The seventh annual Home+Garden and RV show had a lot of positives going for it. The biggest topic was
there was not the heavy blanket of snow that smothered some of the attendance at the 2016 show.
Both the vendors and the visitors praised the weather, which reached a high of 60 degrees without a
snowflake in sight. But the real sunshine was found in the information provided by the vendors to those
who browsed both inside and outside the Stroh Center at Bowling Green State University.
Among those who attended the show were Al and Mary Green, who recently bought a new home in Bowling
Green.
“I got a lot of great ideas. I saw the pavers for my patio and something just clicked for me,” she said.

Mary Green also enjoyed the free pansies that were given out along with the popcorn.
The couple both said that with a new home for them, they were looking at everything from water treatment
systems to gutter guards.
Shirley Strausbaugh, a Bowling Green resident, said she was glad she came because she learned about her
yard through her visit to the Mid-Wood booth. There, she got tips on how to battle the ground moles that
are currently doing damage to her yard.
“This is a real nice setup and the people were very helpful,” she said.
Strausbaugh also said she got information for her insulation, windows and leaf filters for her gutters.

Lisa Wilson of Toledo loved the selection of RVs in the parking lot. She said she liked the refrigerator
in a Winnebago that also featured a stacked washer and dryer.
Terry Shafer of Shafer’s Truck and RV Sales in Delta was one of the RV vendors.
“We’ve had a lot of lookers, but no buyers yet,” he said. “But they got to have a look before they buy.”

He said the exposure at the Bowling Green show helps draw people to his rural location to see his full
line of trailers and coaches.
Bowling Green resident Ruth Stechschulte noted the nice variety of interesting displays.
Banks Dishmon, advertising director for the Sentinel-Tribune, which sponsors the annual show, said he had
heard good things from the various vendors. The vendors noted the foot traffic was fairly steady and
they had time to talk to many of the visitors to their booth.
“The vendors were pleased with the response they were getting,” Dishmon said.
“We have had a great turnout and great weather,” he added.
Dishmon also announced the show will expand to two days in 2018. This will allow more time and be more
convenient for some people. The show will run April 6-7, with the show opening on a Friday afternoon
along with the Saturday hours.
He explained that is a greater attraction for vendors as they can set up one day and tear down a second
day and get more time with potential customers.
(Editor’s note: A story about some of the garden aspects of the show will be featured on Wednesday’s
Garden page.)