Iva Walker

At their first regular meeting of 2025—after January’s meeting was canceled due to cold weather—the James A. Garfield Historical Society addressed the election of officers and various housekeeping matters. The newly elected officers are President Debbie Smith, Vice President Kit Semplak, Secretary Tim Smith, and Treasurer Connie Knop, with...

I never saw the movie, “Groundhog’s Day” but I gather that the premise of the whole thing was that the same events kept happening over and over again.  Beyond that, I am totally ignorant (not that this doesn’t apply to a whole lot of situations as well.) of the...

The man had over one thousand patents, great and small, and I cannot get my television to work properly by the biggest football  game of the season (not counting the Ohio State championship, which has already gone into the books…along with TBDBITL).  I even went out and purchased an...

 The Twentieth Century Club of Garrettsville met on February 6, 2025 in the  meeting space at the Covenant Bible Fellowship Church on High St. to settle back-ordered discussions on revisions to the constitution and by-laws, select nominating committee members and seek recommendations for a venue for the Spring Party…all...

Just like Buckeye Chuck looking ahead to spring, the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary met on February 3 to plan for the months ahead. Discussions included the HopeTown Project, with a focus on budgeting and hands-on Rotary involvement in equipment and plantings. Plans also took shape for the Reverse Raffle, covering location, catering,...

Rotary Explores HopeTown: Supporting Recovery Through Housing, Employment, and Engagement Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary hosted Ted St. John at their January 27, 2025 meeting to learn more about the HopeTown project, a recovery ecosystem being organized to provide housing, employment and transportation for individuals on the road to recovery from substance issues. ...

Well, it’s the closest thing we’ve seen for a while, anyway.  According to the OFA (Old Farmer’s Almanac), Saturday, the 25th was the date of the traditional start of the “January Thaw”.  None too soon, I say, but not much evidence of any major warming.  Coming up this week we...

Walking is on hold for the duration, I reckon.  I may be occasionally not too bright (The jury is still out on that one.) but I am not crazy (There may be questions on that one too; discuss among yourselves. There may be a quiz later.).  When the temperatures...

So…when did single digits on the thermometer become a “norm”? Good Grief ! I must say, the hill in back of the Y has got the biggest workout in some time; we’ve had several winters when the snow cover was not sufficient to make sledding a very pleasurable activity–who...

The January 13, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary Club was all about organizing and planning for new recruits, new programs & people, scaling back to focus on what’s already on the plate (HopeTownOhio, for instance), invitations to “people who know”, as well as people who can connect.  There...

Time for the annual...or semi-annual...or when I da—d-well feel like it... chance to point out the error of the ways of anybody not me. Such a list I’ve got !Let’s start with a commercial message...Not!You know how the prices of things have been going up while the portions have...

Members of the Twentieth Century Club of Garrettsville revealed their outre’ activities on New Year’s Eve as their responses to the roll call on January 2 at the home of Kathy Countryman, (who had the assistance of co-hostesses Pat Amor and Carol Torda. These ranged from parties and “homebodying”...

Happy New Rotary Year was the general tenor of the January 6, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary and it was conveyed by District Governor Dale Smith in his address focussing on the “Magic of Rotary” in the community and in the world. Outreach adventures such as Polio Plus,...

The elegantly decorated Victorian home of member Jan Boehm was the scene of the December, 2024 meeting of the Twentieth Century Club of Garrettsville. Roll call was answered by offering up wishes for Christmas…heavy on family harmony and world peace, with occasional comical situation references. Co-hostess Leah Schultz revealed...

The Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary meeting on December 9, 2024, featured a program from Project Promise/SOAR (Savvy, Observant, Animated, Resourceful). This initiative, created by John Clark and Kali Roberts with support from the James Woods Foundation, addresses the effects of online existence on today’s youth. The program focuses on key issues...

…that winter–meteorological/astronomical/calendar-wise–is all of three weeks away (December 21, 2024) and about that long ago we were all marveling at how unseasonably warm it had been for, how long? And speaking of the Winter Solstice (December 21, 2024)--the shortest day of the year–before it even gets here, we get...

The recent meeting focused on updates from the successful Reverse Raffle. Discussion included positive financial outcomes, suggestions for improvements, and notes for future events, which have been uploaded to the Google Drive for reference. The annual Dictionary Project will wrap up on December 13. Labels will be applied to the...

The James A. Garfield Historical Society convened Nov. 18, 2024, to celebrate the success of the recent Christmas Walk and address upcoming projects and events. Members praised the community’s involvement in the holiday event, particularly the Village’s efforts to enhance decorations. Special thanks were extended to Randy and his team...

The November 14, 2024 meeting of the Twentieth Century Club of Garrettsville got enlightenment from the program, presented by Kim Curry and Michelle Zivoder of the Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard, but not from the power grid, which, inconveniently, conked out just before the meeting hour of seven o’ clock....

The Freedom Historical Society meeting on November 12 featured a video presentation focused on local worthies–Bob Bossow and his sister, Delores Reed. Bossow has been a well-known and respected builder/contractor/businessman/pilot; Reed served as Portage County Clerk of Courts for a number of years; they are now mostly retired (but...

Yes, indeed. Another Christmas Walk has come and not yet gone. You’ve got time to finish it off in fine style if you hit the second weekend (November 15, 16, 17). Pray for the kind of weather the first weekend had…not counting Sunday, which was a tad damp, but...

The Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary gathered for its November meeting at noon on Veterans’ Day, November 11, 2024, at Cal’s II in Sky Plaza. The club took a moment to honor veterans before diving into updates on various projects, fundraising efforts, and upcoming events. Much of the meeting centered on preparations for...

I have got to get out more. That’s going to be my approach to being gob-smacked by the prices of all sorts of things. Shop more, get more accustomed to seeing items of dubious value ( and I do mean dubious–possibly not long-lasting enough to survive the trip in the...

This is what happens when we have our Trick-or-Treat Night on an evening when nobody else around is having theirs: Lots o’ strangers showing up at our front porches, that’s what. Wowzah ! There were packs of ghosts’n’ goblins, dragons & dinosaurs, police and prisoners making their way up...

And I’m not talking about the fall colors and all that… though they are quite lovely, as usual. My pawpaw patch is a brilliant yellow—no fruit though. The maples are a pretty red (syrup isn’t all they’re good for). It’s autumn in Ohio for sure, but this is just...

The October 17, 2024 meeting of the Twentieth Century Club of Garrettsville was held at the home of Nasreen Kitko and focussed on music, with the roll call response being “My Favorite Song” and the program presented by Karen Miller illustrating tunes from her childhood memories of the movies....

Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary was cruising right along at their meeting on October 21, 2024. Principal items of business were the finishing arrangements for the Reverse Raffle night on November 9 at Sugar Bush–tablecloths, tickets, flyers, baskets, sponsors (and thank yous), tech issues, as well as consultation with Dee Synnestvedt of...

The Twentieth Century Club of Garrettsville met on October 3, 2024 at the home of Jane Hill, who was assisted in hostessing by Linda Fitt and Connie Pesecky. Roll call was answered by noting one’s favorite walking trail; winter residences, the Headwaters Trail, Lake Erie Bluffs, the Hiram Bio...

At the October 7, 2024, meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary Club, members were in high spirits as they celebrated the successful dedication of the Tom Collins Rotary Memorial Walking Trail. With the trail officially opened, the club will soon be organizing a clean-up to ensure the area remains pristine...