Best of the Best Hometowns

Visitor Center
An ideal spot for hiking, Wayne National Forest has 300 miles of trails to explore. The Wayne National Forest Welcome Center ensures visitors get the most out of the 834,000-acre lands sprawling across 12 counties. Places not to miss in Athens County include the Shawnee Tower Lookout, the only remaining 1930s lookout point in Ohio, and the rock shelter of Tinkers Cave. Day trips can be spent hiking, biking, fishing, canoeing and observing wildlife. 13700 U.S. Rte. 33, Nelsonville 45764, 740/753-0101. fs.usda.gov

HILLIARD

<< Restaurant to Taste Ripe Plantains
Long before roasting Chiquita bananas over a campfire became a popular pastime, plantains were steamed, broiled and fried. Nobody does it better than Starliner Diner. The popular squat little banana is your first clue this is not a typical ’50s diner with a jukebox. With a menu that includes Pizza Cubana, Yucatan Marinated Chicken Breast and Mexican Chorizo, the restaurant’s fare leans toward Hispanic and anything south of the border. But there are American folk art murals on the wall and an atmosphere where the 1960s hippie scene meets the local Chamber of Commerce. Locals love it, and we would fill our sombreros with the cilantro lime dressing if we could take it home.5240 Cemetery Rd., Hilliard 43206, 614/529-1198.starlinerdiner.com

Reason to Appreciate Modern Voting Booths
The voting wagon displayed at Historical Village at Weaver Park in Hilliard is typical of the mobile polls that were pulled by horse or tractor from 1880 to 1940. Old wagons were often retired to back yards. Many homeowners thought they just had an old tin shed on their property until they discovered four wheels, sunk long ago into the ground. franklincountyohiohistory.org

Place to See TV Dinosaurs
The years 1928 to 1955 may not all be the Golden Age of Television, but it was certainly a time of important broadcast innovations. Visitors to the Early Television Museum see sets primarily from those years, including mechanical televisions (those without picture tubes), itty bitty screens and the first color offerings. Hundreds of televisions are on display, including do-it-yourself kit TVs that were housed in homemade cabinets. The TVs come from across the globe and, according to museum attendant Larry McIntyre, many still work. 5396 Franklin St., Hilliard 43206, 614/771-0510. earlytelevision.org

Religious Outreach
Only about 30 percent of the activities at the Noor Islamic Cultural Center are strictly or officially “religious.” Completed in 2006, the center also serves as a community gathering place, educational facility, art gallery, sanctuary and a beautiful setting for weddings. Under the guidance of Khaled A. Farag, the director of outreach programs and one of the center’s founders, activities reflect more than 40 different cultures in the region. Wishing for transparency in both the physical and political senses, the center’s huge windows encourage sunlight and observations from the local community. 5001 Wilcox Rd., Hilliard 43016, 614/527-7777.

Community That Loves Its Police Dogs
When the City of Hilliard’s Division of Police recently retired Brix, its beloved police dog, with full honors, the city was without a K-9 unit. The division went to residents and businesses to raise the $11,000 it needed for a trained police dog and equipment. According to Chief of Police J. Douglas Francis, about $34,000 was collected in less than eight weeks. That generosity allowed for the purchase of three Belgian Malinois shepherd dogs named Erko, Eros and Oz, along with maybe a few dog bones.