Food and laughter in Lancaster

If William Tecumseh Sherman ate as well -- and as much -- during his time in Lancaster, Ohio, as we did during ours, people might have mistaken him for William Howard Taft.

OK, that’s a stretch. But we ate a heck of a lot of good food while visiting our friends Sandy and Carl who live in Lancaster, Ohio, birthplace of the famous civil war general.

Lancaster is about 35 miles from Columbus, Ohio, in a beautiful rolling area at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains.  Sandy lived in the dorm room right above me at Ohio State;  I’ve known both her and Carl since my freshman year at college.  I’m lucky that they’ve kept in touch with me all these years.

Among many other interests, Sandy and Carl love to cook.  They made us Scotch eggs (hard boiled eggs surrounded by sausage and bread crumbs and then deep fried), Syracuse potatoes (baby red potatoes boiled in salty walter), and a type rib eye that I don’t remember the name of but could never recreate.  And more.  

When we weren’t enjoying great meals, one of the things we did was to visit the Ohio Glass Museum.  Lancaster is the long time and current home of Anchor Hocking, and once had 30 glass factories. Then we visited the birthplace and early home of General Sherman, who lived in Lancaster until he left for West Point at the age of 16.  We climbed “the mountain,” the highest point in Lancaster with a spectacular view of the city of 40,000 people.  We went to a beer, blue grass and barbecue dinner at Shaws, a beautiful restaurant downtown, and of course, watched Ohio State beat the aptly named Akron Zips, 42 to 0.   And we talked and talked and laughed and laughed.

It was a great weekend.  Thanks, Sandy and Carl!

Carl, Sandy, Bev and Jim at the Ohio Glass Museum, where the director of the museum gave us the tour.  The exhibit featured cracked glass, goofus glass and historic and art marbles and called “We’re Cracked, We’re Goofy and We’ve Lost our Marbles.”  

Bev and Jim with General Sherman.  The Sherman House Museum was General Sherman’s birthplace and where he lived with his parents and ten siblings, including his brother US Senator John Sherman.

Sandy and her Syracuse potatoes.

Carl and his rib eye dish.

                                                     

Carl, Jim and Sandy at the highest point in Lancaster.