Submitted by Bob Minton

On July 24th the 14th OVI/3rd Arkansas Civil War Reenactors and the Friends and Descendants of Johnson’s Island Civil War Prison (FDJI) hosted the 5th Annual ‘Great Golf Escape’ at Birch Run Golf Club in North Baltimore, OH. Proceeds from the event assist FDJI in their efforts to pay off 17.1 acres of the original Civil War Prison site at Johnson’s Island, OH. The prison, which is on Lake Erie near Sandusky, housed Confederate Officers during the Civil War.   The original mortgage of $356,000 is down to about $20,000 as of this writing!! FDJI hopes to have the mortgage paid off in time for the start of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War cycle of events in 2011.

One of the teams wearing the Ohio Civil War 150 t-shirts.

Heavy rain moved through over night, but the weather Gods smiled on Saturday as it cleared into a pleasant, breezy day for the 19 participating teams of four, the largest outing yet! Events included a hole in one contest, putting contest, long drives, closest to the pin and more on the course. The hosts also conducted a 50-50 and raffle during lunch. An excellent lunch of steak, salads and pie greeted the hungry golfers as a thank you for their participation. The highlight of the day was a hole in one by Jeffery Konrad of North Baltimore on the Par 3, 8th hole. Sadly for Jeffery the hole in one contest was on the 13th hole!

First, second and third place teams won gift cards to local restaurants. The last place team won gift cards for Happy Meals. Each team also received a generous bag of prizes including movie tickets, gift cards, golf & sports items and the like. Bob Minton, one of the event coordinators says, “The sponsors and prize donors were very generous this year and we would like to thank them. We could not have done it without their help.”   This year’s outing profited $3,618 for FDJI,   bringing the five year total to over $16,300 raised.

Both the 14th OVI and FDJI are registered non-profit groups. For more information, visit www.14thovi-3rdark.com and www.johnsonsisland.com.

Plans are already underway for the 6th annual event in 2011. Hope to see you there!

FDJI

Learn more about Johnson’s Island: www.johnsonsisland.org/ or http://johnsonsisland.heidelberg.edu/