As you read this column, the wrecking ball might have already come crashing down on the historic ATA building at 601 West National Road. And that will be a shame. I had hoped the city would find some use for the building, even though it is no longer used for anything connected with trapshooting. The ATA offices moved out a couple of years ago and the Trapshooting Hall of Fame followed a short time later.
But if you happen to view the small round plaque at the foot flagpole in front of the building you would see the names of the people who built the ATA headquarters in 1923 — names such as Frederick B. Patterson (NCR), Col. Frank Huffman (Huffy) and Charles F. Kettering, among others.
These men were proud of the new home they built for the nation’s trapshooters and the vision they had to help the area prosper. The Grand American’s economic impact was estimated to be more than $10 million annually in its final years. They probably couldn’t envision there would be a day when someone would tear it down without a thought or regret.
Hopefully someone will at least think to preserve the plaque and put it in a place where it can be viewed forever … perhaps in a local museum. And maybe they’ll place a photograph of the old building alongside?
New women's weekend: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has created a special weekend for women in the outdoors, scheduled for Aug. 22-24 Burr Oak State Park Lodge in southeast Ohio near Glouster.
Ohio Women’s Outdoor Adventures is open to all women, including girls 12 or older who are accompanied by a parent or guardian. Activities will include canoeing, kayaking, powerboating, trailering, paddleboarding, archery, geocaching, fishing, outdoor photography, bird watching basics, tree trivia, jon-boat handling and stream quality monitoring and more.
A registration fee of $195 per person covers all workshops, plus two nights of lodging (choose from resort lodge suites or cottages), five meals and snacks. The program is first-come, first-served and is limited to 80 participants. Registration ends Aug. 1.
For more information, visit watercraft.ohiodnr.gov/owoa or contact Valerie Cox at (614) 265-6652 or valerie.cox@dnr.state.oh.us.
Ohio deer CWD-free: For the 12th consecutive year, tested deer in Ohio did not have chronic wasting disease, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture and ODNR. State and federal agriculture and wildlife officials collected tissue samples from 753 deer killed on Ohio's roads from September 2013 through March 2014. An additional 88 hunter-harvested mature bucks and nine deer displaying symptoms consistent with CWD were tested. All samples were negative.
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