Groups gather to celebrate freedom in Toledo, Maumee
Glenwood Lutheran Church invites guests to write a message of hope in chalk; Northwest Ohio Conservative Coalition and Free Ohio Now host event on Conant Street Bridge.
By Alexandra Mester / The Blade
Sat, 23 May 2020 20:48:11 GMT
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Two events Saturday showed different angles of the community’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In the morning, a church in Toledo’s Old West End invited the public to decorate its parking lot with chalk drawings and messages to help spread positivity. That afternoon, a group advocating for an end to Ohio’s coronavirus-related restrictions held a peaceful demonstration on the Maumee-Perrysburg Bridge.
Pastor Chris Hanley of Glenwood Lutheran Church on Monroe Street said the church wanted to do something simple and playful to bring people together. The church had previously chalked supportive messages on its grounds after major events, such as “Houston Strong” after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Neighborhood residents in the Old West End have written messages on sidewalks in recent weeks, so the church decided to follow suit.
“We turned our parking lot into a canvas that neighbors and folks from the church could come together and make art, just make something beautiful together,” he said.
Organizers took precautions aimed at social distancing, and most of the few dozen attendees — church members, neighborhood residents, representatives from a Kiwanis Club, and others — wore face masks.
“We’re being careful, but also in the same space to be together in a way we haven’t been able to in a long time,” Pastor Hanley said.
Jan Quiambao, an exchange student from the Philippines, and Josi Vollmar of Old Orchard collaborated to fill a parking space. The pair came up with a design to thank essential workers, using icons to represent different industries.
“It helps to just brighten up the world a little,” Ms. Vollmar said of the chalk art. “People can appreciate it without actually interacting.”
A couple of hours later, passing drivers honked car horns in support as they drove by a group gathered on the bridge carrying U.S. 20 and State Rt. 25 between Maumee and Perrysburg. The demonstration was the third such weekly event organized by the Northwest Ohio Conservative Coalition in coordination with Free Ohio Now.
Linda Bowyer, chairman of the coalition, said Saturday’s event was planned to mark the Memorial Day holiday.
“This is more for Memorial Day and to honor those who died for our freedom,” she said. “Our whole movement is about freedom, and we wouldn’t have freedom if it wasn’t for them.”
That freedom, she said, is now under threat by government overreach in the form of ongoing coronavirus-related restrictions.
“We think people should have the ability to make decisions on their own about what’s in their best interest,” Mrs. Bowyer said.
About a dozen people present at the start of event did not wear masks but held American flags and signs. Carl Bachmayer of Holland has attended all three of the group’s protests thus far and plans to continue doing so. He said the economic and social fallout from government restrictions have been far more damaging than the coronavirus pandemic itself would have been.
“The restrictions have gone on way too long, and it should have been done by the legislature here in Ohio,” Mr. Bachmayer said. “It’s arbitrary, and our system of government was not designed to be completely run by the governor. We have separation of powers for a reason with checks and balances. They’re bypassing the separation of powers to do what they want to do.”
He said he believes the pandemic-related restrictions will continue to have a lingering impact on American freedoms, using as an example the Patriot Act passed after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“There’s been a lot of infringement on our liberties because of that, and the same thing is going to happen with this,” he said. “It just sets more and more precedent down the road for liberties to be infringed.”