Being Ernie Krivda
“Play me something” says the tenor master during our first lesson together. I squirm uncomfortably in my socks, having left my shoes at the door of the immaculate if modest music studio.
Rust Belt Refugees – March 2015
Many from the Midwest have relocated for one reason or another, but many have never fully acclimated to their new home away from home. These March 2015 profiles tell the story of Rust Belt Refugees.
Steel Grit
The year was 1976. I was a college student going down to US Steel to apply for a summer job. I had never been there before, but it was one of those places that lined the Mahoning River, over which I had driven a million times.
Cincinnatus
When we set about assembling The Cincinnati Anthology, we were looking for all different impressions of the city: the loving, the brutal, and the honest.
There’s Always Next Year
My father was born in 1949. If you’re a lifelong Indians fan, his birth year is significant. Chances are, you’re shaking your head in sympathy or smiling ruefully right about now. My long-suffering father has never seen his beloved team win the World Series.
On The Rouge
Of all the fathers and sons I know, I’m fairly certain my dad and I are the only ones who would spend part of a hot spring Wednesday afternoon peering into a sewer grate. However, this is not just any sewer grate.
Long Lines at the Pantry: Hunger and Need on the Rise in Ohio
For the past five years, I’ve been a reliably imperfect member of a plucky church that serves a lot of poor people on Cleveland’s West Side. I’m consistently un-punctual at board meetings and have volunteered at the church’s ...
Doomed to Pittsburgh: W. Eugene Smith in the City of Steel
Eugene Smith arrived in Pittsburgh in March 1955, a man hellbent on salvation. He had recently resigned as a staff photographer at Life, protesting what he considered the magazine’s botched layout of his photo essay ...
Reading the Midwest: Mike Royko
By Mark Athitakis Old newspaper habits die hard. Across the country, papers still retain a local news columnist – Mitch [...]
Introducing The Rust Belt Bestiary
I grew up in Akron in the 1980s – the decade the Rubber City lost 8,000 factory jobs and the Ohio exurbs swallowed 13 acres of farmland per hour. Despite growing up in nadir of the Rust Belt’s environmental health and biodiversity ...
Wandering Terroir: For Beloved Restaurants, Mobility May be the Key to Modern Survival
Across Michigan, restaurants with storied histories and cherished addresses are relocating from urban centers to suburban strip malls with remarkable success, providing a regional twist on a national debate ...
Is Ohio Ready For A Big Predator Comeback?
On a desolate January night last year, as the snow fell in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, I got up from the dinner table, threw my cross-country skis in the car and headed to the Towpath Trail.