Grab Your Board, fostoria.org is Ready to be Surfed
March 14, 1999, article one

You know what they say - out of site, out of mind. That's why October 14, 1997 was a big day for Fostoria, computer-speaking-wise.

That was the day Fostoria's own "Web site" www.fostoria.org became operational and got itself up and running free and clear on the World Wide Web.

For those of you who, like me, aren't too conversant with computers, the Internet, etc., a Web site is a place where you can go on your computer (if you're online) and find out about something. Many businesses and organizations now have Web sites, home pages, etc.

For instance, the Baseball Hall of Fame has a Web site. Individuals have them, too. I know because my nephew, Tom, has one. A photo of my niece, Lynn, graces the Web site of her dance school.

And now Fostoria has a Web site, too, and a very impressive one at that.

The site www.fostoria.org is the creation of a group of volunteers sponsored by Noguska Computer Center here in town.

"It started out right in the beginning to be something to be used for local history," according to Norm Gibat of Noguska. "It's the same as other towns have. Toledo has a real nice one."

No matter how it started, fostoria.org has grown a mega-byte or two since 1997. Depending on where you click your little mouse, you can find information about three local churches, both local school systems, Fostoria history and politics.

You can also use "Web links" to get to other local companies and organizations.

"That's the whole goal of the site," said site coordinator Ben Pohlman. "If a stranger to town wants information about Fostoria, they can come here and get a basic idea of what we're all about."

I typed "www.fostoria.org" into my internetted, World Wide Webbed, cyberspaced computer the other day and here's some of what I found clicking on various sections of the site.

The first page introduces fostoria.org as a site "devoted to the history, events and politics - past, present and future - which make up the city of Fostoria, Ohio 44830."

Three local churches - St. Wendelin, Fostoria Baptist and Wesley United Methodist - are included in the site.

If you click on St. Wendelin you can select information on the parish, both schools or a history of St. Wendelin himself. Did you know, for instance, that St. Wendelin was the son of Forchado and Irelina, king and queen of Scotland?

You can find out that Fostoria Baptist begins Sunday worship with prayer time at 9 a.m., Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. and morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

In addition to its regular ministry, Wesley United Methodist operates a child care and preschool program including Sunday school for children as young as 3 years old.

The politics page has everything from a map of Ohio's state senate districts (witha star indicating Fostoria) to the names and addresses of various state and federal elected officials so you can put up a beef about anything that happens to be on your mind.

Need the phone numbers of Fostoria's city officials and council members? Fostoria.org has them.

The Web site includes maps of the city and of each ward. The ward maps tell you which council member, state rep, U.S. representative and state senator you're represented by.

You can even learn a bit about the backgrounds of our elected leaders. For instance, Gov. Robert Taft received his master's degree in government from Princeton in 1967.

The bulk of the history page features Paul Krupp's columns from the Review-Times. This project isn't complete so check periodically to see what new items have been added.

Local history articles that have appeared in the Fostoria Focus over the past few years are also scheduled to be added to the site.

Partof the history page is the work of Carol Wangler who's made it her project to scan into fostoria.org many of the Fostoria poost cards in Ray Dell's find collection. They make nice viewing.

Carol was interested in computers before most folks ever heard of the internet.

"About 15 years ago, I was working at Alt's," said Carol. "The gentleman who repaired guitars said, "Hey, you've got to stop at this place in Tiffin.'And he showed me CAD (computer assisted drafting). The next thing I know I'm taking classes. Then I got a degree in mechanical engineering technology from Owens."

In 1932, Fostoria had a centennial celebration of the founding of the villages of Rome and Risdon.

The history page includes the 37-page centennial program with biographical information about the Foster family and pictures and descriptions of the MacLean Public Library, the old waterworks tower and Main Street in Foster's day.

There is very detailed history of the Autolite Spark Plug Plant written by Duane Richardson, form president and general manager of Bendix, covering its establishment, the involvement of unions, the World War II years, post-war expansion, the purchase by Ford and the Bendix years. It even has a photo of a war bond rally in the 1940s.

Under clubs and groups, there are listings for the Lions, Rotary, Altrusa, Fostoria Masonic Lodge, Business and Professional Women, AMVETS, Optimists, Kiwanis and the Order of the Eastern Star. That last one includes a listing of officers dating back to the OES's founding of 1898.

Are you confused by our wildly vacillating weather? Just click on the Web links to Sky Scan Radar and the Weather Channel.

Plus there are links to other Fostoria-related sites.

Such as? How about the Kaubisch Memorial Public Library, Fostoria Community Hospital, Fostoria Economic Development Corp., Fostoria Footlighters, Fostoria Industries, Norton Manufacturing and others.

Looking for a better job? At the Allied Signal Corporate Home Page, you can send the company your resume via email.

You can even purchase a Buckeye tree from the Ohio State University Alumni Club of Seneca County. Grow Bucks!

One of the main things we were looking for," said Ben, "was something that would download quickly. It's not a real flashy site as far as the bells and whistles and it won't lock up your computer. We've kept it pretty straightforward."

In addition to Ben, Carol and Norm, others who have worked on fostoria.org are Marilyn Beers, Ryan Fox, Bill Cline, Joan Fleming and Alisha Sheridan.

Fostoria.org remains a work in progress. They are looking for other churches, businesses and groups who would like to be added to the site.

"It'll keep growing as time goes on," said Norm. "Another year from now, it'll have a ton more stuff."

They are also looking for other interested computer enthusiasts to help them in expanding and improving the site. Anyone, from skilled cybernet to computer novice is welcome to join in.

Anyone interested in helping keep fostoria.org a growing concern can stop by Noguska at 741 N. Countyline St., call 435-0404, fax 435-1844 or email ngibat@noguska.com.

The fostoria.org group meets at Noguska on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome.