Origin of Olena — still searching

At least once a year I complain here because the origin of the name of Olena village continues to elude me. I realize that it doesn't really matter, but I have wondered for several years about it. It has been suggested to me (and I considered it, too) that Olena is an adaptation of the name of the town of Olena, N.Y., but I've not found a connection. My only firm point in the matter is that in November of 1849 the name of the post office there was changed officially from North Fitchville to Olena. The post office had first been established in 1832 in the vicinity of U.S. 250 and Prospect Road, and in 1841 was moved to the village of Olena. At that time Olena was a busy place with mercantile stores and a hotel or two to accommodate the farmers hauling grain from the south to sell at the canal basin in Milan. Ephraim Angell kept a hotel in Olena and said later that he often had 100 teams and wagons parked on his premises overnight, headed for or coming from Milan. I have learned recently that the flowering plant known as Turmeric is also called Olena. It is indigenous to Southeast Asia and also grows in Hawaii. This Turmeric — Olena is often used in cooking and is proficient in fighting cancer cells and digestive problems, according to the information I gained online. Now, I know that Turmeric-Olena didn't get that name because it grows naturally around Olena, Ohio. However, the name Olena is used often in Hawaii as a catchy name for an area or facility. Olena also is a girl's name, more common in Russia and Greece. It is a variation of the name Helen, and means "sunny". The Internet tells me that the first known instance of a girl born in the United States and name Olena was in the year 1868. I've never noticed the name used in that way around northern Ohio. While I was checking out this story I came across the fact that there are two other Olena communities in the United States. One is in LaGrue Township of Arkansas County, Ark. It never really amounted to a town, but at least made the list I was using. The other community of Olena is in Stronghurst Township of Henderson County, Ill. It was laid out as a town by one Robert Kendall in 1838 but never became an incorporated community. For a time in the 19th century, it had a post office as well as a hotel and store. Small towns were common in the 19th century and the owners always had the hope that they'd become a big town. In that time period, the roads were so poor that a town with a store and a hotel were necessary every few miles, for overnight stays. In the worst of times travelers told of leaving a place in the morning and fighting the muddy road with their horses or oxen, and in a day's time might end up still in sight of the hotel they left that morning. Roads weren't really improved to any degree until the advent of the automobile after 1900. * * * REMEMBER: My "Just Like Old Times" books are on sale at New Directions Design, 20 W. Main St., in downtown Norwalk. These contain my earlier columns fully indexed and in permanent book form. Henry Timman, an authority on Firelands history, resides in rural Norwalk.