Lisa Abraham: Tradition: 80 years of lard-fried chicken at Belgrade Gardens
Eightieth birthdays are always worth celebrating.When it’s a restaurant that has reached the milestone, the accomplishment is nothing short of a miracle.And when it’s a restaurant that gave birth to a...
View ArticleLocal history: House calls are just what doctor ordered
Dr. Joseph Warburton rolled out the welcome wagon for newcomers in Mogadore.As the lone physician in a rural village, he delivered more than 4,000 babies in the early 20th century. He hitched up a...
View ArticleLocal history: Rare color film unearthed of Akron and Soap Box Derby in 1957
If you have fond memories of the summer of 1957 and would like to revisit it, you have a 10-minute window of opportunity. Recently unearthed movie footage from the 20th All-American Soap Box Derby...
View ArticleLocal history: Legend of lost airplane resurfaces at Nimisila Reservoir
Legends aren’t born overnight. Sometimes they take a good day or two. Perhaps you’ve heard about a World War II airplane resting on the bottom of Nimisila Reservoir in Green. The story has been handed...
View ArticleLocal history: Surprising discoveries made in 1980 search of reclusive...
Helen Rennard wanted to be left alone. For most of her life, she succeeded.Then everything spiraled out of control.As she looked around her dilapidated home, did she comprehend the irony? She had...
View ArticleLocal history: Kenmore lawyer gains national infamy with ‘poison picnic’ of 1933
Akron attorney Mark H. Shank didn’t have to travel far to become one of the most hated men in America.He got up from his desk, descended a flight of stairs and walked into a drugstore next to his law...
View ArticleLocal history: Portage Lakes visitors take a gamble at popular resort
No matter what they called it, the place operated at full tilt.Patrons enjoyed tasty food, live music, intoxicating drinks and a better-than-even chance of losing their money at one of the most popular...
View ArticleLocal history: Influential Akron disc jockey proud to be a hillbilly
Akron disc jockey Cliff Rodgers was country when country wasn’t cool.As a guitar-strumming, cowboy-crooning host at WHKK radio in the 1940s and 1950s, Rodgers was a respected, influential broadcaster...
View ArticleLocal history: ‘Pumpkin Lady’ really put on a display for Halloween
Like a sculptor analyzing a block of marble, Ethel Michek saw the artistic possibilities in a sun-ripened gourd.She studied the bumps, the lines, the contours. Gradually, a face began to take...
View ArticleLocal history: Akron’s original Hamburger Station is corral of memories
Akron was in danger of becoming a one-horse town until Jim Lowe saddled up.The Missouri-born restaurateur, who wore a cowboy hat and spoke in a southern drawl, founded the Hamburger Station in 1975 at...
View ArticleLocal history: Former students recall Aerosmith’s 1974 concert at Firestone...
No matter how unlikely it sounds, it really happened.On the road to rock ’n’ roll stardom, Aerosmith played a gig in the gymnasium at Akron’s Firestone High School.Vintage posters commemorate the event...
View ArticleLocal history: Old printer’s story can never be duplicated
Frank R. Howe had a remarkable run as a publisher. For more than 75 years, he operated a Summit County company that supplied printed materials to customers across North America. Like so many of the...
View ArticleLocal history: Misfit balloons rained on Akron’s holiday parade in 1973
Sure, we can laugh about it now. At the time, though, we cringed.Downtown Akron’s grand parade, a small-scale version of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, went over like a lead balloon...
View ArticleLocal history: Akron beggar took soft approach to panhandling in 1960s
You could pass a man every day on the street and never get to know him.Tom Hendrick was such a guy.For more than a decade, he was the beggar of downtown Akron. That’s right. There was only one at the...
View ArticleLocal history: Deadly explosions rocked South Akron in December 1941
South Akron thought it was under attack.Deadly explosions shook the ground, buildings twisted and buckled, splintered debris rained from the sky and shards of glass flew in all directions. Burned,...
View ArticleLocal history: Theater organist was a mighty force behind Wurlitzer
When the lights dimmed at Loew’s Theatre, a low rumble shook the auditorium. A glorious blast of music arose from the orchestra pit as the mighty Wurlitzer organ slowly ascended to the stage.A petite...
View ArticleLocal history: Great Hinckley Hunt of 1818 was a slaughter like no other
The wilderness wasn’t safe in Medina County. Ferocious, ravenous beasts stalked the darkness, preying on the livestock of early settlers in Northeast Ohio.Wolves, in particular, were a terrible...
View ArticleThe Peanut Shoppe of Akron: 80 years and still roasting
The Peanut Shoppe was there on South Main Street when the streets of downtown Akron bustled with streetcars and workers from prosperous rubber companies.It was there still, when the streets were...
View ArticleLocal history: Elderly Akron widow witnessed enough changes to last a lifetime
Time used to tick more slowly than it does today. Life meandered at a reasonable gait, allowing people to keep pace without suffering palpitations.Somewhere at the dawn of the 20th century, though, the...
View ArticleLocal history: Streaking craze of 1974 revealed naked ambition
There are 8 million stories in the naked city.This is one of them.Forty years ago, Ohio residents put on running shoes, threw caution to the wind and raced merrily through the streets. The shoes must...
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