Estelle R Brown

Garrettsville - It helps to have friends in high places. The village of Garrettsville has a friend in Ohio Senator John Eklund (R-District 18), who plans to throw his weight behind state funding for new construction of the Buckeye Block Building on Main Street. After meeting recently with builder and...

Garrettsville - Just like in the movies, a daring young man takes a big risk, putting his personal and professional assets at stake. Will the big gamble take him down or will he overcome every obstacle and eventually come out on top? Justin Dlugokecki is that young man. He took...

Portage County - While many digital apps are frivolous entertainment, this one can be a true life-saver. By downloading the free Portage County Emergency Management App, residents can prepare for and keep informed during emergencies, whether they be related to weather, crime, health, environmental hazards or road conditions. It...

“Why go looking for trouble?” Dad would ask. “Some trouble is sure to find you at some point in life, but only a fool makes himself a target by intentionally causing a commotion.” Don’t stir up the hornet’s nest is a familiar idiom, likening hornets to angry humans, dating back...

Windham - Community pride is one of those things. It can sit latent, seemingly at rest until threatened. Then it rises up and takes action, inspiring everyone else to take part. Look around town. See the new banners fluttering in the breeze? Historical photographs and images emblazoned with the words,...

Hiram Township - The Historic John Johnson Home in Hiram Township means different things to different people. It’s a historic site for some; a pleasant backdrop to Monroe’s Orchard for others. But for believers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), this is holy ground. So...

Garrettsville - Cruise through the past, present and future with #GarrettsvilleStrong author Pamela Montgomery during the Garrettsville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Summer Car Cruise. The festivities will be Saturday, August 22 at Garfield Plaza, 3-8pm, featuring live music by Blue Cadillac and Dennis Chandler, raffle drawings, and hundreds of...

Be a friend. Go yellow. “Yellow is the universal color of friendship and happiness. (Think yellow roses for a friend, yellow smiley faces, yellow sunshine in the summertime.) We like to think we provide those things: friendship, smiles and warmth.” So says Ashley (Heavner) Doringo (daughter of Denette Heavner, who owns...

Shalersville - Everyone’s invited to the open house hosted by Crossroads Auto Care at 4552 State Route 303, Ravenna (in Shalersville within a stone’s throw of SR44). Shop owners Cody and Hillary Snyder will be providing the community with drinks and hot dogs as they celebrate their grand opening...

Garrettsville - “Elvis has left the building — and he took the food with him!” This was Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard’s lighthearted Facebook post on July 1, 2015. It went on to say, ”All of us at NGCC want to extend heartfelt thanks to Middlefield Bank for the use of...

Ravenna - Now that the former Robinson Memorial Hospital has become fully integrated with University Hospitals, the residents of Portage County are about to experience a revolution in health care delivery. This was the message given during a standing-room-only gathering at the Ravenna hospital on June 9, marking the...

Garrettsville - Erika Frankel is celebrating 20 years in business. That’s a noteworthy accomplishment in itself, but considering she founded a tech company before the dawn of the Internet, in a small town like Garrettsville, it’s somewhat mind-boggling. Frankel started Hammer Data Systems, LLC at 8138 Main Street in historic...

Garrettsville - Although the calendar claims that summer starts June 21, we all know that the season of summer fun kicks off with Memorial Day on May 25. In Garrettsville, that’s just the beginning! Memorial Day held its traditional public display of patriotic flags, ceremonial wreaths, the big parade and rousing speeches on Monday morning. Afterward, the grills heated up in nearly every back yard, neighbors and families finally gathering together again on decks and patios for eats, drinks and games. Finally.

Automotive Rehab LLC at 8147 Windham St. gives “full service” its intended meaning. Although it moved into its current location just a few months ago, it has been providing quality car care since 2008 from its former Infirmary Road location in Mantua.

College-level senior projects typically focus on the future career objective of the student who is about to graduate and enter the adult workforce. But for Kent State University senior and Garrettsville native Aaron Cain (JAG Class of 2011), his senior project took him way outside his box and taught him unexpected life lessons.

“When the door closes, find a window to crawl through.” Or put in local terms, “When your business burns down, collaborate with an established business owner to stage a comeback.” Such is the case for Chic & Shabby, a beloved home decor shop which customers can now rediscover as a vendor at Villager Emporium, located at 8088 Main Street (corner of State Routes 82 & 88) in Garrettsville.

Campers will play games and sports, do arts and crafts, spend time outside, get messy, go on field trips on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, participate in community projects, enjoy swimming every Thursday at the Geauga YMCA, and make new friends. The school-age program offers fun weekly themes that align with Ohio’s Common Core K-12 state standards. The curriculum includes activities in the following areas: arts & humanities; character development; large motor skills and fitness; literacy; science and math, STEM, nutrition, and service learning projects.

It took six months for developer Mike Maschek of Hiram to renovate the historic feed mill at the intersection of Main, Center and Water streets. Maschek had gained ownership of the dilapidated mill property from Marty Paul in May 2014. By December, its exterior had been transformed from a sagging eyesore to a beautiful centerpiece for the village.

Garrettsville - Everything changed on March 22, 2014. Like the day the music died, that date altered local history irreversibly. The Great Garrettsville Fire ripped through the Buckeye Block on Main Street, taking with it 14 businesses, a once-familiar skyline, and 160 years of history.

“Begin the Beguine”  was a popular song written by Cole Porter in 1934. To my father, it was yet another one-liner he’d toss into conversation for dramatic effect. My dad may have been an absent-minded professor, but he was a very intentional father. He never missed the opportunity to instill...

“We can’t thank the community enough for all their support over the past three years,” Michele says. As the Eliases continue to increase NGCC’s positive impact on the community, they seek a return to downtown Garrettsville before the end of the year, to regain the visibility, parking and accessibility they had before the fire.

Let’s face it. Valentine’s Day can be more nerve-racking than heartwarming. What’s an appropriate gift? Should it be cute? Romantic? Nostalgic? How much should you spend? Commercials for vacation destinations, restaurants, jewelry, teddy bears, flowers, chocolates and even pajamas add to the pressure. Maybe there’s safety in numbers. Breaking this...

Garrettsville - Valentine’s Day celebrates love, passion and beauty. So it’s fitting that Cleveland native and Hollywood actress Monica Potter is opening her new flagship store in Garrettsville on February 14. Monica Potter of NBC’s “Parenthood”, dramatic comedy and movie fame will welcome visitors to her new flagship store,...

Whether for home or business, Cavalier Technologies is positioned as the local one-stop tech shop. The simple pricing structure for residential and business labor rates vary only according to whether it’s on-site (housecalls) or in-shop. Contact Chris Cavalier for more information at chris@garrettsvillecomputersrepair.com or 330-569-4196, or browse his website at garrettsvillecomputersrepair.com.

“I want to bring a sense of place back to Main Street and restore the lifeblood of the town,” she says. “I was the only student from the class who was familiar with Garrettsville (I grew up in Newton Falls), and my undergraduate minor was in urban design, so I took this project personally. I was careful to maintain a comprehensive approach, integrating economic, social and sustainable priorities into the plan.”

The traditional James A. Garfield Historical Society’s Christmas Walk is the official start to the local holiday season. Alternating with Mantua every year, the 2014 Christmas Walk is featuring Garrettsville homes and is set for November 7, 8, 9 and 14, 15, 16. On Fridays and Saturdays, the Christmas Walk operates from 10am-5pm; Sundays 12:30pm-5pm. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at the historical society on tour days at the historic Mott Building, 8107 Main Street. Proceeds from this event support the historical society’s ongoing efforts to preserve and display local history, and to offset its operating expenses.

What started as a small blaze on the roof behind Miller’s Lawn & Garden quickly spread to become the greatest disaster to befall this historic village. Exhaustive efforts from local firefighters (supported by more than 100 firefighters from 34 neighboring departments) were no match for the hungry blaze which tore through the 1850s-era wooden structure which had just been freshly renovated and fully occupied by a dozen businesses. Between lunchtime and dinnertime that fateful Saturday, what began as a simple hot seal-and-patch roof repair job became the assumed (although never officially determined) spark for the blaze which leveled the Buckeye Block — all except for the tiny brick and firewalled law office building which withstood the devastation. It remains as a lone witness to the level grassy field on which it now stands, six months later. As measured by the crowd-filled streets the day of the fire — and the outpouring of support for the community ever since — people here and nearby take the Great Garrettsville Fire seriously and personally. But no one felt the loss more keenly than Mike Maschek, the primary owner of the building. He had just completed the renovation project which had transformed the Buckeye Block Building from a sorry, sagging eyesore to a thriving example of “revival and restoration,” as he called it. True to form, this man of vision and faith choked back any signs of defeat. The day after the fire, Maschek stated, “To be continued... It's still all about revival and restoration.”