Places

One preschool teacher with a dream and a small group of volunteers offer local children a place to learn, play, create, and discover. The Explore-It-Torium Children’s Museum offers children 10,000 feet of fun inside the historic Carnegie Library building at 244 S. Main Street. Children from ages two to 12 can go play in the […]

Megan Dawson was born in Marion and grew up in Waldo. She graduated from River Valley, Marion Technical College, and Hocking College. Growing up in the hospitality business gave her the opportunity to work in fine dining and wine bars from Houston Texas to Ithaca, New York. After the pandemic, she decided to return home […]

Four generations of the Ballinger family have worked to preserve a historic local treasure. The True Home at the corner of State and Church Streets stands out with its gables and white picket fences bursting with colorful flowers. “My mother loved geraniums so my father would plant lots of them,” said Rex Ballinger, the current […]

Just in time for holiday shopping, a new toy store has opened in downtown Marion. Lindsey Henry, a former kindergarten teacher, owns LuLu’s Toy Co. at 196 West Center Street. “I love kids, I love creative play, and I love helping parents and grandparents select unique toys that are quality, durable, and not available in […]

  (Marion) The Huber Machinery Museum at the Marion County Fairgrounds takes visitors on a journey from the 1800s, when hay was cut by hand with a scythe, through more than 150 years of Marion history, changes, and innovation. Visitors see how a local inventor sparked the creation of tractors, steam shovels, threshers, and eventually […]

In 1977, a group of individuals had a vision of a community pool for the Village of Waldo. In 1978, they proposed a campaign of “Swim with Waldo,” a theme that has stayed with the pool. Through years of fundraising including chicken barbecues, community garage sales, pledges, “Swim with Waldo” t-shirts sales, and many volunteer […]