Dianne Amburn, right, Bicentennial Committee Treasurer, helps display a Cuyahoga Falls bicentennial flag that is for sale.
200andyears counting W by Stephanie Fellenstein • Photos by Lisa Scalfaro
When William Wetmore first set foot in what is now Cuyahoga Falls, he had no idea that 200 years later the town would still be thriving. Today, a bicentennial committee — made up of residents, city staff and others with ties to the town — is planning festivities all year long to mark the historic event. The story actually begins — long before Wetmore — with the Cuyahoga River and the falls that run through the city. Native Americans used the river to travel from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, but often walked through Cuyahoga Falls because that portion of the river was too rough. When Wetmore arrived in Ohio, his job was to develop land owned by Judge Joshua Stow of Middletown, Conn. In those days, the town was called Manchester. The name was later changed to Cuyahoga Falls, at the request of the Ohio Postmaster General. Cuyahoga Falls has celebrated many milestones over the years, including sesquicentennial festivities in 1962. “The majority of us [on the bicentennial executive committee] were five to 15 years old and still remember the sesquicentennial a little,” says Jeff Iula, honorary chairman of the executive committee. “We’re trying to blend and relate back to the early ’60s.” The executive committee is further broken down into subcommittees — Tim Belby is the parade subcommittee chair; Laura Petrella is in charge of the community connections subcommittee; Sharon Myers is the history subcommittee chair; Karyn Petty is
the special events subcommittee chair; Teresa Hazlett is the River Heritage subcommittee chair, and Carol Morganti is heading up the commemorative book subcommittee.
River heritage committee
“We have been assigned the opening and closing ceremonies,” Hazlett says. “We are planning on having a torch at Falls River Square. A torch-lighting ceremony will take place Aug. 3 for opening night.” A&C Welding Inc., a local company, is designing the cauldron which will be mounted on a 30-foot pole and will remain at Falls River Square long after the bicentennial festivities are finished. “It will be visible,” Hazlett says. “Our goal is to have the cauldron in place by April. We hope to do our Arbor Day tree planting there.” The committee also will focus on the Cuyahoga River. “We want to tie-in how the river was used within our history,” she says. “We are working on representing the Indian heritage. We also hope to have actors portray William Wetmore and Henry Newberry, the first mayor.” The committee plans to set up an Indian Village in a grassy area near Metropolis Popcorn. Hazlett says they also hope to have a flotilla of [professional]
Falls magazine with chamber of commerce membership directory 2012
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