Random notes on stimulating the economy

I put some time in this weekend stimulating the economy. I bought this house in 1999, and wow -- just look at the calendar -- ten years have passed and it is definitely time for new appliances. Not because the Style network dictates that it is time to buy a gleaming stainless steel frig and matching stove with all the extras. Not at all. My gas range's oven is not working well and the frig that came with this house is hulking (way too large for one person), ancient and sucking up way too much energy.

As I contemplated buying replacements, I checked the brand name on my range and frig. Both are Admiral appliances. You remember Admiral? They made televisions and apparently got into the appliance business as well. I tried to find out more about Admiral appliances online, but all I found were sites that listed parts for sale. The brand was sold to Magic Chef which was sold to Maytag which was acquired by Whirlpool. I can't put an exact date on my Admiral appliances, but upon looking at their electrical plugs, I'm convinced they are way too old to be running safely for very much longer.

I headed over to what once was Rolling Acres Mall, but now is a vast abandoned concrete shrine to consumerism. All the doors are shuttered, except at Sears and J C Penny's, once the proud anchors to this now defunct mall. Ten years ago, when I moved to Kenmore and began exploring my new area of Akron, I was glad to find Rolling Acres. Now I wouldn't have to drive to Montrose or Chapel Hill for major shopping expeditions. In particular, I've made use of Sears for automotive needs and major appliance purchases. Although everything else in the area has disappeared (I still mourn the loss of a conveniently located Marks and Pets Plus), thankfully, Sears and J C Penny both own their respective mall corners. They cannot be foreclosed, and I hope they hang in there for the sake of the convenience of all us Kenmorites.

So I found some suitable appliances on sale and they are scheduled for delivery later this month. On the way home, I stopped at the Kenmore Acme, which has been undergoing renovation and expansion. They've managed to do this without closing the store, and it has been kind of fun to go there and note the changes as they take place. With more room, there is a chance that more of the kinds of products I like to purchase can find their way to the shelves. A few years back, I complained to a manager about finding only quart containers of soy milk in the dairy case. Now they have a nice array of soy milk in gallon containers.

Sadly, I'm still probably the only shopper at the Kenmore Acme who brings my own reusable shopping bags. They need to take a hint from Buehlers and Mustard Seed, both of which give shoppers a discount for providing their own bags. Maybe it's time to write another letter to Acme.

Driving home along Kenmore Blvd, I note that the new library looks fabulous, but the Musicians Bargain Basement has gone out of business. There are more thrift stores and too many games of chance operations. And then there is the religious tattoo parlor where apparently you can brand yourself with your favorite religious brand's icon. Though I rather doubt that anyone requesting pagan imagery would be accommodated.

What changes will come to this Boulevard of Broken Dreams in 2009? Will any of the economic stimulus plans send some much needed cash infusion to the folks who work and dwell in Kenmore?

Round and About Kenmore

So much has been going on here of late. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams is looking a bit spiffier, but still too many empty store fronts.

The new Kenmore Branch library is at last going up. The design is based upon the old Kenmore City Hall. (Pictured above.) For those who aren't hip to the history of Kenmore, it was once it's own city. Trolleys from downtown Akron would travel along tracks by Summit Lake and down to the Boulevard and then on toward Barberton.

If you talk to old time Kenmore residents, you will still find bitterness toward the City of Akron annexing Kenmore in 1928. I never knew the reason until I found the Kenmore Historical Society's web site. They have a page of Memories, a handful of interviews with long time residents. Here's a description of how the annexation went down:

Vern Christy, served as a member of the Kenmore Village Council for several years. He was, in fact, instrumental in collecting signatures of the 15,000 residents of Kenmore required to have Kenmore declared a City. It was just about this time that Akron came forth with their decision to annex the village. Kenmore's Mayor Hollinger and several on the Village Council were much opposed to the "take-over" and determined not to concede. The evening of the Village Council meeting at which the annexation papers were to be signed, Akron came prepared with subpeonas.

When the first subpeona was served on Mayor Hollinger, Council members Christy, Goetke and Jones and a fourth member ran from the meeting to forestall the signing of the annexation papers. The four were cited in contempt of court and the Sheriff was sent to "track them down." Verne Christy did not go home that night, but at 3:00 A.M. the Sheriff was there banging on his front door, demanding he come out. Christy's son-in-law, Walter Edwards, answered the door and asked what Mr. Christy had done, "murdered somebody?" The answer was "No", but "they were out to get him, and would, dead or alive." The four were located, and still refusing to sign, taken to the County Jail. Elmer Prentice went down to bail them out, willing to go to almost any figure to post bond for them. The judge refused to set a bond, sentencing them each to a week in jail. The four did sign the annexation papers, but they still served their full time.

Must have been exciting times back then in Kenmore. Now it is pretty tame, not to mention a bit threadbare and empty in spots. Again I imagine a Kenmore Boulevard filled with green businesses that have been created to solve the problems brought about by our excessive use of energy and other resources. I'd love to stroll down the Boulevard and be able to buy solar panels for my roof, and non-plastic items for household use. I'd like to take all my other plastics that the City of Akron won't recyle to sorting bins along the Boulevard where it is crushed and used again for something else. Not sent here.

Kenmore to get a new library!

In the middle of all the gloomy news, one small ray of joyful news hit Kenmore this week. The last of the Akron Summit library branches to be rebuilt, the Kenmore branch will appear on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams by 2008 on property located next to its current location.

All the new branch libraries I have visited around the area are very well designed. I particularly like the Odom Branch (formerly Lane Wooster). It has some stunning art work inside and out. The mural from the former building was re-done on the new one. Added to the portraits of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass is the face of Sojourner Truth. Yay! Diversity rules!

In the library's community room is a portrait with faces of some of Akron's stand-out African-American citizens including Vern Odom, who gives the library and the boulevard in front of it his name. Odom was a community activist and former head of the Akron Urban League. The new Urban League building going up in conjunction with the the new Helen Arnold school is going to be named after Odom as well.

Places like Kenmore and the neighborhood around Lane Field next to the Odom Branch library are the ones that most need the services of a public library. I'm looking forward to summer walks to the new library in Kenmore.