The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 73

Travel with Fran Thursday, November 15, 1979 Akron Beacon Journal H3 U(JI Hocking Hills State Park: Great place for day visits Nye, ex-Akronite who was then director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, dedicated the lodge and 40 vacation cabins. Beacon Journal Travel Writer Edwin Schoenleb reported that: "The $3.9 million lodge is set on the edge of a huge valley with its large plate glass windows offering a splendid view of an unusual array of scenery. Right now, the dogwood dominates." The leaves were almost gone from all trees when I recently visited the Hocking Hills Dining Lodge for the first time. I drove in after dark to have dinner, got so fascinated by the place that I returned the next day to see it in sunlight. What you see is a large building with shake-style roof and painted decorations reminiscent of European mountain country.

By Frances B. Murphey Beacon Journal Staff Writer The brown-painted sign out front has yellow letters saying, "Hocking Hills State Park Lodge Cabins." Does it sound like a good place to stay overnight? What a great way to leisurely visit one of Ohio's favorite parks with such attractions as Old Man's Cave, Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, Rock House, Cantwell Cliffs and Conkle's Hollow. Fine, if you have a cabin reservation. If you expect to stay overnight at the lodge, forget it. At the end of the long, windy entrance road off Ohio 664 is Hocking Hills Dining Lodge.

Dining only, no overnight rooms, 207 miles from Akron. SEVEN YEARS ago William B. nn ni; in Clare Werk manages the Hocking Hills Ohio along with her husband Ben (Inset). Dining Lodge near Logan in southeastern They are former Canton residents. THE DINING AREA dominates one side.

Rest rooms and a gift shop are off the main lobby. Down the hall is a large lounge with comfortable chairs and a television set. Downstairs are conference rooms. It is all there, except bedrooms. An outdoor pool is open from late May to Labor Day.

The dining lodge usually closes at the end of November but this season it will be open through Jan. 2. Present hours are 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.

to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Beer and wine are available. EX-CANTONIANS Ben and Clare Werk manage the lodge. They were with WJAN-TV and radio station WOIO in Canton.

He helped establish the Mayfair Country Club in 1970. Werk grew up in Butler County in Ohio, his wife in Butler, Pa. They came to Hocking Hills in June, commuting at first from Columbus and recently moving to Logan. In September they initiated the Hocking Hills Indian Marathon, a race for men and women. The first Indians in the territory were the Adenas, followed by the Delawares and the Wyandots.

Some hunting must still be done in the area. An interesting signboard proclaimed: "Wild Boar Hunting, Write for Brochure: Box 907, Logan 43138." MOTORISTS through the hills should be aware of the scarcity of gasoline stations. Gas heat is used in the two-room "deluxe housekeeping" cabins. Only five are available year-round, 34 will reopen March 1. The park office was moved from the lodge into the 40th cabin to conserve energy.

The lodge's telephone number is 614-385-6495; park and cabin months to a year in advance. Occasionally there is a last-minute cancellation. The cabins cost $32.50 a night and $135 a week in the off season. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the facilities have to be reserved for a week at a time. They cost $165 a week and $37.50 per night in season.

It still seems that a lodge with rooms available by the night would be feasible. Especially from the time the leaves pop out in the spring until they depart in the fall. Granted, fewer people want to "get away from it all" in winter. While enjoying the salad buffet and a roast pork dinner at the lodge, I looked at the icicles and frozen waterfalls in photographs. Pretty.

Maybe I'll find a room in Athens or Nelson ville and take a winter hike. Someday. said that lack of money and a marketing analysis of area needs may have influenced the decision against rooms. He noted that Burr Oak and Shawnee state parks have overnight lodges in the same area of the state. "SINCE INCEPTION, Hocking Hills was for dining only," says Norv Hall, chief of the Division of Watercraft who earlier worked with parks.

Hall cited seasonal slumps and accessibility as problems for keeping Hocking Hills as it is. Faint-of-heart drivers may not want to tackle the hills and curves at night or in the snow. Yet 2,000 to 3,000 persons come to Hocking Hills Winter Hike. The next one is Jan. 19.

For that event, all cabins are reopened. Don't ask for one. CABINS are booked from six reservations, 614-385-6841. Address for both is 20160 State Route 664, Logan 43138. Primitive and Class campsites are located elsewhere in the park.

IN THE LOBBY at the dining lodge, a plaque explains that it was "built under two Ohio administrations for the enjoyment of her citizens." Governors John J. Gilligan and James A. Rhodes are both mentioned. So much for political equality. Hanging above the bronze plate is a photo of Rhodes, none of Gilligan.

Hocking Hills' operation is under the Division of Parks and Recreation of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Asking officialdom why Hocking Hills has a dining-only lodge gets various answers. Acting Parks Director Wesley L. Fry, on the staff since 1966, .,4 I 4 4 -4 1 1U I A cluttered signpost near Hocking Hills State Park points the way to the park's attractions. J-iiM-j OS'S -ma oezs ind tHc oat' 33irf SN3(3aV9 NlAHVW 3CIN3AV HON1N3A 3HN3AV DliNVIiV 3DN3AV VNVIQNI 3DN3AV SIONmi 30N3AV AXDrtiN3X avoova a H31Vft Recreation cO 30 It 's not just a game to U.

S. king 5is iZ rn getting properties unmortgaged requires a 10 percent penalty payment to the bank under the rules. HE NOTED that, as a result of strictly following the rules, there is less money available to the players and the game ends quicker. Terman who admitted "never lacking for confidence and enjoying the notoriety" he has achieved through Monopoly said he feels it takes more skill than luck to succeed at the game. "I really feel that it's entirely skill, al 'i i -v, 5s -tjL 2 "5- Oz though many people get frustrated and upset when I say that.

"Sure, luck is involved because you're dependent on rolling the dice. But I feel that Monopoly is like an NFL game in that luck is involved but skill is the overriding factor. "You really can't practice for the contests," he said. "But playing regularly does help keep you sharp." By Bob Downing Beacon Journal Staff Writer Dana Terman says he will, 20 years from now, be able to rattle off the rent for Ventnor Avenue $26. The rent is so low because Ventnor Avenue like the 27 other fictional streets and properties is located on the Monopoly game board.

Terman, 23, of Wheaton, happens to be the American king of plastic red hotels, green houses and multi-colored currency. HE WON the U.S. Monopoly championship last June in New York City, competed in the world championships in Monte Carlo (finishing sixth) and will defend his national title next spring in Bermuda. The key to succeeding at competitive Monopoly is to be adaptable and ruthless, Terman said in a telephone interview. "The best strategy is to remain flexible," according to Terman, a car salesman who began playing the game when he was eight years old.

"The object is to get one Monopoly and to build it up quickly, adding as many houses as you can before anyone else can get into the game," he said. "You have to be ruthless. "It's a mistake to fiddle around with two monopolies. You're just diluting your efforts." MAKING advantageous trades, he added, is a "vital element where skill and experience come into play" in the popular board game, produced by Parker Brothers Inc. Asked if there's a big difference between competitive Monopoly and playing the game with family or friends, Terman responded with a question: "Is there a big difference between the level of competition in the National Football League and playing touch football with your son? "The biggest difference, really, is, aside from the fact that more's at stake, that you have to go strictly by the rules, something that most people don't do." For example, he noted that putting $500 and collected taxes on the board for the first person who lands on the Free Parking square, something many people do, isn't in the rules.

Buildings and properties are mortgaged for 50 percent of the purchase price, and utes or the player with the greatest assets (money, buildings and property) is declared the winner. In the finals, the time limit is extended to three hours. TERMAN said he had a premonition the night before the finals that he would win a come-from-behind victory. Houston's John Buffa wiped out the other three players, who were short on cash, but Terman emerged the victor after Buffa made a tactical error in the 100-minute match. At Monte Carlo, where 31-year-old Chong Seng Kwa, a computer engineer from Singapore, won, Terman said he made one glaring tactical error, the result he said of having played too much blackjack at the casinos the night before.

He just missed qualifying for the finals, after being coerced into a "bad trade" with the representative of South Africa. TERMAN said he was leading in the round although no one had a monopoly. He was content to maintain his lead until time expired. The South African, Terman said, threatened to give away his properties to the other players unless Terman agreed to start trading. "At the time, it sounded OK to me," he said.

"But it was probably the worst thing I could have done. I made the trade and lost the game. I learned that all's fair in love, war and Monopoly." The world championship, which attracted players from 19 countries, is held every two years. TERMAN, who has automatically qualified to defend his national title, said 10-year-old Angelo Repote, of Staten Island, N. winner of the Boston regional, should be one of the top competitors.

The other regional meets have been held in Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco. "Monopoly is a good game, an entertaining game," he said. "Monopoly is the only (board) game that still holds any fascination for me as I grow older. "It can be a competitive game, and I guess I'm basically a competitive person. That's why I've been drawn to Monopoly.

I'll stick with it as long as I'm successful. I've got no reason not to." 1 Boston Globe photo 2 Dana Terman 8 '77 TERMAN, who said he considers poker to be his favorite game, said his father brought home an application for the regional tournament leading to the national Monopoly championship (held every two years since 1973). A serious player of hearts, bridge, chess and backgammon, Terman won the contest and joined the three other regional winners and entrants chosen at random through a lottery to bring the field to 64 in New York City for the single-elimination tournament. In competitive Monopoly, four or five players compete in a game with the winner advancing to the next round. The game must be completed in 90 min is sis sx.

,4 CHANCE COMMUNITY CHEST READING RAILROAD INCOME TAX PAY 10 OR $200 CONNECTICUT AVENUE VERMONT AVENUE ORIENTAL AVENUE BALTIC AVENUE MEDITERRANEAN AVENUE VISITING FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS ON TOP CARD PRICE ZQ PRICE SIOO FR'Ct SIOO kric: S20O pricc S60 PRICE S6O.