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    Home » The Plain Columns » The Amish Editor

    Plain at the The Festival

    Published: Jul 14, 2014 · Updated: Jul 16, 2014 by Kevin Williams | 4 Comments

    Every summer my hometown becomes a beacon for balloonists.   The tradition of ballooning in Middletown, Ohio goes back to the early 1990s when the the The United States National Hot Air Balloon Championships were held here for 3 straight summers.  The city would roll out the welcome mat for dozens upon dozens of balloonists and their crews.  My wife's family business sells propane, something balloonists need to light their burners, so her family met many balloonists and my brother-in-law and father-in-law became crew members themselves eventually.  Meanwhile, I was a cub reporter during those days with our local paper and I had the chance to go on a media flight.   My appetite for adventure, I suppose, trumped my hatred of heights.   My balloon, due to the wind conditions that day, never got much above 900 feet.   My mother, on the other hand, took a balloon ride that same summer and soared to over 6000 feet.  For comparison, Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi is 6,684 ft.  Although I don't like heights if I'm going to take a hot air balloon ride, might as well go 6000 feet high.

    The annual Ohio Challenge  is an attempt to connect on a smaller scale with those glory days my city once captured.  For one weekend each summer balloonists descend upon the town for a festival and some competition.

    I'm sure readers will get tired of me saying it one of these days, but everything old is new again when you have a baby.  Aster was rapt and mesmerized by the colorful balloons billowing into the sky.  At times she seemed more interested in the small helium balloons other older children were carrying around on the grounds, but she warmed up to the big balloons by the end of the festival.

    With a large population of Old German Baptist Brethren just to my city's northwest the festival is a magnet for Plain people of their persuasion.  I spotted several Brethren families on blankets watching the festivities or just strolling the grounds.

    And of course, festival food has some Plain influences and I'll put that in a separate post today!:)

    plainballoonballoonsloons

    « Amish Cinnamon Raisin Bars
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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Missy

      July 14, 2014 at 5:11 pm

      You could always go to Connor Prairie and go up in their tethered balloon. 🙂 Much safer and probably cheaper.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        July 14, 2014 at 5:34 pm

        LOL, been years since I have been to Connor Prairie, that does sound fun!

        Reply
    2. Diane P.

      July 14, 2014 at 7:33 pm

      I LOVE the picture of you holding Aster. What a beautiful baby she is! I can see how how intensely she was watching those balloons. Enjoy her now-----before long she'll want to be with her friends and not mom and dad!

      Reply
      • Kevin

        July 15, 2014 at 9:57 am

        Thanks, Diane, you are so right, time is going too fast already:(

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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