What do you do when your last name is “Klaus?” Mark Klaus of Medina, Ohio, collected all things associated with Christmas until his collection became so big he had to open Castle Noel. I am always looking for something different to do when I travel. I was in Hudson, Ohio for the 4th of July and discovered Castle Noel in Medina only 25 miles away and it is only 30 miles south of Cleveland. I loved the Medina’s Main Street which has been restored and is part their Historic District.
In the center of town in what was once the Medina United Methodist Church is a place with “America’s Largest Year Round Indoor Christmas Entertainment Attraction.” The fantasy world of Mark Klaus (that is his real name!) is an accumulation of years of compulsive collection that has become a family obsession – one that everyone can enjoy, young and old.
My visit started with an introduction video followed by a guided
tour. There were dozens of photos and other Christmas related items. There are movie posters and vintage LP Christmas records ranging from Elvis to Glen Campbell to The Carpenters gracing the walls of Castle Noel, but other items on display are truly unique. In one walk through area there were window display filled with thousands of toys from the 50s to the 80s. The guide challenged us to looks to see which ones we had. Guess I am a bit too old because I found myself saying, “I bought that one, and that one, and that one for my children.” There were only a few I saw from when I was a kid.
Sprinkled into the magic is the Blizzard Vortex which was a whirling walk that felt like it was moving but wasn’t. It was bit unnerving. The Santa’s Chimney Squeeze let us feel what it was like for Santa to make his way down the chimney. When Klaus was a younger he performed what he calls “Santa run-bys,” where he would bolt through yards in his neighborhood at appointed times so the children who lived there could get just a glimpse of the Santa on his rounds.
There is the Grinch’s larger-than-life sleigh used in the 2000 movie
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” In fact the bag of toys on the sleigh was so big that, at first, I had a hard time figuring out what it was. A video explained the difficult technical problems in making Santa’s reindeer fly and look realistic. There was Will Ferrell’s costume from the 2003 film “Elf” is on display, and Cousin Eddie’s made-to-look-rusty RV from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” parked in a courtyard behind the museum.
The holiday displays in the windows of NYC’s high-end department stores have always added magic to the Christmas season. The stores, fearful that they would later end up in other stores, would often have them destroyed when the season was over. Mr. Klaus was able, under certain stipulations such as one that he would never sell them, able to bring several entire window displays to Castle Noel for people to enjoy for years to come.
The tour included a stop at Mr. Klaus’ workshop where I could pick
out props from some movies and try to imagine what more he and his helpers were going to create. No visit would be complete without a ride down the slide from “A Christmas Story.” Tip: get prepaid tickets on line because there are times when the tours are sold out and walk-ins cannot be accommodated.
When I travel, besides seeing all the usual tourist spots, I like to see some of the off-beat things. There are several books and websites that I found helpful. “Roadside America” has a web site where I can bring up a map and pick out the unique things to see in the area in which I am traveling. It is easy to search by location. Some are places we’d visited without checking their web site like Boldt’s Castle but I like to check out the ones that I might miss such as the statue of the large cow with sunglasses in
Lowville.
I also like letterboxing which is an intriguing “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online. Many of them are in or near historic sites and/or parks where there is something unique or offers a great place to hike or just relax and enjoy nature. There are over 200 in Oswego County. We “planted” some but got a notice from a letterboxer that it had washed away but the website is set so people can place notes to let people know the last time the letterbox was checked and any other pertinent information. There used to be a couple letterboxes at Mexico Point Park.
“Atlas Obscura” is my new go-to when I travel. When I was in Ithaca I checked out their site and while I knew that most of the students at Cornell were “brainey” I didn’t know that the college is home of the Wilder Brain Collection. Burt Green Wilder, a professor of anatomy founded the Cornell Brain Society in 1889 to collect the brains of “educated and orderly” people. There is one of Helen Hamilton Gardener, a suffragette
who wanted to prove that a woman’s brain was not inferior to a man’s and one of a murderer. I also like that “Atlas Obscura” lists 15,000+ places from all over the world. I have visited some of them. I think Myanmar’s Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is one of the most amazing things I have seen. The 611-ton golden rock defies gravity as it teeters on the brink of a 3625-foot precipice. I have seen many of the things listed but I am always on the lookout for unique things to see. I like the fact that they add new places. I just submitted Casey’s Cottage, which is one of the most unique places in Central New York. The cottage is closed for the season but, if you haven’t seen the inside of the cottage put it on your “must-visit” list for next year.
We will be going to Honduras again soon and we are always
looking for something new to see so I checked Atlas Obscura’s site. They list nine places in Honduras. We have visited the Hieroglyphic Staircase, the Rosalila Temple, the fort in Ooma and Lancetilla Gardens now I want to see the Talgua Caves which are called “The Caves of the Glowing Sculls.” There are a couple of other things listed that I’d like to see. When we were in Cincinnati we took pictures of the Mushroom
House which was listed in Atlas Obscura. It is not made out of mushrooms but looks like mushrooms. Wonder what the neighbors thought?
I think it is fun to check out the larger than life things on Road Trippers. Many were done to advertise a product or something and many have outlived their original purpose but are now just fun attractions.
Ohio is known as the “Mother of Presidents.” Seven United States presidents were born in Ohio plus William Henry Harrison made Ohio his home. On a recent trip to Ohio, John and I had the pleasure of meeting James Garfield. Well, not the original President Garfield but Edward Haney, a Garfield
portrayer. We were in Stow, Ohio and the Brimfield Historical Society and Kelso House Museum was not far away. I contacted them and found that they had a special presentation Thursday evening and as luck would have it the timing was perfect. We arrived a bit early and Judi Allen from the Historical Society gave us a great house tour.
Houses have interesting histories just like people. The Kelso
House, built in 1837, was at one time Union House, an inn with a ballroom on the second floor where dances and magic shows were held. Most inns, in the 1800s usually had two entry doors – one for the women and one for the men. The women were not allowed in the tavern area but had their own sitting
room. My, how times have changed. There are several outside buildings including what was once the public outhouse.
The meeting with “President Garfield” was held in the historical society’s meeting room on the lowest level.
Garfield personally greeted and introduced himself to individual
guests just as if he was campaigning. Garfield told about his early days in a log cabin where one night there was banging on the door. A huge bear had come to call. His father chased it up a tree, got his rifle, and shot it out of a tree the meat providing meat for many meals and a warm
rug. His father died when he was young leaving his mother to raise the family and work the farm. One day young Garfield was reprimanded for a minor infraction in school. The school master ordered him to go home. He walked all the way home and then returned to school. “Master Garfield did I not send you home.” “Yes, sir, but you didn’t say I had to stay.”
His dream was to go to sea and see the world. He left school early to earn money by working on a canal boat guiding the mules. “The closest I got to the water was when I fell overboard into the canal and nearly drowned. I decided I should go back to school.”
Education was important to Garfield’s mother; she saved up enough money so he could attend Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. He only had enough money for one semester but impressed the faculty and was offered a scholarship. Afraid of accumulating debt he worked many jobs while in school and ended up teaching at the school.
John and I have visited his home, Lawnfield, where Garfield was known for his front porch speeches. “My wife would graciously meet people at the door but would not let them in the house so I spent a lot of my politicking on the front porch.”
President Garfield’s time as president was short. He refused to grant an office seeker, Charles Guiteau, a position in the government because he was a “cheat and dishonest.” Guiteau shot Garfield in a Washington train station. President Garfield lingered for three months. Mr. Haney looked like Garfield and made the life of Garfield seem real by telling personal stories. It was an informative evening. The historical society had provided a large buffet of appetizers, desserts with wine that became our dinner.
It is a good time of the year for a road trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. “The Queen City” has a lot to offer visitors in the way of history, nature, and shopping.
1. Get Visual: Visitors entering the Cincinnati Art Museum are
greeted with a suspended blue Chihuly fantasy glass creation and can continue to view the works of Picasso, Chagall, Tiffany, and more all in location. There is no admission fee. Download Art Work’s walking tour to see the many murals scattered throughout the city.
2. Freedom Museum: The Underground Railroad Freedom Center is the place to open up your mind. The Center celebrates the heroes who created the Underground Railroad; a secret network slaves used to escape to freedom but the center also makes people aware of the 27 million people who are still trying to get their freedom.
3. Presidential: William Howard Taft was raised in the family’s tradition of hard work, fair play, and public service. Taft’s goal was never to be president but he did want to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He said, “Presidents come and go but the Supreme Court goes on forever.” The 27th president was the only person to serve in both offices.
4. Harriet Beecher Stowe: According to legend, Abraham Lincoln greeted Stowe in
1862 by saying "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War." Her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” was an international success and fueled the anti-slavery movement. The book tells the horrors of slavery and the dangerous path to freedom taken by many runaway slaves.
5. Parks: Not to miss is the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park,
home to 3,500 plant species from around the world and the popular “Butterfly Show” where thousands of butterflies are free to fly about. Smale Riverfront Park with P&G Go Vibrantscape is a unique multimedia play area that causes people to exercise without
them knowing it.
6. Neighborhoods: They say you haven’t really visited Cincinnati without walking through one of their unique neighborhoods. Over-the-Rhine (OTR) is the largest intact urban history district in the country with unique architecture, great restaurants and microbreweries. ManiStrasse, on the National Historic Register, with cobblestone streets is known for its fun Maifest.
7. Ball Time: See red at The Great American Ball Park, home to
the Cincinnati Reds, baseball’s first professional franchise. It is also home to the Reds Hall of Fame. Paul Brown Stadium is home to the Cincinnati Bengals, a NFL member. Both stadiums are the site of other events such as Cincinnati Music Festival at Paul Brown Stadium.
8. Food: You’ve never had chili until you try Cincinnati Chili: Spaghetti topped with chili and mounds of shredded cheese or try in 4-ways with the addition of beans or onions, or 5-ways with both beans and onions all with a hint of cinnamon. Don’t be embarrassed ask for a bib!
9. Shopping: Visitors can shop at Tiffany and
Saks or in one of the many unique shops such as Rookwood Pottery
Co. on Vine Street. No visit to Cincinnati is complete without a stop at Findlay Market to get something to eat. It is the oldest continuously operated public market in Ohio.
10. And more: Drive to Tarpis Street to see the fantastical Mushroom House.
Walk across Walk across the Purple People Bridge, a pedestrian-only bridge across the Ohio River, from downtown Cincinnati to Newport, Kentucky where there is a bevy of great eateries and the award-winning aquarium. Enjoy a riverboat ride on the Ohio River.
“The pen is mightier than the sword” is attributed to playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who in 1839 wrote a historical play about Cardinal Richelieu. And, according Friedrich Nietzsche: “All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.” An example would be Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Life among the Lowly.” Release of the book on March 20, 1852 infuriated slave owners and strengthened the resolve of abolitionists. The story of Uncle Tom’s long-suffering
life as a slave touched millions. It was the bestselling book of the 19th century surpassed only by the Bible. Simon Legree, Tom’s hard taskmaster, has become part of American lexicon when referring to a cruel employer who makes excessive demands. And, who could forget poor Eliza, hopping from ice flow to ice flow across the Ohio River to freedom. When Harriet Beecher Stowe met President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 he is purported to exclaim, “So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started the Great War!”
When John and I were in Cincinnati the Harriet Beecher Stowe
House was on our must-visit list. Except for a young lady doing research we were the only visitors so there was plenty of time to chat with the docents. Stowe’s father was a Congregationalist minster and was raised in a family of religious leaders, educators, writers, abolitionists, and advocates of human rights. Before moving to Cincinnati, Stowe lived in Brunswick, Maine where she hid a fugitive slave in her house for one night. She and her children, she had seven, listened to the slave’s songs and stories. He mentioned that he dearly missed his wife and daughter in South Carolina. Stowe even inspected his
back which was covered with scars from the numerous whippings. She may not have known his name but he remembered hers. After a few years of safely in St. John, Canada, the runaway, John Andrew Jackson, went overseas on the abolitionist lecture circuit during which time he wrote a memoir of his time in bondage, “The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina.” In the book he mentions Stowe by name and recounts the night he spent in her house.
At this time female abolitionists shocked the decorum of the early
1800s by speaking in public gatherings. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” helped to change that and encouraged more females to enter in public political discussions. Stowe wrote many books but it was a time when women and their writings were not taken seriously. A lesser known Stowe book, “Lady Byron Vindicated” caused an international uproar because she charged Lord Byron with incest. During the time the Stowes lived in Cincinnati the area was rife with abolitionists. The Ohio River was one of the dividing lines between slave states and free states with many runaways sneaking across the river to freedom, first in Cincinnati, and then after the Fugitive Slave Law required northerners to return runaways, onward to Canada.
We didn’t have time to visit the John Rankin House in nearby Ripley but there is a display about John Rankin in Cincinnati’s Underground Railroad Freedom Museum. Rankin was one of Ohio’s most active conductors on the Underground Railroad.
There is also a Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Brunswick, Maine and in Hartford, Connecticut. Connecticut is where she spent the last years of her life and, interestingly, she was a neighbor of Mark Twain.
The 27th U.S. president, William Howard Taft, who weighed 355 pounds, supposedly got stuck in the White House bathtub. It is open to conjecture; but, he did have an extra-large tub installed in the White House that could hold four ordinary men. When John and I were in Cincinnati we visited the house where Taft was born. It is now a National Park.
I have to admit we didn’t know very much about Taft but during our tour of his house and the adjacent museum my ambivalence turned to respect for him. Taft was raised to consider civic service as an important part of his life; however, he never wanted to be president his goal was sit on the Supreme Court because as he said, “Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.”
Even though Taft served the government in many positions
including Secretary of State under President Teddy Roosevelt he did not want to run for the presidency. He was encouraged by his wife and others to run. He didn’t like campaigning but did travel across the United States making 259 speeches. An observer in Minnesota after listening to one of his speeches commented, “I knew he was good natured but I never dreamed he was so dull.” In photos of him he usually is smiling and even has twinkle a in his eye. He defeated Democrat
William Jennings Bryan and promised to carry on Teddy Roosevelt’s program of progressive reforms. Taft felt big corporations were influencing politics to their own end. Sounds familiar a hundred years later. Even though there was a falling out between Roosevelt and Taft, Roosevelt said of Taft, “I have always said you would be the greatest president bar Washington and Lincoln…
Theodore Roosevelt is known as the “Trust Buster” but Taft implemented tougher anti-trust legislation. It was the beginning of Dollar Diplomacy, ensuring the financial stability of a region while
protecting and strengthening United States commercial and financial interests there.
Taft served as chief justice until his death in 1930. He wrote 253 opinions, or about one-sixth of all decisions handed down during his term. Most of his decisions were cautiously conservative. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Taft and John F. Kennedy are the only Presidents buried at Arlington.
Taft the first President to take up golf. Some western voters thought his golf playing indecent if not immoral. His love for the sport caused a golf boom in the nation, doubling the number of players on public courses. Taft's affection for golf also caused political problems during his presidency, when critics thought he would do well to spend less time on the links and more time at work in the White House. The more things change the more they stay the same. The museum has an animatronic of his son who shares wonderful personal memories of his father.
Ohio likes to lay claim to having the most presidents (eight) with deep roots in Ohio: William Henry Harrison, Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren Harding. We have visited the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor. We will have to make a point to visit the President Hayes Presidential Center, the Harding Home, Grant’s boyhood home, and McKinley presidential Library and Museum along with the burial sites of the Harrisons. In Canton there is a First Ladies Museum that should be interesting.
The Underground Railroad Freedom Center is the place to open up your mind. The Center celebrates the heroes who created the Underground Railroad; a secret network slaves used to escape to freedom, but the center also makes people aware of the 27 million people worldwide who are still trying to get their freedom.
The Freedom Center has been on my bucket list from the day it opened in 2004 and finally, John and I got to visit during our recent visit to Cincinnati. It was just down the street from the Hyatt where we were staying and nearby there is a Bell Connector bus that stops at major sites in the city – very convenient.
The Center was much more than I had expected. I figured it would
be about American slavery; and, it was; but it is more than that. There were displays that explored the history of slavery plus present day heroes working to eliminate slavery.
The videos and displays were informative. I am familiar with Harriet Tubman and I am always fascinated by Levi Coffin who managed to get slaves to freedom by pretending they were part of a funeral parade. It is worth noting that the Freedom Center is located just steps from the Ohio River, the dividing line between freedom and slavery. There is more to slavery than that which most of us know about.
Many people think that when slavery was outlawed in America that
was the end of slavery. Not so. The Center has a great section dealing with Nelson Mandela and his struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was the practice of segregating non-whites to specific locations and not allowing non-whites, who were the majority of the population, to participate in politics while the economics and educational restrictions of apartheid keep the non-whites poor. There is a replica of the prison cell where Mandela was held for many years.
Actually, slavery has existed for centuries but only America made it hereditary. Slavery, in several forms, still exists. Slavery is defined as the total physical and/or mental control of a person for the purpose of exploiting their labor or body for commercial of personal gain. The center defines five types of slavery: forced labor, debt labor to repay a debt, sex slavery, child slavery, and domestic servitude.
I think most of us are familiar with the sex trade because it is one of
the few kinds of slavery that makes the news. In the Unites States child labor was common until the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Children were employed in the textile industry because they were small and could maneuver in the tight conditions of the looms and other equipment. Today it is not uncommon to see children working in foreign counties making carpets. Years ago John and I visited one such shop in Egypt. The owner said he was teaching them a lifelong trade and cared for them because otherwise they would be living on the street. Interesting rationalization.
There are things we can do to help eliminate slavery in other countries. One of the easiest ways is to buy Fair Trade Certified products which ensure that farmers, workers, and fishermen are fairly treated, work in safe conditions, and are paid a sustainable salary.
The Freedom Center wants visitors to know about slavery today and to understand how modern slavery relates to the “American experience” and to “empower each of us with the knowledge that we can end slavery.”
When I travel, besides seeing all the usual tourist spots, I like to see some of the off-beat things. There are several books and websites that I found helpful. “Roadside America” has a web site where I can bring up a map and pick out the unique things to see in the area in which I am traveling. It is easy to search by location. Some are places we’d visited without checking their web site like Boldt’s Castle but I like to check out the ones that I might miss such as the statue of the large cow with sunglasses in 
I also like letterboxing which is an intriguing “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online. Many of them are in or near historic sites and/or parks where there is something unique or offers a great place to hike or just relax and enjoy nature. There are over 200 in Oswego County. We “planted” some but got a notice from a letterboxer that it had washed away but the website is set so people can place notes to let people know the last time the letterbox was checked and any other pertinent information. There used to be a couple letterboxes at Mexico Point Park. 
“Atlas Obscura” is my new go-to when I travel. When I was in Ithaca I checked out their site and while I knew that most of the students at Cornell were “brainey” I didn’t know that the college is home of the Wilder Brain Collection. Burt Green Wilder, a professor of anatomy founded the Cornell Brain Society in 1889 to collect the brains of “educated and orderly” people. There is one of Helen Hamilton Gardener, a suffragette 
Education was important to Garfield’s mother; she saved up enough money so he could attend Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. He only had enough money for one semester but impressed the faculty and was offered a scholarship. Afraid of accumulating debt he worked many jobs while in school and ended up teaching at the school. 
President Garfield’s time as president was short. He refused to grant an office seeker, Charles Guiteau, a position in the government because he was a “cheat and dishonest.” Guiteau shot Garfield in a Washington train station. President Garfield lingered for three months. Mr. Haney looked like Garfield and made the life of Garfield seem real by telling personal stories. It was an informative evening. The historical society had provided a large buffet of appetizers, desserts with wine that became our dinner. 
3. Presidential: William Howard Taft was raised in the family’s tradition of hard work, fair play, and public service. Taft’s goal was never to be president but he did want to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He said, “Presidents come and go but the Supreme Court goes on forever.” The 27th president was the only person to serve in both offices. 
“The pen is mightier than the sword” is attributed to playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who in 1839 wrote a historical play about Cardinal Richelieu. And, according Friedrich Nietzsche: “All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.” An example would be Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Life among the Lowly.” Release of the book on March 20, 1852 infuriated slave owners and strengthened the resolve of abolitionists. The story of Uncle Tom’s long-suffering 
The 27th U.S. president, William Howard Taft, who weighed 355 pounds, supposedly got stuck in the White House bathtub. It is open to conjecture; but, he did have an extra-large tub installed in the White House that could hold four ordinary men. When John and I were in Cincinnati we visited the house where Taft was born. It is now a National Park. 
The Freedom Center wants visitors to know about slavery today and to understand how modern slavery relates to the “American experience” and to “empower each of us with the knowledge that we can end slavery.”