July 2009 Issue

Homage to Home
For Columbus Museum of Art executive director Nannette Maciejunes, “The Architecture of Painting: Charles Burchfield, 1920” has turned into what she calls, “the little exhibit that could.” Comprised of 40 watercolors depicting eastern Ohio houses and landscapes, the exhibit is the first to feature small-scale paintings Burchfield created between 1918 and 1920 while living in Salem. As a result, the show has garnered widespread media attention, ranging from a New York Times featur...

Sea of Glass
The colorful spheres floating among the koi darting to and fro in Franklin Park Conservatory’s Pacific Island Garden could easily be mistaken for giant beach balls. But these multihued globes in shades of neon yellow, red, green and blue are not water toys: Each of them weighs approximately 80 pounds and is worth, on average, $24,500 apiece. The distinctive orbs are the handiwork of glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose crystalline creations are a focal point in the 114–year-old Columbus botanica...

Made for Each Other
Lakeside Serenity A sculptural, clean-line design borrows fresh California ideas to provide a sophisticated backdrop for Lake Erie views.   An unassuming slice of West Coast glamour — airy and refined — sits propped on the Rocky River cliffs, surrounded by panoramic views of Lake Erie. Roger and Sharon Vail borrowed ideas from their previous Laguna Beach, California, home when directing the design for this residence, which incorporates terraces with cozy outdoor fireplaces; a bubbling w...

The Taste of Summer
Northeast By Debbi Snook, as told to Jenny Pavlasek Crunchy outside, sweet and pearly white inside, fried yellow perch from Lake Erie captures the taste of summer in northern Ohio. You can catch it yourself here, even without owning a boat. Just step aboard the Linda Mae charter out of Wildwood State Park on the east side of Cleveland (16975 Wildwood Dr., off E. 174th St. and Lakeshore Blvd., 216/481-5771, www.wildwoodmarina.com). The Linda Mae folks will sell you a pass for four or six hours of cruisin...

Fund-raising Fashonista
Too often, we’re tempted to roll our eyes at the attitude and antics of teen-agers. So meeting 18-year-old Jenelle Krumlauf is as refreshing as a Lake Erie breeze. Newly graduated from Reynoldsburg High School, Krumlauf’s main focus is helping others. While most of her classmates were in the throes of preparing for prom and graduation, Krumlauf was immersed in planning her third-annual Nellie’s Catwalk for Kids fashion show fund-raiser, which will be held at the Hilton at Easton in Col...

Ohioan - Meredith Whitaker
AGE: 10 PERSONAL: Lives in Powell with her parents, Steve and Amy Whitaker.   THE BUSINESS:   Meredith designs jewelry and handbags for Freckles Buttons and Beads, the accessories company she started two years ago with help from her parents. Her designs are now carried in more than 50 stores in 11 states.   INSPIRATION: When Meredith couldn’t find well-made, reasonably priced gifts for friends, she started making bracelets out of colorful beads and buttons. Her designs caught the ey...

River View
There is, some say, a ghost that prowls the upper floors of the old Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, Ohio. The ghost is known to be partial to women. I asked the hotel’s general manager, Sheila Rhodes, about it. “Well,” said Ms. Rhodes, “all I know is what I’ve heard.” “What have you heard?” I asked. “Okay,” she said. “The top floors were built by a previous owner. And one night a couple checked into a suite up there. And she decided to take ...

Appalachian Adventure
Staying close to home and within a budget seems to be at the top of everyone’s vacation criteria this year. As the economy slows down, people have taken the opportunity to slow down with it, replacing trips to distant amusement parks and posh resorts with back-to-basics destinations like local campgrounds and state parks. Personally, we’re glad to hear it. Not to say we told you so, but this state is full of free and inexpensive things to do, and nowhere will you find more of these simple pl...

Choose Your Getaway
Forested hills, an abundance of water and lush valleys for agriculture attracted early pioneers to the area that is now Butler County, Ohio. Although the industrious settlers in the Great Miami River Valley built mills, stores and businesses — and the canals and railroads to service them — the natural beauty of the area remains. Even as Butler County developed, land was set aside for recreation and parks and, in recent years, wetland nature preserves have been acquired that residents and vis...

Double the Fun
To Steve Presser, life really is all about fun and games. In 1991, Presser left a plush job as a stockbroker to open Big Fun, a toy and nostalgia emporium in Cleveland Heights. “I went from stock to schlock,” he says with a laugh. True to its name, Big Fun is packed to the rafters with all manner of colorful, retro toys — everything from “Star Wars” action figures to classic novelties like the top-selling Whoopee Cushion — and an eclectic assortment of board and video...

Hidden Gems
A young family paddles their inflatable raft furiously as the river whisks it downstream. Once the raft approaches whitewater, the passengers lay down their paddles, grab their safety line and brace themselves for the wash of water. But just as their boat leaves the churning rapids, the next torrents come into view. It’s a whitewater adventure that might play out anywhere in the country, but the East Race Waterway is a man-made thrill in South Bend, Indiana. The East Race is just one of many hidde...

Meet Me at the Fair
With Kelly Clarkson, Midway rides and numerous other attractions beckoning, it wouldn’t be fair to spend just one day at the 2009 Ohio State Fair. This year’s festival runs July 29–Aug. 9, so there are plenty of chances — and just as many reasons — to keep coming back for more. Clarkson, who’s set to rock the Celeste Center on the fair’s opening night, leads an impressive — and diverse — lineup of musical acts this year. The parade of headliners incl...

Pretty as a Picture
Mary Anne Krejci is hard-pressed to name one reason she loves her hometown of Bath: There are, she says, just too many to count. “The lure of Bath is irresistible,” explains Krejci, who has lived there for more than 50 years. “It’s a wonderful blend of the rural and sophisticated — from hiking our green spaces to sipping a glass of wine in an intimate bistro to stepping back in time.” Time has indeed stood still at Hale Farm & Village, an outdoor living-history museum...

Touching All the Culinary Bases
Healthy eating isn’t exactly a foreign concept at Ohio ballparks, stadiums and arenas. You can pick up a vegetarian hot dog at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, for example, or a smoothie and grilled-chicken sandwich at Ohio Stadium and Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Any nutritionist worth his or her unwanted salt, however, will tell you that names and appearances can be deceiving: Depending on how that snack is prepared, it can be loaded with enough fat, sugar and calories to render it d...

Taste Appeal
I eat what is put in front of me. With the exception of lima beans and other assorted vegetables I would hide under the mashed potatoes as a kid, I’ve always been that way. I am not what our mothers used to derisively call a “picky eater.” Truth be told, back in high school I even thought cafeteria food wasn’t half bad. What were my classmates complaining about? It’s pretty hard to mess up a Sloppy Joe — or at least to mess it up any more than it is supposed to be mes...