Lorain County, Ohio

Not a fan of the place my family landed in the late 1960s. I didn't have a choice, because I was a youngster and Dad and Mom were looking for a place to settle, after years of the Army life of moving, moving, moving. We had lived in interesting places -- Washington, D.C., Orleans, France. Not that I could take advantage of what those places offered, but my parents could, and did, and did so for us kids, too.

When we did end up in a northeast Ohio auto factory town, I was at the age to go to high school. My peers all had known each other since birth, practically. I was an outsider. That didn't make me special ... anyone could have been an outsider. But me it was, sibs, too. I did not enjoy the experience and, after college and one year back, left with no regrets.

Black River view at Bur Oak in Sheffield Village, Ohio.
August 19, 2018. (Photo by Katy Buchanan)

My family, Mom, Dad and some sibs, stayed and it turns out that this little town, though I will never live in it again, has grown in ways that I care about (I know, why does my opinion matter?). Lorain County, Ohio, has a remarkable parks system. A beautiful marsh at Sandy Ridge, a gorgeous walk at Bur Oak and a deeply satisfying wood experience at French Creek.

Every time I come home, I enjoy these places.

Turns out (Mom tells me) my family almost might have moved to Oregon after Dad retired from the Army in the late 1960s. That might have been great, but the smaller 'green' story of a Lake Erie county in Ohio is pretty cool.