OREGON ON THE BAY

That's the thing about this city, it was once part of the Great Black Swamp, and very hard for the settlers to pass through on their way to Michigan. The Indian tribes set up camps in a circle around the swamp, not daring to go in it. It was thick with black (muck) clay and some places four foot deep waters, and a breeding ground for mosquitos, carrying Malaria. Dense with a variety of tree species, it was also a desirable spot to settle in.

In 1838, Pierre M Erving, nephew to Washington Erving, the famous author, named it from one of his uncles books, Asteria. About the fur trading business, of John Jacob Aster, in the Oregon Territory. He wanted to bring trading to the north eastern area. Naming it Oregon Township. Making the first government.

Settlements were being bought, and saw mills, were built. They cleared the land, making farms, and sold the lumber to make war time materials. They dug ditches, and laid tile for the swamp to drain into the Maumee River.

The location is west of Toledo, north of Maumee Bay/ Lake Erie, east of Jerusalem Township, and south of Northwood, Ohio. It spans over 28 square miles, and has about 5 miles of shoreline. With a population of 22,000 in the 2010 census.

Ancient Oak, Ash, Hickory, Walnut, and maple trees were harvested in the sawmills, almost to the extent of extinction.

As the space grew, more people migrated there from other countries, to get jobs in the industries. Railroads, and refineries were formed, and canals along the river, to get goods imported, and exported to New York, and other areas, down the "Erie Canal".

The shipping industry, was also booming, ships were being built, to carry coal and iron ore, to there parts of the world via the waterway.

They built shacks ( shanty's) along the river, and fished off the shores, or hunted the fields for deer, rabbit, or other game, they harvested their food, and lived off the land. Eventually dwindling down the herds, making way for limited hunts, and regulated laws.

The second generation, built the stores, and started commercializing it. Selling goods and services to the community. Hunting was phasing out, as things became more readily available, and convenience took over, becoming more of a sport, than a necessity.

The population continued to grow, and everyone knew each other, by your family name, who you belonged to.

In 1957, they voted to incorporate it, and the next year it was adopted. No longer a township, but a city, with it's own water department, and treatment plant. A municipal building, and a tax department. Well on it's way to independence.

This was a great city to grow up in. The kids all got along, for the most part, they played together. Riding bikes, around the neighborhood, or hopscotch at the school yard, when school was out. Sometimes a bunch of kids would get together to play a game of kick ball. It was a lot of fun.

There weren't many "new" kids, or if they did move here, they didn't stay long, for whatever reason. Most of the houses were owned, not rented, so that might have had something to do with it. They may have run out of luck and had to stay with a family member, or something. There was only about a handful of apartment buildings, which has now doubled. Making way for more affordable housing.

The schools in the city got high scores, there was four elementary schools, two middle schools, built in the 1960's, and one public vocational high school, and a Catholic High School, that has a high tuition.

Great friendships, and lasting memories, were made in those schools. The teachers really cared, and back in the day, they were allowed to interact with the students after school hours, with permission slips, of course. I remember my third grade teacher, took me and another boy in my class, that lived by the school too, to see Superman, at the movie theater. It was our reward for cleaning the chalkboards everyday after school, or we'd help grade papers. Then our sixth grade teacher had a swimming and pizza party at her house, it was me and three other girls, on one day, and the four boys on a different day. The fifth grade teacher, which I didn't have, took her class up in her husband's airplane. It was an awesome time to be a kid. They never meant any ill intent, and most of the teachers, even went to the same churches as their students, we were like family. They were our mentors and wanted to reward us for a successful school year, and also cuz we were moving on to the next school after being with them for six years. I think it was a little bittersweet. But life was good, we were safe, and never, ever heard of sex trafficking, or any of the other crazy stuff that's going on now.

In 1949 the Parkside drive-in was built, and is still a favorite past time on a warm summer night. Sometime in the late 70s they added another screen. Under a new ownership,(1956), they changed the name to Sundance Kid drive-in, after the legendary Butch Cassady and the Sundance Kid.

Pearson Park, is right across the street, and used to be a two way road, the high school kids, would cruise in and out trying to hook up with someone, or just to hang out with friend, and show off their cool cars. The year before I started driving, they changed it to one way, to eliminate the cruising traffic. What a disappointment that was. I still drive through, like a habit, when I'm in town, I don't usually see anyone I know, but it's just the peacefulness of a park in the middle of town. In the winter, we used to ice skate on the ponds and go sledding on the snow hill. It was really fun.

They also have paddle boats to rent , which is fun to do with a friend, or kids. There's two ponds connected by a bridge, you can paddle the boat under it to the other side, which is kinda neat.

That's a good way to relax and get back to nature, on a nice summer day, or go walking on the trails around the ponds and through the woods, if you like to do that. There are also shelters throughout the park for picnics, and built in grills, so you can cook out.

Another place to go in this city, is Maumee Bay St. Park, there's something for everyone there too. Plenty of hiking and biking trails, and a man-made beach and swimming lake. On the other side is Maumee Bay, which if you look across to the other side you can see Consumers Power plant in Michigan.

They also rent out kayaks, paddle boats and jet skis, for the ultimate water fun experience. In the winter they have a very large sledding hill, that is more fun coming down than going up. When I look at it now, I can't hardly believe that I used to go up and down it at least a hundred times, and it never phased me, but I don't think I'll be climbing it anytime soon.

In 1958 when the city was chartered it adopted the slogan "City of Opportunity," later adding "On the Bay" in the late 80's. In 2015 to support spirit week, for college football, the mayor amended the slogan to "Oregon, Ohio, Buckeyes on the Bay, City of the Duck Hunters" to pun the original slogan, and take the confusion away from the Oregon St. University.

Another cool thing about this city is it's newly renovated recreation center, it's a beautiful complex, with 8 ball fields, and 6 soccer fields. Kids of all ages get the chance to play here. T-ball starts with 3-4 year old's, then the next level gets a pitching machine, then the coach pitches, and finally player pitch, for the older kids. When it's not ball season, it's soccer season, and I spent many cold rainy days on the bleachers watching my son play in April and May. Oregon takes pride in it's little leagues and keeping families involved and engaged.

Oregon also hosts the largest ethnic festival every year, in August, bringing in over 30,000 people in one weekend. The German-American festival, has authentic German food and drinks, Bavarian Dancers, from the local Bavarian Club, kiddie rides and lots of music and drinking. Truthfully it's pretty chaotic, but a good experience to go to at least once, to say you've been there.

So there you have it, a brief summery of my hometown. Some of the events may or may not have been totally accurate, as I was writing it in story form, in my own words and translation. But my facts were based off of the Oregon-Jerusalem Historical Society's reports, and book by Josephine Fassett.