Dogwood Pass | Litter Media

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As Dogwood Pass staff prepped their wild west town in Pike County for a Civil War reenactment, they were happy to have some extra help through Goodwill’s Summer Youth Program.

The annual paid work experience program provides local teens their first experiences in the job market. Goodwill of South Central Ohio partners with local employers, provides a job coach, and pays the teens’ wages during the five-week program which ends July 31.

It’s a program Mike Montgomery said Dogwood Pass has really enjoyed over the years.

“The reason we do it is to help the kids and let them learn how to support themselves,” Montgomery said. “It’s a great thing.”

At Dogwood Pass, youths have an opportunity to explore a variety of job tasks from clearing brush to running a fence line. One year, they even helped build one of the town’s buildings.

This year, there were 53 teens from Hocking, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, and Vinton counties who participated in the Summer Youth Program. The program was structured a little differently this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a remote option was added. The 19 teens who opted for the remote experience took three-hour classes four days a week with Goodwill employment specialists. Lessons included education on career exploration, job seeking skills, post-secondary option, and self-advocacy.

“Summer Youth looks a little different this year with COVID, but we are so grateful to have the communities’ help. It allows our participants to enjoy their summers and learn skills needed for their futures as well as earn some money,” said Cana Horner, missions coordinator for Goodwill of South Central Ohio.

Other employers who worked with the program this year include: Cooks Creek Golf Club in South Bloomfield; Millstone Southern Smoked BBQ in Logan; North River Place Apartments in Chillicothe; Shawnee Valley Campground and Kayak Rental in Chillicothe, Waverly YMCA; and Rural King in Waverly. Goodwill stores in Chillicothe, Circleville, and Waverly also were job sites.

Goodwill has been offering the summer youth job program for more than a decade. Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities makes referrals to Goodwill for the program and helps with funding.

For more information on Goodwill, go online to GWISCO.org and follow them on Facebook.

Goodwill Job Coach Carlene Beverly works with Summer Youth participant Katelyn Beckley at the Circleville Goodwill store. Photo submitted by Goodwill Industries of South Central Ohio

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CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS INSIDE DOGWOOD PASS

You can travel back to the 1870s in the mining settlement of Dogwood Pass, without leaving the Buckeye State.

About seven miles east of Piketon, Mike and Sharlene Montgomery have been entertaining families for nearly a decade.

The attraction started as an Old West Saloon as a “man cave” in 2010. Now, there are 40 buildings on the site… which happens to be the Montgomery’s back yard in Pike County. After putting together a “one-time” show for a fundraiser, it became an every weekend Old West reenactment every weekend in the summer.

They’re open for tours Thursdays and Fridays with performances on Saturdays and Sundays through September. October presents Horror at Dogwood Pass and Christmas at Dogwood Pass begins November 27-December 27 each Wednesday through Sunday. See their complete schedule below.

Dogwood Pass is easy to find, too. From US 23 just south of Piketon, take Ohio 124/32 east, then south on Red Hollow Road to Adams Road. Head west 1 mile.