The tale of glass bottles, tractor tires and one angry farm girl

July 9, 2015

Last week, I walked up and down the side of the road, getting continuous honks, beeps, waves and even a few semi toots.Was it my suave fashion sense eliciting all those noises? I doubt it; my rubber muck boots, shorts and dirty T-shirt were hardly a fashion statement.Could it have been my smiling personality? I doubt that even more because, the frown on my face was pretty menacing.So at this point, you may ask, why was I pacing the side of the road with a frown on my face? The answer is trash, or more appropriately, litter tossed out of car windows that ends up in my fields.Besides being ...

Memorial bike ride to be held

July 9, 2015

MEMORIAL RIDE TO BE HELD: The fifth annual Larry Furniss Memorial Bike Ride will be held 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Western Reserve Greenway at the Sunside Trailhead, Route 305, Champion. The memorial ride is to raise awareness for bike safety.In July 2010, Furniss was traveling on the Greenway Bike Path and was struck by a car while crossing Housel Craft Road. He died in August 2010.A bike donated by Thumm's Bike Shop will be raffled off at the end of the day. All proceeds will be donated to the Western Reserve Bike Path. For tickets in advance or information, call 330-240-3728.PUPPET SHOW ...

Stories of three Lu Lus

July 7, 2015

We all make mistakes. Perhaps I can alleviate some of your misgivings about mistakes you have made by telling you about a few made by my friend, Ron.l No. 1:Ron was in the ninth grade at East Junior. One of his best friends, Charlie, phoned him and invited him to a party at his home the next Friday.When Ron arrived, there was loud music, some of the class' nicest girls, and dancing. However, Ron saw his good friend Bob sitting quietly by himself. He looked a bit forlorn. Ron asked him what was on his mind. Bob said he was quite sad because he was leaving Warren to live with his dad in ...

Remembering dad’s good deeds

June 16, 2015

Sunday is Father's Day. Stories about our dads, whether they are living or have passed away, can be great and memorable, especially when - filtered through the sieve of time - they take on the rich patina of slightly faded ones.The Christmas of 1913 was a very tough but memorable one for my dad. He had just turned nine and his dad had died earlier in the year. He was the youngest of 10 children, and his family was in dire straits. He had gotten the usual Christmas orange, but the local charity agency also provided him with a little glass toy locomotive filled with candy beads. He ...

‘Gray’ — or the purple crayon

June 2, 2015

The little boy didn't go to kindergarten. His mother really didn't want him to go. Maybe she didn't want to be left alone at home. When the day came for him to enter the first grade at Garfield Elementary, his mom got him into the car first thing in the morning and drove around until noon.Finally, she stopped at Garfield and accompanied him in to register with the principal, Miss Alderman. If he were a just few days younger, he would have had to wait a semester to attend. He was taken down the hall to Miss Helbel's first grade classroom. Maybe his mother left crying.By the time he ...

The sounds of bygone times

May 26, 2015

There's a theory that states that sounds never truly disappear - that all sound in some way is still somewhere in the atmosphere. For example, it is theorized that the reverberating sounds of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address still exist out there. It's an intriguing idea.Some time, when you're outdoors, stop and listen. What do you hear? Not much, really - maybe a dog barking in the distance or cars swishing by on some main thoroughfare. But let's go back a half dozen decades or so. Back then, on a quiet morning or evening when things weren't all a-bustle, there were all-encompassing subdued ...