Tri-Village May/June 2012

When the weather gets warm, our Catering & Event Planners heat up! Whether you’re hosting a small graduation party or a huge family barbecue, we make summer celebrations deliciously easy.

Select from our special summer party menu featuring everything from classic fried chicken and potato salads to elegant charcuterie platters and artisan cheeseboards.

614.538.0783

Please place your order 48 hours in advance.

The Forum at Knightsbridge is honored to be a longstanding and respected member of the Columbus community. We offer an uncompromising, high standard of living with all the warmth and hospitality of home, right here on our beautifully landscaped campus.

the lifestyle you deserve…don’t wait a moment longer! Call for lunch and a tour to see why life at The Forum is better than ever!

781 Northwest Blvd., Suite 202 Columbus, Ohio 43212 614-572-1240 • Fax 614-572-1241

www.cityscenecolumbus.com

Charles L. Stein

Kathleen K. Gill

Dave Prosser

Christa Smothers

Lisa Aurand

Duane St. Clair

Garth Bishop

Amanda Ross

Leah Wolf

Molly Pensyl

Gianna Barrett

Julie Camp

Pam Henricks

Natalie Kish

Sadie Bauer

Lynn Leitch

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Contributing Editors

Contributing Writers

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614-572-1240

www.trivillagemagazine.com

The Publishing Group Ltd. also publishes: CityScene Magazine

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Dublin Life Magazine

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Westerville Magazine

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Healthy New Albany Magazine

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Pickerington Magazine

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Mark your calendar for these Community

MAY 2012

May 3

Mother’s Day Crafts

4-5 p.m., Upper Arlington Public Library Lane Road Branch, 1945 Lane Rd., www.ualibrary.org

Make the perfect gift for Mom. Kids of all ages are invited, and no enrollment is necessary. The event will be held in the downstairs meeting room.

May 3

Music: Anna & The Consequences

7-8 p.m., Grandview Heights Public Library, 1685 W. First Ave., www.ghpl.org

Enjoy popular American jazz, pop and blues arrangements from this acoustic quartet. The performance is part of the Music in the Atrium indoor concert series. Admission is free.

May 10

Yappy Hour

6:30-8 p.m., Grandview Heights Public Library, 1685 W. First Ave., www.ghpl.org

Yappy Hour is back! Bring your dogs for a friendly mingle on the library lawn. Treats, animal-themed music and visits from local pet businesses and veterinarians will be provided. Leashes required. No aggressive dogs, please.

May 10

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

7-8 p.m., Grandview Heights Public Library,

JUNE 2012

June 8-9

American Cancer Society’s Upper Arlington/Grandview Heights Relay for Life

6 p.m., Upper Arlington High School Track, 1650 Ridgeview Rd., www.grandviewchamber.org

This annual walking event celebrates cancer survivors and caregivers, while also honoring those who lost their battle with cancer. Donations will raise funds for cancer research.

June 14

Movie in the Park — The Sandlot (PG)

8 p.m. (Dusk), Sunny 95 Park, 4395 Carriage Hill Ln., www.uaoh.net

The Upper Arlington Parks & Recreation Depart-

1685 W. First Ave., www.ghpl.org

The young actors of Imaginating Dramatics Company bring this Shakespearean tale to life. This show is for ages 5 and up. The performance was originally scheduled for April 24.

May 16

Upper Arlington Farmers’ Market Wednesdays, 3-6 p.m., Upper Arlington Senior Center, 1945 Ridgeview Rd., www.uaoh.net

The Upper Arlington Farmers’ Market features locally-produced fruits, veggies, herbs, flowers and dairy from area farmers. Open weekly each Wednesday through Oct. 10, excluding July 4.

May 17

Discover the Dream

6 p.m., Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, 4850 W. Powell Rd., Powell, www.stjude.org/discoverthedream

Support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at this event celebrating the hospital’s 50th anniversary.

May 17

Taste to Remember

6 p.m., Loth, 855 Grandview Ave., www.childrenshungeralliance.org

The 10th annual Taste to Remember features freshly-prepared food and wine, jazz music, and the opportunity to win fabulous prizes.

May 19

2012 Spring Fling

Proceeds will benefit Children’s Hunger Alliance and the American Culinary Federation-Columbus Chapter scholarship fund. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the door.

11 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunny 95 Park, 4395 Carriage Hill Ln., www.uaoh.net

The Upper Arlington Parks & Recreation Department hosts its annual Spring Fling. See page 8 for details.

May 20

Wall of Honor

3 p.m., Upper Arlington Municipal Services Center, 3600 Tremont Rd., www.uaoh.net

This annual event commemorates an Upper Arlington resident who made outstanding achievements in a variety of areas for the good of the community before his or her death. This year’s inductee is R. David Thomas, best known as founder and former CEO of Wendy’s International, Inc.

ment hosts a movie night at the Sunny 95 Park. Watch the family-friendly movie The Sandlot on a 24-foot screen beginning at dusk. Bring lawn chairs, blankets and snacks to enhance the movie-watching experience. Admission is free.

June 16 Digfest

4-10 p.m., Grandview Yard, www.grandviewchamber.org

The second annual Digfest – Dig is short for “Drinks in Grandview” – highlights the local wine, beer and liquor options in the Grandview Heights area. This year a home-brewer judging event

will be added to the festivities. Tickets are $1 each, sold in sets of five.

June 20-Aug. 17

Concourse Gallery Exhibit Series: Celebrating UA

5-7 p.m., Upper Arlington Municipal Services Center, 3600 Tremont Rd., www.uaoh.net

Celebrate works from artists living and creating in Upper Arlington. The exhibit features two-dimensional and three-dimensional pieces and takes place in conjunction with shows in the galleries of Northwest Arts Partners, including Dublin, Del-

Community Events!

May 26

Grandview Hop

5-9 p.m., Grandview Ave, between First and Fifth avenues, www.grandviewchamber.org

Come check out the unique mix of food, drinks, shopping, live music, art and fun along Grandview Avenue. The Grandview Hop is held the last Saturday of each month May through August.

May 28

UACA Memorial Day Race

7 a.m., Reed Road Park, 3855 Reed Rd., www.uaca.org

Race through the streets of Upper Arlington. The race begins at 9 a.m., and each preregistered participant receives an event Tshirt. The fee is $30 for those who pre-register and $35 the day of the race. The One Mile Fun Run for kids begins at 9:30 a.m.

aware and Worthington. A reception will take place 5-7 p.m. June 28. Admission is free.

June 28

Music in the Parks: Ohio Capital Winds

7-8:30 p.m., Sunny 95 Park, 4395 Carriage Hill Ln., www.uaoh.net

The Cultural Arts Division hosts its annual summer concert series, Music in the Parks, featuring the Ohio Capital Winds. This free concert takes place outdoors on the UA Arts Stage at the Amelita Mirolo Barn.

For more events visit www.trivillagemagazine.com

Turning the Page

Ann Moore, director of the Upper Arlington Public Library, will retire May 31 after 33 years of working with the library. She had told board members that she would stay with the library through the next levy, which passed successfully in March. Moore says she feels it’s time for her to move on and for the library to have a new director.

After her retirement, she plans to work in the arts and volunteer in music, as well as volunteer with the nonprofit Friends of the Upper Arlington Public Library, which raises $80,000-$100,000 for the library each year.

“I’m not planning on just sitting in a rocking chair. I’m planning on staying busy,” Moore says.

Moore stayed very busy during her 14 years as director, overseeing the library through a technological transformation and a shaky economic climate. During her time as director, the library’s readership increased to an average of 55 books checked out per person per year – even as state budget cuts and rising costs made it increasingly challenging for Moore and her staff to fully serve the community.

“I’m just so proud of the staff that we’ve become,” she says. “We’ve taken cutbacks, but our staff still wants to innovate

Upper Arlington Library Director Ann

Moore retires

By Leah Wolf

and try new things, and tries to implement what the community is asking for.”

Moore says she’ll miss working with her staff to make the library the best one possible for the Upper Arlington community, and she’ll miss the daily interaction with the patrons who show their appreciation by continuing to support the nationally recognized library. She will also miss being part of the technology that has become so central to libraries, which has led to the challenge of balancing faster service with a continued personal connection.

“Our job is much more about being in communication with people than it used to be,” Moore says. “We’ve tried to make it quicker and easier for people to use the library and still keep that personal touch.”

Moore is grateful for a lot about her experience as director, but because of her forward-thinking attitude, she doesn’t spend much time looking back.

“I’m proud to have represented the library over the years,” Moore says.

Leah Wolf is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

Spring Celebration

Rain or shine, nothing will stop the good times at Upper Arlington Parks & Recreation’s 2012 Spring Fling.

The fifth annual Spring Fling, an amalgamation of UA’s smaller spring events, is slated for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. May 19 at Sunny 95 Park, 4395 Carriage Hill Ln.

A host of new attractions is sure to draw a crowd this year, says Cheryl Hyatt, Parks & Recreation program assistant.

A Ohio State Highway Patrol Helicopter will put this year’s Touch A Truck over the top. Last year, there was a helicopter at the event, but this year, kids will be able to sit inside to get their pictures taken. Other vehicles included this year are a bulldozer, backhoe, fire engine, police car, mower, gator and a Columbus Bomb Squad truck.

“The kids can get in and sit on the equipment,” Hyatt says.

Also new this year will be a demonstration by Irish dancers from The Academy, who just returned from the World Championships in Scotland, and Games2U is bringing some fun toys -- including water balloon launchers and giant “hamster

City’s Spring Fling event draws all ages

balls.”

The Parks & Recreation department is taking the opportunity to show off some of its summer camp offerings, including pony riding from Liberty Farm and an obstacle course from Jump Bunch.

Perennial favorites include the Turtle Lady’s friendly turtles and reptiles, face painting, arts and crafts, a fishing derby, and a community bike ride to kick off the event.

SCHEDULE:

Community Bike Ride, 10-11 a.m.

Arts and crafts, balloon sculpting, inflatables, Touch A Truck, Turtle Lady, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Shazzbots, interactive children’s entertainment, 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.

The Academy Irish Dance, 1-1:30 p.m.

“It’s really fun. You have everything from Grandma and Grandpa to moms and dads, and we had quite a few older kids doing the fishing derby last year, so it spans the ages,” Hyatt says.

Spring Fling drew a crowd of around 2,500 last year, and Hyatt expects it to be even larger this year.

For more information, call the UA Parks & Recreation department at 614-583-5300. In case of severe weather, call the weather hotline at 614-583-5345.

Ann Moore

THE VILLAGE OF

MARBLE CLIFF

Heart to Heart

Food pantry reaches out to local residents

Did you know there is a food pantry in Marble Cliff? Heart to Heart is located in First Community Church, 1320 Cambridge Blvd. It operates completely on donations and is not part of the church budget.

Heart to Heart does a whole lot more than operate a food pantry. It shows love, compassion and dignity to friends in the pantry and on the streets.

The food pantry is set up as a grocery store for those who are experiencing food insecurity. The Tri-Village Rotary helped by purchasing new flooring, shelves and freezers, and taking care of the electrical needs.

Heart to Heart provides three meals a day for three days for each individual in a household on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-11 a.m. The program typically helps around 70 families per week. Heart to Heart is a choice pantry, meaning families can come and shop just as they would at a grocery store.

“Our food pantry has seen incredible growth over the last few years and especially over the last year,” says Angie Weber, Heart to Heart Coordinator.

In 2011, the pantry served 4,600 individuals and 8,600 families – compared to 1,500 individuals and 4,000 individuals the prior year. “So far in 2012, we have assisted over 1,000 individuals in each (month) of January and February, so you can see our numbers continue to increase,” Weber says.

Heart to Heart purchases the majority of its food from MidOhio Foodbank, with the rest coming from donations and food

Foxes Return to Marble Cliff

About six years ago, shortly after dark one spring evening, our son came home and said, “Did you know we have little foxes playing in our front yard?” We scurried to look out our front windows and indeed, two little red foxes that moved and acted like puppies were prancing, rolling and running with enthusiasm all over the place. They were nested under our front porch and stayed for about another month, coming out each evening like clockwork. We spent our evenings watching foxes instead of TV.

drives. In 2010 the pantry spent just over $4,000 to purchase food, compared with $9,000 in 2011. “The amount of food we go through per month would cost around $12,000 at the grocery store,” Weber says.

Heart to Heart’s homeless outreach involves taking out a grill and cooking hamburgers, hot dogs and brats for homeless individuals every Wednesday. The program helps homeless individuals qualify for benefits and locate housing, and teaches them to cook, clean and live within a budget.

What can you do to help your neighbors in need?

• Donate financially to help Heart to Heart purchase food from Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

• Donate food items for the food pantry. Drop-off donations are accepted at the pantry, at the church’s South Campus, 1320 Cambridge Blvd.

• Hold a food drive.

• Spread the word about Heart to Heart.

For more information, contact Angie Weber at 614-4880681.

A resident reported the following to Village Hall:

Since then we have had repeated sightings of red foxes in the neighborhood. Last spring, we were again blessed with a litter of kits born under our front porch. This time, there were three. They ran their poor mother ragged while giving us a thrill each evening as we again watched their antics from inside our house. They were so bold as to sit on the porch furniture and rip apart bags of mulch they seemed to think were there solely for their amusement. As I write this, we are once again on the alert. We have had fox sightings in our yard several times in the last couple of weeks and we hope this means that again this spring, we will be blessed with a new litter to watch.

GRANDVIEW

Touting Tourism

New convention and visitors’ bureau anticipates Grandview growth

By Amanda Ross

Two years ago, Michelle Wilson, executive director of the Grandview Chamber of Commerce, made a proposal to City Council about a community-centric initiative called Destination Grandview.

With the building of Hyatt Place, she knew there would be a bed tax opportunity that could be used to promote Grandview as a community and tourism destination. Wilson has been developing the idea ever since, and next month the initiative is coming to fruition.

Destination Grandview is the new convention and visitors’ bureau for the Grandview area that will work to attract group travelers, as well as meeting planners and leisure travelers, to the area.

“Grandview has a quaint downtown area along Grandview Avenue with original restaurants, boutique shopping and entertainment options” Wilson says. “I think it’s going to be great to watch a 54-passenger bus pull up along the avenue and see a large group of people populate the shops and restaurants.”

Wilson points out that being so close to Downtown, the Arena District and The Ohio State University is a major asset in marketing efforts and hopes the close proximity will promote Grandview into a natural stop on tours.

The Grandview Yard has already become a destination with its first hotel, Hyatt Place, and the Buckeye Hall of Fame Grille. With continued development through Destination Grandview, there will be many more dining and shopping options coming soon to the Yard.

Destination Grandview’s website will be available starting in May with promotions for upcoming summer events including Digfest, the Tour de Grandview bike race and Lazy Daze arts and crafts festival. Sample itineraries will

also be available with suggested ways to spend a day or two in Grandview.

“Whether someone is looking for a fun girls’ weekend, a day-long shopping adventure or a historical home tour, it all can be found in Grandview,” Wilson says.

For more information, visit destinationgrandview.org.

Amanda Ross is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

Digfest on Tap

By Amanda Ross

Grandview hosts a celebration of locally-crafted beverages

Looking for an entertaining way to lift your spirits? Raise a glass at the second annual Digfest – short for Drinks in Grandview – scheduled for 4-10 p.m. June 16 at Grandview Yard, on Yard Street.

The festival, hosted by the Grandview Area Chamber of Commerce, is part of the “Shop Local” movement, which encourages the support of central Ohio small businesses.

“We wanted to do something unique that no other community in central Ohio had tried,” says Michelle Wilson, executive director of the Chamber. “With the abundance of wineries, distilleries and micro-brewers in the area, it made sense to promote.”

The event is free to attend. Taste-sized portions of beverages are available with the purchase of tasting tickets, which are sold in packs of five at $1 per ticket. Instead of a VIP hour this year, the event will be open to every-

one for the entire six hours, with last call at 9:45 p.m.

Last year, Digfest generated a substantial amount of interest from Grandview Heights locals with its variety of vendors, food and entertainment.

“Honestly, I expected mostly 30-somethings to be the crowd majority last year,” says Wilson. “We had patrons in every age category and it was great to see we appealed to many audiences.”

With more than 4,000 patrons expected to attend the 2012 event, the Chamber decided to add an exciting home brewer element this year with a contest sanctioned by the American Home Brewers Association. The associ-

ation will be judging the home brews, as well as holding demonstrations and selling supplies for home brewing.

For music enthusiasts, the evening will include buzzworthy performances by Colin Gawel and the Lonely Bones, and Jared Mahone.

Yellow Cab of Columbus, one of the event sponsors, will offer SafeRide vouchers to anyone needing safe transportation home from Digfest.

For more information, or to volunteer, visit www.grandviewchamber.org or email Michelle Wilson at mwilson@grandviewchamber.org.

Amanda Ross is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

Michele Rapp’s club insipires

Thursday, May 17, 2012 | 6 p.m. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium 4850 Powell Road | Powell, OH 43065

Celebrate the Hospital’s 50th anniversary by joining Jack Hanna for Central Ohio’s premier event benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The evening will feature delectable cuisine, courtesy of Catering by Cox, cocktails and one-of-a-kind items up for bid in the live and silent auctions.

For Sponsorships & Benefits, along with Ticket information, please visit www.stjude.org/discoverthedream.

For more information, please contact: Beth Desai | ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 908.281.5840 | beth.desai@stjude.org or call the Columbus St. Jude Office at 614.488.3681

Vivian age 16, osteosarcoma

Media Sponsor

personalities By Duane St. Clair

He’s Got Game

Former Pictionary owner and his wife develop new game together

LIFE IS ALL FUN AND GAMES

– literally – for Upper Arlington resident Richard Gill and his wife, Catherine.

The couple, who have been married for three years, share an office in their UA home as well as similar career paths.

Photography by Christa Smothers

Since his 20s, Gill has been creating and marketing board and card games for both kids and adults. Gill is British and is glib, always smiling and happy when talking about his life’s work.

As a youngster in London, his home on the site where the Olympic stadium is being built, Gill was the “family game organizer” whenever they gathered. One of their standards was charades, but his personal favorite was Escape From Colditz, an English prisoner of war game that Gill says would never be successful in the U.S.

As a young adult, he worked in various businesses, including one that made mimeograph machines. But he found his calling when he joined Sans Serif, license holder of Trivial Pursuit in Europe. The company sold 4 million games in 1986. The next year, the company stationed him in Barbados to orchestrate international sales. After three years, Gill became a partner in Pictionary, Inc., and marketed it worldwide.

“We had no idea what we were doing,” he says. The game eventually was printed in more than 30 languages in 50 countries until it was sold to

Mattel in 2001. Initially, Pictionary had 2,500 words – 500 of them hard, 500 easy and the rest “in the middle.” It’s no longer that expansive, he says.

The popular family game became the basis for a 1997-98 network television quiz show that Gill produced – and for which he received an Emmy nomination. It aired 192 episodes with Alan Thicke as host.

When the game was sold, Gill was living near Boston. He invested in Sababa Toys, which, among other things, created more than 25 licensed versions of the card game UNO – including such titles as The Hulk, Muppets, Care Bears and Peanuts. Recently, Gill helped create licensed versions of the Etch A Sketch featuring Hello Kitty and the Simpsons.

In Gill’s various capacities as marketer

and game developer, he travels internationally to game and toy shows to promote games or ideas. He recently went to Australia for a game show and sold two games to be put on the market there.

It was during his travels to Chicago in 2004 that he met Catherine McMillen, an Ohioan who was with U.S. Playing Card Co. in Cincinnati as a traveling sales executive. Gill approached her about a UNO product, but she didn’t like it. The game “was not good enough for our market,” McMillen said. It “needed a game board and other elements to make it fun,” including better quality cards, she told him. They never did do business, but remained friends, Gill says.

Catherine, a spirited woman who also had marketed Rubbermaid and Coleman lanterns, became senior vice president of sales and marketing for Top Trumps USA, a branch of a Londonbased company.

The Top Trumps card game is played somewhat like the popular “war” that uses standard playing cards. Each game – and there are many – has a topic with a related picture on one side and statistics on the face. Topics include the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, a game that features animals. Each card has the same kinds of information, such as the animal’s weight or amount of food it con-

LEFT: Richard and Catherine with a prototype of Name, Say, Do!, a game they developed together.

BELOW: As one of the original owners of the game Pictionary, Richard still has the original game board.

RIGHT: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Top Trumps cards feature a variety of animals and a special Jack Hanna card.

sumes daily. Before a card is played, the contestant picks a category. When each player has placed a card on a pile, the one with the highest number in the chosen category wins.

Gill says board and card game sales have been stagnant in recent years, but are not dropping, despite the rise of computer and video games.

Now the two are developing their own game, their first together. “It’s called Name, Say, Do!, a fast-paced game of quick thinking and memory,” Gill says.

It asks questions, many of which may be obscure, and requires fast answers. The couple pasted together a prototype

package and created other parts of it in their basement. They expect it to be sold first in Sweden.

In their shared office with large windows overlooking a treed yard, shelves are lined with each boxed game with which Gill has been involved – including original versions, such as UNO. Catherine has an array of each Trumps game she offers or has marketed.

Gill’s small company is NH Contract Management LLC, with an office in Las Vegas. He is there sometimes for business but generally travels elsewhere. Gill, 54, hasn’t shown much interest in slowing down, although he doesn’t

go to all the marketing shows offered around the globe on staggered schedules that are not conducive to his attendance. They might require hopping from Europe to Japan to Chicago to Australia in consecutive weeks. Attending all is not necessary anyway.

But he’s not complaining. “I haven’t worked since I was 28,” Gill says, and Catherine corroborates.

“We’re both big kids,” she says.

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

RIGHT: Richard is featured in a board game inventor series of Top Trumps cards for his game ThinkBlot.

By Garth Bishop

UA eighth-grader heads across the Atlantic for international program

European Observation

JACKSON BABER’S “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” paper next school year could very well be novel-length.

Jackson, an eighth-grader at Hastings Middle School, will head to Europe for three weeks beginning in late June thanks to the People to People Ambassador Program.

People to People, started in 1956 by President Eisenhower, offers several international ambassador programs. Jackson will be part of the European Heritage Tour, a Student Ambassador program that travels through the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

It will be Jackson’s first time visiting Europe. His time will be divided between learning about the culture of the countries, visiting historic sites and contributing to service projects.

Highlights of the trip will include seeing a play or musical in London’s West End, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, watching Belgian chocolatiers in action, floating through the canals of Amsterdam and planting trees in Germany’s Black Forest.

Though he expects his participation in the program

will benefit him down the road when he applies to college, he’s also looking forward to expanding his horizons and gaining “a greater understanding of culture,” he says. He is especially enthused by the prospect of visiting Normandy Beach.

“War history kind of interests me,” he says.

Ambassadors are expected to complete one service project prior to leaving on their journeys, and Jackson and the other members of his group have chosen to collect pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House is able to turn in the tabs en masse and receive cash for the aluminum, which goes toward its programs.

Youth ambassadors are nominated by teachers, administrators, community leaders and even fellow students. Jackson found out about his nomination after receiving a letter in the mail, but nominations are kept confidential, so he does not know for certain who sent his name to People to People. He and

his mother, Tricia Baber-Everson, suspect it was a teacher who noticed a marked improvement in Jackson’s schoolwork. Jackson struggled in sixth-grade mathematics, prompting him to get help from the Tutoring Center located off West Henderson Road – and it was a big help, he says.

“They bring you ahead of what you’re probably going to be doing (in class),” says Jackson.

A year and a half later, he has shown improvement in not only math, but in his academics across the board.

“Our guess is because he was showing initiative … it has encouraged him to bring his other grades up as well,” Tricia says. Jackson’s renewed drive to succeed could very well be what prompted his nomination for the program, says Tricia.

“His whole attitude and demeanor, when he walked out of the Tutoring Center, was totally different,” she says.

In addition to collecting tabs for his service project, Jackson must raise money to fund the trip himself.

Garth Bishop is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

Photography by Lisa Aurand

Local

Flavor

FOR ALMOST A CENTURY, Tri-Village residents have been dedicated to the art of cooking – and the proof is in the prevalence of local cookbooks. Offerings range from self-published books to well-seasoned books from the early 20th Century to artistic tomes worth thousands of dollars.

Here are a handful of the recipe collections the TriVillage area has to offer.

Antique Ambrosia

Local cookbooks date back as far as 1916, when the Ladies Aid Society published Recipes: Grandview Congregational Church. We were unable to locate this volume, but the historical society archives turned up two cookbooks from the first half of the 20th Century.

The first, Order of the Eastern Star Relief Fund Cookbook, appears to be from the First World War, based on the ingredients and instructions used in the recipes. The second, published in 1927 – after Grandview Congregational Church became First Community Church in 1919 – is titled The Community Book of Recipes and Home Suggestions.

Patrick Mooney, editor of the historical society newsletter, told us a little bit about the 1916 cookbook. “It’s very typical of the period,” Mooney says. “There are all kinds of recipes, and with each recipe there’s the name of the lady who donated it.”

The recipes in these older cookbooks are laid out differently than modern recipes, and sometimes the writers assume cooking knowledge that readers don’t have. A recipe for “Escalloped Meat” calls for alternating layers of cooked rice and dried beef, topped with a white sauce (no directions included), bread crumbs, grated cheese and butter. “Bake in oven until brown,” the recipe concludes – without offering a temperature or approximate baking time.

The cookbooks are not available to be checked out, but may be viewed upon request in the historical society archives within the Grandview Heights Public Library.

Cookbooks offer a juicy glimpse into Tri-Village kitchens past and present

Palate Pals

One of the newest local cookbooks is the self-published book Just a Small Gathering, Volume I by Upper Arlingtonarea residents Scott Boles and David Kershner, released in January. The friends met during a cooking class sponsored by the Upper Arlington Parks and Recreation department and –with Boles’ background as a professional chef and restaurant owner, and Kershner’s as a technical writer – decided to collaborate on a book about hosting dinner parties at home. It took almost two years to complete from the time they started working on it in earnest, Kershner says.

The first half of the book is all about the basics of entertaining, and the second half includes 12 complete menus. The majority of the recipes were penned by Boles, who has a long history of restaurant entrepreneurship. Boles is the owner of Yabo’s Tacos in Westerville, and is currently in the process of opening a second Yabo’s in Upper Arlington’s Kingsdale shopping center.

“These are good, solid recipes,” Boles says of the Volume I menus. “About 80 percent of those recipes are easy recipes. … We want to make it easy on you to create the party and have it come off without a hitch.”

Kershner added a handful of his own recipes – and cooked all of the ones contributed by Boles to test them and take photographs for the book.

The book retails for $22.50 on amazon.com and a digital version is slated for publication as early as July. Volume II is expected to be released this fall, Kershner says, with two additional volumes to follow.

Artful Appetite

Take the cost of that cookbook and multiply it by 100, and you still wouldn’t have enough to purchase Such Sensations: Food and Philosophical Reflections of Chef Hubert Seifert, an art cookbook written by Louisa Bertch Green and designed by Robert Tauber. It was produced in a limited run of 26 books. Only two remain for sale – at a cost of $2,600 each, says Tauber, book arts specialist at The Ohio State University’s

Scott Boles and David Kershner with their book, Just a Small Gathering, Volume 1

Logan Elm Press, housed in the Library Tech Center on Kinnear Road.

The price doesn’t seem too great when you realize the amount of work that went into each tome. Tauber came up with the idea for the book in 1994, and Green spent almost a year working with Seifert, head chef and owner of Spagio in Grandview, following him around in his kitchen with a tape recorder.

Budget cuts forced Tauber’s press to shut down in 1995, so the book remained unwritten until the press opened again in 2005. Green transcribed her tapes and Tauber began the design process, including commissioning calligraphy from Ann Alaïa Woods and removable menu monoprints from artist Anthony H. Rice. Each color included in the book required a fresh press run, Tauber says.

“The initial letters (calligraphied by Rice) are hand-drawn in each copy,” he says.

Even the paper on which the books are printed was handmade. When the books were finished, they were handbound with a special process by Book

Jeanne Gauer, Kelly Cantwell & Susan Sutherland

Lab II in Texas to allow space in the binding for the insertion of each menu.

The run was limited to 26 because each copy comes in a handmade box, inlaid with one of the copper plates that created the monoprints. The books were completed in 2010, and Tauber was just notified this March that Such Sensations won the Hertzog Award for Excellence in Book Design from the University of Texas at El Paso.

“It came out differently than I thought it would,” Tauber says, explaining that the book is a unique work of art, and, as such, was never going to fit a pre-determined template.

Discontinued Dishes

If $2,600 is slightly out of your price range for a book of local recipes, you could always try the Upper Arlington Public Library. From 1970 through 2010, the library published a free holiday cookbook of staff-submitted recipes. Though budget constraints forced the library to cease publishing the Holiday Happiness Cookbook a few years ago, the 2005-2008 editions are available as PDF files online at ualibrary.org/holiday.php#cookbooks.

“We don’t know which staff (started it) and there’s nobody here at the library that was here in the 70s for us to ask about it,”

says Community Relations Manager Ruth McNeil. She knows a little more about the cookbooks’ demise, however.

“It was an economics issue,” McNeil says. “The last one that we actually printed was in 2008 and then they became available online.”

Printed copies were distributed for free at the library. They were very popular and were frequently given as gifts or stocking stuffers. “It was the library’s holiday gift to the community,” McNeil says. “Patrons still ask us for them.”

In the mid-2000s, the library’s internal graphic designer compiled the books and created the bold, colorful covers for which they became known. Unfortunately, the manpower needed to create the cookbook eventually became its downfall.

“When the economy tanked and the library had to cut back, that was one of the things that we had to cut back on,” McNeil says. In 2009 and 2010, the books were available electronically, but the cookbook was discontinued in 2011 and there are no current plans to revive it.

“It would be great at some point if we would be able to bring them back in some format,” McNeil says.

Lisa Aurand is editor of Tri-Village Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

Lawn-gevity

Keep your personal green acre lush with these tips

IN THE BEAUTIFUL TRI-VILLAGE AREA

– where large, mature trees and homes are main players in the ambience – the annual rite and struggle to maintain great-looking lawns, most of which are older and bounded by generous shrub plantings, is underway.

Many homeowners find themselves trying to overcome nature’s forces to enhance their landscaping as they strive to keep the maturity that has grown through the years. In time, success can become a problem due to overgrown shrubs, ones that simply don’t look good because they’re from a different era and once-young trees that now cast shade on formerly sunny areas.

For about 10 years Grandview Heights native Shawn Rine has dealt with all of it – first as a kid making money mowing grass and now as the 21-year-old owner of Rine Landscape Group, a landscaping and lawn care company that operates primarily in the Tri-Village area. To further his knowledge and business acumen, he is studying business and landscape horticulture at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business.

For Tri-Village homeowners who must maintain lawns that have been around for nearly a century or who want to improve appearance of their landscaping, but

don’t want to lose mature shrubs, Rine works with what’s there to develop another planting scheme, he says.

“We basically cut them way down and they look like hell for a year,” he says of some bushes that must stay.

Sometimes, Rine’s crews re-plant smaller, mature trees, such as dogwoods, that were put in the wrong place initially.

At one Marble Cliff home, in an overgrown area beside the house, various bushes were removed or cut back, a walkway of street bricks was added through what had been the grown-up area and various lower-grow-

ing but similar plant material was added. Oak leaf hydrangeas, Koreanspice viburnum and honey suckle were among the new materials that were planted in a thinned pattern to replace the former thicket. Some plants, such as German ivy, were cut back but left at the owner’s wishes. “They wanted it to stay natural but not too flashy,” Rine says.

More often, Rine faces the basic challenge of keeping the grass alive and thriving.

“Homeowners say, ‘I like the large trees.’ That’s one big challenge. People want golf course grass and 80-year-old trees,” Rine says, explaining the conflict that trees use a lot of water and nutrients and create shade that doesn’t help grass grow.

For a green, lush lawn, Rine recommends following these rules:

1. Fertilize four or five times a year to add nutrients and control weeds.

Fertilizers homeowners buy are not quite as potent as those professionals use, he says, but they all contain the nutrients – nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus – vital for a healthy lawn. An analogy would be over-the-counter drugs compared to prescription drugs, he says, in that both work, but only professionals can properly apply stronger chemicals, especially those to treat certain problems, such as fungus.

2. Cut no more than one-third of grass blade length and mulch rather than collect cuttings, unless they clump when cut.

Grass blades, Rine says, are mostly water and little plant material and decompose rapidly. “That’s a huge sack of nitrogen,” he says, and they quickly spread the nutrient to the soil. If grass is too long and clumps when mowed, cuttings should be removed because they may damage grass before decomposing.

3. Monitor water so that the lawn receives one inch per week (including rainfall), delivered over several days in fractions of an inch, rather than all at once.

To keep track of the amount of water delivered by your sprinkler, place small containers midway between the sprinkler and end of spray to determine an average application, Rine says. If measuring from your own sprinkler, place the container midway between the source and end of spray to get an average. Overwatering can foster fungus and it is not always absorbed.

4. Aerate and cross-seed in the fall. Best done in the fall when the ground is warmer, cross-seeding fills in bare spots. Rine cross-seeds with a hybrid fescue and blue grass that is heat-tolerant, drought-resistant and similar in appearance to Kentucky blue grass. It grows underground stems that help it spread. Even in a blue grass lawn, it’s good to have mixture of grasses, he says. Crossseed germination can be aided with a machine that makes small slits or holes in the turf, a process known as aeration.

Success with lawn care is not easy. Two annual applications of fertilizer are not enough. Proper watering won’t get immediate results when it’s just introduced to a new or dry lawn. It’s better to let grass go dormant if it wilts from drought, Rine says. Trying to revive grass with additional water is pointless as excess water likely won’t be absorbed.

“It takes persistence,” Rine says.

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

Make it Fro

A CUP OF FROzEN YOGURT and a cup of soft-serve ice cream may appear similar from a distance, but a closer look – OK, a microscopic look – reveals the difference: yogurt’s “live and active cultures.”

The process of making frozen yogurt is so detailed that Jeanie Patrick and John Falor, the cousins behind Cuzzin’s Yogurt on West Lane Avenue, attended yogurt school just to learn how to make, handle and store frozen yogurt.

“They showed us everything about yogurt,” Patrick says. “The probiotic cultures present some challenges; yogurt absolutely can’t be used after the expiration date, so you don’t want to have a bunch of it stored in freezers. The dairy taught us how to run a yogurt store, from taking care of yogurt, to cleaning machines, to handling employees; from A to Z, they laid it all out.”

Probiotics, which can help support the immune system and digestive func-

tions, make frozen yogurt a somewhat more nutritious alternative than most commercially available ice creams. Many of the popular frozen yogurt establishments offer low-fat or non-fat frozen yogurts. But just like ice cream, frozen yogurt still has sugar, so consumers should be conscious of portion size –especially at the self-serve establishments popping up all over central Ohio.

Cuzzin’s Yogurt is similar to other local yogurt shops in that it’s a self-serve

operation. The store has just one size cup, which patrons can fill with a little or a lot of yogurt in any flavor – and still have room for several of the multifarious toppings offered.

“Little kids cry if their toppings fall off, so we have big cups and price by weight,” says Patrick.

Patrick and Falor came up with the idea for a frozen yogurt store after hearing about Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt shop that began a craze in southern California in 2005.

“(Falor) said that we should do it, but we were too busy at the time,” says Patrick. “But then a year later, I was in Chicago with my daughter and we found a yogurt store that was really good. So I called my cousin back, and I said, ‘We have to do this. It’s too good to pass up.’”

Cuzzins offers a variety of toppings, including fresh fruit.

Now an area favorite, Cuzzin’s Yogurt will celebrate its two-year anniversary on Memorial Day weekend. Cuzzin’s offers a variety of rotating flavors – classics such as chocolate and vanilla to popular hits such as peanut butter and cake batter. Even though customers are allowed to sample as many yogurts as they choose, Patrick has some suggestions.

“My favorite tart yogurt is original tart with a lot of fruit, but my favorite sweet yogurt is Pecan Praline and Red Velvet cake,” she says. “It’s hard not to like them all.”

Lisa Aurand is editor of Tri-Village Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.Information was compiled by Cara Laviola.

• Swirl chocolate and peanut butter yogurts.

• Top with crushed Heath bars and crushed chocolate-covered pretzels. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Top with a miniature buckeye candy to garnish.

Children’s Books

Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word

By Bob Raczka

(Ages 8 & up)

This is a playful and creative collection of poetry that is fun to read and ponder. Not all of the poems are about lemonade, spaghetti or other foods, but they are all good food for thought.

Adult Books

Tales for Very Picky Eaters

By Josh Schneider

(Ages 5-9)

James is a very picky eater. Luckily he has a very creative father who conjures up some stories to get James to eat broccoli, mushrooms and more!

Worms for Lunch?

By Leonid Gore

(Ages 3-9)

This colorful little lift-the-flap tale is all about what different animals like for lunch. The worm, however, tries to escape the book when he finds out what the fish like to eat.

Cool Fruit & Veggie Food Art

By Nancy Tuminelly

(Ages 8 & up)

We all want to eat food that tastes good, but sometimes it is fun to make it look good, too. Learn some creative ways to make masterpieces for your plate. Also in this series: Cool Snack Food Art and Cool Holiday Food Art

Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

By Cheryl & Griffith Day

The Back in the Day Bakery

in Savannah, Ga. is known locally and nationally for its decadent desserts and breads. Bake its famous Buttermilk Biscones, Old-Fashioned Cupcakes, Chocolate Bread, Cinnamon Sticky Buns, S’more Pie and much more.

How to Cook Everything, the Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food — With 1,000 Photos

By Mark Bittman

Basic skills provide the foundation for all great cooks and this book provides those basics with instructive pictures to accompany each technique and recipe. This is a great book for the neophyte or a reference guide for the experienced cook.

The Butch Bakery Cookbook

By David Arrick

Cupcakes are a hot trend and The Butch Bakery does cupcakes like nobody else. These aren’t cupcakes for little kids, but grown-up 21stcentury cakes full of contemporary, inventive flavors like bacon, whiskey, coffee, cayenne pepper and liqueur.

The Casserole Queens Cookbook: Put Some Lovin’

in Your Oven with 100 Easy OneDish

Recipes

By Crystal Cook & Sandy Pollock

The Queens share ultimate quick-fix dinners for modern tastes with their fresh, updated, from-scratch recipes for traditional dishes, such as Chicken Pot Pie. They provide advice on scaling and freezing casseroles so that anyone can stock the freezer with goto dinners.