The Ironton Tribune • Profile 2022

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Table of Contents 34

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The Stone House..................................6 Trading in Fantasy..............................44 A Place for Families.............................12 What is This?......................................48 Tools of the Trade.............................. 16 Meeting the Zoo Crew.......................50 Winning Design..................................20 Engaging the Youth............................56 From the Vault....................................26 Making Global Connections...............34 A New Generation of Leadership...... 60 5 Years and Growing..........................40 Keeping the Magic Going...................64

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PROFILE 2022

The Stone House No stone is left unturned in restoration of Ironton home

STORY & PHOTOS BY MARK SHAFFER

“T

his is going to be my last project,” Tim Kleinman declares as he is in the midst of renovating a house that he has adored since he was a kid. “I’ll be 74 in August.”

He said he’s had several surgeries, including repairing a toe that he dropped a casting on when he worked in a foundry.

“I’ve got a lot of aches and pains. I’ll be sitting, watching a football game and start stiffening up and my neck starts hurting. So, I’d rather be doing something like this, because it takes my mind off it. But I do have to quit. This will be my last house I do.”

The house in question is what he calls the Stone House, on the corner of 11th Street and Kemp Avenue. He remembers riding his bike by the house and just being in awe of the house covered in stones that, if you look at closely, have tiny sea shells in them.

“Paul Sweikhart, he owned Sweikhart Lumber and he built this house for himself about 100 years ago and his brother built the one next door three or four years later,” Kleinman said.

Kleinman has had a lot of careers in his life.

“I’ve done a little bit of everything,” he said. “I’m the type of person I can’t stand doing one thing at a time. I love the car lot, but I love doing projects too.”

Kleinman was a member of the rock band, The Fugitives. They started off as a local band in the ‘60s, but became big enough that they hooked up with a promoter and got gigs in New York City,

toured with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars and with such national acts as the Young Rascals, the Left Banke, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and Mitch Rider and the Detroit Wheels.

He came back to Ironton and has owned Kleinman Brother’s Auto in Ironton for nearly three decades and had a furniture stripping shop back in the ‘80s.

He got into that profession after the Malleable foundry shut down and he was

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out of a job after 18 years. He headed off to Wisconsin to take a two-week class in furniture restoration.

“I loved antiques,” Kleinman said. “So it seemed like a good idea.”

He convinced his brother to go and the pair slept in their car because he didn’t have money for a hotel room after losing his job.

“Slept behind a gas station and went to a roadside rest that had a 50-cent shower,” Kleinman said. “He’d jump in and jump out and then I would jump in.

We’d bathe for a quarter.”

That class led to some ten years of furniture refinishing and doing renovations.

Kleinman said renovations are just something that he likes to do, and mainly by himself, because he’s fussy about how it is done.

With the Stone House, he did call in family to help tear out walls and take out the 40 tons of old plaster, slate roofing and other building material. It was a lot of work.

“I lost 40 pounds in the first three months,” Kleinman said. “I ripped everything out.”

Keeping the rounding stairwell and a brick fireplace, he put walls in to give the place a more open space. The first

thing to be modernized was “a horrid looking kitchen that was maybe redone in the early ‘70s. Just awful,” he said.

He also put in new wiring and plumbing and got quarter sawn Oak flooring out of Florida to match the existing flooring for a floor guy to put in. New beams were put in as well to replace load-bearing walls. He had central heat and air put in, since it was still heated by radiators.

“I didn’t plan on doing all this, but when you get into it, you might as well do it right,” he said. “It’s been a bear.”

One of his favorite things in the long process was finding out the original door to the sun room was still there, although it was hidden between rock on the outside and plaster on the inside.

“I took it out and completely refurbished it,” Kleinman said. “It’s got the thickest lead glass I have ever seen. I love the original stuff.”

He said he loves the work of re-doing a house.

“There are a lot of guys that just love to flip a house,” Kleinman said.

“They don’t want to do a lot to them.

I just don’t know why. For me, I’ve never done a house that had this much potential.” 

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A place for families Friends Park improvements planned for coming years

STORY BY HEATH HARRISON, PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON, JESSICA ST. JAMES

O

ver the past year, residents of Ironton have seen the beginnings of a project downtown that is aimed at creating a family-friendly space that will draw people to the city.

A proposal for Friends Park, located next to the Ironton Farmers Market, was first made in 2021 by a committee comprised of Sam Heighton, Mayor Sam Cramblit II, Ralph Kline, Rick Jansen, Dave

Milam and Brent Thomas.

With a goal of creating and expanding recreational opportunities downtown, the first work involved renovating the caboose, which used to sit down on the riverfront, Heighton said.

“It’s an important feature and we saw it was useable,” Heighton said.

He said the Lawrence County Commission paid for a new deck to be built, by students from Collins Career Technical

Center, while the entire structure was repainted.

Heighton said the caboose could be used for birthday parties and other gatherings and the committee said it would also promote the region’s rail history.

In addition to the deck and repainting, plans call for a handicapped accessible ramp to be installed, as well as new safety glass windows, HVAC and electric service.

It has already proven to be a popular

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draw and is often used as a backdrop for those taking engagement and prom photos.

Heighton said the caboose was acquired by Kline.

“He saw the possibility of using it,” he said.

Near the caboose, another feature came into place this year.

One of the last remaining arches of the old Ironton-Russell Memorial bridge stands between the spray park and Market Square, and over the summer, a replica of the old bridge was placed atop the arch..

The entire finished piece was

then painted by Parnell Painting, with the cost of paints covered by Ironton alive, Heighton said.

This was from a $2,000 PNC grant, he said, adding that those funds also paid for rope lights for the area.

“To dress things up,” Heighton said.

Another addition in the summer was the opening of The Shakery, a second location of the Ironton Shake Shoppe.

Owned by Robbie Brown and Maddie Cogan, it opened next to the splash park, which has been in operation for about a decade.

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Located in the former ODOT building, it has a condensed version of the Shake Shoppe’s menu, including hot dogs, milkshakes, chili and ice cream, and is open in the warmer seasons of the year.

Planters, which Heighton said were provided by Ironton In Bloom, have been placed in the area, in order to deter vehicle traffic.

As for the rest of the space, which extends southeast, Heighton said the committee will be meeting soon to decide on the next projects.

“We’ll get back together and talk about what happens next,” he said.

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Behind the caboose were storage containers, which were to be made up to look like train cars. But instead, Heighton said they are hoping to add a children’s train ride in that space while the containers will be moved to the end of the park.

The train, which would begin behind the splash park, would include a boarding platform, tunnel and a replica of an iron furnace among its features. It would be secured nightly in a storage building.

Other improvements planned are increased handicap accessibility at the splash park, safety and security upgrades,

PROFILE 2022

more tables and seating for the concession area and historic and cultural signage.

Heighton said Ironton aLive will also be hosting more events for the area, including a return of the Taste of Ironton festival, which has not taken place for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more of the weekly Tuesday Night Concert Series at the Farmers Market in the summer.

He said they also plan to host the Parks aLive event, which has taken place at the

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Etna Street Park, as well as in South Point, in the downtown space.

He said Ironton aLive also hopes to “find another way to get involved” with the plans for the space.

“We’re hoping for another grant,” he said.

Heighton said the Friends Park and downtown upgrades project is open to all who want to contribute, making it a community effort.

“All organizations and civic groups in town are invited to do a part,” he said. 

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PROFILE 2022

Tools of the Trade SOUTH POINT VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR

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STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON

n August, the Village of South Point purchased a new $409,000 vacuum truck for its street and sewage department.

The 4 ½ ton, single axle vehicle has been a “handy piece of equipment,” village administrator Russ McDonald said.

“It already has 250 hours on it and we

use it three to four times a week, twice a day,” he said.

Purchased from the Jack Doheney Company, of Cincinnati, McDonald said it is good at digging holes for replacing service lines and dealing with line breaks.

McDonald said using the suction to remove debris is a much safer alternative to having crews dig for lines.

He said the truck’s rotary hydro vacuum system is “strong enough to take the shoes off your feet.”

He said it also has a wireless operation system, giving crews an additional option for control.

The truck’s front-mounted reel, with 500 feet of hose is good for 2,500 psi, McDonald said.

Front-mounted reel

Suction tube boom

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Rotary hydro vacuum system

Water storage tank

Debris tank

The suction tube boom, on top of the truck, has a total length to the back of the truck of 24 feet, and it has capability for another 20 feet, through extension tubes on the side of the truck.

The water storage tank on the rear is capable of hauling 1,000 gallons of water, while the debris tank, which holds everything vacuumed, has a capacity of 8-10 yards of debris McDonald said the City of Ironton has also purchased the exact same truck from the company and that South Point and Ironton are the only municipalities to have such a piece of equipment.

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PROFILE 2022

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PROFILE 2022

Winning design Ironton woman finds success in creating clothing STORY & PHOTOS BY MARK SHAFFER

E

very piece of clothing you wear is designed by someone.

If you’ve ever purchased clothing in the women’s department at Kohl’s, there is a chance it may have been designed by Ironton’s own Electa Royal, who has worked for the company as an assistant designer for more than three years.

“I create the artwork for So Young

Womens and Sonoma Athleisure,” she explained. She also helps decide which clothes get spotlighted every month. She began working at Kohl’s as designer in the So Juniors Athleisure department.

Her work is wide-ranging, from picking material and designing patterns to creating artwork for t-shirts and hoodies, usually a year or so ahead of time to create trends in clothing.

She has also been featured for the past two years during Black History Month, “so that’s pretty cool.”

And if that wasn’t enough, she designs clothing on her own.

“I do a lot of freelance graphic design,

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but, in addition to that, I’m a fashion designer by trade. I did a lot of fashion shows before COVID-19 hit and put a damper on things,” she said. She was involved in the Milwaukee Fashion Week for two years and was going to do Pittsburgh Fashion Week until the pandemic shut down the show, but plans to go sometime in the future.

“I do a lot,” Royal said, with a laugh.

How she designs clothing depends on whether she is doing something for Kohl’s or for her own lines.

“If I am doing a design for myself and my own brand, I do it old school, where I am making the patterns and cutting the fabric and doing the fittings with models,” Royal explained, adding that she tries to be as sustainable as possible and using deadstock, which is already manufactured fabrics, and even ripping apart clothing to make new garments.

One example of reusing is a jacket she made as a project when she was studying fashion at Kent State University. The jacket is made up of denim and then highlighted with white fabric that has patterns made with actual rust on it that she created by soaking the material in a jar with a bolt and water.

It was a tribute to the blue-collar background of Ironton.

“It was part of my senior collection. I wanted to do something that was a tribute to my hometown,” Royal said. “I have always been proud of Ironton.

Everywhere I go, I say I’m from Ironton, Ohio. I don’t just say Southern Ohio, I’m going to tell you the city, you’re going to know.”

Her Ohio roots inspire her creations to be very utility-based, “almost like workman’s wear, but not quite because I want it to be feminine.”

Another piece is a cream-colored corduroy jacket that she made for herself.

“They were corduroy pants I found at the thrift store,” Royal said. “On the back is an Ohio square quilt block. And I found the buttons at a thrift store. I try to re-use all the resources I can.”

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“At Kohl’s, it’s completely different than when I do my own designs. We are working with vendors overseas, I do a lot of sketches digitally,” Royal said. “We’re picking fabrics a year in advance. But both of them have a lot of sketching and a lot of planning involved. But for the textile portion of my job at Kohl’s, that is straight up doing my own artwork. So I use ProCreate, PhotoShop and Illustrator on my iPad.” Ohio is a continuing theme in her work. Her LinkedIn account proclaims her as a “proud Ohioan” and her workroom has a shelf filled with Ohio memorabilia.

Royal graduated from Ironton High School in 2012 and went to Kent State University, from which she graduated with Bachelor’s Degree in fashion and apparel design. She also studied haute couture at Paris American Academy.

She spent two summers interning at the Paramount Arts Center

PROFILE 2022

in Ashland, Kentucky, where she designed clothes for stage productions.

She also did internships at the webbased CollegeFashionista, with fashion designer Jonathan Marc Stein and at Akron Design and Costume.

She got her first job as an assistant designer and graphic artist at 5B’s in Columbus before joining Kohl’s in 2018. She had talked to a company rep at a job fair a year before “but they didn’t have positions open, so they kept me in mind for a whole year and offered me a position. Crazy. So I said yes and took the job.”

She moved from Ohio to Milwaukee, where she lived for three years before moving back to Ironton in May. She gets to work for the company remotely.

“It is bittersweet, in a way, because the only way I am able to do this is because

of COVID-19,” she said. “I do miss Milwaukee because the thrift stores are so amazing. And I do get to visit once a year.”

So how does a woman from Ironton get interested in fashion?

“Remember Neopets? When I was nine, Neopets was my thing,” Royal said.

Neopets are virtual pets and owners can use in-game currency to take care of their pet’s needs. She still has an active account.

“They had an opportunity to be creative on their website and here I was a little kid learning how to do HTML and CSS on Neopets to be creative and do artwork.”

From that, she decided she wanted to do graphic design, but wasn’t really sure if there were jobs in it.

“Around here, I don’t feel they encour-

age people to do creative careers as much, but opportunities are out there, you just have to find it,” Royal said. She decided on fashion, found out that Kent State had a top-rated fashion program in the country and that’s how she ended up designing clothes.

As for putting clothes together, “all the women in my family have experience with textiles and sewing. I always enjoyed making stuff. I just needed the technical and advanced skills to do it,” Royal said. “I put my graphic background with fashion and that’s what I’ve done with my life. It’s worked out.”

And now that Royal is back in Ironton after nearly a decade, she wants to give back to others who may want to fol-

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low a creative path and give back to the community.

“I love Ironton and I’ve always wanted to take the knowledge that I’ve learned being away and bring it back here and impact someone else,” Royal said.

One of her goals is to run for Ironton City Council.

“I’ve been attending meetings regularly. I’m trying to get my head in there and learn what’s going on and try to understand,” she said. “And I would love to connect with the high schools and tell kids that there are more opportunities for careers outside of the regular, everyday things we think about, that it is okay to be creative and have a career in art. You can leave, do your thing and come back.” 

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PROFILE 2022

From the Vault

W

hen The Ironton Tribune moved to our new downtown location in November, one of the biggest jobs was transporting the bound volumes of our newspaper, and

it predecessors, The Irontonian and The Ironton Register.

These collected editions date back to the 1800s and, looking through them has produced a number of odd and unusual items that caught our eye or took us down memory lane.

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1864

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1865

1865

1910

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1910

1910 1910

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1913

1913

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1910

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1913

1951

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1951 1865

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1977 1977

1977 1977

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1951

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PROFILE 2022

Making Global

Connections South Point man has hosted 23 exchange students

Bill Christian, of South Point, with Simon Helbing, an exchange student from Germany who he is hosting for the 2021-22 school year. Helbing is attending South Point High School while he is in the United States. (Submitted photo) STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON, SUBMITTED

B

ill Christian said he loves learning about other cultures and, for the past 23 years, he has taken part in program that has allowed him to do that while, at the same time, establishing longtime friendships.

Christian, of South Point, has hosted an international exchange student every year since 1999.

He said the idea of hosting was suggested to him by a friend’s wife. His first exchange student, Per Nordkvist, of Sweden, led to him repeating the experience since.

“I have enjoyed learning about all the different cultures and making friends all over the world,” Christian said.

Nordkvist, who is now in the Swedish government, has kept in contact with Christian, who said he went to visit him in 2019 at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund.

“So I was colluding with Swedish government officials while I was there,” he said.

He said hosting has given him the chance to learn more about life in other countries.

“I also enjoy getting to know and understand their views and perspectives on the world,” Christian said. “I love learning about their culture and everything that goes into it, from food to families and the

interesting dynamics.”

Christian works as assistant principal at South Point Elementary School and, at the time of the interview, was filling in as principal at Burlington Elementary.

All of the students he has hosted over the years have attended South Point High School.

“They can turn 18 while they’re here, but can’t be 18 when they arrive,” he said of the program. “Some of them have been as young as 15.”

He said the students arrive in August and stay until the first week of June, which gives two weeks after school ends before their VISA runs out.

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Christian said they have always received a good welcome from the school.

“It’s always gone very well,” he said. “The teachers and students have been nice and have always befriended them.”

Christian said the students have all attended church with him at Solida Baptist Church in South Point.

“They have enjoyed meeting the people there and getting to know them,” he said. “The church has also taken them in and given them a good experience as well.”

Christian is currently hosting Simon Helbing, from Germany.

“Simon is great guy,” he said. “He loves to play basketball and plays on the South Point High School JV basketball team. Simon likes to meet people, play video games and play or watch basketball whenever he can. He loves Giovanni’s and Slim Chickens.”

Christian says his aim is to show the students what life in America is like.

“I also want them to see what small town Americans are like and how we think,” he said.

Conversely, he said it is an opportunity for local students to learn about other cultures.

“Very few people around here will ever leave the country,” he said. “So this is a way to bring other countries to them. And I always tell them to be a good ambassador for their country.”

He said this was the case for him. He recalls his first encounter with an exchange student when he was attending Ironton High School — a girl named Petra, from Sweden, who was in his German class.

Christian, who likes to travel, also shows the students around the United States.

“I start with asking them if there is something they would like to see,” he said. “Surprisingly Walt Disney World is a favorite and I have made many trips there.”

He said he has taken some of them to New York City, to Disneyland in California and other sites across Ohio.

“One place that I always try to take them is Washington, D.C.,” Christian said. “We

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go in the spring as sort of a capstone on their year of leaning about the USA and its people and history. One thing they usually ask is ‘Did you used to live in Washington, D.C.?’ because I sort of know my way around. I say, ‘No, I just have been here many, many times bringing all of you and on school field trips.’”

He said they have also been to the Ohio Statehouse, in Columbus, and he has taken them to see sporting events, based on their interest.

“I just took Simon to the UK vs. University of Georgia game last Saturday,” he said. “We have done NBA games, NFL games, Ohio State and Marshall games.”

Christmas is a special time for their visit, he said, and he said he likes to show them how it is celebrated in the United States.

“I tell them this what it would look like,” he said. “The stockings are filled and how it would feel for a child.”

He said they always use the Christmas break to travel, and he has taken some skiing in Colorado.

Christian said he keeps in touch with all of those he has hosted, the oldest of which are now in their late 30s.

“These young men have all gone on to do great things, doctors, businessmen, government officials, a TV show host, a contractor, a lawyer, the diplomatic corps and even a professional poker player – which he first learned to play right here in South Point!”

Christian said 15 have came back to the United

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There are memories to be made in Lawrence County

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hamber of ommerce

PROFILE 2022

39

States to visit him and he has also visited them in their home countries.

“I have visited Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Switzerland,” he said.

He said many call him on his birthday each year. And he sends gifts to them for their weddings.

“And, when the kids call, they tell me how much they loved Giovanni’s Pizza,” he said.

Christian said when one of his former students informed him of the birth of a child, he was told, “You’re going to be a grandpa.”

“They really become like family,” he said.

“For me hosting, exchange students has been the thrill of a lifetime,” Christian said. “I treasure the friends I have made and the things I have learned from them.” 

Exchange students hosted by Christian since 1999: 1. Per Nordkvist, Sweden 2. Nick Leeman, Switzerland 3. Paulo Oliveria, Brazil 4. Gabriel Machado, Brazil 5. Andrej Cintula, Slovokia 6. Kiko Marques, Brazil 7. Peter Pastrick, Slovokia 8. Ladislav Bednar, Slovokia 9. Matyas Krivan, Czech Republic 10. Ben Rechinstein, Switzerland 11. Dusan Cintula, Slovakia 12. Vinnie Pontes Lima, Brazil

13. Nicolo Riboni, Italy 14. Jirka Vacha, Czech Republic 15. Johannes Knapek, Germany 16. Simon Harst, Germany 17. Jaquim Medina, Brazil 18. Finn Klein, Germany 19. Tim Lippman, Germany 20. Clemens Magdeburg, Germany 21. Pavol Salata, Slovokia 22. Colin Boss, Switzwerland 23. Simon Helbing, Germany

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5 years

PROFILE 2022

Meraki Studio adding services at new location

and growing

PROFILE 2022

41

STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON

I

t was five years ago when Meraki Studio first opened in downtown Ironton.

Launched by Casey Brown and Christine Sammons, it quickly proved popular and has since moved to a new location with expanded services.

Brown and Sammons had worked together at a Coal Grove salon for 12 years when they went out on their own.

“I had been doing hair for about 13 years,” Sammons said, noting the two had always wanted to own their own business.

Brown had moved to South Carolina for a short time, but upon her return to the area, they launched Meraki at its original Park Avenue location. Here they offered hair services, such cuts and coloring, as well as make up, spray tans, facials, waxing, manicures and pedicures.

While there is no exact translation to English for the Greek “Meraki,” it means “to do something with passion and from the heart.”

With their first five years’ success, they decided to grow the business. In May, they moved to their new home at 2024 S. Ninth St. in Ironton, near Ohio University Southern.

“We wanted a bigger space so we could offer more services, and a it’s good location,” Brown said.

“We wanted to own our building,” Sammons said. “And it has good parking.”

The salon now has eight employees — four hair stylists, a barber, a permanent make-up artist, a lash extension specialist and two estheticians, who specialize in beauty of skin.

Among the new services offered are specialized acne treatments, tiny tattoos, spray tans and, starting next month, hair extensions. And having a barber is new for the business.

They said they have attracted clients from as far away as Columbus, Cleveland and Cross Lanes, West Virginia.

When asked what is the most popular service, Brown replies, “Everything, really.”

“The lashes blew up fast,” she said,

42

adding that restoration massages have also been a big draw.

“And our permanent makeup artist is constantly busy,” she said.

Brown said weddings are a major source of clients, and that they offer packages, which include hair, makeup and spray tans.

She said they also see a lot of people for formal dances and proms.

They said they plan to keep expanding, offering more.

“Like ethnic hair and lock treatment,” Brown said.

“And we are doing tiny tattoo parties,” Sammons said.

They also hope to hire a few more stylists, to keep up with demand.

Appointments can be made via Facebook messenger, and the salon is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Brown said business has been good since the move, taking with them all of their clients, “who have been with us for years.”

“And we gained a lot moving to the new location,” she said. “The neighborhood was excited and welcomed us here.” 

PROFILE 2022

PROFILE 2022

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Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) (also called "Regular HEAP") The HEAP program runs from July 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022. HEAP is a federally funded program designed to help income-eligible Ohioans with their winter heating bills. Clients must be income-eligible to receive a benefit in the form of a credit directly to the client's main energy heating account beginning in the month of January.

Winter Crisis Program (WCP) (also called "Emergency HEAP" or "E-HEAP") The E-HEAP program operates from November 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. The Winter Crisis Program provides a benefit once per heating season to an income-eligible household that has been disconnected (or have a pending disconnection notice), need to establish new service, need to pay to transfer service, or have 25% (or less) of bulk fuel supply remaining. The program can also assist with fuel tank placement, fuel tank testing and heating system repair. The program operates from November 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. Clients with a current medical certificate on file with their utility are ineligible to receive WCP assistance until the medical certificate protection expires.

Summer Crisis Program (SCP) (also called "Summer Cooling") The Summer Cooling program operates July 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022. The Summer Crisis Program provides a benefit once per cooling season to an income-eligible Ohioan's electric bill, and/or for the purchase of fans and air conditioners. Eligible clients are those with a household member over the age of 60 and/or a household member with a documented medical condition, a COVID-19 diagnosis, a disconnect notice, have been shut off, or are trying to establish new service on their electric bill or require air conditioning. This year the program operates July 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022.

Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus (PIPP) Program PIPP helps income-eligible Ohioans manage their energy bills year-round. The program allows income-eligible Ohioans to pay their energy bill each month based on a percentage of their income. To be eligible for the program, a client must receive residential, electric or gas service from a company regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), and must apply for all Development Energy Assistance Programs for which they are eligible. A client's PIPP payment will be set at 10% of the last 30 days of household income for households that heat with electric and 5% for households with a different main heating source. The minimum payment amount is $10.

For more information call: (740) 532-3140 Extension 12219 To schedule an appointment call: (740) 237-3262

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PROFILE 2022

Trading in fantasy Goblin Traders provides home to local gaming scene STORY & PHOTOS BY MARK SHAFFER

T

here are constant battles in an unassuming building on the corner of Third and Jefferson streets in Ironton.

Sometimes, it is squadrons of rebel pilots taking to the space between planets to battle their Imperial counterparts. Other times, it is vast armies in the far, far future in a battle of survival against dark magic.

Some afternoons, it is a battle of digital monsters.

All of these battles take place on long tables with miniature spaceships or miniature armies or decks of cards. All to be packed up, put in boxes until the next battle next week.

It’s just another day at Goblin Traders, a long-time fixture in the miniature table top and card game scene in the Tri-State.

Owner Aaron Dillon and his friend, Cody Sloas, bought Goblin Traders in 2017 from the original owner, Bryce Martin,

who they both knew from Ohio University Southern. Martin had graduated from college and wanted to move on.

The store was moved from its original site on Center Street to Third Street in January of 2020.

And like many businesses in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way they did business.

The gaming shop was set up not only for

PROFILE 2022

45

people to come in and shop, but to hang out and play long games against other people in fairly tight quarters.

“As timing would have it, we moved and we were set up and started our first gaming tournaments on a Saturday and then, on Monday, the pandemic broke loose and everything was shut down,” Dillon said. “We were effectively open for a week.”

And like many businesses, Goblin Traders took to the internet to stay afloat and keep the customers supplied with their gaming needs. They started doing curbside pickup, local deliveries and selling online.

Demand was high amongst the table top gamers who were ordering models and miniatures to paint.

“They were at home all the time and it was the perfect time to build models, paint models and eventually, after the lockdown was lifted and people could gather and play games, they had models for them to enjoy,” Dillon said.

One of the stranger things during the pandemic was that Pokémon cards and Magic: The Gathering cards began attracting a lot of attention and the demand soared so much that some retailers were having to lock their cards behind glass to prevent stealing and limit the number of packs that were sold to individuals.

While that didn’t happen for Goblin Traders, after the restrictions were lifted, the store started seeing new, younger customers who were interested in Pokémon.

46

“What we heard was that while people were home for several months, they had time to clean. And while they were cleaning, they found boxes of cards from several years ago in closets and attics,” Dillon said. “We would have a mother or father come in and say that while they were home, they found their boxes of cards from when they were kids and their kids got into collecting and it gave them something to do with their kids. Once stores opened up again, families were out looking for cards.”

In-store gaming resumed after the restrictions were lifted, and it spread from Goblin Traders to their other store, Trader’s Café on Second Street, that Dillon and his wife, Amy, opened up in February of 2020.

“We did ease back into it, we didn’t just open back up and have the large size tournaments like we did before,” Dillon said. “We limited seating and had social distancing. But the demand was overwhelming and everyone wanted to come in and play a game on a Friday night or a Saturday night because they had been in their houses for months and wanted to see their friends again. So how we handled it was to have tournaments at Goblin Traders and then have a secondary event at Trader’s Café, so it helped to spread the crowd between two places.”

Dillon has a long interest in table top games, having started playing the card games Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon with his cousins when he was young.

He started going to game shops to buy cards and noticed that other people were playing games like

PROFILE 2022

PROFILE 2022

Warhammer and became interested in miniature gaming.

Each of the games had a different appeal to Dillon.

“With Pokémon, my favorite thing was collecting and trading with my friends.

With Magic: The Gathering, it was social aspect, getting together first with my cousins and then eventually my friends as well,” Dillon said.

And he said that he enjoyed that all of them have the strategy aspect to them.

“With the trading card games, there is deck building and trying to figure out how to construct your deck to compete with other decks, or if you find a certain kind of card you like, trying to exploit that card

47

and play that card to the best of your ability,” he said. “And with table top games, there is the army building where you build your team. But as far as pinpointing one thing, it was the social aspect, hanging out is the best part.”

That social aspect is one of the things that brings people into Goblin Traders.

Besides being well-stocked with the necessities like dice and miniatures for the various game lines, there is usually some type of game going on.

These days, Dillon doesn’t play as much as he used to, maybe once a month or so.

“I play a whole lot less these days,” he said laughing. And it’s not just having two children and a third due in February. “It is

more because of the business side. Running a small business is time consuming and any free time I had for games, I now spend on the business. I try to play once a month or so, maybe a game of Warhammer or a Pokémon tournament or just getting together with friends and playing a couple rounds of Magic: The Gathering.”

And while gaming is now a job rather than a hobby, Dillon says he enjoys the challenge of it.

“And what made me enjoy the table top gaming or the card games is the social thing, with the employees of the store and the customers, it does become a big social circle and I enjoy that a lot. I’m surrounded by people who share my interests.” 

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PROFILE 2022

What is this?

STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON, MARK SHAFFER

T

he Ironton Tribune paid a visit to Ironton Elementary School, where some students were selected to answer a few questions on the past and the future and antiquated technology.

The first item was a ZIP drive, a removable storage disk for a personal computer from 1999 that holds 100 megabytes of information Brynleigh Heighton, 10, fifth grade: “It’s something you put in a TV to watch something? Something for a nurse or a doctor?”

Max Haney, 10, fifth grade: “I would have to say it would go into some electronic device. Maybe a computer? I’ve seen a lot of stuff that looks like this. I think you would put it in the computer and it would

Aubree Ison

improve it.”

Brighley Heisinger, 10, fifth grade: “I have no clue… it looks like something I’ve seen before. Something for a computer?

It keeps all your memories in it from your computer?”

Myles McDonald, 9, fourth grade: “Looks like some kind of disk, I think it goes to a computer. My gramma has a very old computer that takes disks like that.”

Aubree Ison, 9, fourth grade: “I don’t know… is it about someone’s health?”

Trace Fraley, 9, fourth grade: “It is a computer disk… I saw where it said PC and a PC is a computer. It saves data.”

The next item was a cassette tape, in this case a 1992 Denon HD6 100-minute tape filled with musical performances by

Leonard Cohen.

Heighton: “A cassette tape? I think it was in fourth grade and somebody had made a bag out of cassette tapes and that’s how I knew what it was.”

Haney: “Looks like a DVD, not a DVD… I forget what it was called. It is something that you would play.”

Heisinger: “A tape? My dad has many of them.”

McDonald: “I know the name… is it a tape?”

Ison: “I’ve seen one before, but I forgot what they are called.”

Fraley: “It is a tape for movies.”

The next question was what was the oldest thing that they knew of in Lawrence County.

Brighley Heisinger

Myles McDonald

Heighton: “The train tracks. I feel like trains were before the transportation we have now.”

Haney: “Probably one of the buildings in Ironton, because Ironton has a lot of history in it and there were a bunch of coal mines and things. A lot of those buildings are starting to rust and they are being abandoned.”

Heisinger: “I don’t know… this school?”

McDonald: “I would say maybe one of the bridges?”

Ison: “Mud… my teacher Mr. Wilson taught us that.”

Bryntleigh Heighton

Fraley: “That school in Coal Grove…

Monitor school.”

Next was the oldest person they knew Heighton: “I have no idea.”

Haney: “My great-grandfather, he’s about 93 or 94.”

Heisinger: “My mom’s mom’s mom, she is 96, maybe.”

McDonald: “My grampa, he is 69” Ison: “My papaw, he is, I want to say, 83.”

Fraley: “My great-gramma, she lived to be 96.”

And the final question was where they

Max Haney

saw themselves in 20 years.

Heighton: “I see myself having two kids and I would probably be a nurse.”

Haney: “I think, maybe… I’ve been trying to get a lot into sports and stuff, so maybe sports. I’ve also been trying to get into engineering. So probably one of those two.”

Heisinger: “Maybe a cheerleader coach.”

McDonald: “I want to be a teacher. I might have some kids.”

Ison: “I think I will be married and I want to be a doctor.”

Fraley: “A dialysis worker for Fresenius Kidney Care. My dad works there.”

Trace Fraley

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PROFILE 2022

Meeting the

ZOO CREW

Pandemic led to BARKer Farm and Petting Zoo launching farm visits STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON

F

or more than a decade, Kate and Tony Barker ran the BARKer shop in downtown Ironton, a pet grooming business. Then their love of animals led them to acquire enough to start the BARKer Farm and Petting Zoo, which launched in 2018 and became their primary business.

It was such a large endeavor, they left the shop and now devote themselves

to providing animal experiences to the region.

“We sold the shop downtown in 2019 to do this full time,” Kate said.

She said the change to a full time zoo has paid off for them.

“It’s been great,” she said. “We’ve had opportunities to do things we weren’t able to do before.”

She said it has been a great step for the

family, allowing them do more events in the community, particularly at schools.

“We do a lot of schools, locally and in places like Gallipolis and Rio Grande,” she said.

Things were beginning to take off for them in the first year, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit the following March, and Gov. Mike DeWine’s limits on public gatherings and the closure of

schools in Ohio put a pause on the kinds of crowd events where they thrived.

Kate said they were able to adapt to the change.

“We took it a different route,” she said, noting that they began offering private visits to their farm, something they have kept going, even as things reopened.

The farm has 30 different species, ranging from reptiles to primates.

Some of their recent additions have been Clint, an armadillo, Miles, a hedgehog, Ellie, a prairie dog, and Simon Cow, a sevenmonth-old miniature highlands cow. They have also acquired tortoises, an iguana, a chameleon, parrots, tarantulas and more.

They recently got a second African crested porcupine, Ken, to go with Barbie, who they have had since 2019, and a second camel, Carl, a Bactrian with two humps, to stay alongside Daniel, their onehump camel.

One of their most popular new attractions is Yet, their two-toed sloth. Through the Sloth Experience, groups and families can book a visit with the animal, who, due to his strict habitat needs, does not leave the farm.

“He’s a solitary animal,” Kate said, noting that he is the most difficult to maintain a habitat for. The temperature of his space must be kept 85-90 degrees, with the humidity at 75 percent. “It’s to mimic the rainforest,” she said of his native environment. “It helps with their digestive system, which is one of the slowest on earth. He eats every day, but poops once a week. And, when he does, it’s half of his body weight.”

She said the visits have been extremely popular. “We take groups of 10 or under for an hour and a half,” she said. “They get to meet the sloth and feed him.”

Kate said they talk to families before

their visits to find out what interests them.

“We ask ahead and see what animals they like and customize the experience for the family to enjoy,” she said — noting that the tarantulas aren’t for everybody.

One animal that can’t be petted is Rufus, their Capuchin monkey, one of two primates they have.

“But they get to meet and see Rufus,” she said. “He loves bubbles and we give the kids bubble guns for him. And it’s fun for them to watch.”

She said they stay busy, hosting visits at least once a day and being open to visitors five days a week.

“People like coming here,” she said, and stated they plan to do farm renovations in 2022 to better accommodate the visits.

One of these will be adding new shelters.

“We’ve done corporate picnics here, but permanent shelters will offer more

for people to have picnics and parties,” Kate said.

She said, in the coming year, they plan to have a full open zoo, with vendors for the community to come out, host movies projected by their barn and to have a Zookeeper for a Day event, where children can take care of the animals. She said those would be announced on their Facebook page in coming months.

In addition to events at the farm, the Barkers are continuing to take animals on the road throughout the region. Their travels have taken them as far as Clay,

West Virginia and Columbus and she said they are willing to go anywhere within a few hours.

“Our reindeer, Comet and Cupid, have been everywhere,” Kate said, she said of the pair, who were in the Ironton Christmas parade. “We took them to Columbus and to Rio Grande for a drive thru.”

The family has continued to make visits to schools and churches and have also been at events, such as the Greenup Tractor Show and Ironton Wizardfest, where they had animals such as a zebu, a camel and others on hand.

As for care of the animals, Kate said “all of their needs are very different.”

They have a three-section pasture. One part of it hosts the reindeer, who have to be kept separate from other animals because of their antlers. Another section goes to their alpacas, while Daniel, their camel, shares another with their donkey.

“They’re best friends,” she said of the two.

Smaller animals, such as their porcupines, skunk and Patagonian Cavy, are kept in heated enclosures in their barn, while their two monkeys stay in the

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In addition to the pandemic, the Barkers faced another challenge in 2020, when three ice storms hit Lawrence County and they lost power for several days. Kate said many of the animals had winter coats, so the cold was not a concern, while all those who needed to be kept warm were brought into the house.

“We made enclosures for them,” she said, stating they were heated by four generators. She said it went well, with the animals being warmer than the typical barn atmosphere. “The hardest part was we had to check the generators every two hours,” she said.

Following the storms, she said they up-

graded their heating and cooling and will be even more prepared should they have another major outage.

For veterinary needs, Kate said they use Claremont Animal Hospital, located in Batavia, who offer care for all the small animals, from the monkeys to the porcupines.

For larger animals, they go through The Ohio State University in Columbus.

“Dr. Masterson comes here, and she visits for USDA licensing,” Kate said.

She said she likes her business, as they get to “keep it in the family.”

“It’s me, Tony and his dad,” she said.

“And our son, Preston — and one on the way in February.

Kate said the business is a lot of work and the needs of the animals make vacations impossibility.

“We stay on the farm,” she said. “But we enjoy what we do.”

She said she hopes they provide a different experience than what a family might find at a large zoo.

“We offer an opportunity to meet animals — and a chance to get near them, feed and feel them,” she said.

And she said that the family aspect on their farm lets people see the animals are cared for and how close they are to them.

“It’s a different atmosphere,” she said, and we hope they know we really do care,” she said. 

PROFILE 2022

55

living working & playing AND PROUD TO BE PART OF THE TRI-STATE AREA

right here

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PROFILE 2022

Engaging the youth Be Hope is Ironton’s newest house of worship

T

STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON

he City of Ironton is home to many churches, some with a long history of more than a century, and two years ago, it saw the launch of another, which aims to use a fresh approach to draw its congregation.

Be Hope Church opened in June of 2020, meeting in the Ro-Na Theater, located at 310 S. Third St. in Ironton.

“We had originally planned for March 2020, but COVID had other plans,” Robby Brown, founding pastor at the church said.

He said they realized the pandemic was not going to be short-lived and, once health orders from the governor allowed reopenings, they decided to move forward, with mitigation factors for the virus in place to keep the congregation safe.

The Ironton church is an affiliate of Be

Hope Church, located in Beaver Creek, near Dayton, Brown said.

Brown was working as a manager in an outreach café there, in a ministry intern role, when he was approached by those from the church.

“It isn’t a position to stay in long-term and it’s a night shift,” he said. “They asked ‘where do you see yourself going,’ and I told them I was interested in starting a new church in Ironton.”

Brown, a South Point native, got his undergraduate degree at Ohio University and his masters at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in business and ministry.

PROFILE 2022

He said that during his time in Ironton he served in many churches, working as a youth pastor. During that work, he said the average age of attendees was 70, and sensed a need he could work on.

He said they wanted to use a nontraditional approach to engage the youth and grow the church in the community.

“And capture those who have not been engaged in church,” he said.

The weekly church meeting features a live band and is heavy on interactivity online, offering devotional messages to the

57

congregation who text numbers given out during the service.

Brown said the church meets once a week in the Ro-Na, at 11 a.m. on Sundays.

As an affiliate of the Beaver Creek Church, they feature a message each week from its pastor, Kevin Jack, via online.

He said they launched with 25 people and now number 80.

“We’ve had a slow, but consistent growth,” Brown said. “And we hope to keep that up, once we get the pandemic behind us.”

591 State Route 650 Ironton, Ohio 740-533-3032 260 Co. Rd. 403 Proctorville, Ohio 740-886-5476 www.ArricksPropane.com

In addition to services for adults, they also have a “kids church,” with two classes, one for preschool ages and another for older, elementary age children.

Those are taught by Brown’s girlfriend, Maddie Cogan. Together, the two also own the Ironton Shake Shoppe and The Shakery, located at Friends Park.

The church is affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, but Brown said its members come from “all sorts of backgrounds.”

He said they rent out the Ro-Na, but they eventually would like to see a perma-

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PROFILE 2022

N AT I O N A L H O S P I C E & PA L L I AT I V E C A R E M O N T H

nent home and meet more days a week.

He said they have also strived to keep the church engaged in the community.

They hosted a Vacation Bible School the last two years and have taken part in Hope Week, which he describes as a different service project, in the first week of August.

This year, they volunteered at Beachwood Park, where they painted playground equipment and conducted pressure washing.

The church has also been present at Spring on Vernon and other seasonal street fairs in Ironton, where they had a booth. They also took part in the Tuesday Night

Concert Series at the Ironton Farmers market, hosting inflatables for children and a block party for one of the events.

Brown said they have also conducted a food drive for Backpack Buddies and worked with Habitat for Humanity.

As for future plans, Brown said they hope to launch a teen ministry in 2022.

“We have teens in several roles at the church and we hope to get that going,” he said.

Brown said he has enjoyed the task of launching a new church, which he said has been “an experiment.”

“It’s been really fun to see it play out,” he said. 

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PROFILE 2022

A new generation

of leadership 21-year-old Symmes Valley graduate begins service on school board

PROFILE 2022

61

STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON

S

ymmes Valley graduate Uriah Cade may have completed high school in 2019, but his involvement with the Vikings’ school system was far from over.

Last year, he campaigned and successfully won election to a seat on district’s school board, taking office on Jan. 11. Cade, 21, said he ran for a simple reason. “My goal is to make Symmes Valley better,” he said.

He said he had in his mind numerous changes that could be done for students.

“I don’t want to see them left behind,” he said. “I really wanted to see students be more college and career ready.”

Cade said this could be done through things like teaching them how to properly fill out a FAFSA form for financial aid, how to find and obtain scholarships and to know about career options through vocational schools like Collins Career Technical Center.

Symmes Valley School Board President Derek Wilson praised Cade as “an old soul” with a commitment to his community. He said he could envision him someday running for an office like county commissioner.

One of the programs Cade has been heavily involved in is Lawrence County 4-H. He comes from a farming family with siblings also taking part. He showed animals in competitions at the Lawrence County Fair, starting at age 9, until he outgrew the program at 21.

Rachael Fraley, extension educator for 4-H in

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the county, described Cade as “a very caring, hard worker.”

“He’s always willing to give to others,” she said. “He’s very service oriented.”

She said, in addition to showing animals, he was also a teen leader and served as an officer on the Junior Fair Board.

“And, now that he’s aged out, he’s a volunteer with 4-H.” Fraley also pointed to Cade’s work as an auctioneer in the livestock sales at the fair. “He started as an apprentice for that, before going to school,” she said. Of his current work with the Lawrence County Farm Bureau, Fraley says, “They advocate for policy protecting agriculture in the county, and do education-based things like agriculture literacy and work in the schools. He’s always willing to do community work to promote agriculture.”

While someone at his age seeking office is not common, Cade said the community was receptive to him. “I think, while out seeing people and campaigning, they were very open to a younger person running,” he said.

Cade, who also works for Stellar Industrial, a third-party company doing installation work for the GKM plant, is pursuing a degree in education. “I want to be a high school history teacher,” he said. He is eager to get to work on the school board and begin serving. “And I just want to thank all of my supporters,” he said. 

PROFILE 2022

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Keeping the magic going Ironton Wizardfest continues to be a popular draw to downtown each year STORY & PHOTOS BY HEATH HARRISON

I

ronton Wizardfest is one of the county’s newest festivals and, since its inception in 2018, has quickly proven to be one of its most popular. Its return in November 2021, following a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, did not show any signs of slowing and organizer Brad Bear said ticket sales were some of the best yet.

Bear said the idea for Wizardfest came when he was approached by Rick Jansen, of Ironton. “He wanted to have a festival to bring the community together and bring new people to Ironton,” Bear said.

The idea to theme it around the Harry Potter novels of J.K Rowling allowed them to appeal to a diverse group of people, both children and adults, and gave them room to work in fall festival theme for its mid-November date.

“Harry Potter was an interesting idea for a festival,” Bear said. “He got a hold of me, knowing I’m a Potter fan. And we brought in other folks from the community. That’s how it was born.”

Bear stresses that, though he is one of the founders, he is not the sole organizer, and that the festival could not happen without its core group of nine organizers and more than 50 volunteers.

When planning the atmosphere of the event, Bear said he did not want to be “solely like a comic con, and I didn’t want it to be just a street festival.”

He said, “We wanted an atmosphere where, you could walk in and it would feel like something different.”

He said one thing they heavily considered in their planning was thinking of the sensory appeal of events of their youth. “Memories and nostalgia tied to smell and taste,” he said, noting the kettles in the streets for apple butter making. Bear points out that this brings in an Appalachian tradition, and the kettles lend themselves to the wizardry theme. “We wanted to bring in a lot of Appalachian culture elements and have a fall festival,” he said.

And signs of this can be seen in the streets.

“Broommaking is an Appalachian craft and trade,” he said, noting one of the vendors, while

PROFILE 2022

PROFILE 2022

also pointing to a blacksmith working in the street.

The fandom for the Potter books comes in the form of its attendees, he said. “We got as many costumes groups involved and coming in to create atmosphere in streets,” Bear said. “The fans make it vibrant.” One of the most popular parts of last year’s festival was a group of professional cosplayers from Cos-Ohana, who perform at events around Ohio. One of their members, dressed as Potter villain Lord Voldemort, never broke character while walking around downtown, interacting with fans and posing for photos.

Bear said he wants the festival to appeal to both casual fans, as well as those who know the Potter canon inside and out.

And exploring the downtown area is a key part. Bear said he is often asked why they don’t use a traditional map of the grounds, rather than a stylized, almost treasure map type in their literature.

“We hide things in the nooks and

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crannies,” he said, noting that there were attractions in the upstairs and basement of the Ro-Na Theater, as well as in other locations fans had to find in the multiple buildings that comprise the event.

Attractions at the festival appeal to all ages, from animals by the BARKer Farm and Petting Zoo, appearances of actors from the films to and 18 and up Wizards Ball with a live DJ that takes place in the Ro-Na on the first night.

Bear said helping to restore the Ro-Na was a big aim of their organizing. “When he started in 2018, it was just hollowed out, with concrete walls,” he said of the historic theater. He said that they repainted the walls, installed silver stain curtains as backdrops and installed 30,000 LED lights in the ceiling. “That took eight full 10-hour days to do,” he said, noting they stay up year-round.

He said they want to include as much of the community as possible and they have worked with groups ranging from the

Briggs Lawrence County Public Library to the Episcopal church, the Ohio University Women’s Group to Ironton in Bloom.

He said the first year, they sold enough to keep going, but it was in year two, when they sold out of butter brew, that they knew attendance was increasing. The event typically draws 5,000 to downtown Ironton and Bear says its footprint has grown larger downtown each year. He said they have drawn attendees and vendors from as far away as Canada, Florida, Washington state, Georgia and California. In fact, Bear said that half or more of attendees come from more than 30 miles away.

He said the nature of the event allows them to always come up with new ideas and possibilities are endless. “Potter is a fictional world and allows for everything,” Bear said. “You get to explore new and different things you don’t see every day.

Overall, people seem to love it and the vendors and attendees are an incredible group of people.” 

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