Welcome to Ashland

As an alumnus of Ashland Theological Seminary as well as the parent of an AU graduate, I was excited to see that the university’s search committee and Board of Trustees selected a new president for our community’s institution of higher learning. Welcome, Dr. Carlos Campos – and your wife Karen! We’re glad you’re on your way to Ashland.

As a child, I was fascinated with the idea that the Welcome Wagon Lady would knock on our door with an overflowing basket of goodies if we moved into a new house. My parents never did move, so disappointingly, the Welcome Wagon Lady never rang our doorbell. Of course, neither did the Prize Patrol from Publishers Clearing House.

As adults, Larry and I have moved twelve times, but, unlike Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, and G.W. Bush, we’ve never received a visit from the Welcome Wagon Lady. The amazing Margaret Ann Hess delivered a plate of brownies to welcome our teen-age son when we first moved to Ashland, but that’s as close as we’ve gotten to the Welcome Wagon.

According to its website, Welcome Wagon made its last home visits in 1998, curtailing that component of its greetings. It now extends its community welcome through a booklet of coupons delivered through the mail or even on the internet. So, Carlos and Karen, while I’m hoping you’ll get some brownies from your new neighbors, I’d like to play the role of a 1950s Welcome Wagon hostess and greet you on behalf of your new Ashland neighbors. Here are some tips that may help in your transition.

It’s likely you’ll be eating at the University, with its amazing dining plan and the Accent Room. But when you sneak off campus, check out the home-cooked meals and pies at the Lyn-Way, the barbeque at Belly Busters, and the Coneys and root beer at the A & W for an alternative to the national brands of fast foods. Like to cook? There are farmers’ markets on Wednesday and Saturday, and you can get fresh produce and all things “Ashland” at Local Roots on Cleveland Avenue.

For entertainment, we don’t have the glitz of the big city, but you can enjoy free concerts on Thursday and Sunday evenings at the Myers Memorial Bandshell in Brookside Park. That’s also the location for Ashland Chautauqua 2015, as actors will portray historical figures to celebrate two hundred years of progress. Given your drama background, you might want to audition for one of those gigs next year.

If you stop by the festivities at United Way’s Fun, Fabulous Fridays at the Corner Park in downtown Ashland this summer, you’ll get a chance to meet and greet lots of your new neighbors. I’m not sure if you’ve discovered the joy of grandchildren yet, but when you do, the spraypark at the Salvation Army Kroc Center on E. Liberty Street is the place to be on a hot, humid summer day. Let me know if you’re stopping by, and I’ll introduce you to the lovely Madelyn Simone, our precious granddaughter.

You’re arriving just in time to celebrate our city’s bicentennial with us. It might be too late to enter the beard-growing contest, but you can discover the heritage of the Ashland community in Ashland200 events throughout the summer. Make sure you get to the Fourth of July parade with the Budweiser Clydesdales – that’s shaping up to be quite the event. There’s nothing like an Ashland parade! We’ll conclude Independence Day with the music of the Kroc Center Big Band at Community Stadium, followed by a fireworks display to illuminate the summer sky. You’re welcome to join our family there, as we’ll be in the front row with the traditional bag of Twizzlers.

As you embrace this wonderful university where the extraordinary happens on ordinary days, I know you’ll be busy on campus in the early days of your presidency, but I hope you’ll take some time to get to know the community of Ashland. We didn’t make the recent list of the seventeen coolest cities in America, but “cool” is overrated. So welcome, Carlos and Karen, to Ashland, Ohio, a solid Midwest city populated with caring people and good neighbors. Looking forward to greeting you soon.