MOUNT VERNON — Members of the Copus Hill Model A Club took their first weekend trip of the year on Saturday, beginning at the Mount Vernon News before making a few more stops around Mount Vernon. Copus Hill is a Marion chapter of the Penn-Ohio Model A Club with its members coming from Richland, Ashland and Crawford counties.
Penn-Ohio organized in 1955 with the Copus Hill club being chartered in 1968. Now consisting of 27 members, the local club meets monthly, taking many trips, most of them around Ohio with a few venturing to other states.
“We wanted something different,” said Jeff Johnson, Copus Hill member and host of Saturday’s visit to Mount Vernon. Johnson works for Synergy Mechanic which provides heating and air conditioning service for the News and other businesses around Mount Vernon. He drove his 1930 Model A Huckster to Saturday’s tour. “It’s the original fruit wagon,” said Johnson. “We are a traveling group. We drive all our cars to tours. They are not trailered.”
Saturday’s tour began at the News where Publisher Kay Culbertson and Assistant Publisher Liz Lutwick gave the group a tour of the News, explaining the workings of the local newspaper business, from advertising and editorial, to the pressroom and mailroom.
From there it was on to the Woodward Opera House where Chuck Kindel led the group upstairs to view and learn about the ongoing restoration efforts of the 19th-century theater. After a quick jaunt through the Farley and Moore antique store and a tour of the Dan Emmett home, lunch was enjoyed at the Russell Cooper House. The final stop of the day’s tour was The Dairy on Wooster Road.
