MAy 2021 · Vol 9 · Issue #5 · thedevilstrip.com
PAGE 6: Jason Blakely offers poets voices with heart
PAGE 20: Redesign plans for Lock 3 coming next year
FREE
PAGE 27: Fiber artist
Natalie Grieshammer weaves a colorful career
May is National Foster Care Month. Foster care is great when children are able to be reunited with their parents or legal caretakers. But sometimes, that is not possible. For over 3,000 children in Ohio’s foster care system, reunification will not happen. Now what? These children are able to be adopted into permanent, safe, and loving homes, like yours. When children age out of foster care, they are at high risk of unemployment, homelessness, and other negative outcomes. During National Foster Care Month, think about the difference you can make in a child’s life. To learn more about adoption, contact Open Arms Adoptions at 330-697-4751.
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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, Audrey Worthington directors@thedevilstrip.com
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Publisher: Chris Horne chris@thedevilstrip.com Editor-in-Chief: Noor Hindi noor@thedevilstrip.com Audience Development Director: Floco Torres floco@thedevilstrip.com
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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: 33 SOBER CHRONICLES WITH MARC LEE SHANNON 34 AKRONISMS WITH JEFF DAVIS 36 MAY ASTROLOGY WITH ANGIE AGNONI 38 DEVIL STRIP DISPORT
Client Solutions: Director: Anna Adelman anna@thedevilstrip.com Assistant: Allyson Smith allyson@thedevilstrip.com
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Distribution Manager: Derek Kreider derek@thedevilstrip.com
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Copy Editors: Megan Combs, Dave Daly, Emily Dressler, Shannon Farrell Freelance Contributors: Emily Anderson, Angie Agnoni, Abbey Bashor, Martha Belden, Nahla Bendefaa, Julie Ciotola, Kyle Cochrun, Jeff Davis, Nic deCourville, Megan Delong, Ace Epps, Ken Evans, Charlotte Gintert, Charlee Harris, Zinga Hart, Jillian Holness, Todd Jakubisin, Dani Jauk, Josy Jones, Jamie Keaton, Diane Pitz Kilivris, Laura Lakins, Marissa Marangoni, Sandy Maxwell, Brandon Meola, Vanessa Michelle, Yoly Miller, Melanie Mohler, Brittany Nader, John Nicholas, Brynne Olsen, Susan Pappas, Ilenia Pezzaniti, Michael Roberts, Arrye Rosser, Mark Schweitzer, Marc Lee Shannon, Teresa Sroka, Karla Tipton, Paul Treen, Steve Van Auken.
5 MEET BALLET DANCER JONATHAN MCCRAY JUNIOR. 6 JASON BLAKELY OF POETRY IS LIFE PUBLISHING 8 NORTH HILL MARBLE & GRANITE 9 AKRON MARCH FOR OUR LIVES 10 AKRON ANTIQUES BRINGS HANDMADE VINTAGE PIECES 12 CHAIR-ITY FURNISHES HOMES FOR FOSTER YOUTH 14 AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE BROADBAND 16 VINIFERA WINE AND WHISKEY TASTING ROOM 18 ATOMIC HOUDINI 20 LOCK 3 REDESIGN PLANS 22 VEGAN MEAT AT PICKLED PROTEINS 24 AKRON HOPE TUTORING PROGRAM 27 FIBER ARTIST NATALIE GRIESHAMMER 28 THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON DODGEBALL TEAM 30 FREEDOM TRAIL
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
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Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
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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.
May 2021 · Vol 9 · Issue #5
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WHAT’S NEXT? Creating memories and new experiences are common goals that can seem impossible to achieve. We can help you quantify these expenses to make your goals more attainable.
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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
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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. 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?
On the Cover: 1 THIS PHOTO BY NOOR HINDI CAPTURES 15 YEAR OLD JONATHAN MCCRAY. LEARN MORE ABOUT JONATHAN ON THE NEXT PAGE.
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.
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t s c t
T i H S Y p s w a
M s S o
“ “ thedevilstrip.com
News, Arts & Culture
Journalism about Akron, by Akronites
Meet Jonathan McCray Jr, a 15-year-old ballet dancer recently accepted into the School of American Ballet in New York City By Noor Hindi
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5-year-old Jonathan McCray Jr. was not your typical kid. He loved classical music, he could moonwalk by age 9, and rather than riding his bike through the streets, his mother would find him choreographing dance routines in their backyard. Today, high school freshman McCray is already a successful ballet dancer. He was recently invited to attend the School of American Ballet in New York City on a full scholarship. The program takes place throughout the summer and is highly competitive, with only a small amount of applicants accepted each year. McCray, who is entering his sophomore year at Firestone High School, has been dreaming of this opportunity for years. “It’s unbelievable,” McCray says. “When I saw the notification, I
tapped it and read it and froze. I called everyone. I was jumping up and down and just so excited.”
“From there, I knew. This is what he loves.”
Though McCray was shocked, his mother, Angelita Hampton, says she wasn’t surprised at all. From the time he was 2 years old, she says it was clear McCray loved dancing and had a knack for dazzling crowds.
Over the last three years, McCray has been attending Nan Klinger Excellence in Dance studio in Cuyahoga Falls where he hones his skills and practices ballet with professional dancers.
In fact, in second grade, McCray received a standing ovation at his school’s talent show after performing Michael Jackson’s “Black or White.” That’s when Hampton realized dancing was McCray’s calling.
The challenge of ballet is what keeps McCray coming back to this style of dance. McCray says he’s had to do a lot of explaining over the years to show people just how athletic it is.
“He was amazing,” Hampton says. “He moonwalked, he did every signature dance that Michael would do. And when the program was over, I went looking for him. I’m like, ‘Where is this boy?’ And there was a big crowd of people around my baby. And I’m busting through the crowd. And he’s signing autographs,’” she laughs.
Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
“Ballet is really hard,” McCray says. “It takes a lot of strength, a lot of patience, a lot of training and a lot of mental strength. It takes a real athlete.” Aside from the physicality of ballet and perfecting the form, McCray says he loves being on stage and sharing his hard work with others.
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“It feels so good. It’s surreal. To finally share with people what you’ve been working on and for them to appreciate it so much and stand and clap. Honestly, it’s just like, ‘Wow. I did that.’ That’s why I felt like I needed to perform during quarantine. That’s a feeling that you start to miss.’” Before the pandemic began, McCray was supposed to perform “The Snow Queen: A Frozen Fairy Tale” with Ballet Excel Ohio at the Akron Civic Theatre. Though the event was initially canceled because of the pandemic, it’s been rescheduled for this June. McCray will be one of the lead performers. Watch McCray in action on June 12 and June 13 by visiting akroncivic.com. // Noor Hindi is The Devil Strip’s equity and inclusion reporter. Email her at noorhindi.com. The Devil Strip
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Jason Blakely stands on the dock at Summit Lake on April 20, 2021. Photo by Ilenia Pezzaniti.
Jason Blakely thinks of a moment he’s proud of at Summit Lake on April 20, 2021. Photo by Ilenia Pezzaniti.
Jason Blakely offers area poets voices with heart through Poetry Is Life Publishing by Marissa Marangoni
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f there is one thing that Jason Blakely has, it’s heart. That heart is behind everything he does at Poetry Is Life Publishing (PILP), his independent publishing company. Inspired by a dry, impersonal rejection he received after submitting a manuscript he had poured his soul into for publication, Blakely felt a calling to buck the standards of the traditional publishing industry. He started Poetry Is Life Publishing in 2004 to give voice to poets whose voices are often unheard. Poetry Is Life Publishing is a unique small press. Unlike other publishing companies, there is no slush pile, no folder full of backlogged submissions, no pile of writing that is unread or unappreciated. Every piece of writing submitted to PILP is carefully reviewed and handled with respect. “Poets take the time to be vulnerable and share parts of their lives with me. Just because I’m an editor, [that] doesn’t give me the right to ignore their experience like it didn’t exist,” Blakely says. No one’s story is ignored at PILP. All writers have an equal opportunity to publish, giving the company an impressive record of diverse authors. From a compilation about the Black experience to a chapbook inspired
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by the loss of a child, PILP publishes the work of real people. If you look around the PILP website, you’ll likely run across the line, “Now! They will listen to us!” When I ask Blakely what that’s about, he explains, “Where I come from, there’s an idea of who gets to say what and whose voice matters and whose voice doesn’t.” According to the 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey by Lee and Low Books, in the writing world, white people make up 76% of published writers. Blakely, however, opens his arms to all writers, including writers without industry connections, without formal education, and without polished, perfect manuscripts. He dedicates his services to “…People who are grinding, who are honest, sincere.” When I say that Blakely dedicates himself, I don’t say it lightly. Blakely spends one-on-one time with writers who approach him, helping them shape their work into something they are truly proud of by the time he prints. As he says, Blakely offers writers “Genuine connection…They can call and ask me about anything, and I’ll answer. I always want to be accessible to the people who trust me with their work.” He goes above and beyond to, as he says, honor artists. This is evident, especially when he tells me he once rode his bike in the snow from one side of
Akron to another to answer a writer’s questions about his process and make sure she felt heard. The respect and support that Blakely gives to writers is unmatched in an industry known for callous, cold rejection. Poets who choose to take their writing to PILP work directly with Blakely himself. They don’t need an agent to connect with his company, nor do they need to figure out how to take their Word document and make sure it’s properly aligned for printing. Poets who approach PILP work with Blakely to establish a budget for their project and determine the services they want PILP to provide to them. From editing to cover design and marketing, Blakely offers writers a complete publishing package with a rare personal touch. Blakely takes his time to talk through the poet’s manuscript with them, making sure he understands their vision for their work and even helps them through their writing before guiding them through the final steps of the writing process. Blakely offers writers another set of eyes and ears to make sure what he publishes is exactly what they want. Poets taking the traditional publishing route are expected to submit flawless manuscripts that are ready to print, and poets choosing to self-publish
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only have the support of themselves. Poetry Is Life Publishing offers writers a third option with built-in support. The publishing industry is brutal and can take a toll on a person who is unfamiliar with what to expect or how to navigate the system. Rejections are a big part of a writer’s reality, but the blow can be lessened when a response to a submission is personalized. However, personalized rejections are rare, and most rejections are the same: A “Thank you for submitting,” and a “Good luck.” Sometimes, there isn’t even that. As Blakely says, “No response is a response.” With PILP, there is always a response. When rejection must happen, Blakely takes the time to contact the writer personally and explain his decision. The passion Blakely has for publishing is evident through our conversation. His involvement in the local writing scene is heavy. Poetry Is Life Publishing holds several annual poetry contests, features poems of the month on the website, and even sells a calendar that features several of Akron’s own poets. Being a writer himself allows Blakely to appreciate and respond to the trials writers face when pursuing publication. Blakely believes that Akron’s writers have the potential to make big changes, to say things that people thedevilstrip.com
Jason Blakely holds a sign that reads, Support All Akron Poetry, at Summit Lake on April 20, 2021. At Poetry Is Life Publishing, all writers have an equal opportunity to publish their work. Photo by Ilenia Pezzaniti.
need to hear in a different way that may open them to doing things differently. However, before this can happen, all artists’ voices must be welcomed in Akron. He says, “There was no Black history poetry, no national women’s month poetry, but April is National Poetry month—and I bet there’s going to be a ton of poetry then—but what about the rest of the year?” From what I can tell, Blakely tries to answer that question, using PILP to celebrate diverse voices year-round.
Publishing, however, is focused on writers, giving them a different path to get their words out into the world. Blakely says that the writers he works with are “People who fall down and stand up stronger and keep moving forward.” They’re people who are all too familiar with rejection, and instead of serving them up more of it, Blakely offers them a hand, asks them about their story, sits beside them as they write it, and, when they are ready, he puts it on pages so people can read it.
Most publishing companies are focused on financial gain, which is directly impacted by the satisfaction of their readers. Poetry Is Life
// Marissa has been writing for the Devil Strip since 2015. She’s an instructional designer / technical writer by day, creative writer by night, and really loves popcorn.
Jason Blakely holds a sign that reads, Support All Akron Poetry. Jason created Poetry Is Life Publishing to provide equal publishing opportunity to all poets. Photo by Ilenia Pezzaniti.
North Hill Marble & Granite owner Larry Conti uses software to design a custom memorial stone.
Bethel-Miller Memorials production facility in Canton, where marble and granite are still hand-sculpted for clients at all three Conti Memorial Group locations.
A hand-sculpted statue awaiting final touches at Bethel-Miller Memorials’ warehouse.
Straps used to lift cuts of marble and granite at Bethel-Miller Memorials production facility in Canton, one of three locations Conti owns and manages.
A story in stone: North Hill Marble & Granite serves Akron families for more than a century Writing, reporting and photos by H.L. Comeriato
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or more than a century, North Hill Marble & Granite has had the same address.
At the corner of North Howard Street and Frederick Avenue, the company’s showroom overlooks the city’s skyline. When Fred Giacomini and Gaetano Buzzi founded the company in 1918, Akron was in the midst of the Spanish Flu epidemic, which killed more than 600 Akronites by the end of 1919. From their shop in North Hill, the business churned out custom, handcarved memorials and monuments designed to help Akronites honor and commemorate loved ones who had succumbed to the disease. Today, owner Larry Conti and his team of artists and designers hold tight to that history as they help clients navigate the process of designing and creating memorials and monuments during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I grew up here on North Hill,” Conti says. “My grandparents had a house on North Hill. My parents had a house on North Hill. I’m actually the first one in my family to move off the hill.”
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In 1998, the descendants of the Buzzi brothers sold the company to Rock of Ages Corp., a national quarrying and supply company looking to try their hand at retail. Based in Vermont, Rock of Ages sells granite and marble exclusively to franchised companies like North Hill Marble & Granite. “It’s not a franchise you can buy,” Conti says, but rather a status awarded to monument and memorial dealers based on their workmanship and reputation. Every stone Conti helps create is reviewed by a Rock of Ages inspector. Conti worked for Rock of Ages for the next decade. When the company decided to abandon the retail side of the memorial and monument business in 2008, they sold Conti the three locations he already managed. When Conti started working at Portage Marble & Granite in 1971, he never imagined he’d own the business himself but says he’s happy to have played a part in reverting North Hill Marble & Granite to a smaller, family-owned business. “We went from a family business to a large corporation, back to a family business,” he says. Conti’s adult children, Scott Conti and Kelly Adams, both work for the business, along with his nephew and son-inlaw. Kristin Buzzi-Feora, a fourthgeneration descendant of company
Sculptors’ tools at Bethel-Miller Memorials production facility in Canton.
founder Gaetano Buzzi, manages the company’s North Hill location. “I’ve got five children and 14 grandchildren,” Conti says. “So it’s a family business — somehow, someway, they’re all [involved].” For Conti, those generational ties are paramount when it comes to helping families honor their loved ones in personalized and innovative ways. At a conference table in North Hill Marble & Granite’s showroom, Conti drags floral designs over a computergenerated headstone on a flatscreen TV. Nearly a decade ago, Conti invested in design software that allows families to design memorials in real time — changing shape, color and lettering until the design feels perfect. Over the years, Conti says custom, personalized designs have become the company’s specialty. “A lot of times people will design it themselves,” he says. “We’ll start doing different things with them and they’ll say, ‘Well, let’s move the flowers over here, or can we add a ‘57 Chevy or a bag of golf clubs?’ We can do anything like that. We can personalize it any way imaginable.” “We sit down with people, [and] we talk to them a lot to figure out what’s important to them — what
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their interests are, what their hobbies are, if they’re a religious family. Whatever’s important to them, we try to design the memorial,” Conti says. Whether the design is a small, flat marker or a large family mausoleum, Conti says he and his team of artists and designers strive to treat every client with the same respect — regardless of the price tag. “When a person comes in, we explain to them the cost so they understand everything,” he says. “If I need a TV, I want somebody to explain everything about it. It’s the same with memorials. We do take the time to explain it so they make the best decision for them.” That quality craftsmanship is part of the company’s history, says Conti, and certainly part of its future: “That’s the highlight of our [work] — when a family walks off feeling good about what they’re doing. We help people at the most trying time in their life, and we try to do it in an easy, peaceful way for the family,” Conti says. “When you’re telling that story in stone, it’s really for the living, and for generations to come.” // H.L. Comeriato covers public health at The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach them at HL@ thedevilstrip.com.
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Top Right: Former Ohio State Senator and current Ohio congressional candidate Nina Turner speaks on gun violence at Akron’s March for Our Lives event on April 24. Bottom wLeft: Kody Cross — local organizer and member of the Akron chapter of March for Our Lives — speaks to the media during the March for Our Lives event.
Bottom: Kenyona Sunny Matthews — local organizer, educator and member of the Summit County Commission for Equality and Justice — speaks at Akron’s March for Our Lives event at the Highland Square Branch Library.
Above: Demonstrator Tony Collins-Sibley flies both the rainbow LGBTQ Pride flag and the American flag, sporting a hat in support of the Green New Deal.
“We are not powerless. We are powerful” Akron March for Our Lives demands end to gun violence Reporting and photos by H. L. Comeriato
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n April 24, the Akron chapter of March for Our Lives — founded by organizers Kody Cross, Allayna Stevens and Myriam Rosser — hosted a demonstration at the Highland Square Branch Library. The event was organized in collaboration with Gods Before Guns — a Cleveland-based, multifaith coalition working to reduce gun violence — and the recently-formed Summit County Commission for Equality and Justice. The event hosted several speakers, including Ward 5 Councilmember Tara Mosely Samples, Ward 8 Councilmember Shammas Malik,
local organizer Kenyona Sunny Matthews and former Ohio State Senator and current Democratic Ohio congressional candidate Nina Turner. In 2018, the Akron chapter of March for Our Lives organized a march in solidarity with a national demonstration in Washington D.C. — which was organized by survivors of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and attended by more than 1.2 million protestors. Over the last year, Akron communities have seen a devastating surge of gun violence. In 2020 alone, 8-year-old Mikayla Pickett, 6-year-old Mar’Viyah Jones, 14-year-old Ty’Leia Junius, 18-year-old Na’kia Crawford and 20-month-old Tyree Halsell were all killed by gunfire.
Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
“The last time we gathered together in this city to demand an end to gun violence in a March for Our Lives, it was three years and one month ago — March 24, 2018. You could also say 37 months ago. Or, you could say 1,127 days ago,” Cross said. “That is 1,127 days of continued inaction by our elected leaders.” “We are not powerless. We are powerful. We are kitchen table voters. We are the electorate.” Cross recounted a night when he and his mother narrowly avoided neighborhood gunfire on the walk home from work: “We were caught in the center of a back-and-forth gunfight as we were walking home. Luckily, one of the teenage boys — likely, a kid that I grew up with in that
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neighborhood that we’ve lived in for 10 years — warned us to get out of the way. We ran so fast. We were terrified.” “[Eliminating gun violence] is not going to happen just because we hope for it to happen. It’s going to happen because conscious-minded people, from all walks of life, put a little ‘extra’ on their ‘ordinary,’ — so their extraordinary can happen. It can happen, sisters and brothers. We are marching for our lives: our lives today, and the lives of generations yet unborn.” // H.L. Comeriato covers public health at The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach them at HL@ thedevilstrip.com.
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Akron Antiques brings handmade crafts, vintage pieces to Ellet Reporting, writing and photos by Melanie Mohler
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hen imagining an antique store, many people may think of a store filled with old, overpriced and dusty relics where touching anything is forbidden. However, one local woman is challenging those preconceptions. Jennifer Bernzweig is the owner of Akron Antiques, located at 930 Canton Rd. on the border of Ellet and Springfield. She grew up antiquing with her dad, who bought and sold vintage jewelry. Since then, she has casually bought and sold antiques on the side. Now working as a real estate agent and running the antique store, she has found that these two part-time jobs work well together. About eight years ago, Jennifer began creating jewelry from upcycled materials including silverware, thimbles, and pocket watches. She sold her pieces, such as spoon rings and pocket watch pendants, at local craft shows and flea markets and rented spaces in stores. Jennifer loves making jewelry, but the shows were becoming too much. “It just wasn’t as fun as I wanted it to be… I was doing four to 10 local shows a month,” she says. Northeast
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Ohio weather was another factor, particularly one show with tornadolike conditions. “I was watching other people’s tents and booths go rolling past mine, and I was like you know what, I think I need to rent a space.” She finally decided to look for a permanent storefront, mainly so that her jewelry would have a home, but also so that she could sell antiques. After looking at many different locations, she decided on a building that was formerly an automotive repair shop. Not only did she like the space, she liked the location. Located on Route 91, the store is in a hightraffic area and she and her family live nearby. Akron Antiques opened in October 2019, only five months before having to close in March 2020 due to the pandemic. The store has since reopened to the public. However, Jennifer says, “I would not have made it through COVID if it weren’t for Instagram and Facebook.” Jennifer notes that she makes a lot of sales through Instagram. She regularly posts photos of her new finds and different displays in the store. Customers can then comment on the post or directly message her to hold items until they can make it to the shop.
As for sourcing her antique finds, Jennifer’s favorite place to find treasures is estate auctions. In addition, she looks for items at flea markets and yard sales. She has also had customers walk into the store with items they are looking to sell, which she will buy if it’s something she believes will sell. One of her favorite things to source is furniture. She looks for pieces that are structurally intact, but may just need repainted or some minor repairs. Other items for sale at Akron Antiques include costume jewelry, old books, picture frames and art glass. “I try to keep my prices really really fair, because that’s how I like to shop,” Jennifer says. When sourcing, she asks herself, “How can I sell this affordably?” Her goal is for the pieces to be sold and used, not sitting in her store gathering dust. “It’s living history, but it can’t continue if people are afraid to have it in their house,” Jennifer says. This past fall Jennifer held a trunk show with a local artist inside the store. In the future, trunk shows and even classes will be a common fixture at Akron Antiques. Once it is safer, she also wants to hold hybrid shows, which can include antiques, vintage
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goods and handmade items. There is a large parking lot next to the building with plenty of space to host vendors. She hopes events like this could help fill the void in Akron, as she points out that the city does not have its own truly local flea. For now, Akron Antiques is open Fridays and Saturdays 11am–4pm, but Jennifer is happy to make appointments during other times of the week to accommodate customers that cannot visit at those times or would like to shop without other people in the store. Jennifer works hard to make sure Akron Antiques is accessible and fun. “A lot of people think antique stores are stodgy, expensive and you’re not allowed to touch anything,” she says. “I want people to know that they can come to my store and look for casual [and] fun things. And it’s not going to be crazy expensive.” You can learn more about Akron Antiques on their Instagram (@ akronantiques) and Facebook pages. // Melanie Mohler is a West Hill resident with a love for baking, cross stitch, and local history.
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Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
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Chair -ity furnishes homes for agedout foster youth in Northeast Ohio Writing and reporting by Abbey Marshall
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hen De’Jan Wilder aged out of foster care following her 18th birthday, her boot to independence left her feeling like she didn’t really have a home. After a short stay with her grandmother, she got her first apartment. But like many foster care youth, she had limited money and support so she spent weeks sleeping on the floor of her unfurnished apartment. “I didn’t have nothing,” Wilder, now 20, says. Then she found Chair-ity, a nonprofit founded in 2014 by Akron native Maria Paparella. “They helped me get tables, a bed, bed frame, box springs, couches,
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lamps and stuff like that,” Wilder says. “She furnished my house. She did everything. It was a hard situation, but I feel like it’s gotten better because of support like that.” The nonprofit, started by Paparella when she was in high school, works to furnish the homes of aged-out foster care youth in Northeast Ohio. Since its inception, which focused its efforts in Summit County, the organization has expanded into five additional surrounding counties. “The first delivery was pretty shocking to me. While I had the whole list that told me everything I’d be bringing, I don’t think I truly realized that I’d go in and they’d be sleeping on the ground with a blanket and be waiting for us to come,” Paparella, now 23, says. “It’s amazing to see how you can change someone’s outlook or help someone get on their feet with simple acts like this.”
Growing up as an only child, Paparella longed for a sibling, but when her family discovered they were unable to conceive another child, they began exploring the options of fostering and adopting. She recalls opening the Summit County Children Services website and combing through profiles of children in need of a home. She remembers landing on the photo of a girl her age and fantasizing about her becoming her sister: they shared the same interests and their birthdays were even a few days apart. Ultimately, the process of adoption, as many families find, was too costly and incredibly time consuming. But Paparella didn’t forget that little girl whom she wanted so desperately to be her sister. As she was taking the next steps in her life, planning for college and a career, she also began researching the foster care system and talking to social workers about what happens to children who aren’t
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adopted. “I couldn’t imagine being 18 and being completely on my own,” she says. “I knew that when I went to college, my parents would be driving me there, helping me navigate that whole process.” Eager to help, she spoke with social workers about the biggest needs of foster care systems. One of the things a social worker brought up was lack of funds to furnish housing units once foster kids move out. “While the county’s social services can provide a lot of resources for them, there’s this gap. To warehouse furniture, get a truck, move it from and to a space; you need a whole other group to do that,” she says. “I remember thinking, ok, this is something that is manageable for me to organize.” Social workers helped connect Paparella, then a high school thedevilstrip.com
sophomore, with aged-out foster youth, and she began organizing pick-ups of unused furniture from family friends to deliver. What began as a modest operation with some donated warehouse space and a truck continued to grow as word spread about what she was doing. After Paparella graduated from Kenyon College in spring 2020, she decided to focus her attention on Chair-ity. Since then, she has expanded efforts beyond Akron into five surrounding counties: Ashtabula, Lake, Cuyahoga, Medina and Stark. In every delivery, Chair-ity provides basic furniture needed for a small apartment, such as beds, couches, coffee tables, lamps and even kitchen utensils. Paparella also emphasizes the importance of making sure to provide beds for children in the house as well, as required by social services. “Our ability to provide beds for children is really important. Eight in 10 girls that age out of foster care will become pregnant before 24,” Paparella says. “We need to ensure they don’t have separation from their children as they were separated from their parents and don’t go through that same cycle of trauma again.” Chair-ity has provided for 98 youth in Summit County and about 40 children of those aged-out youth
since 2014. With expansion to six counties in the past six months, the organization delivered to over 140 youth and 70 children. She’s still awaiting that 100-home milestone in Summit County––a goal she expected to reach at most eight months ago. The federal eviction moratorium, while intended to assist people who cannot pay rent due to loss of income during the pandemic, has restricted options for youth aging out of foster care who typically move into housing in low-income areas with high turnover rates. If a landlord is unable to evict, there are fewer available units and new tenants cannot move in and are experiencing instantaneous homelessness before Chair-ity can reach them. Another problem Paparella says the eviction moratorium poses is a landlord’s willingness to approve an 18-year-old for a housing unit — even though many of them qualify for housing vouchers that guarantee rent. “A lot of landlords are unlikely to rent out right now because they don’t want someone to come in if they’re worried they won’t be able to pay and they can’t kick the tenant out,” Paparella says. “So it’s not only about finding empty space, but finding
someone willing to work with these youth.”
that inspired Paparella to start Chairity in the first place.
The pandemic has also diminished the number of volunteers because some are not comfortable with entering homes to pick up or deliver furniture. Because Paparella is the only staff member and relies heavily on those volunteers, she considered a new option to keep youth she’s previously served involved with the organization. “I was able to reach out and asked if they wanted a side gig, and I’ve actually been able to hire some of them to do deliveries for us,” she says. Paparella provides them with masks and gloves and information about how to stay safe when picking up and delivering items.
“We were able to serve her, and it was such a good way to close that chapter and know my initial goal of helping her came true and came to fruition. It was such a special moment.”
“It’s been pretty awesome. It’s given them experience with delivery and service work to add to a resume, and if they can show up to work on time and be dependable and accomplish certain tasks, I can recommend them to other companies for more full time, sustainable work.” Paparella has high hopes for the future of Chair-ity, including a five-year goal to expand into every Ohio county and ultimately, have a national presence. But she says one of the most rewarding moments was meeting the girl from her childhood
If you would like to donate or volunteer, visit www.chair-ity. org. Paparella’s rule of thumb? “If you wouldn’t give the furniture to your own kids, please don’t give it to ours.” Photos provided by Maria Paparella. // Abbey Marshall covers economic development for The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach her at abbey@thedevilstrip.com.
“Internet is a basic building block:” Advocates push for affordable and accessible broadband amid growing digital divide Writing, reporting and photos by Abbey Marshall
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enise McCormick and her three children spend weekdays working and studying from library computers. It’s not that they don’t have internet access in their North Hill home; it just doesn’t work very well. Between her three teenagers completing virtual school work and being a single working mother studying for a degree online, the family is all too familiar with waiting for screens to load and getting booted from classroom Zoom calls. Upgrading their internet plan would be expensive: McCormick already pays $100 a month. “The digital divide is definitely real,” McCormick says. “With everything being forced digitally, every city in this country should be organizing better [broadband] infrastructure because COVID is a perfect example of how things can be restricted for people who can’t afford it.” The pandemic has only exacerbated the digital divide. The widening cracks in equity have prompted the city and county to address accessibility concerns for residents. A potential path local officials are exploring is a major broadband infrastructure investment that would provide internet as a public utility, which would require at least a $70
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million investment and years of construction. Advocates were hopeful to use a portion of the $153 million grant the city received as part of the federal American Rescue Act, but broadband was not included on Mayor Dan Horrigan’s list of priorities, so questions of affordability still remain. A look at broadband access in Akron Akron is one of seven Ohio cities labeled as “distressed” when it comes to broadband access. Nearly 16% of households in the city do not have access to any broadband, including a phone data plan, according to a 2019 report from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. More than 31% of residents do not have access to broadband with cable, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or fiber optic, which allow for high-speed access that enables users to send and receive data quickly, stream video with little to no buffering and more. The report looked at households that were tapped into and using the internet, not just whether it was available. Unlike in many distressed Ohio counties, primarily located in rural Southeast, it’s not necessarily an access issue; it’s an affordability issue. Ohio has the 13th highest overall cost for utilities — including electric, gas, water, cable and internet — of any other state, according to data
compiled in 2018 by move.org, a site that collects information and data related to moving, such as expenses. Who is excluded from internet access? In addition to many residents now working from home, Akron Public School students spent nearly an entire school year instructing students virtually. While the district provided and paid for more than 1,400 hotspots and 50 Spectrum accounts for students in need of internet access, that is not a long-tterm solution for keeping students digitally connected. On April 1, Akron City Council and the Akron Public Schools Board of Education, met to address the internet accessibility crisis facing students. “We realized more than ever how important technology really is and how maybe not prepared we really were for this pandemic that hit,” Margo Sommerville, city council president, said at the April 1 meeting. “Children were doing remote learning in their home. The absence of WiFi and technology posed a lot of issues.” Though many students returned to classrooms in March, questions have been raised about how lack of internet access at home affects students’ ability to complete their homework.
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“If kids need to do homework in the evenings and they’re leaning on the internet only at the library, it sets them up for failure,” McCormick, the North Hill mother of three, says. “That’s just the bottom line.” The problem goes beyond inequity in education, as digital access is necessary in many professions and facets of life. When 29-year-old Ajante Buchanan became homeless, he turned to the public library for internet access. With a two-hour limitation, he maxes out his time each day searching for jobs and housing options. “It can go fast, especially when I’m trying to look for a job or if I have to deal with a time-sensitive matter,” he says. The difficulty of not having a phone or regular internet connection goes beyond reliance on public facilities. Everything is reliant on the internet, he says, from banking to telehealth visits, which have made “times especially troubling” during the pandemic, when a lot of in-person locations have closed and shifted services online. “It’s just becoming more and more important to have, and it’s almost a necessity,” Buchanan says. “It’s hard to function in society without it. Everything is communicated online.”
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What is broadband and how does it work? Broadband is a way of transporting data, like a video call or movie, from one place to another. Sometimes that is through optic fiber or phone lines. Optic fiber, which is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that transmits the data, is laid underground by an internet provider and must connect up to a residence directly for internet hook-up. It is one of the most efficient and fastest ways of transmitting data and the one the city plans on using if they complete the project with FairlawnGig.
How to secure low-cost internet if you are in need If you have or are a student within Akron Public Schools, contact the district at 330-761-1661. APS has limited hotspots to lend to families based on need. Spectrum offers a low-income assist for households that qualify for the following programs: National School Lunch Program (NSLP), Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of NSLP or Supplemental Security Income (for applications over 65). Plans for high speed internet include a free modem, no data caps or contracts and in-home WiFi at $5 a month. You must fill out an online applicaiton at www.spectrum.net/support/ forms/spectrum_internet_assist. You can use the public library or community centers to complete that form. AT&T offers an affordable internet plan for low-income households that includes $10 a month high speed internet, free installation and in-home WiFi without an annual contract or deposit. Households must qualify based on income or participation in programs like NSLP, Head Start or Supplemental Nutritional Access Program (SNAP). Visit www.att.com/internet/ access to learn more and see if you qualify. All library branches have free WiFi and computers for the public to use.
How broadband could function as a public utility with a $70 million infrastructure update At the April 1 joint meeting, Deputy Mayor of Integrated Development James Hardy recommended a partnership with the county and FairlawnGig on a feasibility study to explore the potential cost and benefit of building out a municipal utility. If the city and county decided to pursue that route, FairlawnGig, a municipal utility internet service provider in Fairlawn, would install a fiber optic connection under city roads to provide a more accessible, affordable connection.
In Akron, there are two main options when it comes to internet providers: AT&T or Spectrum. Both have existing wired broadband throughout the city to provide service. Spectrum and AT&T plans start at $50 and $35, respectively, for the first year then increase after 12 months. Both offer a low-income assist for qualified households. The project would make the internet similar to water and sewage utility services, both of which are city provided and managed. Both
Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
Fairlawn and Hudson completed similar broadband projects. That means creating more infrastructure to make broadband more accessible to all Akronites. Rather than relying on private internet providers’ broadband and fiber already laid inground, the city, partnered with FairlawnGig, would tear up many Akron roads to install new fiber that connects to each household.
Ward 8 councilperson Shammas Malik on April 1. “Internet is a basic building block in society and we are all spending our time on how to approach our systems with equity. Owning the system and being able to provide at a very discounted rate to our entire community might pay huge dividends.”
That’s why the price tag is estimated to be at least $70 million, which is about 20% of the capital budget for an entire year, and the timeline would stretch several years.
Akron received a $153 million grant from the federal American Rescue Act, which will be dispersed in two rounds and must be used by the end of 2024. It is the most significant amount of money the city has ever received in its history.
Once complete, however, every Akron resident could tap into a locally sourced, affordable internet connection. Plans for FairlawnGig will be cheaper than private internet providers, though the city still has to negotiate the details. “With water and sewer, the city’s investment is enormous,” said
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Where would the money come from?
While there was talk of using some of those funds during the April 1 meeting, Mayor Dan Horrigan released a list of priority areas for the unprecedented stimulus — which did not include broadband. “Both the schools and city have no The Devil Strip
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shortage of pressing needs, so when you start to put in perspective the cost involved of building out a lowcost, affordable, municipal broadband alternative, we need to look through all these different priorities as well,” Hardy says. “Broadband is a huge equity issue, but getting broadband does not solve inequity. It’s one piece of a larger pie we need to be assessing.” Because of broadband infrastructure’s omission from that list of priorities, Hardy says it’s “not probable” the city could afford to spend that kind of money on its own, especially because the original intent was to lift a cost burden from taxpayers. He says the city is looking to the county for leadership on the idea of a potential multi-jurisdictional partnership between communities on affordable broadband internet. He also recommended at the April 1 meeting that the city or county consider putting out a request for bids for an agency to create a feasibility study for the project. If not infrastructure, what other options exist? They are also considering alternatives, such as subsidizing costs for lowincome households and broadcasting WiFi signals from buildings in the city. “But in terms of broadband infrastructure, we are beholden to telecommunications companies partnering with us with no leverage on our side, or building it out ourselves,” Hardy says. City officials are holding out hope for passage of the massive federal infrastructure bill President Joe Biden is shepherding through Congress, which includes plans and funding for significant broadband overhaul. In addition, Ohio legislators are considering passage of bipartisan House Bill 2, the piece of legislation that describes Akron as a “distressed city.” If passed by the Ohio Senate, $210 million in state grants would be dispersed to underserved and distressed communities for highspeed internet. Gov. Mike DeWine has been vocal about investing in broadband. In the meantime, the city continues to explore other means of providing accessible or free internet sites for residents. FairlawnGig set up a fiber ring around Downtown Akron using county CARES Act funding as a foundational piece for a potential public utility, and the city is also installing free high-speed WiFi via FairlawnGig at every community
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center. “It’s not ideal, but we are making small incremental progress,” Hardy says. “That pace is almost completely due to the price tag to build out the fiber in every street throughout the city. Certainly it’s doable, but the reason we haven’t completely pulled the trigger with its significant cost.” That doesn’t mean it is any less urgent to mothers like McCormick, whose home internet isn’t getting any faster or more affordable. “If [the city] wants to do something for us taxpayers and parents that’s trying to motivate our children to be inspired to learn, they need to get us on a better, more affordable broadband network,” McCormick says. “Spectrum is making a killing and the internet quality isn’t there for us.”
The wine selection at Vinifera is always growing and being updated. John likes to guide his customers in new and interesting directions on their wine journey, but he is also guided by them. He listens to feedback from his employees and customers, and he aims to have great wine for every wine drinker who comes in.
// Abbey Marshall covers economic development for The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach her at abbey@thedevilstrip.com.
The whiskey selection at Vinifera is also impressive, with more than 100 different bottles available as half-ounce tasters or one-and-ahalf-ounce pours. They also have a seasonal cocktail list, developed collaboratively by the bartenders.
Vinifera opens elevated wine and whiskey tasting room in Cuyahoga Falls Reporting, writing and photos by Emily Anderson
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fter being married for 25 years, raising two children and excelling in their respective career fields, John and Michelle Bisson were not about to let a little thing like a global pandemic stop them from following through on their empty-nest goals. They began construction for their “wine to whiskey” bar, Vinifera, just days before COVID-19 closures were ordered last March. Through 2020, the Bissons remained calm and kept their eye on the ball. Now they’re the proud owners of a beautiful new addition to our community. John and Michelle are a match made in bar-business heaven. John worked for years as a sales representative in the craft beer and wine industries. Michelle is a marketing professional. On top of that, John grew up working at his parents’ Akron-area grocery stores — Bisson’s — which were known for their large wine selection. The idea for the Vinifera concept came from their favorite place to go out while visiting their daughter in Phoenix. The Bissons ended up meeting the owners of that crostini
The staff at Vinifera are not picky about how you choose to drink your wine, either. Pours are available as two-ounce samples, six-ounce glasses, or nine-ounce glasses. Of course, the most economical choice is always to go for the whole bottle. Unfinished purchased bottles can be taken home, and there’s a 10% discount on all carryout wine (15% if you get six or more bottles.)
bar and getting some tips and tricks to bring with them back to Akron. Vinifera (vin-IF-fera) feels like a swanky hotel bar without the steep prices. The dining room is clean and sleek — everything looks brand new. The white horseshoe-shaped bar features a beautiful enomatic wine system, which gives off a futuristic, high-end vibe. There are couches and comfy chairs to relax in, and the wine is displayed on a shelf that you can walk right up to and check out for yourself. You would never know that much of the construction had to be done by the Bissons themselves, or that they encountered shortages and obstacles at every turn while they set things up during the pandemic. It’s hard to believe that just a year ago this space still had dirt floors. The Bissons don’t take all the credit for the success they’ve experienced since opening. They got help with their plans from Bounce Innovation Hub, and they say their staff members are the ones pulling everything together. Michelle said the team at Vinifera “feels like a family” — then she laughed and added, “but without the drama.” John boasted, “We have one of the most experienced staffs in the business.” What John is great at is selecting wines. He has years of experience and passion in this department. He likes all kinds of wine, but he finds deep satisfaction out of discovering a really special bottle at a reasonable price. “Wine shouldn’t be pretentious,” he tells me. “There are a lot of $10 to $15 wines out there that are great.”
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The food menu, created by Chef Xavier Smith, is perfectly paired to the rest of the atmosphere. It’s simple yet thoughtful and made with highquality ingredients. There are pressed sandwiches, salads, and 12 options of crostini toppings. The crostinis can be ordered in flights to snack on while you sip. Despite their all-star employee lineup (Dave Glenny, former owner of Bricco, bartends there, for example), and the glamorous ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Don Walters in November, the opening of Vinifera was actually pretty low-key. Since then, word has spread around Akron and they’re getting busier all the time. John is already working on plans to expand the capacity of the kitchen for patio season. This summer at Vinifera, we can look forward to seasonal menu updates on the food and cocktails; lunch service on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; and sitting on their new, dog-friendly patio. As restrictions ease, John and Michelle are excited for more wine and whiskey tastings and educational events. Visit Vinifera at 3236 State Rd Suite A in Cuyahoga Falls. The restaurant is open Monday-Wednesday from 4-11 pm and Thursday-Saturday from 11:30 am-midnight. // Emily Anderson thinks everyone should go out and treat themselves often. thedevilstrip.com
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Atomic Houdini weaves music and painting for ‘synergy’ Reporting and writing by Kyle Cochrun he music and visual art of Chelan Riebe, aka Atomic Houdini, poses questions about the complex and seemingly ineffable latticework separating avant-garde boundary conditions and pop song accessibility, as well as slightly less interesting questions about influence and art as stylistic mélange meticulously crafted until genre tropes mutate beyond distinguishability, like an extra thick stew that’s been stirred so long you can barely recognize the ingredients.
“[Dandelion Fireworks] is the music that I was working on colliding with the interest that I had in painting, and then trying to create some sort of synergy between the two,” Chelan says. “[The album] came from me feeling that there were a lot of beautiful things in my life that were dying. Instead of holding on to these dying things, art allows us to embrace the impermanence, like blowing away seeds on a dandelion to let the wind plant something new. So the album is about the rebirth of relationships, creating new things with people, places, art.”
I met Chelan on the second floor of the Jenks building on Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls to discuss Dandelion Fireworks, his multimedia project consisting of an album’s worth of recorded music and a galleryshowing’s worth of oil paintings that correspond to each song, pushing forward and compounding on the themes and ideas embedded within each densely-layered track.
Chelan’s original idea for the project was to set up gallery showings. Each painting would have a QR code that viewers could scan with their phones, which would open a Bandcamp page containing the corresponding song and lyrics. Ideally, each patron would bring headphones and listen to the songs while viewing the paintings. “I finished drafting these songs quite awhile back and tried to figure out
T
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how I’d go about releasing them. I was thinking, ‘I want to paint more this upcoming winter,’ and I had already made the track artwork for each of the songs. I thought, ‘What if I use the digital artwork I already have as a reference point and try turning these into oil paintings?’” Chelan completed a trial run of the show at the Negative Space art gallery in Cleveland. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought tour plans to a halt. “I think it was a good idea,” Chelan says. “It just landed at the wrong time.” Musically, Dandelion Fireworks consists of 12 vividly textured indietronic pop songs in the same vein as Animal Collective (Chelan’s primary musical inspiration), Passion Pit (but a touch looser) and Phoenix (but a lot weirder). The melodies are catchy. The tone color is consistently remarkable. Sounds bubble, spurt, scrape, snap, gush and blast
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through headphones, the ideal way to listen. As sonic experience, Dandelion Fireworks is rich to the point of superabundance, at times sounding like a lustrous pop-forward successor to Brian Eno’s studio-ascompositional-tool approach. “Dandelion Fireworks is completely software-based outside of vocals and field recordings gathered for sampling,” Chelan says. “I tend to move from one thing to the next very quickly. I want to explore new ideas and play around with different sounds.” Chelan’s exploratory instinct is evident in the playful sonic flourishes spattered throughout Dandelion Fireworks. Album opener “Static Hymn” includes eight-bit melody blocks reminiscent of primitive Super Mario games. “Laughter Like” cakes reverberant sheen all over the inimitable Roland TR 808 cowbell. The vocals on “Water Rising” project from a tidepool of sound effects that layer electronic ripples over Chelan’s thedevilstrip.com
voice, making it sound as if the lyrics are gurgling up from a fountain jet. Listeners who seek out music with a variety of rich tone colors will be ecstatic. Dandelion Fireworks is clearly an album that was meticulously crafted, and the result is a listening experience that leaves you feeling full after Chelan’s vocoder glob thins out and trickles off at the end of album closer “Dead Webs.” The songs are as dense lyrically and thematically as they are sonically. In fact, listening to Dandelion Fireworks feels a lot like listening to Chelan discuss his thoughts on art and life, minus the opportunity for meticulous revision. He flits from discussing suit of swords tarot cards to conceptual blending to Russian abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky. Every seemingly disparate thought connects back to art. His mode of conversation is thoughtful and associative, and though you may have to work to fit some pieces together, it’s clear that Chelan mulls over his ideas.
The original display notes for the Dandelion Fireworks exhibit exemplify this nicely. For example, this is the description for “Static Hymn:” Song – “Paintings in cave walls, echo now, in bathroom stalls…” History, much like our personal memories, is a collection of biased retellings. Moments from a past that can never be fully known. For me, my impulses and motivations highlight the illusory nature of change. It seems our inner workings have remained relatively static since we started painting on cave walls thousands of years ago. Painting – A handprint is the most basic “I was here” of our species. Melding the characteristics of a fingerprint and a computer scan, this depiction implies a static identity cast in the light of shifting externalities. The background features an interpretation of a cave painting from 5000 BC that prominently features handprints. Each song-painting combination
The devil strip is on a mission to keep akron local If you want your organization to become a Community Partner, call or text Anna Adelman at 330-992-4AKR or by email at anna@thedevilstrip.com. For more info, visit https://devilst.rip/CPP
explores a different concept. To walk through a gallery of Chelan’s oil paintings while listening to the songs on Dandelion Fireworks and reading these little notes makes for an immersive experience in the mind of Chelan Riebe. Despite the meticulous nature of his art – Chelan claims this project took half a decade to complete – and the abundance of ideas, Dandelion Fireworks is memoir at its core. When I ask Chelan to summarize what the project is about, he paraphrases a song by Noah Gundersen: “Am I giving all that I can give? / Am I earning the right to live? / By looking in a mirror / There’s nothing more sincere than selfish art.” “Unless you’re cracking the ribs and digging something out of yourself,” Chelan says, “I’m not sure if it’s real.” When I ask Chelan whether he plans to tour Dandelion Fireworks in its original format once live venues open back up, his answer is tellingly ambivalent. “As of right now, I am working
on a display/show of some sort for August or September. To answer your question, I guess I’m putting it behind me, but also there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut line in certain ways. I’ll probably still perform a few of those songs, and with paintings I feel like you try to get them displayed until they’re sold. But creatively it’s behind me.” So Chelan will take pieces from this immersive art project, which represents him during a bygone time, and display them in the future but in a slightly different context, because creatively he has moved on. If art mirrors life, then Chelan has described what it’s like to grow as a person. If art mirrors life, Chelan is on to something. Learn more about Atomic Houdini and stream his music at atomichoudini.bandcamp.com. // Kyle Cochrun is a writer from Akron, Ohio. Contact him at kylecochrun@gmail.com.
Check out the redesign plans for Lock 3 coming next year Reporting and writing by Abbey Marshall
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ock 3 wasn’t meant to be Akron’s central park.
Eighteen years ago, the downtown patch of grass where dilapidated buildings once stood was simply that. But hundreds of concerts and scores of festivals later, Lock 3’s 300,000-some annual visitors have turned it into a beloved site for summer entertainment, lunchtime walks, winter ice skating and more. “I refer to Lock 3 as the city’s most successful pop-up,” says James Hardy, the Deputy Mayor for Integrated Development. “The city acquired and demolished the buildings and parking structure there and erected a temporary entertainment venue as a way to draw people downtown. It was never meant to be a permanent park or venue. It ended up being wildly successful.” As a result, the facilities and infrastructure — or lack thereof — remain relatively the same as they were when the park was thrown together in 2003. Now the city, in partnership with Akron Civic Commons, is preparing design plans for a $10 million reimagining of Lock 3, with construction beginning as early as 2022. “What’s fascinating to me is it’s an incredibly successful concert and event venue, but in all honesty, it doesn’t function well as a park,” says Dan Rice, the president and CEO of Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, the organization that serves as the coordinator of Akron Civic Commons. “People are attracted to water and
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public spaces. The series of locks right beside each other are now our opportunity to create these incredible public spaces in the heartbeat of the city.” Phase 1 construction to begin fall 2022 At present, the park has a few concrete sidewalks cutting across a largely empty, grassy field with a few picnic tables. While it may be an ideal place to take a brief walk on a lunch break, those conditions do not lend themselves to having people stick around and enjoy the space as a traditional park. The city envisions transforming those 3.3 acres into an oasis of greenery and vegetation amid the downtown office buildings. “One thing we knew before the pandemic was the average commuter worker came to their place of work, parked, went to their desk, often ate lunch in the same building and left,” Hardy says. “We have the opportunity not only to attract people but also retain workers downtown through these amenities.” To mitigate the inaccessibility of the sloping Main Street entryway and steep staircases, preliminary renderings show a tree-lined serpentine walkway that will wind down the hill and open into a reimagined Lock 3. A pathway will lead along the water flowing through the locks and through a “Garden Grove,” lush with perennials and vegetation. Visitors can also enjoy a large, shaded patch of grass for an afternoon picnic or string up a hammock between the trees. Park-wide free Wi-Fi will
be available for remote workers or people in need of internet access. In summer, concert-goers will enjoy performances at a permanent stage optimized for the best viewing experience, instead of the temporary stage the park uses each summer. “We didn’t design the stage location to be the optimal stage location. It was just where it went at the time,” Hardy says. “Rather than the big concrete pad that needs to be torn up every few years and canvas on a temporary stage that needs more maintenance and replacements, we’re doing it correctly in terms of infrastructure.” In winter, Akronites can lace up their skates to enjoy either of the two permanent ice skating rinks that will be installed in front of the stage and next to the Akron Children’s Museum. Lock 3’s annual outdoor ice skating rink is among the largest in Northeast Ohio, but the cost of installation and upkeep each year is about $100,000. With the new design, the rinks will be built into the concrete. In the winter, the rink sides and platforms will be installed, the rink will be flooded and kept frozen by condensate lines built into the park rather than renting a chiller each year. In the summer, those concrete pads will still be usable as park space. The ice rinks are essentially built in to the concrete. In the winter time the rink sides and platforms go in, the rink is flooded and kept cold by condensate lines built in to the concreate. In the summer time they will look and feel like regular ‘ol concreate pads. “The park was never designed to hold an ice rink that large,” Hardy says. “One of the things you’ll see
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in the renderings is creating spaces that are one thing in the summer and another thing in the winter through really good infrastructure. Everything will be built into the park.” OLIN, a Philadelphia-based firm that designed the gardens at the Akron Art Museum, will begin the design phase this month as fundraising efforts continue. The Knight Foundation’s $2 million grant, gifted in September 2020, assisted in kickstarting the project’s timeline, on top of $1.5 million from the city and $1 million from additional donors. So far, fundraisers have secured about $5.1 million of the $10 million needed to complete Phase 1, which includes all the elements described and pictured. City officials are hopeful that funds will be raised by the end of this year and construction can begin immediately following the 2022 summer season. “This is not just a good parks project; this is an economic development project.”
The Lock 3 redesign is part of Reimagining the Civic Commons, an investment project convened by Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition in three Akron neighborhoods and the Towpath trail that connects them that seeks to knit together communities by reimagining public spaces. In that way, Hardy says the Lock 3 redesign is more than a recreation project. “This is not just a good park project, this is an economic development project,” he says. “We’re creating an attraction that builds on the success of the last 18 years and helps out a struggling downtown. Beyond becoming that central park not just for the city but the Towpath; it’s a thedevilstrip.com
huge amenity to attract businesses to stay and locate in downtown Akron.” Between years of construction on Main Street, a pandemic and the uncertainty of when employees at downtown corporations will return to their offices, many small downtown businesses have taken a major hit in the last few years. The city is hopeful a revitalized park will draw people to the area and bring back sustainable business not only for those that remain, but for future entrepreneurs looking to open spaces in currently empty storefronts.
“The City of Akron will be a better candidate for bringing in talent we see in other parts of the country as far as startups, tech companies, music,” says Will Blake, an audio engineer at Kent-based Woodsy’s Music. Blake, an Akron native, has worked several concert series, including Rock the Lock, for several years. “I envision us being a hub for an even greater swath of industries and creative outlets. The redesign will t make that possible and point us in the right direction.” The city has made efforts to breathe life back into Lock 3 and bring people downtown in the past year. Though city officials did not want to gather mass crowds during the pandemic, the city made several changes, including commissioning massive murals on either side of the Civic’s brick walls and introducing a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) for park-goers to drink alcohol purchased at Main Street restaurants.
“What I love is that downtown is getting more walkable, more open and inviting,” Blake says. “We’re breathing life into downtown. I think people will enjoy meeting up downtown and gathering there.” But questions of equity in who is using those public spaces, such as Lock 3, remain. Though the core of the Civic Commons project seeks to invest in disinvested areas, many people utilizing Lock 3 daily live in luxury apartments downtown or work corporate jobs. The city hopes that because of its centralized location, this project can be a meaningful connector of public spaces in the city. “We want to make connectivity between the University (of Akron), Main Street and all the other downtown buildings around there, yes,” Rice of the Ohio Erie & Canalway Coalition says. “But this park is at the center of the city. It’s got the Towpath connector that links to the Summit Lake shorefront, another Civic Commons project. This is our one chance to make transformational public spaces exceptional for everybody.” A Black artist working in the music industry, Blake says between the meaningful thought-processes in the redesign and other new organizations, such as the recently formed Black Artist Guild, he is optimistic about equity in Lock 3. “When it comes to making Lock 3 a space for artists again, organizations such as Black Artist Guild will be
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putting their best foot forward to take advantage of spaces and promoting more equity and inclusion when it comes to access,” he says. “The underserved artists in Akron are finally going to have an outlet to a larger path and more access to hopefully capital and sponsors to bring these artistic visions forward. Hopefully between this and organizations like the Black Artist Guild, they’ll make more resources available.” Phase 2 and beyond The $10 million Phase 1 includes the gardens, pavilion, stage, ice rinks, landscaping, serpentine entryway and paths. In Phase 2, which will begin fundraising and construction at an undetermined time based on the timeline of the first phase, will be a playloop connecting Locks 2 and 3 and the Akron Children’s Hospital. Akron Children’s Museum is also located in Lock 3. “One thing we do not have downtown is activities for children,” Hardy says. “We’re going to have some of that with Phase 1, putting more in with garden grove, Akron Children’s being there and permanent skating rinks in winter, but we don’t have dynamic play spaces. Phase 2 is all about the kids.” OLIN, the design firm behind the project, concepted various play spaces throughout the locks based on Ohio topographical aspects. For
example, in the 8,200 square foot “plateau” area, there will be a large blue heron playground that operates as both a piece of artwork and a play space for kids. Other concepts include a splash pad in the “misty plains,” sand boxes in the “sand bog,” a tree house in the “forest,” a meandering boardwalk in the “valley” near the flowing water in the canals and more. “There’s over 5,000 associates, patients and family members at Akron Children’s,” Hardy says. “We want to activate dead space over there and provide them with dynamic play space and connection to the downtown area.” Though that phase is a long way down the line, the city is eager to begin the transformation of the downtown public park into a robust hub for Akronites all across the city. “These are nice park projects,” Rice says, “but at the end of the day, it’s about economic development and quality of life here in Akron.” If you would like to be involved or contribute to fundraising efforts, contact Dan Rice at drice@ ohioeriecanal.org or visit www. ohioeriecanal.org for more information. // Abbey Marshall covers economic development for The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach her at abbey@thedevilstrip.com. The Devil Strip
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Shop local: Picked Proteins serves up vegan meat alternatives in Akron
Reporting, writing and photos by Ken Evans
A
s Akron’s food scene continues to mature and the city tries to remake itself as a friendly space for entrepreneurs, one inspiring businessman is attempting to capitalize on local programs to introduce Akronites to a more conscientious and environmentally friendly way of eating. Scott Roger is the owner, producer and self-described “maniac” behind Picked Proteins, which creates locally produced meat alternatives for those attempting to have a more“plantbased” diet. “I feel the hesitation to plant-based diets is that you are just going to eat salad for three meals a day,” Scott says, “and that is not at all true.”
receiving, and the price he was paying for big brands, he thought, “I can make this stuff at home.” As an avid home cook, Scott began exploring recipes and learning about the process behind making meat alternatives like seitan, a protein source made from wheat gluten. Scott’s aim quickly moved beyond making a satisfying vegan pizza and he began experimenting with a range of flavors. “If people were coming over, I wanted to make something that is going to wow,” Scott says. With increasingly successful batches, Scott started to cautiously explore the creation of a business to sell and distribute his products. Scott didn’t see himself as an entrepreneur. Still, he knew he wanted to find a role for himself that could “feed his soul” and leave a lasting impact on his community.
Growing up in a largely vegetarian household, Scott has been fully vegan for almost eight years, but has never felt like this approach to eating was overly restrictive. He insists that at the end of the day, his plate looks very similar to everyone else’s.
To start Picked Proteins, Scott leveraged entrepreneurial classes at Bounce Innovation Hub in Canal Place and learned the basics of operating a business. “I was able to crystalize a lot of research I had and understand what needed to do.”
In fact, it was a love for pizza that started him on the journey that would lead to Picked Proteins. “When I went vegan, I still wanted to have pizza. I worked in a pizzeria for seven years,” Scott says, laughing. “I have eaten a lot of pizza in my time.”
Through Bounce, Scott says he gained advice and connections to get Picked Proteins operating. Utilizing another local entrepreneurial resource, Scott began working out of Akron Food Works, a shareduse kitchen in the Middlebury neighborhood designed to aid those starting food businesses.
Early in his vegan transition, he was experimenting with mass-produced meat alternatives but found them lacking when it came to flavor and texture. For the quality he was
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Editor’s note: Ken Evans, the author of this piece, is an AmeriCorps VISTA at The Well CDC, which also operates
Akron Food Works. Ken does not work with Akron Food Works. Picked Proteins uses the Akron Food Works space but has no other relationship with The Well. Opening in May 2020, Picked Proteins offers products ranging from pepperoni seitan to coconut “smoky bac’n” to “chick’n” shreds. Scott attempts to limit processing when it comes to his products and primarily uses only salt and vinegar as preservatives. He also tries to avoid common allergens, with the exception of gluten. Currently, he is selling packaged products at Birch Cafe in Highland Heights, Local Roots in Wooster, and Ms. Julie’s Kitchen here in Akron. He also sells directly to local eateries like Nomz, Upper Crust Pizza, HiHo Brewing Co. and Ms. Julie’s Kitchen.
making meat alternatives, Scott wants to keep a local focus. He wants people who buy his products to know him and what he stands for. For the future, Scott is focused on developing direct shipping to customers, selling at local farmers markets, and expanding his product line to include new products like breakfast sausages and a bacon alternative. He hopes to make Picked Proteins full-time job if it proves successful.
Most importantly, though, Scott wants to ensure that Picked Proteins is not a luxury product. He is currently seeking WIC approval for his products and is working with the Junior League of Akron about possibly supplying some healthy snacks in school lunches.
For Scott, Picked Proteins is not about evangelizing the vegan movement but giving people more options when it comes to food. Instead, it’s about making a product that people can feel good about adding to their weekly meals.
Scott knows the eye-rolls that vegans and vegan products can get. Nevertheless, he is confident that his products deliver something everyone can enjoy. Knowing that his business gives Akronites more options particularly at a time when we are all being asked to think complexly about the food we eat. Offering not just flavorful alternatives to meat, but something as he put it, “that is going to make you feel better, be better for the environment, and be better for animals.”
“If food is comfort, then to make someone feel comfortable trying a plant-based diet, the easiest, and best way to do it, is to offer a product that mimics what they are used to,” Scott says.
// 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.
Scott emphasized that he enjoys working on a local level, helping restaurants achieve particular flavor profiles and get the product they want.
As one of few small-scale producers
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Akron Hope continues tutoring program virtually Reporting, writing by Abbey Bashor
other cities and jumped at the chance to bring it to Akron.
Even in non-pandemic times, running a classroom tutoring program is no easy feat.
“I said ‘yes’ to expanding Charleston Hope to Akron and we started with the Adopt-a-Classroom program, which provided gifts to students during the holidays,” Vliet says of the program’s early start. “We chose Helen Arnold [Community Learning Center] specifically because I had already been tutoring there with a program called Seeds of Change and had built some relationships within the school.”
Between coordinating student and volunteer schedules, and creating weekly practice assignments, there’s a great deal of organizing that must take place before lessons can even begin. Over the past year, COVID-19 has made these efforts more challenging and more important than ever. A lack of face-to-face instruction has raised concerns about the effect on student outcomes and potential learning losses. Supplemental instruction, such as tutoring, has also taken a hit. Thanks to programs like Akron Hope; however, the goal of helping local students reach their benchmarks remains a priority. Akron Hope, now a program of The Well CDC, was founded by Jen Vliet while she was a student at the University of Akron in 2015. Following the sudden loss of her cousin, Chad Cooke, the previous year, Vliet was looking for ways to get involved in the Akron community. Before long, she thought to establish the local chapter of Charleston Hope — a nonprofit founded by Chad’s girlfriend, Emily Hoisington, that provided resources to teachers in underserved districts in Charleston, S.C. Vliet knew the couple had wanted to expand the program to
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The need for a tutoring program first became apparent when Vliet was at UA, where she was pursuing a degree in education and spending time in local elementary classrooms. Around 2015, Vliet met Melissa Berzito, a third-grade teacher new to Helen Arnold. Vliet and her Akron Hope team learned from Berzito that classroom volunteers would make a huge difference in helping prepare students for state testing. “Being my first year teaching third grade, and with third grade being a testing year, I was a little nervous,” says Berzito. “I reached out to Jen to ask her if she maybe knew a few people who might want to work with my students, just in a small group, to help them get ready for the test. In a matter of a month she had gathered about 10-15 volunteers to come in every week, which was so much more than I ever expected.” From there, tutoring quickly became an essential part of third grade at Helen Arnold, which is located in
Sherbondy Hill. Each semester for the last six years, Berzito has welcomed volunteers into her classroom to work with students. For 10-12 weeks, an hour every Friday is dedicated to one-on-one tutoring and mentorship. “It has really helped my class be able to pass the test and do well. They form great friendships,” says Berzito. “I could say something a million times about the best way to take a test or some test-taking strategies, and as soon as their mentor would say it, they remember it.” Berzito also explains why third grade is such a critical year for students: About 80% of students at Helen Arnold enter the year with a belowgrade reading level, some even at a kindergarten or first-grade level. The Ohio State Test (OST) that they must pass in order to move on to fourth grade is written at a fifth grade level for English Language Arts. The gap that must be overcome is significant. The challenges that some students face outside the classroom are no less daunting. “They don’t always have somebody with them at all times, helping them with their homework or able to read to them. Sometimes books are inaccessible,” says Berzito. “Sometimes the encouragement is not necessarily there at home. It’s just kind of survival mode. So passing a test is the last thing on their minds.” The classroom mentors help make
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up for a great deal of what might otherwise be lost. “When [students] are able to get all of that out of their heads and spend an hour with their mentor, it’s almost like they’re OK. It’s OK to be a kid again, and it’s OK to just learn and do well.” The program is popular not just among third-graders, but also younger and older students. “The younger kids see it and they can’t wait to get to third grade. And then the older kids see it, and they miss being with their mentor because they’ve moved on,” says Berzito. After a few years, Akron Hope became a program of The Well CDC. As a community development corporation, The Well focuses on housing, economic and place-making initiatives in Middlebury. Akron Hope began its outreach at Mason CLC in Middlebury in fall 2018, with the intention of building relationships with students, families and teachers to provide resources and support. One of these supports was a version of the classroom tutoring program Vliet had developed at Helen Arnold CLC. Outreach at Mason involved these efforts but also included things like community events that provide resources to help encourage family engagement at the school, and the Hope Closet, where students had thedevilstrip.com
access to clothing, food and other basic needs. When Akron Hope became a program of The Well three years ago, it was clear that engagement would need to take place year-round. In becoming The Well’s community engagement coordinator, Vliet knew the importance of offering support in tangible ways. “We’re not an organization that’s going to come in and do something to you,” she explains. “[Instead], we respond to need and base programming off working with the people who make up the places we serve.” This year, the program has had to adapt to a new format. After classes went remote last March, spring semester tutoring at both Helen Arnold and Mason was cut short in the last few months of the 2020 school year. Vliet says there was a lot of uncertainty last May and June as schools deliberated a return to the classroom. Eventually, when Akron Public Schools decided to continue remote learning into the new school year, it was clear that Akron Hope needed to pivot. Helen Arnold began its virtual tutoring program last September, utilizing Google Meet to connect teachers, students and volunteers. Over a video call, students and tutors spend an hour on Friday mornings practicing reading comprehension skills as they read passages and answer questions together. Students use a software called i-Ready, which allows them to complete online reading assessments as tutors follow along through a screen-sharing feature. Vliet acknowledges that while in-person tutoring is certainly the preferred method, the virtual experience has offered some new perspectives. “We truly couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers,” she says. “We’ve learned that people are interested in volunteering virtually. The ability to meet people in their homes or workplaces or wherever they are on Friday mornings has opened our eyes to the ways that we can utilize volunteers.” Berzito adds, “The mentors have been so wonderful and patient, as well as the students. Getting students into a breakout room with their
mentors is not always easy, but everyone shows up every single week ready to work and ready to help. And these third graders don’t feel like they’re missing out on their Akron Hope experience because they’re still able to get it, even if it’s not in person.” In the six years since Akron Hope’s tutoring program began, it has continued to prove its value. At Mason, the program is implemented for fourth grade students rather than third graders, though the school decided to optout of the virtual program for the time being. The Helen Arnold program now covers two third-grade classrooms, with 99% of students having advanced to fourth grade per Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee. At Mason, fourth grade Individualized Education Program (IEP) student test scores increased by 60% and overall scores increased by 9% within the program’s first year. Over her six years at Helen Arnold, Berzito has never had to hold a student back. She says this is a testament to Akron Hope’s impact. “I hope the students just really understand how many cheerleaders they have in their corner. Not only do they have their mentor, and me, and our principal, but they [also] have 15 or 20 classmates all rooting for them to do well,” she says. “There have been times when tears have been brought to my eyes because I’ll walk around and just hear the conversations the mentors and students have with each other. They truly are on their side and want them to do well.” Vliet says she wants to see Akron Hope continue to reach students no matter the circumstance. “My hope is that we continue to invest intentionally at both schools. The deeper we invest relationally, the more depth we’ll be given and the more resources we are able to provide.” When it comes to volunteers, Vliet also says she’d like to see the volunteer base diversify. “We want to have volunteers who look like the students and families we’re serving. Continuing to recruit and engage people of color, getting more male volunteers involved and diversifying in all age levels is important.” Longer-term, Vliet says she’d like to see cohesion between the tutoring
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program and The Well’s placemaking initiatives. In the Middlebury neighborhood, and at schools like Mason, high transiency rates mean students are moving frequently and are therefore less likely to build school and community connections. This can correlate to lower academic achievement. “With The Well’s housing initiative to create and restore homes in the neighborhood, our hope is that as we continue to intentionally invest our time and resources at schools like Mason, we can then get families into stabilized homes and connect them to other community resources,” she says. “As we continue to build relationships, our hope is that we will
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better be able to serve families and their needs, and bring even more community resources to the schools.” To learn more about The Well and Akron Hope, visit thewellakron. com/akronhope or follow @ AkronHope on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For volunteer opportunities or more information on programming, contact Jen Vliet at jen@thewellakron.com. // Abbey Bashor is an Akron native currently caught between the charm of the Midwest and the lure of the big city. She is a freelance writer who enjoys covering community engagement, politics and pop culture. The Devil Strip
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Middle: Details of ‘Redemption,’ a weaving made by Natalie Left: Some of Natalie Grieshammer’s weaved art is-meant to celebrate femininity while others are more provocative. Photo by Grieshammer. Photo Ilenia Pezzaniti Ilenia Pezzaniti
Right: Natalie Grieshammer is an artist, arts administrator, musician, and entrepreneur. Photo by Ilenia Pezzaniti
Fiber Artist Natalie Grieshammer Weaves a Colorful Career words by Diane Kilivris, photos by Ilenia Pezzaniti
T
he genre of fiber art didn’t exist 100 years ago. Traditionally, skills such as sewing, knitting and weaving were seen as “women’s work.” Making household items like garments and baskets didn’t qualify as art because its purpose was utilitarian. But today, fiber art lives in the realm of Fine Art, and Akron artist Natalie Grieshammer (pronounced “Grease-hammer”) has found success showing and selling her work. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Fiber and Material Studies from the Cleveland Institute of Art, a master’s degree in Arts Administration from the University of Akron and recently became the Director of Galleries and Exhibitions at Summit ArtSpace.
Seams at the Box Gallery (now part of Summit ArtSpace), her weaved wall hangings explored “universal feminine identities through the world of materials…to validate and celebrate femininity.” After the show, she had a “pay-what-youcan sale” on Instagram in which almost everything sold. “I was just happy that people wanted them and wanted to pay something for them… I don’t want to have all this art just sitting around,” Grieshammer says. Grieshammer draws a parallel between the concepts of femininity and weaving; both are expected to be structured and orderly. Her work in Bursting at the Seams, for example, exhibited a disruption of that structure with the use of excessive materials and “sloppy craft,” representing a break from cultural expectations.
Grieshammer uses her loom as a canvas for feminine metaphors. Some of her weaved wall art is meant to celebrate femininity while others, like the Guilt and Shame piece she’s conceiving now, are more provocative.
“I consider myself to be a Feminist artist, Feminine with a capital F… it isn’t necessarily always literally about sex or gender, but more like the social constructs around the idea of femininity vs. masculinity, kind of exploring those stereotypes,” Grieshammer states.
In her 2019 exhibit Bursting at The
Over the past year, Grieshammer
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hasn’t been creating as much as she would like. She was laid off from a job at the Cleveland Art Museum due to the COVID pandemic, and life’s plans were interrupted. But in March, 2021, she was back on her feet with a new job at Summit ArtSpace. An Akron native, Grieshammer is involved in the Akron art community on several levels — not only as an artist and arts administrator, but as a musician and entrepreneur. She operates Akron Recording Company with her fiancé, Ben Patrick, and the two were formerly part of the band Dreemers, in which Grieshammer was the drummer. As an arts administrator, Grieshammer believes there are enormous opportunities for artists in the Akron area. “A lot of people think a place like Akron has nothing to do, but for an artist or arts administrator or entrepreneur you’re thinking ‘there’s so much opportunity.’ That’s the way an artist thinks about a place like here — how can we make it awesome,” she says. She feels there are a lot of advantages in Akron, a smaller city, as opposed to a big city. For example, her and her fiancé’s dream of starting
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a recording studio would not have been possible in a larger city. “I think what’s unique about Akron is that it’s very community and collaborative-based. To me, it’s not competitive. You’re not competing with other artists. You’re all trying to work together to get something out,” Grieshammer says. As part of her new role as director of galleries and exhibitions, Grieshammer wants to create a specified vision for each of its five galleries as well as bring in more nationally renowned jurors. On a personal level, she envisions cultivating more art purchasing in the Akron area. “Local artists sell their art insanely cheap. Why go to (a store) and buy art when you can get something totally unique and funky and weird from a local artist, supporting them? To me, anyone can have a cool art collection and that’s just what’s going to make more of a thriving art scene here.” // Diane Kilivris is a freelance writer, podcaster and native Akronite. When she’s not working, she can be found on the tennis court or knitting in a cozy chair. The Devil Strip
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The University of Akron Dodgeball: From “scrappy” team to respected champs by Derek Kreider
I
n 2014, Sam Hutter arrived at the University of Akron to study electrical engineering after graduating from Kent State University. She began organizing a dodgeball team on campus after having played for KSU during her undergraduate studies. “Me and a guy I met from Akron, Adam Pfeifer, we started the team together,” Hutter says. “I was very dead set on making a team at Akron because I wanted to play really bad.” “I wasn’t really doing too much at Akron, I was just going to school and working,” says Pfeifer, an explayer and current coach. “So it was something else to do [that led to] making new friends.” The work they’ve done, and in some cases continue to do, paved the way to making Akron a competitive force in the world of collegiate dodgeball. Establishing the team as an official student organization involved a mountain of formational work. Sam explains the process, saying, “You have to create a constitution, you have to give guidelines and rules for how your organization is run, and then if you do a sports or physical activity organization you do practices however many times a week.” The school also requires the organization to document what they’re doing at practice and who is attending. Sam calls it the “athletic version of taking notes.”
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“It took me three weeks to become fully established with the school, and four weeks from the semester starting to play in an actual tournament with a full roster. Well, almost a full roster,” Hutter says. According to her, the dodgeball team at Akron was the fastest established team in the history of the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA). The NCDA is a nonprofit, student-run governing body of collegiate dodgeball responsible for setting the rules by which the game is played. “Initially, recruiting wasn’t the easiest,” Pfeifer says. “We tried to reach out to people at the gym and stuff. Most of it actually came from us just inviting people we had classes with.” Their determination paid off. At one point during an open gym recruitment session, Hutter remembers there were almost 100 people playing at once “wall to wall on both sides.” They played their first tournament October of 2014, one month into the fall semester and two people short of a full roster, having only 13 players instead of the 15 required by the NCDA bylaws. It wasn’t long before they were playing with a full deck. In 2016, their second full season of play, UA won the Ohio Dodgeball Cup, a victory usually only obtained by tenured teams, according to
another ex-player ,current coach , and Director of the Rules Committee for the NCDA Colby Briceland. “Akron has developed a serious respected reputation,” Hutter says. Briceland agrees.“We’re known as being one of the more hard-fighting teams,” he says. “Even when we didn’t have as much skill or depth as other rosters did we would always put on a show, make the matches way closer than they should have been, because we were a scrappy team.” Their reputation isn’t the only thing that’s grown in the years since the team’s formation. “With Akron being a commuter school, recruiting and retention was more difficult than a lot of schools,” Hutter says. “Our roster changed a lot because we had a lot of people that were transferring to other schools, but before I graduated we had a more set roster, and we were really able to have a solid core of ten people. I watched all of their skills build up, and the team really became coherent, and we were really recognized as a true competitive team.” Training has improved as well, with upgraded strategy and technique when educating new recruits. “Originally, we had a bunch of guys who knew they could throw,” Pfeifer says. “They were previous baseball players or athletes in another sport,
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and over the years we learned that we can’t just go out there and win based on [someone’s ability to throw].” Akron was being outfoxed by more experienced teams, but Hutter’s previous connection to the Kent State dodgeball team was helpful when it came time to refine Akron’s playing style. “Every now and then she would get some of her Kent friends to come help us learn the skills that they’d already known for a decade,” Briceland says. “We were fortunate enough to be close to Kent’s team, and they were able to help us with that learning curve.”
Briceland says that it took the original team a little more time to figure out the nuances to the game, but that newer recruits don’t take long picking up the techniques required for victory. Hutter is hopeful about the dodgeball team’s potential for a bright future. She says, “I feel like they’re moving towards being a serious competitive sport, and I feel like eventually, hopefully, dodgeball will become a varsity sport in Akron.” // Derek Kreider is a freelance writer, and the Devil Strip’s distribution manager. Photos from The University of Akron Dodgeball team. Used with permission from Sam Hutter.
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Phases of Change: The Freedom Trail By Megan Delong
N
ick Moskos describes trails as “hallways with moments of tastiness.” Moskos is the Chief of Planning and Development for Summit Metro Parks (SMP). On the Freedom Trail, these tasty moments include wildlife, cyclists and the next phase of the Towpath Connection project. Spanning from the Summit County Line to Portage County, the Freedom Trail offers a diagonal route that, when connected to the Ohio & Erie Canalway Towpath Trail, would allow visitors over a hundred miles of car-free transportation. Being in the business of creating “super highways for bikes,” Summit Metro Parks
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wants to offer multiple public input opportunities throughout 2021 to help with the design of Phase Four of the construction. Construction on the Freedom Trail has been in progress for over a decade and will continue over the next few years. Although funding and land ownership issues have caused the shifted timeline for the Freedom Trail, SMP has completed phases one and two and are currently working on Phase three. While walking along the trail, visitors have the unique experience of hearing trains in the distance, a chance to stop and view the scenery or to appreciate the trail being separated from traffic. Being mixed
use, the Freedom Trail can mean different things for different visitors: cyclists might enjoy the smooth pavement while residents in the neighborhood might value being able to take a short walk during their lunch break. Moskos and Lindsay Smith, the Marketing and Public Relations Manager for SMP, both believe that the Freedom Trail is something extraordinary. Moskos says that the trail is ultimately going to be a hallway through downtown Akron. “There are so many opportunities to celebrate history and so many opportunities to take people to places they’ve never been in Akron,” says Moskos. Lindsay loves “that you can be in a rather populated area and yet when you’re on the trail, you feel like
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you’re kind of in the middle of nature for a lot of it.” To prepare for the fourth and final phase, a feasibility study was conducted in 2015 to see if the Freedom Trail could even be connected to the Towpath. The Towpath and Freedom Trail connection that is planned for the final phase presented unique challenges like the rugged terrain of the Valley, the rail corridor and the neighboring community that the organization had to plan around. Along with making sure the trail was able to be continued through the neighborhood grid system, Summit Metro Parks focused on being American Disability Act (ADA) thedevilstrip.com
compliant every step of the way. Nick said that the organization completed a computer study to determine the slope of the future trail, since a certain grade would be too steep to comply. When it comes to being ADA accessible, a wheelchair’s limits are a good measure for getting accessible slopes on the trail. While planning any trail, Summit Metro Parks learns about population density for the proposed area and tries to understand resident needs. “How can we better serve that community,” Moskos asks. “Summit Metro Parks is, at its core, a conservation organization with the mission to provide safe, clean parks.” Whether residents walk or ride the trail, having the trail follow the rail corridor and enter into metropolitan areas can be a huge advantage for everyone involved. Smith is hoping that once the Portage County side of the Freedom Trail is completed, visitors will utilize the trail to travel between Kent State University and the University of Akron. She believes there are great opportunities for community connection between students, faculty and residents of the two areas. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a delay in the planning process for the Freedom Trail and is one of the reasons that the trail won’t be connected to the Towpath for a few years. But with outdoor activities being some of the only chances
to get out of the house during quarantine, Summit Metro Parks has seen a significant increase in visitors to the parks, especially on the Freedom Trail. The parks had seen five million visitors in 2019, increasing that number to six million in 2020. They are already reaching those numbers in the first four months of 2021. With the pandemic, the organization is looking into future changes that visitors want to see on trails. According to Moskos, when SMP goes into planning they’re always asked for more trails and more connections to more places. That’s what they need Akron’s help with. In 2021, the public will have multiple opportunities to have input on the Freedom trail while SMP is doing the design process for Phase Four. The first public comment period will begin May 3rd and run for two weeks. Check out summitmetroparks.org to provide feedback to the designers and construction professionals working on the final phase of the Freedom Trail by using the Project Updates page. Photos provided by Lindsay Smith, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for SMP. Used with permission. // Megan Delong (she/her) is a resident of the Middlebury neighborhood, an avid painter, a feminist, an 80s movie watcher, and a go-to person for Akron resources.
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Essays & Humor By Marc Lee Shannon
I
will admit that lately, I have felt less than myself.
The loss of dear loved ones, bandmates, long-term friendships and the chronic and cumulative stress and sense of sadness from the pandemic have finally taken a toll. I’m not feeling okay, and it’s best to say so. But, I think things are going to get better. After all, like I have been told, this too will pass. This time I really think so. Living life is a very precious experience, and we are all confronted with our mortality when we lose someone close to us. Such is the case with my friend Michael Stanley. I am not ready to write or talk about this chasm of emptiness in my heart just yet. Maybe I won’t ever mention it here in this monthly column, but I can tell you that the waves of grief and sadness have been overwhelming to me. This is kicking my ass. What if the years of our life were a collection of coins in our pocket, and each day represented the spending of those coins. How many do we have in our pockets? Is it full? Is there a jangle-jingle like my grandfather’s front pocket of his vintage trousers pulled high at the waist? I remember that there seemed to be an endless amount of coins that he would constantly toss when nervous or impatient. How many coins do we have, and are we carelessly spending them without thought? Is our lifecoin spending like some absentminded online shopping moment when bored on a rainy day? What
are we doing with the finite amount of time represented by those coins in our pocket? Looking back or forward is against my desire to live in the present moment. Always be here, now. I guess, though, there is a benefit to a review or a pause before moving forward. I am most certainly in that place as I write today. When life happens, we sometimes need that break or hesitation to get our bearings. Which way forward? What is important now? What is meaningful at this stage of my life. What do I want? These questions seem to be running through my being, and I will admit I do not have a clear path on the trail right now. I do, however, know what I do not want. Here comes another list (as if you didn’t see that coming!): I do not want to waste any more time. Unless, of course, that is the most productive thing to do. Sometimes killing a few hours is paramount. Rest, refocus, reframe. Dig? I do not want to spend my timecoins on people that are energy stealers or who will NOT be loving. You are off the list. I do not want to take my daily health for granted. Whatever is stopping me from living longer, better, or more happily, I want to toss away. I think we all know what this means to each of us deep down, and I bet you are thinking of your
Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
First-person essays and columns plus horoscopes, comics & games
stuff right now. Huh, right? Hear that voice talking? Shake my virtual outstretched hand, and let’s agree that we will be more mindful and just do the next right thing. Do a bit better. I do not want to isolate myself. This is my version of smoking. My super-carb-diet killing-I know-bettersugar snack. A wake up the next day and ‘what was I thinking?’- lost night of debauchery. My downfall. I need to get up and out of my poopy diaper when I have worn the same clothes for four days and hardly recognize that bearded dude in the mirror. If you see me doing this, you have implied permission to call me out— bang on my door. Martin, my dog, will be relieved to see you. Last, but undoubtedly the most significant. I do not want to keep doubting the trail I am on perpetually. Listen, I am here because I have trudged this life over hills and valleys through the snow, sleet, rain, and other pseudo crap storms of my life. I need to trust that I have arrived at precisely the place I need to be at exactly the right time. Now. Flow and follow the current of the stream. Do it. I don’t know. Sometimes I just don’t know what it all means, this life I live, and the people I cross on this road that I have been tracking for the past xx years. (I just whispered a number, BTW). I like to think that there is meaning in it all, especially after this past year of pandemic, pissed off politics and poisoned personalities.
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Maybe the best thing we can all do is just count the coins. Reach into our pockets and count how many we have left. Oh man, if only we could. What if you knew that the coins in your pocket were down to the last few cents? What changes would you make? Today. How would you see the world you live in? Would you eat the cake or take a walk? Call that person that just crossed your mind? Put down the smokes? Get that guitar out of the case? Take the sketchpad out, and gently sharpen the pencils, then let your hand go? Read the book or lace up the hiking boots? Find your meaning at this moment by pursuing your own unique joy. Do me a favor. Write down your birthday and then a dash and then today’s date. If this day was your last day on earth, what would be the one “looking back” secret wish that you would find in your front pocket? When you look at that piece of bunched-up scrap paper, what would be the message? More love, maybe? More kindness? More patience and tolerance? More kisses? Do it now. Steady on.
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Akronisms | It wasn’t your grandpa’s chicken place Writing and photos by Jeff Davis
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ntrepreneurs have to be gutsy. But imagine moving 20 miles just so you could open a business with 140 nearby competitors. A gutsy move, wouldn’t you say? Or a little nuts, perhaps? Pick any adjective you want, but it’s something that just wouldn’t be done today. That’s what Frederick Wilhelm Albrecht did when he moved from Massillon to Akron in 1891 to start his own grocery. His little store near the corner of Buchtel and Center Streets became the first Acme. Akron was way different in 1891, having only 40,000 residents. Cuyahoga Falls had fewer than 500. The developed area of Akron extended roughly to the Cuyahoga River on the north, Arlington Street. on the east, Wilbeth on the south, and the continental divide — Portage Path — on the west. That’s about 12 square miles. The area we now call
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Northwest Akron wasn’t annexed until 1915, about the same time Firestone Park and Goodyear Heights were being developed. The City of Ellet and the Village of Kenmore weren’t annexed until 1929. But the locals surely didn’t have to worry about where their next meal was coming from. Home gardens and orchards supplied the produce, and backyard chicken coops took care of the eggs and Sunday dinner. What couldn’t be grown or raised at home came from nearby vendors. The 1990 city directory identifies 140 retail grocers, 18 bakers, eight milk depots and 47 meat markets in the city at the time. Indeed, it seemed as if one’s next meal was no more than a block or two away. Groceries were often little more than storefronts set up with merchandise located behind counters and proprietors living in the back or upstairs. Patron’s orders were fetched by clerks. There was no selfservice. The inventory tended to be
pantry staples, in-season produce, maybe some home-canned fruit or vegetables supplied by neighbors, soap, and housewares like clothes pins, ironing boards and clothes boilers. If a grocer carried anything that needed to be kept cold, he relied on the ice man. Affordable refrigeration, and even commercial canning, didn’t start in the U.S. until the mid 1910s. Fred Albrecht got through his first years by running a tight ship while keeping the needs of his customers first. In the early days his stores opened at 5:30 in the morning, six days a week. He had delivery boys that, were able to make two wagon trips in the morning and two in the afternoon. By 1900 Akron had a halfdozen F.W. Albrecht groceries and a warehouse. Albrecht painted his stores yellow for visibility and changed the name of the stores to “The Acme Stores.” He decided he would no longer offer his customers credit and switched to a
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cash-only business model, reasoning that bad debts had to be made back through higher prices. His no-credit policy allowed Acme to keep its prices low and, one by one, he added stores as his competitors dropped away. His business had 46 stores by 1920, and 91 by 1940, spread from Wooster to Youngstown.
Early on, Albrecht decided to number his stores to help his bookkeepers and delivery people keep track. Acme #1 -- the original Acme #1, not the one at 1835 West Market Street -- was at 204 East Center Street. That street number, if it still existed, would be on the University of Akron campus, somewhere around Guzzetta Hall and the Sisler-McFawn residence hall. But the store’s been long gone, as are many of the original locations. Several were taken by road building and normal redevelopment. A couple sites were bulldozed for new car lots. But, believe it or not, many of Fred Albrecht’s original Acme’s are still standing, according to county tax thedevilstrip.com
records, and people drive by them without knowing. For instance: •
•
The #7 store at 21 Merriman Rd., near Rockne’s, was built around 1916, and remains a great example of a mixed-use building housing a business on the lower level and a residence upstairs. Steve Albrecht, CEO of Acme Fresh Markets, the business’s latest appellation, remembers his aunt living there before the store closed. It has since housed Richard’s Florists, Birchwood Supply, and now an ad agency. The number #12 store was in the lower level of a 1900 garden apartment at 576 Carroll St., still there and in beautiful condition. The old commercial entry is placed diagonally on the corner, easily seen from any direction. A side residential entry allowed privacy for the folks living upstairs. The building is apparently student housing today.
•
The the #18 store at 619 N. Howard is a similar, one-story version where the residents lived in the back. It is now the home of an employment agency.
•
The intersection of West Exchange, Maple and Cedar Streets, known as “Five Points,” was once one of Akron’s busiest shopping areas. Acme #16 was in the red and tan building that rounds the corner of Maple and West Exchange, fronting on Maple.
s s•
Several blocks west, the building at 179 S. Portage Path is the home of a dry cleaner and the mouth-watering Portage Service Broaster Chicken. But it wasn’t your grandpa’s chicken place. It was first Acme #22. The building
was built in 1900. •
Not too far away were #32 at 1877 West Exchange and #45 at 964 Delia. The former was part of a strip center built in 1915, now housing Your Pizza and a few other small businesses. The latter was quite likely built by Acme in the 1930s and is currently home to Delia Market.
The fact that this area is dotted with large, five and six-bedroom houses explains how four Acmes thrived within a mile of each other. It also shows how the city, transportation and the times have changed. We’re not completely sure about a couple other buildings. Old city directories put the #4 store it at 127 East Cuyahoga Falls Ave. in the 1915 building currently used as an office, day care center and an Asian clothing store. Records conflict, however. It could have been on the site of the nearby branch library. We aren’t sure about the #6 store either. Directories
say it was at 55 East Market, which has been torn down. But Crave is at 57. Next time you eat there, look around and see if it looks like an old grocery. Steve Albrecht explains that most of those 2,000 to 5,000 square foot neighborhood stores were vacated by Acme after World War II, in favor of larger “supermarket” formats. The new stores, typically 10,000 to 20,000 square feet in size, allowed for larger meat sections, health and beauty items and more general merchandise. But the supermarkets were upgraded, too. The Acme Fresh Market stores of today, of which there are 16, are as large as 70,000 square feet. They also accommodate pharmacies, bake shops, organic foods, deli counters with prepared food, seafood and a wider selection of adult beverages.
who order food for parents here in Akron. That was what they needed.” “Everyone doesn’t need delivery, but -- whatever happens in the future -we will let people shop the way they want to shop. Our goal is to have safe, clean, neat stores and helpful people. Our success will always be driven by our customers.” This sounds like the ethic Fred Albrecht brought with him from Massillon in 1891. Seems like it worked. // Jeff Davis is a retired writer, editor, and teacher who sometimes wonders about old buildings. He’s also a proud co-owner of this newspaper. He can be reached at jeffdavisds@gmail.com
“We added catering many years ago, and we still have delivery. So that hasn’t changed,” he told us. “We actually have customers in California
a
Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
May 2021 · Vol 9 · Issue #5
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Member Spotlight
The Devil Strip is co-owned by more than 900 Akronites! To join, visit https://thedevilstrip.com/be-amember.
K
enny Averiett is an enthusiastic person who uses his zeal to bring people together and encourage the community.
His main channel for this is within Akron’s DIY music scene, as a committee member for the PorchRokr festival and resident of the Oakdale House, where Kenny and his roommate, Adam, used to organize house shows. “I love bringing people together. I think that’s probably my biggest passion –– escapism or giving people the outlet to escape,” he explains. Even though he has moved around and traveled a lot, Kenny says the people he has gotten to know by being involved with events like Porchrokr is what keeps him in Highland Square.
“I’ve gotten to meet a lot of people who own the properties in the neighborhood, just knocking on doors. The first four or five years or so, we were just doing a lot of footwork by meeting people and I got to meet a lot of the neighborhood people,” he explains. Kenny also believes that Highland Square’s diverse population contributes to its eclectic atmosphere. He also appreciates the way Akronites value collaboration, especially in the art and music scenes. “There’s like five different music and art scenes and everyone gets along with each other. Everyone kind of intermingles and goes to each other’s events and plays at each other’s stuff, and other places like Cleveland and Columbus, from what I’m told,
aren’t really like that... I think Akron just has that energy that has more collaborative effort across the city,” he says. Kenny says he became a part of the co-op because of The Devil Strip’s efforts to cover subjects that traditional news may overlook.
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o a c d “Watching The Devil Strip move in a o certain direction and embrace parts t of Akron that other publications or t other media outlets have ignored for years and they’re making... a T concentrated effort for that.” t s In his free time, Kenny has been a learning guitar, piano, writing haikus, s i and raising his cat, who he says is t “pretty cool.” c y — Allyson Smith w o r f s
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May Astrology by Angie Agnoni
M
ay the Fourth be with you as Mercury leaves the content sign of Taurus and rolls into agile Gemini on this year’s Star Wars day. Mercury will have an extended stay in this sign as it will shift retrograde at the end of the month bringing in disruptions in communication, travel and commerce. As we enter May we are situated in the sign of Taurus. The qualities of Taurus are ruled by the planet Venus which is the planet of beauty and harmony. Taurus is the sign of the Bull which carries with it an emphasis on our values and the stubbornness which comes along with being a fixed earth sign. Taurus is determined to
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stand its ground but these days needs to be a bit more flexible with all the change which is occurring around us. On May 11th we are graced with a Taurus New Moon which can be a cultivation time to the projects and plans we have put into motion — a time of reward to the fruits of your labor. As always, a new moon is a time to plant new seeds of intention in the two weeks following, but since the quality here is fertile ground it suggests a positive time to start your outdoor plant gardens for the year. With the inventive planet of Uranus, also located in Taurus, now is also an appropriate time to take a look at new technologies associated with money and artistic pursuits. Cryptocurrencies and NFT’s are two areas to explore.
Another season of eclipses is upon us at the end of the month while we’re in the time of Gemini. Eclipses happen every six months and indicate shake-ups in our lives. On May 26th we have a full moon lunar eclipse in the sign of Sagittarius which can bring to us, by choice or happenstance, a bigger picture of truth somewhere in our lives. The veils have been thinning out in our society for sometime, but we have to remember to ask for what it is we seek and take an honest look at what it is we see. That’s the nature of Sagittarius.
29th until June 22nd. It’s a time to go inward in thought to reexamine our lives and see it’s all a matter of choice. Indian spiritual guru and Sagittarian Osho said,“If you can grow in love, you will grow in awareness. If you grow in awareness, you will grow in love.” #chooselove Angie Agnoni is owner/operator of Paradox Astrology, LLC she is also Vice President of Lake County Astrological Association (LCAA). To book a personal reading go to: www. calendly.com/angieagnoni
Whatever is shown to us under this Full Moon Eclipse, we will have the time to process while Mercury is retrograde in Gemini from May thedevilstrip.com
May tarot reading By Allyson Smith
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his month, we’re being called to turn inward. Nurturing ourselves and mothering ourselves so that we can heal our wounds, move forward, and achieve what we set out to do. Self care and reflection can open huge doors this month as we start to open our own doors and venture out into the world safely for what feels like the first time. The Queen of Pentacles encourages this nurturing energy. While we’re so busy taking care of the people around us, it’s important to make sure we’re taking care of and investing in ourselves too. Spending time in nature and nurturing your connection to the earth can also help you find peace and contentment when it feels like we’re pressing play on a life we thought we might never return to again. Remember what it feels like to pause, reflect and move slowly as life picks up speed. The message from the Queen of
Pentacles can be especially useful when we look at the warning of IX of Wands. With lingering uncertainty, it’s natural that our knee-jerk reactions may be to protect ourselves and swing a big stick at anything that threatens our peace of mind. Be careful to not be too hostile or cautious towards new things coming your way. You may let the opportunity of a lifetime slip away too easily. Fiercely protecting yourself is an absolutely normal and reasonable reaction to things you have experienced, but now it’s time to work towards healing. IX of Cups shows us that when we take those steps to heal, a new world is opened up to us. A world of full cups, of joy, and of things we never thought possible. Take some time to rejoice in your achievements and anything that makes you happy. This card represents dreams coming true. Take this as a sign that what you are working towards is on its way. Love, joy and peace are not only attainable, but they also create the core of the human experience.
Gone Phishing By John Nicholas
T
here are any number of unusual terms when it comes to cybersecurity and phishing is one of them.
Phishing is defined as a fraudulent attempt to obtain personally identifiable information (PII) such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, bank account numbers or other sensitive details by impersonating trustworthy sources using digital communication, which now may include your landline if you still have one. Those phone numbers that you don’t recognize are more than likely a phishing attempt. Phishing’s most common forms include email spoofing, instant messaging and text messaging. In addition to impersonating a trusted source, most phishing creates a sense of urgency. The cybercriminal
is hoping for you to react instantly without thinking. The goal is to direct you to enter personal information at a fake website that looks and feels like a legitimate site. In other cases, they are hoping that you will verbally give your personal information. In addition to impersonation-based phishing, cybercriminals and nationstates such as Russia, China and Iran use fake news articles designed to provoke outrage, causing you to click a link without thinking. Once there, you can be infected with a virus such as ransomware or redirected to pages that will do the same. In 2020, phishing was the most common attack performed by cybercriminals. The FBI reports twice as many incidents of phishing than any other type of computer crime. The “Nigerian Prince” email has become one of the most famous
Akron’s Community-Owned Magazine
phishing scams. In fact, it has become a cliché or even a joke at this point. It has been around for over 20 years. This attack pretends to be from a member of a foreign monarchy asking the user to send a nominal amount of money with the promise of millions in return. Many have fallen prey to this attack. But phishing scams are not a joke. In fact, they are dangerous and they come in many forms. They have become more sophisticated as technology has advanced. Many Fortune 500 companies hire outside sources to work with their technical teams to conduct “Phishing Expeditions.” These are fake emails that are generated and sent to the employees of the company. If an employee responds to the email, they are given additional training for the first or second offense. Some security-focused companies will
May 2021 · Vol 9 · Issue #5
terminate an employee for multiple offenses because they pose a security threat. What is your defense? Common sense, patience and thoughtfulness. Begin with the knowledge that very few companies will email you out of the blue asking you to verify any personal information. If you receive an email, phone call, text or any other kind of digital communication requesting any personal information, be suspicious. •
Never click on the link in an email, text or message, even if you know the sender. They might have been hacked.
•
Never give any personal information over the phone unless you called the company or it is a return phone call for a conversation you initiated. The Devil Strip
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•
Never answer a number that you do not recognize. If it is important, they will leave a voicemail. When they do leave a voicemail, use the internet to verify the phone number, website or other contact information. Do this by entering the company name into a search engine and comparing the information in the communication. Once you have verified the information is legitimate, it is safe to click on a link. If you cannot verify that the communication is legitimate, do not click on the link, return the phone call or respond to the message. This is true for landlines and mobile devices.
•
Always take a few extra minutes to verify the information.
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Always wait until you have time to process a request before responding. This eliminates the impulse to respond quickly.
•
Always be suspicious. It is better to be a day late in responding than it is to spend months or
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years fixing something that could have been avoided. Phishing attacks play on your trust, your beliefs, your fear and other emotions to be effective. The only way to counter that is to slow down. There is no quick solution to cybersecurity issues. It is a matter of diligence, patience, common sense and using cybersecurity best practices. I would like to hear your questions and concerns for future articles. You can reach me at jbnicholasphd@ gmail.com. // Dr. John B. Nicholas is a Professor of Computer Information Systems and Co-Founder of the Cybersecurity Degree Track at The University of Akron. Dr. Nicholas has over 30 years of experience in the technology field in both the private sector and in higher education.
May 2021 · Vol 9 · Issue #5
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