Deep South Kikos News: Our trip to Ohio Part 1

Back in the middle of July, we went to visit Shane's family in Archbold, Ohio. It was a 16 hour drive for us, so we broke the traveling into two days. Shew! Can you imagine what that was like for the two kiddos? I packed many activities, snacks, movies, video games. They were troopers and did really well for their age.

Doing an activity book

The day we arrived to Ohio, we attended the Hesterman family reunion. We walked around and were able to look at old photos that were on display. I took a few snapshots with my phone of some of my favorite ones. So the next few pictures will be a photo of a photo :)

Shane's grandpa is the little boy in overalls on the right

These are some of my favorite photographs of Shane's grandpa and his siblings from when they were younger. The photo above appears to be a merry-go-round with all of the kids seated on it. The photo below made me chuckle when I saw it. The boys look to be playing cowboys. Look closer and you can see a lasso around the neck of one brother while being held a gunpoint. I rarely ever see kids playing like this these days. Shane's grandpa had told me of how much he looked up to the cowboys in the movies like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry during his childhood.

At the reunion, they had a map of the United States for us to push a thumbtack for where we traveled from. I had a little help pointing out our location. You can see, we were the only Hesterman's from Mississippi. The concentration of black thumbtacks is close to the part of Ohio where the reunion was held. As you can see, there are quite a few Hesterman's scattered among the US.

This was a family tree that someone had on display.

Shane's great-great-grandfather came to the US when he was a child from Germany. Some of the documents that were on display, were written in German....I couldn't read a word of it. Shane's grandpa can still speak German. Although he was born in the United States, he said that he grew up speaking German; German was spoken at home on their farms. They had to start speaking English at home though so they could complete school. Shane's grandpa was actually held back in the first grade
because he could not speak English. One summer he said a prayer in German that he remembered reciting as a child. It was very fascinating to me! I just wish I could understand it :)

Closer view of Shane's grandpa's side of the tree.

This photo was taken at the reunion. Shane's grandpa is seated on the front row. He is 2nd from the left. I am so glad that we were able to get the chance to attend this year.

Also while we were there, we made the trip to Bryan, OH to visit the Spangler candy factory. They gave a tour, but we weren't allowed to take any photos in the warehouse or where they make the candy. We actually didn't get to see the candy being made due to regulations, but you could smell a sweet aroma in the warehouse from towers of candy-filled boxes.

A sign outside

They had a museum inside full of Spangler history. When I saw these Astro Pops, it took me back to being a kid. I would be so thrilled on the days that I had "candy store" money because I knew I'd be able to get an Astro Pop. I'd forgotten about them until I saw this package in the display case. Shane and I were discussing how sharp of a point it would get if you didn't bit into it. I guess it was a hazard and they can't make them anymore.

I saw these on display and couldn't help but thing of how the times have changed. For starters, you can't buy a pack of candy for 3 cents and you certainly don't see candy displaying the likeness and brand name of cigarettes.