Or it could have been the small-town atmosphere close to a metropolitan city. Whatever the reason, the migration is on to some parts of Ottawa County's west end. And while no one knows exactly why some west-end areas have seen such an increase, Allen Township trustee Scott Everhardt knows why he moved there 10 years ago.
Schools are always a factor.
It's close to Toledo but yet far enough away to be rural and call home. Once he moved into the township, the addition of the turnpike interchange made it easier for him to commute to his job as a sales supervisor at Cessna Aircraft Co. at Toledo Express Airport. Census figures show, however, that the township had the largest boom out of municipalities around the county. The west-end growth was expected, said Walter Wehenkel, director of the Ottawa Regional Planning Commission. In 1990, Census figures showed that one-third of those living in Ottawa County leave the county to go to work, he added.