Series encapsulated critical parts of past

August 15, 2021

I’m far from what anyone ever could label a historian, but I do love learning about history. I love touring small, local museums like the McKinley birthplace in Niles, which I visited many years ago with my son as he researched his third grade “famous Ohioans” report, or the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor. During a visit there, I pored over exhibit after exhibit, reading every word about America’s steel industry as I conjured up images of my grandpa sweating in the hot, gritty steel mills of Johnstown, Pa., where he worked more than a half-century ago. ...

We try, but few of us can relate to Olympians

August 1, 2021

My husband and I sat on the couch last Sunday, mesmerized by what was taking place before our very eyes. Austrian bicyclist Anna Kiesenhofer sought extra momentum by standing on her pedals as she pushed up a dreadfully long incline toward the Fuji International Speedway finish line and her gold medal. “Holy smokes!” my husband shouted, sounding as if he knew anything about the sport or about the fact that the woman was a huge underdog in this Olympic road race. Truly, there was no way for either of us to relate to what Kiesenhofer was doing. Yet, each time the Olympic Games ...

‘Guardians’ face struggle for fans’ acceptance

July 25, 2021

The negativity started early Friday morning. An alert from Major League Baseball popped onto my phone screen before I even arrived at the office. I admit, I sneered. Really? The Guardians? It sounded juvenile, I thought. I flashed back to the Power Ranger action figures my kids had collected as children. By the time I was settled at my desk in the newsroom, my cellphone was blowing up with negative reactions to the newly announced name for the Cleveland Indians. The topic even came up during our regular Friday morning department head meeting. No one there liked it ...

Spelling bee champion should inspire us all

July 18, 2021

It seems odd, amid the heat of a stormy, Midwest summer, to be thinking about spelling bees. But then again, what hasn’t been odd about this year? The 94th annual National Scripps Spelling Bee, usually held Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C., this year was held July 8 in Disney World. Many of the kids competing hadn’t gotten there the usual way of working through middle school spelling bees and onto a stage somewhere in their hometowns to face off in a bee hosted by area media organizations. Some of those local “feeder” bees went forward, but many others — like ...

Vax-a-Million falls short of high expectations

July 11, 2021

Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination lottery created by Gov. Mike DeWine with high hopes of using the lure of cold, hard cash to influence Ohioans to roll up their sleeves apparently was more splash than substance. Results of the so-called “Vax-a-Million” lottery, released when the promotion wrapped up last month, showed the state still failed to crack the 50 percent vaccination threshold it had been shooting for. The contest, of course, gave away $1 million each week for five weeks to five lucky people picked randomly from among vaccinated people who registered for the drawing. ...

Free press one of our nation’s many liberties

July 4, 2021

On this holiday, when we give thanks for the many liberties that make America great, I reflect particularly on our press freedoms. Appreciation for this critically important freedom should grow as we witness it crumbling in other parts of the world. Sadly, just 10 days ago Hong Kong’s sole remaining pro-democracy newspaper was forced out. The Apple Daily published its final edition June 24 after five editors and executives there were arrested and $2.3 million in assets were frozen, all part of China’s increasing crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous city. The Associated ...