Features

Lakewood residents will be treated like royalty when the likes of Jake “the snake” Roberts and other professional wrestlers compete in the Firestorm Pro event which debuts September 12 at the Phantasy Theatre campus on the city’s east side. With the prospects of monthly shows in mind, Firestorm Pro seeks to be a springboard for wrestling in Lakewood and the greater Cleveland area from their recently unveiled Phantasy Theatre Campus.

Lakewood resident J.C. Koszewski, founder of the emerging Firestorm wrestling academy, is seeking to broaden the scope of professional wrestling in Lakewood. Koszweski first developed a love for local wrestling in his early teenage years. It was during this time that he first intuited the untapped potential which might give birth to a local scene of blood, sweat and theatrical displays of aggression...

On what was supposed to be the beginning of a beautiful life for many couples getting married on “lucky” Saturday 7-7-07, it was instead a tragic end to a young Lakewood man’s life.

Robert Shawn Joslin, the victim, lost his life at the hand of shooting suspect Nathaniel Williams, Jr., a 22 year old Cleveland resident. The fatal shooting occurred inside the entrance to the Sloane Avenue McDonald’s restaurant shortly after 11am on Saturday. The restaurant closed for the rest of the day.

If you were at Lakewood Park on Saturday, June 2nd, you may have first thought there was some sort of emergency situation there. A fleet of city vehicles crowded the park, including fire trucks, police cruisers, an ambulance, even a SWAT bomb squad truck. But this was no crisis. It was Meet The Trucks, a community awareness and safety event presented by the City of Lakewood and the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA (LECPTA).

Police lights and red flares illuminated the entrance of the Eastern campus of Cuyahoga Community College in Highland Hills, Ohio on February 26th. As I entered the gymnasium full of people screaming “O! Bama!” I was hit with a wave of excitement and a sea of blue. I wasn’t prepared for what the night had in store, but I knew it would be something special.

As parents of a Peace Corps volunteer, we received a letter from the Director of the Peace Corps asking us to help celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Corps (Feb. 26 – Mar. 4). It was suggested that we share letters and photos from our family members in the Peace Corps with the community by submitting them to our local newspaper. Our daughter, Kathryn Lucas, is a year 2000 graduate of Lakewood High School and is currently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Calarasi, Romania. Below is a story from one of her letters:

Rock band auditions for the upcoming young musician’s concert series, Band2gether, were held on Saturday afternoon on May 10. Owners of the Hi-Fi Club and former bandmates from the eighties glam band Spoyld, Billy Morris and Jim Maylor’s, opened their doors to these young musicians to show their stuff.

During the weeks leading up to the auditions, Chris Vance encouraged anyone with singing, drumming or guitar-playing experience from his music school and beyond to get a band together and try out. He also attended numerous events to get the word out. Those interested would get the chance to participate in an actual rock concert, on stage before an audience. Clay Verga, a member of one of the auditioning bands “Little Known Fact”, heard about the auditions from Vance . “I thought it would be a great opportunity to play this summer for family and friends,” he said about his decision to audition...

On Tuesday, September 11, a young woman was mugged in front of Madison Park. It happened just before 10 a.m. in the morning on an otherwise dismal day. Six years after 9/11, violence still occurs daily. Unfortunately for the victim and the suspect, on this day it occurred in Lakewood.

Tom Sweo, 18, of Boy Scout Troop 82 was honored at a special Eagle Scout ceremony on March 11 at Our Lady of Angels Church. Receipt of scouting's highest award requires the attainment of 21 merit badges, service as a troop leader and completion of a major community service project.

Lakewood is one of Northeast Ohio’s most ideal communities for cycling. Yet as bicycle-friendly as Lakewood naturally is, it could become even more bikeable through small, achievable improvements. In fact, Lakewood stands to gain a great deal, both economically and aesthetically, from fostering cycling within its boundaries.

Mayoral Address January 5th-6th, 2008

First I want to thank the students from Lakewood High School who performed “America the Beautiful.” That was just wonderful, and I would suggest to Superintendent Estrop, who is in attendance here, that he extend your winter break by one week... 

The Lakewood Music Boosters (LMB) and students have finally been vindicated. Former LMB Treasurer, Kenneth Gilbert, was sentenced to a year in the Lorain Correctional Facility in Grafton by Judge Timothy E. McMonagle on Wednesday, July 25th. This will be a lesson to all those would-be and current volunteers who have stolen or consider stealing from a non-profit organization.

Preparing for a weekend campout at Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland the weekend of June 15, Boy Scout Troop 115 of Lakewood hosted Civil War reenactor Jeff Stover on the evening of June 11th as part of their regular meeting.

Robert Shawn Joslin March 2, 1981 – July 7, 2007

Robert Shawn Joslin, who was 26, was laid to rest Friday, July 13 at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Avon. He was buried a mere 30 feet in front of his son, whom was born four months premature and lived less than a day. Most citizens did not know Shawn, but those who did, loved him.

Stephanie Harkenrider and Abby Miller built this 9 foot snowman on their day off from school on Friday, January 23rd!

Geiger's Favorite Memory Contest Offers $750 Top Prize

Members of Lakewood High School Student Council and H2O, “Help to Others”, youth volunteer program are joining forces to sponsor a collection of personal items and non-perishable food/snacks for U.S. troops overseas. Lakewood High students hope the entire community will join in their “Support Our Troops” campaign...

At a time when Lakewood faces numerous challenges, and community members seem divided on how best to manage our future, an opportunity for building on our strengths has risen in our midst—or fallen, rather, like the tire swing in Kids Cove playground at Lakewood Park. In response to the deteriorating condition of the playground, and in an attempt to protect the work completed in 2000 and 2001 when a group of community members collaborated with the City of Lakewood to envision and build a state-of-the-art playground, a city-wide project is developing in order to provide maintenance to Kids Cove.

For many people, sticking to a regular exercise program is really tough. That’s why local Jazzercise instructor Karen Kilbane is honoring her latest inductees into the Jazzercise 100 Club, a special recognition for those participants who have attended 100 or more classes. Karen is honoring a record number of particpants this year.

Lakewood's own culinary delight, Melt Bar and Grilled, is no longer our best-kept secret: the purveyor of all things grilled cheese was featured in the May issue of Esquire's The Best Sandwiches In America.

 

Owner/Chef Matt Fish is thrilled with the announcement. "I am completely blown away by the exposure in Esquire," says Fish. "It is very hard to believe that my little Lakewood restaurant is being thought of on a national level. We try extremely hard to make every experience at Melt Bar and Grilled a great one. It is a real honor to be mentioned."..

Check out the New Curves!

There are two important dates to remember for the Lakewood YMCA coming up in August: On August 6th, we will open registration for our two Fall Youth Leagues; and on August 11th we will be hosting a Back To School Family Rally.

Grace Presbyterian Church, at Hilliard and Rosewood Avenues, celebrated over 40 years of honoring veterans on Sunday, May 25th, with their traditional Memorial Sunday service, including a grand entrance by the veterans. Grace Presbyterian has held a special service in recognition of Memorial Day annually since 1967; to honor living and deceased veterans who came to the aid of our country. Participants in the service on Sunday included members of the Joint Veterans Council of Lakewood/Rocky River, musicians from the North Coast Pipe Band, a trumpet player, and the church's own choir, pastor, and organist...

The number now as I write this is 3475. Or perhaps by the time you read it, it will be 3500 or 3525. It goes up on average approximately one or two digits a day since the count began on March 19, 2003, a totemic figure whose meaning almost anyone knows at a glance. You can track it in the newspapers or on any number of websites, or you can ignore it if you will as one more piece of bad news in a welter of dismal tidings. You may also have seen the figure hand-painted on the back of a white Ford van cruising the streets of Lakewood, a mobile reminder of the human cost of what is shaping up to be a vast misadventure. Or else—depending on your point of view—an irritating statement of partisanship at a time that calls for loyalty.

Maria “Puma” Reyes, a well-known yoga teacher on Cleveland’s westside, finally has a home to call her own.

Beginning August 9, Reyes will open her own studio, Puma Yoga, at 15602 Detroit Ave., in Lakewood. For the past several years, Reyes has earned a loyal following teaching at various gyms, clubs and churches...

Following the primaries in Ohio and Texas, Sen. Barack Obama has lost some of his sheen. As a supporter, I think this may not be a terrible thing; he will now have to campaign without the glow of a media and fan-following that some had begun to suspect amounted to a personality cult...

Going out at night can be a problem. If there is any doubt, Lakewood resident Joe Simon, the self-published author of “Observations from the Door”, would like to assuage it. ..

If you go to foxcleveland.com and locate their “hot list” of favorite small businesses, you will find Lakewood’s best kept secret, The Coffee Pot, in historic birdtown, nominated for best home fries.

When the word “park” is mentioned, images of play groups, soccer teams, picnics, playgrounds, and other group activities quickly come to mind. But what about an organization whose goal is not to use the park, but to improve it?

“It’s a jewel that needs some attention,” said Ward 4 Councilwoman Mary Louise Madigan of Madison Park...

There was a "sun parlor" just off the dining room in my grandparents' old Pennsylvania mountain home. It wasn't very large, but it contained a nice fireplace, with bookshelves situated along the far wall; along with three comfortable easy chairs where one could grab a volume and read a few pages, in between the hard work that came with life in the country...

Light Up Lakewood Holiday Celebration is November 30, 2007 

Lakewood has been known by many epithets, but probably its most recognizable is “The City of Beautiful Homes”, and it is that name that the Lakewood Historical Society showcases each year at the biennial House Tour...

H2O “Help to Others” Summer Service Camp, sponsored by the City of Lakewood, is a place for middle school students to learn about helping the community, local and global, through organized volunteer work. Each summer H2O has a different theme that the service revolves around. The theme for this year is, “Study the Past, Live in the Moment, Plan for the Future.” We are turning our focus to the current environmental situation, and making an effort to increase recycling in Lakewood...

Lakewood has received national recognition by This Old House Magazine, one of a select group of cities in the country to receive their endorsement. Lakewood appears as one of the Best Places To Buy An Old House in all the following categories: In The Midwest; For Families With Kids; For First-Time Buyers; For Art Lovers; and For Queen Annes...

We’ve all heard of gutsy women – but did you know you can see them, hear them speak, and even ask them questions? In a sense you can, through our own local Women in History organization.

Lakewood is a lovely name for a city. It is such a nice name that cities in other states have chosen it too. No other one has such a valid claim to the name as our fair city of Lakewood, Ohio. We are situated on the shore of one of the great lakes of the world...

WARNING: Just because you have the necessary snowboard equipment and took a few lessons in Cleveland does not mean you are ready to go to the Alps.

Have you ever noticed how the most inspiring moments can sometimes become nightmares?

I re-learned this “Raiders of the Lost Arc” lesson the hard way recently on a trip to the Sandy Ridge Reservation, a Lorain County Metro-Park, advertised to feature a bird-rich wetland with heron, geese, woodpeckers, swan etc. Well, the park didn’t disappoint: my sister and I saw all that and more, including two beautiful Baltimore orioles and some egrets. But just when I felt at peace—connected to the majesty of the natural world--one wrong turn transformed my ornithological bliss into a horror show...

Part II

The riots spread from Lhasa to the beautiful city of Chengdu in Sichuan province. I was in Chengdu from March 25 until March 27, which was less than 10 days after the riots happened...

Lakewood native Eric Smith has been serving in Iraq since May. In his first column for the Observer, he told of the flight into Iraq and described Camp Victory in Iraq. Now, he is out of Baghdad at a small base near Kirkuk, Sadaam Hussein’s former home town.

The flight in a pair of Blackhawk helicopters from our FOB (Forward Operating Base) to General Methaala’s house was an easy one. We were low enough that we could see peoples’ expressions as they looked up at us, but high enough that the noise and rotor wash didn’t bother the villagers. The pilots and door gunners bantered back and forth with us about which mess hall had the best food, who was the best unit to work with, and the advantages of being required by regulation to get plenty of sleep (the pilots, not us)...

A recent comment on the Lakewood Observer Deck about teachers “not being as good as they used to be” and that an education degree was “easy” to obtain left me reflecting (after steaming) about the whole education field...

A mommy group celebrating our toddlers' 2nd birthdays organized a picnic and gift exchange with a limit of $20. Fellow group member and friend Patricia Neligan Barley suggested the following: "Can we add that whatever we give be made in the USA in light of all the press about lead and toys made overseas? Just think of the gas you are saving from the ships if we buy something made here. Go green!" I thought—what a great idea. We should be encouraging that consumption behavior in our everyday lives.

Celebrate health! Celebrate Lakewood! Join in as Lakewood Walks Main Street on Wednesday, August 22!

On November 26, 2006, my husband, Bill Grulich, and I took in a dog, a Shepherd mix named Nemo, because she could no longer stay with her family. We already had Bella, an Australian Shepherd mix. We made sure Nemo had her shots and made an appointment to spay her. The introduction of the two dogs went well. On the night of December 3rd, though, Nemo was pacing, panting and restless, so we took her to the vet the next morning.

Romance or Bust

Save the date of October 18 in your calendar. 

Better than any reality television show, Candidates Night, sponsored by the Lakewood League of Women Voters, will take place on that date at 7 p.m. at the Womens Pavilion in Lakewood Park.

Municipal candidates and School Board Candidates will be there. Learn their personal background, their viewpoints on issues, and ask your questions.

 

Just let it happen, please.

That is the philosophy that Gudrun, who moved to Lakewood in August, lives by. After growing up in Brooklyn, New York and living in such varied locations as St. Louis, Connecticut, and California, it might seem surprising that she chose this location to finally settle down.

There were two major factors that contributed to Gudrun's move from Connecticut to Lakewood, Ohio. The first was the new YMCA. “I swim everyday,” said Gudrun, who at age 80, stands stately with a short salt and pepper bob cut and bright blue eyes. “And there are wonderful people at the Y.”

A memorial mass was held at St. James Church on Saturday, June 21 for long-time Lakewood resident Elizabeth Carnegie. Ms. Carnegie, died on May 14 at age 84.

Ms. Carnegie graduated from the former Notre Dame Academy on Ansel Road in Cleveland and Ursuline College, and received a graduate degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C...

For twenty years I have lived in a lovely, quaint, old Lakewood house—chock full of character. Yeah, right! We’ve been repairing, repainting and replacing that character for the past twenty years. In spite of this, our home does boast tons of nooks and crannies, beautiful woodwork and, of course, the proverbial Lakewood closet! For those non-Lakewoodites, I mean a pole and a shelf.

It's a common New Year's resolution: to help others in need. What's not so common is the people who do this every day through their jobs. Kathy McKinsey is one of these people. McKinsey is a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, or CVRT, at the Cleveland Sight Center, an agency that provides services for people that are blind or visually impaired and whose mission is “to empower people with vision loss to realize their full potential, and to shape the community's vision of that potential..."

In the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams,” elderly Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham is asked what he would wish for if given the opportunity to wish again. He says: “You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought (when he played in the Major Leagues for only one day but never got up to bat), well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was to be the only day.”

Maxim Kniazkov, writer and contributor to the Yahoo website, reported the following on Sunday, October 15, 2006: “It is by no means dead, but for the first time, a new survey has shown that traditional marriage has ceased to be the preferred living arrangement in the majority of US households. The shift, reported by the US Census Bureau in its 2005 American Community Survey, could herald a sea of change in every facet of American life -- from family law to national politics and its current emphasis on family values. The findings indicated that marriage did not figure in nearly 55.8 million American family households, or 50.2 percent.”

B. NEIL DAVIS has been a fixture in the Cleveland music community for over five decades. The West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church has been celebrating the career of B. Neil Davis in its 2006-07 artist series. The series will conclude on May 13, 2007 with a special guest appearance by Lakewood High School graduate David Conte at the 4 p.m. concert to be held at the church, 20401 Hilliard Blvd., Rocky River. It is fitting that Mr. Conte, currently professor of composition and conductor of the conservatory chorus at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music will be the guest artist at this finale of the series celebrating B. Neil Davis's career. While in high school, Mr. Conte not only sang in the A Cappella Choir directed by Mr. Davis; he also served as his accompanist. His appearance demonstrates the impact that Mr. Davis has had not only on the outstanding musical tradition at Lakewood High School but in the Cleveland community as a whole. B. Neil Davis’ enthusiasm and love of music is something that he fostered in all those who had the privilege of singing in choirs he directed during his tenure at Lakewood High School, his service as the choirmaster of the West Shore Unitarian Church for the past 22 years and his private voice instruction at Cleveland State University and the Beck Center for the Arts.

China is a magical place filled with over 20 ethnic groups, 11 provinces, 10+ different dialects of the Chinese language, amazing food, and great personality. I have traveled all across this wonderful country and experienced things that some people can never understand without coming to do it themselves...

It’s not often that successful contemporary art gallery directors or curators who have academic training in art history, and none in studio art, leave their profession to later return as practicing artists. However, that’s exactly what Tom Kochheiser did.

 

With academic training in art history, a BA and MA from Ohio State and Oberlin College respectively, and no formal studio art training, everything Tom has learned about making art he has figured out on his own. And the result is outstanding...

It can’t get any better than this. (Hillary vs. Barak) vs. John. These guys are our best, right? Well, lets take a look...

With the recent release of the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille, the spotlight has once again been shed on French cuisine.

According to master teacher Rowan Silverberg, a loved and renowned instructor here in Cleveland, "Happiness Is Available" in each moment. Rowan will lead two afternoon Workshops at WSY (Westside Yoga Studio), on Sat Jan 24th and Sun. Feb 8th from 2-4 PM. Rowan has been practicing yoga for more than 40 years. Her teachings are the reflection of her own uplifted sprit and joyful authentic presence. She is a beautiful and highly gifted instructor who truly embodies the teachings, conveying them from her heart to inspire her students. We are honored to have her here. On Jan 24th enjoy a well-rounded asana sequence including standing and balancing poses, backbends, forward bends and twists. On Feb 8th, Inversions, including handstand, headstand, shoulderstand and more challenging backbends. Modifications and more challenging options will be presented for each pose so everyone can enjoy a fun and participate fully. Both workshops are appropriate for students of all levels, with a particular focus on bringing your yoga practice into everyday life. A variety of breathing techniques will be presented to deepen the flow of energy in your body and expand your capacity for mindfulness. Each class will end with a generous relaxation and meditation. Cost per sesson is $30.00, Sign up for both for $50.00.

14613 Clifton isn’t your typical punk house full of college-aged kids putting on shows. Nope, it’s a much nicer version, one parents wouldn’t mind sending their kids to. Since April of 2007, four boys have lived there, three of which are members of the locally based bands The Sidekicks and Asinine...

Imagine going on the World Wide Web and being able to find what your home would have looked like years ago, maybe even before you were born, if there even was a house there.

In this age of technology, it isn’t hard to believe that there would be images circulating on the web of old places and it is even harder to believe, but it’s fortunately true, that one of these websites is devoted specifically to the city of Lakewood. If you don’t believe that there is a site called “Yesterday’s Lakewood” with over 2,100 images of the city of Lakewood, just talk to William Becker, the site’s creator and 33-year archivist for Cleveland State University...