Sandra M. Wicks

Sandy Wicks' creations took many forms.

A sculpture of a winter spirit made from old books. Gnomes made from scraps of fabric. Witticisms to make a political point on a sign. A new shop that became a community fixture. A festival that should have failed, which is now the highlight of the year for downtown. Sandy Wicks created a sense of community that pervades downtown Bowling Green where her legacy is evident.

A serial entrepreneur, artist, activist, public servant, grandmother, wife, and mother, Sandy Wicks, 79, died Wednesday, Jan. 28, in Toledo Hospital from complications after a heart attack she suffered two weeks ago.

"She was basically an artist, a designer, creator," her husband, Jerry Wicks said. "She just couldn't sit around, and when she was sitting around, she was painting or working on something," he said.

Her son, Kelly Wicks, with his wife, Laura, now owns and operates Grounds for Thought, the shop Sandy founded.

"One of the things for her, always, was to keep it creative, to keep it based on helping the community, and to always have fun at the same time."

That was true from the time the young couple arrived in Bowling Green, where Jerry was finishing his graduate studies. Eventually, they settled here, where Jerry taught sociology and demography. They lived at first in graduate student housing with their two children, Kelly and Bridget. Finances were tight, but Sandy persevered. "She worked hard," he said, "She was really, really a spirited woman. She hung in there." Sandy Wicks worked a number of jobs and earned her Master's in Education from BGSU. Afterward, she worked as a substitute teacher.

But that changed on Christmas Eve, 1988, as Kelly Wicks recalls.

The family was seated around the table, talking about a new venture. In their travels in the Southwest, the family would often stop at used bookstores. Jerry had even contemplated opening one. Those places always had a coffee pot.

Now the Wicks family talked about opening a coffee shop combined with a used bookstore. Not a common sight in 1988.

Kelly remembers asking what it would be called. "Grounds for Thought," Sandy responded immediately.

The shop opened in October the next year.

As a children's services librarian at the Wood County District Public Library, Maria Simon said she was grateful for the shop.

Earlier this week, Simon overheard a 4-year-old patron at the library say, "I like the library - but they don't have doughnuts."

Sandy had found the magical combination of coffee, baked goods and books.

Grounds was the first of several ventures. Sandy opened Natty Threads, a used clothing shop in 1992, and then the Southwest-themed eatery Call of the Canyon in 1995.

As with Grounds, which she sold to Kelly and Laura Wicks in 1991, these were passed on to new owners. Call of the Canyon is still in operation, featuring many of the same menu items.

Sandy remained active at Grounds, which served as her headquarters for her diverse interests.

During this period, the downtown was struggling as so many others were. The mall and other big box businesses on the outskirts of town were pulling away customers.

Kelly Wicks remembers talking to Jim Tinker, the director of Downtown Bowling Green at the time, about an arts festival. "We got a cold shoulder from the powers that be," Kelly said.

Then his mother stepped up to chair the festival committee, and Floyd Craft, another downtown business owner, threw his support behind the festival. It launched in fall 1993, and almost washed away that first weekend.

Torrential rains canceled much of the show, and the festival took a bath, financially. But the Wicks family and Craft took the lead in putting up money so the event could continue. "She was tenacious," said Amy Craft Ahrens, now a partner in the Craft businesses. "If there was somebody that said 'no, we can't do that.' She didn't just take that as a 'no.' She was trying to figure out ways to make it happen anyway."

Sandy was not afraid to take on challenges of David-and-Goliath proportions. In her first run for Bowling Green City Council, she faced off against retired Police Chief Galen Ash - a larger-than-life figure in the community.

Jerry recalls her creativity playing a role in the campaign as well. The signs were blue lettering on a field of orange, apt for the season. He recalls looking down Pearl Street and seeing them lining the road.

Sandy won the Third Ward seat, in a "huge upset," said B.J. Fischer, who served on council with her. She went on to serve from 1998 to 2003. "Her fearlessness came out of her naturally optimistic viewpoint," Fischer recalled.

Mayor Mike Aspacher also recalled the political upset when she was elected. "Sandy was the type of person who just connected with people. She tried to find common ground. Her basic kindness made her so easy to work with," Aspacher said.

Sandy's primary goals were to protect the community character of the city's neighborhoods and the downtown.

During her tenure on the city council, Craft said, she advocated for downtown, and made sure city officials understood the importance of the district to the health of the city as a whole. "She was unfailingly optimistic and upbeat," Fischer said. "You learn to value that."

Whether in business, on city council, or holding signs at political protests, Sandy was relentless.

"She believed that ultimately, we'll make progress," Fischer said. Before becoming mayor, Aspacher held the Third Ward seat after Sandy no longer served on council. She had set high goals for the city government. "I've always been impressed with her creativity and vision," Aspacher said. Her downtown businesses "have become institutions in the community."

"She was a model of civic responsibility," said Simon, a self-described fan.

Sandy was both a planner and a doer - a powerful combination.

"She was a great initiator - and she followed through," Simon said. The Black Swamp Arts Festival was a great example of her vision and her willingness to get her hands dirty to make it an ongoing success.

Comments on the Grounds for Thought Facebook page talked about the loss to the community. People spoke of Sandy's sincerity when taking time to carry on conversations, when finding a book that someone might appreciate, and sharing houseplant clippings to take root in someone else's home.

Others remembered Sandy putting sewing kits for masks during the pandemic out in front of Grounds, making purses out of coffee bean bags, and making a cardboard figure of Congressman Bob Latta to show up at a town hall meeting when the real congressman failed to.

Sandy adopted young or new people to Bowling Green with her "radical kindness," by creating a warm and welcoming space. Her "hey kiddo" greeting will be missed by many.

"I loved all of her ideas," Craft Ahrens said. "I was on several committees with her over the years and she didn't want to do the same old, same old. She was always trying to think of new ways to reach people."

One of those was the holiday boutique at Grounds. Kathy Pereira de Almeida worked with her on that project. Pereira de Almeida said the event originated at the Ridge School. Then she held it at her house. Sandy Wicks sold her crafts there. "She always had some nice whimsical art to add to it." Sandy suggested they move the event to Grounds in 2013. Pereira de Almeida knew Sandy Wicks well before the boutique.

Pereira de Almeida met the Wicks family when she and her husband, Jose, moved to Bowling Green, so he could pursue graduate work. He worked in the Population & Society Research Center with Jerry Wicks.

"She was just so welcoming when we came to the community. So, you know, our lives have crossed many, many times," she recalled. They invited them to their home, bought a beloved stuffed bunny for their eldest daughter, and attended the naturalization ceremony when Jose Pereira de Almeida became a citizen. "Our paths crossed in so many ways."

In a comment on Facebook, she wrote: "I woke up this morning thinking of Sandy and the way she is woven into ours and so many lives over the years." She always admired Sandy's wit expressed through her art - often fashioned from repurposed material, books and coffee sacks, from Grounds. Pereira de Almeida even made cinnamon rolls that were sold at Grounds when it first opened.

Simon believes Sandy left a roadmap for the Bowling Green community to carry on her work - whether through local government, as an entrepreneur, an artist or an activist. She left no question where she stood on issues, Simon said.

"She got things off the ground. Now she's handed over her legacy to us to keep it going," Simon said.

She always admired Sandy's wit expressed through her art - often fashioned from repurposed material, books and coffee sacks, from Grounds.

And that wit expressed itself in protests signs waved at demonstrations supporting progressive causes in downtown.

Craft Ahrens said she always knew she would be there. And always smiling.

Kelly Wicks was exposed to that activist side of his mother early. When teachers went on strike in 1975, she brought him and his sister, Bridget, to join them on the picket line and serve teachers hot drinks.

Fifty years later, he said, "she still had a lot to live for and had a lot of ideas and projects ahead, but that was just her nature."

An informal life well lived celebration will take place on Saturday, February 7, 2026 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Grounds For Thought, located at 174 S. Main Street.

Memorial contributions may be made in Sandy's memory to the Habitat for Humanity of Wood County, Friends of BG Dog Parks, or the Wood County Democratic Party.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Dunn Funeral Home located in the historical district of Bowling Green, Ohio at 408 W. Wooster Street.