Avon Lake, Ohio

A fascinating look into the historic journey to America from one of the first residents of Avon Township is now available at the Avon Lake Public Library, 32649 Electric Blvd., in a collection of letters from John Ellson, spanning from 1849 to the 1880′s. The collection was shared and acquired from the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire, England, according to the Avon Lake Public Library officials.

Original and transcribed copies of the letters were recently sent digitally to Laura Ploenzke, local history and genealogy specialist at Avon Lake Public Library, by Francis Howcutt, a resident of London, England, who moderates a Facebook group dedicated to the history of the area in England where many families who settled in Avon originated.

The story regarding the letters begins almost two centuries ago when on June 11, 1849, Ellson and his family of eight boarded the ship Liddons in Liverpool, England, and left the country. More than two dozen of the letters Ellson wrote over almost three decades from Avon Township to his brother William, who resided in Northamptonshire, England, survived and were donated in 1995 to the Record Office for Leicestershire where they were cataloged and preserved, according to the press release.

Howcutt and Ploenzke began corresponding two years ago when he found information she had posted about early Lorain County families from England on FamilySearch.org, a genealogy database. He mentioned that he had learned of Ellson’s letters and offered to go to the record office to take pictures of them and send them to Ploenzke. The letter exchange took place in May.

“I am thrilled that we were able to acquire copies of this collection,” said Ploenzke in an email. “They paint a vivid picture of what life was like in this area in the 1850s and are an invaluable resource to anyone researching Avon Township during this time period. Prior to receiving these letters, we had nothing on the Ellson family in our local history collection. However, we do have information about other early Avon Township families that has been donated by area residents.”

Ploenzke has compiled the printed images in a binder that will be added to the library’s local history collection for the public to use.

To view the letters, guests can visit the Marybelle Arnold North Coast History Room at the library during regular library hours (alpl.org), or call the library at 440-933-8127.

AVON

Swifties unite: Join fellow Swifties and create friendship bracelets (supplies provided) while listening to hits from Taylor Swift from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Avon Branch Library, 37485 Harvest Drive. Pre-registration is required, go to LorainPublicLibrary.org/programs.

Home for the Holidays tours/raffle: This year, Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana (OKI) and the Home Builders Association’s Charitable, Education Foundation (HBACEF), and WEWS TV 5 have partnered for a fourth year in the Home for the Holidays raffle.

The recently constructed 3,100-square-foot modern European-style home, valued at $799,000, is now open for tours at 33678 Via San Angelo in the Red Tail Golf Community. Built by Mancuso Homes of Rocky River, the home has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms and a three-car garage.

Daily tours are from noon to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Wednesdays until 8 p.m. The home will be open to the public every day now through Dec. 31 (except Christmas Day).

Raffle tickets are $100 each for a chance to win the home and the goal is to sell 15,000 tickets. The winning ticket will be drawn on Dec. 31 and announced on WEWS TV 5 that evening.

Proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish, OKI and HBA’s Charitable and Education Foundation, which helps fund educational programs for students entering the construction industry, while supporting other charities such as Greater Cleveland Fisher House, Special Veterans in Need, Homes for Our Troops, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Raffle tickets for the home can be purchased online at HBAHomefortheholidays.org, or by calling the HBA at 216-447-8700.

AVON LAKE

Holiday workshop: The Avon-on-the-Lake Garden Club, in partnership with the City of Avon Lake and Avon Lake Public Library present “Greening Avon Lake” workshops and items for sale for Christmas. The workshops take place Dec. 5 throughout the day at the Lake House at Veterans Memorial Park, 32756 Lake Road. Workshops include box wood tree designs, landscape designs, holiday stockings, and wreaths, as well as other demonstrations (fees apply). There are limited quantities of these items available. Pre-purchasing is strongly recommended. For more information and to register, go to avonlakeoh.myrec.com.

Scavenger hunt: The parks and recreation department’s annual Holiday Scavenger Hunt is officially underway. Search for the 15 different holiday-themed characters placed around town. All characters are visible from vehicles. Public parks close at dusk so please search during the daylight hours. Complete the scavenger hunt form, fill in the locations you find each character, and submit for a chance to win a prize. Deadline is Dec. 27. Go to forms.gle/oZ3den5ifNEpg45a7.

NORTH RIDGEVILLE

Tree lighting: Join Mayor Kevin Corcoran, the North Ridgeville High School choir and area scouts in the annual decorating and lighting of the gazebo and Christmas tree at South Central Park, Bainbridge Road, at 5 p.m. Dec. 2. The North Ridgeville Visitor’s Bureau 23rd Annual Holiday on the Ridge also takes place throughout the day Dec. 2. For more information, go to nridgeville.org.

Maddock Road open: Norfolk Southern Railroad has completed the bridge replacement project on Maddock Road and the road is now open to through traffic in both directions.

Santa’s calling: Registration is now open for families to receive a phone call (one per family, residents only) from the big man himself, Santa Claus. The North Ridgeville Lions Club members are assisting the North Pole with the free calls this season. Calls will be made from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 13, and from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 14. Parents must register online or at the Parks and Recreation Department, 7307 Avon Belden Road. To register online, go to northridgeville.recdesk.com. For more information, call 440-353-0860.

LORAIN COUNTY

Democratic Women’s Club: The Lorain County Democratic Women’s (LCDW’s) Club will meet at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Quaker Steak & Lube, 4900 Transportation Boulevard, Sheffield Village.

The club will also hold its Holiday Party on Dec. 16 at Rosewood Banquet Hall, 4493 Oberlin Avenue, Lorain. The event begins at 5 p.m. with dinner served at 6 p.m. Guests are asked to bring a plate of holiday cookies to share and a limit of five lottery tickets for a chance to win. Tickets can be brought to the Dec. 5 meeting or the night of the party. Reservation deadline is Dec. 9. Checks can be mailed to LCDW, Box 309, Lorain, OH 44052 or purchased online at ActBlue@LCDWOhio. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information, go to LCDWOhio.com.

If you have news/information or a story idea you’d like to share or a ‘shout-out’, please send an email to jshortavon@aol.com. Follow me on Twitter @jshortavon.

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