Somerset Woman Grows Zeal for Plants

by Megan Greve

Spring is just around the corner and thoughts of planting and growing are filling the minds of many. Some look forward to growing flowers to beautify their yards, while the lure of fresh herbs and vegetables make others’ mouths water. For Somerset Herbs owner Margaret Wince, both of these spring fevers hold appeal. She works to make Somerset Herbs a good place to stop while stocking up for the growing season.

Owner Margaret Wince opened Somerset Herbs about 10 years ago because she wanted a career change from teaching and she and her husband wanted to have a shop closer to home.

“We just wanted to have a business for ourselves on our own property as we’re growing things,” Margaret says. She also explains that the store has changed throughout the past decade, morphing from a wholesale herb store for restaurants in Columbus to what it is today: a shop that sells potted plants, herbs and decorative perennials.

Somerset Herbs is a seasonal store, with most of the business coming in April, May and June. To add to their business, the Winces also travel to a Columbus farmers’ market in the spring, summer and fall. In the wintertime they participate in a small, indoor farmers’ market in Worthington. Margaret says they enjoy the variety of customers they meet at these farmers’ markets, “from the old-fashioned home gardeners to people who want to decorate their yards with really fancy plants.”

Apart from plants and herbs, Somerset Herbs also sells produce during the summer months. Margaret says they don’t grow your regular crops, however.

“We don’t do corn and zucchini and stuff like that,” she explains. Instead, the Winces sell and grow such plants as garlic, heirloom tomatoes and shitake mushrooms. Margaret says she and her husband like learning about foods that people may not be so familiar with.

“There’s a whole world of alternate foods. And when you get into the farm market culture you understand there are a lot of people doing a lot of nifty things that are off the beaten path,” she says.

Margaret explains that she enjoys owning the store for many reasons, including the freedom to make her own decisions and try new things. “It is also an ongoing challenge which enriches me personally,” she continues, “and it gets a little of your artistic needs fulfilled as well.”

Margaret maintains that the zeal for growing and being creative with plants are what her store, as well as her attitude toward it, are all about. “We’re not in this for the capitalist portion of it,” she says. “We do need to pay our bills, but we’re not shop owners as much as we are growers and idea people.”

From Bud to Blossom: McConnelsville flower shop owner Ginny Bond focuses on community

by Megan Krause

Hidden in a store among Raggedy Ann dolls, angels and American flags is a sign that reads, “You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps.” Ginny Bond, owner of Ginny’s Flower Shoppe in McConnelsville, received it as a gift, but it is a clear reflection of her personal philosophy. This flower and gift shop runs on relationships and creativity, but it’s a sense of humor that keeps it going.

Ginny started working at Reed’s Flower Shoppe in 1960 after graduating from high school with no plans of one day owning the business. In 1983, the owner retired and sold the shop to Ginny and a friend. At this point, Ginny had already built a strong relationship with the store through working there. “I just loved the business,” she says. “I loved it completely. I still do.”

Two years later, the partnership ended and Ginny became the sole owner. She took the opportunity to expand the company, but made sure to keep the same friendly service that Reed’s provided. In a small town, good service defines a business, Ginny says.

A variety of gifts can be found at Ginny’s Flower Shoppe, but one of their specialties is Raggedy Ann Dolls. This year marks the dolls 95^th anniversary, and Ginny has been making her own Raggedy Anne-style dolls for 46 years. Her hobby began at a rummage sale where she found a doll dress and a woman in town suggested she make a doll to fit it.

Since 1964, Ginny has made dolls for her daughter and many others. Many of the dolls stay with the families for generations, Ginny says.

Between her creations and dolls that friends have given Ginny over the years, her collection has grown to over 400 dolls. Some are for sale at the store, but the core group of dolls is on display in Ginny’s office.

The eclectic nature of the store reflects on Ginny herself. She does everything from taking orders to making deliveries. Her daughter, Holly Bryan, buys for the store. “I’m not a real woman,” Ginny says. “I don’t like to shop.”

When Ginny is not at the shop, she spends time organizing a yearly tribute to war veterans at the county fair, and she plans a 300 to 400-child Easter egg hunt. She also enjoys photography.

Ginny serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Morgan County Chamber of Commerce and has been a member for nearly 30 years. She also helped to create the Downtown Business Association.

Over the years, the shop has become more than a store. Ginny sells tickets to local events, and considers her store a gathering place for the community. “We’re kind of like the local bar,” Ginny says. “Everyone stops, gossips and moves on.”

Landscape Artist Stays True to His Roots

by Elijah Turan

Gabe Hays had to make a choice. It was 1997, and Gabe was a landscape architect for a Pittsburgh-based business. He had traveled for design projects all over the world – from the Redwood National Park, to Europe, to Hawaii. He was happy, stable and successful. When fate interceded, he left it all behind to pursue a dream: he wanted to start a landscape architecture firm in his hometown of St. Clairsville.

“I grew up in various rural locations in Belmont County,” Gabe says. “My mother was a single mother of three and a school teacher. As such, we were often times very poor. However, I had a very happy childhood and attended St. Clairsville Richland Schools most of my youth.” As a boy, Gabe developed a passion for plants, and he spent many of his childhood hours planting trees, tending gardens and making landscape models. It was also during this time that he met a girl who would play an important role in his adult life: Sarah Mahan, his future wife. After graduating from St. Clairsville High School in 1990, Gabe decided to pursue his childhood interests by majoring in landscape architecture at Ohio State University.

“I was blessed to take advantage of two summer programs while at the Ohio State University,” Gabe says. The first program offered him the opportunity to help develop the Redwood National Park in 1993. The next summer, Gabe traveled to Europe to study architecture in England, France and Belgium. After graduating in 1994, he found work at a landscape architecture firm in Pittsburg, from which he designed parks all around the country. In 1997, he married Sarah. That same year, she graduated with a PhD. in communication studies from Ohio University.

“We were looking to find her an assistant professor position anywhere within five states of home,” Gabe says. “It seemed to be providence when Ohio University Eastern in St. Clairsville decided to start a four-year degree in communications and to offer a position which she applied and was offered. This unique twist of fate put us in the position of living between my job in Pittsburgh and her new job in our hometown or jumping off the cliff and establishing the Upper Ohio Valley’s only landscape architectural firm.

This was a difficult decision for Gabe. After all, the chance to start a practice in his hometown was perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, he had achieved much working in Pittsburg and there was no guarantee that a southeast Ohio firm would be successful. In the end, however, he decided to make the plunge and he opened Hays Landscape Architecture Studio, Ltd. in St. Clairsville.

“I joke with people that I started this business on ‘wife support,’” Gabe says. As with any new business, there was risk. As time went on, however, Gabe began picking up commissions in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and Hays Landscape Architecture Studio has become successful one project at a time. Recently, Gabe has even had the opportunity to design the future St. Clairsville Central Park, which will someday grace the center of his hometown. Currently, Gabe and Sarah are finalizing the adoption of their first child, Jaiden. “So, 13 years later, here I am enjoying a life I never thought would have been possible!”

Canal Winchester Renaissance Man Acts, Cooks and Curates

by Josh Spiert

What does a semi-retired part-time actor, part-time chef do with his down time? Mike Ippoliti of Fairfield County decided to use the extra time to take over a 40-year-old barber museum in Canal Winchester—an odd choice, but a rewarding one.

The Ed Jeffers Barber Museum’s roots wind back to 1968 when Canal Winchester native Ed Jeffers started collecting random barber artifacts. In 1978, he opened the actual museum, but did not advertise or attempt to promote it for commercial purposes.

The future of the museum was uncertain when Ed passed away on July 4, 2006. Both the Longaberger Basket Company and the Smithsonian showed interest in buying the artifacts, which could have meant the end of the museum’s residence in Fairfield County.

“Everybody in town knew Ed. He was one of the pillars of the community,” Mike says.

“They were both expressing interest in the museum, especially the Smithsonian,” Mike says. “And I thought, ‘if it goes to the Smithsonian, you might as well kiss it goodbye.’” Five years before Ed died, Mike had sent him a letter of intent stating that he would be interested in running the museum. Since he was retired and had some time on his hands, he decided to step up and help.

This is not simply an assorted set of barbers’ knickknacks. The collection Ed built up over the last 40 years of his life is impressive.

“We have about 71 barber poles, 700 or 800 razors, and 600 or 700 cleaning mugs,” Mike says. “There are even tools that go back to the medieval era when they used to do bloodletting.”

The museum is open by appointment only, and costs $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for students. When large groups come through, such as the GOBA bikers, he gives them a special discount as well.

During Mike’s first year as owner, there were only 256 visitors. Since he stepped up efforts to promote awareness of it, however, attendance has risen. Several barber schools around the Midwest take advantage of the rare collection and visit with each incoming class. Mike said there have been visitors from all over the world, including Japan, Australia and England.

Still, the museum isn’t a means of income for Mike. He lives mostly on his acting work. He has appeared in numerous commercials around the country, including everything from the well-known, local Safe Auto Insurance commercials to the California Garage Door Association. He has appeared in many films as well.

“There have been a lot of B movies that you’d see at 3 o’clock in the morning,” Mike says, laughing. He has, however, also played parts in big-budget Hollywood productions like Traffic and Little Man Tate.

Honoring his culinary history, every Wednesday Mike goes to the Italian Club and cooks a meal for its weekly meetings. He has other cooking offers, but turns a lot of them down because he wants to take it easy and the museum is his main priority.

Mike will continue to spread the word about his little museum tucked away in the second story of a downtown Canal Winchester building. The Barbers International Conference is being held in Columbus this spring and they will visit the museum, which should give Mike an attendance boost of about 250. Still, he is always looking for more visitors interested in the barber’s unique history. When planning a trip, however, make sure to call ahead.

Cambridge Cowboy Pays Homage to Gunslingers

by Brittany Picklesimer

Boasting one of the largest collections of cowboy memorabilia in the Eastern United States with 15,000 pieces, Howard Cherry’s favorite pieces of his impressive collection remain the clothes on his back.

Howard owns—and sometimes wears—10 sets of American singer and cowboy actor Roy Rogers’ personal clothing. Howard acquired them through a personal mutual friend, who entrusted them to him after Roy’s death.

Roy Rogers, however, was also responsible for Howard’s initial interest in collecting cowboy memorabilia. Howard and Roy became friends after Roy visited the Hopalong Cassidy Museum in Cambridge, Ohio. Posing for a photograph with Roy, Howard introduced his wife to Roy as “your biggest fan from Ohio.”

“It just developed from there,” says Howard. “My wife and I had the same idol [Roy Rogers] and we didn’t even know it!”

That was 1989. Eight years later, in 1997, Howard retired and opened his shop, 10^th Street Antique Mall, which now also houses the Hopalong Cassidy Museum. Through the years, Howard has met hundreds of cowboy stars via various festivals, including the annual Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers festivals in Cambridge. Dealers, collectors and cowboy stars alike convene at the festivals to buy, sell, meet and greet. The festivals are a profitable avenue for the cowboy stars—and their descendants. Howard estimates that Roy Rogers’s granddaughter earned $2,000 through two afternoons of selling autographed photographs of her grandfather.

The most unique piece of Howard’s collection, however, is worth much more than that. A signed movie poster of Roy Rogers’s first film, Under Western Stars, is worth $16,000. Other pieces of Howard’s collection are worth as much as $25,000. Is it hard, then, for him to let go of such rare and valuable pieces of memorabilia?

No.

Howard has learned to keep pieces in his possession for a period of time before putting them up for sale. Then, once it comes time to sell them, it is no longer hard to sell them because he feels that he has already owned them. After all, he has to make a living.

Then again, as long as he’s got the clothes on his back, a gift from a dear personal friend, he’ll always be a very rich man indeed.

Amish Entrepreneur Constructs Fine Furniture

by Dylan Scott

Abie Trowler sits at his desk and surveys the work of his hands, laid before him. Rocking chairs. Bed frames. A cabinet with three mirrors and six drawers. All carved from white pine or cedar. Stacks of logs fill an airy warehouse behind the showroom.

This is Abie’s place, Hidden View Rustic Log Furniture, planted next to his parents’ Hidden View Bakery on a winding gravel road off State Route 325 near Vinton. Follow the little white signs or you will get lost.

He is lead craftsman, manager and CEO. Hands folded together, his beard draws to a little finer point when he laughs – and he often does describing his days drawing up new designs for his new business.

Abie, who is 28, and his family of seven moved down from the Pennsylvania-New York border a few years ago for the “warmer weather,” he says with a grin. His parents and seven sisters, all one big Amish family, came along.

His father, Sam, had heard talk among their people that log furniture was profitable enterprise. As Abie grew up, it seemed like a natural means for him to provide for his family. “As far as working for a living, there is nothing better,” he says. “It’s amazing to see what you draw become something in real life.”

So, in December 2008, Abie opened Hidden View. Business was slow at first, but he expected that, and the patience has been rewarded. Out of at least 30 pieces sitting in his showroom, only five are actually for sale. The rest were ordered. He has sold furniture to wholesale companies in West Virginia and Kentucky, but Abie is now finding most of his patrons in Gallia County.

They could leave with a whole new house. Abie can construct anything and everything, with his nimble hands and some help from three of his sisters.

The timber travels down from northern Michigan or even Canada, if possible. The further north the better, Abie says. Wood grown in colder climates matures at a slower pace, which tightens the grains and makes the furniture sturdier.

Then, he saws, sands and trims the logs down to the posts and planks he needs for anything from a queen-sized bed to a night stand to a porch swing. The orders depend on the season, Abie says. Customers can check out the showroom for ideas or Abie takes requests. If you’re interested in working some designs into your bed’s headstand, he sends those pieces up to “an English person” – that’s you or I – in Chillicothe with the equipment and skills for that. His parents also work a weaving machine to turn loose yarn into area rugs.

It is a family venture, and Abie clearly loves his work. He shows off the warehouse and workroom like a proud father, but takes little credit for his own talents. I guess he knows actions speak louder than words.

Historic family farm gaining recognition for handmade cheese

by Jaclyn Lipp

For Al Scheiderer, running the Buckeye Grove Farm is more than a job. It’s a way to spend time outdoors doing what he loves and improve a business that’s been owned by his family since 1867. Taking care of a herd of Jersey cows and producing milk and award-winning farmstead-artisan cheese are all part of a day’s work.

The farm has been passed down through five generations. Al earned his associate’s degree in dairy science and took control of the operation when his sister wasn’t able to take over and his brother was dealing with health problems.

“Each family member just keeps doing more and more to keep the farm going,” Al says. “It’s always changing.”

Al’s parents started the cheese-making part of the business in 2004 just a few short years before they moved to Kentucky and handed the farm over to Al in 2007. He and his wife Renee had to play quick catch-up to learn about cheese making, and now share the work on the farm.

The farm produces four types of cheese by hand from Buckeye Grove Farm ‘s own milk. The Dixie Swiss, Boeren Kaas Gouda and Hill Folk Jersey cheeses earned the farm medals in the 2009 North American Jersey Cheese Awards. They also produce a Jersey Emment variety.

“We’re pretty surprised. Everyone keeps saying Wisconsin makes the best cheese,” Al says with a chuckle. “We were the only ones eligible in Ohio and we brought back three awards. We beat out Wisconsin and that feels pretty good.”

The Scheiderers have been invited to the World Jersey Cheese Awards this year on the Island of Jersey in the British Channel and are working out the best way to ship the cheese overseas.

Their four-year-old Emily is already trying to help her parents with the chores as she’s growing up on the farm, such as going to the cheese house or tagging along to sell the cheese at the market.

“Every day in the barn is a new story and experiences with Emily,” Al says. The Scheiderers document many of those moments in their blog, along with updating their Web and social networking sites weekly for customers.

Part of what makes their farm and how they run the business notable is their care of the herd, which has been certified disease-free. Al says they even do 90 percent of the vet work themselves, including IVs and birthing.

Al and Renee enjoy taking care of different parts of the farm. He loves making hay in the summer and Renee likes to go to the farmers’ market on Saturdays and meet customers.

“The most rewarding part is just being able to go out and be your own boss,” Al says. “I can get on my tractor and enjoy the whole day outside. Renee can spend the day with our little girl and go on a nature walk.”

Al still likes to keep the business family oriented, because as he says, “It takes a family to run a farm.”