Our Trip

On October 23rd a large portion of my Historian's Craft class set out for Ohio, leaving London around 2:45 pm.  The drive to Ohio seemed fairly long, though I read for the majority of the trip so at least it was productive.  It was dark before we arrived in Elyria-- where we would be staying for the night, but as we had not yet eaten dinner most of us headed over to the mall close by after we checked in to our hotel.

We split off in groups but about a dozen of us decided to go to the Harry Buffalo together.  The meal was wonderful and it was nice bonding experience since not everyone was well acquainted with one another.  I particularly knew no one, being a main campus student, but everyone was very friendly and we had a good evening together.  Once our bills were paid we headed back to the hotel (The Red Roof Inn) for the night.  I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Getting up early has never been a problem for me however I was not feeling very well the next morning.  I had a headache but after a shower, a bit of food, some Tylenol, and a tad more rest I was ready to go.

The drive from Oberlin to Elyria was not long.  As we entered the town you could really tell that it was centered around the college.  The campus was beautiful, with lots of green space between the buildings, and downtown Oberlin was conveniently located nearby (which turned out to be lucky for us later in the day).  At 10 am we met with one of the history professors from Oberlin College and she gave us a walking tour of the campus and surrounding area.  There were a large number of monuments through the town that were wonderful to see (pictures are posted and viewable on the Photograph page).  Prof. Lasser told us stories at each monument and our class would like to extend our thanks to her for showing us around Oberlin, it was a wonderful tour.

One of the highlights was United Church of Christ, which was the first church in Oberlin, established 1834.  This was the church the famous preacher from the Second Great Awakening, Charles Finney, preached at when he came to Oberlin.  His traveling pulpit and traveling bible are still housed in the church.

Mudd Center

After our tour we proceeded to lunch.  However our plan to eat at the dinning hall fell through as we quickly learned our information had been incorrect.  You could not eat there if you were paying cash, you needed tickets-- which were to be purchased at another building on campus.  So it was decided we would all find our own way for lunch and meet at the Mudd Center, which housed the library and archives at 1 pm.  A number of us decided to head to a diner we had noticed downtown, which I cannot remember the name of for the life of me.  The food was wonderful, just as it had been the night before.  Our group headed to the Mudd Center where we caught up with the rest of those on the trip, ready to help document the letters and do some research (this process shall be blogged about in the following week).

Once all the letters had been photographed and we had collected some research we decided it was time to head home, but not before we visited the candy shop (which turned out to have a lot more than just candy, it had everything).  Back on the bus we headed for Ontario; after crossing the bridge we stopped for food and were back on the road in no time.

We arrived back in London safe and sound, earlier then originally anticipated but on schedule with when we ended up leaving.  In all it was a wonderful trip.  Our class would like to thank Maxine from Community Based Learning, Devon and Tim, our bus driver, and the individuals at Oberlin College archive and library for being so welcoming and helpful during our visit.