Browns Reporter Mary Kay Cabot Doesn’t Miss Deadlines or Family Time
PRIVATE SCHOOL GUIDE
Pick the Perfect Grade School and High School for Your Student’s Needs
Trails, tips and products to level up your hikes and campouts.
Plus, we backpack part of the nationally recognized, 1,444-mile-long Buckeye Trail.
GATHERING PLACE
Market 42 Gives Brunswick a Third Space Centered Around Food and Community PLAN YOUR
Outer Banks
ON THE COVER
38 WILD OHIO Join impressive thru-hikers for amazing adventures on the 1,444-milelong Buckeye Trail. Plus, find gear, biking trails, campsites and more in Northeast Ohio. Edited by Annie Nickoloff
Photo courtesy Laura Watilo Blake Talent courtesy Docherty Agency
FEATURED
32 BROWNS BEAT Mary Kay Cabot, the longtime, iconic reporter covering the Cleveland Browns, won big honors this year. By Marla Ridenour
8 FROM THE EDITOR
9 CONVERSATION
LAY OF THE LAND
11
KID TV Ms. Julie's World aims to create a new kind of children's streaming show for education and entertainment.
14 LIVE FROM CLEVELAND The music of Saturday Night Live takes over the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
20 TRASH FISH Eddie Olschansky takes to the Cuyahoga River in his kayak to clean up litter, one trash bag at time.
FOOD & DRINK
23 LITTLE CLOUD, BIG BITE Ohio City's newest sandwich shop has exploded in popularity since opening this year.
27 DINING GUIDE Head way out east this month to Chardon, a small town which features a big variety of eats.
HOME & GARDEN
91 SUITE RENO Two East Side parents boldly reimagine their college-aged daughter's bedroom into a regal guest room.
96 LOOK BACK The height of Beatlemania shakes up Cleveland.
SPECIAL SECTIONS
51 PRIVATE SCHOOLS Dive into important spaces of Northeast Ohio education.
19036 Old Detroit Rd., Rocky River, 44116 440-333-9600, solarihome.com
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2025 5:30–10PM
EMBASSY SUITES BY HILTON CLEVELAND ROCKSIDE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Denise Polverine
publisher Dillon Stewart editor
managing editor Ron Ledgard
senior editor Annie Nickoloff
associate editor Julia Lombardo
editorial assistants Christina Rufo, Jaden Stambolia
contributing writers Kristen Hampshire, Kate Bigam Kaput, Marla Ridenour, Lynne Thompson
editorial interns Lauren Bischof, Katrina Carlson, Ava Jelepis
art director Erin Stinard
associate art director Abigail Archer
contributing artists Jeani Brechbill, Daniel Lozada, Eleni Pamboukis, Laura Watilo Blake
The Cleveland Clinic Children’s Rock Stars are young patients whose strength inspires action. Donor support powers patient care, and every dollar donated fuels healing, hope and world-renowned treatments.
Scan to meet our Rock Stars and support their journeys
Common Ground
Northeast Ohio symbolizes our progress in protecting nature.
The river that burned inspired the Clean Air Act and the EPA, and now people swim in and paddle in it. Our world-class Metroparks system covers more than 25,000 acres. We even have a national park.
But make no mistake that the battle for our natural world rages on here and across the United States.
Cleveland is the ninth worst city in the nation for particle air pollution, according to the American Lung Association. In 2024, fracking began at Salt Fork State Park, Ohio’s largest state park with more than 20,000 acres of land and water. Lake Erie, a supplier of water for 11 million people, is threatened by toxic algae blooms, preventable by limiting runoff pollution and sewage sludge. Protection of our environment is too often caught up in our divisive political discourse, but a recent moment of unity shows what is possible when we come together. When President Donald Trump and his Republican cohorts were pushing the “One Big Beautiful Bill” through Congress, a provision to sell off 3.3 million acres of federally protected land blocked the bill like a downed tree. Outcry from outdoorsmen and House Republicans, whose “no” votes would have sunk the bill, ultimately killed the provision. In a joint statement, Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse
and GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd said: “Republican or Democrat — representing red, purple, or blue districts — one sentiment continues to ring true: public lands are not for sale.”
Advocacy group Nature is Nonpartisan is based on that ethos. Launched this year by conservative environmentalist Benji Backer, the politically balanced group intends to bring together voters and politicians who support protecting waterways, forests and wildlife habitat. After all, in 2024, 96% of bills that passed received bipartisan support.
“The vast majority of Americans agree on a lot more than we might expect,” says Amelia Joy, the organization’s communications director. “Nature is Nonpartisan was started ... to show Americans that you can have these conversations and share the same priorities when it comes to these issues.”
In this month’s pages, we show you how to enjoy our natural world this fall. Board a kayak with Trash Fish CLE’s Eddie Olschansky (pg 20), who paddles the mouth of the Cuyahoga River to clean up trash before it reaches Lake Erie. In our cover story, “Into the Ohio Wild” (pg 38), walk with us through the best leaf-peeping locations, traverse accessible trails and join writer Annie Nickoloff in her overnight hike along the 1,444-mile Buckeye Trail, which seeks National Scenic Trail designation. In her feature story, Nickoloff shows how nature connects us to our spirituality. She reconnects with her father during small moments in the woods. She introduces us to a record-breaking thru-hiker for whom the trail is so central to his being that it has driven major life choices.
As we round into the celebration of our country’s 250th year, these are the spacious skies, amber waves of grain, shining seas and purple mountains majesty that make us proud to be Americans. It’s time we unite around protecting our greatest resource, before it’s too late.
Dillon Stewart, editor
A Very CLE Birthday
On July 22, Cleveland celebrated its 229th birthday. When we shared our birthday wishes on Instagram, our followers’ responses showed that our city is aging well.
@artistcleveland My city - culture and gritty, world class corporations and people all from over the world. We survived. Happy Birthday Cleveland Cheers ����
@blackgetabout Happy Birthday Cleveland! Brings back so many memories. I remember working for the Cleveland Bicentennial Commission back in 1996. Such fun times. Much luv to my hometown.
GETTING SCHOOLED
@vincedindia Greatest city on earth!
@theboldestandy You know, I’ve spent a lot of time here in Northeast Ohio (27 of my 30 years) and I’ve laughed, I’ve cried - everything in between. I’ve seen sunshine, I’ve seen rain, and I’ve watched both sunsets and sunrises. I’ve seen serene summers and bitter cold winters. I’ve fallen in love…and had my heart broken. I’ve lived on farms, in cities, and suburbs. The people, the places, the memories…even as they fade into the past, the colors come rushing back whenever I’m reminded of who I am and how I got here. After almost 30 years of living here, I can say that I’m proud to call myself a Clevelander.
Meet Kristen Hampshire, a contributing writer with Cleveland Magazine for 20 years and a powerhouse behind all things education, style, homes and more. Her witty voice, wide sourcing and attention to detail make her bylines shine bright.
Favorite Hidden Gem in Cleveland: There’s a basin trail that weaves under Lake Road in Bay Village to a craggy rock landing where you can perch and take in Lake Erie views — east, west and north. Sometimes it’s a splash zone. My English Springer Spaniel loves it.
Hobbies Outside of Writing: Kayaking, knitting, anything outdoors, tinkering with garden containers, stashing home decor ideas, hanging with my teen kids. (They still like me!)
in your inbox.
AT FOREST GLEN
09.25
Local personalities and trending topics
As a former teacher, Juliana Allchin turned her years of research and lesson plans into a YouTube variety show for young learners. CONTINUED ON
It’s a sunny afternoon in Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, but Pixel Planet Studios is dark. Shelves of tools and production equipment seem to cave in around Juliana Allchin, the face of Cleveland’s newest children’s YouTube show, Ms. Julie’s World. But when the spotlights flicker on, she’s the only thing in the room that matters.
Alongside Anthony Carabotta, the show’s video director and a co-founder of Pixel Planet Studios, Allchin is filming a music video for a salsa-inspired ABCs song. Her flowy red skirt pops against the green screen, which later becomes colorful visuals pioneered by the studio’s motion designer, Brandon Dohner, and animator, Eric Anderle. Allchin lip-syncs a track she produced alongside Mike Brown at Lava Room Studios in Independence.
“‘A’ is for alligator,” she sings, clapping her arms together. “‘B’ is for ball,” she proceeds, as Carabotta throws her a soccer ball from behind the camera.
“‘F’ is for floss” has Allchin breaking out in a hip-shaking dance popularized by the Fortnite video game. She’s nearly unstoppable, until she misses her cue at ‘Q.’ For “queen.” She’s only flustered for a moment.
From the top, it’s seamless, until ‘Q’ strikes again.
Third time’s a charm. They make it to ‘Z.’ But Carabotta can tell Allchin isn’t satisfied.
“You want to do ‘queen’ again?” he asks, practically reading her mind.
Carabotta is gracious with retakes, and Allchin thanks him every time. They’re gentle on one another because they’re parents first; this is just a passion project.
While other successful children’s shows exist on YouTube, like Ms. Rachel and the Cleveland-based It’s CeCe TV, Ms. Julie’s World is unique. Carabotta describes a variety show vibe, reminiscent of what the team of 30-somethings watched as teenagers. He settles on the word “weird,” which somehow works for the show’s older audience, primarily kindergarten and first grade.
“Kindergarten today is challenging,” Allchin says. “Kids are expected to almost know how to read. That’s just not the reality in America. So I want this show to set kids off on the best possible footing.”
It’s not about numbers, but those have skyrocketed since the show’s debut in early June: nearly 1,500 subscribers and more than 55,000 views on the show’s first episode.
Before becoming Ms. Julie, Allchin obtained a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Cleveland State University, where she briefly taught as an education professor. She was also a Cleveland Metropolitan School District kindergarten teacher in Old Brooklyn. Almost two years of that tenure were spent teaching behind a screen during the pandemic. That’s when she harnessed the ability to make distance learning engaging for kids’ waning attention spans.
“I thought about Dora the Explorer, for example,” Allchin recalls. “Every activity we did had some little jingle that went with it.”
Now, her teaching days are behind her, but an afternoon on set feels reminiscent of a day
Lessons in Ms. Julie’s World are backed by experience that Juliana Allchin gained as both a university professor and a kindergarten teacher.
in the classroom.
“Artistically, it’s similar to real teaching in terms of creating the curriculum,” she says. “I still think about Ohio Learning Standards for everything I do, even if the scene isn’t academic.”
Her cadence and energy don’t disband when the camera cuts. She changes into a Brazil soccer uniform, where she lived for a year after high school and where much of her family is from. Now, “‘B’ is for ball” is brought to life — costume, prop and all.
Everyone hums along to the ABCs tune. Allchin’s songs are catchy by design. The former solo artist picked up her skills in a musically inclined family while being raised on Cleveland’s East Side.
“My earliest memory of writing a song was in kindergarten,” she says. “It was a song I wrote while visiting my family in Brazil about a homeless child we walked past who lived in a box. She had a scar on her face. I still remember how it affected me. I went home and wrote a song in the bathroom. When I opened the door, my dad was standing there with tears in his eyes and said, ‘You’re a songwriter.’”
Writing songs also helped her bridge the gap of being an English learner from a bilingual household. The sentiment carried through her career as she incorporated both Spanish and English strategies while teaching at school. Ms. Julie now does the same.
“I found music was this wonderful equilibrium for everyone, regardless of whether they’re an English language learner, a typical student or neurodivergent,” she says. “It allowed the students to connect with the curriculum on a social level.”
“I’m not trying to create children’s music,” she adds. “I’m trying to create music that I would want to listen to.”
With one more clothing swap, Allchin now dons Ms. Julie’s patchwork overalls to film clips for the show’s next long-form episode. She walks through a world of colors for a lesson on ROYGBIV: red butterflies, yellow bananas, green snakes. Then, she’s anchoring a news segment on baby sloths. Did you know they’re nocturnal?
Between takes, she sidebars about a character on the show named Lumi, an owl based on her 2-year-old daughter that shares many of her childlike catchphrases. Inspiration for Ms. Julie’s World began when Allchin’s daughter was born, and she’s still playing a major role.
“She really ignites my creativity,” Allchin says.
It’s helped Allchin learn a thing or two herself. After one questionable take, a quick fact-check reveals that elephants are pregnant for 2 years, not 3. She integrates it into the skit.
“Those poor mamas,” she sympathizes on camera.
Much of her script is improvised. No teleprompter or papers taped to the wall. She says her lines as she feels them in the moment.
One of the last segments filmed for the day is Allchin swinging her arms across her body one at a time, like an elephant trunk. She invites the kids to do the same. Between elephant noises, she remarks that the repeated movement activates the brain and helps retain learning. It’s not a lesson you’d pick up from Dora the Explorer; it’s a lens into a new mode of teaching that Ms. Julie is nurturing.
“When I watch the show with other children, they really will respond to the show,” Allchin says. “My hope is, your kid is watching it, they’re moving, and they’re excited to learn. And at the end, they’re like, ‘These are my favorite songs. I like this dance.’ It’s a different kind of TV experience.”
Ms. Julie’s World on YouTube is split between short music videos and episodes lasting bewteen 10 and 30 minutes.
GETTING OUT
AUG. 29-SEPT. 1 AND SEPT. 5-6
20th
Anniversary
Cleveland Oktoberfest
Raise a stein and toast to two decades of Cleveland Oktoberfest at Northeast Ohio’s largest celebration of German culture. Whether it’s brats, schnitzel or pilsner you crave, try a wide variety of food and beer while enjoying live music and artistic cultural performances. $17+, 19201 E. Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights, clevelandoktoberfest.com
SEPT. 11
Eric
Clapton at
Rocket Arena
Known for his electric guitar breaks and blending rock with blues, Eric Clapton crafts a memorable evening with special guest, The Wallflowers. Performing for more than 60 years, the three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has an extensive career behind him with soul-stirring hits like “Tears in Heaven” and Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.” $110+, 1 Center Court, Cleveland, rocketarena.com
SEPT. 30-OCT. 1
The Book of Mormon Musical
The nine-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy returns to Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall for two nights full of joy, music and laughter. $41.40+, 198 Hill St., Akron, playhousesquare.org
SEPT. 20
Cleveland Pickle Fest
At this festival, pickles aren’t just a side dish; they’re the main attraction. Cleveland’s seventh annual Pickle Fest calls pickle enthusiasts to Downtown’s Mall C for a day dedicated to all things pickled. Find your classic favorites, or for the adventurous foodies, try pickle beer, candy or ice cream. “Pickle Fest is always a fantastic day,” says Stefanie Merkosky, development director at Greater Cleveland Volunteers. “New this year is a ‘pickle pup’ contest where attendees can dress up their pups, and the winner is crowned prince or princess of Cleveland Pickle Fest.” Food trucks, contests, live bands, attractions and more than 75 vendors are sure to have Clevelanders relishing every moment. “Everyone is all smiles,” says Robert Harrison, communications manager at Greater Cleveland Volunteers. “It’s an outpouring of support from the community.” $10+, Mall C, Lakeside Ave. E., Cleveland, clevelandpicklefest.com
SEPT. 26-28
IngenuityFest
The weekend-long festival returns with an eclectic selection of music, dance performances and immersive exhibits that explore the history of human innovation. $10+, 5401 Hamilton Ave., Cleveland, ingenuitycleveland.org
TV’s Biggest Stage Goes Live at the Rock Hall
SNL: Ladies & Gentlemen ... 50 Years of Music, coinciding with the sketch show’s anniversary, features more than 70 pieces from its most memorable musical moments.
Abirthday inspired executive producer Lorne Michaels and his friend John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, to finally act on an idea for an exhibit celebrating Saturday Night Live’s musical history. SNL: Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of Music, which opened in May in the main exhibition hall, explores 50 years of music-themed sketches and legendary musical guest performances. The exhibit’s “cold open,” designated by a large lighted Saturday Night Live sign, mimics the hall outside Studio 8H. Inside is a selfie-worthy recreation of the show’s stage. Featured stage right is a reproduction of the Pope John Paul II photo that Irish singer Sinead O’Connor tore up after her Oct. 3, 1992, performance of Bob Marley’s “War” — one of the show’s most controversial moments. The outfits from Wayne’s World are across the room. In addition to more than 70 artifacts, visitors can watch every SNL musical performance, including some that never aired, as well as a shortened version of the documentary Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music, directed by Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, in the museum’s Foster Theater. “Hopefully, there’s something for everyone in this amazing five-decade run,” says Amanda Pecsenye, the Rock Hall’s director of curatorial affairs. Here are a few can’t-miss items in the exhibit.
QUINCY JONES
FEB. 10, 1990
A Dizzy Gillespie-style trumpet played by a member of Grammy-winning producer-composer Quincy Jones’s band. “He led … the in a tribute performance to (South African anti-apartheid activist and future president) Nelson Mandela, who was getting out of prison the next day,” says Pecsenye.
PEARL JAM APRIL 16, 1994
A T-shirt worn by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder shortly after Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain died by suicide. “On his T-shirt, he had written with a Sharpie marker a ‘K’ for Kurt,” Pecsenye says. “I remember watching it live, when
Olivia Rodrigo rocked for a rendition of “AllAmerican Bitch” — one in which she climbed atop a fancy dining room table, stabbed a bloodred cake, and smeared it on her face and dress. “It still has frosting marks on it,” Pecsenye says.
CLEVELAND’S PASSION FOR THE ARTS RUNS JUST AS DEEP
AS ITS LOVE FOR SPORTS
Cleveland is famous for its loyal, passionate sports fans—but did you know Northeast Ohio celebrates its artists with the same enthusiasm? Leading this tradition for more than six decades is The Cleveland Arts Prize.
Since 1960, the Cleveland Arts Prize has honored the exceptional artists and cultural leaders who reflect the heart, talent, and diversity of our region—making it the longest-running arts award in the nation. It’s a distinction we can all be proud of.
Our list of honorees is as varied and inspiring as the arts themselves, spanning music, dance, painting, design, architecture, literature, and more. Past winners include notable names such as Loung Ung, Moe Brooker, Michael Stanley, Marsha Dobrzynski, Ellen Stirn Mavec, Michael Symon, Piet van Dijk, and Toni Morrison. In all, more than 400 visionary artists have been recognized for their influences locally and around the world. You can learn more about their extraordinary work on our website.
We invite you to join us for the 2025 Awards Event on October 22—an evening every bit as inspirational as the art and artists it celebrates.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025
6:30PM (DOORS OPEN AT 6PM)
SIMON AND ROSE MANDEL THEATRE - TRI-C EAST
SCAN TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
www.clevelandartsprize.org
The 65th Annual Awards Ceremony will honor its 2025 Cleveland Arts Prize Award winners and feature special performances from past winners. An After Party with hearty hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will follow at 8pm for everyone in attendance.
2025 DISCIPLINE PRIZE WINNERS
EMERGING ARTIST AWARD
Ali Black (Literature) - $10,000
MID-CAREER ARTIST
Jason Vieaux (Music) - $10,000
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Mark E. Howard (Visual Art)$10,000
SPECIAL PRIZES
BARBARA S. ROBINSON PRIZE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE ARTS
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation
ROBERT P. BERGMAN PRIZE Greg Peckham
MARTHA JOSEPH PRIZE FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE ARTS
Robin Pease
SPECIAL CITATION FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Jennie Jones
Stephanie Ginese John Ewing
Dominic Moore-Dunson Annual Awards Event
Sprucing Up the Scene
Locally Spruced presents a high-end selection of Ohio-based brands among Legacy Village’s corporate landscape.
WITH LUXURY STORES like Lilly Pulitzer, L.L. Bean, Arhaus and Crate & Barrel, Legacy Village isn’t a typical shopping mall. But it hasn’t been a hot spot for boutiques, either. Locally Spruced bridges that gap.
Over 1,800 square feet in the epicenter of Legacy Village, the collaborative shop displays more than 20 vendors, with products as diverse as clothing, accessories, home goods and food. Locally Spruced founders Randi Gilmore and Carl DeScott hand-picked each brand, and many owners call this their first permanent home.
Gilmore and DeScott, who operate their own small business, Basil & Rex, understand the gravity of that luxury. Earlier this year, after the closure of City Goods, the previous home of their luxury dog boutique, the partners started dreaming bigger. After a few months of miraculous planning, Locally Spruced, and the new hub for Basil & Rex, were realized in time for a grand opening on June 14.
“Everything really fell in line like it was supposed to,” Gilmore recalls.
Despite its quick growth, Locally Spruced hasn’t lost sight of its roots. It retains a small-business feel by hosting pop-up events with temporary vendors and organizations, and it has a dedicated classroom space that allows business owners to hold classes and unique experiences that celebrate their products beyond shopping.
Small businesses should have the space to thrive in Cleveland, and they shouldn’t need a big city to make it big, Gilmore says. That’s the mission behind Locally Spruced.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel by any means,” she says. “But we are, I think, taking it to a newer height and showing that Ohio brands are high-end, that Ohio brands are quality and that we do belong in places like Legacy (Village) and Crocker Park.”
Trendy Tenants
Among over a dozen vendors from across Ohio at Locally Spruced, these are a few worth checking out.
LAKESIDE LOCALS APPAREL
Three Northeast Ohio natives harness the experience of living along Lake Erie into beachy memorabilia for adults and children alike. From totes to T-shirts and pool toys, the colors and patterns of coastal life liven everyday essentials. lakeside localsapparel.com
CROCHET BY JK
These cuddly companions bring joy to all. Jessica Kent’s business began as crocheted animals, ranging from cows, bears, monkeys and birds. They’re available in mini, midi, maxi and munchkin sizes, and colors and creatures can be customized to a customer’s liking. crochetbyjk.com
HAWTHORN & QUINN
This dainty jewelry and home decor starts from the ground up, preserving flowers, bouquets and other botanicals into something you can wear or hang. A durable resin coating solidifies a naturally beautiful earring, tray, picture frame or bookmark. instagram.com/ hawthornandquinn
Paddling Toward Plastic With a Purpose on the Cuyahoga River
The man behind Trash Fish CLE leads grassroots cleanups to collect litter and microplastics, while raising awareness about river protection.
Eddie Olschansky is one of the many anglers to fish the Cuyahoga River from his kayak. Unlike most fishermen, he always comes back with a catch. Sometimes, he nets small mouth bass or catfish, but more often, he’s fishing for trash.
“I’ve always been a person who will pick up a little bit of trash off the street if I see it,” he says. “If I was having a rough time catching fish, it was never difficult to come back with a net filled with garbage.”
When he first started navigating the crooked river in 2014, Olschansky just couldn’t paddle away from all the plastic bottles and beer cans. So, the fisherman turned environmental activist started Trash Fish CLE, a unique grassroots organization dedicated to cleaning up the river. Soon after, he became obsessed with fishing for trash, quitting his full-time job managing a wood shop and making custom furniture in Pittsburgh to dedicate his life to cleaning up the river. Olschansky accepts donations via Venmo
@trashfish_cle and sells T-shirts and stickers to support his cause.
“It’s my full-time job, but it would be hard to say I make a ‘living’ off Trash Fish. Maybe soon, though,” he says.
With almost 25,000 followers on Trash Fish’s Instagram page, Olschansky has created quite the media following with volunteers jumping at the chance to get out on the water and contribute to the cause. Now, with 12 free kayaks, life jackets, grabbers and trash bags, Olschansky brings volunteers to the water four days a week, minimum, sharing his knowledge and passion not only about cleaning the river but also what the common person can do to prevent their impact on the environment.
“I started really caring about this river and protecting this river be-
cause I recreated on it,” he says. “I wanted to give back to it, and I figured if I could give people the opportunity to come down and do that, they would feel the same.”
On a sunny, serene Wednesday morning in July, I stepped into the army green kayak off Rivergate Park. After a run-through of safety protocols and what to expect out on the water, with a grabber in hand and a trash bag at my feet, another kayaker and I followed Olschansky upstream. Leading us to the trash, he immediately began educating us about the history of the river, the local corporations in Cleveland and the negative impacts of the accumulating garbage. The wake of idling boats pushed trash to the bank. The abundance of garbage floating in our hometown river was astounding. And those plastic bottles and Styrofoam floating by were just the tip of the iceberg.
Bobbing in the current, with the sounds of construction and the Goodtime III boat engine surrounding us, we paddled the river and picked up plastic bottles, mascara tubes, deodorant containers and more. Olschansky told me to look at what’s floating around my kayak, where I soon saw what looked like
“On our best year, we pulled about a quarter million of these unused, pre-production plastic pellets out of the river.” — Eddie Olschansky
grains of rice bobbing in the water by the hundreds. “They’re nurdles,” he tells me.
“If single-use plastics are bad, these are zero-use plastics,” Olschansky says. “They never even got turned into a product. Nurdles are the bane of my existence.”
Nurdles are the second-largest source of primary microplastic pollution globally, with an estimated 445,970 tons entering the environment worldwide yearly. These small pre-production pellets are used as raw material for manufacturing plastic products. They absorb harmful chemicals, and once in the environment, they are ingested by wildlife or broken down to even smaller microplastics.
“On our best year, we pulled about a quarter million of these unused, pre-production plastic pellets out of the river,” he says.
Nurdles can spill into water sources during transport, from plastic manufacturing sites and even from plastic recycling sites. Olschansky pulls them from the water, saving them to repurpose in a potential art project. Though mostly, what he pulls from the river ends up in a landfill.
Trash Fish’s mission is a last-ditch effort. His scope is focused on the six miles that lead to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. Once it ends up in Lake Erie, “remediation efforts would be a moot point,” he says.
“It’s up to us to go out there and clean it up before it enters the drinking water of 12 million people,” he says.
Olschansky fights for the river back on land, too. He advocates against plastic incinerations, calling out corporations on their environmental wrongdoing and often fighting against the EPA’s permits for big business.
“There’s a bigger fish to fry than the person down the street who threw their wrapper out the window,” he says. “It’s the people who are profiting billions of dollars off of selling us all this garbage and passing the responsibility for its waste management onto us.”
After two hours of work on the river, we headed back to the docks. With my trash bag full, I’ve become addicted to spotting every piece of plastic on the water. Reflecting on my morning, I wondered what I could do in my own life to protect our waterways.
“I always tell people you vote with your wallet,” he says. “Every dollar you spend is as important as any ballot you’ve ever filled out.”
Trash and tiny plastics threaten the vitality of Cleveland’s waterfront, hence the importance of river cleanup projects like Trash Fish CLE.
EV MANUFACTURING
Ford
Battle Motors
Land Moto
PAINT
Sherwin-Williams
PPG
Nippon/NPA Coatings
POWER ELECTRONICS
Eaton
GREEN STEEL AND ALLOYS
Cleveland Cliffs Materion
BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES
Avient Materion Synthomer Nordson Avery Dennison
Ultium Cells
Rockwell Automation
Aptiv
PUMPS, MOTORS, & FLUIDS
Parker Hannifin
Lubrizol
Swagelok
BRACKETS
Atlantic Tool & Die
AJ Rose
Die-Matic
BRAKING SYSTEMS
Bendix
TIRES
Goodyear
greatercle.com/evrevolution
Little Cloud Nails the Simple Things
Chef David “Skippy” Rutherford impresses with a humble-yet-refined take on Cleveland’s favorite meal: the mighty sandwich.
We’ve all been there: You excitedly order a sandwich filled with some delightful-sounding combination of ingredients, but when it comes time to take that first bite, things just feel … off. The filling is uneven, the bread is too stiff and the ratio between the two is all wrong. It messes with the entire experience, doesn’t it?
Good news: You’ll have none of those problems at Little Cloud Sandwiches.
This Hingetown hot spot, which opened in the spring, is the antidote to all-too-common sandwich woes. With pillowy-soft bread, perfectly balanced ingredient combos and, most important, the ideal bread-to-filling ratio, it’s quickly solidified its place on the list of local lunchtime joints worth revisiting again and again.
Laura Ashton opened Little Cloud in April with her husband, Matt (they also own Lekko Coffee down the street), and friends Rachael
FRIES WITH THAT
A secret spice blend gives these spuds a zest that pairs perfectly with six house sauces, such as dilly ranch, tamarind and tomato marmalade.
The Hingetown sammie shop packs simple toppings on bread from Leavened and Blackbird Baking Co..
Little Cloud Sandwiches 1512 W. 25th, Cleveland, littlecloudsandwiches.com
and Jared Champion (who also own Iggy’s Bar in Lakewood). Little Cloud’s sandwichslinger-in-chief, chef David “Skippy” Rutherford, has crafted a small but mighty menu of carefully curated creations.
So far, the most popular is the turkey and brie ($13), a refined take on a humble handheld classic. It’s layered with crisp apple, crispy prosciutto and peppery dressed arugula, with a rich tarragon creme fraiche that takes it far beyond standard lunchbox fare.
Another star of the year-round menu is the spicy cauliflower ($13), a hearty vegetarian option made extra-craveable thanks to the sweet heat of pepper jam, the fresh crunch of shaved red onion and the creaminess of roasted red pepper hummus.
“These are what we call our certified bangers, our classic sammies,” Ashton says. “They’re the ones that people have liked from day one and that we think are a really good representation of what we have.”
The menu also features classic breakfast options with a spin, each available every day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. An egg and cheese ($8) on a brioche bun is elevated with a touch of sweet honey and butter, and the steak and egg ($13) sandwich goes decadent with a hash brown, hollandaise and greens.
Seasonal options rotate throughout the year. Summer’s fried green tomato BLT ($15), for example, mined the bounty of the warm season, and Skippy’s Chicken Salad ($14) was perfectly packable for an afternoon at Edgewater Beach.
“You know the phrase, ‘When you’re sitting on a cloud?’ We like to say that we sell a little bit of that feeling,” Ashton muses. “If you’re having a bad day and you grab a sandwich, then it’s a good day. If you’re having a great day and you grab a sandwich, then it’s an even better day.”
WHEN YOU GO
NOSTALGIC SWEETS
Sandwiches take us back to grade school — almost as much as oatmeal cream pies ($4) and cosmic brownies ($3). The shop offers a flashback of both.
SANDWICHES FOR ALL
Those with allergies, dietary restrictions and picky palates feel at home with a customizable menu and gluten-free options — a sandwich shop rarity.
Gathered Goods
This new 26,000-square-foot indoor marketplace supports small businesses and promotes walkability, aiming to build a stronger, more connected community.
IN THE HEART OF BRUNSWICK on Pearl Road, Market 42 is redefining what it means to dine and shop locally. Inspired by the bustling market halls of Europe but adapted for the Midwest’s unpredictable weather, this indoor food hall brings together more than two dozen vendors in a sleek, open concept space.
From hibachi and crepes to roasted coffee and craft wine, the offerings are anything but generic. Vendors were selected for their quality, creativity and commitment to fresh ingredients.
The vision behind Market 42 was born in 2018, when owner Nick Kyriazis moved to Brunswick and noticed that chain restaurants were dominating the suburb’s dining scene. Meanwhile, options for thoughtfully sourced, farm-fresh meals were scarce. Market 42 sets out to change that.
Mark Grcic, the co-owner of Fortune’s Cookies alongside his wife, Beverly Bolton, has now opened his second location inside the market.
“We were actually approached by Market 42,” Grcic says. “They were looking for a dessert shop for this space, and it’s been amazing.”
Fortune’s Cookies serves up scratch-made cookies in creative flavors like cherry cordial and strawberry cream. With options that are gluten-free, vegan and keto-friendly, this bakery provides a sweet treat for every dietary need.
Erika Archila, owner of Moody Dreams permanent jewelry shop, has also opened her second storefront within the market, seeking an opportunity to be more a part of the Brunswick community.
“When you get jewelry, you’d like to be able to maintain it or just be able to know where you bought it and be able to come back in case anything happens,” Archila says. “We figured we’d be the first permanent jewelry shop in the area. So people can come in and create their forever memories.”
Although many of the storefronts are familiar, some vendors have made their debut at Market 42.
Megan Shoff, owner of Mallory’s Pizza, just opened her first store-
BY CHRISTINA RUFO / PHOTO BY GAVIN TENNYSON
Owner Nick Kyriazis saw a gap in Brunswick’s dining scene and filled it with flavor, creativity and variety. Market 42 is more than a food hall. It’s a mission that brings residents together.
front location inside the market hall.
“I think we got lucky with the location. A lot of the other vendors here have multiple locations, so we are learning more every day,” says Shoff. “It’s been really good. [Market 42] creates more options for a full family. Some people might want pizza, or cookies or ramen, so I think it’s good.”
Nestled in the back corner by The Fruit Stand is a video game arcade, adding an extra layer of family-friendly entertainment to the space’s diverse offerings. Looking for a drink? McGinty’s Pub is behind the bar at Market 42.
Every detail, from its walkable layout to its energy-efficient systems and roll-up garage doors, was designed to blend indoor and outdoor spaces and promote sustainability.
“The way we did the development is that it’s connected to the residential area behind us, with the boardwalk,” Kyriazis explains. “So the walkability was something that we strive for, and we see people coming down here every day on a bicycle or walking. It’s a great thing for the community.”
It’s quickly become a cornerstone of Brunswick’s culinary scene, bringing local talent together under one roof. Beyond food, the space is set to host public events and festivals throughout the year, including seasonal farmers markets and holiday celebrations, along with classes and demos led by the vendors and suppliers.
Market 42 finally gives Kyriazis — and all of Brunswick — what he’d sought out years ago: a third space for residents to gather, unwind and discover something new around every corner.
Cory Kobrinski
Astoria Cafe & Market
Northeast Ohio’s top chefs share their local favorites.
The 43-year-old executive chef of Astoria in Gordon Square got his start balancing restaurant work and life as a touring musician, eventually trading saxophone solos for saute pans. Nearly two decades later, he’s still making art, but this time through bold, Mediterranean-inspired dishes at one of the city’s standout spots. The Seven Hills native blends passion, flavor and community into everything he does. — CHRISTINA RUFO
AROUND THE CORNER: I would say my favorite spot around here is Good Company in DetroitShoreway. Their wings are unmatched. They do a phenomenal job there. And that’s kind of to a fault, where if I find a spot that impresses me, I’m going there all the time. Sometimes I miss out on all the other wonderful places around the area because I’m just so pigeonholed. These guys are fabulous.
OUT & ABOUT: Usually when I’m going out, I either want to try new things and just see what the chef is doing or just get an amazing protein. I always love going out to Strip Steakhouse in Avon. Their menu is wonderful. Their cuts are amazing, and the biggest thing, for me, is the staff there. That’s what pulls me in every time. Their bar manager is just so knowledgeable and makes you feel at home. The owner, Ron Larson, is in that kitchen every night on expo, and it’s just impressive to see how that staff works in the kitchen. It’s just a great, well-oiled machine to watch operate. You never leave without a full stomach. It’s amazing.
NEW IN TOWN: Rood in Lakewood is probably one of my new favorite spots in town. I just absolutely love the atmosphere there. Chef Josh Erickson, his flavor combos are impressive. Just getting to know the man over the last couple of years, he’s someone who will push you to become better at your craft. Every pie they have is incredible. I’m a big fan of the shrimp and grits on their menu, but they have a pretty good rotating menu. It’s constantly changing.
DINING GUIDE
Spinner’s Good Time Diner
WHY WE LOVE IT: Step back into a vibrant 1950s-style diner. The space pops with retro flair, red-and-white checkered floors, bright red vinyl booths, oldies tunes and walls adorned with vintage signs, personal records and classic Americana decor. Menu items are named after cars and old celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Despite only being open for breakfast and lunch, Spinner’s draws in a crowd of die-hard regulars. “We want you to feel that this is yours, and that you’re part of our family,” says owner Kim Seredich. TRY THIS: With a four-page menu full of classics like burgers, meatloaf and pierogies, it’s tough to just pick one item, but Seredich prides herself on the biweekly corned beef special, which has its own separate menu. The Red Skeleton corned beef hash ($13.99) is served with a side of two eggs and toast. 602 South St., Chardon, 440-286-1186, spinners-good-time-diner.res-menu.com
CHARDON’S 16
BEST RESTAURANTS
Brown Barn Tavern
WHY WE LOVE IT: Just down the road from Alpine Valley ski resort, this gastropub pairs elevated American comfort food with a casual, country-chic vibe. Inside, soaring 30-foot ceilings, dark wood finishes and rough-hewn beams give the space an open yet inviting feel, with ski slope views that shift beautifully with the seasons. The deck patio, perched about 30 feet high, offers an outstanding dinner backdrop in Geauga County. TRY THIS: For dinner, entrees like the crab-stuffed salmon ($27) and seafood risotto ($30) — with seared scallops, shrimp, mushrooms and asparagus — round out the menu with a more refined touch. 10700 Mayfield Road, Chardon, 440-279-4747, brownbarntavern.com
Beans Coffee Shop & Bistro
WHY WE LOVE IT: This cozy cafe in the heart of Chardon Square fosters a warm, homey vibe through every detail, from the stained glass tree in the front window to the wood-topped tables, white tile ceiling, bookshelves and board games near the entrance. “It’s all about the community,” says owner Sylvia McGee. The front patio offers a relaxing spot to sip your coffee outside, and the warmly lit interior makes it easy to settle in. TRY THIS: Beans serves up small-batch Solstice Roasters coffee along with a bakery case and a surprisingly large
breakfast and lunch menu, featuring fresh garden-picked vegetables. The maple oat milk latte ($4.75-$5.95) offers rich flavor with Geauga County maple syrup and feels like a warm hug. 121 Main St., Chardon, 440-279-4230, beans-coffee.com
Chardon Buckeye Chocolate Cafe
WHY WE LOVE IT: This charming cafe and drive-thru offers a warm, contemporary space that blends cozy seating and convenience with a showcase of gourmet sweets. Wood - tone floors under pendant lighting are perfect for lingering over espresso or
dessert, and the spacious patio allows for additional outdoor seating. TRY THIS: The menu is filled with locally sourced vendors such as JT's Bagels, Sage’s Apples and Miller’s Country Jams. The lemon arugula toast ($8.50) features a bright burst of flavor with fresh avocado, arugula, pickled onion, lemon vinaigrette, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes atop a slice of toasted multigrain bread. 510 Water St., Chardon, 440- 286-5282, buckeyechocolatecafe.square.site/ chardon-cafe
Relax in Ohio Wine Country this fall, where you can pack shorter days with bolder moments. Whether you’re exploring the brilliant foliage on Lake Erie’s shore or embarking on an unforgettable winery tour, the beauty of autumn awaits at our lakeside hotel and cottages.
THE TIME IS NOW.
Cremona Scratch Italian
WHY WE LOVE IT: Tucked into Chardon Square, Cremona delivers scratch-made Italian cuisine in a warm, elegant atmosphere. The restaurant was a family-built labor of love, featuring a cherry-wood bar made from a tree that once stood in owner Alex Lenk’s father’s front yard and walls painted by hand. Black tablecloths, soft cream-yellow and blue walls, chandelier lighting and a granite bar anchor the decor. The vibe continues outside on a spacious, flower-filled patio with string lights, lush greenery and a second bar. TRY THIS: The tagliatelle short rib pasta ($20-$30) comes with red wine-braised beef and caramelized onion tossed in a mushroom and cream sauce. 109 N. Hambden St., Chardon, 440-2861173, cremonachardon.squarespace.com
Element 41
WHY WE LOVE IT: Housed in a former smokehouse on Chardon Square, Element 41 is where rustic meets refined. Tin ceilings, local art, a sleek black bar and garage doors that open to a small patio create a welcoming environment for all guests. Chef-owner Paul
Mendolera leans into comfort food with clever twists, using Ohio grass-fed beef, standout ingredients and house sauces like maple balsamic and hot maple. TRY THIS: The burnt ends ($14) feature sweet potato gnocchi, house-smoked brisket and a brown sugar apple cider reduction topped with scallions. 141 Main St., Chardon, 440-214-9011, element41chardon.com
Eleventhree Brewing
WHY WE LOVE IT: Opened in 2023 by a husband-and-wife team, this stylish brewery blends boho-chic charm with craft beer precision. The space is bright and airy with custom tables made from 100-year-old basketball gym flooring, French bistro-style chairs and murals that nod to local Chardon landmarks. The culinary approach to beer shows in its hazy IPAs, fruited sours and small-batch stouts, often infused with real fruit, New Zealand hops or fresh vanilla beans. The Neapolitan pizzas, fired in a blazing-hot oven and made with 24-hour rested dough, are cooked in just 90 seconds. Outdoor seating and a counter-service setup make this a relaxed but
elevated local hangout. TRY THIS: Brighten up your taste buds with the Limone Bianca ($23) topped with garlic oregano extra virgin olive oil, fior di latte, stracciatella, piped ricotta, Mike’s Hot Honey, pickled fennel, lemon zest and Maldon sea salt. 141 Main St., Chardon, 440-214-9011, eleventhreebrewing.com
El Patron Mexican Grill & Cantina
WHY WE LOVE IT: Nestled on Center Street since 2006, this welcoming spot brings lively Mexican and Tex-Mex flavors to Chardon. The interior showcases warm wooden booths, tiled walkways and a rustic bar lined with TVs and stonework. Colorful decor and soft lighting give it a celebratory but laid-back atmosphere, perfect for family dinners or a casual night out. TRY THIS: The extensive menu is loaded with crowd-pleasers like classic enchiladas, carne asada and flavorful margaritas. The Fajitas Patron ($20.99) features a sizzling serving of steak, chicken, shrimp, grilled vegetables, rice, beans, tortillas and all the fixings. 301 Center St., Chardon, 440-285-0702, elpatronchardonoh.com
The Hambone
WHY WE LOVE IT: This revamped local spot blends easygoing country charm and upgraded amenities into a spacious, low-key neighborhood hangout. Red brick walls, wood tables, a mountain mural and an electric fireplace fill the interior. With three bars and a sprawling patio, there’s always a place to pull up a seat. Expect a blue-collar crowd, friendly staff and a packed calendar including trivia, wing specials and live music most weekends. TRY THIS: The Blackjack Burger ($15.99) comes highly recommended by staff and is topped with bacon, jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and Cajun mayo on a brioche bun, all served with a side of fries. 13960 Rock Creek Road, Chardon, 440-286-6661, thehambone.com
Joey’s Italian Grille
WHY WE LOVE IT: Rooted in a deep love for the local community, Joey’s Italian Grille has spent nearly 20 years serving up hearty, scratch-made Italian fare in a warm, familyfirst setting. A year-round, enclosed patio with garage doors adds charm, and wood-paneled walls, Amish-made tables and brick pavers
enhance the rustic vibe. TRY THIS: Nearly everything is made in house, from the dough for bread and pizza and dressings to the sausage and more. The meatball sub ($14.50) is oven-baked with meatballs, fresh marinara sauce and provolone cheese on a toasted sub bun. 209 Center St., Chardon, 440-279-0031, joeysitaliangrille.com/chardon
The Lodge at Bass Lake
WHY WE LOVE IT: This hidden gem just outside of Chardon Sqaure feels like a rustic country club combined with a cozy cabin retreat. Inside, the space is warm and inviting with woodpaneled walls, exposed brick, ambient lighting and plenty of natural textures. The massive indoor and outdoor bars and fireplace give it true lodge energy, and the 12-room inn adds to its stay-and-unwind appeal. Outside, patio seating with a firepit offers views of Chardon Lakes Golf Course and calls for total relaxation. TRY THIS: The salmon entree ($28.99) comes highly recommended for good reason. It's served with a citrus glaze, three cheese risotto and chef’s vegetables. 426 South St., Chardon, 440-2853100, lodgebasslake.com
Maple City Taps
WHY WE LOVE IT: Set inside an 1850s trading post with original hand-hatched wooden beams, this spot blends small-town charm with serious barbecue. Opened in 2012, the restaurant prides itself on hand-blended smoked meats that are paired with showstopping sauces crafted from Geauga County maple syrup. It's the perfect place for meeting friends and watching the big game. TRY THIS: Get the best of both worlds with the rib and pulled pork barbecue combo ($24), which comes with two original sides and a cornbread waffle. 11095 Chardon Road, Chardon, maplecitytaps.com
Sluggworth’s
WHY WE LOVE IT: Grab Chicago-style dogs, waffle fries, slushees or freeze-dried candy in a laid-back atmosphere decorated with local art. The counter-service setup and casual seating are perfect for families and passersby looking for a quick snack. TRY THIS: Among 15 hot dogs to choose from, the Hilltopper ($2.99) stands out with maple syrup, barbecue sauce and bacon. 105 South St., Chardon, 440-2149969, sweetsonthesquare.com/sluggworths
Noce Gourmet Pizza
WHY WE LOVE IT: Owner John Tomlinson has always had a passion for pizza that inspired his concept of Noce nearly 18 years ago. With the open kitchen where you can watch the dough fly, the exposed brick wall interior is filled with old family photos. “We are a farm-to-table pizza shop. That sets us apart from other restaurants,” says Tomlinson. Get some grab-and-go slices at lunchtime or stay for full-service dinner in the evenings. TRY THIS: Grab a slice of the Rustica Roma ($4.50) topped with Roma tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, feta, mozzarella, garlic and olive oil. 125 Main St., Chardon, 440-279-0303, nocegourmetpizza.com
Square Bistro
WHY WE LOVE IT: This warm, modern spot brings bold flavors and a thoughtful vibe to the heart of town. The new American menu reflects a balance of creativity and comfort, built around seasonal ingredients and relationships with local farms like Bonner Farms and Wild Patch Greens. The main floor features a glowing honey onyx bar, tall tin ceilings and earthy tones, while a spiral staircase leads to a sleek, industrial-style basement bar with original sandstone walls and a speakeasy feel. Upstairs, a loft-style dining area overlooks the action below. TRY THIS: The pork ribeye ($21) features an 8-ounce char-grilled Berkshire Pork
steak, brown sugar maple rub, roasted peach chutney and pomegranate molasses paired with the chef’s choice of starch and vegetable. Make Wednesday feel like a weekend with the date night special ($35): a three-course, a la carte experience built for two. 205 Main St., Chardon, 440-279-0101, square-bistro.com
Yangtze Chinese Restaurant
WHY WE LOVE IT: Yangtze offers a peaceful break from the everyday hustle and bustle. Inside, it’s calm and quiet, with red carpet, exposed brick, floral paintings and a tranquil vibe. Family-owned and welcoming, this longtime staple is known for hospitable, quick service
and all the Chinese-American favorites such as orange chicken, wonton soup, crab rangoons and more. TRY THIS: The lo mein ($8-$9.45) is stir-fried with fresh vegetables and a choice of protein (chicken, shrimp or beef) for a satisfying meal. 133 Main St., Chardon, 440-285-3739, yangtzechardon.weebly.com
MARY KAY CABOT RECEIVES HALL OF FAME STATUS FOR HER DOGGED JOURNALISM WORK ON THE BROWNS’ MOST TUMULTUOUS, CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS.
IS NOT AFRAID OF THE SMOKE MARY KAY
WRITTEN BY MARLA RIDENOUR
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEANI BRECHBILL
FOUR OR FIVE DAYS A WEEK,
Mary Kay Cabot leaves her Rocky River home for an hour-long walk with a constant companion.
Not a beloved pet, but a laptop computer in a drawstring bag on her back.
Plenty of times, the lead Browns beat writer for cleveland.com has perched on a neighbor’s porch or a park bench to bang out a breaking news story. When she goes to dinner with her husband of 32 years, Bill Murman, she might say, “Should I bring the laptop?” and he is trained to say ‘Yes,’ even if their destination is Vermilion’s elegant Chez Francois.
Cabot began covering the Browns for The Plain Dealer in 1988 and took over the beat in 1991. Raising three children with Murman, she learned to juggle football and family, attending “mom prom” with their eldest, Chris, when, “Johnny Manziel is floating on a
swan and I have to deal with it.” That escapade, days before mandatory minicamp, gave a hint of the trouble ahead with the immature rookie quarterback.
Known around the country as a relentless newshound, Cabot was selected as the 57th recipient — and only the second woman — of the Bill Nunn Jr. Award, given by the Professional Football Writers of America to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution through coverage. The Lakewood native and 1984 graduate of Kent State University was honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner on Aug. 1.
“I always loved the breaking news. I consider myself an old school, bulldog type of reporter,” Cabot says. “I’m bulldoggy.”
She believes her crowning achievement is a series of stories in 2011 after quarterback Colt McCoy returned to action with an undiagnosed concussion. Receiving a tip the next day that McCoy was getting checked at the hospital, she reached McCoy’s father, Brad. In response, the NFL placed independent, certified athletic trainers in press boxes and implemented a video system, thereby accelerating the development of the league’s concussion protocol.
Her coverage incensed the Browns’ front office.
“Even though it was painful to get to that point in a lot of ways, I feel like it did a lot of good and it may have saved a bunch of lives,” Cabot says. “Would we even have this concussion protocol if that didn’t happen with Colt McCoy? It could have been years. It needed something that big and cataclysmic to effect that change.”
CABOT KNOWS THAT controversy showed how she’s wired, but her favorite stories are more personal.
She mentions an interview with Trent Dilfer, whose 5-year-old son Trevin died of a heart virus in 2003, that drew tears from both her and the quarterback.
She brings up linebacker Jamie Collins, whose parents died before he turned 6, forcing his sister Lisa to raise five boys. Collins learned how a father talked to his son by listening to customers in a grocery store.
“I couldn’t believe he shared his heart and his story with me like that. He’d never
Mary Kay Cabot has seen a lot on the Browns beat. Too many quarterbacks to name. Ownership changes. The team leaving. The team returning. A playoff win. And a boatload of losses.
“I TRIED TO INSTILL IN MY CHILDREN TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART, FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS AND BE FEARLESS. I THINK SEEING ME DO THIS AND NOT BACKING DOWN AND NOT BEING AFRAID GAVE THEM THE GUTS TO TRY SOME THINGS.”
MARY KAY CABOT
done it before then, and he’s never done it since,” Cabot says. “I don’t know what it was … I think it’s because I have such maternal instincts.”
She adds receiver Jerry Jeudy talking about his sister Aaliyah, who lived to age 7 with chromosomal disorder Trisomy 18, receiver Michael Woods II revealing he nearly drowned in his family’s pool at age 4, cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. speaking about his mother going into prison just as his father was released, and Joe and Annie Thomas reliving how they met.
Among Cabot’s most cherished features is cornerback Denzel Ward discussing the death of his father, Paul Ward Jr., at age 46. The intermediate school principal suffered sudden cardiac arrest during a spin class after his son, a Nordonia High School graduate, finished his freshman year at Ohio State University. She told Ward about her husband’s aortic valve replacement surgery — a procedure that Murman will someday need again.
“I had to sit in the waiting room at the Clinic with a little black box in my hand,” Cabot says, thinking back 14 years. “When they take the heart out of the body to work on it, there’s a green light that goes on while your loved one is on life support. I was by myself. My three kids were at school.
“Denzel could relate to me about that. He (said) he went into this deep, dark place when he went back to school. He was taking his anger out on the field. I asked him, ‘How long did that dark cloud stay with you?’ and he said the whole time at Ohio State. He said coming here was when the real healing started.”
Conversations with her children can be just as deep. Chris, 28, works as an accountant at a Northeast Ohio firm. Celeste, 26, is a professional acrobat working in multiple groups, including a Cirque du Soleil-type troupe based in Canada. Camryn,
24, a marketing professional in New York, is trying her hand at stand-up comedy.
“Our girls talk to Mary Kay every day and sometimes two or three times a day,” Murman says. “Add that to all the other responsibilities Mary Kay has. Our children lean on her a lot.”
OWNER ART MODELL’S moving of the Browns to Baltimore after the 1995 season helped Cabot and Murman start their family. Chris arrived in August 1996, Celeste in September 1998, Camryn in October 2000. Cabot took a year off with the first two and the rest of the year with Camryn.
“I always say, ‘I wasn’t productive during those years, but I was reproductive,’” Cabot says.
“My kids knew that I was going to be there for them and fight for them and do whatever I could for them. But they also knew I had to run out to the car real quick and write the Gerard Warren story.”
While she worked, Cabot’s mother helped with household chores. When Cabot was on the road, Murman took the kids to church, then to McDonald’s Playland so he could read the Sunday paper.
“As they got involved in a lot of different activities … if she couldn’t be there, she made sure I had what I needed to get them where they needed to be,” Murman says. “People would joke, ‘How did you do all that when she was gone all the time?’ Mary Kay literally left me a sheet for the weekend.”
In 2001, Cabot was offered an all-sports position at ESPN. She said a female counterpart there considered Cabot’s family, including 8-month-old Camryn, and said, “‘You’d be nuts to think you’ll be able to do this. It would be crazy.’”
A financial advisor who has been with UBS Wealth Management for the last 25 years, Murman gave his blessing, anyway.
“The discussion was something like 200 days a year on the road,” Murman says. “You could get a phone call and be expected to be in Kentucky or California.
1 2 3
SPAGO
PRIMAVISTA Cincinnati THE BOULEVARD
San Francisco
“Situated on the Embarcadero Waterfront, the Boulevard is beautifully appointed with artisanal mosaics, iron work and hand blown glass. The distinctly California menu has a French vibe, and you’ll be thinking about it long after you’re home.”
Las Vegas
“Overlooking the dancing Bellagio Fountains, Spago lives up to its magnificent ambience. Ask for Cleveland native Paul Anthony, and he’ll serve up a healthy portion of great Browns talk along with the Kaluga Caviar.”
“Some of my best memories on the road have taken place at this iconic spot, with stunning views of the Queen City. It was especially amazing back in the day when we were 12 strong at those road dinners. The food is as exquisite as the view.”
3
MARY KAY’S FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT AT AWAY GAMES
HUNTINGTON BANK FIELD: WHAT’S NEXT?
BY KEN PRENDERGAST
The fate of Huntington Bank Field is a complex issue for multiple reasons. The two biggest are that there are two Huntington Bank Fields. There’s the current one on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront, and if/when the new, enclosed stadium is built in suburban Brook Park, the stadium name will travel there with the Cleveland Browns in 2029.
Cleveland city officials are seeking ideas by October for the lakefront stadium site and the developers to realize them. That could involve demolishing the 1999-built stadium, but the city is open to ideas on how to reuse it after the Browns’ lease ends after the 2028 football season.
For the new $2.4 billion stadium in suburban Brook Park, the Haslam Sports Group, which owns the Browns, plus their financing, legal and development consultants have a tremendous workload ahead of them before they even turn a shovel of dirt. There are big hurdles, including a legal challenge to the use of unclaimed funds held by the state of Ohio to pay $600 million, which is half of the public funding side of the stadium’s construction costs.
And while the state budget, approved June 30, directs Cuyahoga County’s “sin tax” revenues to pay for all major league sports venues in the county, the sin tax expires in 2036. Unless Cuyahoga County voters extend and raise the sin tax soon to also help fund the Brook Park stadium, it cannot be counted on as a meaningful funding source for any sports facility.
Still to be secured are $600 million in local tax revenues to be generated by stadium activities. They include income taxes paid by stadium workers, parking taxes paid by stadium visitors, admission taxes on event tickets, lodging occupancy taxes paid by hotel guests, and rental car surcharges. The last two require state legislative approval.
The Haslams said they want this financial picture in focus by the end of this year to start issuing construction bonds and get site work under way by mid-2026. The Haslams hired M.A. Mortenson as their construction manager. Mortenson has built many stadiums, including U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and renovated Progressive Field here in Cleveland.
You could be covering (multiple leagues) or issues, that’s how you cut your teeth. At the time, I was in the merger-and-acquisition world, and I was traveling. I said, ‘We can make this work.’
“She came to the conclusion she didn’t want her children to be raised that way.”
Now, with her name engraved on a plaque in Canton, Cabot sees positives in how her career influenced her family.
“The kids became very independent,” she says. “Now, they’ll go travel the world.
“I tried to instill in my children to follow your heart, follow your dreams and be fearless. I think seeing me do this and not backing down and not being afraid gave them the guts to try some things.”
For Cabot, that included moving to the Browns beat at The Plain Dealer after spending three seasons covering the Cleveland Force professional soccer team. She was thrown into the fire in coach Bill Belichick’s first year.
“I was completely intimidated by the whole experience,” Cabot says. “All eyes were on me. It was a challenge trying to figure out how to get Bill Belichick to answer a question. Players could be really, really difficult if they weren’t ready to accept you into the club. I was replacing someone who had been on the beat for a long time.
“I just kept on telling myself, ‘I can do this. I’ve got this.’ There were a lot of battle scars that came from that year. Even though there have been many things that have been very, very difficult, nothing was that hard again.”’
HER “INSANITY BEAT” still brings constant stress. Since 1991, the Browns have had 13 coaches (including interims), surpassing their nine from 1946-1990. There have been 40 starting quarterbacks since 1999, but that madness began in 1993, when Belichick benched and cut beloved quarterback Bernie Kosar in favor of the unproven Vinny Testaverde.
“To this day, when (Belichick) brought us into that press conference room to announce he was benching Bernie Kosar, he says I slammed my notebook down, and he knew how this was going to go,” she says. “I do not remember doing that.
“Quarterback controversies and GM controversies … then you move into ‘The Juvenile Js,’ Josh Gordon and Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert. These were not normal times to be covering a football team.”
Journalists like Cabot received phone calls from Belichick complaining about stories. When asked about the second-most difficult coach she’s covered, Cabot picked one-and-done Freddie Kitchens in 2019.
“Freddie got mad at me for something, and he wouldn’t give me an opportunity to resolve the
situation, so we were at odds after that,” Cabot says. “There were others who were difficult.”
Being one of the few women covering an NFL team also provided obstacles in terms of acceptance, harassment and bullying, with Cabot sometimes relying on a player to police the locker room.
“There were times I thought, ‘I can’t do this,’” she says. “Then you go home and cry into your pillow, and you get back up and you do it again the next day. You had to be built tough to do this job.”
Those who have watched her transition from the world of print newspapers to a 24/7 news cycle that includes podcasts, videos and newsletters believe the PFWA award is well-deserved.
“She’s been as dependable for me as a source in the NFL as anyone I’ve ever come across in the league,” says Jim Nantz, the voice of CBS Sports and its lead NFL playby-play announcer since 2004. “When I see Mary Kay’s byline on a story, I’m going to open it and read it every time without fail because I’ve always considered her to be elite and one of the best to ever cover the game.”
“I think I can speak for a lot of the players who have worked with MK … the great work she’s done,” says Hall of Fame left tackle Thomas, who played for the Browns
from 2007-2017. “Especially when you’re covering a team that’s not had a lot of success and you have to be the bad guy in the locker room asking the tough questions. She’s always done it with grace and professionalism.”
Cabot continues to ask tough questions. Her co-workers wonder if she sleeps; she says she gets about six hours a night.
She knows she couldn’t do it without the “most supportive husband in the world” in the face of continuing criticism — what she calls “smoke” — from social media, blogs and players’ handlers.
“I’ve been shut down about this and I’ve been yelled at about that and I’ve been bullied about that, and I walk through the door and Bill says, ‘I’ve got some meatballs for you over there on the counter,’” Cabot says.
“Then he’ll say, ‘Don’t take it personally. Do your job the way you need to do your job.’ He talks me off the ledge. I’m always on the ledge. But I’m not afraid of the smoke.”
1 2 3
NICK CHUBB
Moved On
THINGS TO WATCH THIS BROWNS SEASON
Cleveland moved on from All-Pro running back Nick Chubb, who signed with the Houston Texans. This season, third-year running back Jerome Ford has the best shot at a 1,000-yard rushing season but expect rookie Dylan Sampson to get some carries.
MYLES GARRETT
Big Money
Myles Garrett is undoubtedly an NFL legend, but in February, he requested a trade, citing his desire to “win a Super Bowl.” He changed his mind, signing a four-year, $160 million extension. Now all eyes are on him to lead this team to a title.
QB ROOM
Nothing Set
At the time of this writing in August, before any preseason snap, the Browns already have five quarterbacks on the roster, including two drafted this year. The infamous starting quarterback jersey should see some names added this season.
Mary Kay Cabot has managed to produce a Hall of Fame career, covering the Browns for more than 30 years, while, along with her husband, Bill Murman, raising three children.
Into The Ohio
THE 1,444-MILE BUCKEYE TRAIL MIGHT BECOME THE NEXT NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL. MEET THE THRU-HIKERS WHO ACCOMPLISHED LIFE-CHANGING ADVENTURES ON THE LOOP, AND JOIN US FOR A NORTHEAST OHIO SECTION OF BUCKEYE BACKPACKING.
WILD
By Annie Nickoloff
Step by step,
our muddy boots cross Snowville Road, trading one patch of Ohio woods for another. I’m exhausted. I shrug off my 30-pound backpack and, knees crunching, sit in the grass, while my husband, Mike, analyzes the next section of trail on a board map, dabbing at drops of forehead sweat with a handkerchief.
One section of hiking remains in the day, which will take us up and down a zig-zagging route in the Cuyahoga Valley, from Snowville Road into Brecksville Reservation. Ahead, more hills — always more hills.
The sun beams down through thick and humid air. It’s our third day of hiking, and we’re 36.3 miles deep in the 250-mile Little Loop segment of the larger 1,444-mile-long Buckeye Trail which encircles the state. The path, with its signature blue blazes, has taken us through Cuyahoga Valley National Park via the smooth Towpath Trail, and onto serpentine dirt paths in pine forests. We’ve cut through a busy city center and walked past waterfalls, markets, mobile home parks and neighborhoods.
I tighten my knee brace, take a swig of water and chomp into a granola bar. A mosquito buzzes in front of my face.
This has all been great — beautiful, jaw-dropping and exhilarating — and I’m realizing how out of shape I am.
“Whose idea was this anyway?” I ask, grumpy.
“Hah.” Mike rolls his eyes. I’ve made this joke a few times this weekend, and always when we’re tired.
Of course, this was my idea. Of course, it was for a story. It’s why we’re out here, with bruised shoulders, aching muscles and too many bug bites — and this grand adventure is happening just 30 minutes from our house.
The Buckeye Trail, Ohio’s longest trail and the nation’s longest loop trail in one state,
Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills is one of the most popular sections of the Buckeye Trail.
might become more well-known. Currently, the National Park Service is conducting a feasibility study to consider it for National Scenic Trail designation.
If approved, the massive, volunteer-run route would join 11 of the nation’s most famous trails, like the iconic Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail.
This path (or, depending on where you are, boardwalk, sidewalk or road shoulder) stitches together the state’s many parks, communities and ecologies into one squiggly hoop. And while millions of Ohioans enjoy bits of it every year, National Scenic Trail status could attract more aspirational thru-hikers who challenge themselves to complete singular, weeks-long hikes in one go. It could bring the historic trail, and Ohio, to the forefront of the nation’s hiking world.
A muddy hiker emerges from the section of trail we’re about to start. His two dogs, panting and tails wagging, trot toward us. The hiker notices our bags and asks, incredulous, if we’re overnight backpacking. “You can do that in the national park?”
Admittedly, it’s a bit tricky. Campsites are few and far between on this specific stretch, and I’d mapped each day’s 13- to 14-mile-long segments around three spots. (It already hasn’t gone according to plan.)
But you can take a backpacking trip through Northeast Ohio, with the right prep.
We’ve got a few miles left. It’s muggy. Rain, plus a good chance of a thunderstorm, are in the forecast for the night ahead. Mike and I take another few swigs of water, then lug our heavy packs up and, step by step, tread back into the woods.
Our Itinerary:
“KEEP MOVING FORWARD” became a mantra for Ian Koenig as he took the final heavy strides of a nearly 3 million-step journey last September. As he closed in and approached a crew of family and friends at Brecksville Reservation, his hands reached out to touch and lean into the trail marker, steadying his tired and sore muscles, after 35 days, eight hours and 46 minutes on the Buckeye Trail.
Wearing a “CLEVELAND” hat, Koenig looked thin and exhausted. He cracked open a Labatt Blue Light and chomped on a wellearned burger after a journey that saw him average 40.82 miles of hiking per day.
The Cleveland native currently holds the record for the fastest known time (FKT) of
Day 1: 13.5
miles
ROUTE: Wolf Creek Trailhead (Barberton) Big Bend Trailhead (Akron)
CAMP: Big Bend Trailhead primitive campsites
NOTES: Grab a bite to eat in Downtown Akron instead of packing dinner. Big Bend campsites are first-come, firstserved (with a sign-in sheet) and are located at the top of a hill near the restrooms. Bring bug spray.
Day 2: ~13 miles
ROUTE: Big Bend Trailhead Canal Street (Peninsula)
CAMP: Heritage Farms
NOTES: Book a site at Heritage in advance on HipCamp ($40-$45), and order a jug of water ($3) to be delivered to your site, as it has no running water. You can also have a campfire and can order firewood ($12) for delivery. There are plenty of food options in Peninsula. If it’s open, stop by Szalay’s Market on the way for fruit, corn and lemonade. Use the FarOut app, and check often, to make sure you take the Buckeye Trail when it moves off the Towpath.
Day 3: ~13.7 miles
ROUTE: Canal Street Ottawa Point Picnic Grounds (Brecksville)
CAMP: Ottawa Overlook Backcountry Sites
NOTES: Reserve a free Ottawa site in advance. Bring hiking poles and hiking shoes to navigate the mud and elevation — and plenty of water. You can refill at Ottawa Point Picnic Grounds, which also have a restroom.
Day 4: ~13.3 miles
ROUTE: Ottawa Point Picnic Grounds Great Falls of Tinkers Creek (Bedford)
NOTES: We didn’t make it this far but wish we had been able to end with a grand waterfall. Experience other falls throughout, including Bridal Veil and Linda Falls. Also, look for plenty of muskrats swimming in the canal alongside the Towpath Trail.
When packing, map out your plan for food and save weight by incorporating Northeast Ohio markets and restaurants into your itinerary.
CLEVELAND
akron
columbus
toledo
cincinnati
a Buckeye Trail thru-hike, beating two other speed hikers: Josh Horsfall, who completed the trail in 38 days in 2021, and Everett Brandt, the first Buckeye Trail FKT hiker, who finished in 55 days in 2018.
Crossing the finish line, Koenig checks off a second accomplishment. He becomes the first hiker to do a self-supported Buckeye FKT thru-hike, carrying a pack of camping gear with him and figuring out the rest while on the trail, with no pre-planned assistance from friends or family.
Koenig, Brandt and Horsfall have seen every inch of the trail, from the pointed northern terminus at Lake Erie to the southern terminus at the Ohio River. They’ve jogged through the isolated, rolling hills of Southeastern Ohio’s Appalachian region, the historic canalways of Summit County and the burial mounds, underground railroad stops and tiny villages between major cities like Akron, Cincinnati and Dayton. They experienced the many dichotomies of Ohio: shady and sunny, wet and dry, urban and rural, historic and modern, populated and primal.
If it becomes a National Scenic Trail, the Buckeye Trail will be the fifth longest of 12, just behind the Appalachian’s 2,190 miles. All three speed thru-hikers agree that it deserves to get the designation, which would unlock resources to advance and improve the route.
Horsfall, who has also thru-hiked the Appalachian, Continental Divide Trail and Arizona Trail, says the Buckeye Trail’s city-towilderness variety stands out. “It’s a different type of ‘scenic,’ but the experience is definitely worthy,” the Tallmadge resident says.
Koenig has thru-hiked the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails, and says the Buckeye Trail’s length alone is just one of the reasons it should have National Scenic Trail status:
“The fact that there’s a 1,500-mile loop trail in one of the most beautiful states in America that already isn’t a National Scenic Trail tends to blow my mind a little bit,” he says.
Brandt hasn’t gone on any other major long-haul thru-hikes. But he has spent quite a lot of time on the Buckeye Trail — first participating in trail challenges with his wife, and then during his monumental thru-hike, and now as one of the hundreds of volunteers who tend to the trail.
“The Buckeye Trail has been a part of every major decision I’ve made in my adult life,” Brandt says, sitting at a Rocky River Metropark picnic table, wearing a Buckeye Trail T-shirt, shorts and running shoes.
He holds up his fingers and counts off the ways the trail has altered his life’s trajectory: “Where to live. Who to marry. Name of kid.” Where to live: Seven Hills, adjacent to the trail. Who to marry: Margaret Brandt, his
outdoorsy wife, who first introduced him to backpacking. Name of kid: Miles.
Brandt points to one key detail about the Buckeye Trail: 900 miles of it are already a part of the lengthy North Country National Scenic Trail stretching from North Dakota to Vermont. Could the entire Ohio-specific loop also achieve National Scenic Trail status?
The feasibility study runs for three years, gathering data and input about the trail’s significance. It’s expected to finish up by spring, says Andrew Bashaw, the executive director of the Buckeye Trail Association. From there, the document will go to Congress, which could partner on authoring a bill for designation. Or it could do nothing at all.
Fastest Known Time Hikers:
Ian Koenig
STYLE: Self-supported
START DATE: Aug. 19, 2024
FINISH DATE: Sept. 23, 2024
TOTAL TIME: 35 days, 8 hours, 46 min
Josh Horsfall
STYLE: Supported
START DATE: Sept. 27, 2021
FINISH DATE: Nov. 4, 2021
TOTAL TIME: 38 days, 5 hours, 4 min
Everett Brandt
STYLE: Supported
START DATE: June 12, 2018
FINISH DATE: Aug. 6, 2018
TOTAL TIME: 55 days, 6 hours, 12 min
Before this, it took years to just get Congress approval to launch the feasibility study. So much bureaucracy, and more to come. When could the Buckeye Trail join the National Scenic Trail roster?
“I hope you’re in it for the long haul,” Bashaw says.
Where To Catch the Best Fall Colors:
Cleveland Metroparks’ Eastern Ledge Trail
Key Feature: 130-foot vista overlook. 850 Euclid Creek, Cleveland
Cleveland Metroparks’ North Chagrin Reservation
Key Feature: Squire’s Castle and diverse environments. 3037 S.O.M. Center Road, Willoughby
Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Nature Center
Key Feature: 115 steps to get to Fort Hill’s high-up views. 24000 Valley Parkway, North Olmsted
Cleveland Metroparks’ Whipp’s Ledges
Key Feature: Sandstone ledges of the Sharon Conglomerate. 432 Bellus Road, Hinckley
Cuyahoga Valley
National Park
Key Feature: The huge Brandywine Falls. 8176 Brandywine Road, Northfield
I’M NO SPEED-THRU-HIKER. Our 14 miles a day are enough to tire us out.
We take our trip with minimal preparation: too-heavy packs, not much training and crossing our fingers for good conditions. (Luck is mostly on our side with the weather, except for two heavy thunderstorms which bookend the trip.)
On Day One, the first storm makes me anxious, and I nix our plans to camp at Sand
Key Feature: Ohio’s largest and deepest kettle lake. 11755 Kinsman Road, Newbury Township
Shaker Lakes
Key Feature: 20 acres of forest, ravine and marsh. 2600 South Park Blvd., Shaker Heights
Visit clevelandmagazine.com for more details on local leaf-peeping spots.
By Christina Rufo & Jaden
stambolia
Run Metropark’s Big Bend Trailhead site. We leave our gear at home and instead turn Day One of our backpacking trip into a day hike, starting at Barberton’s Wolf Creek Trailhead for a stroll on the Towpath, which is used in many sections of the Buckeye Trail.
Our 14-or-so miles are easy and light, passing marshy landscapes of trees and brush, old locks, historic canals and a stunning Summit Lake boardwalk. We refill our water bottles at Summit Lake Nature Center.
Not everything is so pleasant. Seemingly endless used car lots and junk yards. A noisy industrial Cargill site. Minefields of goose crap, which we carefully tiptoe around.
Ohio’s dichotomies: Beautiful and ugly, sometimes at the same time.
As the day cools, we step into the heart of Downtown Akron and the wildflower-filled Lock 3 Park, to grab dinner. Afterward, we stop on the city sidewalk and laugh at a lonely Buckeye Trail sign on a street corner, surrounded by skyscrapers. But both this concrete jungle and the scenic wooded walks are actual parts of the trail’s Little Loop of Northeast Ohio.
We watch a concert set up at Lock 3 and hear distant funk riffs as we work back into nature, eventually making our way to Sand Run, our stopping point. Bullfrog croaks fill our eardrums, and mosquitoes and gnats cloud around us. (I thank my early-morning anxiety, as we won’t have to deal with all the bugs tonight.) We grab a Lyft ride back to our car and drive home, where we sleep soundly before picking up our journey on Day Two.
posts. Often, they wear one outfit for the entirety of the journey. Often, they smell.
It’s not a hobby for everybody, but it’s a passion for some.
Before he decided to go on his thru-hike, Horsfall painted road lines for a living. While working in Hunting Valley, he saw his first blue blaze on a light pole, in an unremarkable road stretch of the loop.
THE VAST MAJORITY of the Buckeye Trail’s users are day-hikers, Bashaw says. More than 200 people have section-hiked the entire trail, gradually completing the entire 1,444mile circuit over multiple years. Less than 30 people have finished the trail in one continuous hike. Even fewer have sought the ultimate challenge: to beat a thru-hiking speed record.
To move quickly means to improvise. A speed hiker aims to squeeze as many miles as possible into each day, trail running while fighting against muscle cramps, blistered toes, dehydration and both physical and mental exhaustion. They limit their pack weight, carrying few camping supplies and bare-minimum food, instead relying on restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations for meals. If embarking on a supported thru-hike, they coordinate meetups for refills and gear. If doing an unsupported thru-hike, they ship replacement materials to trail out-
“I was like, ‘This is a trail. I should hike this,’” says Horsfall, who was already an avid long-distance hiker. “Then I looked it up, and lo and behold, I found out it was the Buckeye Trail. And then it was three, four years later, I ended up doing that.”
Horsfall carried oatmeal, a jar of peanut butter and tuna packets for emergency meals. He used a tarp, a ground sheet, an inflatable sleeping pad and a 20-degree quilt to camp. He didn’t want to be weighed down.
“My mentality was, ‘Well, if I’m trying to go fast, I don’t want to have difficulty getting out of bed because it’s a cozy spot,’” he says. When Horsfall’s trip didn’t line up with campsites, he booked rooms or sought out trail angels for help, setting up his tent on lawns or sometimes taking a generously offered guest room for the night.
But on his most desperate nights, Horsfall went stealth camping (a practice the Buckeye Trail Association is not a proponent of).
Once the sun went down, he’d secretly set up camp wherever he could. Then, before the sun rose again, he’d break camp and get back to the trail.
Koenig did the same. He rattles off his many “campsites” — patches of grass behind a Wendy’s, near an interstate, in an overnight truck parking lot, behind a small town’s church and on the Buckeye Trail itself.
Koenig, who shared daily updates on his Instagram, detailed one night of stealth camping gone awry on Day 14:
I was awoken at 1AM to a truck revving by my tent at full speed. Mind you this was on a back country road where I saw no other vehicles the entire time. The truck then circled back and revved past me again. I waited to see if they left, and 20 minutes later, they revved past my tent, driving off the road almost hitting my tent, and yelling in no uncertain terms that I needed to leave. Not wanting to find out what would happen if they came back a 3rd time, I quickly packed up and hiked out. I went to a convenient store that didn’t open until 5AM and half slept outside that until they opened. Then continued with my day.
Meanwhile, many of Koenig’s other updates share stories of strangers buying
Writer Annie Nickoloff and her husband Mike McKenna (bottom right) hiked a 40-mile section of the Buckeye Trail, part of which cut through Downtown Akron.
meals, welcoming him into their homes and giving rides, offering help spontaneously after connecting on the trail.
Koenig wrote at the end of his trip: In a trail filled with infinite amounts of blood, sweat, and tears, there was also an immense amount of beauty. … It’s funny how fast the brain blocks out all the brutally hot days, bruised feet, exhausting nights, and spiderwebs to the face. Or maybe the beauty of the scenery, generosity of people, and the sense of adventure far outweigh those.
ton Mills skiing trips. Our summers, spent camping and biking on Kelleys Island, catching crawfish in Lorain’s creeks, swimming in Lake Erie and hiking in our backyard woods. So much life, outside. So much of it, at home in Ohio.
My dad passed last year, in early 2024. His ashes are pressed into dimpled, white cremation stones, shared among family members.
Get Rolling on These Trails:
KOENIG TRAVELED LIGHT, but in some ways, his journey was heavy. Carrying his father’s ashes with him, he spread the remains gradually in the Ohio wilderness, as he did on both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails. He honored his outdoors-loving dad, who died in 2023, in a way that felt fitting: scattering into the scenes he loved.
Doing this on the Buckeye Trail, so close to home — on a trail that the father and son once hiked together — brought new meaning to the tradition.
“To be able to come home to Ohio and spread his ashes on that trail where all of this really started was a really empowering idea for myself,” Koenig says.
The quiet solitude of the trail. The swish of grass and leaves. The ever-steady bird and cricket chirps. The many threads of life in Ohio gave solace and meaning, step by step, to the son.
I’ve found solace here, too. As I prepared for our backpacking journey and Koenig told me about his father, I thought of my dad. Our fall Mohican canoeing trips and winter Bos-
Our backpacking trip would be nowhere near as impressive as Koenig’s, Horsfall’s or Brandt’s, but it would take us deep into Northeast Ohio nature — one of the things my dad loved the most. As we gather our camping supplies, I tuck one of the stones into a side pocket of my backpack, taking this small piece of him along for the journey.
Bedford Single-Track Trail
Mountain bikers can appreciate this 11.5-mile single-track trail, which features a mix of smooth, flowing path and some rocky, challenging sections, perfect for both beginners and experienced riders. Bedford Reservation, clevelandmetroparks.com
DAY TWO OF our hike lands on Father’s Day. Surrounded by nature, my thoughts meander around family adventures and stories, as we meander down the trail.
We meander a bit too much, get a little lost, and use the FarOut app to backtrack to the blue-blazed dirt path of O’Neill Woods. We find a steady, quiet pace, tackling the upand-down trail in our own styles. Mike seeks out birds at Beaver Marsh for his birding app, while I jot down details in my notebook.
At Szalay’s Market, we’re sweaty, sore and happy to guzzle cups of icy lemonade and devour roasted corn on the cob. A guitarist strums the recognizable opening notes to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”: Almost heaven …
Families step down market rows of ripe plums and peaches, gathering and celebrating fathers on this special day in their own ways. My mind has wandered back to my dad all day, thinking about how I’ve got to call him for Father’s Day — making mental notes,
Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail
Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are perfect for this shared trail — a flat surface of compacted, crushed limestone with paved sections. Discover Cuyahoga Valley National Park for 20 miles of this trail’s 101-mile-long route. Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation, nps.gov
Rocky River All Purpose Trail (north section)
With striking views, the asphalt trail is ideal for the lightweight frame of a road bike. This 19.3-mile loop starts at Rocky River Nature Center and heads north to Scenic Park, and back. 24000 Valley Parkway, North Olmsted, clevelandmetroparks.com
Bike and Hike Trailhead
With moderate inclinations, a hybrid bike is well-suited for this paved path. The 34-mile trail was one of the first “rails to trails” conversions in the country. 64 W. Streetsboro St., Peninsula, summitmetroparks.org
By Lauren Bischof
Ian Koenig, the current record holder for the fastest known thru-hike of the Buckeye Trail, completed his 1,444-mile-long journey in under 36 days.
Ready for your next hike?
Whether you’re an avid trailblazer or a novice adventurer, everyone needs their hiking companions. Count on these local makers for the perfect aid to get outside in style.
With both a waterproof and windproof design, this coat keeps you cozy as you take on Ohio’s harshest cold, rain and snow. Comet Lane, Westlake, 440-600-8383, everarborco.com
Period Press MiniGuides
Decked with playful illustrations, fun facts, checklists and notes sections, each pocket guide stores everything worth knowing and remembering about Cleveland’s Metroparks or Cuyahoga Valley National Park — with room for documenting new memories. $8, freeperiodpress.com
By julia lombardo
corduroy cap beckons the outdoors with its earthy color scheme, complete with a minimalist sunset emblem. A clipback closure allows wearers to adjust the fit with ease. $40, legendheadwear.com Everarbor Step Out Coat
vacuum-insulated technology keeps drinks temperature controlled, and a straw lid provides convenient sipping. With 10% of sales donated to Drink Local Drink Tap, a nonprofit that supports water quality in developing countries, you’re keeping others hydrated, too. $40, wearetheripple.com
Choose Your Camping Adventure:
For Kayakers & Water Lovers: Punderson State Park
This 150-acre natural kettle lake offers peaceful paddling through scenic coves and inlets. Rent kayaks onsite or launch electric boats for quiet exploration. Ideal for relaxing, birdwatching or fishing, the calmness of the park makes it a top spot for kayaking and paddleboarding. The park offers a range of overnight options, including a 201-site campground with Rent-A-RV units, family cottages and rooms in a historic Tudor-style manor lodge. 11755 Kinsman Road, Newbury Township, 440-564-2279, pundersonstatepark.com
By Christina Rufo
For Live Music Fanatics: Nelson Ledges Quarry Park
Over the years, Nelson Ledges has become a hub for live music, camping and swimming. Famed for its dramatic sandstone ledges, local vendors and waterfalls, the park also hosts nearly a dozen annual music festivals ranging from bluegrass and jam bands to EDM and tribute shows. Festival passes include camping; on non-festival weekends, park passes are available at the gate. 12001 Nelson Ledge Road, Garrettsville, 440-548-2716, nlqp.com
For the Festive: Heritage Farms
Nestled on a 115-acre fifth-generation Christmas tree farm bordering Cuyahoga Valley National Park, this spot offers a rustic camping experience just minutes from the Towpath Trail. Campers can choose from spacious primitive tent sites with a picnic table and fire ring, or opt for one of six cozy A-frame or Adirondack-style shelters. While there are no hookups or running water, visitors can order water jug delivery and visit well-maintained porta-potties, plus a lending wagon and charging stations. The atmosphere is quiet and tree-filled, with a touch of pastoral charm. 6050 Riverview Road, Peninsula, 330-657-2330, heritagefarms.com
For the Glamper: Sawdust Farm Camp
This peaceful, off-grid retreat offers a soul-soothing escape to 400 acres of preserved woodland. Stay in a furnished bell tent with a queen bed and firepit overlooking a creek, or cozy up in the Moonshine Cabin with a porch hammock. Guests can enjoy nature mindfulness hikes, Reiki healing sessions or visit a nearby Grand River Valley winery. Firewood, cookware and composting toilets are included, providing a little extra comfort with the campfire. Atkins Road, Geneva, 216-548-5917, sawdustcamp.com
For the Animal Lover: Goat Farm Hideaway
Just steps from Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Blossom Music Center, this farm offers a one-of-akind, goat-filled getaway. The family-friendly site hosts just one group at a time, up to 10 people. Guests can tent camp or park a small RV near the main goat yard or in a more private corner of the property, with the barn available for shelter if needed. Campers can enjoy jumbo Connect Four, gem mining, cornhole, ladder ball, badminton and relaxing farm visits. 4059 Northampton Road, Cuyahoga Falls, 330-8015429, gagaforgoats.com
reminders, feeling like it’s been too long since I’ve seen him last. The confusing sheen of loss hasn’t fully settled into the foundation of my life. Over and over, I remind myself the sad truth of it.
Throughout the day, I pat the side pocket holding my dad’s cremation stone, checking that it’s still there. Remembering.
And we continue to move forward.
From Szalay’s, we enter a dreaded section of the humid Towpath Trail where mosquitoes swarm us. I soldier on, refusing to stop for water or a rest, and after an hour of this, muscle spasms pang in my legs.
“Must. Keep. Moving,” I huff between breaths at Mike, who looks through his bag for our radio, tuning in to some classic rock station for a boost. (Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” is particularly well-timed.)
We finally reach Peninsula and walk what feels like the longest-ever few blocks to Heritage Farms. Here, we drop our heavy packs
into a wheelbarrow and lug them down a gravel path cutting through the idyllic Christmas tree farm landscape, to our A-frame campsite.
No bugs. What a relief.
As we unpack, I take the white cremation stone out of my backpack first, setting it down near the firepit. I’ve still found myself accidentally cataloging all the things I’ve got to tell my Dad about: the market, the mosquitoes, the Towpath Trail and its wheelchair accessibility, this tree farm campsite we find ourselves in.
The sun sets over rows of tiny, future Christmas trees for future families to enjoy, and Mike cooks our dinner: a re-hydrated chicken teriyaki pouch. I get a fire going, like I used to on those camping trips to Kelleys Island. The cremation stone reflects the light.
We sit quietly by the flames, the two, and maybe the three, of us.
We watch as, like some kind of magic,
hundreds of fireflies suddenly twinkle in the surrounding fields.
THE BUCKEYE TRAIL started as an idea, a 1958 column by writer Merrill C. Gilfillan, written under the pen name Perry Cole, in the Columbus Dispatch. What if Ohio established a great state trail, based on the success of the Appalachian Trail two decades earlier?
A year later, the Buckeye Trail Association formed to lead the effort, quickly assembling the first few hundreds of miles starting in Hocking Hills. Ohio hiker Emma “Grandma” Gatewood famously pitched in to the effort, buying some of the blue paint for marking the trail, according to the second edition of Connie and Robert Pond’s hiking and history guide Follow The Blue Blazes. Gatewood, after raising 11 children in Southern Ohio, made
existing trail systems while building new sections. Just this year, the association unveiled 9.9 new miles in Burton’s Russell Park.
national headlines when she became the first woman to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail’s 2,000 miles at the age of 67. She went on to hike it two more times, along with the 2,000mile Oregon Trail at the age of 72.
To honor her efforts in Ohio, the Buckeye Trail Association gave Gatewood a lifetime membership. It dedicated the trail’s most popular section, between Old Man’s Cave and Ash Cave in Hocking County, in her name. Every summer, the E.G.G.S. (Emma Grandma Gatewood Solstice) hike challenges hikers to take on lengthy, time-restricted treks in the woods.
Gatewood died in 1973. In the remaining decade, much of the Buckeye Trail came together. In 1980, Northeast Ohio’s Little Loop was completed, in response to internal debate over whether the Buckeye Trail should go through the city of Akron, or skirt around it and focus on nature. (“They decided to not decide,” Bashaw says, “and they went with both alternatives.”)
After 50 years of running on the power of dedicated volunteers, the Buckeye Trail Association hired its first full-time employee in 2010. That’s Bashaw.
Today, the organization has a staff of three full-time employees working to strengthen
If the Buckeye Trail gets National Scenic Trail status, a federal agency would administer the trail with a small staff, and the Buckeye Trail Association would likely become its official nonprofit partner, Bashaw says.
“I don’t think anybody would get rich,” Bashaw says, “but I think the Buckeye Trail would get better with increased investment.”
If, ultimately, it doesn’t get this federal boost, the Buckeye Trail will still improve — at the slower, gradual pace of volunteers, like in the past 66 years.
Those improvements are seen by the people who know the trail best.
“The Buckeye Trail is different today than when I hiked it seven years ago. There’s more camping. I’ve helped build shelters. There’s more off-road sections,” Brandt says. “There are road sections that I did, that are no longer on roads — at least 30 miles.”
Stepping down the hard-on-the-feet berms of busy roadways are, by far, the worst bits of the Buckeye Trail. They’re a far stretch from the trail’s inspiration: the tranquil, wooded utopia of the Appalachian Trail. Yet, some of this is unavoidable on a 1,444-milelong trail that goes through a settled, populated state like Ohio.
There’s always room for improvement, but the Buckeye Trail is, as it stands, a certifi-
able feat. It is the longest contiguous hiking trail in one state. It is one of the longest loop trails in the world. It traverses 49 of Ohio’s 88 counties, 18 state parks, five state forests, Wayne National Forest and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
All of it exists largely thanks to volunteers. Bashaw estimates, on the low end, 20,000 hours of volunteer labor going toward the Buckeye Trail every year.
“It would blow people’s minds, on the amount of investment people have in that great idea: that a Buckeye Trail should go around the state for everybody to have access to Ohio’s great outdoors,” Bashaw says. “It’s just such a good idea that it kind of self-perpetuates the desire to do something to make it even better.”
The trail isn’t just about forging an impressive pathway. It’s about the Ohio communities it connects and supports.
“When people talk about the feasibility study and the national trail designation, the phrasing of volunteers, members and hikers is, ‘we’ are being considered for National Trail designation,” Bashaw says. “I find that choice of words very interesting. We are human beings, not trails, but we use them interchangeably.
“I think there’s something magical there: that the Buckeye Trail is all about the people. The people are the trail. The trail is the people.”
The Buckeye Trail, marked by its signature blue blazes, connects many of Ohio’s parks, forests and communities. It first started to come together in the late ‘50s.
MIKE AND I STUDY an imposing stretch of mud, testing the slick surface with our hiking poles. Day Three is our most challenging day of hiking yet. I gulp and decide to go for it, jogging down the section and, amazingly, clumsily, I slide into a clear, dry landing.
I didn’t fall into the creek. That’s a win.
As Mike navigates the mud a little more carefully, a woman in a Buckeye Trail volunteer T-shirt steps over, frowning. “I keep telling them we’ve got to fix this,” she says.
She’s one of many trail caretakers in this part of the route, located in the CVNP. Last summer, she helped to install boardwalks. The work crew carried tools and tumbled lumber down the hillside to make the necessary improvements.
Nearby, the fresh-looking boardwalk’s sign states: “Another trail structure brought to you by The Buckeye Trail Association.”
I’m glad to have them. After that storm a few days earlier, the boardwalks make these tricky, slippery riverbed sections navigable.
On Day Three, we’ve left Heritage Farms, traversed deteriorating brick roads and stunning pine forests. Blue blazes guide us through peaceful switchbacks in the woods, behind barns and along a couple of pesky roadways, then past Blue Hen Falls.
We’re huffing and puffing and occasion-
ally sliding in the mud. Granola and fruit snacks help us fight fatigue as we pass Columbia Road, then Snowville Road.
On our last stretch, the light slowly seeps out of the sky. My anxious, meandering thoughts zero in on one remaining goal: Get to the campsite. Don’t get stuck in the woods.
The last few miles are humid, wet and dim under the canopy. As if to taunt us, a trail runner jogs by, easily trotting up one of the endless hills. This is how the speed-driven thru-hikers would have traveled — jogging, through the woods, more than a marathon, day after day, with their gear.
Where they completed 40 or more miles in a day, we’re struggling to finish the same distance in three days. I’m in awe.
Finally, as the sunlight fades away, we reach the connection to Brecksville Reservation’s Ottawa Overlook backcountry site.
A nearby restroom and water spigot are godsends. We use headlamps to make dinner and set up our tent in the quickly darkening scene. In the pitch black, we take big, hurried bites of re-hydrated mashed potatoes in near-silence.
The Little Loop’s no joke, but it pales in comparison to the remote Wilderness Loop in Southern Ohio’s Wayne National Forest.
Thru-hikers interviewed for this story name this the most challenging part of the Buckeye. There, Horsfall struggled to find a drinking water source. There, Koenig faced exhaustion, encountering 7,500 feet of elevation in a single day. There, Brandt missed a turn, losing the blue blazes in the untamed brush of wilderness, before finding his way.
Comparatively, our local Little Loop is easy. Just, maybe, not for me.
We finally hobble on aching legs to our tent, tucked on a corner of the site. We lie on top of our sleeping bags; it’s still too warm to need them. Some of my gear, including my cell phone, notebook and my dad’s cremation stone, dangles in the tent’s overhead pocket, in case of rain.
Leaves rustle as squirrels, or something else, suddenly poke around the tent. I sit up and softly clap my hands, whisper-shouting into the night.
Whatever it is, darts away. And then it’s purely, eerily quiet. An awareness settles in: We’re enveloped in the darkness on the edge of a hill in the woods.
Mike sits up. We’re quiet, both a little freaked out. We’ve hung out at the park before, but it’s never felt so noiseless.
Gazing out of the mesh window of our tent, my eyes adjust to the pitch black night and eventually pick up flickers of light — the same ones we’d seen the night before.
The fireflies return, blinking in the distance,
River Renewal
The Cuyahoga River’s recent National Water Trail designation is the latest badge of honor for the waterway’s longtime rebound.
Just 10 years ago, it was not recommended that anyone come into contact with water from the Cuyahoga River. Fast-forward to this summer, and the river was named a National Water Trail, joining a list of 40 other waterways across the country in the group, a subclass of the National Trails System. A 41-mile-long stretch of the Cuyahoga River extending from Summit County to Lake Erie earned its designation from the U.S. Department of the Interior in June. “It’s a river that truly has transformed from an area that was scarred and seemed like it might never rebound into something that was not only viable for native plants and native animals that haven’t been here for so long, but also viable to recognize as a far cry from what it was even 10 years ago,” says Ryan Ainger, a Cuyahoga Valley National Park river ranger and the current co-chair of the Cuyahoga River Water Trail. The Cuyahoga River has a troubled, polluted past, catching on fire at least 13 times before its major, headline-making 1969 Cuyahoga River fire. This event led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Water Act. “A lot of people hold on to a 56-year-old notion of what Cleveland and the river that burned are like,” says Jim Ridge, founder of the Share the River nonprofit, which hosts recreation events on the water. “We do have a lot of fun changing people’s perception of what Cleveland and its Cuyahoga River are.” In recent decades, the waterway has made a great, well-documented ecological rebound. Its new National Water Trail status brings opportunities for increased funding, promotion and historical preservation. It also gives the river national visibility. “It really is a sign of all the work that generations of folks have done to make the Cuyahoga River not only cleaner but a place that you can enjoy and safely recreate on,” says Ainger. “Toward 2016, the park kind of went under this effort to focus on not just being a park with a river, but a river park. Which to us meant truly embracing having this river and all the opportunities that come with it.” Prior to the National Water Trail win, nearly all 100 miles of the Cuyahoga River had been designated as a state water trail since 2019. Since then, people have increasingly used the river recreationally. “To now have this story of, literally, once a river that burned to being now a national water trail, that, in my eyes…should be a badge of honor,” says Ainger. “(It’s) a sign of how much the community, how much the management agencies, how much the local nonprofits have really put into renewing this river and restoring these resources.”
By Ava Jelepis
like a procession of ghostly hikers’ headlamps, bobbing on the Buckeye Trail in between trees. A small, strange comfort in the darkness.
Eventually, I lie back down on sore muscles. Eventually, a soft patter of rain lulls me to sleep.
WE ORIGINALLY PLANNED to hike another day and complete 50 miles. But we wake up bright and early to a bad weather forecast: Thunderstorms. Lightning. Soon.
We decide to end our trip. (Our sore legs thank us.)
After breaking camp, we order a Lyft ride home from the nearby picnic area. Within an hour, I’m taking the hottest shower of my life and throwing our clothes into the wash.
Unpacking our bags, I first take my dad’s cremation stone out of its pocket and return it to a shelf. Maybe someday, I think, I’ll find a good spot on a trail and leave a little bit of him to rest there. Maybe, but not yet.
Within a couple of hours, as I’m drifting off into a much-needed nap, the cacaphony of a thunderstorm hammers our home’s metal awnings with a bout of heavy rain. We made the right call, nixing the last bit of adventure, after all.
As we’re recovering from our journey, on
the other side of the state, a hiker named Caleb Kennelly has just begun his. He embarked on a supported thru-hike of the Buckeye Trail, tracking 44.73 miles on his first day, June 15, on Strava. Chasing after Koenig’s timing record, Kennelly tackled an impressive 960-plus miles before deciding to ditch his attempt.
He wrote on Strava: Sometimes the trail eats its young, and DNF’s (did not finish) happen! Hell is real Ohio. I’ll never forget my time on the Buckeye Trail!
For now, Koenig still holds the speed record. But he thinks it’s just a matter of time until he doesn’t.
“I look forward to people coming to break this record, and then the record getting broken again after that, and for people to continually try and continually see how amazing it is,” Koenig says. “Anyone that’s in Cincinnati or Dayton or Akron or Cleveland or Toledo — they have one of the nation’s greatest trails at their fingertips.”
Our journey was tiny compared to what thru-hikers take on. Still, I’m happy with our own imperfect, approachable introduction to backpacking one of the state’s most impressive, most beloved trails — where the adventure always continues, step by step.
3 Local Accessible Trails toVisit:
Shaker Lakes
All People’s Trail
Visitors have explored Shaker’s whimsical and fully accessible walkway since 1983. “It’s always been a part of the culture,” says Tania Younkin, director of marketing and community engagement at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. “Nature should be all-inclusive and be available to everyone.” Spot wildlife from the ADA-accessible boardwalk’s wide observation points. The one-third-mile trail goes over Doan Brook and looks out at the Lower Shaker Lake. Join for guided bird walks, which include a sign language interpreter once a month.
Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail
Dive into the history of Ohio’s captivating landscapes on the lengthy Towpath Trail. Begin alone or in a guided group at the Ira Trailhead, and head to the popular Beaver Marsh or historic Hunt House. Or, take a tandem Bike and Hike ride for the visually impaired, provided by a partnership between the national park and the Cleveland Sight Center. The Sight Center installed a braille version of the park’s map, an audio description station and tactile play elements at the Hunt House.
Edgewater Beach and Park
Laze along the lake in a first-come, first-served all-terrain beach wheelchair — featuring two balloon wheels with 360-degree casters to move across the sand. A boardwalk and Mobimat system let guests with disabilities get up close to the water. The minimally sloped Lower Edgewater Loop circles the lower portion of the park and beach house, where you can find accessible restrooms and parking. Paratransit services can be scheduled through the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.
By Katrina Carlson
Sections of the Buckeye Trail differ between boardwalks, dirt trails, asphalt paths and roadway berms.
By Annie Nickoloff
Adaptive Mushing
Racing along Northeast Ohio’s trails with his two huskies, wind hitting his face, Don Wheeler is in bliss. He achieved his dream of having his own sled dog team — maybe a little differently than how he envisioned it growing up.
Wheeler, who has been partially paralyzed from the neck down since a 2004 motorcycle accident, has taken up the sport of wheelchair mushing since 2019. With a custom setup of ganglines, brackets, interchangeable tires and skis, Wheeler regularly takes his two sled dogs, Dash and Gabby, for mileslong runs on local wheelchair-accessible trails between September and March (the time of year cool enough for his huskies to not overheat).
“There were a lot of fears when I started this. I was like, ‘Well, what if this? What if that?’ And because of those fears, I think, is why I put it off so long,” Wheeler says. “My only regret is I wish I would have done this sooner.”
In his six years of wheelchair mushing, Wheeler, 54, has logged roughly 1,000 miles, with a top single-run distance of 14.7 miles.
“Wheelchair mushing, to me, is miles rather than just around the block,” Wheeler says. “I’m in it for the distance, like the Iditarod.”
Wheeler posts his many adventures on his Team Dash YouTube channel. In one, he slides down a street filled with powdery snow, a set of skis replacing the front wheels on his wheelchair. In another, Wheeler goes on a night run with Dash, who is lit in a circle of bright light from a headlamp. In another, his first off-road journey, Wheeler’s voice occasionally cheers, “Go, guys, go,” as his two dogs pull him up a hill, tails wagging.
Wheeler also uses the platform to carefully compile educational and instructional videos, detailing his equipment and training for both Dash and Gabby. The two ownersurrendered animals were not trained in mushing when he adopted them.
“I had to figure out a rigging system that I can operate fully from my chair,” he says. “I had to look at the safety aspect. I had to
Don Wheeler and his two dogs, Dash and Gabby, can be seen zipping around Lake County and beyond while spearheading this niche sport.
look at the dogs’ safety. I had to look at, if an emergency pops up, how do I get the dogs out of harm’s way? How do I bring them closer to me?”
He’s only experienced one emergency since he started. In November 2023, one of Wheeler’s videos shows the fire department coming to assist him back into his chair after he hit a slushy spot on the road and fell to the ground. He says that he wasn’t paying attention when he and the dogs went around a set of parked cars.
“That’s the only time it’s ever happened. I’ve never fallen out of my chair since, or prior to that,” he says. “I think the only challenge for anybody that attempts it is knowing your limits and safety.”
By trial and error, Wheeler developed the sport. He was first inspired after joining the Greater Cleveland Siberian Husky Club in 2019 to learn more about local mushers.
Cleveland’s mushing scene is pretty small, let alone wheelchair mushing. Wheeler, a Lake County resident, went online to connect with two other wheelchair mushers, based in Pennsylvania and California, to learn more about their setups. He also corresponded with Iditarod racer Mike Santos and his wife, Caitlin, who sent their harnesses to try out.
After researching and planning, Wheeler sought out a husky of his own, but experienced setbacks when some dog owners denied him due to his disability.
Finally, Wheeler met and adopted Dash — and trained the dog, both to be a sled dog and to be a service animal. Due to his spinal cord injury, Wheeler says he experiences
extremely low blood pressure, and Dash alerts him when it drops to dangerous levels.
A few years later, Wheeler adopted Gabby and trained her so that he could go even further distances than with Dash alone.
“They’re considered my pets, my service dogs, my companions, my best friends,” Wheeler says, “you name it.”
Wheeler knows how strong a bond with service animals can be, and he hopes to inspire others in Northeast Ohio to try the unique sport.
“I’m trying to bring awareness to wheelchair mushing more and more, to where more people can get involved and realize, ‘Hey, I can see the outdoors in a different way,’” he says.
He’s got one goal that’s a little bigger than Cleveland, too: “My ultimate goal, my end game, is I would love to see it entered in the Paralympics as a new sport.”
Lawrence School Knows Great Minds Don’t Think Alike
Is Your Child’s School Supporting Their Learning Style?
Every child learns differently, especially those with dyslexia, ADHD, or other learning differences. If your child feels lost or unsupported, it may be time to ask new questions about their school environment.
Lawrence School partners with families to explore whether their child’s needs are being met in ways that ignite confidence and success—supporting self-esteem, equipping teachers with specialized training, and providing evidence based reading instruction such as Orton-Gillingham.
For families who want to explore a better fit, Lawrence School is here to help. Our mission is to empower students who learn differently with the instruction, community, and confidence they need to thrive. Your child’s learning style matters. And when schools recognize that, everything can change.
Recognizing learning differences. Delivering
At Lawrence School, we know that students who learn differently bring unique strengths to the classroom, and the world. History is full of individuals like Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor behind “The Thinker”, as well as scientists, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, who succeed not in spite of their learning differences, but because of them.
Dyslexia is just one example.
Affecting 1 in 5 people, it’s a common yet often misunderstood learning difference that makes reading and spelling more difficult, but it has nothing to do with intelligence or creativity.
At Lawrence, we focus on uncovering strengths rather than spotlighting struggles. With early identification, compassionate teaching, and research-based strategies, students who once felt left behind begin to flourish.
We don’t try to make every student fit the system.
We’ve built a system that fits them.
MENTORSHIP MATTERS
Learning to ask questions, feel uncomfortable and put yourself out there are just a few ways mentorship opportunities grow more well-rounded students.
BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE
Strip away the syllabus, exams, labs, papers and projects. Push aside GPAs and ACTs. Hush the chimes for class changes and bells for dismissal.
The core of school is community — relationships of all kinds: coincidental and intentional, casual and formal. Layers of support through naturally occurring and programmatic mentorship give students a support network that enriches their academic experience and prepares them for life beyond 12th grade.
Mentorship matters
This is nothing new. However, schools across Northeast Ohio have taken a closer look
at how structured mentorship programs benefit students’ social-emotional growth and success.
“Exposure to different voices leads to bigger thinking, and it goes back to, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know,’” says Andrew Cruse, director of the school’s Launchpad at Laurel program that includes hands-on research, mentorship and student-led projects.
And the “don’t know” can range from career exploration to growing soft skills like how to send a cold email to ask for an opportunity.
“In the post-pandemic world, there has been an apparent need to build socialemotional connections for students and bring relationships back to the forefront,” says Megan Wackerly, assistant principal for academics at Saint Joseph Academy.
“We can be our own worst critics, and mentors help students see themselves differently,” says Adrian Hicks, Saint Joe’s assistant principal for student success. Girls in particular “lose that vibrant confidence to tackle the world” beginning at about age 8, she says.
A national survey commissioned by the mentorship platforms Être Girls and YPulse reported 91% of girls say they’d be more confident with a mentor, and the number tips to 93% of women in the financial services sector.
There are fewer direct stats related to boys, though anecdotal evidence indicates mentors reduce isolation while building resilience and purpose.
At University School, sponsor groups of at most eight to 10 students “have a pulse on what’s going on with each other,” says Ashley Worthington, English teacher. “They cheer each other on and keep an eye on each other.”
Making Connections
Saint Joe’s freshman advisory program helps ease the transition into high school — a helpful move, since girls come from more than 50 different zip codes. Assigned student clusters ensure students who went to the same elementary school or play sports together are in different advisory groups.
Generally, a homeroom is split into two advisory groups that meet daily.
“We noticed right away there is a buy-in and quicker feeling of belonging here,” Hicks says.
All freshmen and new students at St. Edward High School are assigned to a multigrade advisory cluster with scheduled school day meetings.
“It’s important for students to know they have someone to rely on who is close to their age, and often, they are more likely to ask questions or share concerns with a peer,” says Matt Wallenhorst, dean of student life and culture at St. Edward High School.
Teens naturally spend more time with peers than with their parents.
“Friends become their primary influencers,” he points out, noting how the groups set the stage so “every student feels a part of something.”
Upperclassmen become mentors along
with advisors who oversee the groups. And each meeting begins with students scanning a QR code to complete a five-question “temperature check” survey. How are you feeling today? How are classes? Students can click “yes” if they want a teacher or advisor to reach out to them.
“It’s a good outlet to connect, especially if it’s personally difficult for you to walk up to a teacher face-to-face and ask a question or get help,” says Owen Metzger, a St. Edward’s senior.
Building a Pipeline
Private schools build layers of mentorship opportunities, cultivating students’ ability to foster relationships and put themselves out there as they advance in grade. For example, at Laurel, eighth graders participate in independent projects, Cruse says.
As freshmen, students move into a protege program that involves researching a career and connecting with a few alumnae professionals to set up meetings and learn more about their vocations. In a culminating Capstone Scholars program, students tackle real-world challenges with initiatives that bridge into the community. For instance, one student developed an organization to raise funds for setting up gluten-free sections at food banks.
“These programs give students the agency and voice to use their resources, and that will help elevate them to succeed in what they aspire to do next, along with becoming more successful in the classroom,” Cruse says.
A similar structure at Magnificat involves an ongoing Compass counseling small-class weekly meeting and Sophomore Service that begins in the second part of students’ first year and segues into community projects. As juniors, students shift into the Genesis program, which includes a 40-hour internship experience. It closes with all four grades at an Empowerment Fair, where more than 60 alumni have booths, and the girls learn to network and build connections. “Different layers of mentoring relationships and programs start with the girls’ comfort level with peer-to-peer groups and faculty advisory, and lead into building a pipeline,” says Colleen Greller, Magnificat’s dean of faculty and academics.
MENTORSHIPS AT WORK
House Rules
Eight boys, seated at a round dining table in the Upper School dining room at University School, catch up on the latest wins, upcoming exams and off-hours happenings with friends and family. They sprinkle in some humble brags and jabs you’d expect among teens, along with a deep level of support and understanding.
Their sponsor teacher passes a side dish to one of his “house” students, piping in occasionally, nodding. He is present — though, sometimes, the boys forget director of music Devon Steve is having his lunch, too.
“People love to connect over food across cultures and generations,” says Steve, who is a “head of house” and sponsor of a cluster of 10 ninth through 12th graders. Several sponsor groups comprise a house of about 40 boys, and there are 10 houses across the student body of about 400.
Incoming freshmen and new students are assigned to a house they “live in” until graduation.
Sometimes, houses meet for larger group team-building activities, and every day the houses eat together with their sponsors.
But eating every day with your teacher?
“Lunch offers an opportunity to relax, take a break in the day,” says Steve, adding that conversations jump from the latest guest speaker, soccer game or frustration with a test score. “They will pretty much say anything because they are respectful, and while they acknowledge an adult is at the table, they’re not guarded. They’re honest and comfortable, and this comes from the connection built between faculty and students.”
Keeping house is much more than doing lunch. Sponsor groups participate in structured meetings centered on topics designed to mentor and grow the boys.
“We become so much more than teachers to them,” says Ashley Worthington, a head of house and English teacher. “We make them feel known, loved and personally connected to the school.”
She adds, “The sponsor group allows me to really get to know the boys and help
them understand themselves as students, as friends and as mentors to each other — and to encourage them to be the best versions of themselves.”
Steve says he gets to know his student group in ways he wouldn’t otherwise, like on the field while he watches their games, before a big exam or after a disappointing assessment.
A Real World View
Hawken’s three-semester STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine) pathway is a research-based program that guides students through scientific inquiry that culminates in a professional-level research experience and presentation.
The summer research project includes 160 hours in a mentored lab at institutions like local teaching hospitals and universities. Often, students enter labs mid-project. They learn to dive in, ask questions, listen, watch.
Labs, large and small, participate, as do mentors who are hands-on and more supervisory.
“We prepare students for the different personalities of mentorship,” says Dr. Lacy Chick, director of the school’s Paepke STEMM Research Program.
“It’s a working environment,” she reminds students of the pressures their mentors face, and an overlooked reality: They have lives, too. Career, kids, community — finding out how their mentors manage it all removes the rosy tint view for a real look at what a career could look like.
Through STEMM, Chick emphasizes partnering with mentors who see through a shared, represented lens.
The students find their mentors, with guidance and Chick’s STEMM network, and they learn the art of opportunity inquiry. Sending that email asking for a chance.
Chick distributes mentor questionnaires to students to pair them with mentors better — it’s a two-way street of development and “mutually beneficial.”
ON MENTORSHIP
BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE
CARTER RICHMOND GILMOUR ACADEMY
Catalyst, an experiential program, meant Richmond spent five weeks, 40 hours each, in a two-phase flow thermal management lab at Case Western Reserve University. The 19-year-old’s mission: how to refuel a spaceship in the nebula. Now, he’s going to the University of Virginia for aerospace engineering.
CHALLENGED TO SHARE. “Dr. Goel really pushed us to observe and analyze and challenged us to write daily journal entries … that made us go above and beyond.”
UNCOMFORT ZONE. “I was with seniors in college, students working on their master’s degrees and post-doctorate researchers. It was pretty stressful going in because you’re entering the middle of a three-year project, and people are throwing around words you’ve never heard before.”
STAY CURIOUS. “The most powerful thing for me was slowly dissecting why it all matters and constantly asking questions.”
The jumpstart to St. Ed’s was the tradition, Night at the Nest, adapted after COVID from a freshman experience on campus. The school moved its freshman advisory structure to multi-grade clusters. Then upperclassmen naturally moved up to leadership roles — peer advisors in their own right.
OWEN METZGER
ST. EDWARD HIGH SCHOOL
WHAT’S THE TEMP? A temperature check during a small-group advisory meeting via QR code and form allows a neutral space for help. “It’s an outlet to create a contact.”
I KNOW YOU. “You get to know a small group of kids, and as a freshman, it can be scary. But everyone is still similar, and we’re connected through being here together.”
FEEL AT HOME. “Now I can make others feel at home and build a sense of community that we have here, show your brothers are by your side if you need someone to talk to.”
GWENYTH VOKES
LAUREL SCHOOL
Gwenyth Vokes, a sophomore, has been riding horses competitively since a young age, so she centered her Protege project on interviewing veterinarians.
JUMPING HURDLES. Vokes wanted to know what it takes to apply for and get accepted to vet school. Her mentors assured her, “It’s a hard process, but if you’re determined, you’ll definitely make it through.” This confidence boost and their patient success stories fueled her inspiration. “I’ve always wanted to be a vet, and this experience made me realize the career is a perfect fit.”
BEHIND THE SCENES. Beyond interviews, Vokes was invited to observe some surgeries, including watching a young horse get neutered. “I talked to the vets who did the surgery afterward and got to experience the follow-up,” she says.
STAY IN TOUCH. One of her mentors suggested attending a summer veterinary science camp, which Vokes did. And the “cold emails” she sent months earlier to set up interviews have turned into long-term relationships. “They told me to keep in touch, and I feel like they’re here supporting me,” she says.
These are just some of the Top 30 colleges and universities (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report) Gilmour graduates have been accepted into over the past five years. That’s the academic advantage of graduating from Cleveland’s #1 Catholic high school.
TORI SMITH MAGNIFICAT HIGH SCHOOL
Smith, who graduated in the spring, worked with a data engineer at Spotify in New York City as part of Magnificat’s Genesis program, an opportunity she clinched by emailing an alumna.
RAMPING UP. “I did some online work to prepare for working on Spotify datasets, taking some courses to learn the Python program and data science basics,” says Smith, who advanced her coding knowledge to help out with Spotify’s data personalization team that determines how playlist recommendations are selected.
GETTING PERSONAL. Once Smith dug into Spotify datasets, her mentor showed her how to mine her own playlist and genre preferences. “She showed me how different songs are connected based on data algorithms, and it was definitely overwhelming at first because it was a very new concept. But she walked me through it and was an amazing guide.”
A DAY IN THE LIFE. Smith traveled to New York City to experience Spotify firsthand. “I attended some meetings with my mentor and met her team,” she says, reconnecting again for lunch to talk about plans for the future. “She is definitely someone I can reach out to at any time to ask for career advice.”
Through Hawken’s STEMM program, Ava Suri, a junior, landed a 10-week lab experience at Detroit’s Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, optimizing PFA procedures on a flat surface of tissue called the left atrial posterior wall to improve the efficiency and efficacy.
AVA SURI HAWKEN SCHOOL
HANDS-ON INSPIRATION. Suri started a crochet club at school and discovered an intersection of art and science during her lab experience. “Reading crochet patterns is like translating a different language, and I related that to coding. It inspired me to use statistical analysis software,” she says.
FINDING BALANCE. “My mentor manages a full-time medical job and has a family, and it was inspirational to see how she handles it all,” says Suri, who got a real-life perspective without romanticizing the “balance.”
JUST ASK. Suri’s mentor encouraged curiosity and responsibility, from prompting questions during lab studies to helping craft follow-up emails and communications. “It taught me skills in the field, and also how to talk to an adult and maintain a good relationship with a professional,” she says.
KIKI MICLAT
LAKE RIDGE ACADEMY
The Global Scholars Institute at Lake Ridge Academy is a multi-year certificate program in which students choose a theme to research and ultimately present and defend their cause. Kiki Miclat, a senior, is exploring immigration stories through art.
INFORMED IDEAS. Miclat dove into how media presents immigration — an issue that’s close to home. Her grandparents immigrated from the Philippines in 1970. “They were so focused on assimilating,” Miclat says. Now, she wants to give voice to immigrants’ cultures.
UNSPOKEN LANGUAGE. “Art is an invaluable resource to bring strength and hope to communities, which can allow you to see a more real and raw version of what immigrants experience,” says Miclat, who worked closely with her advisor and the institute chair, Dr. David Wagner, who helped her expand the project to include her own art in a school-wide exhibition: “Immigration Stories: Faces of Change.”
TAKE A BREATH. Miclat is future-focused, and Dr. Wagner has reminded her to pursue her passions — and slow down. “Remember to be a kid,” he reminded her when she shifted into A.P. French prep mode during the summer.
Let us help you achieve an in financial health.
At Maloney + Novotny we are passionate about education. Our extensive experience with over 30 private schools and universities, provides invaluable information on key performance indicators, the education industry and peer comparisons.
We specialize in audit, accounting, tax and consulting services that ensure our clients have the most accurate information to determine their financial health and make critical decisions.
Maloney + Novotny compiles annual financial benchmarking that focuses on students accounts receivable, tuition, financial assistance, cost of education, and functional expenses.
Find out where YOUR school ranks!
Certified public accountants and business advisors personally invested in the success of our clients.
Founded by the Brothers of Holy Cross, Hoban is a Roman Catholic, coeducational, college-preparatory school built to nurture the hearts and educate the minds of its students.
BEAUMONT SCHOOL
3301 N. Park Blvd., Cleveland Heights 216-321-2954, beaumontschool.org
Beaumont School is an all-girls Catholic high school in the Ursuline tradition that educates women for life, leadership and service.
BENEDICTINE HIGH SCHOOL
2900 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Cleveland 216-421-2080, cbhs.edu
A Catholic high school in the tradition of St. Benedict that shapes a diverse group of young men into leaders.
Elyria Catholic is the only coed Catholic high school west of Cleveland. Students are surrounded by an engaged community which strongly supports them both inside and outside of the classroom.
GILMOUR ACADEMY
34001 Cedar Road, Gates Mills 440-473-8000, gilmour.org
Gilmour is an independent Catholic school. It is coeducational, collegepreparatory and based in the Holy Cross tradition. Its mission is rooted in educating both the mind and the heart of every student.
HOLY NAME HIGH SCHOOL
6000 Queens Highway, Parma Heights, 440-886-0300, holynamehs.com
Based in Parma Heights, Holy Name is a coeducational, Catholic high school that promotes excellence in education through a challenging college-prep curriculum.
Lake Catholic is a Roman Catholic, coeducational college-preparatory high school located on a 35-acre campus in Mentor providing an environment that emphasizes a commitment to excellence with a spirit of respect and compassion.
MAGNIFICAT HIGH SCHOOL
20770 Hilliard Blvd., Rocky River 440-331-1572, magnificaths.org
Founded by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, Magnificat is a college-preparatory, all-girls, Catholic Rocky River high school.
NOTRE DAME-CATHEDRAL LATIN SCHOOL
13000 Auburn Road, Chardon 440-286-6226, ndcl.org
Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin is a coeducational, college-preparatory high school sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame and located on a 75-acre campus.
OUR LADY OF THE ELMS
1375 W. Exchange St., Akron 330-836-9384, theelms.org
The Elms is an all-girls, faith-based school grades first-12th with a coed pre-school and kindergarten in the Cleveland Diocese.
PADUA FRANCISCAN HIGH SCHOOL
6740 State Road, Parma 440-845-2444, paduafranciscan.com
Padua is a coeducational, Catholic college-preparatory school based on the Franciscan tradition.
ST. EDWARD HIGH SCHOOL
13500 Detroit Ave., Lakewood 216-221-3776, sehs.net
St. Edward is a college-preparatory, samesex Catholic high school in the Holy Cross tradition that serves students from various communities in Northeast Ohio.
ST. IGNATIUS HIGH SCHOOL
1911 W. 30th St., Cleveland 216-651-0222, ignatius.edu
Founded in 1886, St. Ignatius is a same-sex, Catholic Jesuit high school with a 23-acre, 19-building campus in Ohio City rooted in Ignatian spirituality
ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY
3470 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland 216-251-6788, sja1890.org
St. Joseph Academy is the only all-girls Catholic high school in Cleveland. Since its founding, the graduate of St. Joseph Academy is a woman who lives unifying love through empathetic justice, service to the dear neighbor without distinction, personal integrity and emerging wisdom.
ST. MARTIN DE PORRES HIGH SCHOOL
6202 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland 216-881-1689, saintmartincleveland.org
St. Martin de Porres is a Catholic, college-preparatory high school for students with limited economic means.
ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY HIGH SCHOOL
15 N. Maple St., Akron 330-253-9113, stvm.com
St. Vincent-St.Mary is a STEM-certified, Catholic Marianist high school in Akron
Trinity High School is a coeducational, college-preparatory high school with a pre-professional internship program in Garfield Heights supported by Franciscan values.
Located on the Lake Erie shore in Cleveland, VASJ is a Catholic, comprehensive, college-preparatory school based on the Ursuline and Marianist traditions.
StrivingKeep
WALSH JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL
4550 Wyoga Lake Road, Cuyahoga Falls 330-929-4205, walshjesuit.org
Walsh Jesuit is a Catholic, coeducational, college-preparatory high school in the spirit of St. Ignatius located in Cuyahoga Falls.
CHRISTIAN
CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
2846 SOM Center Road, Willoughby Hills 440-943-9260, ccacornerstone.com
Cornerstone Christian Academy’s mission is to provide a quality education based on God’s truth, resulting in Christ-like students who will impact their world for the glory of God
CUYAHOGA VALLEY
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
4687 Wyoga Lake Road, Cuyahoga Falls 330-929-0575, cvcaroyals.org
CVCA is a college-preparatory, interdenominational Christian middle and high school (grades sixth-12th) in northern Summit County. CVCA is committed to academic excellence in a supportive, distinctively Christian environment.
Ready to turn your dream into a reality?
Take the next step at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®).
Gain in-demand job skills or earn an affordable, transfer-friendly degree.
Tri-C can even help you launch your own business.
Knowledgeable instructors and advisors will help you create a customized plan that puts you on the fast track to your dream job, a four-year degree or whatever your next step in life is.
So keep moving forward. Keep striving. Keep your eye on the prize. Keep after that dream.
Lutheran East is a Christian, coeducational, college-preparatory high school located on a 12-acre campus in Cleveland Heights offering a faith-based community, academic programs, competitive athletics, arts and an Honors Academy.
LUTHERAN WEST
3850 Linden Road, Rocky River 440-333-1660, lutheranwest.com
Lutheran West is a Christian, coeducational, college-preparatory high school located on a 17-acre campus in Rocky River.
Fuchs Mizrachi School is a Modern Orthodox Jewish Day School dedicated to Torah values, religious Zionism, fostering leadership skills and helping each child reach their highest potential.
HEBREW ACADEMY OF CLEVELAND
1800 Warrensville Center Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-382-3300, hac1.org
The Hebrew Academy of Cleveland is a nationally recognized Jewish day school with dual Judaic and college-preparatory curriculums located in Cleveland Heights.
Andrews Osborne Academy is a private, coed, college-preparatory school offering pre-K through 12th grade. Andrews Osborne Academy strives to prepare students for higher education and empower them to be successful leaders.
GRAND RIVER ACADEMY
3042 College St., Austinburg 440-275-2811, grandriver.org
Grand River Academy is a collegepreparatory boarding and day school serving young men grades ninth-12th that sets students up for success in college and life.
HATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL
19600 N. Park Blvd., Shaker Heights 216-932-4214, hb.edu
Hathaway Brown is an independent K-12 day school for girls. Hathaway Brown’s Learn for Life signature approach inspires girls to take ownership of their education, rise boldly to challenges and achieve their utmost potential.
HAWKEN SCHOOL
12465 County Line Road, Gates Mills 440-423-4446, hawken.edu
Hawken is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational school located on two campuses on Cleveland’s East Side, one on the West Side and a campus in University Circle.
HERSHEY MONTESSORI SCHOOL
11530 Madison Road, Huntsburg 440-636-6290, hershey-montessori.org
Hershey Montessori School serves elementary to high school students on two campuses: Concord Township and Huntsburg. The high school campus in Huntsburg has a working farm and offers boarding.
LAKE RIDGE
ACADEMY
37501 Center Ridge Road, North Ridgeville 440-327-1175, lakeridgeacademy.org
Lake Ridge is an independent, nonsectarian day school offering coeducational classes on a 93-acre campus in North Ridgeville.
Laurel School is a nationally recognized, college-preparatory, independent day school for girls, kindergarten through grade 12, with a coeducational Early Childhood program for children 18 months-prekindergarten.
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
2785 SOM Center Road, Hunting Valley 216-831-2200, us.edu
University School is a same-sex, college-preparatory day school with two campuses — one for high school and one for elementary school — in Hunting Valley and Shaker Heights.
WESTERN RESERVE ACADEMY
115 College St., Hudson 330-650-4400, wra.net
Western Reserve Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding and day high school located on 58 acres in Hudson.
“How
GILMOUR ACADEMY
As an independent and Catholic school, Gilmour Academy is uniquely positioned to develop both the minds and hearts of its students.
Gilmour’s independent accreditation allows for small class sizes and a variety of real-world learning experiences. Students can personalize their education through AP courses, electives such as molecular genetics, web development, vocal performance and digital music, semester-long research internships, and VECTOR — a program offering concentrated study in five academic themes aligned with student interests.
Nature-based learning is woven throughout all divisions. The school’s 144-acre campus includes a chicken coop, greenhouse, apiary and Giving Gardens. Environmental science and sustainability are key components of the curriculum.
The Lorraine and Bill Dodero Center for Performing Arts, a state-of-the-art facility featuring a main stage theater, studio theater, practice rooms and exhibition spaces, fosters student creativity and self-expression.
Gilmour’s entrepreneurship program includes electives,
student-run businesses, mentorship opportunities, summer programs and extracurriculars like the Investment Club. The VECTOR Business & Entrepreneurship strand offers deeper engagement in this area through a multi-year track.
Gilmour’s unique combination of offerings allows each student to discover their passions within a rigorous academic setting that calls for students to write more, articulate better and develop their ideas further.
Gilmour’s Catholic identity fosters an inclusive, reflective environment rooted in the Holy Cross tradition. Students of all faiths and all ages are encouraged to ask tough questions, think critically and grow spiritually. They learn to recognize their potential and their responsibility to make a difference.
With rigorous academics, a faith-based mission, and a commitment to leadership and service, Gilmour educates the whole person. Ranked the No. 1 Catholic high school in Northeast Ohio by niche.com, Gilmour proves that when you educate the mind and empower the heart, students don’t just succeed — they thrive.
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: 18 months through Grade 12
2024-2025 enrollment: 815
2025-2026
tuition and fees: $7,355-$41,430
HATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL
During the last five years, Hathaway Brown (HB) has undergone renovations across its campus to ensure the school’s physical spaces optimally support its educational mission and programs. These include completely renovated primary and upper school buildings, along with new spaces for the Infant & Toddler and Early Childhood programs. At Hathaway Brown, we learn not for school, but for life. This is our motto and our reason for being, a trailblazing spirit that has guided us for 150 years. An HB education is about unbounded possibilities on our campus, around the globe, today and in the future. Here, our distinguished academics inspire students to amplify their distinctive talents and nurture their curiosity. As they progress, they build a powerful sense of self through a mix of academic challenges and opportunities. With a diverse
network of classmates, educators, parents, and alumnae providing guidance and encouragement, every student feels seen and valued for who they are. HB girls use what they learn to start businesses, work alongside researchers at universities and hospitals, and even manage a portion of our endowment. That’s what learning for life looks like. When students leave HB, it’s no surprise that they’re well prepared for the futures they create. With strong characters and keen minds, they’re empowered young women, ready for college and ready to do good in the world. They know how to take the lead in their own way, blaze new trails, and create brighter, better futures. Above all, though, they know that life is for learning, and learning is for life.
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: Co-ed: Early Childhood, All girls: K–12 2024-2025 enrollment: 800 2025-2026
tuition and fees: $7,000- $41,000
16 acres Renovated and modernized indoor and outdoor
Laurel’s two-campus advantage gives girls the edge. The Lyman Campus is in suburban Shaker Heights and just seven miles away in Novelty, Laurel students immerse themselves in the natural world at the beautiful 150-acre Butler Campus.
Exciting changes to its Butler Campus are coming. A new turf field is open for the fall athletics season and the Ruhlman Family Center opens in January! The 10,000-square-foot center features flexible lab and classroom space, classrooms, a dining room and an outdoor amphitheater.
Laurel’s programming led to remarkable student successes in 2024-25, including nine seniors being recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program. Three students won top awards at the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair and the upper school writing team had a first-place finish at States. The Speech & Debate program sent 14 students to States and five to Nationals. 36 students received 53 honors in the 2025
Scholastic Arts & Writing competition.
Laurel students excel not only in academics but also in athletics. Its tennis, basketball, swimming, and indoor track and field teams competed at States during 2024-25, with basketball going to the Final Four. Four members of the Class of 2025 will compete in collegiate athletics. In the spring of 2025, Taylor Thierry ‘21 was the first Laurel alum to be drafted into the WNBA.
Christina Breen has just begun as Laurel’s 11th Head of School. Ms. Breen came from Phillips Exeter Academy, where she served as associate dean of student life, taught English, and coached Exeter’s nationally ranked varsity lacrosse team to 10 consecutive winning seasons. Prior to Exeter, she was a lecturer at the University of Vermont, an instructor at St. Mark’s School, and the founder, administrator and trustee of Heronfield Academy. She holds three master’s degrees, the third most recently from Columbia University as a Klingenstein Scholar.
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: Early Childhood School through 12
2024-2025 enrollment: 590
2025-2026
tuition and fees: $9,750 - $42,870
$5.2 MILLION
MAGNIFICAT HIGH SCHOOL
Founded by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, Magnificat High School is a Catholic, college preparatory girls’ school that attracts students with diverse backgrounds, interests and aspirations. Located in Rocky River, the school’s campus supports the holistic development of students through dynamic learning environments and state-of-the-art facilities:
• The Magnificat Center for Science Exploration & Innovation provides flexible learning spaces for interdisciplinary exploration across the sciences.
• The DiSanto Center for the Visual Arts features light-filled spaces tailored for ceramics, jewelry making, painting, photography and multimedia projects.
• Athletic Facilities include the Karnatz Family Field with synthetic turf, two gymnasiums, tennis courts and a fitness center for a competitive athletic program.
• The Magnificat Center for the Performing Arts includes a 1,100seat theater, scene shop, green room and dance studio for awardwinning dance and theater programs.
• The Humility of Mary Center and Marian Commons offer modern settings for academic collaboration and student interactions.
Magnificat offers more than 50 clubs, from cultural and academic societies to robotics, horticulture, business, neuroscience, beekeeping, Model U.N., stage crew and more — as well as 16 varsity sports and international travel. In addition, students participate in unique service, campus ministry, and job shadowing projects.
Dedicated faculty and staff engage students in learning experiences that spark their imaginations, build confidence and hone skills for lifelong learning and faith-filled leadership. Students graduate with the essential skills, knowledge and values needed to successfully transition to college and life, and an active alumnae community provides numerous networking and mentorship opportunities.
With a variety of scholarships available, more than 70% of families receive tuition assistance. Learn more at Magnificat’s Open House on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025 at 11 a.m. Register at magnificaths.org.
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: 9 through 12 2024-2025 enrollment: 662
2025-2026 tuition and fees: $19,900
magnificaths.org Registration and more information
ST. EDWARD HIGH SCHOOL
13500 Detroit Ave., Lakewood • 216-521-2204 • sehs.net
Just minutes from Downtown Cleveland, St. Edward High School offers an experience unlike any other in Northeast Ohio. As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, St. Edward provides a globally recognized, future-focused education that equips young men with the skills, mindset and moral integrity to lead in an ever-changing world. IB students learn to think critically, communicate effectively, and make connections across subjects — all while embracing diverse perspectives. Known for its academic rigor, IB coursework prepares students for success in college and beyond through research, writing and thoughtful discussion.
St. Edward’s vibrant campus features modern athletic training spaces, a chapel, tech-forward learning labs and an innovation wing with a state-of-the-art makerspace. Out back, students tend to an urban farm, gathering vegetables, eggs and honey for charitable distribution. Sponsored by the Brothers of Holy Cross and accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the
Central States, the school’s commitment to educating both the heart and mind shines through in everything from academics to service.
The student experience goes far beyond the classroom. Edsmen have recently traveled to more than 20 countries through the school’s immersive international program and can join over 50 clubs, from robotics and Model U.N. to mock trial, which earned the 2023 state championship. St. Edward’s 17 competitive sports teams have claimed 80 state and 11 national titles, and the performing arts draw packed houses with standout music and theater productions.
Families across Ohio now qualify for the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship, reducing tuition by $840 to $8,408 annually. Additional aid and merit scholarships are available.
Eighth-grade boys and their families are invited to discover the spirit of Holy Cross and the strength of brotherhood at a St. Edward Open House on Oct. 5, 20, or Nov. 3.
2785 SOM Center Road, Hunting Valley • 216-831-2200 (9-12) • us.edu
University School (US) is a place where each boy is free and supported to let his true self thrive. We seek students of all ambitions: scholars, artists, athletes, musicians and entrepreneurs. Our charge is to ensure boys possess a balance of self-confidence and humility, while building men of character who will lead and serve.
Our curriculum blends science, technology, engineering, math and the arts. Independent research options are available, beginning in the middle school. Perennially recognized as one of Ohio’s top high schools for STEM, US is also ranked Ohio’s No. 1 Private K-12 School by Niche.
Students in junior kindergarten through grade eight attend our 32-acre Shaker Heights Campus. Our expanded middle school, serving grades five through eight, opens in fall 2025. It includes both a newly constructed three-story wing and fully renovated existing spaces, featuring modern common areas designed
$9.4 million
for collaboration, a second makerspace, and state-of-the-art classrooms supporting subjects from art to science.
The lower school and middle school share performing arts spaces, a wood shop, gymnasium and indoor pool. The campus features a play park designed for lower school boys, an arboretum for outdoor learning and five tennis courts.
The Hunting Valley Campus serves grades nine through 12. Our 220 acres include a hardwood forest with trails, a lake, and a trout hatchery. The building features top-tier science labs, art, design and music studios, fabrication spaces, and an indoor track and pool. Our varsity athletic teams often compete at the state and national levels.
Our small class sizes and intentional and supportive community systems allow teachers to become true mentors to our students. US is designed for boys and is a diverse school where each boy is known and loved.
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: Shaker Heights (Jr. K – 8) and Hunting Valley (9-12)
Small acts of kindness can have a big impact in making people feel welcome. When we reach out and connect with others, we can build a stronger community where everyone – regardless of their background – feels like they belong.
LEARN HOW AT
BELONGINGBEGINSWITHUS.ORG
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: 9 through 12
2024-2025 enrollment: 302
2025-2026 tuition: $19,900
BEAUMONT SCHOOL
3301 North Park Blvd., Cleveland Heights • 216-321-2954 • beaumontschool.org
founded in 1850, Beaumont School proudly celebrates 175 years of educating young women for life, leadership, and service. Beaumont is an all-girls Catholic high school in the Ursuline tradition, inspiring young women to grow in faith, intellect, and compassion. As an International Baccalaureate World School, Beaumont delivers a rigorous college preparatory liberal arts curriculum that cultivates inquiry, reflection, and a commitment to a meaningful contribution in a complex world.
Beaumont’s mission is expressed through a strong dedication to service, including immersive experiences such as the Fifth Counsel Mission Trips and the El Salvador service trip. Its valuesdriven environment cultivates confident, capable young women who are prepared to lead, serve, and succeed.
Beyond the classroom, Beaumont offers 10 competitive athletic teams and over 30 student-led clubs, giving students
BONUS POINTS
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: Preschool through 8
2024-2025 enrollment: 260
2025-2026
tuition and fees:
$7,235 –$10,590 (pre-school);
$12,775 (K);
$17,820 (1-3);
$18,370 (4-5);
$19,765 (6-8)
BONUS POINTS
$19.25 Merit-based scholarships earned 100% College Acceptance Rate
opportunities to pursue their passions, grow as leaders, and form lasting friendships.
Each year, international travel experiences broaden students’ perspectives and deepen their understanding of diverse cultures, equipping them to engage thoughtfully with the world around them.
At Beaumont School, young women don’t just prepare for the future—they learn to change the world, beginning with their own.
BIRCHWOOD SCHOOL OF HAWKEN
4400 W. 140th St., Cleveland • 216-251-2321 • birchwoodschool.org
Birchwood School of Hawken is a preschool through eighth-grade independent private school. Its mission is to equip children with the intellectual skills and character traits that will enable them to realize their potential for becoming excellent students with good character.
To this end, Birchwood provides a challenging academic program crafted to lead each student to their highest level of achievement. Birchwood students have gained local, state and national recognition for their work.
In addition, the school has developed a remarkable character education program. Through practice, it shows
children how to build good work habits and how to benefit and serve the people around them.
While maintaining small class sizes, taught by subject specialists, Birchwood is able to set children on a trajectory of academic achievement and success.
To learn more, visit birchwoodschool.org.
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: Toddler through 12
2024-2025 enrollment: 1,600
2025-2026
$8,660 - $43,240
HAWKEN SCHOOL
Gates Mills, Lyndhurst, University Circle, Cleveland • 440-423-4446 • hawken.edu
Hawken School is an independent, coed day school of over 1,600 students, toddler through grade 12, located on two campuses in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, a campus on Cleveland’s West Side (Birchwood School of Hawken), and a campus in University Circle that is home to the Mastery School of Hawken. From recognizing the value of a coeducational environment to designing programs, learning spaces and innovative schedules that support learning by doing, Hawken boldly adapts to prepare students for a promising future.
Hawken’s nationally recognized programming and nontraditional schedules support partnerships with world-renowned institutions. Students are prepared for the real world not only in the classroom, but in laboratories and organizations, throughout our 200-plus-acre wooded campuses, at nonprofit agencies, and more. These experiences instill in students the skills needed
BONUS POINTS
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: Birth through 12
2024-2025 enrollment: 253
2025-2026
$10,922 - $30,237
BONUS POINTS
to thrive in an increasingly complex and dynamic world. From its inception, Hawken has been committed to developing character and intellect. Our motto, “Fair Play,” is displayed in every classroom, encouraging every member of our community not only to be smart, but to be mindful of how we treat others. Providing a strong academic foundation while nurturing essential attributes like compassion, initiative and resilience equips our students at Hawken to help realize and fulfill their potential.
Hershey Montessori School offers a premier, birth through grade 12 continuum based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s original vision for whole-child education. As one of the first Montessori schools to offer a full academic span and a unique boarding program on a working farm, Hershey fosters intellectual growth, independence, and real-world readiness. Our Montessori approach integrates project-based learning with meaningful contributions to the community. Students don’t just memorize — they engage, analyze, and apply concepts, sharpening comprehension and critical thinking for real-world problem-solving. Upper school students have
access to College Credit Plus, individualized college and career counseling, and foreign exchange opportunities. Students at Hershey shape their own extracurricular experiences based on their personal passions. As an ISACSaccredited institution, our programs reflect a commitment to educational excellence and constant innovation.
CAMPUS NOTES
Grades: 9 through 12
2024-2025 enrollment: 800
2025-2026 tuition and fees: $15,400
PADUA FRANCISCAN HIGH SCHOOL
6740 State Road, Parma • 440-845-2444 • paduafranciscan.com
Padua Franciscan High School is a Catholic, college preparatory high school, committed to the traditions and values of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi.
Padua educates young men and women within a community where all are challenged to achieve academic excellence and to live out a lifelong commitment to Christ in holiness and learning. Padua is known for its MedTrack and MyTrack programs. MedTrack is a four-year, rigorous academic program focused on helping students explore and prepare for careers in healthcare. The comprehensive program combines advanced coursework, enrichment opportunities, and practical experiences while integrating the distinctive Franciscan approach to healthcare. Tracks include medical, nursing and veterinary medicine. MyTrack prepares students in the Franciscan tradition for careers in business, computer science, engineering, law, and
studio art. MyTrack provides students with a strong academic foundation, career exploration, professionalism guidance, and hands-on experiences.
Padua recently launched a $16 million campaign to construct a new athletic center and a Center for Performing Arts. Once the athletic center is complete, the renovation of our current gymnasium into the Center for Performing Arts will begin. Padua will host an open house on Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and Oct. 6 from 6-8 p.m.
Educating students from the ages of 18 months through eighth grade, a Ruffing education includes learning in multi-age classrooms with faculty and staff devoted to the academic, social and emotional development of each child. Ruffing is located in Cleveland Heights and is the secondoldest Montessori school in the country.
The Outdoor Learning Environment consists of a half-acre of outdoor learning and play space that includes natural playground equipment, rain barrels, composting, our Stormwater Learning Lab, and flower and vegetable gardens. Ruffing has state-ofthe-art science labs and a LEED-certified building, the first school in Northeast Ohio to achieve such designation.
Ruffing Design House, opening in 2025, will provide a range of hands-on opportunities for all students that will combine Montessori methods with traditional techniques and cutting-
edge technology. The innovative spaces will include a woodshop and bicycle repair shop, a sewing and fiber arts studio, a technology and design lab, an audiovisual studio, and a creative and sensorial exploration space for our youngest learners. Ruffing has a comprehensive art program and choral music program. Spanish is offered from kindergarten through eighth grade and French is offered in grades six through eight. Athletic teams include soccer, volleyball, basketball, flag football, and ultimate frisbee.
Grades: 9-12
2024-2025
2025-2026
SAINT IGNATIUS HIGH SCHOOL
1911 W. 30th
Saint Ignatius High School, founded in 1886, is a Catholic, Jesuit college-preparatory school located in Cleveland’s vibrant Ohio City neighborhood near downtown. The campus occupies 23 acres, including 20 buildings and three athletic fields.
A challenging curriculum, master teachers, and an emphasis on clear thinking and communication skills are hallmarks of a Saint Ignatius education. Academically, Saint Ignatius is a regional and state leader in National Merit finalists and Advanced Placement scholars. The school has 125 faculty members, 93% of whom hold advanced degrees. 68% have taught at Saint Ignatius for at least 10 years.
As important as academics are, the spiritual program of the school is an essential component that sets Saint Ignatius apart from any other school in Northeast Ohio. While respecting all
114
Nonacademic clubs offered BONUS POINTS
$7 million Tuition Assistance provided by Saint Ignatius this school year
faith traditions, Saint Ignatius is a Catholic high school rooted in Jesuit spirituality. A four-year theology program, annual spiritual retreats, frequent liturgies, and opportunities for service to marginalized members of the community are mainstays. Thanks to generous alumni and benefactors, Saint Ignatius provides support for many school programs, including tuition assistance. 75% of our students receive financial assistance through a combination of the school’s financial aid program and/or state vouchers.
SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY
3470 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland • 216-251-6788 • sja1890.org
Grades: 9 through 12 2024-2025
Saint Joseph Academy is the only all-girls Catholic high school in Cleveland. Since its founding by the Congregation of St. Joseph, the graduate of Saint Joseph Academy is a woman who lives unifying love through empathetic justice, service to the dear neighbor without distinction, personal integrity and emerging wisdom. Our supportive community empowers young women to lead with confidence, pursue academic excellence and use their gifts to build a more compassionate world.
Saint Joseph Academy offers the Academy Humanities Scholars Program, Engineering & Design Honors Program, Global Scholars Program, Health Sciences Honors Program, 20 Advanced Placement courses and 39 honors classes and independent study courses. The Academy has college-based block scheduling, giving students four classes each day and activity blocks. Class curriculum is completed within one semester, with
the exception of AP courses.
The 4,800-square-foot Howley Makerspace innovation lab is accessible to all students, featuring a variety of hands-on learning technology tools. Students benefit from cutting-edge technology tools, including the HoloAnatomy Software Suite® with Microsoft HoloLens 2, Anatomage Table, Google Tilt Brush virtual reality system and more. Through 15 varsity sports, award-winning performing and visual arts programs and more than 50 clubs, students are encouraged to pursue their passions.
ROOM
DISCOVER LANDSCAPING PROJECTS THAT BRING YOUR LIVING SPACE OUTDOORS
Beauty and Value
Ohio Landscape Association
President Ryan Drake, J.F.D. Landscapes Inc.
Executive Director
Patty Lampert
Membership Coordinator
Melissa Roberts
For advertising information, please call 216-377-3693.
Website OhioLandscapers.org
On the Cover Image courtesy of Vizmeg Landscape Inc.
The Ohio Landscape Association (OLA) is happy to reveal the winners of our prestigious 28th Annual Landscape Ohio! Landscape Enhancement Awards Program. Each year, we celebrate the exceptional landscapes — created by our members — that help to elevate our community’s property values, expand living spaces and enhance environmental quality.
This year’s competition — like any other — was fiercely competitive, with projects from across the entire state being evaluated by a panel of highly esteemed industry professionals. We are proud to announce that 42 remarkable projects were honored at this year’s Awards Gala, held at Windows on the River this past June.
In the pages that follow, you will find a showcase of some of Ohio’s most impressive landscape projects. We hope these examples inspire you as you plan your own project, be it now or in the future.
As a reminder, the OLA provides a free referral service to anyone looking to choose a professional contractor for their next project. We have an extensive list of members, searchable by zip code and project type, located at ohiolandscapers.org
Respectfully,
Ryan Drake, 2025 OLA Board President
Career of Commitment and Passion
Mike Rorie’s achievements are recognized by the Ohio Landscape Association.
Each year, since 1992, the Ohio Landscape Association (OLA) Board of Directors selects a deserving individual to receive the Lifetime Dedication and Contributions to the Landscape Industry Award. This year, the OLA recognizes Mike Rorie, the 34th recipient of this prestigious award.
Rorie was born in Cincinnati to parents Durk and Margaret, with an older sister named Diane. He grew up in several cities, including Shaker Heights, Chesterland, Pittsburgh and eventually returned to Cincinnati. His passion for driving and machinery began young, sparked by mowing the lawn with a Wheelhorse tractor and secretly driving the family’s Chevy Nova.
Rorie attended Madeira High School, spent a year at Stanton Military Academy, then returned to graduate from Madeira. College didn’t resonate with him, and after a brief semester at the University of Cincinnati, he pursued work that matched his love for the outdoors and machinery. At age 20, he started a lawn mowing business.
1983, the business transitioned to 100% commercial maintenance, preferring large sites over residential work
Rorie has actively given back to the industry through his involvement in organizations such as OLA, SIMA, YPO, The Cincinnati CEO Roundtable and NALP (formerly ALCA), where he served on the board from 1992 to 1998. He built strong relationships and shared his knowledge freely, helping many others grow their businesses. He married Angel in 1979, and together they built a life centered around hard work, family and shared hobbies. They raised two daughters, Rachel and Alle, and now enjoy life with their extended family, all living nearby in Cincinnati. One of the many highlights of his career include working with his daughters at Go iLawn and GroundSystems.
If he were talking with you now, Rorie would tell you to find something that you have genuine passion for and then become the best you can at that.
The company began humbly in 1979 and grew steadily. Key milestones included a partnership with his best friend, using the Circle Q system for employee development, and reaching $1 million in sales by 1989. Industry mentors including Jim Paluch, Frank Ross and Ken Hochkeppel shaped his business acumen, particularly in finance and operations. By
If he were talking with you now, Rorie would tell you to find something that you have genuine passion for and then become the best you can at that. Careers and going to work are things that go on for most of your life, so do something you genuinely enjoy and are passionate about.
The OLA recognizes Rorie for his deep industry impact, lifelong learning and commitment to helping others succeed. He encourages others to follow their passions and build careers they truly enjoy.
Congratulations to Mike Rorie, recipient of the OLA Lifetime Contributions to the Landscape Industry Award.
G H
I J
K L
RESIDENTIAL MAINTENANCE
A The Bremec Group
A Private Residence in South Russell
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY IV
B Landscapes by Terra
A Private Residence in Columbus
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY V
C Vizmeg Landscape Inc.
A Private Residence in Wadsworth
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY VI, WITH SWIMMING POOLS
D Rice’s Landscapes Redefined
A Private Residence in Poland
COMMERCIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY II
E Environmental Management Inc.
The Scioto Mile Fountain in Columbus
LANDSCAPE LIGHTING
F Landscapes by Terra
A Private Residence in Galena
SPECIALTY GARDENS
G Rice’s Landscapes Redefined
A Private Residence in Canfield
SHOW GARDENS / DISPLAY GARDENS
H Brothers Grimm Landscape & Design Co.
The Cleveland Home & Garden Show
GARDEN STRUCTURES/ PAVEMENTS, CATEGORY II
I Landscapes by Terra
A Private Residence in Columbus
GARDEN STRUCTURES/ PAVEMENTS, CATEGORY III
J Landscapes by Terra
A Private Residence in Dublin
GARDEN STRUCTURES/ PAVEMENTS, CATEGORY IV
K Landscapes by Terra
A Private Residence in Galenas
BEST USE OF COLOR
L Environmental Management Inc
Clifton & Palmer in Columbus
COMMERCIAL MAINTENANCE
1 Environmental Management Inc.
OCLC in Dublin
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY II
2 Sasak Landscaping Inc.
A Private Residence in Brecksville
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY III
3 Sasak Landscaping Inc.
A Private Residence in Brecksville
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY IV
4 Environmental Management Inc.
A Sculptured Terrace in Columbus
5 KGK and Co
A Private Residence in Hudson
6 The Bremec Group
A Private Residence in Cleveland Heights
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY V
7 Brothers Grimm Landscape & Design Co.
A Private Residence in Medina
8 Rice’s Landscapes Redefined
A Private Residence in Canfield
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY VI, WITH SWIMMING POOLS
9 Land Creations
Landscaping Inc.
A Private Residence in Hudson
10 Ottawa Landscapes
A Private Residence in Columbus
11 J. Barker Landscaping Co
A Private Residence in Bay Village
COMMERCIAL INSTALLATION, CATEGORY II
12 Brothers Grimm Landscape & Design Co.
The Valmark Corp. in Fairlawn
13 Environmental Management Inc.
The Preston Centre in Columbus
WATER FEATURES
14 Landscapes by Terra
A Private Residence in Galena
15 Land Creations
Landscaping Inc.
A Private Residence in Hudson
LANDSCAPE LIGHTING
16 Northern Territory Lighting
A Private Residence in Newbury
17 KGK and Co.
A Private Residence in Hudson
18 Suncrest Gardens
A Private Residence in Hinckley
SPECIALTY GARDENS
19 The Bremec Group
The WKYC Cultural Garden in Cleveland
20 Blooming Designs The Fairlawn Sign in Fairlawn
SHOW GARDENS / DISPLAY GARDENS
21 Greenleaf Landscapes Inc.
A Garden Center Display in Mariett
22 Wimberg Landscaping Wasson Way in Milford
GARDEN STRUCTURES/PAVEMENTS, CATEGORY I
23 Suncrest Gardens Inc.
A Private Residence in Broadview Heights
24 Land Creations Landscaping Inc.
A Private Residence in Hudson
NORTHEAST OHIO’S
GARDEN STRUCTURES/PAVEMENTS, CATEGORY II
25 Executive Landscaping
A Private Residence in Cortland
26 Executive Landscaping
A Private Residence in Cortland
GARDEN STRUCTURES/PAVEMENTS, CATEGORY III
27 Executive Landscaping Inc.
A Private Residence in Craig Beach
28 KGK and Co.
A Private Residence in Hudson
GARDEN STRUCTURES/PAVEMENTS, CATEGORY IV
29 Ground Works Land Design
A Private Residence in Westlake
30 Brothers Grimm Landscape & Design Co.
A Private Residence in Medina
31 KGK and Company
A Private Residence in Hudson
BEST USE OF COLOR
32 Blooming Designs
The Fairlawn Sign in Fairlawn
JUDGES
Rob Cruise BELGARD HARDSCAPES
Doug Frank FRANK BROTHERS LANDSCAPE SUPPLY
Chris Kronenberger VALLEY CITY SUPPLY
Greg Malone CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Brian Maurer BRIAN KYLES
Marie McConnell LAKE COUNTY NURSERY
Bill Nettling OBERFIELDS
Michelle Riley NE OHIO GARDEN
Bob Scott LOWE’S GREENHOUSE
Landscape Ohio! SPONSORS
• Alvord’s Yard & Garden
• Bedford Glens Garden Center
• Belgard Hardscapes
• Bigfoot Landscape Supply
• Botson Insurance Group
• Century Equipment
• Chagrin Valley Nursery
• Davis Tree Farm & Nursery
• Frank Brother’s Landscape Supply
• Green Vision Materials
• Kurtz Bros. Inc.
• Lake County Nursery
• Lowe’s Greenhouse
• Oberfields
• PC Services
• Petitti Family of Farms
• Preston Superstore
• R.A.K. Sales
• Rusty Oak Nursery
• Schill Grounds Management
• Site One Landscape Supply
• The Great Big Home & Garden Show
• Unilock Ohio Inc.
• Valley City Supply
• Vermeer All Roads
• Willoway Nurseries
• Wolf Creek Co.
09.25
Inspiring spaces of character and revival
GROWING UP
An East Side couple turns their daughter’s teen suite into a fresh, colorful space that doubles as guest digs. CONTINUED ON PAGE 92
Acouple in the East Side suburbs cried when their eldest child left for college. But through the tears, they saw opportunity: a chance to renovate the teen suite in their 1928 Georgian colonial. Their daughter had outgrown the dated decor of the baby-blue bedroom and sitting area, originally relegated to maid’s quarters. And the bathroom shower was leaking into the garage below. They envisioned the suite doubling as dedicated guest accommodations — a luxury they’d never had — during her extended absences.
“They wanted to freshen it up and make it more modern but still respect the style of the home,” says Nikki Pulver of Shaker Interiors in Shaker Heights. “They needed to gut the whole shower and redo the bathroom anyway. So it was good timing. We could have it done by the time she came back for fall break.”
Pulver delivered a suite that was irresistibly fresh and fun, yet grown-up enough for any adult the couple might host. They requested that Pulver incorporate purple, their daughter’s favorite color, in the design.
“I didn’t want it to feel too feminine, so we brought in some navy and green as well,” she says. “Purple became the accent.” Inspiration came in the form of Quadrille Home Couture’s Kalamkari wallpaper, a selection hand-printed in a lavender, green and navy pattern inspired by Indian Kalamkari art.
“Once I found that, we were off to the races,” Pulver says.
Pulver prepared the suite for its next phase of life by ordering contractors to remove the built-ins surrounding the existing bed’s headboard. The homeowners, she explains, wanted a cleaner look in a room that already had adequate closet storage space. She retained the wall’s feature status by covering it in the aforementioned Quadrille paper, the pattern of which was repeated on the hand-printed linen used to make the Roman shades. The remaining woodwork was painted white, and the balance of the bedroom and sitting room were papered in a Thibaut spring-green geometric wallpaper rendered in vinyl.
“There are a lot of corners in that (bedroom),” Pulver notes. “I find, especially in a young person’s bedroom, that those corners can get dirty and beat up. If I can do a vinyl wallpaper, it is so user friendly. It’s washable, it’s cleanable. It doesn’t mar like paint.”
“It also brought in another pattern,” she adds, one of a smaller scale that added dimension to the suite.
Pulver covered the hardwood floors with a
Bright colors and fanciful prints, along with vibrant, new furniture, refreshed the bedroom in this suburban teen suite.
cream berber carpeting to warm feet treading over the unheated garage. It provided a neutral base for colorful furnishings covered in performance fabrics. She uses them whenever possible.
“They’re much easier to maintain and clean,” she says. “And they’re genuinely more durable.”
Cerused-oak, antique-mirror nightstands flank a bed that features a headboard upholstered in a custom indoor-outdoor acrylic boldly zigzagged in grass green and white, its curves defined by a navy welt. The white pillow shams are monogrammed in a design inspired by the Quadrille wallpaper, a feature that stands out on a bed simply made up with a navy coverlet, navy-trimmed white duvet and white tailored bed skirt.
Pulver topped a built-in window seat under the bedroom’s dormer window with a cushion covered in a navy-and-white polka dot and finished with a purple welt. The same treatment was used to reupholster a pair of unused armchairs found in another part of the house. Pulver stationed one on either side of a mirror-topped brass table in the sitting room. Tasseled rattan ottomans painted navy complete the seating arrangement.
The leaky shower was gutted, rebuilt and waterproofed with a Schluter-brand system. Pulver finished it in a textured white picket tile that not only provides a stunning contrast to a bathroom freshly painted navy, but picks up the white starburst pattern in the navy tile on the heated floor.
“(In) a good tile job, everything looks plumb and square,” Pulver says. “That can be hard to achieve if you’re working in an old house where you don’t have plumb-andBefore
A study space dominated by a simple desk was given a new purpose as an eye-catching sitting area for guests.
square walls. For this bathroom, getting the tile to line up and look so crisp was the most challenging part.”
The wall behind the existing white marble-topped vanity was covered in the same Quadrille paper hung in the bedroom. Pulver points out the strip of picket tile edged in quarter-round pencil liner that protectively separates the frameless shower door from the paper.
“We had very good venting in the shower,” she adds. “And we have a backsplash (behind) the sink.”
Finishing touches include a bobbin-style mirror Pulver had made in England and painted to match the green in the wallpaper, swingarm sconces flanking the bed and window seat, and a lavender throw draped over the back of a sitting-room chair. A framed chalkboard still hangs in the sitting room, a remnant from when the space served as a study. Pulver kept it at the homeowners’ request.
“(Their daughter) loves her chalkboard,” Pulver says. “She loves to doodle. She still wanted the room to feel like hers. That was important to her.”
The Beatles came to Cleveland for the first time on Sept. 15, 1964.
Everyone was naturally excited to see and hear one of the most popular bands in the world play at the Public Auditorium. The City of Cleveland’s Police, on the other hand, might have had a different opinion of that trip.
The day before, the Beatles arrived at the Sheraton-Cleveland hotel with a crowd in tow.
The police erected a line of officers around the building. Security became so tight that police chief Richard Wagner, wearing his civvies, didn’t think he would be allowed on the floor where the Beatles were staying.
Wagner made one room at the hotel a temporary police headquarters. He had six uniformed officers on guard at all times by the hotel elevator.
However, there were some gaps in the security plan, with The Plain Dealer reporting that
one or two determined fans did manage to get into the hotel. And in true rock star fashion, the band waved through an opened a window on the floor where they were staying around 6:30 p.m. and again at 7 p.m., causing the crowd to pushed past the fence around the hotel.
The night of the concert, 11,000 fans packed the Public Auditorium, and more than 100 officers on duty attempted to keep them seated. “Attempted” is the key word, as Beatlemania would erupt with some fans attempting to charge the stage.
Deputy Inspector Carl Bare went to the center of the stage and declared the show was over, ordering the Beatles off the stage. However, the Beatles kept rocking on, with Bare and inspector Michael Blackwell staring the crowd down as the curtain dropped.
After a 10-minute pause to calm the crazed audience, the show resumed, and the fans allowed the Beatles to complete their set.
“It was the first time a Beatles concert had ever been halted,” reported Don Robertson of The Plain Dealer.
This is your time to shine, to explore your passions, and to embrace the lifestyle that’s authentically you. At Judson, you’ll enjoy the perfect blend of relaxing evenings at home, hosting family and friends, and participating in engaging, community-wide social events. Be inspired. Be engaged. Be you.
