You don’t always have to travel far from home and hassle with airlines and hotels and spend big money to get away from it all.
Jump in the car, choose one of the interesting cities in northwest Ohio, and make a day of it. Archbold is one of those towns that offers interests that satisfy me.
I could take the main roads, but this is the time of year to cut the car loose on back country roads to drink in the changing colors and to appreciate the farms that stretch far and wide in this productive bread-basket region.
Archbold was a neat little city before Erie Sauder got the idea of a farm village and museum and made it happen 5 miles from downtown. Archbold just seems to grow every year. And now that the tourist destination includes a hotel and campground, Archbold is gaining a higher profile.
The late Mr. Sauder was always one of my favorite interviews back in the day as we sat on a bench in the budding village green near the old school and barber shop that were included in his ambitious vision to educate the public in pioneer life. The Barn restaurant is now a frequent stop, not just for the mashed potatoes, bread pudding, and Monday senior specials, but to scrutinize the mega building that Mr. Sauder moved to his village so that city folks could see the inner workings of an authentic barn. I wonder if customers know — or bother to ask — during lunch or dinner how the barn operated as a small industry to accommodate both animals and grain crops in the great American agriculture picture.
The recent Archbold outing included two thrift stores, a fascinating international market, delectable sweets at the Mennonite Pantry, and Ickey’s for lunch and memories.
Mennonite Pantry
The sweets purchased — and yes, sampled on the way home — were great finds as gifts this holiday season. The Shops at Pennycrest is the sign to look for in downtown Archbold. The Mennonite Pantry is one of several small businesses including a flower shop. Mara Belle Schmucker of Pettisville, Ohio, is the owner, and the Mennonite-labeled products were an extension of her home business when her children were small. The products sold well and prompted Mara Belle to open the business, naming it for her faith.
She makes all of the products in kitchens on the second and third floor in the Pennycrest building, following family recipes. Product choices are cello bags of well-known sweet snacks like Puppy Chow and a crunchy mix based on s’mores. Chocolate barks are understandably good sellers and are packaged in handsome gold bags. The S’More Bark sweetened my drive all the way home. That was an hour of chomping chocolate with several textures, even marshmallows, and letting the calories fly out the window.
Ickey’s
Vegetable soup and a cod sandwich were OK on Wednesday, but Tuesday or Thursday would have been better days to visit Ickey’s for old-fashioned homespun foods.
Aud Dominique, the 91-year-old widow of Ickey, prepares chicken rivel soup every Tuesday. They say that even more regulars gather on Thursday for her fried chicken, bread dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Chatting with Bummer Dominique about the 50-year history of the bar-restaurant was one more example that local restaurants are survivors in today’s competitive market of chains. Bummer has been the owner since 1979. The giant Ohio State pennant that hangs over the bar tells customers immediately which team he is for, and the subject of his Friday morning sports program on WMTR-FM reinforces it.
The OSU pennant is timely during the football season, but to appreciate Ickey’s décor the year round, you have to look to the ceiling to the hundreds of 2-by-2-foot tiles. Each tile is inscribed with a message by the donor. The tile fund-raising project was the idea of Bill DeGroff in 1965 when he was fire chief and needed money for his department.
That’s when Ickey’s was downtown on Main Street in a bank building and where I first visited. Like Ickey’s, I too am an old-timer. And a survivor.
Care and Share
Just outside downtown Archbold, on Defiance Street that is also State Rt. 66, Henry, the 2003 Mercury, knows to stop at the three entities operated under the Care and Share umbrella. Two are thrift shops; one clothing and the other home furnishings. I always find something in one, or both, that I can’t live without, at least for the moment.
The shops support the Mennonite Central Committee, a worldwide ministry.
If you remember handmade rag rugs that wear forever, wash well, and fit anywhere in the house, the home store is a place to buy them. Stacks of the rugs, in varying lengths and in a variety of colors are on display. They are made of fabrics donated to the thrift store by the Tatters Club members, who meet every Tuesday night on the second floor above the shop.
The third business is the intriguing Ten Thousand Villages, located nearby so you can park and walk easily to all three.
Ten Thousand Villages is a melting pot of beautiful arts and crafts from all around the world. The products reflect the hope for a better life as well as the artistic talent of individuals and families in distant countries.
Elizabeth Baer, store manager, is proud of the olive wood nativity sets made in Bethlehem. She also encourages nonprofit organizations to take advantage of the shopping incentive that she describes as “giving twice,” or giving to their own charity as well as to Mennonite ministries. For purchases made by organizations the store will return a percentage of sales to the group’s charity.
The offer is made to individuals who patronize the store and credit their charity as well as groups who make a shopping date. The year-round percentage returned to participants is 10 percent, but from Nov. 26 through Dec. 10, it is 15 percent.
Mary Alice Powell is a retired Blade food editor. Contact her at: poseypowell@aol.com.
First Published November 3, 2018, 2:58 p.m.
