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Middlefield Post
By Patrick Blau
Oct. 14, 2015
BACK TO YOUR FUTURE
Most people my age can remember during their childhoods when they were told to be home ‘’by the time the streetlights come on.’’ It seemed everything was within walking distance or at most, a bike ride’s distance, and there were no businesses resembling today’s type of big-box store. Back then, there were still local butchers, offering excellent grades of meat sold with small town familiarity. There were little family owned pizzerias, ice cream parlors, bakeries, local small banks and credit unions. You could walk into these places and be called by your name and asked how your parents were doing, or where were your older sister and her husband living now. Young adults who read about these sorts of times and experiences roll their eyes and chuckle sarcastically about how it seems old people think that things were always better before. In most cases, yep, they were better; and today’s young adults and teenagers are going to claim the very same thing in about 30 years. They refuse to accept or admit it, but one day they too will use the phrase ‘’back in the day.’’ Let your kid stay out until the street lights come on in today’s world and see how many other parents complain about how negligent a parent you are, or even worse, get some governmental agency called in to look into how you are supposedly putting your child at risk. Try to find a screwdriver or pizza pan that doesn’t have ‘Made in China’ on it and you will spend a great part of your day doing so, and will probably have to go online to find it anyway. Much of the family oriented and quaint-sized feeling to small-town America is quickly being replaced by countrywide uniformity, with the predictability of generic ready made food, and locally owned businesses being supplanted
(photos above) This collage depicts Patrick Blau’s appreciation of (MP Photos/Patrick Blau) by global conglomerates and their offshoots. When I first moved into the Burton/Middlefield area it felt like an oasis to me, like I had found an area that still possessed some of the wholesomeness and small town familiarity I thought had been lost to the world years ago. Appreciate and hold onto these things now, you Burtonites and Middlefieldonians; be careful of corporate incursions into the area that have already happened. Protect your local flavor and guard it carefully, because if you don’t, it will forever be lost to future generations. Tourism creates lots of dollars for your
Septfonds, France’s diverse, local
local economy; but if there is nothing different, interesting, picturesque and worthy of being toured, if your town is a cookie-cutter village made to look like every other shopping-oriented place in America, those dollars will never find their way into local wallets. Where I live now, the village of Septfonds in France, is surprisingly similar in some ways to how the American city that I grew up in used to be, and similar in many ways to how Burton is today. Sure there are differences, as there should Continued on Page 4
2015 Geauga County Junior Fair Livestock Buyers Laura Adams All Controls Corporation* All Ohio Motorsports Al’s Plumbing Al’s Trucking & Excavating* American Brass AMG Peterbilt Arms Trucking* Ascherman’s Photography Audi Mentor Bada Bing Chesterland* Steve Beckner Belireus & Associates* Bentronix Corporation George Blankenship* Bloomfield Livestock Auction Blossom Hill Health Care Residence Joey & Tommy Bond* Bralyn Trucking Company Inc. Tyler Briggs Rick & Lisa Briggs* Brockway Bond Insurance* Andrew Brush Brushstrokes by Kenn LLC* Burton Scot Contractors Burton Sheet Metal* C U E Excavating Joyce Campbell Jeff Campbell, Jr. Mary Canfield Ashley Carpenter Carson Farms* Carter Lumber - Middlefield* Cellar Rats Brewery Chagrin & Middlefield NAPA* Chagrin Pet & Garden Chardon Tractor Chardon Welding* Cherry Valley Slaughtering & Processing* CKM Services* Clemson Towing* Jack Collum* Collumbine Farm* Compass Packaging
Cotterman Trucking* Country Jim’s Farm Fresh Meat* Creative Stone Crafters George Csatary CPA, Inc. Doug & Wendy Daugherty Katie Daugherty George E. Davis Del Davis Mechanical LLC Carol & Brian Derov Door Works & Construction East Geauga Kiwanis John Eklund, State Senator Escape Designs J. Etling Etna Products Inc.* John Evers Ken & Ammie Evers F & M Concrete Fairmount Santrol Fine Family Farm* Fowl Play Farm* Fowlers Mill Golf Course Nick Frank Patricia Fredericks Freeman Construction David & Emily Gardner Tim & Debbie Garlak Geauga County Farm Bureau* Geauga Farms Country Meats* Geauga Feed & Grain* Geauga Vision* Tom Gierke Frank Gliha, Geauga Co. Auditor Nick & Melissa Gorris Dr. Christine Graley* Maria Grbac Great Lake Cold Storage Great Lakes Crushing* Great Lakes Outdoor Supply* Green Family Funeral Home* David & Amy Grinstead* Laurie & Brian Gronowski H & B Storage*
Mark Hamilton Hartsgrove Hardwood Lumber and Kiln* Headlands Contracting Scott Hildenbrand Frank Hinkle* Chip Hofstetter Holly Hill Healthcare Residence* Todd & Brenda Hornak Howard’s Apples* Hummel Construction* Hungry Bee Catering/Home Grown Geauga* Gary and Judy Huston Independent Meadows* Insurance Diversified Robert Guy & Anne Ivans Ivans Family J. Anthony Vinecourt LLC* J.R. Goodrich Construction Paul & Jan Jackam* Jims III Design Julie Howes Realtor* Junction Auto Sales* KBR Solutions* KC Farms Keller Williams, C. Sapolin Keller Williams, K. Bergansky* Keller Williams, M. O’Neill* Kellogg Insurance Agency TJ Kilbane Brian Kimmel Kleve & Associates Insurance* Kochever Home Services Anne Kolenic* Boyd & Rachel Kumher Matt & Heather Lane* Michelle Lane* Bill Lanhan Brian & Christine Lanstrum Laudato & Company Laudato Concrete Legacy Construction Services* Albert & Karen Lewandowski*
Linda’s Restaurant Bertha Louden Louden Farms Love Insurance Agency* Madison Electric Wolf Maison John J. Manfredi* Mangia Mangia* Mantua Vet Clinic Mar-Bal Inc. Martin Painting & Decorating Mike Mausling Maxxcadd Company* Jim McCaskey McCaskey Development Cheri Measures* Marylou Mele Middlefield Bank* Middlefield Market Mihalic Associates & Auctioneers* Joe & Angel Miller* Laura Miller* MJM Industries* Kim & Nancy Molnar* Morrison & Sons Trucking MSC Industries* MYGC General Contracting LLC* Marcy Nelson New Century Hair Design New Direction Photography Newbury Family Practice* NSL Analytical Services Inc.* Tim & Meg Obringer Ohio Addressing Machine Co.* Ohio’s Center for Oral, Facial, Implant Surgery* D. Kevin O’Reilly LPA Oscar Brugman Sand & Gravel Jeanette Oschek* Overlook Farm Tony Pestak Pet Stop Pet Fence Systems Pete Howes Auction*
economy.
Matt Squire Phil Miller Construction* Robin L. Stanley, Esq.* Robert Philips Steven Douglas Corporation Phillips Technical Sales, Inc. Stone House Acres Jason Plante Pygmy Goats Pomona Grange Judge Terri Stupica Bob Powell Sunrise Farm Preston Chevrolet* Jennifer Surace* PuroClean T & T Cleaning Services* Lindsey Ramsey* Taylor Builders LLC Colin Ray The Bell Station* Mary Ray* The Flag Store Blake Rear, Commissioner The Pygmy Connection Red Brick Farm Greenhouse The Rotary Club of Chardon* Construction Tim Frank Septic Tank Tim ¬¬Regan Cleaning* REMAX Traditions, Totally Yours Farm Dan O’Reilly* Townsend Machine* Reserve Energy Exploration* Ken Townsend* Ricca Properties Trax Construction Co.* Chuck and Sue Rischar* Triple J Farm Rock-n-Roll Acres* UH Painesville Med Practice* Rolling Meadows Farm* Union Home Mortgage* Royle Insurance Union Home Mortgage* Rugg’s Pest Management* Uvara Management LLC* Kelsey Rumburg* Walker Landscaping Russell Locksmith Wendy Ward Sale Barn Auctions Ed Ward* Salo Maple Products* John & Jan Wargo Liz Sheer Warren Roofing, Nat Arp Sculpture by Lees Warren Roofing, J. Vetrovsky* Marion Sevich Waste Management The Sevich Family* Charles Waugaman Linton & Patricia Sharpnack Jeff Webinger Sheauga Gallery Weiss North America, Inc. Shetler Printing Whitetail Solutions & Office Supply Corporation* Shield Security Service* Wilks Inc. Silvercreek Veterinary Clinic Rich & Rebecca Wiseman* Thomas & Evelyn Siu Michael Wolf* Smith Farms X-Boom Coupler* Smith Vein Institute Zenith Systems Smokin’ T’s Beth Ziegler Mike Soltis Dr. Georgette Zifko-Baliga Soltis Brothers* Donna Soncrant Sonderry Farm * denotes a multiple buyer
Thank You 2015 Livestock Buyers!