WESTERN HILLS PRESS Your Community Press newspaper serving Western Hills, Cheviot, Green Township and other West Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS | PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
###
‘I FELT LIKE A LITTLE KID’ Donations help Elder grad with ALS get new van Adam Baum Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
After a GoFundMe campaign raised more than $19,000, Pat Emery, an Elder High School grad who was diagnosed with ALS in March, had his wheelchair accessible van delivered on June 15. PROVIDED
Pat Emery couldn’t sleep. He stirred with excitement in his bed on a Monday morning. It was the day he’d been looking forward to since he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in March. “It started about 4:30 in the morning,” said Pat. “I woke up and I was like a little kid right before Christmas.” The 1983 Elder High School grad was excited because later that day his wheelchair-accessible van was scheduled for delivery. “I just kept thinking about what do I
want to do fi rst,” Pat said. He knew he wanted to get ice cream with his wife, Victoria. He also thought, “I want to get to a hardware store. I want to ride through a hardware store in my chair and smell the smells and see the tools. I’ve always been big into tools and working with my hands … just do something that I enjoy. Little simple things.” For a few hours, Pat, who was told by doctors when he was diagnosed that he might only have a year to live, lied in bed and thought about the things he wanted to do, the things he would do. Pat was able to get his own van after more than $19,000 in donations poured
into a GoFundMe campaign that was created by one of Emery’s closest friends, Jim Gardner. Pat also got a $10,000 medical grant from the state of Ohio that was used to convert the van to wheelchair-accessible. The van arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon. Victoria cleaned and disinfected it before Pat could get in. He called Gardner and they made plans to all get ice cream together. “I was like, ‘Let’s go, I want to go,’” laughed Pat. “I felt like a little kid.” Pretty soon, they were off with Victoria at the wheel and Pat right behind her See VAN , Page 2A
You can’t keep ’em down at The Farm West side institution back from tax trouble, pandemic Randy Tucker Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
DELHI TWP. – “We’re still standing,” owner Daniel Elsaesser proudly proclaimed as he recently welcomed customers back to The Farm after a months-long shutdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. If Elsaesser’s comments were the title of a book, it would be an epic saga of despair, salvation and recovery for the banquet and event center here in suburban Cincinnati, which has been a West Side institution for more than 80 years. Just six months ago, The Farm at 239 Anderson Ferry Road was scheduled to be sold at an Internal Revenue Service auction to satisfy more than $126,000 in unpaid payroll taxes. The IRS, which seized the property, even sent an auctioneer to the site to conduct the scheduled sale on Jan. 22 before an unnamed benefactor stepped in at the eleventh hour. The man, whom Elsaesser would identify only as a well-known West Side businessman, loaned the owner enough money to pay off his IRS debt. But before Elsaesser could breathe a sigh of relief from months of negotiating with the government to save The Farm, another crisis emerged that would shut down most of his business for weeks.
Patrons dine at The Farm restaurant in Delhi Township on June 9. After being dealt a double blow from tax troubles and the coronavirus shut down, The Farm is adjusting to new health regulations. PHOTOS BY SAM GREENE/THE ENQUIRER
‘We just couldn’t catch a break’ The coronavirus sucked the life out of event halls and other businesses catering to large crowds and led Ohio to issue stay-at-home orders in March that forced The Farm to shut its doors until restrictions were lifted a couple of weeks ago. “We just couldn’t catch a break,” Elsaesser recently told The Enquirer. To top things off , sometimes violent protests in Cincinnati stemming from the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd — a 46-year-old black man who died in Minneapolis police custody — unnerved some longtime customers who have been slow to return, Elsaesser said. The devastating combination of tax
How to submit news
Ethel Blake said she’s spending more time and money at The Farm because of the convenience of carryout service.
trouble, pandemic disease and civil unrest tested Elsaesser’s resolve. But he said he just did what he always does in times of trouble — turn to God. “Back in January, when the IRS was after me, people were asking me if I See THE FARM, Page 8A
To submit news and photos to the Community Press/Recorder, visit the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Share website: http://bit.ly/2FjtKoF
Contact The Press
The self-serve buffet has been switched to full service at The Farm restaurant.
News: 513-903-6027, Retail advertising: 768-8404, Classified advertising: 242-4000, Delivery: 513-853-6277. See page A2 for additonal information
Vol. 92 No. 33 © 2020 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED $1.00
WFDBHE-21020t