January 2019 | The Devil Strip | Vol. 5, Issue #1 by The Devil Strip

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JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1 • THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

@PLAY: ART INSTALLATIONS FOR CIVIC GOOD

WEST HILL, AKRON’S ‘LIVE-WORK VILLAGE’

ILLSTYLE ROCKERS ‘LIVE THE CULTURE’

WEST NTS! A R U A REST Best draft beer selection in Akron Monday: $5 steak dinner/$5 pitchers on select drafts * We now have beer flights *

Happy Hour everyday 4-7pm • Friday 4-9pm Pool/darts (spots available for leagues) • Cornhole/giant Jenga/Foosball • Outside patio

Now hiring bartenders... will train! 370 Paul Williams St. 330.253.4554 OPEN 365 DAYS A YEAR 4pm - 2:30am Check our daily specials on the UConnection app

BEST SELECTION OF BOURBON / WHISKEY IN HIGHLAND SQUARE Happy Hour-3-7pm every day & Friday 3-9pm Every Wednesday retail wine night * We now have beer flights *

808 W.Market St. • 330-794-7364 • Open 365 days a year til 2:30am

Akron's home of the all day breakfast featuring a Bloody Mary menu, Akron’s Home Mimosas and much more...

of the •All Day Breakfast 1688 W. market St. Westgate Plaza, Akron • 330-867-1114 open 7 days a week •featuring 6:30am - 3:00ama • Sundays 8am - 3pm Bloody Mary Menu, Mimosas and much more... 1688 W. Market St at Westgate Plaza in Akron 330-867-1114 Open 7 days a week 6:30am-3:00pm Sundays 8:00am-3:00pm

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12 E. Exchange Street • 2nd Floor Akron, Ohio 44308 (330) 842-6606

Publisher: Chris Horne • chris@thedevilstrip.com

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Editor-in-Chief: Rosalie Murphy • rosalie@thedevilstrip.com

Senior Reporter: Noor Hindi • noor@thedevilstrip.com Business Development Director: Jessica Goldbourn • jessica@thedevilstrip.com Community Outreach Manager: Floco Torres • floco@thedevilstrip.com

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www.thedevilstrip.com Advertising: sales@thedevilstrip.com Facebook.com/thedevilstrip @akrondevilstrip

@thedevilstrip

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The Devil Strip is published monthly by Random Family, LLC. Akron Distribution: The Devil Strip is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Copyright: The entire contents of The Devil Strip are copyright 2019 by Random Family, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above.

The Devil Strip connects Akronites to their neighbors, our city and a stronger sense of purpose by sharing stories about the people who make

Devil’s Dozen

There’s Nothing to Do in Akron

Help us LIFT Akron in 2019

@PLAY’s art installations for civic good

The Magical Theatre Company

Game design for emotional intelligence

Vintage Structures: The Pflueger Factory

En Garde! Inside Akron’s fencing academy

Entrepreneurship for citizen science

UNDERSTAND 18

Can West Hill’s dream of a ‘live-work village’ finally take off?

Who bikes in Akron?

APPLAUD

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Our mission:

EXPLORE

Ad Sales & Distribution: sales@thedevilstrip.com

Writers, columnists, photographers, interns and the A/V Club: Christine Batten, Anthony Boarman, Claude Christensen, Trvaughn Clayton, Kyle Cochrun, H.L. Comeriato, Dave Daly, Alissa Danckaert Skovira, Michelle DeShon, Emily Dressler, Charlotte Gintert, Willis Gordon, Jillian Holness, Josy Jones, Lisa Kane, Ashley Kouri, Cir L’Bert Jr., Ted Lehr, Jacob Luther, Courtney Malita, Marissa Marangoni, Jenell Marsek, DT McCrea, Yoly Miller, Brittany Nader, Ilenia Pezzaniti, Sonia Potter, Patrick Richards, Zaina Salem, Mark Schweitzer, Allyson Smith, Jimmy Smooth, Erik Svensson, Paul Treen, Davey Treen, Jayna Treen, Steve Van Auken, Patrick Worden, Shane Wynn

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Art Director: Alesa Upholzer

Copy Editors: Megan Combs, Dave Daly, Emily Dressler, Shannon Waise

table of contents

Kofi Boakye, teen pianist with big dreams

Illstyle Rockers still rocking after 20+ years

Akron Pizza Task Force at Pavona’s Pizza Joint

Hiking every trail in the CVNP

Golden lemons, gray winter

16 27 REFLECT 28

About the Cover: Melissa Safran hiked every trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 2018. Along the way, she took this photo. Read more about Melissa’s adventure on page 27.

this area unique. AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1 /

THE Devil Strip |

WELCOME

Get outside

The holidays are over, which means the dark, dreary part of winter is upon us. What’s more, it’s time to reckon with our New Year’s resolutions. At the beginning of 2018, a poll from Marist found that 12 percent of Americans said they wanted to be a better person in the new year. Another 12 percent wanted to lose weight. Nine percent wanted to exercise more, eat healthier, and/ or get better jobs. Seven percent wanted to improve their health overall.

My only resolution this year is to LIFT Akron, but I think it’s going to accomplish some of the same goals. LIFT stands for Local Investment, Local Fun, Local Transformation; it’s The Devil Strip’s 12-month challenge to get more involved in local life. Cut out the postcard on this page to start participating, and visit TheDevilStrip.com/LIFT for details.

IN JANUARY, OUR TASK IS TO GET OUTSIDE. Here are a few ways to do that this month: • Join The Devil Strip for a hike on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 10 am. We’ll meet at Horseshoe Pond in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and hike the Tree Farm Trail, which is just under 3 miles. RSVP at http://bit.ly/2GDRCVl. • The Towpath Trail, most of which is paved, is open year-round for walking and biking. • The Winter Sports Center at M.D. Garage, located at 1550 Boston Mills Road in Peninsula, offers snowshoes and cross-country skis for free every Saturday and Sunday. Call 330-657-2752 for details. • Join RunningDog Runners to take a group of dogs from One of a Kind Pets, Maggie’s Mission and Summit County Animal Control out for their monthly hike. In January, they’ll meet Jan. 19 at 10 am at Goodyear Heights Metro Park. They’ll hike the Alder Trail. • In the Summit Metro Parks: Cascade Valley, Goodyear Heights, Firestone and Sand Run all have great sled-riding hills. • No need to overthink things: Just take a walk around your block. We know not everyone is able to spend time outside in the winter. That's okay! If you want to get active indoors, see what's available at your nearest community center or religious institution. Or "get outside" your comfort zone by trying a new hobby or introducing yourself to someone new. Whatever you decide to do, share it on

using #LIFTAkron2019.

See you out there,

STORIES MATTER. We believe the most important stories are the ones we tell ourselves about ourselves, and that this is as true for cities as it is individuals. For better or worse, every city’s chief storyteller is its media. We take responsibility for our work because we know it shapes the way Akronites see each other, and the way we see each other influences how we treat one another. OUR WORK IS FOR AKRON. This is our reason for existing, not merely our editorial angle for stories. We are advocates for the city of Akron and allies to its people, so we may be cheerleaders, but that won’t keep us from challenging the city’s flaws. What’s the point of being part of the community if we can’t help make it a better place for human beings to live?

The Devil Strip team

What we believe:

OUR WORK SHOULD BE DONE WITH AKRON. We would rather build trust through cooperation and collaboration than authority. Our place in the community is alongside it, not the outside looking in or trying to stand above it looking down. WE CARE ABOUT YOU, NOT JUST YOUR EYEBALLS. Sometimes, we love a good fight with the status quo, but conflict and antagonism will never be a way of life for us, especially not to boost clicks, views, comments, shares and “eyeballs.” We are watchdogs to hold our leaders accountable, not to keep the neighbors up all night with our barking. WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS. Our stories humanize the people in our city. We not only want to counter sensationalized and

| THE Devil Strip / JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1

alarmist reporting but to eventually render it obsolete. We advocate for justice, freedom and equality because those qualities make this city, and our lives, better.

we don’t accept ads for national chains, things in large metros outside of Summit County and businesses that profit off the exploitation of women. We’ll never be a coat hanger for advertising.

JOURNALISM SHOULD LIVE BEYOND THE PAGE. Information without context or connection is inert. We believe journalism can connect people to each other, our city and even a sense of purpose. Though our work begins on the page, both printed and web, we promote and plan events so people can meet faceto-face where real life still happens.

WE GET ONE SHOT AT LIFE, SO LET’S HAVE FUN. We want our readers to fall in love with their city (again and again and again), to buck the temptation to only live vicariously through the people you follow online. One thing that makes art, theatre, dance, music, film, food, civic engagement, biking, hiking and beering so great is that these things can bring us together, help us find new friends and have fun with the ones we already have. That makes us all a little bit happier, and that’s what it’s all about.

PEOPLE OVER PROFITS. The local businesses, nonprofits and civic orgs who support The Devil Strip are part of our community and are as vital to our culture as our artists and musicians. That’s why

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

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é OUR PICKS FOR THE 12 BEST CHOICES YOU CAN MAKE THIS MONTH food from local bakeries and caterers, as well as free giveaways and prizes. Tickets JANUARY 12 can be purchased online ahead of time for ‹ LIFT Akron: Get Outside $12 or at the door for $15. Children ages 6 Horseshoe Pond, Cuyahoga Valley National and under get in for free. Park // 10 am // January’s task for LIFT Akron is “get outside.” Yes, we know JANUARY 14 it’s January! Fight the post-holiday blues é A Different Kind of Book Club by joining us for a hike on the Tree Farm Portage Lakes Branch Library // 1:30 pm Trail, which begins at the Horseshoe // If you’ve recently read a great book Pond trailhead. The hike should take and want to tell others about it, this is about 90 minutes. If you can’t join us on the event for you. Bring your latest book Jan. 12, get outside on another day in recommendation, and be prepared to hear January and document your activity using recommendations from others. In this #LIFTAkron2019. For more information, book club, nobody reads the same book. visit thedevilstrip.com/LIFT. Rather, everybody reads on their own and then comes together to talk about what JANUARY 12 they’ve read. All genres are welcome to be å Coffee Cupping discussed. This event is free and open to Akron Coffee Roasters // 2 pm // In this the public. class, you will learn about the official standard process for tasting coffees in the JANUARY 16 coffee industry. Cupping is a way to assess è Painting Class: Poppies the smells and tastes of coffees during the Rm. 727 Gastropub // 7 – 9 pm // Enjoy roasting process. The class will begin with a night of painting and beer with local an exercise to get in touch with your sense artist Rae Faba, who will walk you stepof smell, and then you’ll go step-by-step by-step through the creation of your through the cupping process. When the own masterpiece. Supplies are included class is through, you’ll be prepared to pick in the price of registration, but you will out the subtle notes in flavors found in have to pay for your own food and drinks your favorite cup of coffee. Tickets should separately. $30. be purchased ahead of time. $14.36, or $12 without Eventbrite fees. JANUARY 17 ê Look Beyond: JANUARY 13 An Art Show for All Abilities ç Today’s Bride Wedding Show Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center // 4 – 6 pm // John S. Knight Center // 10 am – 4 pm // This event, put on by METRO RTA and the More than 100 of Northeast Ohio’s best Summit County Board of Developmental wedding vendors will be gathered at the Disabilities, highlights the work of local Knight Center. Find inspiration for your own artists who have developmental disabilities. wedding in the cake gallery, reception table A variety of art pieces will be on display gallery and at the bridal fashion shows. through Tuesday, January 29, some of There will also be a pop-up bridal boutique which will be for sale. This event is free where you can try on dresses and sample and open to the public.

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

JANUARY 20 ë View the Blood Moon: Lunar Eclipse Firestone Metro Park / Coventry Oaks Area // 10:30 – 11:30 pm // First, there will be an indoor discussion about the moon, the eclipse, and the reason for it being called a “blood moon” on this day. Then, the group will go outside to look at the eclipsing full moon if conditions are right. Afterwards, there will be hot cocoa. This event is free and open to the public, but it will only be held if conditions are right. Call 330-865-8060 after 4 pm on the day of the program to confirm it is still happening. JANUARY 24 í Red & White on Thursday Night Quaker Station at The Quaker Square Inn // 5:30 – 9 pm // Join the Arthritis Foundation for the 22nd anniversary of this food and wine event. There will be wines from around the globe, local beers, and food from some of the best chefs in Akron. There will also be live and silent auctions, raffles, and a VIP lounge. Proceeds from this event will benefit arthritis research and provide support to locals afflicted with arthritis and related diseases. Donations requested. JANUARY 26 ì Beautiful Risks: Teach and Learn with Creativity Akron Art Museum // 10 am // Attention, teachers! Join the University of Connecticut’s Dr. Ron Beghetto as he leads an interactive presentation and workshop on how to incorporate more creativity into education. He will discuss the ways in which making small changes can make big differences in learning and leadership practices in order to impact students and teachers alike. This event is free, although

registration is required. JANUARY 28 î Maker Mondays: Media Transfer Station Akron-Summit County Public Library // 6 pm // On select Mondays, the main library offers demonstrations of some of their equipment to those striving to be artists and entrepreneurs. On this day, learn all about how to digitize VHS, Super 8, 8 mm, negatives, vinyl LPs and cassettes for free at their Media Transfer Station. This event is free and open to the public. JANUARY 29 ï Dancing with the Stars: Live! Akron Civic Theatre // 7:30 pm // On this Tuesday night, some of your favorite stars from your favorite dance-filled TV show will be performing right here in Akron. Celebrities making an appearance will be Bobby Jones, Joe Amabile, John Schneider, Juan Pablo Di Pace and others. The show will feature a showcase of professional and troupe dancers of a variety of genres, as seen on ABC’s hit show. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $96 and up. JANUARY 31 µ Kofi: Made in Akron Film Premiere Fundraiser Tangier Event & Entertainment Center // 5 pm // Kofi R. Boakye, a musical prodigy who grew up in inner-city Akron, has been accepted to his dream school of Berklee College of Music. He plans to attend in the fall of 2019. This event is a fundraiser hosted by Getta Kutuchief and Nicole Mullet and will feature a documentary film that takes a look at Kofi’s triumphant story, aiming to help him raise the money he needs to fulfill his dreams. $50 and up.

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THE Devil Strip |

The Devil Strip’s comprehensive, monthly argument that there’s plenty of fun to be had in Akron

There's Nothing to Do in Akron

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Angie Haze & Zach Live Music Now // 7pm-10pm // Join songwriters, storytellers, and community builders Angie Haze and Zach for a songwriters-in-the-round evening. Step out of the post-holiday stress and into the warmth and kindness of community. $5-10 suggested donation.

Akron Zoo Job Fair Akron Zoo // 9 am - 11 am both days // Want to work at the zoo? Bring a completed application and resume to the Akron Zoo’s job fair the first weekend in January. Positions are available in admissions, birthdays, concessions, education, guest experiences and the gift shop. Applications available at akronzoo.com/employment. Seasonal positions last from April 6 to Dec. 31, 2019.

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JAN. 6

Myofascial Release Clinic Akron Yoga and Wellness // 12 – 1 pm // In this class, you’ll learn how to release the physical symptoms that can be caused by stress, trauma and injury, allowing you to move and perform better. Class passes at Akron Yoga and Wellness can be used for this class. Otherwise, the drop-in price is $12.

Blu Monsoon 8 Point Bistro // 5 pm // Enjoy the music of Blu Monsoon, a band from northern Ohio. Their music features contemporary jazz and covers of pop hits. This event is free. Devil Strip Social: Akron Aviators vs. Indiana Lyons North High School // 6:30 pm // Join your Devil Strip community to cheer on our local American Basketball Association team, the Aviators, as they take on the Indiana Lyons. Doors open at 6:30 pm. For more information, visit akronaviators.com. $10 for adults, $5 for students, free for kids under six.

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JAN. 8

Espresso Class Akron Coffee Roasters // 6 pm // Learn about beans, water, tamping, grind size, pressure, weight and time, and get hands-on practice making your own espresso. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $25.

Coffee with the Birds Liberty Park Nature Center // 10 am – 12 pm // Experience a peaceful morning next to the fire with a discussion of local wildlife. Hot beverages will be provided, but you should bring your own mug. This event is free.

ONGOING:

Needle Arts for All Springfield-Lakemore Branch Library // 3:30 pm // If you enjoy knitting, crocheting or other needle arts, bring your latest project to this meetup to get help and share your knowledge with others. This event is free and open to the public.

EVERY OTHER SUNDAY

Take Ur Rx Comedy Show Barmacy Bar & Grill // 7 – 10 pm // Head to Barmacy the first and third Sunday of every month for a showcase of upcoming comedy stars from Northeast Ohio, hosted by comedian/musician Christopher Clark and put on by Funny Noizes Productions. This event is free and open to the public.

JAN. 9 Craft Sampler for Adults Portage Lakes Branch Library // 1 – 2 pm // Create a unique project from a variety of materials provided by the library. This event is free, but you should register in advance.

Summit Lake Build Corps Open House 272 Ira Ave // 4 – 7 pm // Hosted by Build Akron LLC, Summit Lake Build Corps and Summit Lake neighbors, the public is invited to see this demolished home and help shape a vision for what it could be. Light snacks will be provided, and there will be guided tours by Summit Lake Build Corps members throughout the evening. This event is free.

JAN. 10 Akron Integrative/Functional Medicine Meetup Mustard Seed Café in Montrose // 6 – 8 pm // At this quarterly meeting, a variety of healthcare and holistic practitioners join forces to network and offer an educational lecture. This meeting will focus on neurology, including a discussion by Britney Cirullo of Alternative Therapeutics, who will be discussing neurofeedback. This event is free.

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JAN. 10-12 JAN. 10-13 JAN. 12-13 A Night of David Ives: The One-Act Play Festival Firestone High School Theatre // 7 pm // Appreciate an evening of short one-act plays written by the celebrated playwright David Ives. The performances are sure to be quick, funny and wildly entertaining. $5.

JAN. 12

Millennial Theatre Project: Hairspray Akron Civic Theatre // 8 pm // Enjoy an evening of song, dance and the classic musical that takes place in 1962. The show, by the Millennial Theatre Project, runs Jan. 10-13. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $20.

JAN. 14

JAN. 16 Twilight Hike Deep Lock Quarry Metro Park // 4:30 – 6 pm // Recover from a day at work with a relaxing twilight hike led by a park ranger. Many species of animals are most active at dawn and dusk. On this hike, you’ll get to listen for nighttime sounds and observe active wildlife. This event is free.

Creating Your Best Life: Goal Setting for 2019 A New EverAfter // 7 pm // Are you worried about abandoning your resolutions soon after the New Year? Learn how to effectively set goals at this workshop event and connect with others who will be able to help hold you accountable. $16.

Matthew Alec & The Soul Electric Jilly’s Music Room // 8 pm // Head to Jilly’s for an evening of jazz, soul and funk music. This event is free.

NETA Senior Yoga Certification Ellet Community Center // 8 am - 6 pm // This yoga teacher training will prepare instructors to lead classes fit for an aging population. Participants will practice variations of poses done in chairs and will learn how to properly teach those with chronic conditions and injuries. This training provides 20 NETA credits. $399.

JAN. 17 Hoppin’ Frog Beer Dinner The Tasting Room at Hoppin’ Frog // 6:30 pm // Join the Hoppin’ Frog for a 5-course beer dinner, which features five plates of food and five signature beers. Tickets should be purchased in advance. $90.

JAN. 18

Laminate and Luxury Vinyl Tile Flooring Class The Well CDC // 6 – 7:30 pm // Looking for a home renovation skill for 2019? Participants in this class session will learn from professional instructors how to install flooring in their home. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $20.

ONGOING:

JANUARY 18 Parlor Divination Party A New EverAfter // 6:30 pm // Sip on some herbal tea and dine on sandwiches while learning about the practice of tea leaf reading. This party combines oldfashioned charm with fairy tale mysticism. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $27.

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Thirst (1979) The Nightlight // Time TBD // Believed by many to be a lost classic and the best Australian horror ever produced, Thirst, blends horror, sci-fi, and social commentary into a “thinking person’s vampire film.” See it at The Nightlight, presented in partnership with The American Genre Film Archive.

Free Choice Food Pantry South Arlington United Methodist Church // 10 am // This event occurs the third Friday of every month. If you are in need of food, come and pick out meals the way you would if you were to go grocery shopping. This event is free, but be sure to bring an ID in order to be signed in.

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Akron Symphony Orchestra E.J Thomas Hall and UA Events // 8 pm // Enjoy an evening of beautiful music by the Akron Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. $25 - $60.

Les Délices: The Leuven Songbook Plymouth Church UCC, Shaker Heights // 4 – 5:30 pm // Listen to a recently discovered songbook from the 15th century come to life in a multimedia program featuring Chicago’s Newberry Consort. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $25 - $35.

Jack Russell’s Great White Acoustic Duo The Empire Concert Club & Bar // 8 pm // Spells in a Bottle Relax and enjoy the music of Jack Russell’s A Creative ApothaCare // 12 pm // Head Great White Acoustic Duo in an intimate to A Creative ApothaCare to create your own spells in a bottle. Spell bottles contain setting, presented by V.E. Promotions & The Empire. Tickets should be purchased energetic materials and ingredients that relate to whatever your intention is. You’ll ahead of time. $35 - $42. get three recipes and all the tools you need to create your own. $10.

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JAN. 23

Con Funk Shun Tangier Event & Entertainment Center // 7:30 pm // Witness a performance of one of the premiere funk bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Confunkshun. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $45 and up.

JAN. 24

Meet Me in the Garden F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm / Visitors Center // 7 – 8:30 pm // Join Dr. Randall Mitchell from the University of Akron and the Master Gardeners of Summit County for a discussion on the different species of bees that live in Northeast Ohio. This event is free.

ONGOING: Milk Steaming & Latte Art Class Akron Coffee Roasters // 6 – 7:30 pm // Try your hand at creating perfectly smooth lattes with beautiful latte art. At Akron Coffee Roasters, you’ll be guided through the steps of steaming milk to make lattes and shown how to pour it in a way that makes designs on the surface. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $25.

JANUARY 24

Book Discussion Group Highland Square Branch Library // 6:45 pm // This event takes place the fourth Thursday of every month and features discussions on a variety of fictional and nonfictional works. January’s book is Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. This event is free and open to the public.

JAN. 26 Valentine’s Day Wreath Program for Adults Highland Square Branch Library // 1:30 – 3:30 pm // Decorate your own Valentine’s Day wreath with beads, paint, ribbons and other craft supplies. No experience is necessary. This event is free.

Winter Bash 2019 Schultz Campus for Jewish Life // 7 – 10 pm // Join the Lippman School and Thom Mandel Early Childhood Education Center for their fourth annual Winter Bash fundraiser. There will be dinner, dessert, coffee and wine, as well as an auction and concert. Contact Scott Zorn at szorn@shawjcc.org to make a reservation.

Film: Garry Winogrand, All Things are Photographable Akron Art Museum // 7 pm // From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, Garry Winogrand used his camera to create a portrait of America. This film at the Akron Art Museum paints a stunning picture of the artist who contributed greatly to his field and era. Free for members and $10 for nonmembers.

JAN. 27 University of Akron Steel Drum Band Akron Civic Theatre // 2:30 pm // Beat the winter blues with an afternoon of rhythms from the Caribbean. The UA Steel Drum Band features both graduate and undergraduate percussion students. Tickets should be purchased ahead of time. $12. Peter and the Wolf Main Library // 2 pm // Verb Ballets will perform this classic ballet in a 30-minute version at the downtown branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Sergei Prokofiev composed the classic score to introduce kids to different orchestral instruments. This event is free, but organizers recommend reserving tickets.

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JAN. 21

Benefits of Natural Skin Care Products Cuyahoga Falls Library // 6 – 7 pm // At this event, you’ll learn how to make natural skin care products and about their health benefits. This event is free, but registration is required.

JAN. 25 Laughing with the Snow Angels Tangier Event & Entertainment Center // 8 pm // Settle in for the second annual Laughing with the Snow Angels Comedy Night, presented by B+B Household Cleaning Products. The lineup includes Brian Tidwell, Bill Squire, Cody Cooper, Jerry Jaffe and local Akronite Stuart Baker. General event tickets include admission to the show, two drink tickets, light hors d’oeuvres, dessert and a gift bag. $50.

JAN. 30 Chickadee Feeding F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm / Seneca Deck // 11 am – 12:30 pm // Bring your family for an early afternoon of learning about these feathered friends, and then handfeed them along the Cherry Lane Trail. Birdseed will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

Akron Youth Orchestras Winter Concert Tallmadge High School Auditorium // 3 pm // Directed by Eric Benjamin and Douglas Bayda, the Akron Youth Symphony and Akron Youth Philharmonic will perform their winter concerts. Tickets online or at the door. $10.

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create

9 @PLAY: ART INSTALLATIONS FOR CIVIC GOOD 11 BARBERTON’S MAGICAL THEATRE COMPANY 12 HOW SMILE INSIDE TEACHES SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING

: Mac Love

AKRON'S ARTS & LITERATURE

' Art is as essential as going for a walk in the woods'��

by Noor Hindi

rom pool parties to bubble fests to community murals, local artist Mac Love’s @PLAY project has invaded all 24 Akron neighborhoods.

Interactive Manager and Chris Harvey as Design Manager, recently finished the ambitious project. They’ve renovated parks in some neighborhoods, designed murals with the help of community members in others, and cleaned up neighborhoods Over the last 18 months, Art X Love has encouraged residents in Akron to connect while dancing to silent disco. The @PLAY to their communities in a meaningful way project was funded by a $241,000 grant while installing public space improvements from the Knight Cities Challenge. like benches and brightly painted In each neighborhood, Mac, Josy and sidewalks. Chris walked around and asked people Pictured above: Silent Disco clean-up. Photo by Peter what type of art installation or community project they’d like to see, and then went Simionides, used with permission. to work designing and collaborating with local residents to create the projects. The team, which includes Josy Jones as

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

I sat down with Mac to talk about his art and to reflect on some of his biggest achievements this year. Noor Hindi: What’s your biggest accomplishment this year? Mac Love: I’d probably say changing the narrative around neighborhoods. When we started this project, it didn't seem like anybody was talking about the neighborhoods. When I applied to this project I thought all the money that was going into the (Akron) Civic Commons projects were disproportionately invested in Downtown. The analogy I gave was, ‘you can change the heart, but if you

don't change the diet, the arteries that flow to it, it's not going to do any good.’ We're surrounded by all of these neighborhoods and all of these people who need a reason to go there. And so I was like let's do this insane neighborhoodwide initiative. NH: What’s something you’ve learned this year? ML: You can’t be afraid of investing in something. The benches we created that are going to be installed are over $1,000 each. They are sourced from local Akron (continued on page 10)

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THE Devil Strip |

CREATE Art X (continued from page 9) trees. And every single time we mention that to someone, they're like, 'people are going to steal them.' And it's like, even if they did, so what? We try to do the right thing. Someone is appreciating it somewhere. You have to have faith in people. The hard thing about this project is the scope of it. The best thing I learned, and it’s not necessarily akin to the project, but — I had a son over the course of this project. So being able to balance family and work means a lot to me. It's one of the reasons I was excited about moving [to Akron]... Because quality of life and work-life balance was something I was interested in. NH: Art X Love is a for-profit art business. How do you manage it? ML: The brand background helps because that is an industry where the value of creativity is a little bit more understood. I don't actually think it's as difficult as people think. It helps that I worked a lot of jobs beforehand. I know a lot of artists who don't want to ever have a boss or have any discipline or any structure, and that's fine. A lot of the things artists sometimes complain about are, I think, sometimes their own making. Not having enough money, not having enough time, not having enough opportunities. Pictured above: Mac Love, far right, and Josy Jones, center. Photo by Peter Simionides, used with

up doing is my medium. For myself, it's actually recognizing the moment of curiosity to pursue the thread to make a difference, or an impact. Oddly enough it's taken me further away from making artwork. I love making, but in this project, it was more important to be a mentor and a facilitator. We really wanted to give a lot of the money and hire all local artists, all local residents. And so a lot of that was about passing on knowledge. Sometimes it was just asking a question. I can't tell you how many things happened on this project just because we asked. And how many times that question was born while a dozen other people were like, ‘no, you can't do that. It'll never happen.’ It's funny how many opportunities get stopped because people don't believe in the possibility that you could do something. I was always very confident in being able to create from an early age. But that's because we didn't have a TV. I was the first kid on the bus in the morning and the last one off. We had a house that was surrounded by forest. So I would make mazes and draw a lot. And I was surrounded by that in my environment, so I was comfortable with it. But when I'd go to school and the kids didn't want to draw or anything, I was like ‘that's weird that you don't want to do the most fun part of this whole project.’ Like, I don't want to write the essay or book report. I'll draw the cover. And so I thought it was strange. And I made it my mission early on to find a way to bring it back into the hands of people.

AN AWARD-WINNING COLLAGE BY A 6-YEAR-OLD MEMBER OF THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF WESTERN RESERVE by Allyson Smith

f you look at the image above, you might be intrigued by what you see: A mix of deep earth tones in beautiful shades of amber, gray and gold. Serpentlike creatures slither across the canvas. Craters and ridges make the piece look like a distant planet from the mind of Douglas Adams.

Entertainment is available to children with just a touch of a button, Miss Emily says — which is why it’s important to teach kids something that they must sit down and take their time on. She says the art projects also show kids that they can create something beautiful and unique, just like professional artists.

While the piece itself is unique, its artist and his inspiration may be even more extraordinary. The artist of this piece, Noah, age 6, found inspiration alongside other children at the Boys and Girls Club of Western Reserve on Jonathan Avenue in Firestone Park.

But Miss Emily doesn’t just show these kids how to paint or draw. She forms a strong bond with the students she teaches.

The Boys and Girls Club gives kids artistic opportunities they might not have otherwise. For example, they can enter their artwork in a national competition, like Noah did. In 2018, “Sea Creatures” was selected as a winner in the Collage category of Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s National Arts Competition.

permission.

You have to care about the relationships... You have to keep every one of your promises, and you can't make promises you can't keep. You have to put yourself out there. You can't get lucky unless you put yourself in a position to be lucky. You can't expect it to come to you. You very often have to go out to it. The innovation is the only way you can survive and stay relevant. All of this stuff we're talking about with change, I want to be on the front of that wave. Or creating it. NH: How do you stay focused and keep yourself from being boxed into one idea or project as an artist? How do you keep innovating? ML:: You only live one life. Your legacy, the actions you take, those are fixed, they're permanent. So whatever I end

I think art is as essential as going out for a walk in the woods. And not like, a mural, or like a poem — (anything) creative that's not part of your routine. Call a family member, write a letter to somebody, make a paper airplane and throw it. // Noor Hindi is The Devil’s Strip’s Senior Reporter. Email: noor@thedevilstrip.com. // Full disclosure: Josy Jones, Interactive Manager for Art x Love, is also a contributor to The Devil Strip. —————————————————— For more information about Mac Love, visit artxlove.com.

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Miss Emily is the dedicated art teacher at the Boys and Girls Club who gives her students, including Noah, the tools and encouragement to express themselves creatively. At the Boys and Girls Club, Miss Emily teaches kids to work with all kinds of materials and styles. The artwork featured on the cover was a mixed media piece, she says, meaning that different materials were used to create the piece. Noah was interested in making sea creatures, for which the piece, “Sea Creatures,” is named. The other kids at The Boys and Girls Club enjoy a variety of artistic styles, such as painting and even crocheting. One young girl said that she likes to paint because she likes painting her nails.

When a small group of girls came into the art room while Miss Emily was being interviewed, they surrounded her, hugged her, and clung to her like baby koalas. When asked why they enjoy art class so much, the first response most of the girls gave was, “because of Miss Emily.” The Boys and Girls Club also teaches students other subjects and gives them resources they may not find at their schools or at home. This includes help with homework, tutoring, career exploration, and learning leadership skills. Every day, Miss Emily and other teachers and volunteers give children guidance, inspiration, and the tools necessary for success that they not find outside of the club. “At the end of the day, it’s really about the kids,” she says. // Allyson Smith is a recent graduate of the University of Akron, where she studied media production. She aims to incorporate her passions of traveling and drinking coffee into a prolific and fulfilling career in the media industry.

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CREATE Holly and Dennis didn’t want that to happen. The board gave them a 60-day contract to see if they could turn the business around. After their first very successful show, their own adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, they did two more. “At the end of the season, we looked at each other and said, ‘we think there’s potential here. We don’t want to leave what we think we could accomplish here,’” Dennis says. They haven’t left for 26 years. Since then, the Magical Theatre Company has put on plenty of plays. They’ve also created education programs, summer camps and endowment funds for “artistic excellence.”

magic

Local Theater Company brings to Barberton and Schools in Northeast Ohio BARBERTON’S OWN MAGICAL THEATRE COMPANY by Allyson Smith

ach season, the Magical Theatre Company of Barberton hosts a variety of shows for a variety of audiences. The Magical Theatre Company aims to entertain people from any demographic, from children to adults, from Akron and beyond. The theater company began when two

Beginning in 1996, the company started a program called KidScripts, where students can write stories for the company to adapt into plays and perform at their schools. They hold a two-week long musical theater camp in the summer, plus The Great Big Acting Camp, which takes place in public schools to teach kids skills needed in theater. Additionally, they travel to schools, churches and clubs all over Northeast Ohio to perform and teach students about theater.

local professional actors and directors, Dennis O’Connell and Holly Barkdoll, decided to settle down together after six or seven years of freelance working.

According to Dennis, it’s not unusual to come across middle school and high school students who have never seen a play.

They were hired by a struggling company to direct and act in some plays. But by the end of the season, the theater company announced it was closing.

Dennis says the company is committed to theater for young audiences and families, but its actors are professionals who work alongside some dedicated children.

“For this company to succeed, we believe it has to be fully committed to providing the best possible theater that we can afford for kids and families… that’s a core principle of our company.” During the Christmas season, the company put on Prancer, directed by Holly. This play follows a young girl named Jessica as she copes with the death of her mother, her family’s financial burdens, adolescence, and — most important — finding Santa’s reindeer, Prancer, injured in the woods.

Their upcoming plays for the season include Harriet Tubman, running from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9, and Charlotte’s Web, from May 7 to May 17. They will also be on tour with Rumpelstiltskin and Mother Goose. To learn more about the Magical Theatre Company, visit www.magicaltheatre.org. // Allyson Smith is a recent graduate of the University of Akron, where she studied media production. She aims to incorporate her passions of traveling and drinking coffee into a prolific and fulfilling career in the media industry.

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Finding the Smile Inside

AKRON-BASED COMPANY CREATES LEARNING TOOLS FOR KIDS AND TEENS words by Rosalie Murphy, photos by Ilenia Pezzaniti

anessa Lee Abraham started keeping a journal when she was about 14 years old. What she wrote down then continues to inspire her work today. Vanessa is the owner of Smile Inside, a business where she creates products to help kids and teens enhance their social and emotional learning. “I was extremely inspired when I was a teenager,” Vanessa says. “I was lucky enough to be chosen to go to a couple of camps, and then I started getting involved in leadership. We would do retreats, and there was a lot of bonding… and personal development. I found those activities to be more valuable than anything I was learning in school.”

they’d prefer hard copy activity books. The best part of being an entrepreneur is deciding what she wants to work on and setting her own schedule, Vanessa says. The hardest part is asking for help in the “things I’m just not very good at,” whether it’s in bookkeeping, creating her visual display or marketing her products. Smile Inside’s next big challenge is to partner with a researcher to better understand how the activities Vanessa has designed are impacting the way kids learn. Scientific data is necessary for recognition from the body that governs social and emotional learning in the U.S., Vanessa says.

In the meantime, anyone who works with kids or teens can purchase a Smile Inside game She moved back to Akron, her hometown, says, for young people to understand “the and use it in classroom, at an after-school program, or at home. stuff that’s going on inside of you and about three years ago, and is working on what to do with it and how to resolve it establishing a network here. She recently “I really think that, if we build better and how to cope with it… Having social made Smile Inside products available at and emotional skills, especially at a young people, we’re building a better world,” the Northside Marketplace. Vanessa says. “Building a better person age, expands your capacity to be able to has many different definitions, but we learn.” A card and dice game called “Feel in the need to be capable, and if we feel capable Blanks” is for sale. So are two 150-activity that we can set goals and achieve goals, “We still are learning about these things Smile Inside handbooks, one for middle then I think we’re on the right track.” as adults, so you can imagine what it’s Vanessa earned her B.S. in Education from schoolers and one for ninth graders. like to be a child who is just struggling to Ohio University in 1995. A few years later, // Rosalie Murphy is Editor-in-Chief of The understand why somebody is being cruel Coming in 2019 is the CODE Book, an she moved to Australia, where she lived Devil Strip. activity book for kids between the ages of to them at recess,” she adds. and worked for 16 years. She designed 5 and 12, that helps them track and reach and facilitated camps and workshops This story is part of The Devil Strip’s Vanessa designed the shelf-ready version their own goals. based on social and emotional learning, Akropreneurs series, which is made of the CODE Book after participating in worked in student welfare at a high school possible by the Burton D. Morgan All are designed to help kids reflect on the I-Corps at the University of Akron, where and became a yoga instructor. Foundation and the Fund for Our she did extensive customer research to way they’re feeling, name their emotions Economic Future. understand what teachers and counselors and learn how to live with them. Around 2006, she turned Smile Inside need. She learned, for instance, that many into a business and became a private don’t have access to color printers, so Emotional literacy is necessary, Vanessa consultant, trainer and facilitator. In ninth grade, Vanessa took a humanities course that focused on learning about herself and how she related to the world. She wrote down “every activity I thought was a gem, ones that really, truly had an impact on me. I continued my education to become a teacher, and continued to research and trial activities, learn, revise, rewrite, and then put it into the form of a curriculum.”

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explore

15 EN GARDE! INSIDE AN AKRON FENCING ACADEMY 16 ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR CITIZEN SCIENCE 17 COPLEY COFFEE WANTS TO REVIVE ITS NEIGHBORHOOD

AKRON'S COMMUNITY & CULTURE

Vintage Structures THE PFLUEGER FACTORY ON BLUFF STREET

words by Mark Schweitzer, photos by Charlotte Gintert

t’s often easy for a small building, even if its design is exceptional, to go unnoticed. This is particularly the case if it’s hidden in the middle of a residential neighborhood. This month’s structure is pretty large; an old factory, to be exact. But its unique location — off the beaten path, on a forgotten, dead-end street overlooking the valley north of downtown — has allowed it to keep a very low profile. The building was originally built around 1880 as the home of a silver-plating company. But a greater part of its life was spent as a factory for fishing equipment — first by the Pflueger Company and then its successor, Enterprise Manufacturing. Maybe we can settle somewhere in the middle and call it the Pflueger Factory.

Pflueger Factory building, it appears to have been much larger — which is entirely possible, based on cleared areas of the property and remnants of some old walls Pictured left: The Pflueger factory as it appeared in early 20th century advertising. (Image courtesy - Fin

The structure was home to the Akron Silver Plating Company from its construction in the 1880s to that company’s collapse around 1898. An old directory listing notes the company was “a manufacturer of casket hardware and other silver-plated goods” and employed 45 people. Akron Silver Plating went into receivership in 1898. A group headed by Hugo and Max Schumacher invested about $50,000 to take over the business, but they could only keep it running for another five or six years. In 1905, the factory building was purchased by E.A. Pflueger for his fishing lure and tackle works. Pictured left: An Akron original – a Pflueger “Norka” fishing reel. (Image courtesy - G. Hansen)

The Pflueger family had been in business since 1881, and already had a factory in downtown Akron on Ash Street. A rift between E.A and his brothers Charlie

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and Joseph led him to purchase the property on Bluff Street, while the original factory became the home of his brothers’ company, the Enterprise Manufacturing Company. Happily, the family split was healed by 1913; the company was consolidated under the Enterprise name and production subsequently divided between the two facilities.

& Flame); Pictured above: The Pflueger Factory; Pictured below: The old brick Pflueger Factory and its modern addition. (Photos: Charlotte Gintert/ Captured Glimpses)

Eventually the Enterprise downtown building was destroyed by a fire. Sometime after World War II, Enterprise would move all its production into the former Werner Printing, a huge brick factory located nearby at the corner of North Union and Perkins streets. That factory was destroyed on the north side of the building. Then by another fire in 1977. again, it was not uncommon for artists to exaggerate a little when depicting As for the Pflueger factory on Bluff factories in advertising and on company Street, it hosted two different mattress letterhead. The bigger, the better! manufacturers from 1950 to the early 2000s. In truth, Pflueger/Enterprise was big. It was among the largest manufacturers Looking at an old engraving of the (contineud on page 30) JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1 /

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The Wanderer

FLYING HIGH WITH THE AKRON AVIATORS by Dave Daly

next level and become an Aviators fan.

oly Akron, it’s 2019! I hope y’all had a fantastic New Year, and whether your hangover was alcohol, food or otherwise induced, hopefully it’s gone by now. One thing that isn’t going away anytime soon is this weather. It’s colder than a well digger’s ass and I’m on the hunt for something to do indoors. Luckily for me, it’s basketball season! Yes, my astute reader, you correctly recall that I am a Boston Celtics fan by birthright. Why would I wander to a Cavs game? Well, I would, especially if they were playing my boys from back east. I made it to Cleveland a few weekends ago to see Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors throw down on the Cavs. But there is more than one basketball league in Northeast Ohio. Since 2000, the American Basketball Association (ABA) — no relation to the ABA of the 60s and 70’s other than the name — has brought independent basketball to cities around the country. Last year the Akron Aviators played their inaugural season, joining the likes of the Chicago Fury and Libertyville Vipers in the North Central Division. The season runs from November to March with a total of 22 games, including 10 at home. When the Aviators are playing in Akron, they share a homecourt with the Vikings at North High on Gorge Blvd. It is not uncommon for ABA teams to play at high school gymnasiums. I don’t think teams or the league will be asking for taxpayer dollars to build arenas anytime soon. As it so happens on this fine, bitterly cold Saturday evening, the Aviators will be hosting Detroit’s Team Network over at North High. My plans are made. So are

Pictured above: (l to r): Team owner Brian “Essince” Collins, a fan and team president David Brooks hang out before the game. (Photo: The Wanderer/ Dave Daly) See you at the game Saturday. Seriously! The next Devil Strip Social is this Saturday evening, Jan. 5, at North High. We’re showing our hometown heroes some love. Show up! Tip-off is at 7 pm.

Dave Daly

my kids’. Basketball is a family affair. If this were a date night sans children, my wife and I would definitely stop by Nepali Kitchen beforehand, but with the offspring in tow, we opt for some food at home. When you arrive at North High for a game, don’t be deterred by the darkness. The lights aren’t shining too bright in the front of the school and the gym is in the back. You just have to cruise around the side of the building to the court. Once there, you can bask in the glow of institution-grade fluorescent lighting. We make our way up to the second floor of the school, grab our tickets and find some seats. Game time is 7 pm and things start promptly. Team Network has a female head coach which is awesome. They immediately give the Aviators a run for their money. The crowd, small and intimate, is wholeheartedly behind their team. Most present are wearing t-shirts or hats with the Aviator’s logo — an A and a yellow plane — adorning them. Back and forth goes the score. By the end of the first half,

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we find the Aviators down by nearly 20. I tell my three year old not to dismay. She does not! My daughter understands that the game isn’t over until time runs out. She’s also learned to say “Bad call, ref!” at appropriate moments, parroting her father. As the third quarter dwindles away, Akron is back in this game. I won’t pretend to be a scout or an expert in basketball talent. However, these guys can ball. My basic understanding of the sport suggests that not many ABA players have a realistic chance of making the NBA. Whatever. They hustle. They pass. They play defense. Most importantly, they’re all giving a ton of effort on the court and enjoying every minute. So is Team Network. The game is fun because the people on the court are enjoying themselves as much as the fans in the crowd.

// After growing up outside Boston, Massachusetts Dave Daly traipsed around the country for a number of years before settling in Akron with his family and joining The Devil Strip team. Akron Aviators Home Games this month on Saturday, January 5 and Saturday, January 19; Doors - 6:30 pm, Game - 7 pm North High School 985 Gorge Blvd, Akron, OH 44310 For more info on the Akron Aviators check out: akronaviators.com

Guess what? We won! Final score 110107. Akron killed it in the end. No mercy. What a game. You read The Devil Strip, so it’s likely you’re invested in the city. Take it to the

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words and photos by Ted Lehr

INSIDE THE KIRALY FENCING ACADEMY

.............................

En Garde

EXPLORE

kron is a blue-collar town. Making its bones on the rubber industry in the early part of the 20th century, the city has always been working-class tough. The often backbreaking life of the union factory worker fostered in its citizens a taste for gritty entertainment. Generations of families turned to the smash-mouth sport of football as a means to release the pressures of daily life. The Cleveland Browns, perennial local underdogs, have come to represent the region with an unerring grassroots parallel. But make no mistake, Akron does not subside on football alone. The city has a vibrant fencing scene. Though it’s far more dignified and subtle than the pigskin pastime, the sport is every bit as physically demanding and compelling. Just ask Ernest Kiraly, the owner of Kiraly Fencing Academy. Located at 304 N. Howard Street, KFA is the nerve center of the city’s fencing community. Fencing is a form of martial arts that employs three styles of bladed weapons — the epee, foil and sabre — in an offensive and defensive manner, in which a practitioner attempts to score points on their opponent by making contact with them with the tip of their weapon.

“Fencing is like playing chess at 90 mph,” Kiraly says. Kiraly became fascinated by martial arts after reading an article about Karate when he was in his 20s. He quickly became fully ensconced in his new passion. He earned black belts in Karate, Kendo and Iaido. When he studied fencing with the Hungarian master Maestro Menyard Kadar, Kiraly was intrigued by the grace and civility of the sport. He traveled to Europe and South America to further his education. Kiraly began teaching fencing in 1977 at his own academy, as well as the University of Akron, Kent State University and Youngstown State University. Kiraly’s current building, which has housed KFA for 13 years, has a distinct medieval vibe to it. The walls of the interior are adorned with dozens of swords, components of suits of armor, flags and paintings. There is a large fireplace and a bookshelf stuffed floor to ceiling with volumes about the martial arts. The main floor is an open space, with room for at least six pairs of students to spar during class.

The class I visit includes three females and four males, all teens. Fencing is often co-ed. Though the sport dates back to the 14th century, it is thoroughly modern in that gender and body type don’t particularly matter. “The sport is dominated by skill, not strength,” the instructor says. Age isn’t an issue either. “As long as you are in good health, you can fence forever,” Kiraly says. After the students put on their safety gear, Kiraly begins the lesson. He runs the students through 10 minutes of fundamentals, working on foot positions and various blade techniques. (continued on page 28)

The academy generally has 60 to 100 students on its roster at any one time. There are classes for 7-12 year olds, teens and adults.

55 Shiawassee Ave. AKRON, OH 44333

lifesourceyoga.com • 330.835.9945

2019 NEW STUDENT SPECIAL: 2 WEEKS/$20 AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

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Erie Open Systems UA ACADEMICS START BUSINESS TO TACKLE HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS words and photos by Claude Christensen

f you’ve been to Lake Erie, you know: Compared to other Great Lakes, it’s not too pretty. The green water can be so thick with algae it’s like a rolling sea of avocado-colored wall paint.

But University of Akron biomimicry fellows and doctoral candidates Banafsheh Khakipoor and Kelly Siman are working on a solution.

Along with UA research scientist Dr. Algae is a sign of a nutrient-rich Jiansheng Feng, assistant professor environment. But some of those algae of polymer research Dr. Hunter King, blooms, like the blue-green toxinproducing cyanobacteria algal blooms, can be incredibly dangerous. Exposure to these harmful algae blooms can cause rashes, asthma-like symptoms and vomiting in adults. Children and the elderly are even more susceptible. Small animals may die if overexposed.

called spectrophotometers, work by measuring the spectrum of light that filters through a sample of a transparent medium, like water. The way light filters through a sample can reveal a lot about its composition. That’s why spectrometers are so useful for

It’s difficult to comprehensively monitor both the sources of pollution and the algae blooms themselves. Pictured above: From left to right, Dr. Jiansheng Feng, Dr. Hunter King, and Kelly Siman. Pictured right: Diagram of the Erie Open Systems spectrometer. (Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Jiansheng Feng of Erie Open Systems, LLC); Pictured below: Side-byside comparison of the $40 Erie Open Systems spectrometer, left, and the $3,369 Hach DR 1900 Portable Spectrophotometer, right.

The improvement? Starting a business. All they had to do was sell low-cost, easyto-use tools to measure water quality. It doesn’t matter if the data these tools collect are as accurate as the results given by expensive equipment, Kelly says — they just need to be accurate enough. Working with local schools, nature clubs and parks, they could get everyday citizens to contribute to the pool of data on Lake Erie. And they could also raise awareness of the harmful effects and causes of these algae blooms at the same time.

By combining the science of spectrometry, DIY culture, citizen science and a bit of entrepreneurial savvy, five Akron-based academics are doing their best to create a business-centered solution to the lack of data on harmful algae blooms. The phosphorus and nitrogen present in commercial fertilizer runoff are driving a boom in harmful algae blooms — especially in the summer, when the combination of nutrients, sunlight and fair conditions in the shallow lake lead to a rapid rise in the number and breadth of these blooms.

came away with an improvement on their original idea.

So they started their company, Erie Open Systems, LLC.

and department of chemistry assistant professor Dr. Adam Smith, Kelly and Banafsheh are working on a cheap, reliable way to measure the amount of nutrients responsible for algae growth in local water systems. Their invention could help locate places where phosphorus and nitrogen pollution is highly concentrated. And it could provide useful data on the day-to-day status and condition of the toxic algae blooms.

determining the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in lakes and rivers. But these spectrometers sell for between about $1,500 and $3,500. “And they require trained professionals to operate,” Kelly adds. “That training is also expensive.”

This presents a huge problem for waterquality research. Although individual tests with the aforementioned expensive spectrometers can be highly accurate, more data points are necessary for Erie Open Systems began when Banafsheh scientists to track harmful algae blooms. and Kelly were struggling to collect “That’s when we thought ‘Well, there’s got enough data for their research to to be a low-cost, open-source device we understand harmful algae blooms can design that anyone can use that can in Lake Erie. create results we could trust,’” says Kelly. “There’s not enough data points They took this idea to the Cleveland Water because the current equipment, Alliance’s 2017 Erie Hack, placing third especially spectrometers, are too in the competition. The win gave them expensive,” Kelly says. a cash reward of $10,000 and $5,000 in in-kind goods and services. They also Spectrometers, sometimes also

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Erie Open Systems spectrometers, which are still being designed, will be small, hand-sized rectangular boxes made of acrylic plastic and equipped with an internal battery, LED light and sample chamber. When the spectrometer is ready, the company will offer a fully-made, ready-to-go kit for sale. They will sell for only $40.

Pictured below: Dr. Feng compares the Erie Open Systems spectrometer (right) to a Hach DR 1900 Portable Spectrophotometer (left).

Combined with a smartphone app that is also still in development, the Erie Open Systems spectrometer can measure the spectrum of light that filters through a water sample treated with a reagent available at any fish or pet store. The app can then give an accurate measurement of how much of a certain nutrient, like algae-producing phosphorus and nitrogen, is in the water.

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EXPLORE The Erie Open Systems team still has to figure out a few kinks in the design of the spectrometer before they’re ready to start taking orders. But they have already provided the design schematics and bill of materials needed to create the spectrometer freely to anyone visiting their website. That’s intentional. “In general, but especially for this product, we care more about how we can aid in environmental research and educational outreach than how much we can increase product sales,” Dr. Feng says. The UA team could not have created the spectrometer without using open-sourced designs, and they want their own design to remain available to anyone with the tools and desire to create one.

Refueling a Neighborhood NEW COFFEE SHOP OPENS IN COPLEY CIRCLE

This is also reflected in the underlying vision the five founders have for their company. Erie Open Systems will place a premium on creating a positive impact on environmental research and the education of the general public, not on profit. That’s how the five founders — Kelly, Banafsheh, Dr. King, Dr. Jiansheng, and Dr. Smith — plan to measure its success. In addition to the monies awarded by Erie Hack, Erie Open Systems has received grants from the University of Akron and the Ohio Sea Grant. They don’t plan on taking venture capital to support the production of the spectrometer. “The company is the thing that facilitates the idea,” says Hunter, “not the other way around.” For more information about Erie Open Systems, visit www.erieopen.tech. To learn more about harmful algae blooms, visit: www.noaa.gov www.usgs.gov // This story is part of The Devil Strip's Akropreneurs series, which is made possible by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and the Fund for Our Economic Future. // Claude lived in Cleveland near Edgewater Beach till he was nine. He’s very familiar with the various green shades of Lake Erie. Pictured above: Kelly and Dr. King at their lab.

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

words and photos by Megan Combs

ason LittleBear is tired. Like one-day- used to be like, and it’s clearly not that anymore.” off-per-month-for-the-last-eightmonths tired. But to him, it’s worth Copley Coffee & Games grew out of it. And it’s starting to pay off. Copley’s Better Block effort three years ago. In a survey conducted during that Jason is the owner of Copley Coffee event in September 2016, several people & Games, Copley’s first coffee shop in recent years. The shop, located on Copley said they wanted to see a coffee shop. People surveyed also mentioned wanting Circle, celebrated its grand opening on a bakery, boutiques, restaurants, general Dec. 14. walkability and bike lanes. Township Trustee Helen Humphrys says the circle “I have always wanted to come to the circle to window shop, eat and see people used to be home to a neighborhood bar, pharmacy, secondhand bookstore, hair in the community,” Jason says. “I’ve heard a lot about what Copley Circle used salon, bank and more. to be like and it dawned on me that we have to bridge that gap again — the gap It took eight months for Jason to get CC&G up and running, and the shop between each other, youth and police, celebrated a soft opening on Nov 18. and older and younger people.” Along the way, Jason received tons of He’s doing everything he can to make sure support from the community on Facebook there’s something positive happening in a and also through monetary, book and time when everything seems so negative, board game donations. he says. Right now, Jason’s staff, which includes a few high school students, is all volunteer. “Every Saturday I play board games with my son and his friends,” Jason explains. “Last March they were all mopey because “You have to sacrifice a lot to gain,” he of all the negativity in the world — school says. “But I love when it fills up after school and the kids are doing their shootings, politics. So I wanted to open homework. The response has been a games shop where people could come and have fun. But we couldn’t make it on amazing.” just games alone, so we added coffee.” Jason co-owns Jacobs Heritage Farm on Jacoby Road with his wife Jennifer. He Matt Springer is the director of plans to use a lot of their harvest in future community and economic development cafe-style dishes, and one of his farm for Copley Township. He and other employees already serves as the shop’s township officials are ready to see the baker. Jason sells pastries, cookies, honey circle be vibrant once again. and more in the shop’s “farmstand.” “People are always saying they’re not When the idea of opening a coffee shop satisfied with the status quo of the first bloomed in Jason’s mind, he had his circle for many reasons, whether it’s infrastructure, businesses or lack thereof,” heart set on the former Bon Appetito Pizzeria restaurant on the circle, saying he Matt says. “We hear about what it

loved the exterior that channels an Old World Italian facade. The inside is packed with donated books and board games. There’s a little nook for children, a water feature, and a corner for future acoustic performances. “I love Copley because it’s small, but feels big,” Jason says. “I hope that someone opens a restaurant next. I want to see family-run businesses. I hope we have a ripple effect.” The township is working with Jason and any future business owners by working with Summit County to extend water and sewer services to the circle, says Trustee Helen Humphrys. “It’s time to wake up the circle and bring in more venues like that,” Helen says. “It’s about time.” In addition, the township has purchased some properties near the circle to make them available for rent to future business owners, Matt says. “People want the experience like you get at Falls Riverfront or Medina Square,” Matt says. “Jason has a community mindset that he’s putting into this and I get encouraged when I see business owners who want to work with us (township) and vice versa." // Megan Combs, a mother of two small children, is more than excited for a place nearby that can nurture her caffeine needs. Pictured above: Rain and Jason LittleBear accept a proclamation from Copley Township Trustee Bruce Koellner at the grand opening of Copley Coffee & Games on Dec. 14.

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19 SO, WHAT CAN WE RECYCLE? 20 WHO BIKES IN AKRON? 21 ESPORTS TEAMS AT UA FINISH THEIR FIRST SEMESTER

AKRON'S CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS Barbara Snyder, a business and property owner in the neighborhood, and her mother went to City Council and got the zoning passed. In the 90s, they called the neighborhood Victorian Village, an ode to the unique, beautiful Victorian era structures that sprinkled the neighborhood at the time. Barbara began to cultivate her own properties as live-work spaces.

ALL EYES Toward the Hill West Hill became a “live-work” neighborhood decades ago. Now, it’s starting to take off.

planning department worked together to expand the boundaries, redraw the map and rewrite the ordinances to make it “easier for people to take advantage of this concept,” says Noel. “I just want to see people flourishing in these homes.”

Live-work zoning can allow entrepreneurs to cut back on the expense of simultaneously paying rent and a lease for a storefront. In turn, that cuts down on electric bills. It reduces on commute time. One of those properties houses Ages Tribal It can be a space to try new things and fail Arts, a welcoming structure littered with with a less significant loss. tribal artifacts from all over the world. Business-owner Eric Schickendantz runs Plus, West Hill’s huge Victorian homes are this business out of the first floor of relatively cheap. Over the last six months, this home. Walking through, visitors are West Hill houses listed at median prices immediately drawn into a new world. You ranging from $39,900 in September to see the faces and figures of international $57,400 in November. That’s between 44 influences captured in large wooden and 64 percent of the city-wide median structures. for the same months, according to data from Realtor.com. The neighborhood is This started about eight years ago. Snyder right in the middle of many of Akron’s rented the upstairs of the property and busiest neighborhoods, including Highland was hoping the concept would take off Square and Downtown, with access to and start a movement of live-work spaces West Akron and Sherbondy Hill. in the neighborhood. Even Rowlanda Mangham, the resident Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. who lives above Ages Tribal Arts, Schickendantz doesn’t get much foot recommends living in a live-work space. traffic. This adventurous business owner “It's a wonderful place to live,” says sells most of his items on an appointment Mangham, “The feeling of community is basis. strong within West Hill.” “I was kind of hopeful that this neighborhood would bloom,” said Schickendantz of the area. “It seems like a brilliant idea for an artist to live upstairs.”

So what’s the holdup? Why hasn’t West Hill become the bustling, live-work artist’s village district of Akron that Snyder envisioned decades ago?

Schickendantz isn’t the only one feeling the frustration.

by Josy Jones Pictured left: Image of UPD-40 map. Photo courtesy of Cleveland.com; Pictured right:

Ages Tribal Arts, live-work space. Artifacts/art

here is a neighborhood. It lies within the bounds of Exchange and Market Street. It holds an assortment of amenities within walking distance, including a local hardware store, a community gym (with an indoor pool, sauna and basketball court, I might add), a Krispy Kreme to tempt you out of the fitness goals you set at that community gym, the I Promise School, at least four theatre companies, and live-work zoning designed for entrepreneurs.

at the Ages Tribal Art gallery. Photo courtesy is the only neighborhood in Akron with this capacity for live-work zoning, allowing of Josy Jones. homeowners to start small businesses out of their homes. Karen Noel, Vice President of the West Hill Neighborhood In theory, this means that entrepreneurs Organization, found herself could live upstairs and open up a shop reviewing some files around 2015 downstairs, cutting down the expense of and stumbled across the UPD-40 district, renting both a home and a separate rental which was still known as the Victorian property. West Hill residents call this zone Village. Noel and her team realized that the Unified Planned Development District many of the Victorian era homes had been 40, or UPD-40. torn down.

For Jeopardy fans, the answer is, “What is West Hill?”

The UPD-40 area did not always exist in West Hill. Like many neighborhood initiatives, dedicated residents developed a strategy to get the UPD-40 designation for a small section of West Hill. In 1991,

That’s right: West Hill. The neighborhood between Downtown and Highland Square

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On a mission, she set out to expand the district to include more of the neighborhood. The members of the WHNO and the city’s

Perception. West Hill is trying to reshape its past identity as a neighborhood riddled with crime. It’s not the only neighborhood trying to outlive its previous reputation, but it is definitely adding some time to the development of the neighborhood. But perception is more of a problem than its reality. I know because I live here. As a resident of West Hill who knows many

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UNDERSTAND

of her neighbors, is a member of the gym around the corner, runs her neighbor’s dog, picks flowers for her dining room from the community flower bed, is on a first-name basis with the employees at Stagecoach Antiques and walks around the neighborhood at all hours, I can say firsthand that West Hill is still my top choice for a space to live. The well-organized WHNO is eager to

House. “I’m a terrible florist. I suck at food service. But if somebody has the passion, I have a space for them,” he says. So what can you do, Akron? One, if you are a West Hill business, you could get involved with the WHNO. Two, if you are in the business of investing, WHNO can offer deeper insight on the neighborhood. Three, if you’re looking to own property, consider starting in West Hill. The houses are large, affordable and centrally located, and even if you’re not looking to start a business, you could encourage someone else to do so and have the rent pay off your home. Picture left: The Orchard House. Photo courtesy of Orchard House social media.

help anyone who is interested in the neighborhood. They recently met with the Will Hollingsworth, owner of the Spotted Owl in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood, who is preparing to open a second location in the old Chop and Swizzle building, also known as the old fire station, at 60 South Maple Street.

So, What can we recycle?

The City of Akron will no longer recycle glass. But we’re all pretty terrible at recycling everything else, too. By Noor Hindi On Friday, Nov. 23, 13 federal agencies released a 1,656-page assessment detailing the consequences of climate change for the United States. A month earlier, the United Nations’ panel on climate change reported that climate disaster — food shortages, wildfires, rising sea levels — could be our reality as early as 2040. Yikes. It’s imperative communities come together quickly to prepare and attempt to at least slow down the effects of climate change.

Four, if you’re looking to start a business or already have a business and are tired of paying both rent and a lease, you could try At the same time, the City of Akron’s Recycling Collection Division has recently out the UPD-40 district. Maybe even try the Orchard House. It could cost much less decided to stop accepting glass items. than you’re paying now. Glass comprises about 15 percent of all recycled items in Akron. Beer and wine Five, if you are a part of an organization that provides funding, you could fund the bottles, glass jars, broken dishes — all the JT Buck, a WHNO board member, WHNO and provide them the opportunity glass in Akron will now end of up in a noted the diversity of the board. Each to get the ball rolling much faster toward landfill. board member comes with expertise — a fully realized version of the live-work architecture, theatre, community gardens, village. This is bad. But why was the decision and business. made, what does it mean for Akron residents, and what can residents do In 2019, all eyes should be on West “We are super well-connected people,” moving forward to help the environment? Hill. The neighborhood offers residents, Buck says. If you’re interested in the investors and business owners neighborhood, “We have the capacity to I brought these questions to Public Works opportunities to try, fail, try again, and help talk you through it.” Manager James Hall and Chris Ludle, experiment with a variety of ways for homes to pay for themselves. There aren’t Deputy Director of Public Service. Buck has begun his own adventures into many opportunities like that. the live-work space model. He calls his WHY DID THE CITY OF AKRON DECIDE home “The Orchard House.” TO STOP RECYCLING GLASS? To continue processing glass, the city To contact the West Hill After moving back to Akron, Buck found would’ve had to raise recycling fees. They Neighborhood Organization with a home he was interested in purchasing. chose to stop recycling glass instead. questions about the district by email at: However, he didn’t have the capital to buy westhillneighborhood@gmail.com or it outright. He agreed to a kind of rent-to“Without raising the price [of recycling], @WestHillNeighborhoodOrganization own agreement with a private investor. we’ve made a decision to ask our customers to refrain from putting glass To contact JT Buck about space in Now, Buck rents some of his upstairs in right now,” Ludle says. “To make our the Orchard House, email him at: rooms as efficiency apartments for people program [financially] sustainable, right akronorchardhouse@gmail.com who were in similar situations he was in now, we’re asking, don’t put glass in the when he first moved back to Akron. It has recycle.” To contact Barbara Snyder about served as an “incubator,” for individuals potential homes in the area, email her to move to the next step in their lives. And at: www.snyderandsnyder.com Ludle adds, “We are very committed to fortunately, through these rentals, the recycling. We’re very committed as a city Orchard House “largely pays for itself.” and we’re very conscious. But the market To contact Eric Schickendantz, owner of has changed dramatically.” Ages Tribal Arts, email him at: “I want [the Orchard House] to be a model eric@agestribalart.com home for the UPD-40. I want people Until the city decides to assume the cost, to see a fully realized version of what or find out if residents are willing to bear // Josy Jones is a theatre artist with a these houses could be,” says Buck. He’s the cost via a tax, Akron residents should background in international relations. looking for an entrepreneurial partnership limit their purchasing of glass, or consider to activate the first floor of the Orchard reusing their glass items until alternate

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

solutions are provided by the city. WHAT CAN I DO TO BE BETTER AT RECYCLING? The good news: 43,000 households in Akron recycle. The bad news: 36.4 percent of all recycled material are contaminated because of wishful recycling, or people not knowing any better, or people just not giving a damn. This means that a little under half of all “recycled” material has to be removed and transported to a landfill by Waste Management employees, which costs the city more money — Akron pays Waste Management to handle residents’ trash and recycling — and wastes time. Don’t recycle your kid’s swimming pool left over from the summer, or your garden hose, or your bowling ball (!?!?), or any other weird item you think should be recycled, but actually isn’t. OK, COOL. SO WHAT IS RECYCLABLE IN AKRON? For a more extensive list, visit www. akronohio.gov/cms/public_works/ recycling/index.html. 1. Paper products. This includes newspapers, paper (that has not been shredded), phone books, beer and beverage packages, cereal boxes and tissue boxes. 2. Cartons. This includes milk and juice cartons, soup and broth cartons, etc. 3. Plastic products. This includes water, soda and sports drink bottles; milk, iced tea, and juice containers; and soap, dish liquid and laundry detergent containers. 4. Cardboard. Preferably flattened. Don’t bundle it. 5. Aluminum and metal cans. This includes soda, soup, vegetable and tomato sauce cans. WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT THAT I MAKE SURE THE THINGS I’M RECYCLING ARE ACTUALLY RECYCLABLE? Recycling in 2018 took a big hit when China implemented the National Sword Policy, which banned the importation of most recycled materials. Why does China matter? According to (continued on page 20)

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Who bikes in Akron?

Street. It has a black travel bag attached to one side. This is where O’Connor stores her books, or whatever else she might need this evening. Although she has her license, O’Connor has willingly never owned a car, so this jaunt to a graduate school class was another typical commute. “When I moved to Akron six years ago, I wondered how long I could last without a car,” she says. But having traversed New York City via bike for 36 years, the 63 year-old architect found a way to commute Akron on two wheels without any serious setbacks.

little group. That group became bigger, and then through that group I met other groups of people doing it.” With more shops like Dirty River and Electric Pete’s popping up, and as the city of Akron installs bike lanes, cycling culture has become increasingly visible. Visible enough that, in the last week of December, longtime Akron Beacon Journal columnist Bob Dyer gave bike lanes a parody “Seinfeld Shrinkage award.” He wrote: “Those of us who believe a lack of traffic congestion is a good thing were in for a jolt in 2018. Akron’s traffic designers insisted our streets are too big for the amount of traffic, so in numerous locations, they shrunk the number of lanes, added parking and bike lanes. Most of the public greeted this development with the same amount of enthusiasm they’d show for a flu pandemic.”

Akron Director of Planning and Urban AKRON BUILT A FEW Development Jason Segedy is one of those people who supports road diets, which NEW BIKE LANES IN intentionally slow down traffic. He believes 2018. WHO’S USING O’Connor is one of several Akronites who “the number of cyclists [in Akron] is regularly commute the city on bicycle, even growing, slowly but surely,” and he has THEM — ESPECIALLY been looking into which streets are ripe in the winter. IN THE WINTER? for bike infrastructure. “I’ve met a lot of people in Akron who not only ride a lot, but commute too,” Pictured right: Ryan Adams and Ben Brosius at by Kyle Cochrun says Ben Brosius, an employee at Dirty Dirty River Bicyles River Bicycle Works. Ben bikes to and from On Dec. 6, Mary O’Connor rode her Highland Square to the shop at Northside Segedy hopes to help create a network electric-powered bicycle from her home of bike lanes through the city in the in Summit Lake to the University of Akron Marketplace on Furnace Street, where he works as a mechanic and teaches next five to 10 years. According to a campus through falling snow, big soft people how to bike safely and comfortably 2016 report from the Akron Metropolitan clumps rushing down with the fervor of throughout the winter. Area Transportation Study, there were a shaken snowglobe. She wore a thick about 35 miles of bike lanes in the greater brown coat over a handsome purple Akron region in 2016. That was up from sweater, faded blue jeans and black boots “It seems like more and more people are biking since I’ve lived in Akron, which is 24 miles in 2012. with a furry grey material protruding going on 10 years now,” he says. “When from the top. Her bike, the Evo Eco, was purchased at Electric Pete’s E-Bikes, a shop I first moved out here, I was riding solo, The same report counted 339 crashes specializing in motorized bicycles on Main and then eventually met some people, a involving bicycles between 2012 and 2014.

What Can We Recycle? (continued from page 19) writer Shoshana Wodinsky of The Verge, since 1988, China has taken in more than 10 million metric tons of plastic waste from countries like the United States. Now the U.S. has tons and tons of plastic that we simply don’t know what to do with. China’s leaders got tired of processing the world’s trash. So now they’ll only accept material that meets really strict guidelines. For example, contamination rates have to be less than 0.5 percent, which is “very hard to achieve,” according to Kathy Trent, senior public affairs director at Waste Management. The City of Akron Recycling Collection Division says it’s working on creating programs that educate residents about recycling in

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More than a third of those crashes involved cyclists under 18. Two of them were fatal. “It’s not so much to get more people to commute [on bicycle], but to make it safer,” Segedy says. “Once you get enough bike lanes, people start thinking, ‘Well, maybe I could bike to work.’ That’s how it happens in most cities: incrementally.” One of the city’s recent road diet projects was the redesign of Kenmore Boulevard, completed in September. About a mile of roadway was altered from two wide car lanes to a single car lane, a bike lane and spaces for curbside parking. Tina Boyes of the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance believes the bike lanes have had a positive impact on neighborhood commuters. “I’ve seen milk carton crates attached to the backs of bikes around here,” she said. “I’ve seen big backpacks. That tells me these are not people that are passing through. These are people who do their

business here or are trying to get from here to there. From that group, I’m hearing great things, and they’re using them.” Boyes hopes the redesign will spur people to hang out on the Boulevard and spend more time traversing and spending money (continued on page 22)

attempt to reduce the 36.4 percent contamination percentage. In 2019, they’ll be focusing on educating residents by targeting areas with higher contamination rates and talking to residents. WHAT ARE SOME ITEMS I THINK ARE RECYCLABLE BUT ACTUALLY AREN’T? • Plastic bags. Everyone I spoke to made it clear that it’s NOT COOL to bag your recycled items • Glass. No mirrors. • Clothing • Dead animals (this is real). • Food. Please, no leftovers. • Bottle caps and lids. Take them off before you recycle your plastic bottles. • Napkins • Wood • Holiday lights & fake Christmas trees. Not festive. Don’t do it. • Batteries. If you have e-waste,

• • • • • • •

take it to Reworks in Cuyahoga Falls. Check out their website at summitreworks.com Grass Garden hoses Used makeup containers Needles Dirty pizza boxes Styrofoam Your kid’s crayons

REMEMBER: Make sure everything you recycle is clean and dry. Happy recycling, Akron. // Noor Hindi is The Devil Strip’s Senior Reporter. Contact her at noor@thedevilstrip.com. For more information about recycling, please visit the City of Akron Recycling Collection Division website at akronohio.gov/cms/ public_works/recycling/index.html

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University of Akron’s

ESPORTS

PROGRAM

UA’s program has varsity teams in the games Rocket League, Overwatch, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone and League of Legends. There are also club teams, which play a wider range of games, and a recreational program for players not looking to play competitively. The university is also offering scholarships of up to $5,000 for varsity players.

thought about making that a component of communications courses. We could have courses on the business of esports… and maybe we could have a course on video game law.” But not everyone is so enthusiastic about esports.

The new facilities reportedly cost UA roughly $750,000. In August, UA announced The University of Akron’s administration that it would be cutting took the lead in creating the program — 80 “underperforming” a move that even Michael Fay, Jr., UA’s esports program director, found surprising. programs, about 20 percent of the degrees Former UA President Matthew Wilson by Erik Svensson pushed the initiative, and Fay was hired to currently offered serving about 5 percent of the direct the program in January. student body. In addition, Fay had coached amateur Canadian teams the university announced in June that it For generations, parents have said that is operating on a $16 million deficit this in League of Legends and has followed video games will rot the brain. fiscal year. esports since he was a teen. He says he But at the University of Akron and dozens was surprised by the university’s initiative In August, members of the American to create its own program. of other universities nationwide, video Association of University Professors based games could win students a scholarship. in Ohio sent a letter to the University of “Usually it’s an active student group that Akron’s administration, criticizing what has been competing as a club team or In December 2017, the university they felt to be a lack of care for education. informal group, and then they advocate announced plans to create an esports to the administration for official support,” program that would “mirror traditional “It is as though you are saying: Well, we varsity athletics.” In the following months, says Fay. “But in this case it was actually are bored with education so let’s play the opposite.” the university built out its teams and games instead,” wrote John T. McNay, a coaching staffs and began constructing an professor at University of Cincinnati. Wilson explained that, while he was arena and other facilities. Players try out president, he was on the lookout for ways for teams, adhere to practice schedules, and are subject to academic oversight, the to distinguish the university. He discovered In addition, the local AAUP feels the esports at a university level and thought it resources allocated to the esports program university says. in comparison to academic programs is seemed like an exciting prospect. neglectful on the administration’s part. UA is not the only U.S. university building “I was taken aback by the esports industry facilities for esports teams. Western “There are programs that are really and what it had grown into,” said Michigan University unveiled its own struggling, and we’re being told to just Wilson. “It’s a billion-dollar industry, with esports arena on Oct. 5, 2018, the same deal with it. We’re not really putting day UA did. Ohio State University recently applications in the entertainment world, enough into academics,” says Pamela the sports world and the medical world. I announced plans to build one too. thought it would benefit us to be on Schulze, president of the Akron-AAUP’s executive committee and a professor this cutting edge.” in UA’s Child & Family Development department. Wilson believes that the program could be applied to a variety of Schulze says she has no problem with an academic programs. esports program as a concept, but feels “We found applications academically, that the investment in a new athletics and saw a whole host of things that program detracts from academics at the stuck out. One big part of esports is university. communications. A big aspect is not just playing, but viewership, and (we) “I think that people who are spending

money on education have a right to expect their money is actually going to education,” Schulze says. She adds, “The optics of the cuts being followed by the investment in this program, looks bad. Our primary focus

WRAPS ITS FIRST SEMESTER

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AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

should be spending money on things that directly benefit students right now.” However, student reaction to the opening of the facilities and the creation of the program are generally positive. During the spring 2018 semester, Fay recalls that roughly 1,100 students tried out for the chance to play video games competitively at a varsity level. Gage Pamer, a freshman at UA, decided to attend the university after trying out and getting a spot on the Blue varsity team for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. “I had thought about going to Akron, but I was going to go to Stark State because it would be cheaper, but finding out about the team really pushed me towards Akron.” Pamer is interested in esports photography and filmography and hopes to continue to be a part of the esports community after graduation. Cole Jones, a junior cybersecurity major and member of the Gold team for CounterStrike: Global Offensive was also drawn to the university by the esports program. Jones says he transferred to the University of Akron to participate in esports. According to Fay, students have begun to (continued on page 22)

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UNDERSTAND Who Bikes in Akron?

Bicycle Works, suggests, “If you want to do it cheaply… wear a light hat, bandana or scarf for your face, two long sleeve shirts, a light jacket, long underwear, any pants, wool socks, one-size-too-big Although she has heard plenty of complaints about the bike lanes from non- insulated boots, then mittens or any cyclists, she believes the change will be better accepted as the neighborhood adapts. (coninued from page 20) at its businesses whether on bike or foot.

University of Akron Esports (continued from page 21) attend matches as spectators, cheering on the competing teams. Fay believes the validation of support from the university, fans and independent companies has helped boost his team’s confidence.

this kind of gear,” says Matt Speidel, the student coach for the university's Counter Strike: Global Offensive team. “Having professional companies say ‘we like what you’re doing; we want to be a part of it’ legitimizes what we’re doing.”

Pictured left: Pete Smakula and Patti Himmel at Electric Pete's

Bike lanes have not necessarily been well received, however. After just six weeks, the city reversed Winning tournaments could be another its decision to install bike lanes source of revenue for the university. The “The difference in energy for the team on Exchange Street in Downtown Akron university claims in a fact sheet that in while they’re competing is really night because there was so much public outcry. professional esports, “top teams and and day,” says Fay. “From being alone in (It’s important to note that the new road individuals have made up to $10 million a room in front of a bunch of computers design on Exchange Street was meant to to being in front of a cheering crowd — it through prizes and scholarships.” be temporary anyway, to see how people does wonders for them.” reacted. Kenmore Boulevard’s redesign is Schulze notes that while she isn’t aware of not temporary.) In a match against an OSU team, Jones says every aspect of the program, it is unclear to her how the program plans to make the program’s arena was filled up by fans. Mike Reese relies on the Freedom Trail, money. which isn't open to cars at all, to commute from his home in Tallmadge to work in “We’ve played two matches in the arena, “I haven’t seen any evidence that it’s going downtown Akron. He bikes the 9-mile and both of them had a ton of people to attract revenue,” Schulze says. “It seems route two to four times a week in the supporting us. When OSU came to play from my standpoint from meetings I’ve winter. against us, we ran out of space.” attended that it’s just this cool thing that would get in the media a lot.” “I love getting some exercise in before The teams also have “partnerships” with work,” Mike says. “Seems to make me companies. Audio Technica supplied the more alert and energized for the day. team’s headsets, Gravity Gaming donated So far, UA’s esports teams have done well in their inaugural seasons. The Gold The commute home is a nice way to gaming PCs and consoles and Steelseries Rocket League team took third place in a de-stress.” gave the team keyboards, mouse pads Collegiate Rocket League Tournament this and mice. fall. Many teams have won most of their Audio-Technica is contributing money Casey Wiley bikes from Kenmore to his job matches in their first semester of play. for two $2,500 scholarships for one on Steels Corners Road in Cuyahoga Falls. varsity esports player and one audioEsports has created a new path for engineering student per year. According “My knees used to hurt from years spent students to consider at the University of to the university’s Office of Financial Aid, working on concrete floors,” he said. “I Akron. What happens at the next level the audio engineering scholarship will picked up cycling about 4 years ago and remains to be seen. be rewarded to students involved in the they don’t bother me anymore.” esports program as well. // Erik Svensson is a senior at Kent State For those just starting to bike in the University, where he studies journalism. “I think we’re very lucky that we have winter, Ryan Adams, owner of Dirty River

slightly big gloves with a light glove underneath.” Ben Brosius recommends studded tires. Studs are tiny metal pins resembling track spikes and are embedded into the rubber. He says, “they make a world of difference.” Deltrece Daniels commutes by bike from Twinsburg to Akron year-round. “For me, cycling for transportation is important,” Deltrece says, “and I try to use that form of transportation to commute to work, or anywhere, really, as much as possible. When winter comes here in Northeast Ohio, I still need to get to work, and for me, I still ride my bike.” Maybe commuters like Daniels seem overcommitted. But there’s something admirable about their refusal to let the cold weather stop them from getting to work the way they want to, no matter the weather. // Kyle Cochrun is a writer from Akron, Ohio who is currently enrolled in the NEOMFA program for creative writing.

THE TIME IS NOW TO LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT Every family needs a safe and stable home to build a secure financial future. United Way’s Housing Services coordinates access to housing for individuals and families who are homeless or facing eviction.

Find out more at uwsummit.org/housing 22

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UNITED WAY BOLD GOALS by 2025

GOAL 3: Financially empower 11,000 people. uwsummit.org/boldgoals

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applaud

24 ILLSTYLE ROCKERS ‘LIVE THE CULTURE’ 25 LOCAL METAL STARS REUNITE AT MUSICA

AKRON'S MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

“It's more than just playing an instrument”

26 BEHIND THE BAR to look up to me. I don't show myself to be anything other than positive on social media and everything else. I refuse to because I don't think that's what needs to be seen right now. Especially being an African-American male in our community, I think it's important for us to be seen in a positive light. That's what I'm most proud about.

wanted to sit down and be like “man, this sucks, I don’t know if life will ever be the same,” or make a decision to do the things that will make me the best person I can be. So, I made that choice. And from doing that, I just embraced music.

And I realize that music started to be a different thing for me at that time. It came naturally all the time for me in performing and learning music, but NH: What’s the biggest challenge around the age of 16 until now, I started you’ve faced growing up in Akron? KB: When I was in sixth grade, I remember to have conversations with myself and talk I was in my history class and I was writing through music. That's when things started down a list of things I wanted to do. I was to get a little weird, I guess, but exciting, like “I want to play every venue in Akron.” because now I'm loving this. I was loving it before, but now other people were loving And I thought this was going to take like it too because they can connect with me 40 years. I thought it was going to take and see what's being conveyed. That's a whole lifetime to accomplish. I said I what propelled me. wanted to headline my own show at the Civic, I wanted to play with the [Akron] Symphony, I wanted to play at E.J. Thomas NH: What is it about music that you love? [Performing Arts Hall]. I was thinking this stuff was going to take forever. But if you KB: I think music is the vehicle right now that was given to me by the man above had told me that I would have done it before high school, I would have been like that allows me to enter into those different avenues. I don't really know why music, “What? That crazy.” honestly. It was an idea my mom had So, it didn't make sense to me at the time, when she saw an advertisement when I but now I'm grateful to have achieved that was 8 years old, and I said I'd give it a shot, and I gave it a shot. It wasn't something stuff through hard work and dedication I caught onto at first but in the situation to the craft. I realize now in order for me to really grow and really make something I was in, it was constantly there for me. Overall, it could have been anything. It and do some special things with music, I Join him on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 5 pm at have to change location to a larger market could have been sports, that was definitely words by Noor Hindi, photos by Shane Tangier for a premiere of Kofi: Made in Wynn (used with permission) something I had a passion to do, especially that allows for opportunity. Akron, a short documentary created by in high school. But ultimately it came Pritt Entertainment Group. f you’ve listened to 19-year-old Kofi down to, “how can I impact people, and And Akron’s amazing. I've learned Boakye’s music, you already know he’s how can I convey what makes me most everything I know from this city. But it's In the meantime, meet Kofi. incredibly talented. At 15, Kofi was excited in life right now?” something about taking that work ethic the youngest African-American pianist to and applying it to a larger market and Noor Hindi: What are you most ever be accepted into a collegiate-level Music is my life. It's now ingrained in then being able to come back and say jazz program at UA. He was the first teen excited about? everything I do. It's a source of self“hey, Akron, this is what you created.” Kofi Boakye: What is there not to be pianist to ever headline a show at Akron confidence I have. It's a source of being That's a prideful thing. excited about? I've always dreamed of Civic Theatre. A graduate of Akron Early able to do so many different things, that school. Now that I've kind of had College, Kofi is currently attending the because music has allowed me to be in NH: Can you describe that moment my interest in music be my focal point, University of Akron. so many different rooms and meet so where music clicked with you and it's been super important to find a way many different people. It's more than just you realized this was something you to make something out of this. Berklee is But he’s just getting started on his big playing an instrument. wanted to do? kind of just the next step for me. It's kind KB: It clicked with me early on, but it only dreams. of like the Golden State Warriors. If you NH: What does it mean to you to really solidified just recently. When I was put me around some of the best people Kofi was accepted into the prestigious finally be able to achieve your a sophomore in high school, my cousin in the world that play at the highest level Berklee College of Music for the fall of dreams? passed away. He was playing a game of 2019. To afford tuition, housing and living and want to be great every day, how could basketball and his heart stopped and he KB: I guess because I'm living in the you not be motivated? expenses in Boston, Kofi has teamed moment and experiencing this, I don't fell on the ground and went into cardiac up with Getta Kutuchief (Outreach know what it feels like. I still feel like I arrest. We didn't even know he had a NH: What’s been your biggest and Education Coordinator at Summit have a lot of work to do. From an outside problem. So he died suddenly that day. accomplishment in Akron? County Juvenile Court) and Nicole Mullet perspective, it might seem like “oh, he That was the last day of my sophomore KB: I think I've been able to build a (Executive Director of ArtsNow) to doesn't need much help or he's doing year of high school, and then from that platform that allows a lot of kids my age raise money. (continued on page 24) day on, I had a choice of whether I

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1 /

THE Devil Strip |

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BEHIND THE BAR:

BARMACY BAR AND GRILLE

A PRESCRIPTION FOR A GOOD TIME by Allyson Smith

Still Rocking After 25 Years ILLSTYLE ROCKERS KEEP MAKING THEIR MARK ON HIP-HOP a battle rapper. From there, Bobby Blaze would go on to win The Rumble In The t all started in 1993, when Forrest Getem Bronx B-Boy battle in New York. Gump and Dre Live met at Pocket Town recording studio in West Akron — which We also can’t forget about the appearances they have made at The no longer exists today — and began to Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland as engage in B-Boy activity together, like educators of The Culture, doing shows breakdancing. Gump was living in New with LL Cool J, as well as being part York and a part of the legendary Rock of Zulu Nation and Rock Steady Crew Steady B-Boy crew. anniversary parties. But he would occasionally come to Akron to visit his grandmother. That led to Gump By 1998, Dre Live and Bobby Blaze linking up with Dre Live along with Bobby would make an appearance in Kid Rock’s Blaze, Dome FX and the late Kuba and DJ Welcome To The Party video. Gump hit the Besto (RIP) to form Illstyle Rockers around streets of Detroit to hang with the local B-Boys. 1994.

by Jimmy Smooth

Through the mid to late 90s, Illstyle Rockers would make their mark on the hip-hop scene within Akron as well as outside it. By ‘95, they had their first B-Boy show/party at Annabell’s, which led to their first annual Xmas Jam in ‘96. The Xmas Jam is still rocking to this day.

Although the term B-Boy was created by mainstream media, Illstyle Rockers have lived up to what being a B-Boy is all about, from breaking to getting busy on the ones and twos. Most importantly, being a B-Boy is about having the courage to keep pushing a very important part of the culture forward, even though it may not be as popular today as trap or drill music.

1996 was a big year for the crew, because they won one of the biggest B-Boy Forrest Getem Gump, Dre Live, Bobby battles in the country at Scribble Jam in Cincinnati. One of these events was where Blaze, and the latest members added to the crew, Suave and Magic, are still rapper Eminem got his breakthrough as

Kofi Boakye (continued from page 23) everything, he's on the right path,” but I hold a lot of responsibility on myself to be as great as I can be. I wake up every day and think, “how can I be better today than I was yesterday?” I'm addicted to the process of wanting to be great in whatever field, whether it's music or entrepreneurship or any type of endeavor. I just want to try and be excellent in it. // Noor Hindi is The Devil Strip's Senior Reporter. Contact: Noor@thedevilstrip.

More information about Kofi is available at kofibmusic.com. Tax-exempt donations are accepted on the website as well.

Kofi Boakye: Made in Akron Thursday, January 31 5 – 8pm The Tangier Restaurant & Cabaret: 532 West Market Street

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rocking today, 25 years later. They’re still sharing stories — like the time when Forrest called out M.C. Hammer on the last episode of Yo MTV Raps and Hammer didn’t want any smoke — and creating more stories to tell. When it comes to hip-hop culture, you have some people who enjoy it and then you have some that live it. If anyone in Akron is having a conversation about people who live hip-hop and Illstyle Rockers don’t come up, in my opinion, you are out of line. When I think about people who I consider to be living hip-hop, it’s all in the way you talk, the slang, the rhythm of the way you walk. It’s the way you present yourself to the world.

“A place where you can get your medicine with no prescription,” says Walid Loutfi. What kind of business might he own? Is it a pharmacy? An underground apothecary? Or none of the above? Walid Loutfi owns one of the newer bars in Highland Square, BARMACY Bar and Grill, at 804 West Market Street. For Walid, owning bars is a part of the family business. His family members boast some familiar names in the Akron area, like Manny of Manny’s, Ray of Ray’s Pub, Mario Neemr, who owns Mr. Zub’s, The Matinee, and Cheese and Chong. He says the name and theme of his bar was heavily influenced by his family. He has several brothers and uncles who are doctors and medical professionals. “Everyone calls their bar after his name or after his last name or his name with a ‘pub’. I just wanted something different, and I came up with this idea to distinguish myself,” Walid says.

I asked Forrest if any of the younger cats that came after them wanted to be a part of Illstyle Rockers, would they open the books for them? He said, absolutely. That’s how we are going to keep the legacy going.

The drinks at BARMACY fit the theme. Walid says drinks called Viagra, birth control, Adderall and Prozac are the most popular. The bar also sells 65 craft beers.

// Jimmy Smooth is the former co-host of Hey Young World, an event planner and promoter and an Ohio Media School graduate.

After spending four years on Merriman Road in the Merriman Valley, Walid kept the name and theme, but decided to change locations to Highland Square. On Dec. 1, BARMACY celebrated its one-year anniversary in Highland Square. Walid’s “next big thing”, he says, is creating his own brewery. Few bars can say they brew their own beer. On the other hand, breweries aren’t particularly known for their cocktails and liquor selections. But if the new addition succeeds, BARMACY just might offer the best of both worlds. // Allyson Smith is a senior at the University of Akron, studying media production. She aims to incorporate her passions of traveling and drinking coffee into a prolific and fulfilling career in the media industry.

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Veterans of Akron’s Heavy Metal AR: Scene Join Y Forces for E One-NightN E Only Gig

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January 19 ConFunkShun

ach of Akron’s venues tends to draw in a certain crowd or highlight a specific music style. Whether still active or relics from Akron’s music past, these spots — even in name alone — evoke a rush of memories from attendees and performers alike. Annabell’s is notorious for loud, late shows rarely with a cover charge, while Musica is noted for bringing in larger touring bands and including local artists as openers. Larry Gargus, a veteran of Akron’s heavy metal scene in the 1990s, has assembled a lineup of bands often seen in grittier spots like Annabell’s and the now-defunct Lime Spider for a reunion show of sorts at Musica on Jan. 11. His current project, Persistent Aggressor, will join fellow Ohio metal bands Mortimur and goosed. Heavy instrumental trio Actual Form will flesh out the bill and bring the musicians’ reunion full circle.

man kept o e. On e-year

“I wanted to play a different venue for a change, but what we’re faced with is the reality that [some] people won’t pay to go see local bands,” Gargus says. “I’m all for free shows — I like playing at ‘bells — but shows that don’t start till 11, free or not, are a bit tiresome. Plus, we’re all adults with careers, and some of us have families, so there’s that.”

e her offee the

January 18 Vivian Green

by Brittany Nader

Gargus explains that while their audience is generally more inclined to stumble into a free show in a basement bar, he’s kicking this gig up a notch with a diverse lineup to cast a wider net among today’s local music crowd.

Concert Series

CATCH PERSISTENT AGGRESSOR, MORTIMUR, GOOSED AND ACTUAL FORM AT MUSICA ON JAN. 11

me. h e most beers.

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He explains the bands all have a colorful, tangled past with one another. Many of the players have been participating in each other’s projects and performing in local bands for decades. His current band, for example, is comprised of current or former members of Axioma, DeathCrawl, Night In, Abstraction, Don Austin, Soulless, Ascension and The UnHoly Three. He says each of the bands playing at the Jan. 11 show at Musica have played in multiple groups together in the Akron area since 1990. Gargus was in a band with members of Actual Form, whose lineup includes Ian Cummins on drums, James Haas on bass and Joshua Novak on guitar. He and his Persistent Aggressor bandmates were in another group with the members of Mortimur. Drummer Kenny Royer of Goosed hosts The Blackout Cookout at the Outpost in Kent each year, where he booked Actual Form.

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

2.3139 in x 12.75 in February 9

The Jersey Beat Band

A Tribute to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons “It’s all very complicated,” Gargus says. “Members of some of the bands have been playing some form of DIY music since then in either basements, VFW halls, YMCAs… basically whatever venue we could get into.” Gargus says each musician hitting the Musica stage is a veteran of the Lime Spider “era” in Akron, where the venue was a hot spot for up-and-coming indie bands. Where the stage once sat is now home to The Lockview’s dining area. Downtown Akron may have changed its façade in the last few decades, but bringing these players back to the old neighborhood will likely draw some familiar faces, along with a contemporary crowd that simply wants to hear some hard, fast and loud live music.

February 16 After 7

“Almost all of the bands playing have an intertwined history […] I'd say the median age is about 38 or 39,” Gargus says. “At any rate, there is a resurgence of heavier music in the area from old coots like myself.” Persistent Aggressor, Goosed, Mortimur and Actual Form will perform at Musica on Friday, Jan. 11 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10. Musica is located at 51 E. Market St. in downtown Akron. // Brittany Nader has been a professional writer and marketer in Akron for the last five years. Pictured above: Akron’s Persistent Aggressor and Actual Form, along with Mortimur from Columbus and Goosed from the Kent/Ravenna area, will fill Musica with heavy metal during a special performance Jan. 11. (Flyer art by Jason Luchka)

Banquets • Catering • Weddings 532 West Market Street Akron, OH 44303

(330) 376-7171 www.thetangier.com

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AKRON PIZZA TASK FORCE Pavona’s Pizza Joint by Laura Brink, Akron Pizza Task Force

he Akron Pizza Task Force is back, and our first visit was to Pavona’s Pizza Joint.

We had extremely high expectations going in. We could tell from the outside of the building that we would not be disappointed. The exterior was decorated with corn stalks for fall and had picnic tables on a patio. Inside, the restaurant is cozy. Wood is used throughout most of the interior: on the ceiling, the floor, the bar, and the tables. Employees were kind, attentive, and offered great suggestions. We ended up ordering a custom pizza (Sicilian sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, black olives, onions, and mushrooms), a meat hook (their premium "meat lovers" style), a buffalo chicken pizza, a regular cheese pizza, and a margherita pizza.

THE BRICKS THAT BUILD THIS BRICK-OVEN PIZZA CRUST: The crust at Pavona's is amazing: thin crust, a crispy base, and still slightly chewy. While the main part of the pizza has thin crust, the outer edges remain puffy and delicious. SAUCE: The traditional sauce at Pavona’s is a Sicilian. It is a smooth red sauce with the perfect amount of sweet with a slight kick of spice at the end. Pavona’s has a range of sauces, including garlic, ranch, and vodka cream. TOPPINGS: Pavona’s offers more than 20 toppings to choose from. They are very generous in their use of toppings. The pizzas are full of fresh ingredients, but not so heavy that they do not support themselves.

Sandy Sips

LOCK 15 BREWING CO. by Sandy Maxwell

elcome, fellow beer enthusiasts! I’m Sandy. I’ll confess to you up front that I aim for this column to be equal parts entertaining and informative, and if I manage to achieve at least one of the two, I’ll consider it a success. I’ve been in the service industry for more than 20 years and am currently a bartender in a craft beer/whiskey bar that also doubles as a retail beer store. Talk about a dream job! I’m a fervent adventurer when it comes to styles and flavors. But enough about me — let’s talk about beer! This month I had the pleasure of visiting Lock 15 Brewing Co. for the first time. It’s a very comfortable atmosphere, with the industrial feel of open ductwork, visible brewing equipment and an open kitchen. I visited on a busy Wednesday night. There were plenty of big screen TVs for

| THE Devil Strip / JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1

LEFTOVERS: The pizza did a decent job of reheating in a microwave after being stored in the fridge. It was not as crisp as when it was fresh, though, and the bottom of the pizza did not hold the toppings as well.

$$$: These pizzas were on the pricier side, with a small 10-inch pizza starting at $10 plus $1 per additional topping. The most expensive small specialty pizza is $16. Large pizzas (16 inches) are more expensive and cost $2 per additional topping.

THE FINAL SLICE

ATMOSPHERE: Our reviewers believe that the atmosphere and selection of beer make this place stand out. We highly recommend Pavona’s for a family dinner, night out with friends or even a date night. If you don’t have the desire or time to eat in, you can order online or over the phone for pickup.

PIZZA: Everyone in the Task Force agreed that the crust was perfectly balanced in taste and quality. The sauce was traditional and got great ratings from our reviewers. Everyone was at satisfied by the quantity of cheese. The quality and variety of toppings were great. But the reheat and leftover-ability of this pizza was just so-so. CHEESE PULL: The goal of a well-made pizza, in the Akron Pizza Task Force’s opinion, is a beautiful cheese pull. Let me tell you, this pizza has one of the best cheese pulls we’ve ever seen. Ooey-gooey strings of fresh mozzarella come streaming from the perfect slices. Needless to say, we enjoyed it. the sports fans. I counted 13 house taps and three guest taps. I inquired about the guest taps and learned they are always local. I tried a flight of four beers, each named for a piece of Akron history. Mustill Mild: An English style mild. Malt forward, without being too sweet. I was reminded of a roasty black tea. Sessionable and delicious. Old Brick Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat: Hazy and mild with a high carbonation giving it a soda-like feel. With flavors of chocolate, strawberry and banana, it was like a banana split in a glass! A good one for the novice beer drinker. Instigator IPA: Super piney aroma with a bitterness that seems higher than its claimed IBUs (80). Sorachi Ace and Citra hops lend this brew a tropical yet crisp hop flavor that finishes dry rather than juicy. Station 3 Habanero IPA: A lot of smoke flavor up front. Although it’s a summer seasonal, it transitions nicely into fall, with a feeling reminiscent of sitting by

RATING: Overall, the APTF gave Pavona’s Pizza Joint 9.67/10 slices. // THE APTF: Joni Allen, Adam Biats, Laura Brink, Michael Ciavarella, Alexis Cunningham, Gracie Davis, Umuhawa Kamara, Thomas Kellar, Paige Locy, Kaley Pedulla, Victoria Shaffer, Cole Shupe, Tyra Tolton and Qiana Washington. They are students at the University of Akron. Follow them on @AkronPizza.

a campfire. Slight notes of citrus come through but are mostly overwhelmed by smoke and heat from the habaneros. The food menu has plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options. The fried cauliflower was delicate in texture and flavor, accompanied by a simple but flavorful lemon-herb yogurt for dipping. The watermelon salad drizzled with balsamic and goat cheese was so tasty it made my eyes roll back in my head. I was set on trying the Nashville Hot Chicken but unfortunately I filled up on starters. The plate presentation was so beautiful that the whole experience felt more upscale than your average brewpub. I’ll surely be revisiting Lock 15 in the near future. Lock 15 Brewing Co. 21 West North Street Suite TL 1 Akron, OH 44304 // Sandy Maxwell is a shift supervisor at Lizardville Beer Store and Whiskey Bar in Copley. She loves beer, whiskey, kayaking and pretentiously complicated progressive metal.

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reflect

28 GOLDEN LEMONS, GRAY WINTER 29 ON THE STREETS 30 URINE LUCK

AKRON ESSAYS & HUMOR

Why I hiked every trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park words and photos by Melissa Safran

I’ve always been someone who craves big adventures.

you didn’t know existed, like the beautiful pine grove on the top of a big climb. It’s feeling super hardcore because you’re outside conquering big goals even though it’s raining or the trail is a sheet of ice. It’s seeing the sun pour through the perfect orange and red autumn leaves and feeling incredible gratitude that you chose to get up from your desk and not miss this. It’s in the experiences that aren’t exactly fun at And as someone who grew up in the time, but that you tell later with deep suburban Ohio, I’ve always known that joy and big laughs, like the time we chose big adventures don’t happen in Ohio. to do a freezing waist-high river crossing Obviously. Adventure is in the mountains out west or in trips to China. It’s in month- in November. long backpacking trips and cross-country These things didn’t happen in Colorado bike rides. or Peru or the Alps, or on a road trip or summer-long adventure. I experienced I love outdoor adventures for so many them all in the last three months — right reasons. It’s the feeling of being away here on the Buckeye trail, at Kendall Lake, from the hustle of normal daily life. It’s in Bedford Reservation, at the Everett in the people that you adventure with — spending three, four, five hours with dear Road Covered Bridge, and at Hampton Hills, all less than a 30-minute drive from friends walking and discussing every little my home in our very own Cuyahoga Valley thing that’s happening in our lives lately. National Park. It’s being the only one out there to feel dusk settling in around the lake. It’s really When I started this little project, I thought feeling your heart beat and the cool air setting a goal to hike every trail in the sting your lungs. It’s discovering places

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

park would just be motivation to be outside more and get some exercise. I’d been dealing with running injuries, and since I wasn’t going to be training for a marathon anytime soon, hiking seemed like a good way to keep moving. My goal of hiking every trail in the CVNP was all of those things. But much more than that, it was the big adventure that I thought I couldn’t have while also holding down a steady job, paying a mortgage, and staying close to family. It was a big adventure right in my own backyard, and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful. Plus, to be honest, there is something pretty nice about an adventure that ends with a hot shower and a good night of sleep in your own bed. I also love that hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley is such an accessible adventure. You don’t need any special gear or to request time off work. There’s no entry fee and it’s so close to where so many of us live. It’s something you can do alone, with a group of friends or with your kids. And yet it still has so many of the benefits of those “big”

adventures — time outside, away from the hustle, and beauty galore. Hiking every trail has helped me more fully appreciate and celebrate this unique place where we get to live instead of lamenting the fact that all the “big” adventures I’ve dreamed up are elsewhere. I encourage you to get outside and take on your own big adventure. Maybe for you that means hiking all 190-some miles of trails in the CVNP. (If you decide to try this, I recommend the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Trail Guide by the Cuyahoga Valley Trails Council — my main resource!). Or maybe it means hiking a trail in the Summit Metro Parks you’ve never visited, or walking a mile on the Towpath. Whatever challenge excites you, I’ll be cheering you on — because I see now that adventure comes in many forms, and it’s always worth it. // Melissa Safran is a project manager, wedding venue owner, and hiker of as many trails as possible.

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THE Devil Strip |

REFLECT

Golden Lemons can Chase Away Winter Blahs THE BENEFITS OF CULTIVATING YOUR OWN INDOOR OASIS by Alissa Danckaert Skovira When the last leaf falls, a familiar dread sets in. It starts in November, a month full of grim memories for me — memories of gazing out at the barren, dark world from my mom’s hospital window in the cancer ward. I guess the ugliness of the disease became fused with the season. As the days grow darker, I crave light and greenery. Months must pass before the first green shoots of spring thrust out of the ground. A favorite line of mine from Poe’s grieving poem “The Raven” reads, “Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December.” Bleak is exactly how I feel when winter approaches. Not that I don’t appreciate the beauty of snow, and the Christmas season brings it own light. But after Christmas decorations return to storage, those stark, skeleton trees and cloudy skies weigh heavily upon me.

The pith, the bitter white coating, is extremely thin, making it easy to slice and add to drinks and dishes without much work. The Meyer lemon tree can withstand some cold, though it’s best grown in a pot inside when temperatures drop into the 30s. If moved outdoors during warmer weather, keep an eye out for pests such as white fly. My lemon tree is happiest in my sunroom for three of our four seasons. The more light the better, with a minimum of eight hours for maximum growing and fruiting. Given our propensity towards gloom in the winter months, supplementing the sunlight with an inexpensive grow light is a good idea.

En Garde (continued from page 15) Then the sparring begins. The students pair off. The clashing blades produce a distinct “ting” as they thrust and parry back and forth. The interplay is intoxicating to watch. The action is lightning quick. The weapons flash and punch through the air with surprising intensity.

Kiraly stands back and oversees the activity in the room. After a few minutes, he suits And because our indoor air gets up and begins sparring individually with sight in the dead of winter. Before fruiting, dry, adding a little moisture to it makes the each student. Upon the conclusion of the lemon tree happy. (People benefit from the tree will sport exquisite white flowers initial volley, Kiraly gives the trainee praise this as well.) A humidifier or a pebble tray or gentle correction before they continue. that actually smell lemony. And then the And I’m not alone: For many people, the with a bit of water in it beneath the pot dread of winter is a tangible thing. Fewer small green balls start to form. The fourHe is firm but encouraging. works wonders. to 12-month wait for the fruit to ripen hours of daylight, the cold temperatures, and bare vegetation can exact a heavy toll feels like an eternity, but when it does, it’s “You have to practice every day,” Kiraly And the wonders do happen. Lemon an amazing sight. upon our moods. tells the students. “You have to build that trees can grow as tall as 10 feet, but their muscle memory.” Historically, the lemon has been cultivated growth is slow, and they begin bearing When I noticed one of my kids fruit while still fairly small. The rewards complaining about the weather constantly, for over 4,000 years, though its precise The students cycle in and out with the of watching the glossy, green leaves, the origin is up for debate. Some researchers I had an epiphany. That was how I instructor, sparring with one other in fragile-looking white flowers and the suggest it’s from Kashmir, north of India. sounded! Whiny. I’m sure my dark mood the meantime. Each listens keenly and developing lemons can’t be denied. followed me around like my own personal The first lemon seeds arrived in the new respectfully while he tutors them. world courtesy of Christopher Columbus. cloud. I had to do something. Those early lemon trees are distant cousins Cultivating your own green space From a closer observation angle, the indoors can help with those winter to our house lemon. For me, I knew my options were limited. interplay feels profound. It’s stiff, visceral… blahs. And studies indicate gardening Thoughts of moving to a warmer climate REAL. At no time is anyone injured, but is good for much more. According to Waiting for lemons to turn that glorious seemed so tempting, but my roots — my there is heat behind the interactions. The the BBC, a researcher studying longevity yellow hue is surely a lesson in patience. identity — are Midwestern. This is home. young students clearly tire as the session patterns in cultures, Dan Beuttner, And yet, it’s rewarding. Holding the goes on. There is an aerobic vigor to found an interesting and “unexpected ripened fruit in your palm, it’s easy to Having greenery around can help. In each burst of activity. If one showed up commonality” among societies where feel the density. The yellow seems more a 2016 Harvard study in the journal frustrated by life’s stresses, they will have people live the longest. They garden. They certainly exorcised it by the end of class. intense, the fragrance is tempting, and Environmental Health Perspectives, Dr. James Peter was surprised to discover the when cut, the lemon offers an abundance garden “well into old age—their 80s, 90s, and beyond.” of lemon juice perfect for making extent to which exposure to “high levels Eventually, the session comes to a lemonade, adding to tea or flavoring a of vegetation seem to be connected with conclusion. The students chat amiably There’s something magical about the multitude of dishes. improved mental health.” I tried visiting with one another as they pack their gear. enduring beauty of plants. My lemon tree a garden center. I felt a little better. But To grow a lemon tree successfully indoors, reminds me that beneath the snow, my I wanted to move into that greenhouse. Kiraly smiles as his pupils shuffle out, garden is only sleeping. Other plants have enriched by the class and elegance of a choosing a dwarf variety works best. The sight and smells of the vegetation joined my oasis, but the lemon tree is still bygone era. Citrus myeri, a Chinese variety which is a restored me. my favorite. cross between a lemon and a mandarin It was there that I spied a lemon tree with orange, offers the most promise, For more information about class times producing radiant three-inch lemons under // Alissa Danckaert-Skovira teaches sunny yellow fruit, and I knew then that and fees, visit www.KiralyFencing.com. writing at Kent State University. She has a the proper conditions. Most gardeners I wanted one. Actually, I needed one. I background in English and history, and she // Ted Lehr has been a freelance culture know this tree as Meyer’s Lemon or the picked out a plant in flower, and I took it enjoys anything and everything to do with critic for The Devil Strip since 2016. As Meyer lemon. Meyer lemons offer an home ready to create my own oasis. research and writing. Her interests include a boy, he fondly remembers watching intense flavor and a lot of sweetness, so historic preservation, politics, gardening, if you need more of a tart flavoring for a Growing lemons is an exercise in sensory Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone clash and all things Akron. recipe, you might want to avoid this one. delight. Shiny green foliage is a welcome swords during late night viewings of “The Adventures of Robin Hood.”

| THE Devil Strip / JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1

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REFLECT

On the Street

Faces of the homeless, previously homeless and those still struggling words and photo by Lisa Kane of Akron Snow Angels This story has a happy ending! Destiny is a sweet, pretty girl who just got into an apartment. She spent almost her entire pregnancy living in a tent. She already has one beautiful son, and gave birth to a brand new baby boy in November. Destiny is only 25 but has already lost both of her parents. She talked about how hard it is not to have either of them. But she is very grateful for what she does have. Her older son just turned five. She showed me the homemade cake she made him, decorated with candy. Like all proud moms, she showed off pictures of her boys to me. They are so sweet!

Lisa: Do you have any other family? Destiny: I have a sister, but we don’t really talk.

don’t last forever. I couldn’t just live in that Destiny: A secure place, with a roof tent forever. I was scared of where I would over your head. No worries. Being with your family. end up.

Lisa: Where did you sleep last night? Destiny: Now I sleep at my apartment! For a year I slept in a tent, though.

Lisa: What can people find you doing during the day? Destiny: Now, I’m taking care of my kids. Back when I was homeless I worked at the Second Chance Village. Everyone there had to work. I ran the laundry room a lot.

Lisa: So, you slept in the tent while you were pregnant? Destiny: Yes. Almost my entire pregnancy I was in the tent. I didn’t get into my apartment until the end of September and had my baby at the beginning of November.

Lisa: How many hours of sleep did you get a night? It had to be so uncomfortable being pregnant and sleeping in a tent! Age: 25 Hometown: Akron Destiny:It was a little uncomfortable, but I dealt with it. I actually slept pretty well. I think I just got used to it. I was in the tent from winter all the way through summer, Lisa: What is your occupation or fall, and back to winter. source of income? Destiny: Right now, nothing. I just had a Lisa: Were you warm in the winter? baby in November. Destiny: Yeah. I was here with my boyfriend and we had each other. We Lisa: Why don’t you have “a job”? Destiny: I’m in the process of getting one would just get under a bunch of blankets. It stayed pretty warm. Later Sage [Lewis, right now. who owns the land where Second Chance Village was set up] had people who Lisa: How long were you homeless? donated heaters. After that it was really Destiny: I’ve been in my new apartment warm in the tent. since the end of September. I technically became homeless in 2016, but I was Lisa: Did you usually have 3 meals jumping around staying with friends and a day? family. Where I was staying… [a long Destiny: Yes. A lot of people would bring pause]... it wasn’t a good place to stay, food here [to Second Chance Village] and but I did. I had nowhere else to go. I Sage had the food bank stuff. would just stay here and there. I finally came to Second Chance Village. I lived Lisa: Did you feel safe? here for almost a year. Destiny:Yes, but I was with my man too. Lisa: What lead you to homelessness? Lisa: What is your biggest fear? Destiny: Well, I lived with my mom Destiny: Well, when I was homeless and she passed away. I ended up with nowhere to live. My dad had passed away it was not knowing if I was ever going to come out of this — not knowing if I in 2010. I ended up homeless. would ever have a real home again. Things

Meet Destiny ....................................................

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Lisa: What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this week? Destiny: Making snow angels with my son. Lisa: How about the worst? Destiny: (laughing) Waiting in the freezing cold for an hour to catch the Saturday bus!

Lisa: What were some of your daily struggles being homeless? Destiny: Getting places was always hard. I Lisa: Is there anything that you really had it a lot easier at Second Chance. need right now? Destiny: Well, I can always use clothes in Lisa: What do you feel is the hardest different sizes for my baby. What I would thing about being homeless? Destiny: I was okay. I had a roof over my really love to have is toys for my 5-year-old head, the tent. I had food in my mouth. It son. He doesn’t have that many toys for his room. I can always use clothes for him, could be a lot worse. Before I was in the too. Even hand-me-downs, if they are in tent, it was really hard being out on the good condition, he could use them. streets, not knowing if you’re going to get hurt or attacked, not knowing what’s Lisa: Is there anything else you want going to happen to you. It’s really scary. people to know about you, or about being homeless? Lisa: What do you feel are the leading Destiny: It doesn’t last forever. You just causes of homelessness in Akron? have to go out and do what you need to Destiny: There are lots of reasons for do. There are places that can help you. homelessness. Sometimes it’s addiction. Sometimes it’s mental illness. Some people You just have to make the effort to go look for it. Sign up for everything you can. are homeless because they’ve lost their Have faith and pray. There is a Lord above. jobs. There are a lot of ways to end up homeless. Lisa: How do you think people who have never actually spoken to homeless people view them? Destiny: Like they’re nothing. Most people who don’t talk to you treat you like you’re nothing. Lisa: Do most people show you kindness or treat you rudely? Destiny: Both. Most people were nice to me, but there are a lot that are rude and just mean to you. Lisa: What does the word “home” mean to you?

// Lisa Kane has been on the board of the Akron Snow Angels for several years and frequently meet and talks to the homeless community in Akron.

Akron Snow Angels are a volunteer-run charity whose mission is to “Spread the Warmth.” Volunteers help the most vulnerable in the Akron area by providing basic essentials like hats and coats, along with fostering compassionate friendships. If you would like to learn more, or donate to Destiny and her boys, visit akronsnowangels.com

JANUARY 2019 • VOL 5 • ISSUE #1 /

THE Devil Strip |

REFLECT

Urine Luck

COPLEY COFFEE & GAMES AND THE NORTHSIDE MARKETPLACE words and photos by Emily Dressler and Marissa Marangoni

COPLEY COFFEE & GAMES by Marissa Marangoni

s a resident of Copley Township, I’ve passed through the charming Copley Circle at least once every other day for the last 10 years. And, at least every other day for the last 10 years while passing through the Circle, I’ve thought, “Gee, it would be nice to have some food and drinks here.” Little did I know my decade-long dream would become a reality this winter. I’m not saying I have a powerful mind, but I’m just pointing out that my persistent wish might’ve helped get Copley Coffee & Games started.

NORTHSIDE MARKETPLACE by Emily Dressler

have already reviewed the bathrooms at Northside Marketplace, but it was when the space first opened and I don’t think it had found its groove yet. Fortunately, the Northside Marketplace had another grand opening of sorts before the end of December. A sandwich place called Nomz, a bakery, and a Stray Dog outpost opened on the same day. Personally, I was just happy to stumble upon a sandwich right when I needed it. There are a lot of “best” things about the bathrooms at Northside Marketplace. The first best thing is the sign that has a stick person man, a stick person woman and a stick person alien. The sign reads

In a pizza-shopturned-coffeehangout, Copley Coffee boasts a rich selection of coffee (or so I am told; coffee shoots my anxiety through the roof, so I avoid it), fresh honey, cheeses, pastries, and other local goodies to satisfy all of your stomach needs. According to the website, a breakfast menu is coming, and I cannot wait to sit down and eat some bagels while perusing the rather large selection of books on the shelves. I’d say I can’t wait until I read a book in the Copley Coffee bathroom, but that’s gross, and no one should do that. Of course, I am the one who went in there

“Whatever, just wash your hands.” Gender-neutral bathrooms make the most sense. It is a joy to see men and women wait in line together. Especially the men. I sort of want to be like, “Hey, come here often to this bathroom line, or is it your first time waiting?”

feel crowded, but small enough to avoid wasting space. You can look at the fine Italian-style artwork on the walls while you do your thing, or you can try to count I took myself to the Copley Coffee crapper all the tiles. The only real problems in this bathroom are a) that the towel dispenser and was pleased to find black and white wasn’t dispensing towels, which I’m sure tiled floors, light pink painted walls, and is already resolved, and b) the line that all the workings of a typical bathroom will exist to use it if there is a crowd of in working order. Emily and I have great customers, which I suspect there will be. appreciation when a business considers the needs of women without a charge, I’m excited to see a new business on so the basket of pads and tampons on the Circle, and I’m even more excited to the bathroom wall delighted me. The recommend its facilities to you with a other true delight in this bathroom is the 4.5/5 toilet rating. This potty has old-world sign on the mirror that reads, “Warning: Reflections in this mirror may be distorted character with modern-day charm and by socially constructed ideas of ‘beauty.’” coffee and snacks aplenty. The vibe in this bathroom is something like “traditional Italian meets modern liberal,” which I think I have just invented. // Marissa has been writing about Akron bathrooms for the Devil Strip since 2015. The bathroom is just roomy enough to not with my phone and took pictures. But I have no way to avoid that. Give the people what they want and all that.

choice. The hand dryer is an intense hotair dryer, the kind that makes the skin on your hands ripple. Don’t think about the air dryer blowing all those germs around. Shhhh. The toilet works and seems normal enough for a toilet. It has a right-sided flusher, which is more of a commercial toilet thing rather than a residential toilet thing. I implore you to pay attention to this.

The last time I reviewed this bathroom, I came up with an idea for my own company. I think, having learned that you can get a small vendor booth at Northside for a decent price, I wanted to sell crocheted dolls that stand up over toilet paper rolls. Okay, universe, I am picking up your hints, and I will build them into a tremendously smart business empire.

The final best thing about this bathroom is what I found when I opened the babychanging table. I thought it looked low to the ground, so I wanted to check (I am a diligent reviewer). Inside, I saw that The second best thing about this someone had written “M + E” in magic bathroom is the two coat/bag hooks marker. This could be someone’s positive inside. Two! This just seems so thoughtful. self- affirmation, I guess. Or it could be that someone loves Urine Luck so much The last time I reviewed this bathroom, that they wrote our initials on a changing they had some watered down J.R. Watkins table. I didn’t do it, I promise. But I love it soap. Currently, they are rocking a sensor and I am pretending it stands for “Marissa Gojo soap dispenser. This is a much better plus Emily.”

The bathroom here pleases me. Northside is having a New Year’s Eve celebration. Perhaps I will spend the final minutes of 2018 in this bathroom, which earns 4.5/5 toilets.

Vintage Structures (continued from page 13) of fishing equipment in the world, with its high-quality reels, advanced rods, fish hooks and photo-luminescent (read: glow-in-the-dark) lures distributed and sold almost everywhere. The company owned hundreds of patents and was celebrated as a world leader. The company’s vintage casting reels can still demand high prices on eBay.

// Emily Dressler has been writing about Akron toilets for the Devil Strip since 2015. She has been enjoying them for eternity.

is rented by small business and a non-profit agency. The structure looks solid and serious, with its handsome red brick exterior and cut stone found both in the foundation and in the bold Romanesque arches on the Bluff Street façade. Its castle-like tower still stands as a proud but lonely sentinel, reminding us of an important part of Akron’s pre-rubber industrial boom. Pictured left: Rear of the building (Photo: Charlotte Gintert/

Sadly, the company was sold and relocated out of Akron years ago.

Captured Glimpses)

// Mark Schweitzer is a word alchemist, a lover of things Head up Bluff Street now and the lonely, ancient old and forgotten, and a lifelong Akronite. Charlotte industrial building sits at the end of the road, kept Gintert is an archaeologist and a photographer, whose company by some vacant lots and a handful of hundred- work you can find at www.capturedglimpses.com or on year-old houses. Some space in the three-story building @capturedglimpses.

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