Maple City Ice announces plans for new warehouse

For generations, the Maple City Ice Company office and warehouse was located at the bottom of the Benedict Avenue hill. That would change in 1989. Plans were announced in the summer of 1988 that a new $1.5-million, 57,000-square-foot structure would be built out on U.S. 20 East off Eastpark Drive. The office building will have a stucco facing and the warehouse will be a steel building. Janotta & Herner, from Monroeville, the general contractor, has already started stripping off top soil for the structure. It is expected to be completed by April of next year. Jerry Hipp, the secretary-treasurer of the firm, explained the building will more than double the square-footage of the Water Street facility. Also, the building will make the company much more efficient. Company president Pat Hipp said the expansion will mean a minimum six more jobs. "Our Elyria facility is also pressed for space," she said. "Once we are in our new building, our plan is to move three routes from the Elyria facility to Norwalk. That would bring our employee total at the Norwalk plant to 25." Although the new facility is outside the city limits, it remains in the Norwalk School District. The present building was built in 1975 but the operation has been on Water Street since 1917. Arby's also looking to build While Maple City builds to the east, the Arby's chain says it will build to the north. Parent company Closhduve says happy to join fast food restaurants to the north of the city. Company vice-president Scott Leonardi, who manages the Solon franchise, will move here, supervise the building, and then manage the new facility. Arby's will be joining McDonald's, Berger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's and Rax on the fast-food strip. They will need a minimum 40 employees. Everman, Dilger win titles Curt Everman made it four titles on the men's side when he topped Billy Terry, 6 & 5, for the Elks Club Men's Championship. On the women's side, Nancy Dilger won her second title in the last four years, beating Carolyn Spaar 6 & 4. Spaar has been in the finals eight times. Terry did not go easily. In fact, he was 3-up at one point. He was in at 71 for the morning 18 holes but could not keep it going. The 27-year-old Everman won the first four holes in the afternoon. The two halved the fifth and Everman then won three more to go 6-up to steal all the momentum. That final 6 & 5 winning number was identical to the one of last year when he stopped Chris Bleile and close to the scores needed to win over Steve Schneider in 1986 and Dan Myntti in 1979 when Everman was 18 years old. Dilger three-putted the first hole and looked at a 1-down deficit but then righted the ship on No. 3, a run that would propel her to a 5-up lead at the turn. She closed the 18-hole match out on 14 green. In men's sub-flight matches, Don Simpson won A over Neil Robinson, 2-up; Fred Waugh stopped Bob Rahall, 5 & 4 for his third B title and John Boydston rolled in a 30-foot putt on the 18th hole to win 2-up over Harry Ludewig in C. In ladies sub-flight competition, the winners were Lucy Berry over Nancy Hoffecker, Mary Ann Adams over Mary Bleile and Meg Crow over Dorothy Wiedemann. Monday Madness at Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza ran a 2x5 ad in the Sept. 12, 1988 edition of the Norwalk Reflector. It was titled "Monday Madness." Purchase a large pizza with three toppings for only $7.99. Only on Monday though but still a good deal to this day. Candidates stress experience It was a hotly contested race for Huron County Recorder, the one between Democrat incumbent Connie Hipp and Republican challenger Loretta Meacham. Both tried to emphasize their previous experience in local government. Hipp explained she is in a position where government laws and rules define what she must do. But, she assured, if there is a place to cut costs, "I am the first to look into avenues to do just that. I don't set policy but I can shop." Meacham said she has budgeted $4,000 of her own money as campaign expenses. Among her campaign "promises" was to attempt to give those landowners who wish a copy of their deeds and she would personally pay for the copy paper. Also, she would work with the genealogy society in assisting those who want to find missing kin. Sliders prepare for season It was a crack Norwalk Slider traveling soccer team that took the field in the summer of 1988. The roster included Ben Grinold, Chris Hite, Josh Bennett, Adam Wineman, Adam Resseger, Ryan Smith, Josh Russell, Ryan McClain, Jim Williams, Blake Lorcher, Phillip Smith, John Arthur, Dan Hipp, John Christel, Lincoln Owens and Bryan Myers. They are coached by Reese Wineman, Dr. Chuck Resseger and Jess Bascharow. R.W. Pete's Trucking finishes second The most prestigious women's slow-pitch tournament in this part of Ohio was unquestionable The Bill Heyman Memorial Invitational. The 21st edition of that tournament was played in 1988. In 1988, it was the first time a local team made it to the finals, in this case the R.W. Pete-sponsored ladies, a team that competed in the Sandusky City League and one that has a number of Norwalk players on its roster. Pete's won three straight games on Saturday and then came back Sunday morning to defeat one of the best team in Ohio in the winner's bracket semifinals, Turner Express out of Youngstown, 10-6. Turner Express was down but far from out in the double-elimination tournament. Turner Express made its way back to the finals in the double-elimination tournament where it beat R.W. Pete's twice, 4-2 and 8-2, proving why they are among Ohio's elite teams. Three Pete's errors helped Express in the 4-2 win as the winners scored three in the first which was enough even then. Norwalkians on the Pete's and/or Odd's and End's rosters included Robin Welch, Brenda Friend, Sue Bollenbacher and Lori Kneisel. Ironically, Friend and Kneisel were just days before hired high school basketball head coaches, Friend at Edison and Kneisel at Norwalk High School. Don Hohler is a longtime reporter and correspondent for the Norwalk Reflector.