On the road in OHIO with John

Traveling Ohio's backroads in search of the heart of America

Miller Boat Line Announces New Ferry

September 19, 2018

Miller Boat Line announced today that construction had begun for a new ferry that will expand their service line between Catawba, Put-inBay, South Bass, and Middle Bass Islands. The boat will be christened next year with the name Mary Ann Market in honor of the family matriarch.

Mary Ann Market (artist rendering)

The new 140 foot long, 38.5-foot wide ferry will accommodate 26 standard sized vehicles or 600 passengers and will join Miller’s present fleet of four passenger/vehicle ferries. Miller Ferries operate between the peninsula of Catawba to Put-in-Bay (South Bass Island) and also to Middle Bass Island, Ohio; two of Ohio’s popular Lake Erie resort islands.  The M/V (Motor Vessel) Mary Ann Market will feature enhanced propulsion and maneuverability, the main deck will be ADA accessible passenger cabin and restroom, and a 20% increase in cargo capacity over Miller’s largest vessel.

The vessel will be built in modules and assembled at Fraser Shipyards beginning fall 2018 and throughout 2019.  Miller Boat Line President Billy Market states, “We chose Fraser due to their enduring high quality, integrity, value, and with consideration of recommendations from industry professionals including marine surveyors, lake Captains, and engineers.”

Today Miller Boat Line is owned and operated by Bill and Mary Ann’s children, Julene Market, Billy Market, and Scott Market, and also Billy and Scott Market’s children work within the company. The family states, “We look forward to welcoming the new M/V Mary Ann Market, it will be a proud and nostalgic moment to see her operate alongside the other island ferries.”

Visiting Bellville’s Street Fair

belleville-fair-3345

This weekend I’ll be visiting the Bellville Street Fair. Local’s call if the Bellville “World’s” Fair. No one has yet been able to give me a good reason why they call it that, but I’ll continue my quest.

I was saddened to hear that this year’s truck and tractor pulls were canceled because of rain. Too bad. Usually a tractor pull is only enhanced with a really muddy field, in fact I think it’s a requirement for any farmer worth his seed to be able to push his rig through some muddy fields AND not have a neighbor pull him out! Oh well… maybe next year.

The Bellville Street Fair has been going on for a really long time. I thought the Circleville Punkin Show was old, but the Bellville Street Fair has it beat by about a half century. Some of the town’s old codgers might remember that Bellville had everything going for it to become county seat. So confident were they that that designation was all but written in the books, they went ahead and had a county fair. Low and behold Mansfield was chosen as the county seat, even though Bellville was more populated, had discovered some gold and had a bright future. The problem for Bellville was that one of those darned railroads decided to go through Mansfield. That little detail was enough to derail the whole county seat thing.

The following year with Mansfield claiming title to the county seat, demanded the Richland County Fair could only be held in one place: the COUNTY SEAT! Mansfield called and they want their fair. Poor Bellville, the beautiful citizens of Mansfield had a point. But (always a but), Bellville had gone to all that trouble of building a new fairground and everything, so they decided to just change the name and 165 years ago the good folks in Bellville had their first “street fair.”