This commonly-used political term came to mind the other day when my mom sent me a clipping from our local newspaper back in Wellington (Lorain County, west of here on St. Rtes. 58 & 18), either the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram or the Wellington Enterprise—I really didn’t check. In politics, the term usually refers to an up-and-coming sort that has aspirations for a presidential or vice-presidential nomination, maybe a position of power stemming from the importance of the state of origin. In wider usage , it’s any individual with a local reputation and/or following, who makes it to a broader stage and /or importance and recognition. (You notice that there are no mentions of “favorite daughters”. What’s that about?).
This particular clipping mentions both of the favorite sons of Wellington, Ohio (My name wasn’t mentioned). One was Myron T. Herrick, governor of Ohio and the American ambassador to France during WWI—he also built the Herrick Memorial Library on the town square, where I spent some quality time during my formative years, having frequently walked the mile-and-a-half into town to pick up armfuls of books to read through the week or hang out with my friends to do homework/ research or look at pictures of unclothed persons in the National Geographic. Hey, we giggled a lot but never were thrown out. Mom said that he built the library for his mother, bless her heart, because she loved books; he might as well have built it for me, I was nuts about that place. Anyway, he passes for a favorite son in my book.
The other individual who gets the designation is Archibald Willard. Never heard of him either? Well, you’re probably familiar with his most famous work of art—not the wagons and carriages that he started out painting. You see ,Archibald Willard was the painter of “The Spirit of ‘76”. You’ve seen that, right?
Wellington’s Spirit of ’76 Museum is having a special showing this summer (Saturday and Sunday 1:00 to 3:30, weekdays by appointment) of the loaned Daniel Zivko collection of Willard paintings. There are some 22 separate works, including a version of “The Spirit of ‘76” believed to have been painted for Ulysses S. Grant; there are at least 18 other versions, including the original (8’x10’) which is in Massachusetts belonging to a descendant of one of the individuals in the original picture. The last one painted hangs in the Herrick Memorial Library (How’s that for a tie-in?). They’re each slightly different—red shirt, blue shirt, soldier’s face, etc.—and people spend time noting and comparing details. Some of Willard’s other works are also on display, ranging from a touching portrait of a soldier leaving his family to go off to the Civil War to landscapes to children’s portraits to some almost cartoon-like sketches.
Willard’s original outline of the picture was borderline cartoon also. It was titled “Yankee Doodle” and was so popular that his boss at the carriage factory urged him to do a serious rendition of the scene. He did that, using local people as templates for the characters pictured and…to coin a phrase…the rest is history. The original was on display at the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876; that’s where he encountered U.S. Grant and agreed to do another copy. Local people have taken this scene to heart and the Fourth of July parade every year features volunteer citizens of the town portraying the well-known figures—the fifer with a bloody bandage on his head, the resolute, white-haired drummer in the center, the apprehensive drummer boy—some even learn to play the fife. Thankfully, the fallen soldier, the broken cannon, the following army, the smoke and danger are absent nowadays. The Spirit lives on.
So…I think that we (Garrettsville, Nelson Township, James A. Garfield Local Schools, KSU) may have our own favorite son. The JAG High School has a Hall of Fame; all of these worthy individuals are deserving of note for their accomplishments, but one, Jeffrey Richmond is getting well-deserved traction and attention in the world of the arts and media. He’s recently been nominated for a Tony Award for his part in creating the music for the Broadway musical “Mean Girls”.
Jeff Richmond has been on a trajectory for this just about forever. He—starting in the seventh grade– helped revive the music/drama program at Garfield, beginning with his star turn as Fagin in “Oliver”, trod the boards in, for example, “The Odd Couple” and “Pippin”, directed a production of “The Music Man” with the Garrettsville Community Players and went on from there to KSU. He wrote things too—“Cowgirl on Broadway”, “Loco-a-GoGo”, for instance. Then it was on to Chicago and Second City, followed by the Big Apple, learning, learning, learning, writing, performing. And now this.
He has a following here, classmates, teachers, friends, community members who recall performances and adventures with fondness (The lights-out disappearance in a band halftime show is a favorite, as was the spaghetti on the wall in “Odd Couple”). Recognition isn’t all about awards, Tony nomination notwithstanding.
Well done, Favorite Son.
