Facing a 2-0 deficit late in the first half, the Evergreen Lady Vikings scored once just before halftime and twice in the second half to defeat the Swanton Lady Bulldogs 3-2 in NWOAL action. With the victory, Evergreen improves to 3-1-1 in the league and 12-1-2 overall. Swanton drops to 0-4 in the league and 4-11 on the season.
Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncounthmedia.com website.
Photo: Evergreen’s Reagan Radel (21) mixes it up with Swanton’s Miranda Yeager (9)
Several years ago, Delta residents Steve Raker and Linda Wills set up tables filled with “extra” produce at the outside entrance to the Delta Public Library on Main Street. The idea was to provide over-produced vegetables to residents who could use them instead of letting them rot and be disposed of. Quickly, the concept became very popular and people began to use the stand as a way to “swap out” some of their own extra produce with some of what was offered in front of the library.
Linda, Steve and Martie Peck of Wauseon, who found each other by way of the Friends of Fulton County Facebook page, manage the operation which is open to the public every day. “It’s contributed by the public. It’s a sharing table. People bring in their excess and take excess from other people, “explained Linda. “We started with seed swaps. It was all Steve’s idea. He started the seed swaps and we all kept coming back, working together and making a team. Steve actually started this table idea and we’ve all just jumped on the bandwagon. That’s just what we do. Someone has an idea and we all jump on and do what needs to be done. The next seed swap is October 21st at the Delta Community Park pavilion.”
As time went on, however, the group wanted to make their produce stand more presentable which led to Linda contacting a representative from Worthington Industries in Delta to inquire about having an actual produce stand constructed. The good people of Worthington stepped up and built a large and impressive stand constructed of red cedar that went on display for the first time this past weekend. “It’s beautiful and so much more than I asked for. They did a fantastic job,” commented Linda on Worthington’s work of art.
The stand now offers more than just produce. “Garden tools like shovels or anything you’re no longer using,” said Martie referring to the non-produce items that have been donated and/or exchanged. “If you had to give up gardening because you moved into an apartment, you can bring all your stuff here. Somebody will use them.” added Linda.
Nature Fresh was a generous contributor to the celebration of the new stand, supplying peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes to the group. Plants are another popular item you can find there and flower pots as well. “People whose gardens have just exploded, what are they going to do with it all?” asked Martie. Delta has a great answer.
Photo: New produce stand with Steve Raker, Martie Peck, Linda Wills and Rita Dryer
Click on the link above to access photos from the festivities. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymeidia.com website.
The visiting Patrick Henry Patriots met the Liberty Center Tigers on Friday night in what was billed as the “2023 Game of the Year” in the race for football supremacy in the NWOAL. Both teams were undefeated at 6-0, both sat very high in the State rankings and area computer points and both were considered shoo-ins for a top spot in the playoffs. On paper it looked like a great match up.
However, football games are played on the field, not on paper and despite the hype, despite the matching records and despite the equal dominance both teams had enjoyed over their opponents in the first half of the season, it was only the Tigers that came to play as evidenced by the 62-0 demolition of the Patriots.
The Kruse brothers, Trenton with five touchdowns and Colton with two, combined for 288 yards rushing and seven scores in leading an unstoppable Liberty Center offense to a 41-point first half and adding another 21 points in the running clock second half. The Tiger defense was just as impressive with three turnovers in pitching the shutout.
With the victory, Liberty Center is in the driver’s seat for a second straight NWOAL championship with a 4-0 (7-0 overall) record and a one-game lead over Archbold, Patrick Henry and Wauseon. The Patriots fall to 3-1 in the league and 6-1 on the season. Next week the Tigers travel to Evergreen to take on the Vikings while Patrick Henry welcomes in the Delta Panthers.
Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Colton Kruse races down the left sideline for a first half touchdown
On September 27, 2023 at approximately 3:59 p.m., Swanton Police Department responded with Swanton EMS to 129 St. Richards Court in Swanton for a possible medication overdose. Upon arrival to the residence, fire and police personnel were informed the incident was a domestic violence situation involving a firearm. The suspect was reported to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
EMS personnel left the scene until the situation was secured. The victim in this incident was able to escape the home and stated the suspect was still inside the residence with a firearm. Numerous attempts were made to contact the suspect, but were unsuccessful. Law enforcement personnel made entry into the home and were able to take the male suspect into custody without incident.
Zachary Wehman, age 36, of Swanton was arrested for Kidnapping, Abduction and Theft of a Dangerous Drug. Wehman was transported to the Correction Center of Northwest Ohio. Several firearms were recovered from the home. Additional charges may be pursued pending further investigation. Agencies assisting in this incident include, Swanton Fire Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Wauseon Police Department.
In less than two weeks, on Sunday, October 8th to be precise, the Swanton Sports Center will host a Fall Craft Show in their spacious banquet hall. The event, held from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, will be presented by veteran craftsman and craft show organizer Renee Tufts. It will be a great opportunity to find items to decorate your home for the Fall season, get ready for Winter decorating or buy great gifts for the upcoming holiday season. Proceeds from the show will be donated to the Swanton Bulldogs Football Team. Don’t miss out.
Click on the link above to access photos taken from the Spring show this past June.
The Evergreen Lady Vikings beat the Swanton Lady Bulldogs 2-0 (25-16, 25-20) in freshman volleyball in Swanton’s Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium last night. Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Evergreen’s Marlee Brubaker goes high for a spike
While it may not be on par with the legend of the Phoenix, the mythical bird that rose from the ashes of its predecessor to be reborn, the story behind Swanton Sports Center and Banquet Hall does have its similarities. It began as a banquet hall and skating rink built by the Knights of Columbus in 1948 then added eight bowling lanes in the 1950’s and was known as KC Lanes. Richard (Dick) and Norma (Nordie) Slawinski, along with their eight children, ran the vibrant and enormously popular business with league and open bowling seven days a week. Thousands of people from the area either held their wedding reception, or attended their prom or enjoyed some other major event in the banquet hall over the many years the Slawinskis and their employees ran the operation.
In 1959 the labor-intensive manual pinsetters were replaced by Brunswick automatic pin setters and in the mid 1970’s the bowling area was expanded to bring in 12 more lanes, making a total of 20 that are still there today. When high school bowling came into existence, the Swanton Bulldogs, Delta Panthers and Evergreen Vikings bowling teams chose KC Lanes as their home.
Eventually, after years of hard work and dedication to the community, Dick and Nordie sold the business and retired. Unfortunately, the individuals who purchased the business and the facility, did not have the same commitment or share the same passion for the business as the Slawinski family. To be fair, bowling as a pastime in America had significantly dropped off and the new owners, who had changed the name to the Swanton Sports Center, stopped reinvesting in the business and the facility itself. The building soon fell into disrepair, many customers stopped bowling or took their business and their game to other bowling centers, and in early 2011, the Swanton Sports Center was put up for sale. It continued to deteriorate, had no offers to buy and there was even talk of having the long-time Swanton institution demolished.
The building sat empty for approximately 18 months until Toledo businessman and former Swanton resident Tracy Ratliff purchased the structure with the plan to consolidate his two Toledo-based auto body and engine repair shops (Import Automotive) into a new Swanton location. Relying primarily on his son Boyd, daughter Charlene O’Connell, grandson Kevin Ford and several other family members, work began on renovations to turn the dilapidated facility into an automotive repair business. However, soon after the work had begun, many members of the Swanton community began stopping by and asking when the bowling alley would reopen. A month later, after hearing that question over and over again, Mr. Ratliff gave in to the will of the people and decided to bring the Swanton Sports Center back to life.
With everyone in the family already holding down full-time jobs, the work, none of which was contracted out, included cleaning, electrical, plumbing, roofing, painting, reflooring and much more, and took just over a year. During that renovation period, the new Swanton Sports Center made the very smart move of hiring their first employee, Mary Slawinski Stine, Dick and Nordie’s daughter.
Mary had grown up in that building along with the rest of her seven siblings. She worked the business for 40 years, beginning when she was just 14 years old. Mary not only knew KC Lanes/ Swanton Sports Center inside and out, she also knew the bowling industry and the bowling community of Northwest Ohio just as well. Her experience and guidance in bringing back the business was invaluable to the new owners. Mary’s knowledge of league bowling and the rules and regulations of the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), helped bring back bowling not just to Swanton, but to Fulton County as well, given that all other county bowling centers had closed. “It just warms my heart to see it come back to life,” she said. Many in the community have expressed the same sentiment.
In September of 2013, the Swanton Sports Center, or KC Lanes if you prefer, reopened its doors to the Swanton area community. Over the past ten years, the Ratliff family has continued to make major improvements to the facility and the business. Anyone who saw the place just prior to the doors being shuttered would not recognize it today. Just like in the days under the Slawinski family, it is a safe, warm and welcoming place for everyone and their families.
Photo from 2013 Ribbon Cutting (L to R): Ted Haselman (Swanton Middle School Principal), Jeff Schlade (Swanton Schools Superintendent), Ann Roth (Swanton Mayor), Charlene O’Connell, Bill O’Connell, Kevin Ford, Boyd Ratliff, Hal Stine, Mary Slawinski-Stine, Neil Toeppe (Executive Director Swanton Chamber of Commerce)
A smothering defense, two blocked punts and a strong running game led the Delta Panthers to a 31-0 halftime lead over the Swanton Bulldogs. A running clock kept the scoring down in the second half and the Panthers picked up their first league win 42-0. Delta’s record moves to 1-2 in the league and 3-3 overall. Swanton drops to 0-3 in the NWOAL and 0-6 on the season.
Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Delta QB Justin Ruple runs through a big hole at the goal line to score the Panther’s first touchdown.
Click on the link above to access photos. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
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