Randy Winland, Marion Historian, will share about the 2020 Marion County Bicentennial Celebration.
Randy Winland was born in Monroe County in southeastern Ohio. After graduating from Bowling Green State University in 1976 with a degree in secondary education, Randy began his career in education at Marion Harding High School as a social studies teacher and athletic trainer. He later earned his Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling from BGSU. In 1987, he was employed by Tri-Rivers Career Center as a guidance counselor, a position he held until 2001 when he was appointed Director of Student Services. Randy retired in 2011 after 35 years in public education.
His interest in his adopted home town has led to Randy’s collecting “Marion Memories” in the form of memorabilia, postcards, books, and stories. Randy has authored two books on the history of Marion and Marion County as seen through postcards. A third book about Marion’s Crystal Lake Amusement Park will be released in October. He has also written and edited numerous articles and booklets on various subjects related to Marion’s history. He served as an adjunct professor for Ashland University while teaching graduate classes on how to incorporate local history into school curricula. Randy has served four terms as president and is a 20+ year board of trustees member of the Marion County Historical Society. The Ohio Local History Alliance of the Ohio History Connection has presented him with awards on two occasions. In 2017, he was presented the OLHA Individual Achievement Award in recognition of his many years of service to the collection, preservation, and sharing of the history of Marion County.
Randy does not consider himself a true historian but rather a collector of tidbits of history.
He will be sharing information about the 2020 Bicentennial Celebration of the founding of Marion County.
Marion Noon Kiwanis meets Thursdays, 11:30am-1pm in the Community Room at the Marion Public Library.
