By Vickie Rhodehamel
Arcanum News
The Historic Bear’s Mill will hold a Fall Open House on October 7-8th. Their annual fall open house is a crowd pleaser with French market bean soup, cornbread, cider, apple dumplings, and live music. Visit them as they welcome the Fall at the Mill on Saturday, October 7th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with Grain grinding demos with the Miller at Noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.; and again on Sunday, October 8th from Noon to 5 p.m. with Grain grinding demos with the Miller at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Bear’s Mill is located eleven miles north of Arcanum at 6450 Arcanum-Bear’s Mill Road. For more information check out their Facebook page or their website: www.bearsmill.org.
It’s that time of year again! If you don’t want to cook after Trick or Treating all afternoon, the Arcanum Fire Department is selling pork chop dinners for Sunday, October 29th. You can pick them up between 4 pm and 6 pm that day. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased from any firefighter you know!
A card shower is requested for Kara (Neff) Didier, an AHS 1995 graduate who is in the Cleveland Clinic. Her family reports that she had a double-lung transplant eleven years ago and suddenly this summer she has started to reject those lungs. She had done very well up until this point. She is now awaiting new lungs in Cleveland and is staying at the Cleveland Clinic. Doctors want her to stay there so when the lungs become available, she won’t be four hours away and can go to surgery immediately. If you would like to send her a card, please send to Kara Didier, J82-10, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195. Kara is the daughter of Doug and Aloha Neff.
SPECIAL THANKS to this local attorney, Caroline Schmidt for her pro bono work on behalf of the Arcanum Alumni Association. Without her, they would not have been able to secure their Nonprofit status as a 501(c)3 organization. Carrie was born and raised in Arcanum and after residing in Columbus for several years she desired to work with clients in her hometown; she returned to practice law with her father in 2001. Caroline attended The Ohio State University earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1998 and went on to earn her law degree at Capital University Law Schools in 2001. She is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, and was Past President of the Darke County Bar Association. She serves on the Wayne Healthcare Board of Trustees and the Darke County Educational Service Center, as well as the Darke County Foundation. Carrie is an AHS Graduate, class of 1994. She resides in her hometown of Arcanum with her husband, Craig, and their three children. Carrie’s parents are Phil Garbig (AHS Class of 1970) and Karen (nee Stephens) Garbig (AHS Class of 1973). Carrie has also served as an officer with the Arcanum Athletic Boosters.
Happy 58th wedding anniversary to Gene and Nelda (Whiting) Morris of Gordon, Ohio. The couple were married on August 26, 1965 and are the parents of three sons; Scott, Doug and Mike. Gene is a 1964 Arcanum graduate while Nelda is a graduate from the Arcanum class of 1965. Congratulations, Gene and Nelda!
The annual Village of Arcanum Purple Heart Ceremony was held on September 14th at Veteran’s Park in downtown Arcanum. Special guest speaker was Michael Sanders. Nine new members were inducted and they are: Gary Daugherty, Norman Dickey, Michael Sanders, Wayne Coblentz, John Dispennette, Donald Kincaid, Marvin Kress, Ralph Pound, and William Strawser. It was a beautiful evening and many thanks to the Arcanum High School Band, Bruce Shank, and Debbie Nisonger for their parts in the meaningful program. Special thanks to all those who helped with the Golf Cart parade prior to the program. The village and school district are honored to pay respects and recognize the brave men and women who have given so much to our country.
What is the History of the Purple Heart Trail? The Purple Heart Trail was established in 1992 by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The original idea for the Purple Heart Trail came from Patriot Frank J. Kuhn, Jr., a member of Chapter 1732 in Virginia. His idea was carried to the national level by Patriot George Gallagher, a member of Virginia Chapter 353. Patriot Gallagher was a former National Adjutant. Patriot Gallagher introduced Patriot Kuhn’s Purple Heart Trail idea as a resolution during the 1992 MOPH National Convention held in Cherry Hill, N.J. The resolution was approved and the MOPH National Purple Heart Trail began. The Purple Heart Trail originates at a monument in Mt. Vernon, Va. Mt. Vernon is the burial location of George Washington. This monument marks the origin of the Purple Heart Trail.
The purpose of the Purple Heart Trail is to create a symbolic and honorary system of roads, highways, bridges, and other monuments that give tribute to the men and women who have been awarded the Purple Heart medal. The Purple Heart Trail accomplishes this honorary goal by creating a visual reminder to those who use the road system that others have paid a high price for their freedom to travel and live in a free society. Signs placed at various locations annotate those roads and highways where legislation has been passed to designate parts of the national road system as The Purple Heart Trail. The actual format and design of the signs vary from state to state. There are currently designated sections in 45 states as well as Guam. For more information about this national program, check out their website: https://www.purpleheart.org/PurpleHeartTrail.
“Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures.” — Henry David Thoreau
