Last week, I was blessed with the opportunity to pack a
lunch, load up my bicycle, and drive to the John Glenn Grove trailhead just
south of the City of Massillon, in Stark Co., Ohio.
This nicely landscaped park is the staging
area where motorists become cyclists or pedestrians and enter a sort of time
portal afforded by the
Ohio-Erie Towpath Trail.
 |
| The Ohio and Erie Canal, and Towpath (Early 1800's) |
The Towpath Trail follows the portion of the historic Ohio and Erie Canal that once
extended from Cleveland to New Philadelphia.
The entire Ohio and Erie Canal provided a continuous inland commercial waterway
connecting locations between Lake Erie and the Ohio River at Portsmouth.
The canal was constructed during the 1820’s
and carried freight from 1828 to 1861 at which time railroads began to offer a
more economical alternative.
 |
| "Reach for the Stars" memorial to Senator John Glenn |
Soon after I had unloaded my bike and positioned my water bottle and snack
provisions, I realized that the John Glenn Grove was designed to inspire its
visitors.
My inspiration began as I
walked my bike past a statue titled “Reach for the Stars”
in honor of Glenn, one of Ohio’s sons who
served his country as a war pilot, astronaut, and
U.S. Senator.
As I studied the likeness of John Glenn with his outstretched arm
reaching for the stars, I remembered the news of his heroic feat as the first
astronaut to orbit planet Earth, in 1962, while I was a freshman in high
school.
As I left the Glenn statue and
entered the towpath of the Ohio and Erie Canal, I realized the awesomeness of
the “time portal” I had just stepped through.
Only one century separated the era of a man orbiting the Earth from the
era of the Ohio-Erie Canal.
 |
| Ohio-Erie Towpath Trail near Massillon, Ohio |
As I mounted my bike and rode down the shady canal towpath toward Navarre,
Ohio, I was drawn by the historical significance of this unusual bike trail.
Following me on the left was a remnant of the
Ohio-Erie canal, sometimes containing standing water, sometimes appearing
swampy or even dry.
On my right was the
Tuscarawas River which originates near Hartville, in Stark County, flows
westward into Summit County and then southward through cities and towns like
Massillon, Navarre, Bolivar, Dover, New Philadelphia, and finally, Coshocton
where it joins the Walhonding River.
I
felt the canal and the river guiding me southward toward the place of my birth,
in Dover, Ohio.
I also remembered the
place of my growing-up days as a farm boy on the banks of a tributary, the Sugar
Creek (South Fork) which was just downstream from the town of Sugarcreek,
location of my graduation from Garaway High School.
 |
| The Ohio-Erie Canal with Bottomland Deciduous Trees |
The Tuscarawas Valley was not only my home during my early years, but it was
the subject of a memorable field trip during one semester at Malone College led
by my botany professor, Dr. Charles C. King.
We studied not only the flora of the valley but also its geologic
history, and how the glaciers had scoured the landscape and rerouted the paths
of the Tuscarawas and its tributary, the Sugar Creek.
As I bicycled around a bend in the towpath,
with both the canal and river following in roughly a parallel fashion on either
side, I reflected on God’s goodness in affording me an opportunity to study
under “Charlie” King who loved the excitement of “interpreting the landscape” through
knowledge of the geologic history and its influence on the current native plant
communities.
 |
Pale Impatiens (I. palida), Jewelweed (I capensis),
and Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) |
 |
Tall Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
prefers wet soil of riparian areas | |
|
I decided to concentrate for the next few miles on native wildflowers and trees
of the canalway.
I was not disappointed.
Much of the roughly 10-mile towpath
trail from Massillon through Navarre to Bolivar is shaded by bottomland tree
species like Silver Maple and American Elm.
Often the canal water was covered by a bright green layer of Duckweed (
Lemna) or another related genus of these
tiny aquatic flowering plants.
But most
of my attention was drawn to the wildflowers growing along the banks of the
canal and on slopes down to the river.
It
was intriguing for me to imagine a canal boat in tow by horses or mules making
its way up the canal amid a variety of summer wildflowers decorating the banks
and slopes above.
I
photographed a few of the more notable ones (click on photos).
 |
| Nichols Bakery, Navarre, Ohio |
 |
Scene from three eras: Canal, Railroad,
and Bikeway; note Purple Loosestrife |
As I passed through Navarre, I was treated by the fragrance of baking bread at
the Nichols Bakery.
Crossing busy U.S.
62 and cycling beside an active railroad, I was again impressed with the variety
of forms of transportation bustling all around the towpath and canal corridor.
Readers of
Oikonomia
might recall that I have elsewhere written of an instance, now very common,
where even the railroad has been deemed obsolete and, in many cases, has been
replaced by bicycle trails (See “
Fundamentals
of Conservation, Part 2 "Serving with" Creation – Article #1: History
is Important.”
 |
| Memorial plaque for Rep. Ralph Regula |
 |
| Trail crossing at Ohio Rt. 21, Navarre, OH |
At the Ohio Route 21 intersection, at Navarre, I paused to read a plaque in
memory of former U.S. Congressman, Ralph Regula, another son of Ohio who was highly
respected in the Tuscarawas valley.
The
portion of the towpath trail on which I was riding was named the Congressman Ralph
Regula Towpath Trail Park in his honor.
During the approximately five miles of towpath trail from Navarre to Bolivar, many
scenic views greeted me along the trail, and glimpses of the agricultural
landscape beyond the river corridor became more frequent.
At the Stark-Tuscarawas Co. line near
Bolivar, the Tuscarawas makes a sharp, 180-degree bend and heads back northward
for a mile or so before bending again sharply southward to resume its flow toward
Dover-New Philadelphia.
But, my
destination was the Dolphin Street/Rt. 212 trailhead.
Near the trailhead is where I would realize the
greatest treasure of today’s bicycle trip:
the opportunity to share words of Truth from the Scriptures with an
89-year-old man.
I had known him indirectly
in my early years through a dear friend from my school days at Dundee
Elementary and Garaway High School.
The years have changed our modes of transportation, our heroes, our ways of
earning a living, and even our friendships; but, the answers to life’s greatest
questions, “How do you find meaning and purpose in this life?” and “Where will
you spend eternity?” remain the same.
The answers are found in God’s Word.
I pray that this man, and perhaps others in his family through him, will
heed the words of Life I shared.
Words
that God allowed me to bring to him on a bicycle on that August afternoon,
along the obsolete canal and the ever-flowing river.
How about it? What has been your most memorable bicycling
experience?
Have you used an historic
bikeway?
Most importantly, do you know
where your path is leading in this life and into eternity?
The Bible leaves no doubt that God loves you
and has an amazing plan for your life.
The following are just a few of the passages that emphasize the “path to
eternal life” through faith, and also the importance of God’s redeemed children
SHARING their faith with those who may not know:
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
By this the love of God was manifested in us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world
so that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1
John 4: 8-10
But what does it say?
"THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"
--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation. For the
Scripture says,
"WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
"WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?
And how will they hear without a preacher?
How will they preach unless they are sent?
Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET
OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
Romans
10: 8-11 (Uppercase words from Old Testament)
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