Ohio -Toledo (Apr 26-May 5, 2021)

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We arrived in Toledo with no problems and stayed at the Toledo East / Stony Ridge KOA Journey in Perrysburg, OH. Of course, we try not to pay for our stays but we had to stay at the KOA because there were no Thousand Trails sites nearby. This site gave us a pull through in the trees next to a creek. The grounds were just gravel and looked more like a rugged camping site. Overall, it was a good stay especially since they brought us freshly baked large chocolate cookies.

The first thing we thought of about Toledo was Jamie Farr and his constant reminder about Toledo while he was Corporal Maxwell Klinger in M*A*S*H.

Anyhow, we looked up Jamie Farr and found there was a park named after him. Apparently he really hasn’t been back to Toledo since 1952 but in 1977, Toledo named him their favorite son and named a park after him. In fact, he has been named “the most famous jeep driver in history“. We didn’t know that the Toledo South Assembly Plant is the original Jeep CJ assembly factory and was close to where Jamie lived.

According to the article for the dedication of the park, “Jamie Farr may have left Toledo in 1952 to seek stardom in Hollywood, but the actor never forgot his roots and the people who made him the city’s most famous son.”

The park is not large but has a lot of room for gatherings.

In addition to going to this park, we went to the Fifth Third stadium for the MudHens, a minor League team in MLB.

“There has been baseball played in Toledo since 1883 and the MudHens have been around since 1896.  The ballpark was located near marshland inhabited by American coots, also known as “mudhens.”  For this reason, the local press soon dubbed the team the “MudHens”- a nickname that has stuck to Toledo baseball teams for all but a few years.  People may remember the MudHens from the TV show M*A*S*H and Corporal Max Klinger who was played by Toledo native Jamie Farr, who often wore a MudHens jersey.  While the team has been around a long time, championships have been hard to get, with championships being won in 1883, 1896, 1897, 1927, 1953, 1968, 2005 and 2006.  The MudHens have been affiliated with the Detroit Tigers since 1987.

The home of the MudHens is Fifth Third Field which was built in 2002 and is located in the downtown neighborhood known as Hensville, after the team.  The ballpark has a good view of the “Toledo Skyline” since it is located downtown.”

They have some great statues at the ballpark.

So after visiting these areas, we of course started searching for murals. We did find out that we were a little early to see the transformation of the Glass City River Wall Silos. Below is a picture of the silos. We can’t wait to come back and see what mural they put on this. Read more here: https://www.glasscityriverwall.org/

Can’t wait to see what they put here.

Here are the many murals we found in Toledo.

The couple that does the “Greetings From” Murals are on Facebook and travel in their RV across the country. They use spray paint for these murals.
Love to find a mural that has taken over the whole building
Close up of the left side of the building
Close up of the middle of the building.
The box in front is a shipping container.
The side of the shipping container. How creative to use this as part of the mural.
Toledo Strong
One of Lorraine’s favorites.
The list of the all the artists that did this one.
This one has many stories and what imagination to do this. In the far right corner is another scroll of all the artists.
Cesar Chavez mural by Mario Torero in Toledo, Ohio
September 12, 2017
“Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.”  (Cesar Chavez)
Green Lantern on the side of the Green Lantern Diner.
Pulled from the web:
Bowling Green State University students Liz Butterfield, left, and Jamie Scherer, right, work alongside several other students Thursday on a mural on the side of the Green Lantern in South Toledo. The pair are part of an annual two-week workshop put on by the university in partnership with the Sofia Quintero Art and Cultural Center in which students work on murals in South Toledo. This year, they’re tackling the Green Lantern…
Frida Kahlo by Bowling Green State University School of Art. (2019)
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Mario Acevedo Torero and BGSU Students on Broadway St. in the Middlegrounds District.
Artists: Natalie Lanese, an art professor at Siena Heights University, and Douglas Kampfer. Mural is located in the Warehouse District only a block away from Fifth Third Field, the home of Toledo MudHens baseball. Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first African American to play Major League baseball and is center of this mural. In 1884, Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings. The mural is approximately 30 feet by 70 feet, and is located at 19 S. St. Clair St. in Toledo.

That wraps up Toledo for us. Hope everyone is staying healthy.

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