Akron Industry

The canal was the defining feature of Akron in its prime. The manual labor that building the canal required, and the commerce that it brought to the region when it was completed made Akron a truly great place to live and work. Even today, the remnants of these things that made Akron prosper are helping lead the city to prosperity once again. The towpath and the canal bring visitors to the area every day. The old silos have been transformed into a hotel-thing. The old factories are now something of a tourist attraction. The community and fellowship that was so strong during the canal era is being brought back in the new housing developments, and the community's new plan for the park.

Akron is not only relying on the past to make a comeback, but modern technology as well. The polymer lab was working on some fascinating, and in the future, possibly world-changing research, such as a cure for diabetes, and synthetic skin and bones. Akron is cool.

My 2 Cents

I have seen a few of you write about how Akron is working to re-invent itself a bit...keep in mind that this area WILL make a powerful comeback in years to come...why you ask?...very simple...WATER!!...the states that surround the Great Lakes have created a consortium and have put through legislation that has already made it through the House of Representatives in order to keep the water for these states...other areas of the country are already experiencing drought, just ask parts of California, Arizona, Georgia, and Tennesse...

..

As people have moved to these areas in search of a better climate useage issues have outpaced the infrastructure and natural resources...a few of these areas need their water trucked in daily...there are even law suits over what state has the rights to rivers, etc...for instance, who owns the water rights, is it where the river originates, or where most of it flows, or even where it ends...??(this is mainly in the summer months)...once again water will be THEE resource that puts this area back on the map...much like the canal days when water helped bring industry to the area, the Great Lakes will be at it again providing new "industry" for the area.

Remember, you heard it here first...

Industry Along the Canal

As I do every other field trip I enjoyed this one also. This trip was probably by far the most informative one yet.
I believe Akron survived as an industrial city along the canal for many reasons. Because of the Canal being located right along the city it gave businesses many opportunities for moving and shipping products to other places, without the availability of cars. While the city has fallen downhill they are trying very hard to bring industry back to Akron. One of the most thriving businesses currently is actually the University of Akron. Even though it is not really a business it is doing very much for the city as a whole. With the purchase of the old silos of Ferdinand Schumacker the university is also in the process of building brand new sports facilities with the last zips game at the rubber bowl last week. Projects like the north loft apartments that we toured bring money to the city. One thing that the city falls short on these goals is many factories such as Goodyear and Firestone are downsizing. Therefore losing money for the city.
While I wouldn't consider Akron a great city it far from just a city. Akron's industry benefits greatly from its strategic location. While having water transportation along the canal they also have the availability of trains. WIth the canal in its location the combination of CLeveland andAkron makie it a thriving corridor because it provides a direct route to lake erie. The one thing that Akron and Cleveland lack though is the availability ofa subway transit system. This system is very beneficial to the many other thriving cities in our country.
I enjoyed this trip and I am looking forward to the next one.

Akron Industry

Akron thrived on the Ohio and Erie canal because of its location at the "summit", a spot that once connected Lake Erie to the Ohio River. When B.F. Goodrich started his tire business in the small village the population increased by 200% and the land area went from 7,254 to 16,120 acres.

To rebuild it's cultural and economic success, the city hosts the National Hamburger Festival every summer, a tribute to Akron's role in the invention of the hamburger. Also, the Soap Box Derby encourages children from around the country to race their gravity powered cars down a steep hill. The Goodyear World of Rubber Museum honors the company that made Akron flourish in the early 20th century.

Akron has turned from the booming industries into a business center where many people make a living. I don't believe that it is just a city in the Cleveland area because it has its own history, however, they are connected by the Cuyahoga Valley's towpath and they do share some history when they were both key spots on the canal.

Akron cannot compete with other metropolitan centers because it lacks the ability to grasp people's attention. It has some areas of interest like Quaker Square and the Art Museum, but the overall brilliance of Akron left when the rubber industry declined in the 1970s.

Akron Industry

**I would like to preface this entry and just comment that I wasn't able to do anything before the Spaghetti Warehouse due to prior Saturday morning engagements, so I will answer/journal about as much as I can...

The city seems to be progressively moving towards economic success by the research and experiments done at the University of Akron. I'm not going to lie--a LOT of what the guy said went over my head, but as long as there ARE people that understand polymers and all that good stuff, I'd say Akron's in pretty good shape.

Akron Industry Trip

-- Cyrus Sethna --

Why did Akron succeed as an industrial spot along the canal? Most of Akron's growth in its early years can be attributed to being at the "summit" of the Ohio and Erie Canals. The history of the rubber industry and Akron's history go hand-in-hand. Rubber transformed the City of Akron from a small canal town into a fledgling city. Lots of rubber manufacturers started coming to Akron starting with B.F. Goodrich in 1869. For a while Akron, Ohio was the fastest growing American city.

Akron has taken many steps to try and spruce itself up again. The whole "Quaker Square" deal is a classic example. The hotel made out of silos is nifty, when my parents got married they put their guests up there. It's just a very neat place to stay with some local color. When I was little I'd always wonder what it was like to be inside as we drove past. I'm a huge fan of Quaker Square. It was an excellent idea to spruce up the former site of the Quaker Oats Company, but now it's not even a shadow of what it was when I was a lad. I'm really bummed about the largest model train display that used to be at the Depot but is no longer there.

These, "Ooh, come look at us!" attractions are examples of how the City (or people in the city) is using its history to boost itself a little economically. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they have failed completely; however, they aren't really glowing successes. I don't really need to point out why, just look around Akron. People aren't going to flock to Akron, Ohio to see where the rubber industry got its start or where Ferdinand Schumacher made a somewhat yucky breakfast food.

Akron was once a great City, but now it has shrunk considerably on the map. I wouldn't say it's just Cleveland's mistress, but it definitely doesn't have as much to offer as Cleveland does. I don't really see how Akron and Cleveland could interact more than they already do. They're two discrete cities with only a defunct canal in common.

What does Akron lack that prevents it from competing with other metropolitan areas? I don't thinik that this is the right question. The question is what does Akron have that prevents it from being on a level playing field? The answer is simple. There are too many poor minorities that are scaring the rich white folks away. And the few rich white folks that make it there get bored because there isn't really anything for them to do. There are only so many times you can go to the Akron Art Museam. The soap box derby is cool.

Akron Industry Trip

--Ashley--

Akron succeeded as an industrial spot along the canal for many reasons. For example, many jobs were created as a result of the commerce flowing through the canal. Some of those jobs were building the canal boats, guiding the boats through the locks, and loading and unloading the cargo. This leads to another important reason as to why Akron was very successful at that time. The canal was a great way to transport many goods faster and at one time.

Akron is slowly trying to gain back its economical and cultural success. Not only did they preserve some history by turning the Quaker Mills into hotel’s and offices, they also have the Inventor’s Museum, and Akron University has expanded which attracts many students. The Akron Polymer Science Building is also beneficial because they are helping expand the study of polymers to invent or improve things such as bullet proof vests. Another thing Akron is trying to do is to create as comfortable, and more suburban living place within the city limits. Most are near the park system where they are trying to connect the Cleveland and Akron bike trail.

Also, at my dad’s request, they have the Firestone golf classic.

Akron seems to be heading in a good direction so far, but as Anna said, there is still room for growth.

Akron and the Canal

The canal allowed Akron to be successful. It gave the people jobs and the resources were great. The city now is trying to rebuild things for a historic past. Like the interbelt night club that is going from being a gay bar to soon a jazz club.

Akron is a great place because of it's historic sites. Also helping Akron is the Akron University, which is home to many many students. Especially attracting many people for the polymer lab.

While Akron is a historic and great city, it definitely has a lot to do to be at once where it used to be. If it could restore itself to a better time, things would be great. Not just in the city, but also in the suburbs. Now when you drive through Akron one block a way from the loft houses are government housing. Akron is still today and important part of Ohio.

Tour of Akron

Akron succeeded as an industry mostly because it had the canal. The canal transported goods faster than any other method of transportation at the time and also provided jobs for the people of the area. Men had jobs building the canals and locks, cutting the stones, and building and working ships to use in the canals. There were plenty of jobs available. Akron also succeeded because of the tire companies that were started there like Goodyear and Firestone. These places thrived because they were some of the first places to make rubber tires and they somewhat monopolized the business. This industry probably could have thrived other places though too, like Cleveland.

Akron is moving towards a more communal setting with houses in a more neighborhoodly order. They expect young people in business to move in and the way the houses are set up, they are trying to create a nicer community setting with people on their porches and garages in back as opposed to in front of houses. Economically, Akron is getting more involved with Polymers by studying new uses for them, like enzymes. One thing they are learning how to create is polymer bandages to heal skin quicker on burn victims.

Akron is a great city because it is trying to bring people from all angles by creating a more community setting yet still supporting industries there. The polymer lab probably helps to draw in many students interested in the field and the city's history also helps bring people in, like the hotel that was converted from the quaker oats building. The Cuyahoga Valley helps connect Akron with Cleveland because of the many paths and the railraod that bring the cities togethor. People can travel to each city easily and see the beautiful scenery on the way. In the past, the canals have been able to connect the cities through trade and business. I honestly can't think of anything Akron is majorly lacking in, but it is not a perfect city and there is definately room for growth.

Google Tip: How to getter better information from the Net

Okay, so you're looking for some information for a school project, but having a hard time verifying the information you find. Here's how to tailor your search a bit better...

Use the 'site' command during your search. This will allow you to get information from, let's say, only reputable domains like .org, .gov, and .edu (both of these have been vetted somewhat, and the .edu domain can only belong to educational institutions, hence making the data a bit better). Here's how it works:

You want to search for information about fishing in the Arctic for a school report on economic growth. So you type in 'fishing', 'arctic' in the google search bar. That would return the following results: 8.6 million results, mostly about fishing 'getaways', resorts, etc. Now try this:

fishing arctic site:.edu <---- enter this in the search bar... notice the site: command

That gets us about 48,000 results, most of which are scientific in nature, and all of which are from an educational institution. Neat, huh?'

Okay, now try to find some reliable info on the current situation in Iraq, as reported by the government... (that's .gov) Happy hunting!

Quickie About Cyrus

So it has recently been brought to my attention that I am tragically misunderstood.

Our dear, fearless leaders, Mr. Testa and Mr. Johansson mentioned to me today that some of the seemingly caustic remarks that I make on this blog could be interpreted by others as being (gasp) mean-spirited.

I would like to take a moment to apologize officially if I personally offended any of you. However, in the future, please take all my comments with a grain of salt. Many of the suggestions that I make are pertinent and could actually be used constructively. My remarks, dripping with sarcasm, are merely intended to lighten up the concept of correcting my peers. As a blossoming young-adult, you should have a thicker skin than I should be able to penetrate with my tomfoolery.

Thank you for your patience. In the future, please keep this conveniently in the back of your mind.

Posting pictures to your blog entry...

Please attach a (1) picture from the Ride / Stan Hywet / Hale Farm (each) to your blog entry.

Simply go to the smugmug site, select the picture you would like to use, right-click, copy image location, then insert the image in the blog by clicking the image icon in the tool bar, then add an image from the web, paste the image location from smugmug, make sure it's set to small, and click upload. Done!

Don't forget to label your posts... You can even go back and label your posts after the fact! Please do so when you get the time...

Biking in the Valley

Leading my group was definitely a troubling experience. I ended up with several of the girls that were friends with Cyrus' group, , but they kinda ended up mixing together along the way. Anyway, I can not for the life of me figure out why those girls were there in the first place. I had one person have to stop and walk her bike for a short while about 3 miles into the trip.

None of them seemed to realize that they would actually have to be biking on this bike trip, let alone for thirteen miles. They all seemed to be under the impression that their bikes would just pedal themselves the whole way, and that they would have no problem getting on the internet on their phone and doing god knows what in the middle of the ride. The culprit in that particular incident ended up crashing into one of her friends, who proceeded to bleed from the leg and scream loudly. They refused to follow simple instructions that would do nothing but benefit them and the other users of the towpath.

A simple request like "keep it single file so you don't hit anyone coming the other way" was met with one particularly funny girl who shall remain nameless weaving all over the path just to spite the little authority I was attempting to gain over the situation. She crashed. I must admit that I was not unhappy to see her go down at that point, but I digress.

Overall, after the group was thinned down to the few that actually cared, the trip was very nice. The scenery was really cool when I had finally gotten the chance to notice it, instead of trying to get my group to follow simple instructions all day.

I would definitely do it again, because it was a really cool experience, but I would have to ask that I be with a group with a collective IQ of over 65. Fun times.

Valley Bike Ride

Biking through the valley was a fun experience, and being a group leader made me look at it a bit differently than I might have otherwise. I recognized some of the things I had read about in the pamphlet, though I sometimes couldn't remember everything I wanted to, which was frustrating.

I was in a very small group, so keeping everyone together wasn't really an issue...

Biking through the valley was very different than on foot for a few reasons. First, you obviously get a different perspective of things, and I felt I couldn't enjoy the beauty quite as much as I would've liked because we were going quickly on the trail (it was such a pretty day, though!).

Ride Through the Valley

Lienne Sethna's Journal Response

Leading my group on the bike trip was a fun experience. For the most part, they listened and followed directions well. I had them stop at every sign and had different members in my group take turns reading them and shared some of the information I had concerning what was just read. Some were faster riders than others and I think that was frustrating for them to have to keep waiting for the slower ones to catch up.

Since I had a rather large group of 8, it was harder for us all to stay together so some in the group went ahead and some were behind. I didn't really learn anything more about Cuyohoga Valley on the trip but the readings that were given supplemented my knowledge of the area and helped me educate the members in my group.

I enjoyed leading my group on the towpath and I hope that they all learned more about Cuyohoga Valley.

Fun on the Towpath

I thoroughly enjoyed the bike ride through the valley. I say to myself all the time how nice it would be to got take a bike ride, but I never get around to it. I don't know why but I do know that I will get around to it now.

At the bike ride having the opportunity to be in charge of a group was a fun experience. I can't speak for everyone but I had a blast with my my group. They made the day fun and not just another extra credit assignment. Lucky enough for me they were willing to work and they didn't complain at all.

Having prepared ahead of time by reading the maps increased my ability to convey information to my group. The Towpath Companion books we received are a phenomenal tool. They break down all of the different paths in the Akron area.

To sum up the whole experience it was a fun day and I enjoyed it a lot. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks to my group for making it fun and also to Mr. King who was a great adult to have with our group.

Bike Ride

My group was originally supposed to be combined with Cyrus's and Jeff's, but a couple of people decided they didn't want to stay with them. So we split up.

My group worked very well, I tried to tell them as much as possible, sometimes they didn't want to listen. I feel I had control over my group but wasn't as good of a teacher as I could've been. I liked being able to learn on something as simple as a bike ride.

Also, I loved the burn in my calfs for the rest of the day

Blogged by Evan

Stan Hywet/ Hale Farm

Touring Stan Hywet seemed so much different than just going through the gardens. Outside it was more beautification and inside was wealth. Which the family was very wealthy for their time. Time seemed so relaxed than. Now society is just about wealth, obviously the Seiberlings lived the best. They weren't very showy though. Also, families were huge back then. Families were big so most families could run things like a farm on their own.
Hale farm has decreased in size since it first was established and is still now, huge. The workers and family definably put a lot a work towards it. It was cool to see how people could rein act that. Our actor that we interviewed told our group so much about sour kraut that I didn't know that there was that much history.
Overall it was a great learning experience and should definitely be kept on the Valley voyages list of trips.

Blogged by Evan

Biking in the Valley

The bike ride was fun and good exercise. I thought it was easier to read up on the places in the guide beforehand because then I knew where I was going and could tell what different ares were (the place with the beavers and szalay's). I thought the timing was a little off and everybody got behind so it felt really rushed. Being a leader, I could help with the questions and get the other bike riders to look at their surroundings and read the signs. Taking pictures was really fun and the path was really pretty. Overall, it was something I would do again but would like to spend more time on.

Good Day

I thought the day was very nice...things ran a tad longer than I think was expected, but over all I thought our students were very involved in the day and appreciated the ride and the opportunity to do something a little bit different.
Kudos to all the students on trip...I think you all impressed other adults we came across during the day, thank you for representing Nordonia well.

Loman

Exciting Day in the Valley

My bike ride was very interesting. Leading a group was very fun. I do have excellent leadership skills. I was in student council at my old school and i am in charge of leadership council at Nordonia. I had a group of seven people. Most of which were my friends. For the most part they were well behaved. Before my group set off the one big thing i told them was to listen to me and to stick together.

The first few stops went very smoothly. My group did read the readings and they were very enthusiastic. the only thing with my group was the fact that they like to ride really fast. I knew that by the end of the trip they were going to be dead tired. At one point in our adventure we noticed this older gentleman following us and stopping with us. I called Mr. Testa to explain to him that we had a follower. At the time i did not know but a student later informed me that he was Mr. Testa's dad.

My group had a very high volume of energy so getting them to do stuff was not very hard. Also my group liked exploring to which was very cool because I was able to take a lot of interesting pictures.
This bike trip was a great way to learn about the valley. My group did have to do some questions but they enjoyed it. I also had a lot of questions about Valley Voyages and a lot of people seemed interested in joining next year. Overall the ride through the valley was a fun and educational filled day.

Ching Ching!

---Ashley Costello---

I thought it was fun to lead my team. I was very lucky to have a group of my well behaved friends. Also, I had an adult on my trip, so it was pretty cool being in charge of someone a lot older than me. The whole leader thing was strange at first though, since I normally seem to be a follower but in the end I enjoyed it.

I tried to keep the learning portion of the bike trip fun and interesting. Not only did I have my group stop and read off the little informational boards along the path, but I also pointed out some other facts that I knew personally. Of course though, this could only go so far and my group was starting to become, well, sleepy. Since we needed to stop anyways, and I needed to wake them up a bit...as we were getting closer to one of the locks I yelled “Car!” which in turn caused everyone to break and look around frantically. I laughed and said “Okay, so there isn’t a car here in the middle of the woods, but there is another lock!” Cheers to their good senses of humor!

I think the idea of learning about the valley by taking the small bike trip was very interesting. Not only were we able to get some fresh air and bike in some great weather (unlike sitting in school where every hallway has its own climate and take notes all day…) it was a fun way to learn. Also, everyone got to learn or better their leadership skills and got the chance to share our valley voyages experience and spread knowledge to others.

Ride Through the Valley

-- Cyrus Sethna --

What was it like to be a team leader? First let me start of by stating that I have been a class officer for the last two years and I have been a member of Leadership Council for my entire High School Career. I would consider myself to be quite well-versed with the ropes of High School leadership.

I am sure that there were some very successful groups and leaders that were able to make a very positive impact on their constituents. However, the group that I was designated to lead consisted of some of the most unintelligent people that I have ever had the misfortune to meet. The sole reason that they chose to come on this trip was for the extra-credit points promised to them by their mysteriously absent teacher. These individuals needed the extra-credit because they are inherently lazy and incapable of keeping up with regular class work.

I was almost entirely unable to convey any "expertise" to my group due to their lack of motivation and drive to do anything for themselves. I rarely lose my temper, and I found myself doing so on a number of occasions throughout the ride. This was really the only way that I was able to get through to this giggling gaggle of girls.

This was a horrible experience for me as a quality student. I came expecting to be able to better myself and learn something. However, I was dumped with the task of educating students, some of whose teachers completely failed to show up and take responsibility for. They certainly did not have the desire to learn, and I was completely unable to make any sort of impact on them.

I do not have time for other people's nonsense. I enroll in classes to make myself a better person, not to make sure that everyone else is too. It is my responsibility as a leader to help my fellow students, not to babysit them.

Stan Hywet and Hale Farm

I think the experience of learning from a first person historic interpreter was a very interesting experience, and I think I prefer it to a historical tour guide. With a first person historic interpreter, you see things more from the point of view that they people of the time saw them, which makes the experience much more genuine. A historical tour guide simply presents the facts in the same manner that a textbook would, instead of a real-life account of what actually would be going on.

Despite my preference for a first person historic interpreter, I believe that the method of self-discovery is a very good way to learn about places like Stan Hywet. It allows us to explore places that may or may not be covered on the tour, and draw our own conclusions from what we see, which I think is an excellent learning method.

The 21st century is not exactly hard to miss in a place like Stan Hywet, with the computers, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers sitting around in random places, and Hale farm has the obvious gift shop. I believe I would be most comfortable living around the time of the Stan Hywet recreation, since I am very reliant on modern conveniences, and Stan Hywet seemed to have a significantly larger amount of these than Hale Farm. In my opinion, not much is really worse now than back then. Technology has only benefited us, and we don't exactly have any more or less problems, just different ones. Things like medical care would be an obvious downside to living back then.

Things to think about while posting...

Please keep the following in mind when posting:

1. Use 'white space'. When composing a blog, keep in mind the reader. As such, the online reader does not wish to troll through heaps of non-paragraphed text in order to find satisfaction. Divide your writing with easy to read and navigate paragraphs. That means hit the enter/return key twice. Easy enough?

2. Check your spelling, grammar, etc. Use Blogger's features, and if not satisfied there, type your piece in Word or another program first, then copy & paste. Got it?

3. Label your stuff. See that box at the bottom of the post? Please enter appropriate labels for all of your posts so that we may group them later, or visitors can see all common postings. All you have to do is enter one or more labels, separated by a comma. Can you do it? I knew you could...

You guys are all doing great. Let's kick it to a new level! And if you have questions, please ask them... We're here for you to guide you along the way. Always available, always open!