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Making our days better
As I drove through the intersection of U.S. 224 and Southern Boulevard recently, I spotted activity that stirred a wisp of nostalgia about the passage of time and the changes the years bring.
A bulldozer, scrap grapple and dump truck were hard at work ridding the property of the old building where I had learned a lot about becoming an adult and shouldering responsibility. The crew was razing the former site of Perry’s Amoco, a classic 1960s gas station, auto shop and hangout. I worked there in my high school and college years.
I drove past the worksite, my thoughts meandering to even earlier times. I went back to the days of fishing at Berlin Reservoir with my father and an uncle.
Berlin in the late 1950s was a primitive place. There were only a couple of launch ramps, no Mill Creek Campground and a lot fewer summer cottages.
I remember Dad loading a little boat at the Dutch Harbor dock to ferry us across the Mill Creek arm to the wooded peninsula where we pitched a tent for an overnight fishing trip. Other weekends saw our extended family stake out an oversized picnic compound on a bluff near Bedell Road. We pretty much had the place to ourselves.
Times change. Hobo camping and squatters’ picnics are probably frowned upon. Today the Mill Creek campground is packed with weekenders and Berlin’s waters are crowded with hundreds of pleasure boaters and fishers.
Used to be the far upper end of Berlin, where the lake necks down as you head toward Alliance, was a long journey for many boating anglers. But times change and now the south end and its good fishing waters are a lot more accessible for those who want to get away from the hubbub around the main lake access areas.
But times have changed.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife opened a modern boat-launching site on German Church Road off Ohio 225. After its official ribbon-cutting May 25, the new two-lane ramp is open for the public, along with an adjoining 95-vehicle parking lot. The address is 15988 German Church Road, Atwater.
The launching area is a $1.3 million project made possible by the Boater-Angler Fund, which comes from state sales tax on gasoline received by the Division of Wildlife.
“The new boat-launching site provides much needed access for the southwestern end of the lake,” said Division of Wildlife Northeast Ohio Fish Management Supervisor Phil Hillman. “This launching facility will provide relief to the heavily used Bonner Road boat ramp and will provide reasonable boating access late into the boating season [September most years].”
Hillman is right.
I cannot imagine Dad and Uncle Bill in that little boat and tiny outboard putting from Dutch Harbor to fish the willow flats above the Ohio 225 bridge. It would have taken a couple of hours and more fuel than the tank would hold.
The new ramp opens up new opportunities for thousands of anglers who decide the journey from Bonner Road is not worth the effort.
“Opportunities” is the key word. Developments that open opportunities are good things.
Soon, I suspect, that old Perry’s Amoco gas station site will be like the new Division of Wildlife boat ramp on Berlin. Soon another generation of workers will find employment in whatever new business is built at the corner of Southern Boulevard and U.S. 224.
Times change, yes. But change brings opportunity. When we look past the sentiment of old memories, we see not just change, but also new ways to make our days better.