Features

One of the largest bald eagle nests ever discovered was the Great Nest, located near Vermilion in the early 20th century. By 1979, however, there were only four nesting pairs of bald eagles left in the Buckeye State, their numbers having been decimated by poisonous chemicals accumulating in the environment, mostly DDT.

“They transformed a resolution into a binding act of commitment,” says David Zavagno, executive director of Lake Erie Heritage Foundation. “That moment — where individuals stepped forward and put everything on the line — is at the heart of our event.”

Zavagno says that the July 4 action was important, but it was the delegates’ actual signing of the declaration that was an act of mutiny against Britain and its king. “Signers picked up a pen and risked their life, knowing they would be forced to pick up a sword to defend it,” he says.

Kilner, a chemistry teacher at Eastlake North High School, is president of the Great Ohio Coaster Club, where he says he’s formed lasting friendships with fellow coaster enthusiasts — whom he describes as “friendly people who want everyone to have fun.” But the relationships, he says, go deeper than a common admiration for corkscrews and loop-de-loops. “I lost my dad last year,” he says. “I didn’t publicize it, so I was amazed at how many people from the club reached out to me.”

Early in his career, Workman learned how the national furniture world works — through trade shows, corporate showrooms, and long days selling into a system built for scale. During his years at Taylor Woodcraft, a McConnelsville-based school furniture manufacturer, he built relationships with major retailers, including Williams-Sonoma. He began supplying consumer pieces — starting with stools — and saw how demand could push standardized production toward customization.

Add some other modern conveniences, and it makes for glamping at its finest. Turn the page to check out a few options for yurt stays right here in Ohio.

Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival, Aug. 13–15

www.reytomatofest.com

The Trail Town program, launched by the Buckeye Trail Association in 2012, has grown steadily to include communities across the state that can be accessed from the trail. The program is designed to support hikers, but the benefits run both ways. As interest in the Buckeye Trail continues to grow, with thousands of followers tracking and sharing their journeys, these towns are becoming destinations in their own right, drawing visitors who might not have otherwise found their way there.

Consaul, a communications consultant, has painstakingly turned the lighthouse into her summer dream home in those 15 years since she ponied up $71,010 for it at a U.S. General Services Administration federal auction. She lives and works there from May to October, then returns to her winter home in Virginia for the remainder of the year. The following photos are a peek inside the historic light, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025.

Even a small pond adds beauty and interest to a backyard, says Justin Miller, general manager of Aquarium Adventure in Columbus, and for the homeowner, an added value is “stress relief.” 

“You sit out there with the sound and the movement of the water and it just relaxes you,” he says.

“Over long periods of time, small changes in stress in the earth can tip a fault over the edge,” Brudzinski says. “How many cocked guns are left and how many faults are really primed? There is no way to know; we really can’t anticipate when and where they will occur. Our ability to forecast earthquakes is not great.”

While Hillsboro may have been the site of the most recent shaker, Brudzinski says that Anna, a town of 1,500 people between Dayton and Lima, is the earthquake epicenter of the Buckeye State.