By JOHN KEREZY, eyeoncleveland.com founder

PORT CLINTON, AUGUST 17 – Nearly 125 attendees helped raise more than $25,000 for the Ohio State Parks Foundation in its inaugural “History in the Parks” series here at Camp Perry on Sunday.

Goals of the new series are to obtain artifacts of historical significance for display and interpretation at some of Ohio’s state parks, and also to initiate more history-based projects. (More details below.)

Because of historical significance, Camp Perry along the shores of Lake Erie was selected as host site. “The Battle of Lake Erie: Its Impact on our Nation” was the theme. Professor Douglas Brinkley of Rice University, one of America’s most eminent historians and New York Times best-selling author, gave a live streaming video presentation on the subject. (Brinkley was planning to attend live, but an injury prevented him from traveling. See more below.)

Sunday’s event also marked the fifth anniversary of the Ohio State Parks Foundation (OSPF). Since its founding in 2021, the organization has raised more than $2.2 million in gifts and grants, and has leveraged this to help fund 29 improvement projects in the Ohio State Park System. The four-fold mission of the OSPF is to enhance visitors’ experiences at state parks through (1) funding innovative projects that educate park visitors, (2) increase accessibility, (3) support sustainability, and (4) promote health and wellness.  

Some examples include:

• Seven new Storybook Trails with Imagination Libraries (there are now 20+ in Ohio’s state parks).
• Two new inclusive playgrounds at Strouds Run and Delaware State Parks
• Two Haiku Trails, accessible playgrounds, kayak launches, accessible beach improvements, pollinator habitats, and educational exhibits at Great Council State Park.
  

The OSPF also played a leading role in the restoration of historic Lonz Mansion at Middle Bass State Park, a project recognized across Ohio for its preservation and community impact.

For more information about the Ohio State Park Foundation and/or to become a supporter of its important work, click here:   https://ohiostateparksfoundation.org/about-us/

If you want the Foundation’s membership details, you can do so here: https://ohiostateparksfoundation.app.neoncrm.com/forms/membership

TOUR AND RECEPTION

Sunday’s event began with a tour of Camp Perry Joint Training Center, established in 1906 to improve soldier marksmanship. Named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the Battle of Lake Erie, it has hosted the annual National Rifle and Pistol Matches dating back to 1907. Michael Yates, base operations supervisor at Camp Petty, served as tour guide and also made remarks as part of the program.

Following the tour, the Foundation held a reception with some brief remarks from key attendees and War of 1812 reenactors Michael and Rebecca Cooper (see more below).

The main program began around 4:30 pm, and in it Ohio was held up as an example of the “Best of the Best” when it comes to its 76 state parks. As Mary Mertz, Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources Director shared in her remarks at the event, the Ohio State Park System was named “best state parks in the nation” and won the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation Management in 2025, presented by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration.

Mary Beth Hammond became involved as a volunteer with the OSPF at its “Magic at Middle Bass” benefit event in August 2023 at Middle Bass State Island. She did a lot of work behind the scenes to make Sunday’s fund raising event a success.

“It’s really about sharing the history of our parks. A lot of them (state parks) are free to go and explore,” Hammond says about the Foundation. “When we think of young families and the cost of the traveling, you can get in your car and go to many of these parks. … Just sharing with Ohio residents and visitors all we have to offer here in Ohio.”

You can hear all of Hammond’s thoughts on the event here:  

Dr. Theresa Popp Braun is the national director, Center for Education and Financial Capability, at the AccessLex Institute. She has extensive non-profit board experience, including service as board chair and treasurer of the Bowling Green State University Foundation. She and her husband, Ray Braun, are major sponsors of the event.

“I was pleased to find out that we are only one of seven states that doesn’t charge admission to get into our 76 beautiful state parks,” says Dr. Popp Braun, who frequented Mosquito Lake State Park while growing up in Niles.   “I feel like our state, and the role it has played, over time, in our republic and our nation’s independence, is so important …. We have more presidents than anywhere else. Our state has so much beauty it has so much opportunity. I’ve lived in a lot of different places, but I kept coming back to Ohio because it has so much to offer.”

Dr. Popp Braun pointed out that one of the activities which the Ohio State Parks Foundation supports are wheelchair-accessible picnic tables (see photo).   Those who are wheelchair bound can still enjoy the park system and even play games or share meals with family and friends thanks to these special tables.

Hear Dr. Popp Braun’s comments here:    

Rebecca and Michael Cooper, War of 1812 reenactors, drove about 190 miles each way to come to Camp Perry and participate in “The Battle of Lake Erie: Its Impact on our Nation.” The husband-and-wife team appeared in period at the event, told their story of what life was like around 1813 in Ohio, and posed for photos with attendees.

“I’m with the regiment of riflemen, a sharpshooter. It’s great because Camp Perry is training grounds for sharpshooters,” Michael Cooper says. “We were trained as elite soldiers, but we weren’t used as one unit, we were broken up and sent out in small detachments, a lot of times with the regular army.”

“We have a lot of different events between the states and into Canada. We go across the board for some events,” Rebecca Cooper adds. “We do about eight (events) a year, and we usually kick off each year at Fort Meigs.”

Hear Michael and Rebecca Cooper’s interview here:      

OSPF vice chair David Henthorne served as an emcee for the event. He explained a bit about the purpose of the Foundation, and some of its many benefits for Ohioans.

“We were set up to enhance, preserve, and protect our 76 state parks. The parks are already great … we work to make them even better,” he says. “We are one of only 17 states where the parks are free, and we (the Foundation) do things like (funding) accessible kayak launches and accessible playgrounds. We fund pollinator gardens so we can have more indigenous species in our parks.”

Henthorne added that, with this new series, the OSPF plans to purchase artifacts to display at some parks and engage in more history-focused projects that will bring Ohio’s rich history to life for visitors in some of the parks.

Hear all of Henthorne’s interview here:

BRINKLEY ON THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE

Douglas Brinkley was raised in Perrysburg and graduated from the Ohio State University. He recalled his fond childhood and teen days on the shores of Lake Erie during his talk on the live screencast. In his remarks, Dr. Brinkley recounted the historical significance of Ohio, with seven presidents being born in the Buckeye State and how it was frontier territory at the time of the War of 1812. He discussed many different aspects of the war, culminating in Gen. Andrew Jackson’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans as its end. But he saved his strongest remarks for the occasion.

Brinkley pointed out that what Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry accomplished on September 10, 1813, gave the U.S. decisive and permanent control of the Great Lakes area and effected a British retreat from occupied Detroit.

“That line (Put-in-Bay) is the (battle) line of the War of 1812, and I believe the war was won right there, at the battle of Lake Erie,” Brinkley says. “It became storied. Commodore Perry’s dispatch William Henry Harrison, ‘we have met the enemy and they are ours’ became immortalized. In the American context, there’s nothing quite like it.”

Brinkley also pointed out how the battle flag “Don’t Give Up the Ship” became legendary, and how Perry bravely sailed the brig Niagara straight through the British ships’ line of battle, using its powerful short-range carronades to force the surrender and capture of all six opposing Royal Navy vessels.

Additionally, Brinkley pointed out that the Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial on South Bass Island is just a few miles from the Canada-U.S. border, the longest undefended border in the world. It commemorates the long-lasting peace among Canada, Great Britain, and the U.S.

American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race and The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America are just a couple of Brinkley’s historical works.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A “Don’t Give Up The Ship” sticker was on my door at Cuyahoga Community College for several years for students to see when coming into the office. Also, AI was used for the illustration at the beginning of this story.