Fremont, Ohio

FREMONT , OHIO Venturing into the outdoors is part of everyday life and the growing tourism industry in Fremont, especially following the demolition of the Ballville Dam in 2018. In the city that was formally named 2018 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, wilderness adventurers can hop into a kayak or canoe and row north on the Sandusky River to a man-made reservoir that serves as a recreation area for water scooter riding, water skiing, recreational boating and biking. Ghoul Runnings Kayak Adventures set up shop there this year and is on track to welcome its first kayakers this month to bolster the city’s water recreation offerings. However, Fremont is most known for its annual Sandusky River walleye run in March and white bass run in May. History buffs can head to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums at Spiegel Grove. They’ll get a glimpse into the life of the Dark-Horse President, visit his burial site and delve into the books of the first presidential library, which opened to the public in 1916. Along with its history, the Fremont City Council takes pride in its relationships with local businesses, non-profit organizations, and civic groups that invest in the community, its economy, and infrastructure. These include the city’s two largest private sector employers, Kraft Heinz Company and Crown Battery. Kraft Heinz Company has been operating the country’s largest ketchup plant in Fremont since 1937 and employs 500 people. “There is enough ketchup stored in the warehouses around our community that everybody could have ketchup for the next three months, if they stopped making ketchup,” Mayor Sanchez boasts. The worldwide company Crown Battery and its president and owner, Hal Hawk, employs 450 people in Fremont and is a great investor in the city’s schools. Meanwhile, housing product manufacturer Style Crest and its CEO and owner, Tom Kern, are known for rehabbing downtown Fremont – including four buildings, one of which reopened as a restaurant in December 2017. “At that point,