September/October 2017

If Lake View Cemetery is good enough for a president, a handful of gangsters and John D. Rockefeller, then it’s good enough for the rest of us.

That’s especially true in the fall. Lake View Cemetery’s Victorian-style landscaping explodes with autumn foliage, giving a flamboyant backdrop to the somber setting.

Old cemetery enthusiasts already have Lake View on their radar. This is a cemetery designed for strolling, with plenty of roads for rambling and contemplation.

If you’re looking for tours, visit lakeviewcemetery.com for the latest offerings.

On Sept. 30, the Lake View Cemetery Foundation is hosting an iPhone Fall Walking Tour led by landscape photographer, writer and educator Ian Adams.

He’ll give demonstrations on how to use an iPhone to take fall landscape photography. For preregistration and fee information, visit lakeviewcemetery.com.

Lake View Cemetery is east of Cleveland. It’s the final resting place for more than 104,000 people, with burials continuing through today. Founded in 1869, its 285 acres are a peaceful place to visit in any season.

Patience and Persistence are Great Tools for Tracing Your Roots

By Sue Botos

It was a family reunion somewhat reluctantly attended by nationally acclaimed genealogist Dr. Deborah Abbott that opened the door to what has become her passion.

“My grandparents never talked too much about the past, but my grandmother used to tell me she and her sister both had granddaughters named Deborah,” Abbott recalled recently before holding a workshop at the Lakewood Public Library.

Abbott — a member of the board of trustees of the Ohio Genealogical Society and past president of the African-American Genealogical Society — says she met her great aunt once, but it wasn’t until she attended the reunion in North Carolina several years ago that she discovered members from that branch of her family.

“I got down there and there were people walking around that looked just like my grandmother and they knew everyone in the room,” Abbott remembers, adding that of her great-aunt’s 14 children, she knew only two.

“They were talking about people I never heard of. I realized I knew zero. I had to figure out what to do,” Abbott says.

So began a journey that led her to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., as well as the Western Reserve Historical Society, which houses census records for the county dating back to the 1800s.

Start Here

Untangling your family’s roots can be daunting, but experts say patience and an open mind can uncover some fascinating facts, and maybe a few skeletons in the closet.

“Start with yourself and move backward,” advises Abby O’Neill, a research assistant at the Cuyahoga County Library’s Fairview Park Branch, which offers one of the most extensive collections of historic records and documents such as court records, census counts and local history.

Keep in mind that some records and recollections may be unreliable.

The Ultimate Fall Treat

Beer on the Vine

Pumpkin turns up in everything this time of year — and truthfully, some of the items are a bit weird.

Air fresheners. Coffee. Hand soaps. Cheerios. Not in the category of weird (at least in my book): beer.

My favorite beer store started stocking pumpkin ales at the end of summer. Please don’t judge, but it never occurred to me that they used real pumpkins. I thought they used pumpkin-ish spices like cinnamon and ginger and moved on to their next beer, letting the consumer’s imagination take it from there. Not true.

Great Lakes Brewing Company last year harvested somewhere in the range of 200 to 250 pumpkins grown organically at their Pint Size Farm. Located half an hour from the brewery on a historic farm in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Pint Size Farm’s half-acre plot produces pumpkins using traditional farming methods.

The completely organic, pesticide-free and artificial fertilizer-free produce is used seasonally in their brewpub for their Pumpkin Ale. Last year they also brewed a small batch Specter Detector, an experimental Belgian white ale using roasted white pumpkins.

Sure beats breakfast cereal.

Do You Know a Giver?

Give Him Up

Volunteers hate attention. Most are happy to go about their good deed doing without a lot of fuss from the rest of us. Too bad.

Shining a light on these good people reminds us that there’s plenty of generosity and positive things going on in Northeast Ohio. Learning about how others give sometimes results in a gentle nudge to the rest of us. Their kindheartedness has a ripple effect.

We’re again saluting local volunteers in Boomer’s November/December issue. Go ahead, let us know about a giver you’ve discovered. Send a description (150 words), contact information and a photo, if available, to [email protected]

Entertainment

Live Theater Preview

There’s Plenty to Enjoy This Season in Northeast Ohio

“Winnie-the-Pooh” and “The Importance of Being Earnest” will be performed at The Fine Arts Association in Willoughby this season.

Photo courtesy: The Fine Arts Association

By Marie Elium

Nothing’s quite as appealing when the weather turns cool as sinking into a comfortable theater seat.

Autumn’s blustery weather chases many of us indoors — and into one of Northeast Ohio’s theaters for live performances.

This theater season is gearing up to be another good one. We’ve got big productions in little theaters and even bigger productions in some of our finest showplaces. Here’s a roundup of what to see and where to see it.

Beck Center for the Arts

Beck Center for the Arts is more than a nonprofit organization that combines professional theater with arts education. It creates art experiences and is committed to doing so for all ages and abilities. Beck Center offers over 200 award-winning classes, programs and lessons in dance, music, theater, visual arts, early childhood, outreach and Creative Arts Therapies, serving more than 60,000 annually. Beck Center is at 17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood.

Here’s the theater production lineup:

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Sept. 15-Oct. 8

“Waiting for Godot,” Oct. 6-Nov. 5

“Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” Dec. 1-31

“Hair,” Feb. 9- 25

“My First Time,” March 30-April 29

“Bent,” June 1-July 1

“Gypsy,” July 6-Aug. 12

The Fine Arts Association

The Fine Arts Association in Willoughby produces a full season of outstanding community theater featuring musicals, comedies, dramas and family shows.

Fine Arts also produces a Senior Matinee Performance Series on select Wednesdays. Season subscribers save 20 percent on individual ticket prices and are guaranteed choice seating. Discounted group pricing is also available.

Visit fineartsassociation.org/performance or call 440-951-7500, ext.

Explore the Ohio and Erie Canal Corridor

No-Hassle Trips for Hiking, Biking & Sleeping

By Marie Elium

Brian and Tracy Davis have hiked all over the world, but it’s right here in Northeast Ohio where they’re blazing a trail for local explorers.

The two grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and moved to Northeast Ohio 26 years ago. This year alone, the Davises have made trips back to South Africa as well as to Panama, where one of their sons is in the Peace Corps, and to Switzerland to visit another son who is on a work assignment. Hiking always is part of their travel plans.

When they aren’t on the road, Brian is an engineer and professor at the University of Akron. Tracy is a teacher in Euclid.

A Plan — and a Grant

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is close to their heart. They’ve spent years exploring its valleys, rocky outcrops and scenic trails. Last year the Davises were awarded a prestigious Knight Cities Challenge grant from The Knight Foundation, which was looking for suggestions to boost the 26 cities where the Knight brothers had owned newspapers. The Akron Beacon Journal was their flagship paper.

Brian and Tracy were among 37 recipients — out of 4,000 applicants — who snagged a share of the $5 million grant. They used the money to help start Explore-A-Foot, an initiative that plans and books overnight or multi-day trips for families along the Ohio and Erie Canalway.

International Inspiration

The Davises’ experiences in Germany hiking the beautiful Eifelsteig and Malerweg trails got them wondering if that type of experience could be replicated in Northeast Ohio. They wanted to make hiking and biking accessible and hassle-free so visitors could explore the beauty of our Northeast Ohio trails, starting with those in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

As we approach our two-year anniversary of Northeast Ohio Boomer & Beyond, we have much to celebrate, much to be thankful for and much to tell you about toward the future …

Thanksgiving — a Bit Early

First off, a big shout-out to you, our readers — our faithful followers — for embracing this new magazine concept dedicated to “Better Living After 50” for Greater Clevelanders. You continually affirm that we are on the right track with Boomer & Beyond through your encouraging comments and “sold out” copies. By now you’re certainly wise enough to know that the best things in life are free.

A huge thank you goes out to our advertisers who have trusted in Boomer to deliver a powerful audience of intelligent, mature consumers. Our aim is to be a conduit for you to connect with passionate readers in a credible, often maligned but treasured medium — the printed magazine.

Many thanks to the Boomer Editorial Advisory Board for helping steer this ship in the right direction from the earliest planning stages to this — our largest issue to date.

Thanks to an incredibly dedicated, talented staff who have nurtured Boomer from birth to maturity with blood, sweat and tears.

What’s Ahead?

In the coming weeks, our e-newsletter will launch with engaging and timely stories that will link you to our website where a host of other information, resources and features are available. With our continued plan to stay with a bi-monthly publishing schedule for the magazine, our website, e-newsletter and Facebook platforms will continue to grow as a source of information and entertainment.

We’ve heard from many of our readers that you’re looking for fun, lively events with music and other entertainment for “your crowd.” We’ve listened, and we believe you will find what you’re looking for at our first Boomer Bash event coming this fall.