The Great Lakes Museum archaeologist talks about shipwrecks in Lake Erie.
Photos by Alberta Stojkovic | AIM Media Midwest
By Alberta Stojkovic
For the Sentinel
Happy Wanderers were off and running April 25 with its third excursion of 2023 to Toledo’s National Museum of the Great Lakes and Tiffin’s American Civil War Museum.
The day-long trip was enjoyed by 35 seniors with Happy Wanderers Coordinator Linda Ruehrmund, a retired Cardington teacher.
The group climbed aboard a comfortable bus in Mount Gilead and enjoyed a ride to the Great Lakes Museum on the Maumee River in Toledo. There the group heard from archaeologist Terri Stolden who studies ship wrecks on Lake Erie.
Stolden told the story of exploring several of the 600 shipwrecks in Lake Erie and some of the history of the estimated 2,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.
Participants had an hour to tour the museum with its exhibits about the Great Lakes. There were many artifacts from ships and shipwrecks along with hands-on experiences and videos.
Following lunch at Tony Packo’s restaurant, noted for its connection to Jamie Farr in the TV series “MASH,” the group travelled to Tiffin’s American Civil War Museum.
This unique community museum is run by volunteers in a repurposed United States Post Office. It has many displays about Ohio’s contribution to the Civil War, along with information about Civil War prison camps, clothing and uniforms of the war, and progress of trains and telegraph of the era.
Happy Wanderers is open to all who enjoy travel and fellowship. The group is in its 26th year and was founded by Ruehrmund. Wanderers come from all over Morrow and Marion counties.
An additional nine trips are scheduled this year. Most are in Ohio with the exception of the Sight and Sounds Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The remaining trips include the following:
• May 23: A matinee “Dear Soldier Boy” at the Ohio Star Theater with lunch and shopping in Walnut Creek, Ohio.
• June 23: Malabar Farms and Kingwood Gardens with lunch at Malabar Farm Restaurant.
• July 13: “Tied up in Knotts,” the story of Don Knotts of the Andy Griffith Show told by his daughter, along with lunch and shopping at Walnut Creek.
• Aug. 17: Indian Lake boat ride – a pontoon boat ride with a stop for lunch.
• Sept. 21: “Grumpy Old Men,” a musical comedy with dinner at LaComedia in Springboro, Ohio.
• Oct. 4: Jack Pine Studio in Laurelville, Ohio, glass blowing and other craft demonstrations with lunch in Circleville, Ohio.
• Nov. 11 is a Saturday Mystery Trip, “Timeless Treasures,” a red, white and blue day.
• Nov. 16-18: “Miracle of Christmas,” at the Sight and Sount Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with additional activities to be announced.
• Nov. 29: “Miracle on 34th Stree” at LaComedia in Springboro, Ohio.
• Dec. 12: Ohio Star Theater, “Rhythm of the Dance,” followed by a visit to the David Warther Museum of carving.
For more information and details, contact Ruehrmund at 419-864-7520 or [email protected].
Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for The Morrow County Sentinel.
