Gypsy Road Trip

Jeff Minosky is well known in the area for restoring antique cars and historic buildings. He enjoys doing mechanical work and refinishing of old cars and helps with the upkeep of the historic buildings in Noble County. He is constantly trying to find ways to make Caldwell and Noble County a better place to live. Here are some of his activities but the list could go on, and on.

This long-time resident of Noble County since the age of three, graduated from Caldwell High School and went to Washington State Community College, where he majored in accounting. That became helpful to him while working as an agent for Western & Southern Life Insurance Company for thirty-four years.

One of his hobbies during that time was restoring antique cars. A favorite of his for 30 years is a ’70 orange Chevy Nova. While director of Noble County Tourism, Jeff and his wife Darlene delivered Visitors Guides throughout the area. Pictures of them in all the small towns were taken as that orange Nova traveled through.

He also participated in about a dozen car shows a year. Early on, he had 7-10 cars. At the Kipling Car Show, there was a Veterans’ category where Jeff entered red, white, and blue cars. You can easily imagine that the history of cars is something he immensely enjoys.

Every July 4^th, there is a large Car Show at the Fairgrounds to raise money for local 4-H clubs, where they have raised approximately $60,000 over the years. In 2001, the trophies were rather unusual as they were made of Uncle Sam nutcrackers. The Best of Show trophy that year stood 12′ 3” tall. Cruising Times Magazine reported it as the largest car show trophy ever awarded in Ohio at that time.

His involvement with the Noble County Historical Society received recognition when he was presented the Heritage Ohio’s Preservation Hero Award. This annual statewide recognition was given to Jeff, past president, due to all the work he has done in the community over the last few years with fundraising to restore and preserve buildings, and historic signage. He wants to preserve the history of Noble County and helped create a new logo for the Historical Society as well as enhancing their social media presence, which is so important today. Their Historical Society has been active for over 60 years.

Just recently, he was also presented an award at Walnut Creek by EODA for his help in organizing the 100th anniversary of the USS Shenandoah airship crash in Noble County, and helping create the design for their souvenir coin. While Jeff appreciates the recognition for Noble County, he personally is not award motivated.

For the America 250 anniversary, Jeff helped design the logo for Noble County. It features 31 stars around the outside of the logo indicating that at the time Noble County became a county, there were 31 states in the United States. A high school art class long ago helped develop his ability to create ideas and drawings. Jeff gives credit to several locals who have helped bring his designs to life.

As part of the Historical Society, Jeff is proud to have helped with restoring the one-room school, log cabin, and covered bridge at the Noble County Fairgrounds.

Jeff has been a member of Caldwell City Council since 2004, and spends many hours devoted to the historical importance of Noble County. It’s been said that Jeff is “the busiest man in Noble County.” He has recently been involved with the downtown revitalization with many buildings receiving a face lift.

Another project that he enjoys is working with the Woody Hayes log cabin, which was located on a farm outside of town. Woody Hayes often escaped there from football and life, while he reconnected with his extended family in the area. Frequently, he brought football players along to help as his secluded escape was being built. That cabin is being relocated close to town in an area to be called Woody Hayes Memorial Park.

Another idea Jeff plans for the future in Caldwell is to take photographs of all the businesses and possibly some of the houses, then put them through an AI program showing various color schemes and things that could be done with their facades to improve the look of the village. It would show people lots of possibilities for their buildings. He never stops dreaming up new ideas.

Once in a while, Jeff and Darlene do take vacations and have enjoyed relaxing on Maui in Hawaii, Bermuda, and Niagara Falls. Those were a few of the special places that quickly came to mind, but he enjoys Caldwell most of all.

With his varied background, he has wide interests and likes to keep busy. “I can look at something, and know where I want it to go, and what it will look like.” Jeff enjoys Caldwell, his hometown, and remarked, “I want to make it as nice as I can.”