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Area needs to woo young families

In Monday's Tribune Chronicle, Margaret Thompson wrote a simply excellent piece celebrating the legacy of John F. Kennedy High School, and mourning the loss of many Catholic schools in our community in the last decade.The loss of so many faith-based schools in our county (including those run by Protestant churches) is truly a thing to be mourned. As the article points out, faith-based education is whole-child education: by including the spiritual in the most formational experiences of a child's life, faith-based education develops better citizens, better communities, and yes, better ...

Boyhood adventures with Stanley

As I was ruminating about years gone by, it dawned on me that I once had actually saved someone's life, (although nobody ever said as much). Just a while later, that same person, whom I had saved from a fiery death, saved my life - only this time he saved me from being eaten alive by a wild animal. Can you imagine such heroes? Both of these heroes were only five years old at the time. So bear with me while I relate to you how these heroic happenings came about.As you may have read here before, our family moved onto Genesee Avenue to our new home in December of 1940. I had just turned ...

Millennials not really anti-social

In Sunday's editorial letters, I read a letter by Bob Shilling of Salem who voiced his concern about today's youths lacking communication skills. While I agree with him to an extent, I'm learning to see another side of this topic.I am editor-in-chief with HR & Talent Management, a source of what's new in the human resources industry. One of the most contested arguments among HR professionals is whether Millennials - those born in early 1980s to the early 2000s - are prepared to enter the work force because of technology or completely lacking in necessary skills due to their constant ...

Bucks’ victory tells county’s story

Ohio State won the National Championship. It's so amazing and so exciting that there really isn't much more to say than thatAlright, maybe there is. Against all the odds, the Buckeyes won - and then some. Not being a football enthusiast myself, even I couldn't take my eyes away from Monday's game. This is for two reasons: first, as the kid that was always picked last in gym class, it's always encouraging when the backup's backup (or perhaps the underdog to the underdog) makes all the difference in a team.On a more serious note, though, I couldn't take my eyes away from the screen because ...

Grade school leaves fond memories

During the winter of 1941-42, I was a first grader at Garfield Elementary School here in Warren. When we arrived at school in the morning, we kids milled around outside in the cold waiting for the bell. When it rang, we hustled to our classrooms after one of the big (older) stair girls made sure that all boys entering the building had removed their caps and hats. If we didn't comply, we would be "taken in" to the principal's office.We placed our wraps in the cloak room. (Most of us thought we were hanging our coats in the clothes closet.) Lord help us if we thought we could get away ...

Traditions connect the holidays

I look at my Christmas tree, drooping from the weight of the ornaments and strands of lights. In my hand is my list of New Year's resolutions. I look between the two and am reminded of how our culture is steeped in traditions. Season to season, year to year, we mark our growth and keep close to those who matter with new and old family traditions alike.As a child at E.J. Blott Elementary School in Liberty, I made Christmas ornaments for my parents. Somewhere in a box in my basement, I still have the construction paper reindeer with handprint antlers that I made in Mrs. Gardner's ...