Mark’s Musings – July 31, 2013

| July 30, 2013
Mark Fortune

Mark Fortune

An incredible week in our community just wrapped up at the fairgrounds. For those that attended the Ohio Chautauqua to hear the five terrific and very talented speakers portray early Ohio life, you know the enormity of this event. As our community embraced the event and the actors themselves, the people of Coshocton County can be proud of how we are involved in something so unique and personal.

The five actors themselves said so many kind words about the people of Coshocton County. It was disheartening to hear that next year’s budget is reduced for this by 50 percent. No! Now, this may surprise you but I don’t always agree with what the government tends to do.

This would be disappointing and while perhaps not a tragedy – it is certainly not a forward thinking decision. It is enlightening to hear these stories from a perspective that the history books do not always present – remember the old saying – those who make the history tend to write it how they see it, which is not always fair to the other side. Or, said another way, those that win write it the way they want to. (In political parlance this is similar to “spin”)

So it was interesting to hear another side to Thomas Jefferson and Captain Clark of Lewis & Clark fame. Even Johnny Appleseed, aka John Chapman insisted on being called “John,” not Johnny.

We would encourage you to write your representative if you enjoy these programs and let them know how you feel. Otherwise, they are left to wonder – when cuts have to be made – “Well, folks must not be too interested in this, I haven’t heard from anyone”, so let them know.

The Summer Jam at the Airport Amphitheater was postponed due to rain. You can catch the new date by watching The Beacon or visiting the amphitheater website at www.coshoctonairportamphitheater.com. There are some great acts coming to this wonderful outdoor venue soon. Christian recording artist Josh Wilson is Aug. 10 and several country acts including The Kentucky Headhunters and Marty Stuart are on Aug. 24.

Speaking of country, the local Moose is putting on a grand show this weekend with Confederate Railroad. This event is to help raise needed funds for a new van for the Disabled American Veterans. Let’s get out and help this great cause!

It was a busy weekend in Coshocton County with the West Lafayette Hometown Festival – congrats to Queen Morgan Bradford and her court, the Ohio Chautauqua, the Elks shoot at Kids America, the youth performance at the Triple Locks Theatre, we could go on. At many if not almost all of these events are the folks in the orange shirts. I am referring to REACT of course. Thanks to these men and women who serve our community tirelessly. You are the best and a blessing to Coshocton County.

West Lafayette and our community will miss Joe Swailes. Our community is blessed to have men and women who don’t seek the limelight, who go to their jobs each and every day to help make our lives a bit less stressful and a bit more enjoyable. People who will gladly help you when they can, people who will give you the shirt off their back, people who are just good folks. In my experience, Joe was this person.

Category: Mark's Musings

About the Author ()

Mark Fortune, along with his wife Nancy, is the former owner and founder of The Coshocton County Beacon, the highest circulated newspaper in Coshocton County. He has over 40 years in the publishing business with sales, marketing, and journalism experience. After selling The Beacon to the AloNovus Corp., in January 2020, Mark has been a Business Development Strategist with the company. They publish a network of weekly news publications with almost a half million distribution weekly, a quarterly tourism magazine and a digital division. Mark enjoys history, and has a passion for genealogy, currently researching and discovering his Fortune ancestry. He and his wife Nancy live on a small farm outside of Coshocton.

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