Ridgeview Farms gets grant to explore county with small groups

HOWLAND -- Trudy Olah roamed around the artifacts and memorabilia that grace the interior of the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum on Friday morning.

"You know, I knew Ernie Hall when I was 18. He was a man of the utmost intergrity and high character," said Olah, who said her father had flown with the early Howland aviator.

"I guess you could say I was one of Ernie's girls -- and he didn't want them to be drinking and smoking. He was very happy when he found out I was going to be an elementary teacher," Olah said.

Olah took lessons flying a Piper J-3 and other early aircraft at an airfield off state Route 46, where Leon's tavern now stands, she said.

"I couldn't overcome my air sickness," she said, noting the change of career to teaching for about 14 years in school systems in Geauga and Ashtabula counties.

Olah also used to run the kiddie duck hunt games at area festivals, including the Italian-American Heritage Festival each August in downtown Warren.

"They got to know me as 'Gramma Duck,'" she said.

Today, the widowed Olah said she has helped other women who recently lost their spouses.

"I give them a shoulder to cry on and help find their purpose in life," said Olah, who now lives in Burton.

Because Sharon Grover helped Olah adapt to her life as a widow, the former aviator said she will now try to get widows to come on tours with Grover's new business -- Ridgeview Country Tours.

Grover announced the plans for her business Friday in a reception outside the Ernie Hall museum.

"I have been in the group tour market for 23 years," Grover said, referring to the Ridgeview Farms she and her husband Steve operated in Mesopotamia, which featured strawberry picking each spring.

Grover said when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company lost 95 percent of its gross income.

"But failure was not an option," Grover said. "I love my job. I tell my children if you have to go to work every day, find something you are passionate about."

Receiving an American Rescue Plan grant and a low-interest loan from the Valley Economic Development Partners allowed Grover to purchase a minivan and changed the company's business plan.

"It has given our business more flexibility," she said, noting the small group tour market in Trumbull County will be served with Ridgeview Tours' new 15-passenger van.

At the ceremony dedicating the new vehicle, Grover introduced Olah and Robyn Morris, who will be the driver and tour guide.

Grover thanked all three Trumbull County commissioners for approving the Grovers' ARP grant application.

Beth Carmichael, director of Trumbull County tourism, said Ridgeview Tours will help as an ambassador for the county by offering tours to all the county has to offer.