Cheese, Amish, Pro Football Hall of Fame (and Tornado Warning)
Started our day with a visit to a cheese factory in the middle of Ohio’s Amish country.
Unfortunately they have the same schedule as the basket factory – no production on Wednesday. Unlike the basket factory there was no opportunity to make our own cheese but there was a very nice elderly Amish man sitting at the information desk (small cardboard table 
Associated with the cheese plant is a large store and gift shop. That factory makes over 40 kinds of cheese and every one of them was available for tasting.
Many different and distinctive tastes. Prices were not bad either. Across the street was an Amish bakery with a large variety of very tasty looking baked goods and very reasonable prices.
An observation on Amish in Ohio. In Indiana the Amish we saw seemed to follow quite closely the Amish ways and traditions. They blended in with ’Englanders’ in many ways but there were no blatant displays of commercialism and most of their productivity was farming related. They were also very friendly to interact with. The town in Ohio where the cheese factory and bakery are located looked like a tourist trap with an Amish theme. Lots of restaurants and gift shops Lots of tourists stumbling over each other. Most of the stores were run by Amish – mostly women (the men probably working on farms). The cheese factory was mot making cheese but there were a number of Amish young women at work in the store packing cheese and stocking. The thing that struck me was their dour attitude. They went about their tasks and acted like there were no other people in the room. You could look at them and smile and get no response. The sales clerks were pleasant and friendly as was the tour guide but every one else we saw acted quite standoffish.
The country itself was very Amish. We saw several hay fields with hay drying in many small haystacks. In one field the hay was being collected by hand pitching the stacks on to a large flatbed wagon being pulled by two large horses.
Many buggies on the road and parked in parking lots.
We passed an Amish station wagon. Buggy with two little girls and mom in back looking curiously out the back window at the carbus and dad and son on the front seat. Also saw several Amish related industries. Several good sized buggy shops and many furniture works. Amish are known for fine woodworking.
From Amish Country it was on to Canton. Home of the National Professional Football Hall of Fame and place where professional football began.
The hall of fame is very well done. Lots of interesting displays both static and interactive and good flow of information so there is always something new to look at.
We spent over two hours touring the hall. As we finished the displays and were about to go through the gift shop there was an announcement. The Canton area was in a tornado warning. When we entered the hall the sky was partly cloudy. They moved everyone in the building to the basement. It is a large building and there were a lot of people in it. So our tour was extended by a 45 minute stay chatting with several employees who shared a corridor with us. Turned on my cell phone to check on the weather and got a weather alert as soon as I turned it on. Pretty cool. When we left the building after the warning expired the ground was very wet but the skies were again clear.
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