East Liverpool High School - Walsh University: Fill & Download for Free

Let me tell you about my favorite state!I grew up here, am living here presently. But I have lived elsewhere for nearly longer than I have Ohio, and I'm not technically a native (British dual citizen by birth).Climate:We have several sayings. One is that Ohio only has two seasons, Winter and Road Construction. The other is "Only in Ohio can you experience all four seasons in one day". Both are true at different times.Summers can be hot and humid. We get a lot of cloud cover, so purely sunny days are somewhat rare. Some summers tend to be cooler than others, but almost always humid. The mosquitoes love it for that, though.Winters vary a bit, too. We can get a lot of snow some years, and nearly nothing at all on others. Makes for pandemonium when trying to figure allowable snow days at public schools. This year has been worse than most. But so has it been for the rest of the country.However, Spring and Fall are glorious. Ohio is perfect and colorful during these seasons. I liken the air on most days during these seasons to silk, the temperature and humidity is pure comfort. Open all the windows, air out the house and dry the laundry outside. Springtime comes alive with flowers, both in trees and ground. Crocuses first, then the rest. Glorious.Fall gets a bit cooler, but if we've had a wet summer, the trees explode into colors ranging from light yellow to deep burnt orange, with everything in between. Much of our forest is maple, which makes up most of that color. I live near Canton, and often drive south east to Tappan lake just to see the foliage.CultureOhio is a mishmash of various ethnicities. During the early days, settlers from a multitude of countries came here for the land. Many localities hold annual cultural festivals annually to celebrate the diversity.I grew up in Lorain, and they have a wonderful International Festival, showcasing foods and cultures from everywhere. Greek, Italian, Irish and other singular festivals can be found everywhere. Dublin, near Columbus, has a large Irish Festival. Canton itself has large Italian, Greek and even Romanian festivals.Many of the Scandinavian, Slavic, Polish, Jewish and German peoples tended to settle in the north, while Irish, English and French moved more south, although, now they are more mixed. There are still islands of some of these groups. Beachwood, near Cleveland, has a large Jewish population and has the Maltz Museum, dedicated to Jewish culture. Parma has a large Polish population, with people speaking the language even after several generations in the U.S. I used to work in grocery stores all over the state, and I love Parma specifically because the language can be heard everywhere.Southeast Ohio is considered Appalachia. A bit rundown in places, but they proudly display their history and heritage there. Several cities along the Ohio River are famous for their pottery, such as Steubenville and Liverpool. Marietta, our oldest city, is on the Ohio on IR77. The downtown area has been rehabilitated and several restaurants and shops have been built into original 19th century buildings and warehouses. You can eat a great meal while watching the barges and boats moving up and down.Football is the primary sport here, with two NFL teams, Ohio State, many smaller colleges, and plenty of top class high schools. Basketball comes second. But we did give Lebron his start.Food is regional, with some famous inventions in places, like the Po'boy (Polish Boy) sandwich in Cleveland, and Cincinnati Chili in, well, Cincinnati.RecreationOhio has some of the best state parks and wild areas around. Boating, fishing and swiming on Lake Erie or any number of lakes and rivers around the state is popular, as well as camping (at least my favorite) in most of the parks. Game is plentiful, and hunting is a seasonal passion for many, with separate seasons for bow, rifle and black powder.We have 2 major amusement parks, Cedar Point on Lake Erie, in Sandusky (famous for some of the best roller coasters), and Kings Island, near Dayton/Cincinnati.I've mentioned before about Football (American style), with the Browns in Cleveland and the Bengals in Cincinnati. Ohio State in Columbus hosts a Big Ten college team. The Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team is popular, also. Various other professional teams for different sports can be found all over, including soccer and hockey.We have many historic towns, some of which I've already mentioned. But some have been made into living museums of sorts, like Zoar and Schoenbrunn Village near New Philadelphia, and Roscoe Village near Coshocton. Historic monuments, like Fallen Timbers, site of the last battle of the Revolutionary War, near Toledo.A personal favorite pastime of mine as I travel around is spotting the many historic houses in many of the towns and placing the period in which they were built.Lake Erie has Marblehead, a popular tourist location near Sandusky. Nearby is Lakeside, an arts community much like Chautauqua. From there, you can catch a ferry to any of the islands. Perry's Monument is found on South Bass Island, commemorating the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Several of the islands have wineries, and they also are popular nightspots for parties and socializing.Wineries abound around the state, many of them with restaurants and shops. Check out Raven's Glen near Zanesville, or Gervasi in Canton. Ohio is famous for the "Ice Wine", a wine made from grapes left on the vine into the first frost. This allows the grapes to become super sugary, and the wine is extremely sweet, also. It is a favorite for dessert.Shopping spots include Amish country, in Stark, Summit, Wayne and Holmes counties. Ohio has the largest population of Amish in the country, and they live in many of the areas around the state, but these counties have a thriving tourist economy centered on the Amish and their products, including furniture, art and food. Try out Trail Bologna and Baby Swiss Cheese, two of the many local creations which have become popular all over. You might also go to Vermillion, on the lake near Lorain. It is a beautiful nautical town, with some neat shops. Longaberger Baskets are headquartered in Newark, but nearby Dresden has a number of shops dedicated to the baskets and accessories. The company offices are located in a building built to look like a giant basket. You can see this from Route 36 coming into Newark.There are some world famous museums to be found, like the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Museum. COSI (the Center Of Science and Industry) in Columbus is popular. Several of the larger cities sport zoos. Canton itself has an art museum, an historic car museum and the McKinley Museum, which offers local natural and cultural history, along with a planetarium, located right next to the McKinley Monument.Did I mention the Football Hall Of Fame?EducationOhio StateKent StateOhio UniversityOberlin CollegeAlong with an impressive number of smaller colleges and Universities. I have a child at Wittenberg University in Springfield. And near where I live we have the University of Akron, Walsh University, and Malone University. There is a satellite of Kent State, located next to Stark State College. Antioch College in Yellow Springs is offering free tuition. They are a small liberal arts school, and aren't accredited, but you can get a free education there.A few years back, Governor John Kasich signed a bill providing assistance to all military veterans at any of the state colleges and universities. Any veteran from anywhere in the U.S. Residency not required. I don't know offhand if this is still in effect, but it is impressive, to say the least.FoodI have mentioned a lot of food in some of the other areas, but some mentions here.Westside Market, Cleveland. A 100 year old market featuring dozens of stalls with fresh and preserved meats, fresh produce, and a few specialty shops.Great Lakes Brewery- Cleveland. Great tasting beer with very artistic and creative labels, each dedicated to some aspect of Ohio.German Village, Columbus. A micro community in Columbus, which includes some very authentic German eateries.Jungle Jim's Grocery, Cincinnati. This is the coolest grocrery store you'll find. There is a monorail car outside the store you can't miss. Various shops can be found outside the store, but just outside the entrance is a menagerie of fiberglass animals. Inside is huge, with vignettes all around, and the largest selection of foods you can imagine. The toilets are fronted by portapotties, which you open to lead into the actual bathrooms. I stop here whenever business takes me down that way, mostly because they carry castlevitrano olives, which are my families favorite. I typically end up spending much more than my allowance, though, since there is so much to find.PoliticsOhio is often called THE bellweather state during important elections. The state has predicted nearly all of the last few decades worth of Presidents. We have one Democratic and one Republican Senator, and John Boehner is the Speaker of the House. The state government is nearly all Republican, including the Governor, but can change during any election. We are not beholden to any party in particular. One cycle may usher in all Republicans, while another may remove every one of them for Democrats.Ohio is famous for the second most number of Presidents. None of them were very memorable, though.Business and IndustryOhio is part of the rust belt. Sad, but true. There are plenty of steel mills and we have auto manufacturing, ship building and oil refining.We are in the epicenter of the fracking debate. Much of the drilling in our state is now for natural gas, which has quickly become one of the major employers in the state.We also have farms. Some of the best sweet corn, squash and tomatoes around.Misc.Earthquakes, we got em. Not many, and they tend to be small. But they happen. Some have been due to waste wells used for fracking waste liquids (please, no arguments. The industry has already conceded the possibility and have stopped using the problematic wells).Severe weather and tornadoes, we got em, too. Flooding in some places.But, consider this. We have water. We have green. We are not in a drought.In conclusionIf you are looking for someplace with 24/7/365 excitement, like New York or LA, you won't find it here.But if you are looking for someplace good for your family, with plenty to do, Ohio is perfect.