First I went to Wauseon, which is in Fulton. I drove around the town a bit just to get a feel for it because while I’ve been there a few times before it was never for very long.

Once in town, I spotted a man laying in the grass on the side of the rode in front of a factory. I thought that he looked a little strange but interesting. I pulled over and he agreed to be interviewed. He was actually a really good person to talk to. He said some pretty off the wall things but I definitely got some good quotes. He was quite a character and even offered me a cigarette (which I politely declined).

Next I decided to go to Wal-Mart. I thought that would be the perfect place to catch a lot of people because it looked like the only place in town that was busy. Everything else was pretty dead.

Well, Wal-Mart turned out to be a bad idea.

I first ran into an 87 year old named Ruth. The first thing that she told me (even before I had a chance to ask her name) was that she loved the “colored boy” running for election. Once she said that I knew I was going to have an AWESOME interview! She continued to go on and on about health care, social security…everything. Then of course she told me I couldn’t use her name. I should have known…and I’m mad at myself because I got caught up and didn’t ask her about her name until the end. Oh well, I guess those things happen.

It turns out Ruth wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to give their name. I asked several other people and they all refused to talk.

After the Wal-Mart extravaganza, I went to a grocery store called Chief. I immediately got turned down twice but then I ran into a man, “Jim Smith.” I’m pretty sure he made that name up. He gave me a 10 minute spiel about hating Obama and job loss. All in all pretty good stuff.

After talking to Jim I decided that I needed to head to Williams county or I was going to run out of time. I was definitely frustrated at this point.

Once I got to Montpelier, I located the county fair and headed right in to the main building. The main building had lots of political booths as well as set ups for local businesses. I found a lot of very nice people in there who were willing to be interviewed. It turned out much better than Wauseon.

Overall, I think my day could have gone a lot better, but it also could have been a lot worse. I think I’m lucky that the fair was going. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have gotten nearly as many interviews.

I’m looking forward to Williams because their county fair is currently going on in Montpelier. The fair will be a great opportunity for me to talk to many residents.

For Fulton county I plan on going to Wauseon. I haven’t found any events happening this weekend, so I’m not sure where exactly I’ll go in the town, but I’m sure I will find something if I drive around a bit. Alyssa said to try places like groceries stores and restaurants. I can also try to go to another town in the county, Archbold.

I found some information about my counties that I will post in this blog. Knowing statistics about the counties helps me to understand what issues and concerns the people living in them might have.I’ve only posted some information, but more can be found on the Ohio Department of Development website.

Williams County:
Population in 2006: 38,719
Land Area: 421.8 square miles
Race: 96.4% white, 0.8% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.4% Other, 0.6% Two or more races, 2.7% Hispanic (may be of any race)
Age: 25-44 is the highest age range with 28.8%, 45-64 is the next with 22.9%
Educational Attainment: 16.9% do not have a high school diploma, 48.7% high school graduates, 7.2% bachelor degree
Poverty Status: 3.95% below poverty level
Median Household Income: $40,735
Agriculture (number of farms): 1,070
Voting:
number of registered voters: 25,246
voted in 2006 election: 13,607
Major Employers: Allied Moulded Products Inc., Bryan City Board of Ed., Community Hospitals, Ingersoll-Rand Co., etc.

Fulton County:
Population in 2006: 42,900
Land Area: 406.8 square miles
Race: 95.6% white, 0.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.2% other, 1.0% two or more races, 5.7% Hispanic (may be of any race)
Age: 25-44 is the highest age range with 28.4%, 45-64 is next with 22.7%
Educational Attainment: 14.7% do not have a high school diploma, 44.0% high school graduates, 9.4% bachelor degree
Poverty Status: 4.0% below poverty level
Median Household Income: $44,074
Agriculture (number of farms): 770
Voting:
number of registered voters: 28,616
voted in 2006 election: 16,754
Major Employers: Dana Corp, Fulton County Government, Fulton County Health Center, International Automotive Components, etc

With this blog, I will be able to keep track of all my stories and gain some readers. I would love to get feedback on my writing and suggestions for improvement.

Hopefully this blog will help to keep me in the habit of writing much more and often than I have in the past. I tend to go through spurts with writing.

My first assignment for reporting class is to go to two counties in Ohio and speak to people about the upcoming presidential election. I will be traveling to Williams and Fulton counties.