LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Very few cities are lucky enough to have a place like Lima's Schoonover Observatory where they can take their family to look at the stars. Bethany Ulrick tells us how tonight's Jefferson Award winner has shared his love of astronomy with the public for most of his life.
"I'm always out here, always doing something. Maintenance, electrical work, cleaning, the Friday night star gazes," stated Michael Ritchie, 2023 Jefferson Award winner.
Michael Ritchie has studied astronomy since he was nine years old, and has been part of the Lima Astronomical Society since he was a teenager in 1968. Over the years, he began dedicating more and more of his free time to the observatory, from mundane but necessary tasks to educating anyone who was interested in space.
"I'm always out here, always doing something. Maintenance, electrical work, cleaning, the Friday night star gazes," stated Michael Ritchie, 2023 Jefferson Award winner.
The Schoonover Observatory, while owned by the city, does not receive funding from Lima. Ritchie has taken it upon himself to pour tens of thousands of dollars of his own money into the observatory. On top of sharing his knowledge, he also hauls his own equipment from home for others to use.
"I'm the one that's got all the personal astronomy equipment at home so it was always me bringing out telescopes and different things for the programs," said Ritchie.
When the observatory's main telescope was stolen back in the fall, Ritchie installed one of his professional telescopes until it could be replaced. For him, it's all worth it to help people experience space for the first time.
"When we get the little kids or even the adults that come in, look through the telescope for the first time at Saturn and they go 'Oh wow!' to see Saturn's ring in the telescope with their own eyes," said Ritchie.
Ritchie isn't done yet. He recently wrote a grant proposal and was awarded a quarter of a million dollars for improvements to the observatory, like a new H-vac system and parking lot.
"This is going to be his legacy. So you're seeing a man in a community who's dedicated his entire life, his finances, his energies, and his welfare to keep it going," commented Sherry Graham, who nominated Ritchie for the Jefferson Award.
That was Michael Ritchie, one of the 2023 Jefferson Award winners.
