Advice
from the Ashland Area Convention and Visitors Bureau: “Walk in that door you always pass.
Slow down. Be a tourist in your
own town.” As a semi-recent immigrant to
Ashland (starting year #7), I began my days in Ashland with a tourist mindset,
stumbling upon many Ashland treasures in the early months of my immigration. But when the Kroc Center development
whirlwind hit, I didn’t take enough time to smell the roses. So now, with a change in the rhythm of my
days, I’m checking out the flowers of our community.
I
began with a visit to the art exhibit in the Coburn Gallery at Ashland
University. The photos displayed there
were created by local artists, and I was excited to recognize some of the names,
including a couple of young friends – wonderful work. It’s free and open to the public – no lines,
no crowds - just art.
My
next stop was the seminary. Did you know
that for a minimal charge, local residents can become guest patrons of the
seminary and university libraries? Why
do I want to live in Ashland? This is a
community with three libraries and I can access them all! Yes, I do have one of those new-fangled
electronic book devices, but there’s still something about curling up with a
real book that’s in my blood. So I was
excited to walk out of the seminary library with one borrowed book and a huge
stack of new finds from their on-going book sale. I’m one happy camper.
Speaking
of book sales, one of the regular dates on my calendar has been the quarterly
library book sales. I usually make a
morning visit, but poor planning on my part brought me to the doors of the
Ashland Public Library with less than 30 minutes to go. All those books, so little time. But the trade-off was that I could fill a bag
of $1. I may just end up making two
trips to the October sale.
Other scheduled commitments kept me from
visiting our downtown area on the day of the recent car show, but there are
many open doors nestled in our downtown blocks that remain open even when no
special events are planned. Home
Hardware has so many treasures tucked away in its aisles, and offers a number
of services that we may need from time to time. Don’t forget about 2nd Street and
South Street if you’re taking a walk – many of the small businesses of our
community offer unique services and merchandise, as well as friendly
conversation, both in the downtown area and scattered throughout the community.
I
confess – I am – we are –so programmed to hop in the car and head out-of-county
to shop that we often forget what’s right under our noses. I’m not quite ready to give up my bargain-hunting
visits to Marcs, but I am limiting those to the days I’m on baby-sitting duty
in Canton because I’m committed to trying Ashland first.
Why? Here is the catch-22 situation for our local
merchants and entrepreneurs. Many have
taken a chance on Ashland, opening a small business with limited funds for
marketing. They depend on word-of-mouth
advertising, satisfied customers, and local foot-traffic. When we’re soliciting donations for our
favorite charity auction, we hit up our local neighbors and they give
generously, yet we don’t always return the favor by shopping locally. And don’t forget – a percentage of our sales
tax dollars help to support our county services.
If
confession is good for the soul, then I’m on a roll. Here’s #2. I am a football fan. We lived in Canton for 11 years. Yet the only time we went to the Pro Football
Hall of Fame was when we took visitors from out of town. I don’t want that to be true of my years in
Ashland. Whether it’s Grandpa’s Cheese
Barn, the Parsley Pot, Local Roots, the symphony, the historical museum, the
university or the Kroc Center, it’s time we’re all tourists in our own town and
walk in a few new doors. Thanks, AACVB,
for that reminder. Anyone ready for a
treasure hunt?
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