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Why Baltic?

It’s been less than two years since my wife and I made our retirement move to Sugarcreek, Ohio. The Village of Sugarcreek is about 80 miles south of Cleveland. We are really enjoying Sugarcreek and Amish country. The little town of Baltic is just 15-20 minutes south of Sugarcreek. It has become, and continues to be, an enjoyment to us.

I want to share Baltic with other people and have included writings by other authors who may help you understand our joy.

About The Village of Baltic

The area has a rich history. It was home to the first cheese factory established in Ohio as well as the state's oldest flour and feed mill. Baltic has been home to the GENIE garage door opener facility for over 25 years. Surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and rich farmland this area is also home to many Amish, their farms and their businesses.

The town is somewhat off the beaten path, away from the main tourist routes and without all the extra trappings. If you're looking for furniture, bulk foods, meats, cheese, shoes, horse supplies, crafts, a good home style meal or just a tranquil place to enjoy, you'll find it all in Ohio Amish country.

Once called Buena Vista and then Rowville,

today it is the Village of Baltic

By Amber Kanuckel  -  The Bargain Hunter

The first thing that you see when you walk into the Baltic Area Historical Society’s museum is a large hand-sewn American flag. That was in 1910, said Don Sheetz, who is a member of the society. It was the first Homecoming. That’s the first thing you’ll see but by no means all that there is to learn about Baltic’s history.

It all started with the pioneers in the early 1800s. Pennsylvanians, particularly Germans, began to trek westward in search of fertile land and a good supply of fresh water. Many passed through the Tuscarawas Valley, and some of those settlers decided to stay once they reached the area where Baltic now stands. As time went on and the area became more developed, the Port Washington Road, which was the first official state route in Ohio, was built to connect Holmes County with the Erie Canal. Baltic was the mid-point on the Port Washington Road with three hotels. It was a great place for farmers and traders to spend the night on the two-day journey. Along the Port Washington Road, there were houses being established

in the 1830s, Sheetz said.

In 1847 they established the post office in Baltic. That first post office was officially called Buena Vista. Sheetz said Buena Vista was named because if you go up to the schoolhouse, straight up the hill, way up on top, that’s one of the highest points in the state of Ohio. That’s Buena Vista, meaning beautiful view.

As more houses, hotels and businesses came into the area, however, official organization was still lacking. In 1848 Louis Row and his wife Elizabeth bought acreage and started laying the land out into plots for the town. Interestingly each plot cost about $12 on average. With the new town laid out, it was called Rowville after Louis Row.

Of course, things are never so simple as they appear. Even though the town was known as Rowville, the post office was still called Buena Vista. The problem was now that there were two towns in Ohio with this name, so the post office decided that there needed to be an official name change for the entire town. Sheetz said, the story was that they put names in a hat and drew out the name “Baltic.” Now the reasoning behind that, we think, was that they were all German, and everybody knew where the Baltic Sea was or had lived close to it in Germany. It could have been the reason, but it’s just a guess. So, we’re not sure if the town’s new name was actually drawn out of a hat even though it does make for a good story; however, we do know that the town was officially renamed as Baltic on Aug. 14, 1848.

The village continued to grow, and it grew further when the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad was completed in 1880. Residents of Baltic pledged labor, and by 1881 the first train was running. This led to Baltic officially becoming an incorporated town in 1903. By 1910

Baltic had a population of 377, and today the population is roughly 975. This small town sits in three counties: Holmes, Coshocton and Tuscarawas. About half of Baltic’s population is in Tuscarawas County.

Baltic is not without its notable residents either. First among them is Dr. George Washington Crile, who grew up just down the road in Chili. Crile served in the Spanish-American War and World War I, but he is best known as one of the four founders of the Cleveland Clinic.

 Baltic also was home to Jacob McQueen, an inventor who advanced the farming industry with knowledge of soil bacteria in the 1920s. He is best known for his world-famous seed inoculation.

Additionally, Baltic had a famous baseball player, Owen Scheetz,

who played six games during 1943 for the Washington Senators,

an American League team.

Today Baltic is filled with historical sites. Historical markers include Bouquet’s Trail and the Old Port Washington Road, and the Baltic Area Historical Society has even recreated a pioneer log cabin. Everywhere you look, you’ll find old buildings including some of the town’s original buildings. One of those buildings is Ohio’s oldest flour mill, which is now beautifully preserved as the Baltic Mill Winery.

Then, of course, is the Baltic Museum, curated by the Baltic Area Historical Society. Here you can spend hours reading all about the town’s history, and you’ll see a wide variety of historical artifacts and photographs. The Baltic Museum is located in the basement

of the Baltic State Bank, and it opens every third Sunday

of each month from 1-4 p.m.

There are interesting places to visit online too.

Start at www.BalticHistory.org to read stories of the town’s past.

Then find The Baltic American on Facebook. Here you’ll see many wonderful historic images, and you’ll be able to take part in the discussion surrounding Baltic’s history.

As I waited in the car for her return, I could see that she had struck up a conversation with one of the car’s owners. We are a one-car retirement couple and I am the designated Uber driver. My ability to wait in the car as she runs errands, goes shopping, and visits with others, has grown strong over our 20-year marriage adventure. To some people, her conversation with the antique car owner may have seemed long. To me, it just seemed normal. When she returned to the car, she said, “You will not believe who I was talking with!” Under my breath, and before the details, I agreed.

Those car owners were from New Jersey! Virginia’s excitement was fueled because she was born in New Jersey. They were from Fair Lawn, New Jersey. WOW! That was Virginia’s teenage hometown!

They graduated from Fair Lawn High School several

years before Virginia!

My wife Virginia enjoyed a girls’ day out with a friend and they had lunch at the East Main restaurant in Baltic. Her rave reviews were well received. Because I enjoy any trip to Baltic, we had our first evening meal there and it was excellent! In the many times we have eaten there since that first dinner, we have always had a great meal. We have even invited friends to meet us there and enjoyed eating together. In addition to the well-prepared and delicious food, the East Main staff is also terrific! Because of our first time being served by Arlene was so nice, we always ask to eat at one of her tables, if possible. I have a long way to go before I have tasted everything!

Mark Miller, (right) who owns East Main Kitchen & Coffee in Baltic, (along with J. Mark Miller), is pictured here with Darryl Miller, general manager and chef in the totally refurbished and renovated restaurant.

How is it that such a good place to eat

is in such a small town?

Here’s an article by Mark Fortune | Beacon

East Main Kitchen & Coffee is set to open in Baltic. The former Millers Dutch Kitchen has been purchased and the renovations are complete with a bent toward Chip and Joanna Gaines including the shiplap. Mark Miller and his wife Maureen, who co-owns the business along with J. Mark Miller, and wife Martha, said, “We were pushing the idea of having a coffee shop in Baltic but it would be hard to make a cash flow with Baltic the size it is. And we didn’t want the coffee shop to make a struggling restaurant a failing restaurant. But we always wanted to do a coffee shop slash restaurant.” “Originally we thought we could make some minor changes and keep going.

We soon realized that it is a longer, deeper process. My wife (Maureen) and I decided to buy the real estate and we hooked up with J. Mark Miller and his wife Martha as a partner in the restaurant piece of it.” “The why is that Baltic needs a restaurant and coffee shop to be a community, just a nice place for the community to come together and connect. We also want it to be a place for our employees to work in a positive and good environment.”

“I’m the principal of a Christian school and felt that our community needed a place, a place for young kids to plug into. This can be a great place for older kids to work. We also care a lot about the kingdom of God.” “We want a place that helps and gives back to the community as well as provide funds for mission work around the world. We see the profits – the majority of the profits going back into the mission field – especially orphan care. We really care about orphans, so we want that to be a central part of what we do here.”

“The menu will be very similar to what Miller’s Dutch Kitchen was. I say it is Amish food with a flair. A little bit more Mennonite than Amish food. We’ll still have the broasted chicken, the mashed potatoes, roast beef and Manhattan sandwiches but we’ll also have a burger grilled on the Green Egg on charcoal. We’ll have a Reuben made with corned beef brisket on the Green Egg. It will be an Amish restaurant with some barbecue flair.” “We’re starting with a staff of six and hope to double that in the next few weeks as we feel our way into it. We think we will need a staff of 15 to 20 with about 10 people being full time and the others part-time.” You can’t think about a restaurant in Amish country without pie coming to mind. Miller said, “We’ll have fresh pies baked daily – we will have a bakery in house – we’ll have fruit pies, cream pies, pecan, etc. Our plan later on is to bake our own bread and pastries. We’ll have biscotti for the coffee bar. We’ll be a full service restaurant. All of our sandwich buns will be homemade.”

“I have to give kudos to my wife Maureen on the decorating. She is a designer and loves to do it. You can see her hand print all over it. She would take a picture to J. Mark (Miller) who is a trim carpenter and he would design what she wanted.” “When you come in you’re going to think farmhouse. We have shiplap in here, old barn doors, half round gutters on the outside. Think farmhouse and strong Chip and Joanna Gaines flavor. It really looks like a fixer upper restaurant. A little bit of retro but a comfortable, open and inviting look is what we wanted.” The 130-seat restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a full-service menu from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed Sunday. A coffee bar will be open starting at 6 a.m. and closing at 9 p.m. with iced coffees, espressos, pour overs and teas. The coffee bar will feature a limited menu of items from the 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. time frame.

And yes, the restaurant is located on Main Street in Baltic.

From the Gerber & Sons Website

Gerber & Sons is a regional feed manufacturer located in Baltic that services the counties of Tuscarawas, Coshocton, Holmes, Carroll, Harrison, and Guernsey. Founded in 1905, Gerber & Sons has withstood the test of time and continues to provide high-quality, locally manufactured, livestock and poultry feeds to customers in east central Ohio.

Located on the same site as the present-day Gerber & Sons at Baltic, The Seth Gerber Co. began operation as a buyer and seller of seeds and fertilizers for area farmers. The company grew by providing a market for local producers to sell harvested seeds and grains. 

 By the early 1920s, the company had grown in volume and stature and capitalized on rail line at Baltic, loading and transporting rail cars of bagged, locally grown seeds out of the area. Seth's son, Percy, joined the business, which became "Seth Gerber and Son" and in 1924 became the sole owner. He began offering grain milling services to customers who wished to feed homegrown grains to their animals. Unlike today, feed mills were a relatively new enterprise because farmers did not feed much grain to their production stock. What grains they fed they processed themselves, as livestock depended mostly upon seasonal forages to support their

seasonal production cycle.

With the advent of university research into animal nutrition and the implementation of nutritional recommendations these traditions began to change. Percy Gerber's decision to offer feed milling services along with providing nutritional recommendations was a concept upon which future generations of Gerber's would build. Percy's idea was the first step toward manufacturing a complete line of livestock and poultry feeds. The trade name "Bob White Feeds" was adopted at that time and is still used today.

In 1934, Percy's eldest son Bob joined the company. The business flourished, and with improvements in design and manufacturing Percy and Bob led the company and its customers into the modern era of manufacturing feed based upon scientifically proven nutritional concepts In 1953, upon Percy's passing, Bob was joined by his brother Dean. The two brothers formally created the corporation still in operation as Gerber & Sons Inc., manufacturers of "Bob White Feeds". Under Dean's leadership, the sale of manufactured feeds expanded, and more improvements were made. A pellet mill was installed, ingredient selection and capacity expanded, more load out bins were added, storage facilities were purchased, the sales of home and garden and animal health supplies expanded, and an office building and a retail sales area was established.

With this growth came a need for an expanded sales force and specialized operation and management personnel. In 1967, Bob's son Gary was hired as a salesman and was the first member of the fourth generation since Seth Gerber to carry on the family tradition. Although retired from day-to-day service, Gary is now vicepresident of the firm. The 1970's brought more growth, with mill operations at near capacity and more improvements being made. During this era, broiler feed represented the largest production category and total tonnage was running about 30,000 tons per year. Then disaster struck.

On August 24, 1974, fire destroyed the pellet milling and feed manufacturing operations, but the custom grinding operation was saved. Cleanup efforts ensued and construction of a new mill began in 1975. In December of that year manufacturing operations once again were underway.

The second modern era of manufacturing Bob White Feeds had begun

Dean's son, Mike, joined the company in 1976 as Accounting Manager and since then the company has continued to expand and professionalize. The first nonfamily outside salesman and nutritional advisor, Doug Davis, was hired in 1981 when Bob Gerber fully retired. In 1992, Mike assumed the position of General Manager and President, and Doug assumed the position of Secretary, Treasurer and Sales Manager.



Under Mike's leadership more salesmen were added to meet the demand for the company's products and services, which continues to grow today. After Mike's untimely passing in July of 2009 Tom Gerber was elected President of the Board of Directors, Doug Davis became General Manager and Treasurer, and Todd Wise, with the firm since 1990, was elected Secretary.

Today the independent, regional feed manufacturer produces more than 80,000 tons of feed per year, has 40 employees who are mindful of the fruits and blessings they have received,

and continues

to grow and be profitable.

Michael D. Gerber 57, of 105 Sunset Dr. Baltic, died Friday July 3, 2009 at 3:30 AM in his residence following a 4 week illness. Born October 19, 1951 in Coshocton he was a son of Wilma (Rauschenbach) Gerber of Baltic and the late P. Dean Gerber. He was a 1969 graduate of Garaway High School and a 1973 graduate of Mount Union College. Mike was president and general manager of Gerber and Sons, Inc at Baltic. He was a member of the Baltic United Methodist Church at Baltic, a member of the West Lafayette Lodge #602 F & AM where he served as a Past Master, and was a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Valley of Canton. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Baltic State Bank. He is survived by his wife, the former Kim Torgler, whom he married August 1, 1981. Also surviving are his sons Ryan M. Gerber of Sugarcreek and Tyler M. Gerber of the home; two brothers Steven R. (Karen) Gerber of Dalton and Thomas E. (Pam) Gerber of Sugarcreek, and his in-laws John and Geneva Torgler of Baltic.Funeral services will be held in the Ragersville Zion United Church of Christ. Rev. Edward Morrison will officiate and burial will follow in West Lawn Cemetery at Baltic.

Baltic Bank is located just across the street from the East Main restaurant. The reason that it is included as a story is because Mike Gerber’s brother Tom is the President of Baltic Bank. On one of my first trips to Baltic I stopped by the bank to see Tom. He was not in, which they said was usual. I told them that Tom said I could get an unsecured loan and they laughed at me. Tom, like Mike, is a graduate of the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio.

Tom began his banking career in 1978 and returned home in 1986 to join the Baltic State Bank as the Cashier & Secretary, assuming the President & CEO role in 2006.Tom is also president of Gerber & Sons, Inc., the Tri County Community Improvement Corporation, Treasurer of The Emmet Mizer Lutheran Foundation, the P Dean Gerber Memorial Scholarship Foundation, and is an immediate past Board Member of the Ohio Bankers League. The Baltic State Bank was founded in 1902 by four local business owners, B. C Fisher, Peter Fisher, Seth Gerber, and Henry Gerber. After operating solely from the Baltic office for over 100 years, a branch office was opened on Sugarcreek in 2007, follow by a second branch in New Bedford. The original philosophy upon which the Bank was found still prevails today: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Tom is the fourth generation of his family to serve the Bank and its community. He grew up in Baltic and returned home shortly after graduating from Mount Union.

IT DOESN'T MATTER

I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to grow up, work, learn and enjoy life. How delightful it is to remember my family, neighbors and friends who were of help and guidance. How grateful I am to my parents and grandparents, who worked so hard to make our family successful and show me the fruits of hard work. As I think back to all that has happened, combined with what I now realize, there is a very important lesson that I feel compelled to pass along. Do you remember the house you grew up in as a child? Who was your favorite teacher? What was your first major disappointment? Has your favorite music changed over the years? Who is your closest friend? Did you ever get in trouble with the law? What is your favorite holiday? Think back over all the events of your story from your birth until this very day. Now consider that, no matter how great or hard your story is, or how different it is from anyone else’s you know, there was always one thing that was consistent for us all.

Yes, for you, me and everyone else,

It really doesn’t matter… whether you are young or old, male or female, married or single, rich or poor or middle class, healthy or not well, or your skin color.

 It doesn’t matter if you live in the United States or another country; in a large city, a suburb, or a small rural town.

It doesn’t matter if you have many siblings, are an only child or an orphan; if you have many friends or none.

It doesn’t matter if you graduated from school or not; wear business clothing or a t-shirt at work; attend a church or not.

It doesn’t matter if you are short or tall; are a marathon runner or in a wheelchair.

But some will say, “We are too different. There are so many different lives to live, how could any one thing be the same in everyone’s life?” As you reflect on your story, one fact will always remain: with every step, event, success or failure, happiness or sadness, and every breath you have taken in your life, there is one common thread…

Jesus Christ, He was there all the time.

He created you and knew you before you were born. He knew your parents and your grandparents. He knows about everything happening in the world. Not only was He there during every second of your past, but He is still there today, and He will be there every day of your life. And, He is always waiting to help, comfort, save

and bless you  … Just ask Him.

When we were happy and laughed or when we were sad and cried, He Was There! With every birth and every death, He Was There! When we were sick and when we were healthy, He Was There!

Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, Was There All The Time