Three cheers for Arcade’s future
Exhilaration? Relief? Gratitude? What words can describe the emotional impact that two gentlemen from Wisconsin levied on Dayton when they successfully bid to purchase downtown Dayton’s prized historic building – the Arcade! Gunther Berg and Wendell Strutz deserve cheers and open arms of welcome from, not only the City of Dayton, but from all the Miami Valley for their plans to restore this grand old lady of our downtown.
For years this historic, once-majestic architectural masterpiece has been threatened with deterioration, destruction, demolition. Citizen efforts to keep the Arcade safe from these nasty ends, led by the Friends of the Arcade, have been gallant ones. Their hearty efforts have kept the dream of a viable Arcade alive. They also deserve commendation and gratitude.
Now we turn to the vision of a restored Arcade, perhaps a first step in re-invigorating and renewing a thriving downtown Dayton, another dream that persists, and one that is especially important to Oakwood, the contiguous suburb only minutes to its center.
Exhilaration? Relief? Gratitude? You bet! Thank you Gunther Berg and Wendell Strutz.
Dolores E. Wagner
Publisher, The Oakwood Register
Teeth gnashing over ‘Round Town
Regarding the controversy on “Round Town,” I have the perfect solution. When you receive your Oakwood Register, just skip over the column and read the rest of the paper. There, end of teeth gnashing.
Mike Holz
Dayton
City of Dreams or Dreamer City?
Each week when the Oakwood Register arrives my husband and daughter exchange the knowing look – you know the one – somewhere between “Here we go again” and “Take Cover!” In recent weeks this look has become far more prescient than I ever dreamed. I am in the unique situation of feeling the need to editorialize on several issues and not knowing where to even begin.
Let me start with the order of things as they occurred today – you can think of this as one woman’s one day ‘Round Town…
This afternoon I walked to meet my fourth grade daughter at Smith to walk her first to the library and then home. I was thinking about the pick-up / drop-off lane today in particular because I thought (foolishly, apparently) that due to the 67 degree weather, those who live in our very walkable city may have been able to park the mom-mobile a block or so away and God forbid take a few steps to meet their children. These are the same folks who routinely park their cars in the crosswalk, block the intersection, and find new and inventive ways to put not only your child at risk, but mine as well. This problem occurs not only after school, but is also particularly bad in the morning, when people are rushed to make sure their children get to school – and often at the expense of the safety of the children who are walking.
Over and over again I have seen several students nearly flattened; I have spoken with Nance Bradds, and called Public Safety about this situation. Once again, however, I was shocked and amazed at what I found. During my brief time waiting for my daughter, I saw not less than eight of twelve or so cars actually pull up to the curb, put the car in park, and GET OUT! The signs that say (quite clearly) NO PARKING Loading Zone are in fact meant to indicate that this is one place where you should not pull your car up, put it in park, turn off the ignition and exit.
Perhaps most irritating, was the one person who stayed in his car – the Oakwood Public Safety Officer. Afraid of being hit by an errant driver? We’ll never know, as he didn’t even get out of the car. Each time I’ve called I have been assured that it is being looked into – and as of today I can assure you it is – by one officer from the comfort and safety of his cruiser.
After the library, which was wonderful as always, we came back home and I eventually read the Oakwood Register. I salute you, Jill Souders, as well as your daughter who wrote in a few weeks back. I couldn’t agree with your sentiments more. I find it incredibly ironic that as Ms. Souders predicted, this week’s column once again featured sightings in New York and a local country club. How did she do it? In fact, I did the math. Of 126 lines of print in the ‘Round Town, only 24 (less than twenty percent) had remotely anything to do with anything happening on the east side of Far Hills.
Which brings me to my final point. I really hope Adam Smith has a fantastic allowance or an after school job that pays really well. In fact, I hope this for all junior and senior students at OHS, perhaps for their parents even more so. $20,000 for a prom?! It would seem to me that Student Council and the PTO could meet up with the mysterious voice behind ‘Round Town and get some sort of group deal at any of the local country clubs we read about weekly. And you wouldn’t even have to ride a bus (?!?!) to get there.
I can’t think I am the only one who feels this way.
Lacie Sims
9 Dellwood Ave.
‘Round Town a tradition that won’t go away
‘Round Town is not going to change its name. Sorry, folks. And what’s more, it will continue in its tradition of mentioning the same tight coterie of Oakwood’s “old money” and “movers but not necessarily shakers” until everyone is blueblood in the face. Contrary to Ms. Souder’s “rolling eyes” poll, I have been told that ‘Round Town is the numero uno column that many women read in the Register. You see, when your name is mentioned in the column, you have “arrived.” What demure, doted-on and driven debutante wouldn’t give her lavalier pin to see her name mentioned on hallowed page five?? It’s the same as reading Liz Smith’s column in the New York Times or Marge Heyduck way back when in the Dayton Daily News. It’s the society column for Oakwood – or makes a good run at the notion. As a matter of fact, the writer of ‘Round Town wrote the society column for the former Journal Herald a few decades back. We have cast about for a younger generation writer to contribute to the column, but there have been no takers. Anyone out there?
I have lived in Mercersburg, PA., Fairfield, Iowa, Fairborn, Ohio and spent a 17-year socio-economic sabbatical in east Dayton studying how long it takes for a high-born Oakwood prince to devolve into an aboriginal grit. Moving back to Oakwood I realized the city and community is, truly, as Ms. Souder said, “one in a million.” But it has always been a community divided – those who live on the west side of Far Hills Avenue and those who live on the east side of the Great Wide Divide. In other words, Oakwood is divided into a “dinner side” and a “supper side,” as one wag put it. One can divide it further into the Supper East Side and ... but I digress.
However, the notion that “the real citizens of Oakwood” are to be found in the environs of Starbucks or Central Perk is statistically insignificant not-to-mention culturally elitist. How many times have I walked into Central Perk to behold an Oakwood protégé/princess with her mother collectively staring down a three-tier rack of petit fours, scones and other baked goods from Rosie’s magic oven that make up a High Tea? Going to Starbucks is quite the cozy affair as the regulars check you out when you first walk in the door whether your laptop computer is of the proper gigabytage, design, function and name brand. Then you can order a chocolate mocha vanilla latte ristretto at your leisure.
No, “the real citizens of Oakwood” can found in great teeming masses at any of the Oakwood home football games in the fall, or dropping by to pick up the mail at the Oakwood post office on Brown Street in the winter, at the OCC swimming pool in the spring and/or any of our several public parks in the summer.
And yes, chances are ‘Round Town won’t be making much mention of the goings on at any of those places either.
Lance Winkler
Editor, The Oakwood Register
OHS wrestling seeking donations
Dear Friends,
Just wanted to ask for your generous support (and again for those who helped us last year) to the Oakwood Wrestling Organization (OWO), a 501c charitable organization that I am the President of again for 2009. It supports the entire wrestling program for Oakwood from the youth program up through the high school Varsity team. We did some great things in 2008 like providing training dummies, a new sound system in the wrestling room, and were able to send a few kids that needed financial aid to camp in the off season.
For 2009, we are joining up with Beavercreek and are sending a team of kids to compete in the Disney Duals tournament in Orlando at the end of June. Of course this is a special trip for our kids and we are trying to offset some of the costs for participation.
To make this happen, it takes help from everyone in the community, coaches, volunteers, family and close friends. I know you probably get asked to support everything just as we do and I know we can’t support everything, but if there is anything you can do it will be greatly appreciated by me and by the organization.
Respectfully,
Kelly Kooser
Please send donations to:
Oakwood Wrestling Organization
c/o Kelly Kooser
444 Schenck Ave
Dayton, Ohio, 45409
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March 17, 2009
Volume 18, No. 11
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