CONNEAUT —A pair of trailers have been purchased to help transport D-Day Ohio’s two Higgins boats, thanks to the Ashtabula County Civic Development Corporation’s 2020 fundraising campaign.
CDC Executive Director Amanda Tirotta said in an email the project was selected by the CDC Board of Directors for a number of reasons.
“D-Day Ohio, Inc. pays close attention to make their event authentic and the most historically accurate living history reenactment in the country,” she said. “This group is an excellent example of what CDC Directors sought for our campaign.”
D-Day Ohio Chief Operations Officer Lori McLaughlin said the trailers will save the organization a significant amount of money every year.
“It’s going to save us thousands of dollars a year that we’ve been paying for probably 15 years,” she said.
The trailers were built specifically for the organization’s Higgins boats, she said.
“They came out so beautifully,” McLaughlin said.
D-Day Ohio owns a pair of Higgins boats. A large number of Higgins boats were constructed during World War II, and were used for troop landings in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
The CDC provided enough money for one trailer, but D-Day Ohio put in enough money to purchase a second trailer, McLaughlin said.
In previous years, organizers used to have to scramble in order to make sure one of the organization’s two Higgins boats was taken out of the water on time on Saturday in order for the flatbed truck to deliver it to where it was stored and be back in the area by the end of the day on Sunday.
“The whole coordination of that, every year, has been sometimes just a nightmare,” McLaughlin said.
Both D-Day Ohio and the D-Day Ohio World War II Museum provide educational opportunities for families, and especially veterans, to enjoy, she said.
“Beyond that, the county-wide partnerships to plan and execute the event is commendable,” Tirotta said. “They work with the City of Conneaut and Port Authority as well as the Northeast Ohio Regional Airport (just to name a few) to expand the economic impact beyond the host site of the Conneaut Township Park.
“Volunteers are enabled near and far which brings more attention to the quality of life opportunities provided in Ashtabula County.”
Higgins boat rides are currently offered from the Public Dock.
“Prior to CDC grant funding the boats needed to be hauled and stored elsewhere, when not being used, which was a cost to the organization,” Tirotta said. “With the purchase of the trailers, they will be able to haul the boats and now have the means to store them close to the museum without the additional cost to the organization.”
The trailers will also allow the boats to be brought to other events.
“D-Day Ohio has received funding from CDC in our 2015 Campaign to help defer the cost of an accessibility ramp for the museum,” Tirotta said. “They are good stewards of the funding they receive and we are pleased to work with them again in this 2020 campaign.”
