Okay, how do I add a title?
One of the great mysteries of the digital age, as far as I am concerned. Actually, it is a question followed by another : What do I do to send it off, if it has no title? I went to the very informative session at the PCDL—there are more to come, I hope—with a class or two from the...
Why You Need a Good Website
Does your business have a website? With today’s consumers first looking for information before contacting or entering a business or even making a purchase, a website is an absolute necessity for all local companies. Your website is not just a digital business card but a tool that can increase visibility, support customer relationships and give you a competitive advantage. Establishing...
Avoiding Common Furnace Issues
Taking care of your furnace is especially important over the winter season when your unit is working its hardest to heat your home properly. Knowing what winter furnace issues to look out for, and how to fix them, is key to keeping your family safe and comfortable. As a homeowner, there are a few steps that you can take...
Foodtrucks in 1966
Have you noticed the abundance of competing food trucks at events you attend? Is this a machination of the current marketing minds? Excepting for the good humor truck and the milk man in his distinctly peculiar looking milk truck, I don’t remember food trucks being at events. Maybe the current food trucks are the modern manifestations of the old...
Once more into the breach, dear friends…
Well, here we go again. Off to the races. From here on in (or out, depending on the weather) we’re racing onward toward the ending of this or the beginning of that. Practices have begun for the Spring musical, “Beauty and the Beast”, I believe. Wrestlers are also having a good year–kudos to Coach Andel, for having all the weight...
Make Healthy Humidity a Priority
Winter is quickly approaching. While many homeowners want to prepare by keeping their homes warm and comfortable, they may not think so much about humidity. We all know how harsh winter air can be. While you may think your indoor air is ready to keep you safe in the coming season, do you know if your humidity is properly...
My new old Thunderbird time-machine
Driving down the road with no particular destination in mind, I’ve been waiting for a nice fall or winter day like this: clear, 60 degrees, perfect for taking this car out for a run. The Model “A” has been winterized, yet I’m hoping to sneak the Bird out on some of these uncharacteristically pleasant winter days resulting from climate...
I don’t fear death; its being left behind that hurts!
I recently asked a friend whos wife passed several years ago; “when do the tears stop” he said I’ll let you know! I am resolved to the fact that the rain in my heart will never end; I can’t believe it is two years since I lost the love of my life! I make the best of every day...
Maintaining a Clear Drain: Seven Foods to Never Put Down Your Sink During the Holidays
The holidays are here, and many of us are spending time in our kitchens preparing tasty meals and treats for family and friends. It can be tempting to allow food scraps to go down the sink drain, but there are many types of foods that should NEVER go down your drain, even if you have a garbage disposal. Preventing...
7 ways to organize and store holiday decorations
Decorating a home for holidays is quite popular. A survey from the National Retail Federation found that 53 percent of respondents said they were planning to decorate their home or yard for Halloween in 2023. Lombardo Homes polled 1,000 Americans in 2021 and 94 percent said they celebrate Christmas in at least some way, and 84 percent said they...
Feathers, Fowl, and Finances: The Increasing Toll of Yuletide Celebrations
In a surprising turn of events, it appears that the cost of procuring the items featured in the classic holiday tune, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," has experienced a notable increase of approximately 4.8%. At the forefront of this upward trend are the turtle doves, ostensibly due to their relative rarity. When was the last time one encountered such...
Beyond the Regifting: Discovering the Fascinating History of Fruitcake
Certain sights and sounds are ingrained in the holiday season, from twinkling lights to carols piping over retailers’ sound systems. Amid the shelves of holiday wares and delicacies, fruitcake makes its annual appearance. Fruitcake, sometimes referred to as plum cake or Christmas cake, can be prepared in various ways. However, a dense bundt-type cake dotted with dried, candied fruit and...
Making Time for You
Being a small business owner is both rewarding and challenging. While handling finances, marketing, inventory, sales and a million other responsibilities, it’s easy to neglect taking care of yourself. It’s crucial to prioritize your well-being for your business’s long-term success and health. To get you started, here are a few tips. Define Your Work Hours: By setting clear start and...
Reasonable Accommodations for Disabilities in the Workplace
Many people have heard of the “Americans with Disabilities Act” (ADA) or even the phrase “reasonable accommodation.” It seems few outside the Human Resources community understand what is involved with either. Here is a good start: do not model your company’s compliance or employment practices after anything you see on a TV or streaming series. While the scenarios on...
Requiscat in pace…I guess
All of you Latin scholars out there no doubt recognized that phrase, often abbreviated as R.I.P. and translated as Rest in Peace. Well, it’s had an outbreak here at the ranch; our feline population has undergone some major changes. Boy, has it ever. First off, Ruffian, of the inside cat contingent, took off one day and could not be persuaded...
The Old Road: Old cars, old classmates and teen angstSkip’s 1950 MercuryThe Old Road: Old cars, old classmates and teen angst
It is 1963. I’m a football player in 11th grade. I’m in English Class at Maple Heights High School. I’m in the first row, third seat back nearest the window (A potential escape route if the building gets bombed, or more likely, if I say something stupid and bomb myself). In the first seat is our alternate quarterback Melvin...
The Frost Spirit Comes
That line comes from John Greenleaf Whittier, who was once considered one of the premier poets of American literature. Raise your hands out there if you remember his name at all…. That’s what I thought. The whole of the quote–found in the OFA– is this : “The Frost Spirit comes! And the quiet lake shall feel…The torpid touch of...
Let’s Get The Mantua Center School Back On Track
So, who is to blame here? We seem to be a society fixated on pinning the blame on someone or something. The war is over people!!! Blame? Forget the blame (Hint, Hint)! Forget the name calling!! We’ve now documented and recorded for posterity the sometimes sordid history! The world-renown magnificent school building, constructed in 1914, has sat vacant, and...
Serving Fun and Community Impact: Grand Opening of Pickleball Courts and Several Upcoming Fundraising Events Around the Area
This was a “Really Big Dill”…the Grand Opening of the Park Avenue Pickleball Courts at the Craig Moser Park on Park Avenue across from the Y. This was to officially launch the use of the newly-created facility. This event was organized and attended by members of the Garrettsville Pickleball Association, as well as numerous individuals interested in learning more...
What in the Weird?
Yes, indeed, There is all kinds if it out there…weird, I mean. For instance, the other day there was a short piece on line about a political uproar in Wisconsin, where politicians–mostly Republicans, I fear–were in an uproar about passing a law against naked bicycle-riding. Seems to me that would be a self-limiting enterprise to start with, but what do...
The Vacant Castle Part II
From 2020 through the greater part of 2023, things ground to a halt due to the COVID plague. Different plagues and famines likewise hit Shakespearean England 800 years ago and they seemed to last for years and years. People died, people migrated to the new world. Here in our world in 2019, gatherings, town meetings and such were curtailed...
The Importance of an Employee Handbook
One of the questions I answer the most is “Does my organization need a handbook?” Yes, every organization should have a set of written policies so everyone knows what is expected. A policy can be in a formal handbook but could be shared with employees in other ways, including posting on a bulletin board. I recommend a handbook...
Gruel to Gourmet: A True Breakfast Alchemist
Well, as an Autumnal au Revoir, we’ve just had a beauty. It’s nearly all downhill from here on out, I fear. There seem to be numerous warnings about an “el Nino winter” and how we could be in for a freezer bowl this time around after having been just barely noticing snowflakes last winter (Was there more than one...
The Vacant Castle
This is the continuing story of the Shakespearean-like little hamlet, Mantua Township, Ohio. A comedy of errors, it is loaded with irony, sometimes silliness, sometimes idiocy. To bring readers up to date, it’s a story that often features people of honesty, compassion and empathy. It also has a distinct Machiavellian side. Are some of these people really bad...
Mantua’s Stonehenge
Our story begins in 1914 when a new school building was built in Mantua, Ohio. Designed by a world-famous architect to new fireproof standards it is one of the very few examples left in existence—a true Stonehenge of sorts. Life went merrily on as usual for the next 90 years until 2004 when the school system, faced with state requirements consolidated all their holdings and created one new central elementary school. What to do with this magnificent old building? Why, offer it to the Township government for a ridiculously cheap price. They could certainly make good use of it since their current buildings are meager, not in the best condition and God forbid, made of matchstick wood (easily flammable)... Let us continue our transition into modernity.
Iva’s Input: Amen to That!
Got inspired at church on Sunday( This is not an automatic occurrence, I have to confess. I get distracted…and sometimes sleepy, truth be told). Meaning, of course, that The Rev came pretty close to matching my point of view on a whole bunch of things. He also tossed out some statistics that were sobering and even scarey from some...
Iva’s Input: And We’re Off!
Fairs end. School starts. Games/competitions–football, soccer, volleyball., golf, cross-country–are on ( Just got an invitation to a Quiz Bowl event too). It’s crazy out there. Hang onto your hats…or any other item of apparel which you might find inhibiting…it’s all happening Now! I finished the summer with a Grand Tour de Force, hitting three fairs–Lorain County Wellington Fair, Portage County...
The Old Road: “I Need A Christmas Tree Truck”
“Could you fellas find me an old truck, actually maybe two or three of them, to put on my Christmas tree farm? They don’t have to run at all. I want to create an old time atmosphere and experience for my customers. I’ll have Wintergreen Tree Farm stenciled on the sides. I want things to look rustic and old,...
What a Week That Was
Started out with the first football game of the season. That went well…for us, anyway. Then on Saturday there was an outdoor wedding, for which the weather was absolutely perfect (Doesn’t always turn out that way), followed by the fifty-year reunion of the Class of ‘73 (They’re the ones who collected class dues or something to put together a...
The Old Road: First Fishing Day in May 1955
It was a Saturday in May of 1955. I am 9 years old and have been waiting for this day since last fall. Fishing with my grandpa Charlie, my dad and me, it did not get any better than this. We got up at about 3:30 AM. It would be a looooong day that typically wouldn’t culminate until about...
