Iva Walker

It was recap time at the June 30, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary, featuring review of projects undertaken during the year. These included the bridge mural, which is affected by adhesion issues but is guaranteed; work continues. Also in discussion are the plans for November’s Reverse Raffle, the...

Quite the SummerFest it was. A good deal of the time, it was “hotter than the hinges of hell”, but almost all of the time it was “tons o’ fun” for the crowds of folks in the streets, at the entertainment venues, watching the dunking tank or the bull-riding location…or...

Even more important than the wheels on the bus is the driver behind the steering wheel in the front of the bus. Here’s your chance to be really, really important–try being a school bus driver. These important people are in short supply right now and really, really needed by about...

Braving the tropical heat, G-H Rotary met in the Renaissance Center in Windham to get a look at the recently donated benches…and all of the features available to the public. To wit:  Its features as a hub of social services in the community–Salvation Army & Red Shield (food, clothing, misc.),...

June is sorta shy of big-time holidays and celebrations. Ya got yer Flag Day on the 14th, yer Full Strawberry Moon on the 11th, Juneteenth National Independence Day on–what else–the 19th, the Summer Solstice ( the astronomical /meteorological first day of Summer–longest day of the year) on the 20th,...

The June 16, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary dried off long enough to deal with the following business. Visitor Ian Carmen told of his experience at the recent RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards)event held at Hiram College; definitely worthwhile. Local Rotary members got to participate in some of the...

Army-ish orders from Camp James A. Garfield. Kinda. The recent tour of Camp James A. Garfield (As one participant commented during a Q&A session :” Anybody raised around here will probably refer to it as ‘the Arsenal’ until the end of our days.”) was interesting…enlightening…engaging for likely all of the...

The June 9, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary covered a wide range of topics including the news that the long-awaited mural replacing the Garrettsville train on Windham St. should be in place by SummerFest (This was a Mark Brady project). The HopeTownOhio project will be be getting some...

The June 2, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary was all about “nuts & bolts”, as they discussed progress and finishing of various projects. This included consultation with village maintenance about drainage issues on the Tom Collins Trail–also signage, project status of HopeTownOhio, an update on the wall mural...

Well, mostly. The annual Rummage Sale at the Garrettsville Family YMCA has moved off into the history books…well, books of some sort anyway (There really are people who keep track of such things, I guess.). Now comes the clean-up, empty-out, back-to-normal phase–which could take a little longer. Thanks to all...

The Class of 2025 may wish to claim responsibility for the excellent weather this weekend. Might as well start out on the rest of your adult life with a great opening event. The fact that your moms & dads were probably sincerely hoping for a cessation of the downpours which...

The May 19, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary featured “the usual suspects” and topics, to wit : More consultation on the drainage issue along the Tom Collins Memorial Rotary Walking Trail at the South Street Park, also the possibility of an entrance marker and a storybook trail along its...

As someone at the Y said to me the other day, “Must be gonna rain, it’s Yard/Garage Sale weekend.” That proved to be prophetic; people all over town were covering and uncovering their stashes of valuables from the leftover April showers that were coming to town, off-and-on, most of...

Well, I finally did it. I got every green thing that I could stuck into a pot, a plot or a raised bed–no bunks, though (too prone to night-time pranks; I have wildlife to manage that; the raccoons and opossums are such kidders. Gotta take skunks seriously anytime.). Some...

The Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary club met on May 12, 2025 to discuss a range of topics. The patio benches for HopeTownOhio are looking good–invoice, tax status, grant language all entered into the thinking. The village is being consulted about the drainage issue near the Tom Collins Rotary Memorial Walking Trail. All...

Not a lot of sunshine either, lately. And did you celebrate May Day? You missed marking the halfway point between Spring (Vernal Equinox) and Summer ( Summer Solstice). Used to be a fairly common excuse to celebrate something–anything– after a long winter, I suppose. There were May Poles, and May...

Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary met on May 5 (Cinco de Mayo), 2025 to discuss the following business : Receipts from HopeTownOhio are pending. Ditto for Renaissance Family Center benches–community gardening, plates to mark/identify benches, event to present benches. District Conference report–great displays/projects,much info, exchange students in attendance also RYLA kids (some transportation issues),...

The Twentieth Century Club of Garrettsville celebrate the closing of the 2024-2025 club year with the traditional Spring Party in the Aerie 2705 dining area of the Garrettsville Eagles club. Following the appetizers arranged on the tables, the delicious meal was served buffet-style . Diners were seated at tables...

Well, I am sure that Mart is shakin’ in her shoes (the brand new ones–Skechers, dontcha know) when she contemplates my gardening efforts. Martha Stewart has more than one residence, so she has plenty of opportunity to landscape to her heart’s content–and plenty of minions to haul the up-scale compost...

Having sprung into Spring, the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary launched into the following business on April 29, 2025: Report from Dee McCumbers on the district conference, focussing on local goals(G-H Rotary in the book), new horizons for Club Runner, more relaxation. The bridge wrap project seeking traffic control for June 2 work date. Tom...

The April 22, 2025 presentation by the James A. Garfield Historical Society featured Dan Rager, writer and researcher and storyteller about the Northeast Ohio history of transportation, namely, the Interurban Railway/Electric Transportation systems across the area. These included the Cleveland & Chagrin Falls Interurban, the Cleveland & Eastern Railway,...

You know…the May flowers that come after the April showers…which we did have a few of. We do not even have to wait for the song from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical, “Carousel”. The relevant lyrics go like this : “March went out like a lion, A-whippin’ up the water in...

Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary–April 21, 2025–regular business going forward dealing with reading Rotary Scholarship applications, the upcoming community input event in May, progress on the Reverse Raffle in November, the benches for the Renaissance Center, new badges for members (District conference coming up) (preferred names), adjustment on the Tom Collins Trail–consult...

The April 14, 2025 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary covered a miscellany of action items, including : Invitations to the upcoming community input session at the Mill, Reverse Raffle catering info, benches ordered for the Renaissance Center in Windham, consultation with the Village concerning the Tom Collins Memorial Rotary Walking...

It’s Spring…sorta. Get out and watch your favorite runner…thrower…catcher…jumper…lifter…hitter…pitcher…whatever. Dress in layers and take your raincoat and/or umbrella–you know how it gets around here–maybe rain boots, a hat. You never know–maybe mittens? Watching a track meet, baseball game, softball game in snow flurries is not beyond the realm of...

Springtime ! April showers and all that. Snow in the forecast. Must be Track Season ! One of those groundhogs must have been funnin’ us. March came “out like a lion” and trickled past April Fool’s Day, giving us this. (OFA quote : “Fools grow without watering”.) Just thinking about...

Sprung along with Spring, the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary met on April 7, 2025 to get ahead of the game , namely, the latest project, featuring the acquisition of lockboxes to assist first responders in gaining access to homes when emergency responses are needed. Guests in attendance represented Garrettsville Village Police...

Get yourself to the Geauga County Home & Garden & Farm & Whatever Exposition next year. You missed it this time; and what an exposition it was! The place, up on Nauvoo Road, was two buildings…maybe three…maybe four…it was hard to tell, full of all kinds of things, particularly for...

Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary hit the ground running and made good time at their meeting on March 31, 2025 (out like a lion). Here’s what they were about. Choosing new Rotary shirts–style, color, fabric, etc., also pins/badges. Invitations going out to community for the event at the Mill on May 18 from...

Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary launched into Spring on March 24, 2025 with the following items of discussion. Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary-- March 24. 2025 *Possible co-operation and action with the James A. Garfield Historical Society for a John Porter memorial feature at the Tom Collins Walking Trail at the South Street (Bill Phelps) Park *Discussion...