose 20 cache sites based on geography, natural surroundings, uniqueness, and cultural significance.  Over the upcoming months, you will see a variety of more challenging and unique caches (such as ones underwater) join the list as well!

Our launch date is set for May 21.  Our GeoTour web page should go live on www.geocaching.com under “GeoTours” and within a couple hours we should have it up on our www.lakevisit.com website as well.  Once the page goes live, all 20 caches will be published and ready to be found.  Make sure to leave us some comments!

The experience of making this GeoTour has been absolutely amazing.  We’ve had such a great response from businesses and organizations who are looking to now get into the hobby themselves, and we’re hoping that they (and you) spread the word to get even more caches placed this summer!  For those of you “in the know” of the geocaching world, we have been hard at work making First to Find Coins and are working with local cachers to double check our coordinates, placement, and clues.

I have to say that there are a couple caches that I’m really proud of, but no – I won’t tell you where they are.  You’ll just have to search for them yourselves.  ;)

That’s the joyous cry in my neighborhood when the snow fades and spring comes over the horizon.  Once Scooter’s opens, even if it is still snowing, it brings on the memory of long summer evenings dining on their unique and delicious hot dogs, hand cut French fries and creamy ice cream.

Scooter’s is on the corner of Blackbrook and Heisley Roads (Route 44) north of Route 2 in Mentor.  It is a great place to stop on the way to Headlands Beach State Park or on the way home after a day in the sun and sand.  They have a small indoor dining area and many picnic tables outside.  These are just a few of Scooter’s hot dog creations:

Super Dawg - Cheese sauce, homemade chili & Sauerkraut

Chicago Dawg - Yellow mustard, tomato, dill pickle, relish, onions, cukes, celery salt & jalapenos

Slaw Dawg - Brown mustard & coney sauce topped with cole slaw

Kraut Dawg- Brown mustard and sauerkraut

Nacho Dawg - w/ taco sauce, tomato, coney sauce, onions, tortilla chips, cheese & jalapeños

My personal favorite is the Slaw Dawg and my husband always orders the Kraut Dawg.  Top your dog anyway you like, from naked to all-the-way.  ”Dawgs” come in three sizes – short (6”), long (12”) and the one pound, foot long Homewrecker.  You should believe them when they tell you that a small order of fries is enough for 2 people.  Portions are generous and prices reasonable.

Scooter’s has an extensive menu other than hot dogs – a variety of hamburgers, corned beef, chicken sandwiches, chicken salad, BLT, and salads – and I wish I could tell you about them but I just cannot seem to order anything other than a hot dog.  They also have a variety of sides and a children’s menu.   If you have someone in your party who is not a hot dog fan, they will certainly find something they like.

You should try to save room for ice cream.   Scooter’s serves up hand-dipped and soft serve in sugar or waffle cones.  There is always a long list of flavors.  You can also get combos such as:

Grease Monkey - Vanilla soft serve, hot fudge, bananas, pecans, whipped cream & a cherry

Dirt-n-Worms Sundae - Vanilla soft serve, hot fudge, marshmallow, Oreo crumbs, gummy worms, whipped cream & a cherry

Turtlishous Sundae - Vanilla soft serve, hot fudge, hot caramel, pecans, whipped cream & a cherry

Here’s a true story.  I have a friend who dines at Scooter’s many times a month.  He had family visiting from Italy and wanted to take them to a very American place.  He chose Scooter’s.  They loved it so much it was the only place they asked to go back to before they left to return to Italy.  I can only imagine how they are still telling their friends about the best place they ate in the USA – Scooter’s Dawg House!

Find directions and a complete menu at http://www.scootersdawghouse.com/.

Dick Bennett, CEO, reminds us that “The Y worked with nearly every school district and college in Lake County, the Boy & Girls Scouts of America, Lake MetroParks, the Lake County Courts and Jail, HOLA, Convoy of Hope and the American Cancer Society” in 2012, and they hope to do much of the same in the upcoming years.

Help fund these programs by attending their golf outing at Quail Hollow on June 3rd.  The Quail Hollow Country Club offers two 18-hole, Devlin and Von Hagge-designed championship courses to provide a beautiful, and possibly challenging, game.

Check-in begins at 8 a.m. Four-person Scramble starts at 10 a.m. with Dinner and Awards at 4 p.m. Registration Fee is $135 per golfer and includes 18 holes, cart, lunch and dinner with awards.

Dress Request: Proper golf attire is required for all players. Men: collared shirt, appropriate shorts or pants. Women: Dresses, skirts, slacks or shorts with collared shirt/blouse. No jeans or t-shirts please. Soft spikes only.

If you are looking to help the YMCA even more, Outing Sponsorships begin at $1,000 & up and a Hole Sponsorship + Foursome + Super Ticket is $1,300. Individual Super Tickets are $15 per golfer ($20 at outing) and include Putt for Cash, 6 raffle tickets and entry for Mulligan Game. If you would like to donate an item instead of cash for the outing, prize donations might include silent auction items, umbrellas, shirts, gift certificates, clubs, etc.

‘We All Come From The Past’ is a famous line from Russell Baker’s 1982 memoir “Growing Up”. He wrote that children ought to know what it was that went into their making, to know that life is a braided cord of humanity stretching from a time long gone-one that cannot be defined by the span of a single journey. The book talks of the things hidden and the things unsaid. 2013 is the fiftieth anniversary of the City of Mentor. The lecture series currently going on recalls the times when Mentor was a small nursery driven village and not the incredible retail development that it is today. Old timers offer first hand accounts recalling an era when Mentor High School, Mentor Rec Park, and Mentor Village Hall were all found on Mentor Avenue. They recall when local businesses like Snell’s Grocery, Traxler Garage, Mentor Drive Inn,and DeCola’s Restaurant were common place names.

2012 witnessed the 200th anniversary of Fairport Harbor. In the 1800’s its population of 300 combined with nearby Painesville made the village the second leading port in the area, behind Madison but well ahead of Cleveland. Finnish, Hungarian, and Slovak immigration allowed this refueling port to become a major commercial destination by 1847. Nearly a million dollars of business and over 3000 vessels found their way to Fairport in a season. Founded in 1912, the Diamond Alkali soon became the leading chemical corridor plant for over 100 miles of Lake Erie shorelines. Additionally, local merchants such as Katila, Lunka, Cosgrove, and Kangas became well known names in the county.

Madison, Willoughby, Perry, Willowick, and Wickliffe are still other communities with stories to tell. Willoughby’s lost airfield and medical college have storied histories. The Coulby Mansion and Rockefeller Estate in Wickliffe tell the stories of Cleveland’s Gilded Age. Both Perry and Madison’s soil and mineral rich terrain brought pioneer industrialization to our county as well as a haven for the fledgling nursery sector. Kirtland and Kirtland Hills became the summer estates of financial kingpins such as Hannah, Dow, Corning, Baldwin, Halle and others.

Washington Post journalist Kathleen Parker wrote of the passing of print. ‘Dust to Dust’ became her lament as today’s social media revolution usurped the icons of history’s past – photos and print. That is not the case here in Lake County. The Historic Lake County Alliance is a group of mostly volunteer organizations that are committed to preserving the historical assets of Lake County. Each site or historical society tells the story of its community past. A lighthouse from 1825, a Temple dating back to 1833, an Indian Museum are but a few examples of places to witness history first-hand.

Arcadia Publishing has a series called Images of America. Christina L. Wilkinson authored her work about Willoughby in 2012. The Fairport Harbor History Society published its work about Fairport’s history in 2003. Denise Michaud wrote about Madison, Ohio some years back. Barbara Davis authored a book ‘Roses to Retail’ in 2011 about her hometown of Mentor.

Other history books from the past include Mentor: The First 200 Years, 1997 and Mentor-a retrospect, 1988. The History of the Mentor Headlands and Vicinity was first released in 1957. Historical Willoughby 1853 Centennial Celebration 1953 and Here is Lake County,Ohio -1964 are two other books about our past.

I began my entry with the thought that “We All Come From the Past”. Our lives and the communities we live in are not a single journey, but rather a journey intertwined by an ever- evolving history that began a long time ago. If the summer of 2013 cannot be a summer of history for you, then I urge you to visit your public library or favorite social media site and secure these relics from the past known as books. Within their pages are the images of all things hidden and unsaid. My Mom once said ‘ it’s a good thing to know about your past and what’s around the corner.’ I didn’t know what it meant then, but I do know. Take that journey – the resources and volunteers are ready to assist you.

The Bald Eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, using its huge talons to grab them from the water.  By far the most magnificent bird, it also builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species.  Nests can be up to 13 feet deep, 8 feet wide, and weigh up to 1 ton.  The Bald Eagle is also notable for its being the United States of America’s national bird, a dedication it achieved on June 20, 1782.

To learn more, stop by the Nature Center to visit mini-stations and take part in hands-on and interactive activities.  While there, you can build a mock-eagle nest, hold a replica skull in your hands, learn more about bald eagles and bird biology.  Special guests include Smokey Bear and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s live animal ambassadors!  No registration is required to attend the open house activities, but you will certainly want to bring a camera!

If you would like to take one of three guided hikes to overlook the bald eagle nests at the marsh, you will need to register for those.  The hikes start at 12:30, 2:00, and 3:30pm.  The two mile hikes are on a rustic and sometimes muddy trail and are not recommended for young children.  Spotting scopes will be provided so that you can join in the fun even if you don’t have your own equipment.  Also, make sure to bring your own binoculars or we will also have binoculars to lend so you can see these awesome birds up close and personal.  For questions or to make a reservation for a bald eagle viewing hike, please contact the Mentor Marsh Nature Center at 440-257-0777 or *protected email*

The Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve’s mission promotes stewardship of Mentor Marsh for its environmental and aesthetic value and provides educational, scientific and recreational opportunities for visitors to the unique ecosystem and interactive nature preserve. Visit the Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve website at www.cmnh.org, and search for Mentor Marsh.  If you can’t make it to this event, make sure to stop by the Nature Center this summer to hike their trails, learn about marsh environments, or attend one of their other great programs at their 5185 Corduroy Road location in Mentor.

On Friday, May 3, 2013, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., the Downtown Willoughby shops, restaurants and bars will be hosting the first event in a series of Art Walks, each benefiting a specific cause. All proceeds from the May Art Walk will go toward the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Valerie Gill, president of the Downtown Willoughby Business Association and owner of Edge Hair Studio on West Spaulding Street, is aiming to raise $6,000 at the May event. “If we raise $6,000, we will be able to fully accommodate one Make-A-Wish recipient,” she says. “We are so excited to be driving patronage to Downtown Willoughby businesses while benefiting someone in need.”

Participating stores, which will be marked with a bouquet of blue balloons, will be featuring a local artist and their work. The restaurants, also to be marked, will be featuring a blue cocktail for the evening; again, the proceeds from these beverages will be given to the Foundation.

Furthermore, representatives from Make-A-Wish will be heading in and out of every participating location selling raffle tickets for amazing high-end prizes, including travel gift certificates, salon & spa treatments, Downtown Willoughby restaurant gift cards and more!

As the event is ever-evolving, a full listing of participating businesses, their artists and deals will be printed in a pamphlet that will be available at each store or restaurant, to help guide patrons along the path.

Should you have any questions regarding the May Downtown Willoughby Art Walk or if you’d like to donate to the event, please contact Valerie at 440-220-6595.  We hope to see you there!

Here is a current list of places to visit:

Edge Hair Studio
1899 [feat. a Blue SweetTart shot]
Glazier Insurance
Wild Goose [feat. a True Blue shot]
Blue Envelope Boutique
Bistro DTW [feat. blueberry muffins]
Finestra Gallery
Corks [feat. Blue Cheese-Stuffed Dirty Martini]
Traveline Ballantine [feat. Blueberry Lemonade Martini]
Willo Security John’s Cafe
DavEd Jewelers
Nickleby’s Roundbar[feat. Blue Island cocktail]
W. Brown Jewelers
Olivor Twist [feat. Cotton Candy Martini]
Michael Stefan
Fanucce’s Itlaian Restaurant & Pizzeria
North Coast Photography
Mullarkey’s Irish Pub
Elite Repeats
Tiffany Rose