Up, down and all around town
The Ferris Wheel is a family favorite at the Blue Tip. Photo by EMILY CANNING-DEAN
Hello Wadsworth. The Blue Tip Festival is almost upon us and to learn more about the festivities planned this year I hope you will check out our special section included with this week’s edition of The Post.
With so much of the community coming together to enjoy this celebration, Blue Tip week has become one of my favorite times of the year. Going to the parade and the festival grounds I run into so many people from my past and present. I’ve run into people I haven’t seen since high school and also get a chance to meet some awesome new people each year.
Earlier this week I went to the gazebo downtown to meet the dynamic group of people who make sure the festival goes off without a hitch. After months of planning, members of the Blue Tip Festival Committee are busy working on a bunch of little details to make sure everything is perfect, but they were all nice enough to take a little time out for me so I could get their picture for this year’s special section.
I ended up interviewing a number of them as I prepare the special section and their creativity and energy always impresses me.
I was also in contact with Roger Havens who gave me a brief history lesson on the festival. Havens, the principal of Franklin Elementary School, is basically a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Wadsworth history.
Decades ago, this weekly celebration wasn’t known as the Blue Tip Festival, but was called Wadsworth Week. There was still a parade with the same route with many homemade floats and a ‘Miss Wadsworth’ was crowned each year, with local clubs and organizations sponsoring the girls and building them a fancy float to ride in.
Instead of having the carnival at Memorial Park, it took place in the middle of downtown. Before the Blue Tip Festival Committee formed, the festival was sponsored by the Wadsworth Jaycees and before that it was run by American Legion Post 170.
Havens forwarded me several pictures of the festival from 1964 which you can see in the special section. This was a very special year for Wadsworth as it was the city’s 150th birthday.
Many of you may have already scoped out the perfect spot to watch the parade this Tuesday, but you might want to consider stopping at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on College Street.
Just as they have done in years past, St. Mark’s will host their annual Blue Tip Parade social on the front lawn of their church and anyone is welcome to stop by, socialize and watch the parade from that spot.
The church will be serving sloppy joes, hot dogs, pies, pop and water starting at 5 p.m. – an hour before the parade starts.
I can’t wait to see all of the creative floats and groups in this year’s parade – they never disappoint and I’m already looking forward to grabbing some fried cheese on a stick at the festival. That is one of my worst weaknesses. I hope to see many of you either at the parade or at the festival grounds. Don’t be afraid to come up and say hi. It’s always fun to meet readers.
Now let’s take a look around town.
WHS graduate named provost
A reader recently dropped me a line to tell me about an exciting accomplishment of a Wadsworth High School graduate.
Jeffrey Duerk, a 1977 Wadsworth High School graduate who has served as dean of Case Western Reserve University’s School of Engineering, has been appointed as provost at The University of Miami. While in that role, Duerk will also serve as the university’s executive vice president and chief academic officer.
The Post published a feature about Duerk back in January after he was elected to fellowship in the National Academy of Inventors for lifetime achievement and leadership in innovation and scientific discovery due to his work with MRI.
Congratulations Mr. Duerk on this prestigious new role.
American Blind Golf
The folks from American Blind golf are gearing up for their annual tournament later this month.
As always, this group is teaming up with the Wounded Warrior Project and American Legion 170 here in Wadsworth.
The American Legion will host the folks from American Blind Golf at their headquarters on Main Street June 22 where guest speaker Cindy Parsons, who is a caregiver for her son, will speak on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project.
On June 23 American Blind Golf will host the Warrior Blind Golf Scramble at Ridge Top with numerous Wounded Warriors coming into town to play golf.
It is always such an honor to meet these brave men and women who have sacrificed so much serving our country. The accounts of what they have been through are often heart wrenching yet seeing what many of them have overcome can bring hope to so many. I hope some of you have the opportunity to meet some of them in the future.
Contact me
As always, I look forward to hearing from you and I’m always happy to put submissions from readers in this column. Feel free to e-mail me at edean@thepostnewspapers.com or call me at 330-620-1067 to fill me in on an event your organization hosted, an accomplishment by a special person in the city or anything else you think our readers might want to know about.
With so much of the community coming together to enjoy this celebration, Blue Tip week has become one of my favorite times of the year. Going to the parade and the festival grounds I run into so many people from my past and present. I’ve run into people I haven’t seen since high school and also get a chance to meet some awesome new people each year.
Earlier this week I went to the gazebo downtown to meet the dynamic group of people who make sure the festival goes off without a hitch. After months of planning, members of the Blue Tip Festival Committee are busy working on a bunch of little details to make sure everything is perfect, but they were all nice enough to take a little time out for me so I could get their picture for this year’s special section.
I ended up interviewing a number of them as I prepare the special section and their creativity and energy always impresses me.
I was also in contact with Roger Havens who gave me a brief history lesson on the festival. Havens, the principal of Franklin Elementary School, is basically a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Wadsworth history.
Decades ago, this weekly celebration wasn’t known as the Blue Tip Festival, but was called Wadsworth Week. There was still a parade with the same route with many homemade floats and a ‘Miss Wadsworth’ was crowned each year, with local clubs and organizations sponsoring the girls and building them a fancy float to ride in.
Instead of having the carnival at Memorial Park, it took place in the middle of downtown. Before the Blue Tip Festival Committee formed, the festival was sponsored by the Wadsworth Jaycees and before that it was run by American Legion Post 170.
Havens forwarded me several pictures of the festival from 1964 which you can see in the special section. This was a very special year for Wadsworth as it was the city’s 150th birthday.
Many of you may have already scoped out the perfect spot to watch the parade this Tuesday, but you might want to consider stopping at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on College Street.
Just as they have done in years past, St. Mark’s will host their annual Blue Tip Parade social on the front lawn of their church and anyone is welcome to stop by, socialize and watch the parade from that spot.
The church will be serving sloppy joes, hot dogs, pies, pop and water starting at 5 p.m. – an hour before the parade starts.
I can’t wait to see all of the creative floats and groups in this year’s parade – they never disappoint and I’m already looking forward to grabbing some fried cheese on a stick at the festival. That is one of my worst weaknesses. I hope to see many of you either at the parade or at the festival grounds. Don’t be afraid to come up and say hi. It’s always fun to meet readers.
Now let’s take a look around town.
WHS graduate named provost
A reader recently dropped me a line to tell me about an exciting accomplishment of a Wadsworth High School graduate.
Jeffrey Duerk, a 1977 Wadsworth High School graduate who has served as dean of Case Western Reserve University’s School of Engineering, has been appointed as provost at The University of Miami. While in that role, Duerk will also serve as the university’s executive vice president and chief academic officer.
The Post published a feature about Duerk back in January after he was elected to fellowship in the National Academy of Inventors for lifetime achievement and leadership in innovation and scientific discovery due to his work with MRI.
Congratulations Mr. Duerk on this prestigious new role.
American Blind Golf
The folks from American Blind golf are gearing up for their annual tournament later this month.
As always, this group is teaming up with the Wounded Warrior Project and American Legion 170 here in Wadsworth.
The American Legion will host the folks from American Blind Golf at their headquarters on Main Street June 22 where guest speaker Cindy Parsons, who is a caregiver for her son, will speak on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project.
On June 23 American Blind Golf will host the Warrior Blind Golf Scramble at Ridge Top with numerous Wounded Warriors coming into town to play golf.
It is always such an honor to meet these brave men and women who have sacrificed so much serving our country. The accounts of what they have been through are often heart wrenching yet seeing what many of them have overcome can bring hope to so many. I hope some of you have the opportunity to meet some of them in the future.
Contact me
As always, I look forward to hearing from you and I’m always happy to put submissions from readers in this column. Feel free to e-mail me at edean@thepostnewspapers.com or call me at 330-620-1067 to fill me in on an event your organization hosted, an accomplishment by a special person in the city or anything else you think our readers might want to know about.