The Devil Strip December 2020 by The Devil Strip

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12 · thedevilstrip.com

PAGE 6: Sanabel Bakery still feeding south akron after 28 years

PAGE 10: New North Hill shop sells local art and handmade goods

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PAGE 18: New murals brighten Lock 3 and Lock 4 downtown

WE CAN’T SHOW YOU any more of

THIS PAINTING. FEATURED IN PROMINENT EXHIBITIONS AT T HE T U R N O F T H E LAST CEN T U RY. You can only see it until March 7. When you do, you’ll never forget it. Dancing in the Light is an original exhibition of outstanding American Impressionist oil and watercolor paintings, capturing the brilliant effects of light and color in everyday scenes. Many of these paintings are rarely exhibited anywhere — because they’re in private collections. See renowned masters such as Robert Blum, Ralph Curtis, Childe Hassam, Edward Potthast, John Singer Sargent and more. All too vivid … too spirited … too important to try to describe.

Ca d'Oro, Venice, 1889 by Robert Blum. Rarely exhibited, this memorable cityscape beautifully captures the sun-filled majesty of Venice.

C A N T O NA R T. O R G

T h i s e x h i b i t i o n i s p r e s e n t e d w i t h g e n e r o u s s u p p o r t i n p a r t f r o m ...

SEE DOWNTOWN CANTON IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT! An animated, immersive light show exhibition presented by ArtsinStark and Visit Canton Coming this January – February 2021 • GET ENLIGHTENED AT CANTONLIGHTFESTIVAL.COM

O N L Y A T C M A and O N L Y I F Y O U GET TIMED-ENTRY TICK ETS

IN THIS ISSUE Akron News, Art & Culture:

Summit Artspace 140 East Market Street Akron, Ohio 44308 Board of Directors: Philathia Bolton, April Couch, Emily Dressler, Sharetta Howze, Rita Kelly Madick, Dominic Moore-Dunson, Bhakta Rizal, Hillary Stewart, Audrey Worthington directors@thedevilstrip.com

Publisher: Chris Horne chris@thedevilstrip.com Editor-in-Chief: Rosalie Murphy rosalie@thedevilstrip.com Audience Development Director: Floco Torres floco@thedevilstrip.com

Membership Director: Jessica Goldbourn jessica@thedevilstrip.com Reporters: Public Health: H.L. Comeriato HL@thedevilstrip.com Equity and Inclusion: Noor Hindi noor@thedevilstrip.com Economic Development: Abbey Marshall abbey@thedevilstrip.com

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Digital Manager: Sonia Potter sonia@thedevilstrip.com Art Director: Chris Harvey harvey@thedevilstrip.com

Essays, Humor & Creativity:

Client Solutions: Director: Anna Adelman anna@thedevilstrip.com Assistant: Allyson Smith allyson@thedevilstrip.com Distribution Manager: Derek Kreider derek@thedevilstrip.com

27 SOBER CHRONICLES 28 CROOKED RIVER REFLECTIONS 29 UNENCRYPTED 30 DEVIL STRIP DISPORT

Family Editor: Megan Combs family@thedevilstrip.com

Want to help make The Devil Strip? Write to rosalie@thedevilstrip.com. Find us online: www.thedevilstrip.com Facebook: facebook.com/thedevilstrip Twitter: @akrondevilstrip Instagram: @thedevilstrip

Copy Editors: Megan Combs, Dave Daly, Emily Dressler, Shannon Farrell Freelance Contributors: Emily Anderson, Angie Agnoni, Nahla Bendefaa, Debra Calhoun, Julie Ciotola, Kyle Cochrun, Lauren Dangel, Zaïré Talon Daniels, Nic deCourville, Ace Epps, Ken Evans, Charlotte Gintert, Aja Hannah, Charlee Harris, Matthew Hogan, Jillian Holness, Todd Jakubisin, Jamie Keaton, Laura Lakins, Ted Lehr, Marissa Marangoni, Sandy Maxwell, Brandon Meola, Vanessa Michelle, Yoly Miller, Brittany Nader, John Nicholas, Brynne Olsen, Susan Pappas, Ilenia Pezzaniti, Arrye Rosser, Mark Schweitzer, Marc Lee Shannon, Allyson Smith, Karla Tipton, Paul Treen, Steve Van Auken, Pat Worden.

5 SANABEL BAKERY STILL FEEDING SOUTH AKRON AFTER 28 YEARS 6 SHEENA’S PLATINUM MOVEMENTS IS MORE THAN A DANCE STUDIO 8 VINTAGE STRUCTURES: 2020’S HISTORIC PRESERVATION WINS AND LOSSES 10 NOTIQUE OPENS IN NORTH HILL TO SELL LOCAL GOODS 11 MEGALAB, A SCREEN PRINTER AND COMMUNITY SPACE 13 MERRIMAN VALLEY RESIDENTS ORGANIZE TO PROTEST DEVELOPMENT 14 SAILOR DOOM FASHION 15 ADRIENNE SLANE 17 CRAFTED MEADERY 18 NEW MURALS GRACE LOCK 3 AND LOCK 4 19 DRAY EVANS, TATTOO ARTIST AND MURALIST 20 AKRON BROW BAR OPENS IN HIGHLAND SQUARE 23 HELL RAISERS: PROTECTING PARENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19 23 LOVE LETTERS FROM THE 1930S, PART FIVE

Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

Our Mission The Devil Strip connects Akronites to their neighbors, our city and a stronger sense of purpose by sharing stories about the people who make this place unique. The Devil Strip is published monthly by Random Family LLC. 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 2020 by Random Family LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials or other content. All editorial, advertising and business correspondence should be sent to the addresses listed above.

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

The Devil Strip |

On the Cover Publisher’s Note BY CHRIS HORNE

he Devil Strip may not survive the pandemic.

“She Walketh Veiled and Sleeping No Longer,” hand-cut collage on paper, is a 2020 work by Adrienne Slane. This work will be on view at the Emily Davis Gallery until Dec. 24. The gallery, which is located inside the Myers School of Art at the University of Akron, is open 10 am-5 pm Monday-Friday. Image used with permission from the Emily Davis Gallery.

What we believe 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 for 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 to live? 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 standing outside looking in or standing 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 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.

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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. PEOPLE OVER PROFITS. The local businesses, nonprofits and civic organizations 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 we don’t accept ads for national chains, things in large metros outside Summit County or businesses that profit from the exploitation of women. We are not a coat hanger for advertising. WE GET ONE SHOT AT LIFE, SO LET’S HAVE FUN. We want our readers to fall in love with Akron (again and again and again), to buck the temptation to only live vicariously through the people they follow online. One thing that makes art, dance, theatre, music, film, food, civic engagement, biking, hiking, and public space so great is that all these things can bring us together, helping us find new friends and have fun with the ones we already have. That makes us all a little happier. That’s what it’s all about.

What is a devil strip? The “devil strip” is the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street. The precise origins of the term are unknown, but it’s only used in Akron. Today, the devil strip is what connects residents to the city — its public space, its people and its challenges. The Devil Strip seeks to do the same thing.

I’ve known this since early April when it became apparent we couldn’t just wait out COVID-19 for a couple weeks then get back to normal. The money we had in the bank, almost entirely from grants, was more than enough runway to build our membership program as long as ad sales held steady. Spoiler: They didn’t. Heading into 2020, our challenge was to become the nation’s first local news organization to give its readers the power of ownership. Pioneering this new territory would be daunting enough without the complications of a pandemic and a recession, but we’re still fighting because we believe our work is crucial for Akron’s future. For one, the reality for local news is bad and getting worse. The outlets we grew up with have been shrinking for decades. Some have disappeared altogether because so many are now owned by companies that put shareholder profit ahead of public service. Local ownership matters. It matters even more when you, the reader, are an owner so you have a voice and a way to shape the story of this city. This year, thanks to our members, we hired three full-time reporters — Abbey Marshall, H.L. Comeriato and Noor Hindi — to investigate and report on economic development, public health and equity and inclusion. They’ve also collaborated on housing stories with journalists from the Beacon Journal, WKSU, WEWS, Your Voice Ohio and Reveal/The Center for Investigative Reporting. Like every city, Akron has challenges that are too big for any individual to tackle alone. We need more people to get involved, applying their time, talent and experience to tackle our problems and highlight our strengths. If The Devil Strip only reports what’s broken, we become just another obstacle.

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It isn’t enough to inform the public. We want to help more people care more about where they live and want to invest themselves in being part of the solution to our biggest problems. That’s why our work matters. The Devil Strip helps you understand Akron, find your people and make a difference. Our organization is cooperatively owned and governed by our readers and workers because they, like you, deserve the power to hold us accountable and the ability to get involved in the solution. Frankly, we cannot do this without you. About 15,000 people from all walks of life will get a copy of this issue, whether it’s delivered to their home or they pick it up for free at one of 250 locations. Some 25,000 people will read our stories online. None of them have to pay to get our journalism because we believe quality news and information is a public service. But to keep providing it, we need your help. If The Devil Strip is going to survive the pandemic, we need 1,000 Akronites to become active members. We’re a little more than halfway there with a month to go in the year. You can join for just $1 a month on the New To Town tier because we want everyone to have the ability to have a voice, a vote and the opportunity to get involved. But to get through this, we need at least 100 more True Believers and 200 more City Champs. When you join, you’re becoming part of a community of people who are committed to making Akron a better place to live. That means helping us figure out what membership in The Devil Strip should be and how, together, we can do more. The task is difficult. It isn’t for everyone. But it is urgent and necessary and yes, often even fun. To join us, go to thedevilstrip.com and click “Join the Co-op” or text us at 330-992-4AKR (4257) and we’ll set you up. // Chris Horne is the founder and publisher of The Devil Strip. thedevilstrip.com

News, ARTS & Culture

Journalism about Akron, by Akronties

Sanabel Bakery is a staple of Middle Eastern food SANABEL BAKERY CELEBRATES 17 YEARS OF SERVING AKRONITES LEBANESE CUISINE REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY JULIE CIOTOLA

or 17 years, Sanabel Middle East Bakery has served homemade, freshly baked cuisine with pride and devotion in South Akron. Though the establishment is now considered a staple by many, it took years of practice and learning to get to this point. “When I started, I really didn’t know much about business,” says Sanabel owner Norma Touma, who runs the bakery alongside two other employees. Touma, who was born in Lebanon, has lived in Ohio for 38 years. Eight years after moving to Akron, her husband died and she began work as a caterer from home while her two boys attended school.

“When both of my boys were in high school was when I decided to start the bakery,” she says. “I was 43 at the time and I knew it would be a lot of work. It was definitely a big step, but I knew I had to do something.” The next step was selecting the location, a tan brick building with ample space for customers to relax and enjoy warm spinach pies and crispy falafel. “This building has actually been a Middle Eastern bakery for at least 50 years,” Touma says. “But everyone does their own thing. So when I came, I had to do my own thing, too.” With the help of her sons and several close friends, Touma opened Sanabel and began the process of building a customer base, which she says was not easy. She relied on those closest to her to help her navigate the uncertainty. “It was challenging at first, especially since I didn’t even really know how to make bread, which is a huge part of the business,” she says. “It took a lot of learning, but I’m so thankful I took

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the chance.” At the core of Touma’s business philosophy is an emphasis on hard work and practice. When Sanabel first opened, she says, her only knowledge of cooking came from her mother and sister in their family kitchen. She had little familiarity with baking on such a large scale and devoted countless hours to expanding her skill set. “We just had to try and fail a lot and keep going,” she says. “So maybe the first time we’d try a new recipe, the food isn’t so good, we’d end up throwing it away. But then we try again, the next time it gets better, and that keeps you going until you get it just right. Nothing happens without hard work.” In March, when the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe and devastated many small businesses, Touma found herself once again challenged to think and adapt quickly. It was hard, she admits, to find a silver lining amid the chaos. “I thought ‘That’s it, I’m going to close,’” she says. “But we stuck

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

through it. I thought I couldn’t but my boys encouraged me, they said ‘Mom you can do it, you can be strong.’ Thank God for that.” In all her years of serving Akron fresh Middle Eastern food, Touma says the best part is the relationships she’s built in the community. Now, with both of her sons moved away, she says her loyal customers feel like family. “I have people who have come in since we opened 17 years ago,” she says. “And even those who move away, whenever they’re home visiting family, they always stop in to see me and to check in on me. It really feels like family.” Sanabel Middle East Bakery Tuesday-Saturday 11 am-3 pm 308 E South St., Akron 330-253-4505 // Julie Ciotola (she/her) is a journalist, runner and obsessive reader. She was born and raised in Akron and is eager to share stories about the people and places she cherishes most.

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Far Left: Sheena Mason stands in front of a wall in her studio adorned with signs her students made during the spring 2020 shutdown of businesses. Left: Josephine Price (left) hugs her core strengthening partner, Jordin Vaughn. Top Right: Sheena Mason times her students’ wall sit. Bottom Right: Chyan Rogers (right) finishes her dance across the studio. (Photos: Ilenia Pezzaniti)

time-out girl chats. They sit, we all sit. They talk about stuff and I tell them how it was when I was their age or what happened with me. So, they have that openness where they can talk to me about anything,” she says.

environment that’s back to the basics, and also a place where kids can be open and free,” she says. Sheena focuses on creating an inclusive environment, one where the focus is on dance and just being a kid. As a lifetime dancer, Sheena knows how much dance, at the root, can do for the soul. “It’s so freeing! And I think because I got it, like it was just something that I just loved early on,” she says. “It was never the costumes or any of that stuff. I never liked being on stage. I just liked being in the classroom,” she adds.

More than a dance studio REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY ILENIA PEZZANITI

hen Sheena Mason was a toddler, she was diagnosed with asthma. A doctor suggested that Sheena’s mom get her involved in physical activities. Sheena gravitated toward dance. With a studio just a few blocks down from her childhood home, Sheena kept adding different kinds of classes to her foot studies. “I haven’t stopped since,” she says. For the last seven years, Sheena has been the owner and instructor of Sheena’s Platinum Movements, a low-cost dance studio in West Akron that offers ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and musical theatre for ages 2 1/2 to adult. It was never Sheena’s dream to open her own studio, though she would end up finding her calling at

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the suggestion of a beloved family member. “My grandmother was taking tap from the city of Akron. And the place she was taking dance at needed a teacher. And she was like, ‘you should go and apply.’” Sheena ended up teaching at the recreation center for 10 years. Sheena knew she didn’t want to teach for anybody else, so she did her research and opened up her own place. Her business model, which is noncompetitive, is based on three pillars: Nurture. Empower. Provide. “I think dance has changed a lot. The focus is no longer on the technique or the style. It has a lot to do with sexualization and the costume and the bullying, the disorders that can come out of dance. I want this to be an environment that’s safe, an

Sheena’s high school dance instructor put a lot of emphasis on injury prevention and inclusivity, which inspired Sheena’s values. After Sheena opened her studio in 2013, she became certified in YPAD, or Youth Protection Advocates In Dance, which focuses on self-esteem, wellness in dance, social media, and how to prevent injuries, eating disorders, and sex trafficking. Her certification in YPAD has helped her navigate and diffuse situations that might otherwise go unnoticed or ignored. “Kids will come in and you’ll hear them say something about what happened in school, and how I can address that right away because it will get bigger,” she says. “It’s a way to protect my kids.” Along with a safe environment, Sheena’s space also provides students with mentorship. “I’m very nosy with my kids. So I always have an ear open for what they’re saying. That’s the kind of stuff I enjoy,” she says. Sheena loves hearing her students compliment and empower one another, and she looks out for those who are struggling. “We have these

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“I want to be more than a dance studio. I wanted it to be a comfortable place to do what you love. This is our thing, this is who we are,” she adds. Sheena’s physical presence also provides grounding in her student’s lives. Parents recognize that Sheena is a role model, especially as a Black woman in the dance community. “A lot of parents have said it’s rare to find a Black owner or dance teacher doing ballet and tap and jazz and modern. So, that’s another thing. I look different, I look like them. I’m open for any conversations that they have. I’ve been there. It’s openforum,” she says. On March 13 Sheena had to close due to COVID. For a month she and her student’s did Zoom classes, but those proved difficult for the kids to maintain focus. “It’s ‘Ms. Sheena, look at my cat. Look at what I can do!’ Or looking somewhere else when they should be looking into the camera,” she laughs. Instead of continuing with internet classes, Sheena decided her studio would take a break. She was able to reopen in early September with COVID precautions in place and class sizes cut in half. “Right now, we’re about 65% where we were last year, which is better than I thought we were going to be,” she says. Though Sheena is nervous about the endurance of her business during this pandemic, and has a failure plan, she finds relief in the relationships she has developed with her customers. “I have great dance families. I mean, they’re really, really supportive. I do not think I could have done this without them,” she says. At the beginning of the summer, Sheena visited every single student’s home, leaving a piece of candy and thedevilstrip.com

a note at everyone’s door that said “We’ll dance together soon!” The process helped her understand the devotion her families had to her studio, given some families were living up to 30 minutes away. “We care about each other. It’s a little family.” Sheena always knew dance was expensive. Her mom, who was a single parent, made it work. “She never cut my classes. She always added to it. I don’t know how it happened,” Sheena says. Now, she does a yearly fundraiser to keep costs low for struggling students and parents. “I want them to be able to dance and not have to worry about the cost of it. I give out a few scholarships a year. I just don’t want the parents to have to juggle, like paying for ‘this’ or going to dance,” she says. Platinum Movements is much of Sheena’s life. “I’m everything: the janitor, the manager, the teacher, the choreographer,” she says. “I have to say, I really don’t feel like this is a job. It’s not work. So I’m OK with it.” That’s not to say it’s easy wearing all the hats. As an entrepreneur, Sheena has found it can be difficult

to distinguish the line where business ends and life begins. “I am the reason. Instead of going on that date, or calling the person, or whatever, I’d rather just come here and be here at 8 o’clock at night on a Thursday or Friday. I put that stuff in front of [my personal life] and I need to stop doing that,” she reflects. Outside of studio life, Sheena likes to relax and shop, spend time with family and friends, and travel, though now these pleasures have been greatly reduced due to COVID and her responsibility as a business owner and to her students. Though Sheena receives most of her joy from her role and her “babies,” as she affectionately calls her students, she is looking forward to giving her personal life more space in 2021. Instead of taking an early morning phone call or immediately responding to an email, Sheena plans on honoring new boundaries. “I told myself this next year I was gonna let things wait, because they can,” she says. // Ilenia Pezzaniti is a multimedia storyteller and artist living in Highland Square.

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SAVING AKRON’S PAST: THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY OF 2020 WRITING BY MARK SCHWEITZER, PHOTOS BY CHARLOTTE GINTERT

ach month, we highlight an example of Akron’s historic architecture and share a little on how each building tells its own story about Akron’s past. From private houses on quiet streets to proud urban landmarks to the occasional ramshackle ruin-in-the-making, it’s fun for our team to find, research, profile and photograph these local treasures. While we usually expect the building to be the star of each installment, sometimes it’s the story of the builder, resident or company that created the building that makes it especially notable. These structures tell the story of Akron — how the city developed, what its residents thought, and how industry, society and economics changed it. While there have been some positive developments in the rehabilitation, renewal and reuse of historic buildings in 2020, Akron continues to lose significant historic structures to development, neglect or lack of funding for preservation. While there is clearly interest in protecting

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and discovering new uses for old buildings, there is no centralized effort to catalog, prioritize and develop a strategic plan to make it happen. The Good News Fortunately, you don’t have to look far to see some great examples of historic preservation taking place in Akron right now. Main Street’s Bowery Project, The 159 (Law Building) across the street and the BLU-tique Hotel have managed to carry on right through the Main Street redevelopment and COVID-19 crisis. The CitiCenter Building will soon follow. All these projects have maintained their historic character while being transformed for contemporary living. The work at Lock 4 in particular has created a bold public space that’s highlighted by the canal, the transformed “backside” of the old Main Street buildings, and the addition of beautiful large-scale murals. The keys to making all these projects happen are the historic tax credits developers receive when they adhere to approved historic preservation standards. These credits have encouraged developers to invest in repurposing historic buildings. The

159 received $2.4 million in credits for its estimated $25 million project. Similar tax credit deals have been in place for the other downtown developments. Tax credits and grants can be critical in smaller-scale projects, too. One of the other bright spots during 2020 was the announcement that the Summit County Land Bank had acquired the former John S. Knight home on Portage Path near Five Points. Previously profiled in The Devil Strip, the six-bedroom, English Arts-and-Crafts style stucco home is on track to be fully restored and renewed as office space for the Land Bank. A grant from the Knight Foundation will go a long way toward making this extensive restoration job possible. “The house had been neglected for years, and you can see that there’s a lot of work to be done,” says Patrick Bravo, the Land Bank’s executive director. “We’ll maintain as much of the historic character as possible. A few elements, like the windows, will have the historic look but with modern materials and performance. The good news is, we may be able to reuse the old ones as a design element in the offices.” Outside of downtown, some other preservation projects are in line for

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completion or commencement, and they will rely on historic tax credits, too. The Gateway Group is developing the old University Club on the University of Akron campus as The Martin House, a boutique hotel — a $19 million project receiving a $3.2 million tax credit. In the heart of Middlebury, the Robinson Mansion is still in mothballs, waiting for renovation work to begin, hopefully as soon as the economic crisis brought on by COVID-19 passes. On the neighborhood level, the Kenmore Boulevard Commercial Corridor was designated a National Register Historic District at the end of 2019. This was a positive move toward trying to maintain as much of the street’s historic appearance as possible. Throughout the city, neighborhood organizations now seem to be the primary drivers when it comes to preservation, aided by initiatives like Great Streets that help knit these efforts together with place-making, improved aesthetics and better urban design. All of these concepts are perfectly compatible with historic preservation. The Bad and The Ugly If you ask any lover of historic Akron buildings what hurt the most in 2020, thedevilstrip.com

Left page — Insert: The John S. Knight House on South Portage Path, which was purchased this year by the Summit County Land Bank and will be renovated. Main photo: Land Bank executive director Patrick Bravo in the building.

This page — Left above: The former Law Building at 159 S. Main St. is currently undergoing renovations. The ground floor will be available for retail or a restaurant. The upper floors will be apartments. Left below: The Bowery Project buildings on S. Main St. now have access to Lock 4. A stunning new mural by Los Angeles artists El Mac and Aiseborn is being completed on the rear wing of the Akron Civic Theatre. Center: The recently opened BLU-tique Hotel, which is located in the United Building at 1 S. Main St. Right above: The Landmark Building which is now remodeled for reuse for residential apartments and a ground floor retail space. Right below: The buildings undergoing remodeling for the Bowery Project on S. Main St. and Bowery St. (Photos: Charlotte Gintert/Captured Glimpses)

it would probably be the loss of the Werner office building on North Union Street. This incredible castlelike edifice was probably the grandest building left from Akron’s pre-rubber industrial era. Once the longtime commercial owners moved out, the building was left to deteriorate while any potential buyers were faced with a wholly unrealistic asking price. Suddenly, one day in early September, it was a pile of rubble. News reports said the building was in the way of the proposed replacement for the Route 8 southbound bridge ramp. But it surprised me that a construction project using public funds wouldn’t have at least triggered a demolition review for a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Federal funds cannot be used for demolition in such a case. However, the building’s owners could have demolished it themselves and then sold the property to the state. Likewise, anyone driving east on Market Street will pass the steelreinforced hulk of the old St. Paul’s Sunday School Building, which suffered a severe fire in 2018. While the sanctuary on the west side of the property is still in decent shape, the stone walls of the older building still wait for the University of Akron to decide its fate. A proposal to designate the St.

Paul’s building as a local landmark, which helps protect them, still sits as an “old business” item in the City’s Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission, of which I am a member. While the commission has strong feelings about historic preservation and lots of expertise, they are infrequently consulted on the subject. Case in point: No headsup was given on the demolition of the Werner Building. Historic Preservation in Your Neighborhood That said, things are better than they used to be, according to Akron City Councilmember Jeff Fusco, who heads City Council’s Planning Committee. He points out that today, the city is more open to working with and promoting nonprofit neighborhood development groups and letting them direct preservation efforts. There was a time, he says, when discussion of the subject was almost taboo. “To the city’s credit, the working relationship — at least in terms of our neighborhoods — is much better than it used to be,” he says. “Back in the day, planning directors used to push Community Block Development Grants [federal funds for urban improvements] into neighborhoods if residents wanted revitalization. This meant improving streets, water lines

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and sidewalks instead of pushing much in the way of preservation or place-making.” That sometimes also meant ignoring citizen pleas to save old buildings, or not supporting National Register applications, both seen as a barrier to development. I believe this is part of the reason why Akron lagged behind other cities in enjoying the benefits and tools offered by historic preservation. Look at 40-year-old images of city streetscapes and it’s easy to see — in some places, there’s just not much left. One benefit to all that previous infrastructure spending: Neighborhood revitalization can now focus on improving homes and other structures. Over the past few decades, many of Akron’s historic neighborhoods have had water lines replaced, sidewalks repaired and new street trees planted. “Those places are ready to go,” says Fusco. “Akron’s historic neighborhoods can focus on restoring the character of their homes, improving the sense of place, and bringing back a sense of community in the places where we live. The city has resources that are willing to help.”

program could be a big help here, though it seems to be skewed toward new construction. Reviewing the list of qualifying improvements, it’s hard to imagine that putting on a new roof, replacing downspouts, repairing walks, repairing porches and steps, remodeling a kitchen, replacing a hot water heater, rewiring and re-plumbing wouldn’t increase the value of your house. For those who can take advantage, the path to preserving your historic home can certainly become a little easier. Here in Akron, new structures will continue to go up, and sadly, some old favorites may come down. Same as it ever was. What will 2021 bring? Let’s get past 2020 first. // Mark Schweitzer is a lifelong Akron resident and proud of it. // Charlotte Gintert is an archaeologist and a photographer. Her favorite quarantine activities are concocting gourmet hot dog recipes and telling her cats repeatedly that they are the very best cats. You can check out her photos at www.capturedglimpses.com and follow her on Instagram at @ capturedglimpses.

Akron’s residential tax abatement

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‘NoTique’ to feature North Hill vendors showcasing cultures and products Above: Sima Arshadi with her handmade cold porcelain flowers and Persian desserts.

REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY ABBEY MARSHALL

ima Arshadi recalls the days growing up in Tehran that she spent with her mother, sculpting flowers that would never die. The technique — hours of mixing together the perfect concoction of ingredients for clay, molding and shaping cold porcelain into an iris or a rose, delicately painting details — was a Persian art form Sima cherished from a young age. Since moving to Akron in 2016 after years spent in Turkey as a refugee escaping religious persecution, Sima has shared both Turkish and Iranian cultures with her neighbors in North Hill. She sits at her kitchen table with friends over fresh-brewed saffron tea, bakes coconut-stuffed shirini nargili cookies for neighbors and posts photos on social media of her hyperrealistic flowers. Sima sold her art in Iran for weddings, birthdays and holiday celebrations. Now, she wants to take her passion for baking and art to the next professional level, but she doesn’t yet have the capital or the know-how to start her own business in the United States. The North Akron Community Development Corporation is launching a boutique to help Sima and other North Hill residents do just that. After much success with their first endeavor, a pop-up restaurant with a new rotating chef from the neighborhood each week, NACDC

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decided to launch a shop next door for artists to showcase their work. Like NoHi, NoTique will serve as a test-run for entrepreneurs who are curious about opening a permanent storefront. In addition to making and displaying their artwork, vendors will be paid for shifts spent checking out customers to get the full experience of working with point-of-sale systems. “We want to provide for both budding and established entrepreneurs,” says Justin Chenault, NACDC’s operating director. “We do have some vendors who have established Etsy pages, but aren’t selling their goods in North Hill. We also have some vendors who have never done this before and want to figure out how this works in hopes of having their own business someday.” The shop, located at 772 North Main St, will open on Nov. 27 and feature about 15 different vendors from North Hill selling everything from candles to jewelry to baked goods. The model is similar to that of Northside Marketplace in Downtown Akron, where sellers pay a rental fee for square footage to display their items, though NACDC Executive Director Katie Beck says NoTique is “more accessible” with lower costs for the artist. After two stints at NoHi, where Sima’s “Persian Taste” menu garnered lots of customers urging her to open her own restaurant, she is excited to give Akronites another taste of her culture, this time through her artwork. She plans to sell her cold porcelain flowers and funky

minimalist earrings, as well as an assortment of Turkish and Iranian cookies with gluten-free and sugarfree options.

commitment to support those groups aligns with our overall mission as an organization to provide racial and economic equity.”

“I hope I can make money to provide for my life and for my son, but I also want to help and give away money for the refugee people,” says Sima. “When I left Turkey for the U.S. [other refugees] were crying because they would miss me. I promised them I would help them someday. I was there; I know they have a hard time.”

North Hill is home to a robust immigrant and refugee population, as well as many longtime Black and Italian American families. NACDC’s goal is to bolster and empower those immigrants and residents of the neighborhood through economic development and programs like the NoTique.

Sima usually works as an interpreter at the International Institute of Akron, though work is slim with fewer refugees and immigrants coming to Akron during the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the earnings from NoTique will be a huge help to her family and future business plans of owning her own restaurant and shop. She also hopes to meet customers who will support her future endeavors.

“People can be limited in their vision because they don’t see people like them succeeding,” Justin says. “We want to be intentional about providing pathways to success. People in our community need to see what it looks like to succeed.”

“When you’re making art, you put your love inside,” she says. “When someone is wearing my jewelry, they love it. When I’m seeing their happy face, that makes me happy.” Though the vendors will rotate quarterly, Katie emphasized the importance of supporting businesses that have been marginalized, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve seen data and research showing women-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses have not gotten as much financial support during the pandemic,” she says. “Our

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NACDC is developing programming in tandem with the launch of the shop that will teach potential business owners fundamentals, such as how to take inventory and get a vendor’s license. “We really want to be a launching pad to help these minority and women entrepreneurs get off the ground,” Justin says. “We definitely want to uplift our community and the culture within our community. We want to show them their products and culture and goods have value, not just within North Hill, but within the city, county and Ohio at large.” // Abbey Marshall covers economic development for The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach her at abbey@thedevilstrip.com. thedevilstrip.com

Screen printer creates community space on Grant Street REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY EMILY ANDERSON

he worked two other jobs until his daughter was born in 2019.

obody was expecting a new business to open up shortly after the pandemic forced us all into lockdown, but there it was — a big red sign reading MEGA LAB LIMITED on the side of a brick building on Grant Street that appeared over the summer.

Baxter had clients and he had the equipment. What he needed was a workspace that didn’t expose his baby to chemicals. He found the perfect location to set up shop, at perhaps the least perfect time. In March, he got the keys to 530 Grant Street.

This is where Brian Baxter is turning his dreams of a creative community space into a reality.

Starting an event-based business right as all events were being canceled obviously presented some hurdles. One blessing, as Baxter put it, was that all his friends and family had lots of free time to help him renovate his new space. They scrubbed and painted every wall, discovered an extra 5 feet of height behind drop ceilings, and removed seven layers of linoleum from the floor. They completely transformed what had been a dusty storage area into an industrial-modern storefront and workshop.

Mega Lab Limited is a screen printing lab, a place where graphics are printed onto clothing. Silkscreen printing has been around for centuries, but it was Andy Warhol who made screen printing on fabric and canvas cool in the 1960s. Since then, screen printing has been an important part of pop culture. If you have any local band T-shirts in your closet from the last few decades, chances are they were screen printed. Baxter’s passion for screen printing started as an interest in stenciling on canvas in high school. As he got older, his friends began starting their own brands and businesses. Baxter saw a way he could help others with their goals and bought his first press. He made shirts in his basement while

The vibe inside the storefront is pure possibility — white walls with blank T-shirts in every color hanging around the room, ready to be printed on. The bright dyes displayed against the grey cement spark the imagination as soon as you walk in. Huge glass block windows flood the space with natural light, except for a closet in the back

Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

that works as a darkroom. There’s a drum set in the corner that you just know sounds killer in this space. The original idea for the lab was for it to be used by the community as a DIY and event space. “It will definitely still be a space for anyone to come to do anything,” Baxter says. “Come sell items in our showroom. Get your project started. Create. Hang out. Practice with your band. Have a show.” Obviously, those plans have had to go on hold for now. But as the stayat-home order dragged on, Mega Lab started a project called SLOHIO, which, “basically saved the business,” according to Baxter. The deal was this: Mega Lab provided the materials and labor to create shirts for local businesses; those businesses sold the shirts and kept half the profits for themselves. For businesses, this brought in revenue without any upfront cost. Today, most of Mega Lab Limited’s clients come from social media. Local bands, artists and neighborhood organizations are printing logos and hashtags on shirts. The best part about being a screen printer in Akron, according to Baxter, is, “seeing the passion in the people

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

behind the order. I get to see ideas become reality.” Baxter and his teammate, James Twigg, provide graphic design consultation as well as apparel production for their clients. Every item is designed, printed, cured and inspected by hand. Baxter and Twigg take pride in that personal touch, but they do not compromise on quality. The lab is squeaky clean. They use flatbed manual presses and Pantone ink. The Pantone system is a color blending system that comes with special software and matches each color with HTML code, ensuring that printed logos and designs will consistently have exactly the same hue as they do on screen. Baxter’s vision is one of inclusivity, collaboration, and opportunity in our community, so stop by the lab and check it out! You can see how everything works, share some ideas with the team or just say hi. Mega Lab Limited is open 10-6 MondaySaturday, and as an added bonus, it’s right across the street from Thirsty Dog Brewing Company. // Emily Anderson’s favorite Pantone color is 352 C.

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Photos: Merriman Valley residents rally to oppose housing development on Theiss Road on Nov. 7. (Photos: Abbey Marshall)

a bid in November, but Segedy told The Devil Strip the city will reopen the request for bids — this time for conservation proposals.

City will accept bids for conservation in the Merriman Valley after residents protest REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY ABBEY MARSHALL

une into any Monday night City Council meeting and you’ll hear demands for conservation in the Merriman Valley in the public comment section. Spread open local papers and you’ll find a letter penned to the editor opposing development in the Valley. And if you drove through the Valley on Nov. 7 and 14, you would have seen protesters standing along Merriman Road, with colorful signs demanding “no more development.” “There’s a huge groundswell in our community related to serial development in the Valley,” says Andrew Holland, a Cuyahoga Falls resident who lives in Merriman Valley and is working to oppose development on an Akron cityowned property for sale. “Our goal is to make the city see that development will benefit no one in our community.” Preserve the Valley mobilized when the city announced earlier this year that it would begin fielding bids for a 45-acre plot of woodlands along the border of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park at Theiss and Hardy roads. The Theiss Road plot received six bids. Five of those were from developers planning to spend tens of millions of dollars to create a new residential subdivision with 65 to 110 singlefamily homes, many of which would be priced between $200,000 and $300,000. If the city decides to sell the land to developers, Director of Planning and Urban Development Jason

Segedy notes that it could push Akron toward city officials’ goal of 250,000 residents by 2050. Segedy says a diverse housing market could offer competitive alternatives to the suburbs. Though Merriman Valley is split between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, the Theiss Road property falls within Akron, meaning the homes built would be eligible for the city’s property tax abatement program. That program is also attractive to homeowners looking to move into the city. “Looking to grow our own population, this is an area that could be desirable for people to live in,” Segedy says, citing the neighborhood’s proximity to the national park, Blossom Music Center and other amenities. “In our overall plans to grow this city, we want to create many different environments for people to live in, whether that’s in an apartment downtown or living in a subdivision on the edge of the city in an area like this.” The sixth bidder, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, offered the city at least $361,520 — the city’s minimum asking price — to conserve the plot of land. Residents urged the city to accept that bid in lieu of development. “It’s not just the cliche ‘developers versus people who hug trees,’” says Shelley Pearsall, a resident of Merriman Valley who started a petition that has garnered nearly 7,000 signatures in opposition to development. “Obviously, I’d like the green space preserved, but I think there’s opportunities for recreation and other benefits to the community.” The city originally planned to select

Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

“We’ve received very few comments from people who want the additional housing development [on Theiss Road],” says Shammas Malik, the city council member who represents Ward 8, which includes parts of the Merriman Valley. “It is notable that people really do talk about the need for preservation of green space, and that fits in with the character of the Valley.” The decision to reopen bids was in part due to residents’ demands and organizing in recent months, but Segedy says the city was intrigued when the Western Reserve Land Conservancy bid for the land. Mayor Dan Horrigan, who gets to make a recommendation to the planning commission before the deal heads to City Council for approval, may still opt to sell the land to a developer or not sell it at all. Some residents and visitors want to see the area untouched and are urging the city to seriously consider conservation bids. “The river, the valley — those aren’t ours. Those are for the ages. They’re ours to protect, not ours to exploit,” said Jodie M. Grasgreen, a Highland Square resident who frequents the Valley and organizes with the Preserve the Valley group. “I understand the money issue, but there’s other ways to do it. I think we can grow and be economically viable without sacrificing and exploiting the gifts we have.” Segedy acknowledges the value of the area’s natural importance, saying the city would like to develop in tandem with the neighborhood’s resources. But he believes development in the neighborhood is inevitable.

Valley should be off limits, but many of those same people actually live in the Valley,” Segedy says. “There is a part of me that feels it’s a bit hypocritical that they’re living there and have stormwater runoff from their property and have preemptively reacted that no one else can live in the Valley.” Residents fought a similar battle in 2018 and 2019, when plots of land at Sourek Trail and the former Sycamore Valley Golf Course in Cuyahoga Falls were rezoned for residential development. Plans for those sites included more than 140 townhomes each. In addition, the site of the former Riverwood Golf Course in Akron is being considered for development pending approval for required rezoning. If approved, Petros Development Group plans to construct 197 residential townhome units on 78 acres of land. The city recently announced a joint effort between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls — the two municipalities that include parts of the Merriman Valley — to create a master plan for the neighborhood. The two cities plan on choosing a consultant to create a master plan at the end of the year and completing that plan by the end of 2021. The planning process will begin in early January. Segedy said he does not anticipate that a bidder will be selected for the Theiss Road property before then. “We need to have a plan and take a step back to look at the whole Valley,” Malik says. “The decisions we make now will last for decades and decades and decades, so we need to engage and listen to the folks there. Opening up Theiss Road for conservation bids is a good move and responsive to the community, but we have to continue to engage the public and make sure what happens fits into a greater plan.” // Abbey Marshall covers economic development for The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach her at abbey@thedevilstrip.com.

“There are people that think the

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

The Devil Strip

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Left: Timothy Baxter, owner of Sailor Doom Apparel, wears one of his creations. (Photo: Jillian Holness)

fit] you’re not going to return that for $3.99. You’re going to throw it away.” The 32-year-old also points out that most textiles used to create fast fashion items have plastic particles in them.

Upcycled clothing company Sailor Doom Apparel is on a mission to fight fast fashion REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY JILLIAN HOLNESS

very year, a new fashion trend emerges.

Edited, a retail data company, reported loungewear searches are up 855% this year compared to last year. But what will happen to our closets full of sweatpants and pajamas once the pandemic is over? Because let’s be real: No one really needs three months’ worth of oversized shirts, sweatpants and pajamas. Unless you have a friend or family member whose wardrobe is strictly loungewear, chances are you’ll probably end up throwing away some of your clothes. Then a new trend will appear, you’ll buy a few pieces, wear them for a season or two and then move on to the next trend.Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Timothy Baxter, owner of Sailor Doom Apparel, says that we should think of throwing away a piece of clothing like throwing away a plastic bottle. “You buy something online that’s $3.99 and obviously you’re not trying it on,” Baxter says. “So, [if it doesn’t

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“Textiles garments are the No. 2 product that is filling up our landfills, especially in the last 30 years,” Baxter says. “Since the 1980s and into the early 2000s, people were buying 200% more clothing and throwing away 85% more.”

As a former stylist, Baxter has witnessed firsthand how wasteful the fashion industry is. The “old” products usually end up being destroyed. The Outline has reported that former employees of Urban Outfitters, JCPenney, Nike and Victoria’s Secret have had to destroy perfectly good merchandise. “I love working in fashion, but just seeing the amount of waste from a large corporation was hard for me to witness,” Baxter says. “It was fun doing it, but at what cost?” Now in Akron, Baxter has started the Sailor Doom Project, a sustainable fashion company that stands in opposition to the fast fashion industry. “The idea behind what I do is sustainable products that don’t hurt the Earth more than it already has,” Baxter says. “Everything you do to make your carbon footprint smaller is helping everyone out in the long run, especially future generations. I’m not here to soak up all of our natural resources now so they’re screwed later on.” Baxter’s advice to others who want to stop participating in fast fashion is to start out slow. “If you have a whole wardrobe that’s all fast fashion and say you buy 10 things per month, but if you start

small and just buy one thing that is upcycled or two things that are upcycled and just keep chipping away with that, eventually you will find that your wardrobe is less and less fast fashion,” Baxter explains. All of the pieces in the Sailor Doom Apparel collection are casual, unisex pieces that Baxter receives from the network of stylists, designers and curators he has formed over the years. He then transforms or upcycles them into new pieces with the help of screen printing. All of the screen prints are handdrawn by Baxter and then printed out on machines at Mega Lab Limited, a screen printing shop on Grant Street, and which happens to be owned by Baxter’s brother Brian. Besides Sailor Moon screens, Baxter also has a mini-collection called the Icons Project. Musicians David Bowie, Dolly Parton and Grace Jones are the faces of the collection. “I like that they’re enigmatic superstars. There are so many different layers to them,” Baxter says. Baxter thinks of the pop stars as being not only great musicians but also fashion icons and activists. Baxter appreciates David Bowie and Grace Jones as being gender benders, helping to inspire individuals who felt like they didn’t fit the traditional heterosexual mold or traditional male and female binaries. Baxter also appreciates Dolly Parton for the work she has done with schools, including the Dolly Foundation, Buddy Program and the Imagination Library and also her activism within the LGBTQ community. Baxter describes himself as queer and says that he wears men’s and women’s clothing. “The idea of masculine and feminine to me is much broader. I feel like that’s more of a vibe and less of the garment of clothing you’re putting on,” Baxter explains. Baxter describes Sailor Doom as being a very liberal company, meaning that its eyes are open and looking forward to furthering education with all aspects of life. “What I love about the idea of being a liberal is that it’s a quest of enlightenment, everybody is allowed to have their views,” Baxter says.

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

“You’re not stuck on anything. You’re consistently trying to learn the view of everybody else. I’m a Libra and this describes me down to a T.” Baxter says Sailor Doom encourages its customers to be their authentic selves. ”I’m queer myself. I wear women’s clothing, I wear men’s clothing. The idea of masculine and feminine to me is much broader. I feel like that’s more of a vibe, and less of the garment of clothing,” Baxter explains. He also mentions that Sailor Doom Apparel encourages its customers to express themselves and style their new pieces however they want. “It’s not just about my collection. I also want it to feel that it’s a project you can be involved in,” Baxter explains. “I sell a lot of larger garments. I just sold three silk blouses as dresses for girls and then another girl bought the same size and she’s wearing it as a blouse. And another guy bought the same blouse and is wearing it as a blouse.” Sailor Doom’s customer base is as diverse as its clothing. “[Sailor Doom] is for that anime girl in Japan who loves Dolly Parton. It is for that queer girl in LA who is androgynous and loves David Bowie,” Baxter says. “I grew up in a tiny, little town on a farm. It’s for little boys like me, small town, big city dreamers. It’s just about people who want to wear something easy to feel stylized or want to use garments to style themselves.” Baxter eventually wants to expand and have consignment shops and thrift stores carry his products, but his main priority is getting people to see why upcycled clothing is cooler than fast fashion. “I want people to say, ‘Oh my gosh, I had this shirt for almost 10 years and it’s still my favorite shirt,’’’ Baxter says. Baxter also says he wants to trick people into caring for the greater good by using his passion, curated style and personal experiences. “When you care about something, it becomes priceless,” Baxter says. “When it becomes priceless, you’re never going to get rid of it, because it means something to you.” // Jillian Holness is a graduate of Kent State University. thedevilstrip.com

On the Cover: Adrienne Slane INTERVIEW BY ROSALIE MURPHY

drienne Slane is a collage artist — and she pretty much always has been.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve been cutting out images and categorizing them and collaging with them,” Adrienne says. She studied art in high school and attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, and now creates from her home in rural Geauga County. She spends a lot of time gardening and hiking, which “has definitely had an impact on my work,” she says. The piece on the cover of this magazine is on view at the Emily Davis Gallery, located inside the Myers School of Art at the University of Akron, until mid-December. Adrienne will have another work on view at the Akron Art Museum this spring. Rosalie Murphy: What is your process like? Adrienne Slane: The most timeconsuming part of my process is hunting for the materials I work with. For example, in “She Walketh,” I sourced the paper that I’ve used from dozens and dozens of old books and ledgers and letters, so I’m looking at library book sales, book and paper fairs, thrift stores, antique stores, etc. I’m finding paper that’s around 100 years old. The second part of the process is cutting them out and then sorting them. I have a very detailed organizing system. Then, when I go to make an actual piece, it’s about playing around, almost as if it’s a puzzle, mixing and matching pieces… it’s a pretty organic process. Once I find a composition that I find visually pleasing, I adhere everything with archival glue. RM: A lot of your work deals with the natural world and images of nature. Tell me about the that. AS: I’ve always been drawn to the concept of a cabinet of curiosity —

people gathering elements from nature, whether it’s stones or plant specimens or bones or rocks or what have you, and creating this world of wonder to appreciate the beauty of these objects. I like my work to reflect this collection of these natural elements. It also pays homage to the illustrations, images that were created 100, 200, 300 years ago. I think it’s important to re-establish that appreciation or wonder, because we live in a time when our environment is in crisis, and I think if we could appreciate the beauty and wonder of even the smallest elements in nature, maybe it could help us create a better relationship to the world around us. RM: What’s the story behind “She Walketh Veiled and Sleeping No Longer,” the piece on our cover this month? AS: The show at the Emily Davis Gallery is a celebration of the women’s suffrage movement and the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave the right to some women to vote. For this piece, I was drawn to a writer named Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who’s probably most famous for The Yellow Wallpaper. She wrote a poem called She Walketh Veiled and Sleeping, and in this poem she talks about women not realizing their power because they’ve been suppressed in society. I was thinking of this flow of knowledge and life, almost like this cosmos, coming from a woman. I was almost thinking of a Garden of Eden, where Eve is pursuing knowledge, so we have this tangle of plants and animals, but also these symbols of domesticity and femininity, like a pair of scissors. I was also looking at traditional women’s crafts — women were often denied the ability to access things like painting and sculpture, so they were working with materials that were easily accessible, like scraps of fabric and paper. To learn more about Adrienne’s work, visit adrienneslane.com. // Rosalie Murphy is Editor-in-Chief of The Devil Strip.

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Give mead a chance CRAFTED MEADERY OFFERS CONTEMPORARY BREWS, HOME DELIVERY REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY KEN EVANS

here is no doubt that beer is king in Akron. But if one is willing to venture to the wilds of Mogadore, Crafted Artisan Meadery seeks to give Akronites a craft experience steeped in ancient heritage and unique flavors. According to Kent Waldeck, owner and mead maker at Crafted Meadery, “Beer is made from malted grains; cider is made from apples; wine is made from grapes; mead is made from honey. But you can do a whole lot of other stuff with it and it can be a whole lot of different things.” Meads can range from dry to sweet in terms of flavor, and makers can add hops, herbs, fruits, and, in Waldeck’s case, even graham crackers. There are special names for these variations as well. Cysers are mead made with apples, metheglins are meads made with herbs or spices, and pyments are made with grape must — to name just a few.

more beer lovers rather than classic wine drinkers. Like many professional brewers, Waldeck started out in corporate America, making beer as a hobby. Drawn to the mead recipes in the back of his brewing books, he began experimenting and found a passion for the beverage. “Frankly, I was better at making mead than I was beer,” he says. In 2012, Waldeck started making mead professionally, operating Crafted out of his home but continuing to work full-time. He knew mead was a novel concept for many drinkers but nevertheless was drawn to the contrarian path. “If everyone is going this way, I want to go the other way,” Waldeck says. Crafted Meadery has become a nationally recognized brand in craft beverage circles and is currently distributed in 13 states. Waldeck has received bronze, silver and gold medals at the Mazer Cup and the National Honey Board Mead Crafters Competition, the two largest mead competitions in the world.

Waldeck seeks to embrace a range of mead-making styles and methods, Potentially the oldest style of alcoholic showcasing flavor combinations like beverage in the world, mead is still blackberry and cascade hops as well finding its footing in the United as special barrel-aged meads from States. “We are kind of where craft single varietal sources like avocado beer was in the late ‘90s to early blossom honey. 2000s,” Waldeck says. While mead is technically a wine, it tends to attract “We take our inspiration from a Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

number of things — food, spice combinations, etc. — and then we do our best to hammer that flavor hard so that the inspiration is clear and the mead is flavor-forward,” Ken says. But sometimes, he admits, he just has a cool idea for a label. While Crafted does a number of still meads — meads without carbonation — Waldeck has become known for his lightly carbonated dessertinspired session meads. Releases like “Cinna-man Bun,” “Conan the Strawberrian” and “Bananas Foster Forever” invoke dessert classics like cinnamon buns, strawberry shortcake, and bananas foster. Many of these meads are limited releases, with Crafted always experimenting and rotating new flavors, Waldeck says. “It’s about keeping things fresh, keeping a new experience in front of customers.”

to aid people experiencing homelessness. Waldeck worked with Isaac to create space within Crafted to sell his jarred “Provision Honey.” “I wanted to teach him real-world skills, so he does everything from filling the jars to coming up with the slogan: Little Jar, Big Heart,” Waldeck says. All the profits from Isaac’s honey have gone to Akron Snow Angels, Community Support Services and The City Mission in Cleveland. To date, Isaac has raised more than $850 for these organizations. Even during COVID-19, Crafted Meadery is still doing well, thanks in part to robust online bottle sales. What surprises Waldeck is that he is still unknown to many in the Akron area. “On any given weekend, half of our taproom is full of people from outside the state of Ohio,” he says.

Crafted uses approximately 35,000 pounds of honey every year, sourced from the Midwest and true-to-source certified. A certification shows due diligence has been performed within the supply chain and that the honey is authentic.

Part of this, Waldeck believes, is a negative impression about mead, whether from a bad batch made by a relative or mead’s association with Renaissance fairs. But he insists that if you are a lover of things like craft beer and cider, you will love mead.

This commitment to quality has led to collaboration brews with MadTree Brewing in Cincinnati and Florida’s Cigar City Cider and Mead. Waldeck even collaborated with EarthQuaker Devices on a cherry cheesecake Mead called Cherry Cheesequaker Device, which will be released in December.

Crafted Meadery can be found online at https://craftedmead.com or in-person at 1189 St, OH-43, Mogadore, OH 44260. Call 330628-444 to learn what’s available. Crafted Meadery also offers curbside pick up and shipping to your home.

However, Waldeck’s best collaboration has been with his son.

// Ken Evans finds himself leaping from life to life, putting things right that once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.

Waldeck’s son Isaac, who is 10, wanted to be able to do something

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Top: A mural by Aiseborn and El Mac overlooking Lock 4. Bottom: A mural by Louise “Ouizi” Jones overlooking Lock 3. (Photos: Susan Pappas)

the perception of Akron and have changed downtown in a way that is substantial and significant.” That perception shift was a critical driver for the campaign, Parr said. “People would come into town who had never been here before and look around at the area outside of the building and think ‘what have I gotten myself into,’ Parr said, referring to Main Street before its recent revitalization. “We wanted to know what we could do to make the outside of the building as much of an asset as the inside of the building.” And so began the campaign in 2017 with an ambitious fundraising goal of $8.5 million, which covers not only the murals, but also a restoration of the Civic, the addition of more shows and the creation of an outdoor deck with public seating. A series of town halls and surveys preceded the campaign kick-off, asking patrons and Akron residents what they wanted to see and also included a more cerebral query: what words come to mind when describing Akron? The words “diversity” and “arts” were the common denominators and became the theme for the selection of artists and the murals.

CIVIC LIFE MURALISTS USE ART TO HELP REVITALIZE DOWNTOWN PARKS

and a wide brim hat works the boom lift that has hoisted her up several stories high along the wall of the Akron Civic Theatre. The lift moves jerkily until Louise “Ouizi” Jones, a Detroit-based muralist, brings it to a halt. She climbs out of the cab and moves catlike along the fire escape walkway, adding dabs of paint to the expansive floral mural as she moves.

That same day, on the other side of the Civic facing Lock 4, Los Angelesbased mural artist Aiseborn works several stories up in the cab of his REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS boom lift, putting dabs of color BY SUSAN PAPPAS on the wall of the mural he’s been painting with fellow artist Miles t’s an unseasonably warm November MacGregor (aka El Mac), also from day at Lock 3 in downtown Akron, California. and an unusual sight has caught the attention of a handful of onlookers. These two murals, part of the Akron Civic Theatre’s capital campaign, are A woman clad in shorts, a tank top among the largest-scale public works

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of commissioned art ever to grace downtown Akron. The Staging the Future campaign was launched three years ago by the Akron Civic Theatre Board of Trustees. It sought not only to enhance the building’s exterior with the murals but also put a creative stamp on a revitalized downtown Akron. Civic Theatre Executive Director Howard Parr says the murals will not only engage people, but also create a positive shift in public perception. “These murals transcend who we are and what we are,” Parr said at an October event honoring the muralists and their work. “Even if people have no intention of walking in the doors of the Civic, they will still get to experience the Civic from the outside. These elements have changed

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After being chosen from a list of more than 150 international artists, Aiseborn and El Mac paid a visit to Akron in July to get a feel for the area before beginning their work in October. Funding from private donations, including from the Akron Community Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the GAR Foundation, helped bring the muralists to town. “We were here for about a week and tried to get a sense of the place,” El Mac told guests at the October Civic event. “We were really impressed with the nature, the lushness and the history here. We were taken with all of that and if there was a dominant theme, diversity was one we picked up on.” El Mac added that he and Aiseborn chose children as the central theme of their murals for a reason. “The imagery of youth and children playing is something that speaks to us,” El Mac said. “It’s also imagery thedevilstrip.com

of anything. Highland [Square] has a nice art place, they have a place in Middlebury. But it’s not much. Lock 3 has some stuff but it’s not enough for diversification.”

that is relatable to a lot of people. It kind of reminds us of our own youth and the things you forget as you get older. In my mind, the mural conveys a sense of youthfulness and playfulness that you have as kids and you lose. That’s a big part of it.” The children in the mural also symbolize a certain inspiration that Aiseborn hopes people will take from their art. “We were inspired by Akron and the youthfulness of this city,” Aiseborn said. “We hope this helps make Akron a city that can prosper and encourage young people to stay here versus having that old-fashioned tale of the youth leaving. For them to be able to stay here and contribute to Akron is what we picked up on. That’s a big deal here if we can bring that inspiration to other young people.” Jones said she was attracted to the project because of the landmark quality of the Civic Theatre and also because her mural is located at what she called “an intersection of the arts.” “I loved the fact that this project centered around theatre,” Jones said. “The Civic Theatre is an icon in Akron and I was really excited about that.” Known for her botanical murals and owing to an early influence of Georgia O’Keefe, Jones said she researched the types of flowers that were indigenous to the Akron area. She chose the American water lotus, the heath aster, the blue crescent iris and the golden ragwort to grace the Civic’s wall. Jones spoke of the qualities she liked in all the flowers but something she said about the heath aster, a white, daisy-like flower that graces a large part of her mural, makes it an apt symbol for downtown Akron’s spirit and its renaissance. “That flower is everywhere right now. It’s coming out of the cracks of the door, around the sidewalk. It’s so resilient. I love it.” // Susan Pappas is a writer, editor and longtime Akron-area resident. She loves meeting interesting people and bringing them to life with her words and photographs. In her spare time, she dreams of new ways to be creative, and one of her next projects will focus on turning the hilarity and hijinks of her two wiener dogs, Kiki and Carly, into a children’s book series.

Evans feels that adding his artistic flair to walls and streets in Akron is also a way for him to give back, which is the most important thing to him. “My thing is to teach kids and give back. I would love to teach people everything I know. It’s not about money, it’s all about just helping people. [It’s] deep, deep down in my soul to help people.”

Dray Evans is expanding TATTOO ARTIST TURNS TO MURALS AND MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKING REPORTING AND WRITING BY ALLYSON SMITH

“I

am a multi-talented artist. I go by Dray 10talents Evans. I have more than 10 talents, as people find out,” Evans tells me on a Zoom call, while he walks down a path at the F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm. Evans has spent his life following his intuition and picking up whatever art form he feels drawn to, including drawing, airbrushing, tattooing, filmmaking, painting murals and motivational speaking. “In second grade, I used to draw stick-figure army men and just having the bullets fly across the recycle-grade paper and having stuff blow up. I fell in love [with drawing] since then,” Evans says. His intuition and humanitarian nature are driving forces in his life and behind his artwork. “I live off of experience so just something that I feel intuitionwise or like, painting… I just go off of feeling, just trying it. Even filmmaking — my dad used to record everything we used to do, so we always had a camera. Stuff just leads to another so I just try it out and go for it… intuition and feelings,” Evans explains. Evans explains that his intuition isn’t necessarily louder than others’, but he listens to it, which many of us fail to do. “It’s just a strong feeling in your gut, and you know, a lot of times people don’t pay attention to that awareness of what’s going on around them.

Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

They feel something bad and just ignore it but it turns out to be a good thing,” Evans says. His gut and motivation work in tandem when it comes to learning a new talent. “And that’s where my motivation comes in at. People who feel like they can’t do something, they’ve already failed themselves, thinking that way or saying that to themselves.” Painting murals is one of the latest art forms Evans is mastering because it’s a way he can give back to the community. He started doing murals last year when a PTA member from Buchtel reached out to him and others to paint a mural for Mr. Pantry in Copley. Since then, Evans has worked on other murals, including one for the Akron Honey Company and some projects with Art X Love. “That started everything, and other stuff just kinda fell in place to start doing it, but I’ve always had a heart. I’m a humanitarian, I don’t know if all Aquarius are like that, but it’s in my sign to help people, inspire people,” Evans says. “And Akron as a whole, I feel like we lack culture, arts-wise, and that really inspired me to do murals.” Evans spoke of his time spent in places like Cincinnati and Detroit where “You see these tall buildings, you see murals everywhere.” He wanted to bring that to Akron. “It just felt different. I would love for Akron to have that culture so we can raise our kids and even us, having a good time. That’s what inspires me to do that.” He says another part of his inspiration is the “lack of” inspiration he felt growing up in Akron. “I’ve been blessed to go on a lot of vacations growing up, so that helps me with having a different perspective. Being here in the city, you don’t see much

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Evans also explained that he feels called to explore a very different form of art: motivational speaking. “Right now I do tattoos, but I keep telling people I’m stepping away from tattoos because it’s not my calling. My art is to teach, mentor. I have done teaching segments. It’s like, OK, I went and talked to these kids here, or I did something at this event, so it’s like a one-and-done event, but I have a big vision, a dream, a mission, to build my own thing and teach kids that way.” Evans shares the wisdom he has gained in life on his YouTube channel, sumpn2ride2. “I teach from experience. Most of it is from what I experience or what someone else experienced, but most of it is from what I experienced, and I will share that as motivation. Most of the time, people who share motivational speaking, they’ve already been through and made it… and basically, you’re walking with me through this journey.” Evans listens to his gut, which tells him that this is his calling and he’s going to make a huge impact with it. “I can see myself speaking to thousands of people, I can see myself being big on YouTube, talking to people that way. It’s all about giving back right now,” Evans says. “And it’s been on my heart for so long, I’m in a different place right now. Like, this glow that you see? It just came as of late, like the universe lined up for me and I’m taking advantage of it. I’m going through my caterpillar stage and becoming a butterfly.” // Allyson’s background is in media production and anthropology. Her hobbies include coffee, traveling, and taking months to read a single book. Photos: Used with permission from Evans Evans. The Devil Strip

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Left: Samantha Ballard, owner of Akron Brow Bar. Above: Della Mae hangs out on the sofa at Akron Brow Bar underneath local artwork for sale. (Photos: Ilenia Pezzaniti)

connection, leaving her long-held position meant also potentially leaving clients she had formed a relationship with over the years. “The hardest reason for leaving was that you still want to be there in those people’s lives,” she says. However, she’s found that some of those people have followed her, including folks who live more than an hour and a half away.

Akron Brow Bar opens in Highland Square REPORTING, WRITING AND PHOTOS BY ILENIA PEZZANITI

or the last decade, Samantha Ballard has been traversing the cosmetology world, and now she’s in the center of it, as the owner of Akron Brow Bar, a newly unfurled eyebrow shop located at 822 W. Market St., wedged between the longstanding Square Records and Square Nightclub.

of this year — yes, in the midst of a pandemic. “Yeah, isn’t that weird?” Ballard laughs. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.” After seven years at another brow company, Ballard wanted to work for herself and give clients a warm personal experience. So Ballard made a business plan. She started doing things on the side. She got her licensing to own her own shop and formed an LLC. “And it’s funny because I never wanted to open a salon ever in my entire life. This was literally never the plan,” she says. “And now here I am, opening up my own salon.”

Akron Brow Bar, which specializes in facial threading, eyebrow tinting, and body threading, opened in September For Ballard, who thrives on genuine

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“I’ve seen freshmen in high school, they grow, they become prom queen, you know, they’re now in college, they’re about to start graduating from college with their master’s [degree] in something crazy, or their doctorate, and that is like the coolest thing,” Ballard says. “And I remember one of my favorites is- there was this guy, he started coming to me when I first started. He was really interested in this girl and he was like, ‘I think I’m going to ask her out. I’m pretty sure I’m going to ask her out.’ So he asks her out. They start dating. And then a little bit later as time goes on they get married. Then they get a house. Then they have a baby together. And then you see her pregnant and she brings in her baby and I remember them being in there [...] like, ‘oh I don’t know what to name the baby, like here’s a list of names, what should we name?’ And then they ended up picking Carmella. I just think that’s the coolest thing ever because you get to see these important glimpses in people’s lives and you’re kind of like a part of that.” At 25, Ballard didn’t have the money to open her shop, so instead of the looming debt of a bank loan, her

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

parents, who completely support her passion, lent her the cash, which she is almost done paying back. “I remember on the phone one day talking to my mom, she was like, ‘Hey, I know I’m helping you, but if someone’s going to offer you help during this, you need to accept it, Sam.’ I don’t know where the pride came from. I don’t know why this huge independence..,” she says. “The biggest thing is guilt. I don’t want to feel like I owe anybody shit. And this [the business], I owe a lot of people a lot of stuff going forward,” she admits. While studying cosmetology, she wound up doing the eyebrows of her class peers. “Haircutting never made sense to me. But brows. There was a class of 22 girls and I did all their eyebrows,” she says. Though the world of hair and beauty can be glamorous, there are sacrificial downsides. Ballard has had health issues because of her career, from calluses and bleeding fingers to TMJ flare ups and back problems. “I can start to feel it in my wrist sometimes. Like when I’m really busy,” she says. “Repetitive motion is really hard on the body. And that’s a big thing in the cosmetology world. You only have so many years of being able to do it until your body just deteriorates,” she says. Like a game of Cat’s Cradle using different limbs of the body, Ballard illustrates the different techniques used in threading. Threading is a method of hair removal using cotton or polyester thread. “You can use your feet. I use my neck now. You can just use your hands.” With the thread wrapped around her foot, she depicts how one would use just their big toe, like a sewing machine, “Not stitching links together, but removing links,” she humors. Since she’s been doing eyebrows, thedevilstrip.com

Ballard looks at people differently. “Before I started doing eyebrows, I’d always look at eyes. Now I look at eyebrows and then I look at your eyes. And in my head I’m just shaping them,” she admits. Though Ballard doesn’t believe that everyone has to get their eyebrows done, she sees how things are shifting aesthetically during the current age of covering half our faces. “I think they’re important now, too, because we’re wearing masks, and that’s all people see on our faces is eyebrows and your eyes, and it makes a difference when you get them done, makes them pop,” she emphasizes. “For me, too, it’s like my artwork,” Ballard adds. “That’s something that I did. I’m still always impressed with myself. Like, damn, I just changed your face, 100%.” Ballard also finds the activity cathartic: “It’s satisfying, ripping hairs out of people’s faces, I guess. Which sounds morbid and weird, but just getting that clean, crisp shape and that line of eyebrows is so nice,” she says.

Ballard didn’t even have social media until she opened Akron Brow Bar. “I really hate that it is a platform to bring people in. I prefer just face to face with people, but obviously you can’t really do that because of COVID,” she says. In a pre-COVID world, Ballard’s natural inclination as an extrovert would have been to take a more traditional approach, “You’ve gotta hit the pavement. It’s as simple as it is going out there, broadcasting who you are, talking to people,” she says. Trends on social media may not be Ballard’s thing, but interior design is. The front window to her shop displays plants, along with Ballard’s emotional support dog, Cillian. While Cillian isn’t for sale, the plants are, and Ballard is making plans to have more to offer. “We’re going to have a private makeup line. I want to sell candles. I’ve been talking to a girl about selling lingerie,” as well as masks, she adds. Consignment clothing from local women is also available for sale at the back of the shop.

personality bubbles through and I think that’s why people come to see me,” she laughs. Akron Brow Bar also offers a professional part-time makeup artist, Briana Rawls, and is calling for booth rentals for a nail technician, hair stylists, massage and/or eyelashes. Local artists are also encouraged to sell their artwork on the shop’s walls. // Ilenia Pezzaniti is a multimedia storyteller and artist living in Highland Square. Editor’s note: After this story was published online, Samantha invited Ilenia to display her artwork at Akron Brow Bar. The Devil Strip prohibits our

Above: Sam Ballard, owner of Akron Brow Bar,

contributors from covering people with whom they

For artists, and anyone navigating the landscape of being a business owner in the digital age and during a pandemic, advertising is critical. But

“I’m a mom-and-pop shop. What makes it different? I think friendliness. I think a warm and inviting atmosphere. I think my warm, shiny

threading a client’s eyebrows using the neck

have preexisting financial relationships, but does not

technique. (Photo: Ilenia Pezzaniti)

prohibit such relationships from developing after the fact. We’re disclosing this because we’re committed

Akron’s creative community, and sometimes the two

to transparency and to building connections within

collide.

all of their closets, and catalog all of the old family photos during the pandemic. It’s OK to not be OK, focus on one day at a time, and set more balanced and realistic expectations.”

PARENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH IS TAKING A HIT DURING COVID-19. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. REPORTING AND WRITING BY CASEY NEWMAN

hen you think of COVID-19, what comes to mind? You probably think of physical symptoms like cough, shortness of breath or fever, but there’s another side of COVID-19 that’s impacting families — depression and anxiety. Pandemic or no, parents have a lot to deal with. But add in a pandemic, and things can quickly become unmanageable. Researchers have found that parent — and child — mental health has taken a hit during COVID-19, especially during lockdown. Consider this: “Of all families, only 14% reported no hardships during the pandemic, while most had at least two,” reports the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. The CDC points out that during the pandemic, you may experience: •

• • • • •

Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones, your financial situation or job, or loss of support services you rely on Changes in sleep or eating patterns Difficulty sleeping or concentrating Worsening of chronic health problems Worsening of mental health conditions Increased use of tobacco, and/or alcohol and other substances

And locally, professionals have seen an increase in mental health symptoms as well. Dr. Adriane Bennett, a psychologist at Cleveland

Clinic Akron General Behavioral Medicine, notes: “Many of the patients that I have been seeing for a while report an increase in symptom intensity, particularly anxiety.” Research has shown that pregnant people and parents with young children are experiencing a three- to fivefold increase in depression and anxiety symptoms. The uncertainty of everything plays a big role in the increase of mental health symptoms, Dr. Bennett says.

During this time of uncertainty, you can help protect your mental health by focusing on essential needs and trying to let go of perfectionism. “Set up a realistic and consistent routine with boundaries between work and home activity,” Dr. Bennett says. “Practice self-compassion; we are often kinder to others than ourselves. What advice would you give a loved one in the same situation? Acknowledge the more challenging emotions and remind yourself of your resiliency. Get adequate nutrition and rest. Limit alcohol consumption. Do one activity for your own self-care per day (exercise, read, hobby). Get your own social support, even if it is virtual. Reach out for professional help if needed.”

“Parents’ energy and emotional resources have been overloaded due to taking on multiple roles — work, homeschooling, tech support/ troubleshooting, coach, cheerleader and entertainment.”

How do you know if you should seek professional help? Dr. Bennet notes that you should watch for:

If you’ve been juggling multiple roles, you might soon find yourself overextended and experiencing burnout or depressive symptoms, she adds.

•

• •

“I think that perfectionism about what parents believe they ‘should’ be doing also leads to unrealistic expectations and pressure. I have been hearing a lot of unhelpful ‘toxic positivity’ beliefs that people are beating themselves up with; that if you try harder, do more, and think good thoughts then you will not experience the negative feelings,” she explains. “Unfortunately, ignoring the valid negative emotions and not acknowledging the increased stress level does not make it go away. “I think social media contributes to the pressure,” she continues. “For those who are struggling, it can be difficult to challenge the messages that they ‘should’ learn a new language, take up a new hobby, learn a new instrument, clean out

Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

• • •

Increased intensity of anxiety, depression, anger or mood swings Behavioral outbursts or uncontrolled anger Increased family conflict or domestic violence Suicidal or homicidal thoughts that are persistent Difficulty completing activities of daily living, work, or school tasks Unusual symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations Abuse of alcohol or drugs

If you’d like to receive professional help but are having trouble locating resources, you can ask your primary care physician for a referral or look for therapists providing telehealth services. “Since the pandemic began, there has been an expansion in telehealth, and they may be able to connect with a therapist who is not local but licensed to practice in their state. Finally, community mental health agencies are available to help regardless of ability to pay, such as Portage Path Behavioral Health or Coleman Professional Services,” she says. “The patient can directly reach out to a psychologist or

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

Above: Dr. Adriane Bennett. (Photo: Used with permission from Cleveland Clinic Akron General Behavioral Medicine.)

psychiatrist to see if the practice is accepting new patients. They can also call the number on the back of their insurance card for behavioral health benefits and get a referral to an innetwork provider who is taking new patients.” Family members and friends can provide support if someone they love is struggling, too. “I think the biggest way to be supportive is to just listen, validate, and resist the urge to give unsolicited advice. Many people do not feel heard during the pandemic and may just want a sympathetic ear to vent to. Family and friends could also offer to take on tasks (babysitting, household chores, homework help) to help those who feel overwhelmed with multiple roles,” Dr. Bennett says. It’s important to remember that we’re human, and humans are designed to feel emotions. “Just like physical health, mental health is not all-or-nothing and can change throughout our lives and circumstances. We are all human and ‘wired’ to experience anxiety, sadness and anger. The best way to reduce the stigma of seeking mental health treatment is through education and open communication,” Dr. Bennett says. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed of. If you’re in crisis, go to your nearest emergency room or call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-2738255. // Casey Newman is a mother of two from Green who depends on wine to get her through bathtime and bedtime. She is a maternal and women’s health advocate who volunteers with several birth and maternal rights organizations and has spoken to Congress members about issues affecting moms. The Devil Strip

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AN AKRON LOVE STORY WRITNG BY JAMI MEEKER Editor’s note: This is the fifth and final chapter in a shortened version of a much longer work by Jami Meeker, which the writer hopes to publish in the future. For previous chapters, visit thedevilstrip.com and search for “Margaret” or “Eddie.” Back in Akron, Margaret continues to work the comptometer for B.F. Goodrich. She keeps an eye on their household finances and keeps Eddie up to date on the lives of Mary Louise, Anna Belle, Leo, Agnes and others. Contrary to what I’m sure Margaret believed would be the case when she and Eddie married, she has not left her parents’ home. While she does visit the new apartment she and Eddie are renting at 327 Portage Trail in Cuyahoga Falls, she sleeps there only occasionally. Her daily home remains the chaos and crowd of the house on Kenyon Street She pays room and board to her mother. She helps her with the younger siblings. The hours she spends at B.F. Goodrich can be as long as any of Eddie’s workdays, leaving her every bit as tired. We have omitted some letters from this section for brevity. *** Eddie to Mrs. Edw. J. Beeman from Winston-Salem, NC – Thursday, 7/25/35 Dear Marg. I had to get some stationary off Geo. Hankey & this was all he had. How have you been? Please don’t think I’m neglecting you. Far from it. Just writing that I’ve been busy is putting it mild. They sure sent us out on a big job & I never knew you could run into so many complications. I appreciate the faith they have in me. Had a nice trip down from Washington & if by the time I get home, I develop a southern accent you’ll have to pardon it. I forgot to tell you we met Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf of the N. J. State Police. If you read any papers during the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby & the subsequent trial of Hauptman you will remember his name. He is very interesting & stern. He is head of the State Police. Tell Mary Louise I was going to stop in & see Marie Oyler but found that all the big stores in Washington are closed on Sat. during July & Aug. Will try to

24 | The Devil Strip

see her on the way back. Also, tell her I called up Ryan Gillen while in New York & he asked about our family. My honey, sweetheart, darling, I miss you so much, but maybe we will be rewarded. While in New York Gordon said to me, “If you fellows do a good job there’s something nice in store for you & if you don’t you better not show your face in Akron. I’ll have Iasar’s & Pott’s men waiting for you.” So pray honey & pray hard that we do a good job. Gordon showed me a great time while in New York. The first night we had dinner in the Palm Room of the Hotel Commodore & took a taxi from his hotel the New Yorker. Mischa Raginsky’s orchestra played during the dinner hour I’ve often heard him over the air. The second nite we went to Jack Lyon’s Chop House in Radio City Music Hall. It is absolutely beautiful. I’m sending you my weight showing you I’m still healthy. Well my dear I’m so tired I can hardly stay awake. Am hoping to be home within the next two weeks. So my dear, if you’ll excuse me, I promise to think of you so hard for the next 10 or 15 minutes that I’ll dream of you all nite with

corn sugar to illegal still operators. A few years later, his name figured among the 32 others indicted along with Sheriff Ray Potts. While Potts was too arrogant and self-important to believe a jury would find him guilty, Iasar knew better and fled the country. He lived under an assumed name in Montreal, Canada for five years before returning voluntarily to face the charges. He pleaded guilty to avoid a trial and received a sentence of one year and a day in federal prison. Eddie drops another name from law enforcement history. As superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf led the investigation in the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s baby boy. Although his detective work did lead to the 1934 arrest, conviction and eventual execution of the kidnapper, the investigation took four years to complete. By the end, the city replaced him as superintendent. Col. Schwarzkopf left the police force and eventually returned to the military. His better-known son of the same name commanded the coalition forces in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm following Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Dear Eddie: Gordon promised Eddie and George that returning to Akron after a job well done will earn them “something nice,” but a job poorly done will bring them up against “Iasar’s & Pott’s men.” Who are Iasar and Potts? Ray Potts was a Summit County Sheriff during the Prohibition era. He used his office to swell his bank account to the tune of a $1,000 a month, which today is around $19,000 when adjusted for inflation. Following a federal investigation led by Eliot Ness, a grand jury in July 1935 handed down an indictment against Potts and 32 others, including almost all of his deputies, on charges stemming from a protection racket for Ohio bootleggers. The trial concluded swiftly in January 1936 with the jury finding Potts guilty of conspiracy to violate the internal revenue laws. He received a two-year sentence in federal prison along with a $2,500 fine. Leo Iasar was known as the Corn Sugar King of Summit County. Following his own federal investigation and trial in 1931, he served 11 months of a 16-month sentence for conspiracy to violate the prohibition laws, specifically to provide

I was up at the apartment this afternoon and found that Bradley’s had moved. I don’t know much news, the days go and come and they are all the same. Mack got sore and was going to quit his job but he still working at B&W. Agnes has a vacation next week don’t know where she is going. Mother & Dad are going to Canal Fulton for Granny Birthday dinner tomorrow so I’ll be chief cook here. How would you like a good cook? Look me up when you come to Akron. Shall I get your pay check Thursday or will you be home? Cecil Smith & Dorothy will be in Cleveland. They are coming to Akron next week. Hope you are home so we can entertain them. Well my dearest I’ll say Good-night. I love I love you, keep smiling and hurry home. All my Love Margaret I’m sending this letter “special” as I think you will receive it quicker than Air Mail.

*** Margaret to Eddie from Akron, OH – Saturday, 8/10/35

All my heart & love Eddie

PART V

Did my heart miss a beat when I got your wire I thought maybe you were coming home. Did you get the twenty dollars I sent Aug. 1st? Write me if you didn’t and I’ll check up on it. Well my dearest how are you? I’ve been offering my trip to the dentist to the Poor Souls so you will make good on this trip and all your trips. I’m finished now but have one sore mouth also a neat little bill. I was in the dentist chair fifty minutes last night.

Margaret and Eddie have an uncanny knack for the casual mention of special places, people and moments in history. Here she remarks on the “up-roar” spreading across Akron over the running of the National Soap Box Derby. The event’s correct name is All American Soap Box Derby, but of greater note is that Aug. 11, 1935 was the first running of the Derby in Akron, where it has run every year since. Chevrolet, the sponsor of the gravity race, worked with city leaders and the Works Progress Administration in 1936 to establish a permanent race site in southeast Akron to be called Derby Downs. For the 1935 race Margaret planned to attend, roadblocks halted traffic as young boys hopped in their soap box cars and rolled down the steep hill on Tallmadge Avenue. Fourteen-year old Maurice Bale, Jr. won the day.

Mary Louise is going to Cleveland next week for her vacation. All Akron is in a up-roar over the National Soap Box Derby which will be held tomorrow think I’ll go. We’ve had rain nearly every day since you have left. So please bring some sunshine with you when you come home which better be next week.

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

*** Eddie to Mrs. Edw. J. Beeman from Columbus, OH – Tuesday, 1/14/36 Dear Madam The man you call your husband who is very punctual in sending you letters daily when he is out of town arrived in Davey Town this day & is not as you suspect a guest of the Warden of the

thedevilstrip.com

State Prison. He is hoping to see you over the week end. The Management

have to hurry home to your women. Margaret diligently paid $15 each month since July to pay off the furniture in less than a year. In today’s dollars, their monthly car payment was $229.66.

P.S. Yes M’Love Eddie includes a puzzle in the form of torn up bits of paper each bearing a word and a number. When arranged in numerical order the message reads: I’ll see you soon my dear and miss you already Eddie. ***

The Smithville Inn Restaurant in Smithville was famous for its chicken dinners. And there’s nothing like a telegram announcing the birth of a baby to clear the air and sweep everything aside, including the blues. Given the context, “get busy” implied the same activity in 1936 that it implies today.

Margaret to Mr. Edward J. Beeman from Akron, OH – Wednesday, 1/15/36 6:00 P.M. Dear Sir

*** Margaret to Edward J. Beeman from Akron, OH – Wednesday, 1/22/36 Dear Eddie

Thank you for locating my husband. He is in good health I hope. Tell my husband I’m preparing a chicken dinner in his honor Sunday Jan 19 that will make Smithville look sick. Dearest husband in the world, I felt so blue last night I had to have a good cry before I could go to sleep. Did you hear “Stella” with Fred Waring sing, “Alone.” Keen! Saw Kelly today when I was in the building paying your insurance. I had this afternoon off because of a mean headache I wanted to get rid of before tonight when Mary Louise has her bridge club. I’ve got the house cleaned and looking beautiful. Got flowers on the kitchen table so they will say oh! the minute they come in. A half smoked cigar is on the dresser and a pipe on the smoking stand. This is to keep the place alive with you. I slept on your half of the bed last night but it’s not comfortable without you. I’m waiting for Mary Louise to come for supper. Mrs. Richards told me Earl & Helen moved today. After today we only owe 9.18 Furniture, 12.50 on the car, ? Polsky. Swell! So Honey here’s to new clothes and Radio. My sweet I wish you were here but since you’re not here’s a good-night kiss X. Hurry home Sat. I’ll be waiting with open arms & stuff. Your bride, Margaret (over) Mary Louise just came with a telegram from Myron. It’s a boy born Jan 15 A.M. We sent him telegram this P.M. We better get busy????? Cecile is fine. Margaret

It’s now 8:50. Marybee here and we have the table pull up in front of the oven as we just got home and it’s 6 below here and terrible wind along with it. Bert called me at the office and told me I had a letter. I could hardly work this afternoon thinking about it. Hurry and come home honey I miss you so much and need you. How is Ozzie? Here a big kiss for him X. Portia OK but has tears in her eyes most of the time. She misses Ozzie so very much. Darling I love you, I love you. Wish you were home but life is what we make it so do your job swell and don’t worry about writing to me. I know you are very busy. I saw Kelly Sunday. He said he was going away and would get home in time to see his oldest son get married. Also stopped at the Walter Haas Sunday night as you know. Kelly told me Walter was going to meet you. Wasn’t that chicken dinner good we had Sunday? I looked for you Sat. and felt like crying when I woke Sunday morning without you beside me. Aren’t you glad Myron baby is a boy? Myron wrote to Marybee Tuesday and said the doctor took xrays and told Myron they would have to operate to save the baby and Cecile. Myron was about crazy till it was all over with. Marybee & I are going over on the bus Sunday. He wants you and Marybee to be Godparents. Your new nephew name will be (Frederick William Beeman) “Keen”

What’s the difference between Stick-up and Hold-up—Fifty years. Nice? Mrs. Fisher is waiting for you to come home with some jokes… Mother has been very bad again. She couldn’t move three days. We were over home tonight and she seems better. She had us scared plenty Sunday. Tommie is getting bigger and prettier every day. Can I get you pay 31st if you’re not home I’m trying to clean up our debt so you can go to New York and buy your Spring outfit. Don’t work too hard Honey and be sure to get your sleep. Have you lost any weigh. I have a B.M. every day. Marybee is eating potato chips & I’m eating popcorn. Everything was grand at her bridge club we served shrimp salad and hot biscuits. Everyone raved about the place and a very clever living room. I guess we know our stuff. You know dear I could go for one or too right now but I’ll save it because I know how nice it will be when you come home.

for you. I’m going to hug & kiss you for 5 hrs when you come home. Marybee & I moved her things Monday night and put them away Tues night. God knows where. We will have to move soon because we are very crowded. Had a good time Sunday in Y. Stopped at Manley’s, Myron & Marybee had a good laugh when we left. Myron is so happy about the baby that he’s nervous. When we go to Y. we called Myron and asked for Freddy (the baby). He said we had the wrong number, so we had a good laugh at our little joke. How is work stuff going? Are you showing J. Gordon Gaines that Mr. Ed Beeman is the best man in his organization. You didn’t tell me yet if I may collect your pay Friday. Excuse this writing I’m pretending I’m working. I’m so sorry I couldn’t send you some money but it took $4.00 to fix the car. I have about .50 now to last me till Friday. Marybee & I are going to Annabelle’s for dinner Thursday night. Honey I want you to have this letter before you leave St. Louis. So Good bye I love you more than ever. Margaret.

I’m a working gal, to bed I go to dream of you and Edward Jr. Darling I’m pretending I’m kissing you, Hmm that was nice. Goodnight my sweet All my love, Margaret Margaret introduces a couple of new names, Bert and Tommie, of whom we will never hear again. She also mentions Ozzie and Portia. Delicately put, Ozzie and Portia are not people so much as they are parts of people. In a little more than 10 years, Margaret will give birth to Edward Jr. If ever she did revisit these letters after Eddie’s death, it must have brought a smile to her face to read a mention of her only son in the closing lines of this letter.

The letter is stamped: DELIVER BY AIR MAIL Special Delivery. Margaret used 15 of her 50 cents to make sure Eddie receives the letter before leaving St. Louis, which leaves her with 35¢ (about $6.40) through the end of the week. Either Eddie did learn to “get by” or, following George Hankey’s lead, Walt Haas was well-heeled enough to carry him until the next payday. *** WESTERN UNION Received at 110 PORTAGE TRAIL, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO. TELEPHONE WA 4615 26KR N 7 COLUMBUS OHIO 313 P MAY 12 1936 MRS EDW J BEEMAN DWR 327 PORTAGE TRAIL CUYAHOGA FALLS OHIO

*** I’ll write you Sunday about everyone so keep me posted where you are if you want news. Speaking of news Marybee is moving with us next Monday as she wants to leave where she is now (reasons I’ll tell you later). So I told her to come here and we shift around till Spring and find a larger place. So you see honey you will

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WILL BE HOME ABOUT NINE OR TEN Margaret to Edward J. Beeman from Akron, OH – Wednesday, 1/29/36 10:00 A.M. Dear Eddie, When are you coming home? I can’t go on much longer without you. Your letters have helped but I’m so lonesome

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EDDIE 332P This simple, seven-word telegram brings an appropriate close to the letters from 1935 and 1936. Eddie will be home. ***

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More so than the depth of Margaret and Eddie’s love, their letters have reminded me that few gifts in this world are equal to the value of friendship. Through the absences, through the months when he had no money to go dancing, through the jitters when he had no schedule to keep to, their friendship endured. It bound them to one another. Inevitably such friendships become love. We take away from their letters what we bring to them. As I read the story they tell, I want to understand something about my present from looking at their past. Lessons abound in their letters. They teach patience in the face of trials, trust under the peril of betrayal, faith in the absence of evidence, honesty with oneself, and humility before others. I should want to celebrate their triumph and joy, despite knowing in advance the sad ending to come. But it is their sorrows that resonate more fully with me. Although I have more Eddie in me than Margaret, I’ve learned from her that it’s all right to sing the blues, as long as I take note of when the next song begins. It begins now. “A friend like you is a great incentive to anybody & I’m going to try my best to get the worth-while out of life.” — Edward Joseph Beeman, 1/18/1933

Member Spotlight The Devil Strip is co-owned by more than 600 Akronites! To join, visit thedevilstrip.com/be-a-member.

arah Urbank of Cuyahoga Falls grew up in the area, living in what used to be Northampton Township. She graduated from the University of Akron with a B.A. in English and minored in women’s studies. It was in these classes that she met two of The Devil Strip’s reporters, Noor Hindi and H.L. Comeriato, who inspired her to become a member of the co-op. “What I thought was really cool, that made me sign up to be a member, was the fact that some of my classmates that I graduated with were doing something that was really cool and meaningful, and not just for their careers, but for the community,” she explains. Sarah passes the time with hobbies that she feels are nerdy, but are also pretty cool and unique. For example, she participates in Doctor Who watchalongs on Twitter and contributes to Doctor Who fanzines. Doctor Who is a British science fiction

show that has been airing on and off since 1963, following the adventures of a time traveler and their companions. Right now Sarah is working with a team on a review about Doctor Who books that were published in the ‘90s. With all her free time due to COVID-19, Sarah has been working with her dad to restore a 1949 Ford 8N tractor, which she plans to paint purple, instead of its traditional red. She says her favorite stories in The Devil Strip are those that cover new local businesses in the area and as of late, stories that cover housing, since much of it is happening down the street from where she lives. “It’s nice to actually see someone cover in-depth what that means to the community,” she says.

Sarah loves spending time with her dog, Tegan, playing the ukulele and cosplaying. — Allyson Smith

Essays & Humor STEPHANIE K.

“W

hen I was a kid, something traumatic happened to me and kept happening for quite a few years.” There is an unspoken rule when you hear words like these shared by a survivor in the recovery community. You wait. You don’t ask questions. You shut up and let the person tell you. If they don’t expand or elaborate, you let it go. You respect the uncomfortable, private silence of a trauma victim, a big space full of painful downward glances. You let them have their moment and quickly pivot into a changed conversation topic. These were the words of Stephanie K., who was 70 days sober when we first met and spoke for an episode of my podcast. I told her that this phrase of slowly spoken syllables stayed with me and kept resonating and repeating, like notes of a sad, familiar melody. A nerve was struck, and it triggered a scene from my youth, and “that person” that used to take me on walks when I was a small child. The lure was to “go see the dog tracks,” a place I suppose was on the trek around the block or wherever, and would eventually end up in the bushes or under the grove of pine trees. I don’t remember where, but I remember. I was probably about 4 or 5. Immediately I knew that Stephanie and I belonged in the same clubhouse. Same buttons on our jean jackets, like medals from a traumafilled battleground in some barelyknown early childhood development skirmish.

reliving it repeatedly. In a 12-step program, the term “resentments” get substituted here, but it hardly seems strong enough in this case. Trauma victims may develop severe mental illnesses for which they turn to drugs and alcohol. Data published in the JAMA Psychiatry suggest that more than 30% of all people living with PTSD will develop a major depressive disorder, and the Department of Veterans Affairs reports that 10% of all Americans suffer from trauma-related depression each year. The National Institutes of Health reports a clear and distinct correlation between childhood trauma and drug and alcohol addiction. These types of incidents that we experience in our formative and vulnerable years can often result in behavior that shapes our long-term development. The facts show that more than a third of adolescents with a description of abuse or neglect will have a substance abuse disorder before they reach their 18th birthday. For Stephanie K., it manifested itself into self-medication, food addiction, excessive behavior and drug abuse. “When I was 12, to cope with what was happening to me, I would steal from my mother’s medicine cabinet. I didn’t know what I was stealing, but I was taking her Darvocet. I would get so sick, but I kept doing it to forget.” (Darvocet was recalled in 2010 when the FDA announced that the painkillers might increase the risk of heart problems, suicide and overdose.)

At first, Stephanie’s substance use was just on the weekends. She was a self-described “popular girl” The term “trauma” is frequently who hung out with older guys. She used to describe an adverse or didn’t think there was a problem. No malignant reaction to a singular or consequences showed up, and no red repetitive event that caused severe or lights were flashing. She was having psychological harm. It is characterized fun. by the inability to move past and process an experience without In 2013, things changed. A failed Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

First-person essays and columns plus horoscopes, comics & games

marriage sent her spinning. As she tried to regain control, she found herself turning to mind-numbing, heart-protecting behavior. Adderall. Cocaine. Sex. Starvation with no food for days. Everything, then nothing, and then more of that. Repeat and repeat. Trauma is like rust. It just keeps corroding you. At Christmas in 2015, Stephanie was hugging a beloved nephew goodbye and realized at that moment she didn’t care if she saw them again. The thought of not living in pain became an option, and she found herself 24 years old and wishing life away. She was drinking and taking a lot of drugs and taking the frustration out in other ways. She had been to rehab and detox twice. “I spent a lot of time focusing on my eating disorder, and I just kind of decided I was done. I needed help. I did not want to keep living the way I was living. It was exhausting,” Stephanie says. She knew that it was time to get some help, so she researched and started eating disorder recovery. As it does for many of us, it would take a few stops and starts to get to where she is today. Shame is the root of the addiction tree, the cement in the foundation. To an alcoholic, addict or trauma survivor, Shame is the heavy woolen coat that we can’t take off even on the warmest summer day. “I feel like what happened to me as a child, as a teenager, with what happened to me in my marriage, all stripped away my self-worth,” Stephanie says. “I forgot who I was and felt like nothing.”

abstinence and wellness. These were the first steps in the long walk back into the freedom of recovery. When asked how she is doing at 228 days, job searching during a pandemic, Stephanie says that the drugs and alcohol have been tempting, but she does not want to throw it all away. “I have come so close — but then I think, will it really help anything?” “I have trouble sitting with myself alone,” Stephanie says. “It all comes down to self-worth. What happened to me, what I was, is not who I am. I am better than I was. Now I surround myself with people with my best interests in mind, which is the most important thing. I remember the people who have fixed my heart or helped me stand on my own. I am the one that does the work, but I truly could not be who I am without their hands to hold along the way.” Acceptance. Letting go. When we finished our call, I felt the sympatico of another overcoming their illness. That ability to look at who we were, see what we did, and realize we have come so very far is the ultimate reward for those on the recovery road. To tell on ourselves when we feel less than fine and to hear ourselves speak the secrets that are the whispers in our minds. To know that all that happened, but to know it is not happening any longer. In our world, that is the moment of self-validation that brings the bow of the head, the tears to the eyes, and the private smile no one sees. When we know we are going to make it. When we know. Steady on.

During treatment, she found a way to start working through the pain of her shame. Each day without substance use or eating binges or starvation was a deposit in the savings account of self-esteem, building the confidence that comes with a period of

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// Reach Marc Lee Shannon at marcleeshannon@gmail.com. Listen to “Recovery Talks: The Podcast” from 91.3 The Summit at www. rockandrecovery.com, on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify. The Devil Strip

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DECEMBER LUNAR READING ‘Begin something new with optimism and hope’

he holiday season and eclipse season have been wrapped into one for the last few years. Every six months we get a round of eclipses, which are big beacons for change. December is an already emotional time, never mind this year’s political and social divides and the pandemic. But we have the perfect backdrop for something truly beautiful to shine through beginning at the time of the Winter Solstice. The weeks leading up to Christmas are a hopeful and wishful time for people all over the world. This is a bit characteristic to the traits of Sagittarius, where the sun occupies from Nov. 21 to Dec. 21. The Sagittarius energy has pairing in our solar system to Jupiter, which is like

the solar system’s Santa Claus. It is the planet of luck and abundance seeking to share gifts with our world. On Dec. 14, there will be a total solar eclipse in the sign of Sagittarius. The days following this new moon will be an appropriate time to create a vision board for your future. There’s a flow of energy backing us under a Sagittarius solar eclipse to begin something new with optimism and hope. Make a wish during this time and trust in faith that it is making its way to you. After the stretch of Sagittarius, we move into Capricorn, which differs because Capricorn is associated with the planet Saturn. Whereas Jupiter is large and its energy is expansive,

Saturn is limiting and contracting. Our ancients understood Saturn to be the last planet in our solar system, representing then a limitation or boundary. Jupiter expands our visionary goals, and Saturn, with hard work and discipline, can achieve them.

of big deal.

During the Winter Solstice, as we enter the time of Capricorn, the planets Jupiter and Saturn will align together in a conjunction in the humanitarian water-bearing sign of Aquarius. We see this conjunction happen once every 20 years, but hasn’t happened in the sign of Aquarius for more than 600 years! It heralds something special, unique and rare. This alignment is a big deal — a wise-men-following-a-star kind

// Angie Agnoni is a local astrologer and graduate of the International Academy of Astrology. She is Vice President of Lake County Astrological Association, which is one of the longest-running astrology groups in the country. Angie can be reached and booked for personal astrology consultation at www.calendly.com/ angieagnoni.

The conflict in our world is unlikely to go away anytime soon, but when you look a little closer, there may be a tiny spark which shares a message of hope into understanding universal love.

Tarot cards at right: These cards are from the Rust Belt Arcana tarot deck, released in 2018 by Belt Publishing. Each card in the deck features a creature from Northeast Ohio, illustrated by David Wilson. Image below: This aerial photo was probably taken around the time the Cuyahoga Valley National Park was established in the mid-1970s.

BRIDGING PAST AND PRESENT

he historic Station Road Bridge is a popular gateway to the Towpath Trail in the northern Cuyahoga Valley. It was built in 1881, a year after the Valley Railway began service and opened Brecksville Station nearby. As the name implies, this was literally the bridge on the road to the station. Summit and Cuyahoga counties split the $3,600 cost to get vehicles over the Cuyahoga River between Brecksville and Northfield. The structure was made of wrought iron, just before steel became the material of choice. Instead of being riveted like a modern bridge, it was pinned like a covered bridge. The floor is wooden. It is also a bridge between older and newer construction styles. Our first photo shows the scene around 1907. By the time the Station Road Bridge

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became part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, it had fallen into disrepair, closing to road traffic in 1980. The young park and its partners decided to fix this valley icon. Our second photo captures the 1992 ribbon-cutting, with park superintendent John Debo holding the bow. After months of repairs in New York, the bridge had been set back on its piers just days before. Now it became a critical trail connection between Cleveland Metroparks to the east and west and the north-south Towpath Trail that was about to open in the national park.

Trail itself and the Cuyahoga River Water Trail will remain open, but there may be short-term disruptions.

Upstream of the arched Brecksville-Northfield bridge is the much smaller Station Road Bridge. The train station is gone. (Photo: NPS Collection.)

If all goes well, the construction will be completed by March 26. gallery. To learn more, visit https://www. nps.gov/articles/000/preserving-thestation-road-bridge.htm. We’ll be posting progress photos to a linked

// Arrye Rosser is an interpretive and education specialist at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Fast forward 30 years. Station Road Bridge is once again closed for major repairs. The Federal Highways Administration is currently leading a $1.34 million makeover. This time the bridge has been wrapped and work is being done in place. We ask runners, cyclists, wildlife watchers and horseback riders to pick an alternate route for a few months. The Towpath December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

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back, it is a hassle to do so.

TWELVE TIPS FOR CHRISTMAS CYBERSECURITY

he pandemic should keep us at home more this year than in holiday seasons past. That will likely mean more online shopping, virtual visits to relatives and more time on our devices. With that will come additional cybersecurity risks. Here are some ways to reduce your exposure to these risks. 1. Update your system and apps. The first thing to do is cover the

5. Use a separate credit card for online purchases. Using a “holiday only” credit card with a low limit for shopping online. If your information is stolen, the damage will be minimal. basics. Play defense first: update your system and all of your apps, update all of your browsers, install and/or update anti-virus software and use a virtual private network (VPN) on all of your devices. 2. Avoid limited bargains and deals. If the deal sounds too good to be true, then there is a catch. Resist the temptation to impulse-buy through an advertisement on social media. If you see a product that you think will make a good gift, research the vendor before you buy and take your time in doing so.

slew of email offers from companies you don’t recognize, and even those that you do know. It is hard to tell which are legitimate offers and which contain a malicious link or an attachment. If you receive an email that has a good deal from a known vendor, visit their site directly, do not click the link nor download the attachment.

3. Beware the sender. You will see a

4. Use a credit card, not a debit card. If you are a victim of fraud, your credit card has built-in protections. You should not owe money to the credit card company. Your debit card will require you to file a claim, and while you should get your money

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 - DEC. 21): JUSTICE

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 - JAN. 19): DEATH

Expect to see justice and karma play out this month. Depending on your actions, this may be in your favor or against it. You might find the balance you’ve been seeking in emotional matters and situations that concern those around you. Remember the golden rule this month: treat others how you want to be treated, and you probably won’t find yourself on the wrong side of Justice’s scale. — Allyson Smith

Before you freak out, Capricorn, understand that this does not mean literal death. When it comes to tarot, Death means transformation. Your ideas and perspectives about life and what it should look like may be challenged this month. This is to allow you change and grow into the person you need to be. Let these changes take place, because they are going to happen whether you like it or not. The more you resist change, the more difficult it becomes. — Allyson Smith

December tarot reading

Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine

December 2020 · Vol 7 · Issue #12

6. Verify security on vendor websites. Look in the address bar of your browser. If it does not have a lock and/or say “https,” then do not enter any personal information on that site. Look for seals of approval from agencies like the Better Business Bureau to confirm a vendor’s reputation. If this information is not readily available, be safe and consider purchasing the product elsewhere. 7. Read the return policies. Remember, you’re buying this item sight unseen and it will be transported to you. There are many — Continued on page 30

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Unencrypted (from page 29) — opportunities for something to go wrong. Make sure you know how the vendor handles returns. 8. Keep your receipts. All reputable vendors will email you a sales confirmation post-purchase. Keep these emails and keep all of the paperwork that arrives with the gift. 9. Don’t reuse passwords. You will be buying gifts from a plethora of vendors, all of whom will want you to register for a more convenient shopping experience. Once you have used a password for one vendor, do not use it anywhere else. If one of those vendors gets hacked, the hackers will have your password for all of the other sites for which you used it. 10. Use multiple web browsers. Depending on how tight you have your security settings, your personally identifiable information may be stored in the browser cache. To be safe, use one browser for surfing and another for purchasing items. For that, I recommend

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Brave Browser, which is designed with privacy in mind. 11. Wipe out your old data. You may get or give a new electronic device this holiday season, which means you will be getting rid of an old device. Make sure you erase all of your personal data and log out from all services and apps. Once you have done that, reset the device per the manufacturer’s instructions. 12. Be smart. We all are in a hurry to get our shopping done and we all want great deals. Cyber criminals are counting on you to impulse buy, click on a bogus link or download an attachment to an email. If you follow the tips above, you should have a safe online shopping experience. // Dr. John B. Nicholas is a Professor of Computer Information Systems and CoFounder of the Cybersecurity Degree Track at The University of Akron. Dr. Nicholas has over 30 years experience in the technology field in both the private sector and higher education.

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