Barbara McIntyre
| Especial para Akron Beacon Journal
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Robert Kroeger, a native Youngstown dentist, had already written two books on dentistry and seven on golf when he found a new project: painting at least one old barn in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. (Don’t paint the sides of the barns, paint pictures of them). He shares his work at “Historic Barns of Ohio.”
With the diversity of Ohio’s landscape, from hills to forests to glacial plains, a variety of barn architecture emerges. Kroeger finds run-down barns in danger of falling; in fact, some have collapsed since he painted them. Some, like a well-preserved 1855 sandstone structure in Monroe County, are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kroeger has a special fondness for unusual buildings, such as round or octagonal barns, and for history. A local historian told him about the German and Italian POWs from World War II with whom he picked cherries on an Erie County farm. When possible, Kroeger spoke with the owners; although some were not welcome at first, most became friendly when they learned of their mission.
Some barns still have remnants of the Ohio bicentennial logo or the old Mail Pouch tobacco ad campaign. More than half of the paintings are reproduced in a color section in the middle of the book.
Historic Barns of Ohio (206 pages, paperback) costs $ 23.99 from History Press or the author’s site, robertkroeger.com, where the paintings can be viewed. Robert Kroeger retired from dentistry in 2010.
‘A murder in Amish Ohio’
Mysteries and romance novels set among the Amish are commonplace now, but until the mid-1980s, with movies like “Witness,” few people knew much about them or their culture. “A Murder in Amish Ohio: The Martyrdom of Paul Coblentz” by father-daughter team David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker follows a 1957 murder from commission to trial and sentencing.
Paul Coblentz was a 25-year-old husband and father who lived with his wife, Dora, and their young daughter in their unfinished Holmes County home. One night, two men entered the open kitchen door, one with a rifle and the other with a knife. The man with the knife forced Paul to lie on the ground and demanded money. Paul was shot twice and the two men fled, but were captured four days later in Illinois.
The authors investigated newspaper accounts of Paul’s funeral, which drew about 2,500 mourners, and Amish funeral traditions. One chapter provides a selective history, beginning with a Dutch Anabaptist who was burned at the stake in 1569 and continuing with some crimes in Tuscarawas and Holmes counties in the 1940s and 1950s.
Although the trial and its aftermath are routine, what stands out is the presence of the Amish in the process. The Amish are understood to have little involvement in government; Few vote and are not jurors, but Dora Coblentz appeared in court to testify against both defendants, as did Paul’s father, who had heard the shots. About a third of the audience at the arraignment were Amish.
The Amish commitment to forgiveness is evident. When the parents of one of the defendants arrived in Ohio for trial, they were welcomed into their homes by members of the Amish community, and when the two men were serving time at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, where their fellow prisoners were prison included Sam Sheppard and Don. King, some of the Amish wrote them letters of encouragement and signed petitions calling for their sentences to be reduced.
“A Murder in Amish Ohio” (192 pages, paperback) is $ 21.99 from Arcadia Publishing. David Meyers is also the author of “Columbus: The Musical Crossroads” and co-author with Elise Meyers Walker of “Ohio’s Black Hand Syndicate: The Birth of Organized Crime in America” and “Mob Violence in Ohio.”
Ohioana Book Festival
David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker will be among 135 authors participating in the 2021 Ohioana Book Festival, which will run virtually Thursday through Sunday.
Other authors include Tom Batiuk (“The Complete Funky Winkerbean”), Pete Beatty (“Cuyahoga”), Cinda Williams Chima (young adult fantasy series “Shattered Realms”), Mary Ellis (“One for the Road”), Amanda Flower (“Wooing can be a murderer”), David Giffels (“Barnstorming Ohio to understand America”), Eliese Colette Goldbach (“Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit”), Kylie Logan (“The Secret of the Bones “), Norm N. Nite (” The House That Built Rock: How It Taken Time, Money, Music Moguls, Corporate Guys, Politicians, Media, Artists, and Fans to Bring Rock Hall to Cleveland “) , Salvatore Scibona (“The Volunteer”) and Tricia Springstubb (“Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Treasures of the Backyard”).
Panels include “Danger and Intrigue,” “Ekphrastic: The Art of Poetry,” “Ohio Stories and Trails,” “True Crime,” “Cozy Mystery,” “Contemporary Fiction,” and “Tips for a Better Life.” Some events are pre-recorded and will appear on YouTube; other events are live and require registration at EventBrite.com or CrowdCast.com. Check the calendar at ohioana.org.
Honors
Derf Backderf’s nonfiction graphic novel “Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio,” won an Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Young Adult Library Services Association, awarded each year to 10 books of literature. for young adults.
Ian Frazier, an alumnus of Hudson’s Western Reserve Academy, has been named a 2021 Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Frazier, the only two-time Thurber Prize winner for American humor, writes for the New Yorker. Her books include “Hogs Wild: Selected Reporting Pieces” and “The Cursing Mommy’s Book of Days.”
The American Academy of Arts and Letters will present Akron-born poet and essayist Rita Dove with her Gold Medal in Poetry on May 19. The medals are awarded annually in rotating categories of the arts, to “those who have achieved eminence in an entire body of work.”
Events & Events
Loganberry Books: Cleveland Heights native Doug Henderson talks about “The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi & Fantasy Role Playing Club,” featured April 4 on “Book Talk,” at a Zoom event at 1 pm Sunday. Register at loganberrybooks.com.
Rocky River Public Library: Shelley Pearsall, author of “Things Seen from Above,” teaches fun and creative ways to write poetry for students in grades 4-6 at a Zoom event from 4-5 pm on Monday. Register at rrpl.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library: Kristy Woodson Harvey discusses “Under the Southern Sky,” her novel about a widower who must decide what to do with his late wife’s frozen embryos, in a Zoom presentation from 7 to 8 pm Monday. From 7 to 8 pm on Tuesday, Julie Carrick Dalton talks about “Waiting for the Night Song” in which two childhood friends meet again about a secret from their past; From 7 to 8 pm Wednesday, Karly West talks about her new graphic novel series “The Scholarly Banana,” which retells classic folklore. Neal Sadler, author of “Seeking Life on the Road to the Grave: Pastoral Journeys Amidst the Dying and the Grieving,” discusses his book from 7 to 8 pm Thursday. Sign up at quéhogalibrary.org.
Mandel Jewish Community Center: The Cleveland Jewish Book Festival concludes with Rabbi Denise Handlarski, author of “The AZ of Intermarriage,” at a Zoom event at 7:30 pm on Tuesday. Register at mandeljcc.org.
Hudson Historical Society and Library: Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich discusses “Superman Not Coming: Our National Water Crisis and What We The People Can Do About It” in a Zoom session at 7 pm Thursday. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.
Serie de William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage: Luis Alberto Urrea (“The Devil’s Highway”) and Julia Alvarez (“How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent”) give a presentation of Zoom at 7 pm on Thursday. Tickets are $ 20. Go to Cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cleveland Public Library: Clevelanders Laura Maylene Walter, author of “Body of Stars,” and Marie Vibbert, author of “Galactic Hellcats,” discuss their debut novels in a presentation on Facebook Live at 7:30 pm Thursday. Register at cpl.org.
Scholarly Owl Bookstore (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Karolyn Drone de Akron firma “Self-Elevate: A Woman’s Journey to Empowerment”, de 1 a 3 pm el sábado.
Books by Appletree (12419 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights): Terri Libenson, author of “Emmie and Friends” graphic novels for middle-grade readers, signs her works Saturday from 1 to 2 pm; from 2 to 3 pm, Adina Watt signs “Vegan Recipes for Kids That Kids Will Love”.
Please email information about books of local interest and event notices at least two weeks in advance to [email protected]
‘This Article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: www.beaconjournal.com’
