Little is known about Kenmore’s transition from a village to a city in 1922, but one thing is for sure: Vern Christy had a part in it.
Christy, a Marshallville native who moved to Kenmore in 1909, served as a member of the Village Council during Kenmore’s formative years. “He was, in fact, instrumental in collecting signatures of the 15,000 residents of Kenmore required to have (it) declared a city,” reported Lee McCutchen, who interviewed Christy’s wife, Ida, in 1984.
But that was just the beginning – the beginning and the end – as Ida would explain: “It was just about this time that Akron came forth with their decision to annex (Kenmore). Kenmore’s Mayor Hollinger and several on the Village Council were much opposed to the ‘takeover’ and determined not to concede. The evening of the Village Council meeting at which the annexation papers were to be signed, Akron came prepared with subpoenas. When the first subpoena was served on Mayor Hollinger, council members Christy, Goetke and Jones and a fourth member ran from the meeting to forestall the signing of the annexation papers. The four were cited in contempt of court and the sheriff was sent to ‘track them down.’
Verne Christy did not go home that night, but at 3 a.m. the sheriff was there banging on his front door, demanding he come out. Christy’s son-in-law, Walter Edwards, answered the door and asked what Mr. Christy had done, ‘murdered somebody?’ The answer was no, but ‘they were out to get him, and would, dead or alive.’
The four were located, and still refusing to sign, taken to the county jail. Elmer Prentice went down to bail them out, willing to go to almost any figure to post bond for them. The judge refused to set a bond, sentencing them each to a week in jail. The four did sign the annexation papers, but they still served their full time.”
Learn more about the Vern & Ida Christy and their place in early Kenmore history at www.kenmorehistorical.org.
Ameer Williamson’s Alien Arts nonprofit exposes kids to the positive side of hip hop and the entertainment industry. (Photo courtesy of Ameer Williamson)
Young people who enjoy hip-hop culture will be exposed to the positive side of the genre during Minus the Alien, a hip-hop experience at the Kenmore Branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library.
Minus the Alien will perform as part of the library’s Sounds of Akron series, which showcases local musical talent. The event will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, April 28 at the library’s Kenmore Branch, 969 Kenmore Blvd.
Minus the Alien will be accompanied by DJ Dramatize & Holbrook Riles III, aka HRIII.
“When you say ‘hip hop,’ the first thing that comes to people’s minds is all the negative stuff, and that’s really not where it originated from,” he said.
The Kenmore library hip-hop experience will include a concert, storytelling and a history of hip-hop culture, Williamson said. Organizers hope the event will draw kids who attend the nearby First Glance Skatepark.
Hip hop began in New York City in the early ‘70s when a young man known as DJ Kool Herc set up dueling turntables in his Bronx neighborhood, Williamson said. DJ Kool Herc’s public jams for neighborhood kids sparked what is now known as hip hop, with rap said to have sprung from rhyming chants he used to encourage the “break-boys” and “break-girls” to come to the dance area as the music played.
That’s the spirit hip hop was intended to embrace, Williamson said.
“My messages are uplifting and motivating,” Williamson said. “And, you know, we talk about social issues in the music and things like that.”
Partnering with area organizations, Alien Arts also hosts hip-hop boot camps designed to expose kids to the fun aspects of the hip-hop culture, such as songwriting and mural creation, and to help them learn about careers in entertainment, from DJing to music production, he said.
A Hip-hop Boot Camp is planned for this summer, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, August 1 to Friday, August 5 at the Weathervane Playhouse in Akron, he said.
Williamson is also working on launching the Ohio Urban Arts Initiative, which is planned to bring together local educators and musicians to continue exposing young people to the positive aspects of hip-hop through programming in schools, he said.
“It all boils down to positive programming, is what I call it,” he said. “If they feel like the music is influencing them in a negative way, we can do the opposite as well.”
One hundred and twenty three years ago this week – on April 6, 1899 – the man who changed the way movies were seen forever was born.
In the early days of cinema, Harry Coulter Williams was living in Kenmore and working as a projectionist at two Akron movie houses: the Majestic (located in the Summit Lake district to the south of Downtown on S. Main Street), and the Norka (located on E. Market across from the Goodyear factory). Movie screens of the day left much to be desired and often times films would appear dim or dark to the viewer.
Williams himself described these early movie screens as “painted bedsheets” to the Akron Beacon Journal in 1966.
Ever the troubleshooter, the reels in the young projectionist’s head began spinning while he looked out at the dimly lit screen and he began to consider ways to potentially enhance the appearance of the movies he was projecting.
After some experimenting, Williams found what he was looking for one afternoon in 1925 in a canoe house along the western shore of Summit Lake when he tried painting a stout cloth with silver paint.
This was the day the “Silver Screen” was born and the movie industry forever changed.
Encouraged by the reflective properties of the silver paint, he decided to try it on the screen at the Majestic Theatre where it was a success – producing a brighter picture at all angles with top reflectivity at direct viewing and extra diffusion for movie goers seated in side seats and balconies.
Next, he painted the screen at the Norka Theatre and before too long he was producing his silver screens, which he branded as “Williams Perlite,” in Kenmore and selling them to theatres everywhere.
“Fox, Warner Brothers, MGM – they all picked up on it,” Williams’ daughter-in-law and former Kenmore High School teacher Jan Williams explained in an interview on Around Akron with Blue Green.
An early adopter of the silver screen was the Rakoci family-owned Rialto Theatre – located just down the road from the Williams Screen Company.
The Rialto Theatre had the first silver screen on Kenmore Blvd. The addition of the Williams Perlite, and an impressive marquee, enabled the smaller, 300-seat Rialto to stand out and compete with the larger 480-seat Boulevard Theatre, located just two blocks away.
Williams’ innovation extended beyond the silver screen.
In 1929, he started perforating his screens to let the sound of the first “talking pictures” through, and in 1947, he developed a vinyl plastic screen used to make larger screens.
He built screens and operated the Williams Screen Company on Summit Lake Blvd. until 1971 and was innovating right until the end of this life.
“He was experimenting with roll-up awnings for campers,” Jan Williams said. “If he’d lived longer he probably would have been in on that industry too.”
Harry Coulter Williams passed away at the age of 73 on February 10, 1973, but his legacy lives on today every time you see a movie in a theatre or hear the term “silver screen” used.
In 2015, the Rialto Theatre was restored to Kenmore Blvd. after closing six decades prior. While the contemporary Rialto Theatre is a music and performance venue (thought it does screen films on occasion), it pays homage to its movie house past and Harry Coulter Williams with a plaque honoring him in its ticket booth.
Last year, when the-nurse Lori Julien decided to hang up her scrubs to transform her “part-time passion into full-time work,” she never could have imagined she’d be part of a movement on Kenmore Boulevard.
Her shop, Marigold Sol, was one of 11 new businesses to open during the pandemic, one of five women to set up shop on the Boulevard within a 12-month span. But what she refers to as the “essential corner store” has quickly become a destination for anyone looking to buy a gift, take a class or pick up something special for themselves.
“Honestly, I’m surprised I did as well as I did during the pandemic,” Julien said. “Overall we’ve done really good here.”
While the business was new for Kenmore, it wasn’t an entirely new venture for Julien. She had operated a similar retail shop for four years in Wadsworth until the property she was operating out of was sold and the new owners had their own plans for the space.
After closing the Wadsworth location, Julien sold at shows and rented booth space at other storefronts, but continued to wait for the right opportunity to present itself for her to open new shop of her own.
Her chance finally came one day while she and her husband were walking down Kenmore Blvd. and she realized Dragon’s Mantle – which had occupied 962 Kenmore Blvd. since 2015 – had moved out.
Things moved quickly from there.
Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance Executive Director Tina Boyes put Julien in touch with the building’s owner, Julien signed the lease about a month later, and on April Fools Day 2021 Marigold Sol was cutting the ribbon on its new location.
“The support I got from KNA, the mayor, the media and the community, I was just blown away.”
Now a year later, Marigold Sol is in full bloom attracting customers with unique home décor, one of a kind furniture and frequent DIY furniture refinishing, painting and craft workshops.
It’s a favorite stop for antiquers, hobbyists and folks strolling the Boulevard at events like Kenmore First Fridays.
“I’m really looking forward to First Fridays this year, especially coming out of the pandemic” Julien said. “People are ready to get out. And I love the feel of the shop door being open, live music playing, people walking around.”
Friday, April 1 from 6 to 9 p.m., Marigold Sol’s hold its own celebration with a one-year anniversary open house event, which will include specials, giveaways, light snacks and refreshments. Marigold Sol is located at 962 Kenmore Blvd. in Akron and is open Thursdays and Fridays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and by appointment by calling 330-803-0419. Shoppers can find them online at marigold-sol.com, on Facebook @marigoldsol and on Instagram @mymarigoldsol.
Jason Chamberlain is a musician, recording engineer, and artist who has resided in Kenmore for over three decades. Over the years, you may have seen him on stage with a guitar, behind the counter at The Guitar Department and Musician’s Bargain Basement, behind the mixing board at Studio 1008, or behind the lens of his camera during events or out on walk. Jason currently serves as the official house photographer at The Rialto Theatre.
1.) How long have you lived in Kenmore and what brought you here?
I have been here for thirty three years – it has been the most stable thing in my life. I have worked at several locations on the Blvd including the Dairy Queen when I was a teen, The Musician’s Bargain Basement, The Guitar Department, and Studio 1008. I also have family roots in this town as my father and his five sisters grew up here as well.
2.) You’ve been a musician most of your life, what inspired you to pick up the guitar?
I saw Kiss in 1979 when I was six years old. I looked up at that stage and saw the lead guitar player and I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life and I have on a smaller scale. I have been on two different independent record labels and have toured all over the country.
3.) You’re currently working on an album of new music, tell us about that – and do you think Kenmore has any influence on the music you make?
I have begun a recording-only project that I’m doing from home where I – for the first time – have decided to do everything myself. In the past, I have always written with a band where others have contributed.
And yes Kenmore has a huge influence on my musical style. I moved here when I was fifteen and made friends with other guitar players who introduced me to underground metal. I was very impressed by this, seeing these guys in this small town who had their hands on the pulse of underground music.
4.) You’ve also engineered/produced recordings for other musicians – how did you get into that and who are some of the artists you’ve worked with?
It started with me being in a band with two other Kenmore residents (we were in our mid-twenties) and went to studio in Deerfield where I was very intrigued by the whole process and after that I started my own home studio. I have had the pleasure of recording some of Akron’s finest talents such as Angie Haze, Zach, Run Thomas Run, and The Living Deads among others.
5.) You can often be seen around the community with a camera in your hand at The Rialto, during Kenmore First Fridays, or just when you’re out on a walk – when did you begin taking photos and what drew you to photography?
It began when I was in the recording studio (Studio 1008 on Kenmore Blvd.) and the band I was working with asked if I knew of any local photographers. I told them I didn’t, but that my mother had a really nice expensive camera I could borrow. I took a few days to learn the mechanics and we came up with a concept and I took the photos for their album cover and the inner sleeve photos. I was surprised by the results, so I bought my own camera and the rest is history. This was also around the time I got into graphic design and digital art and designed the BLVD logo on the banners that hang from the light poles on the Blvd.
6.) What is your favorite Kenmore memory or story to share with people?
Some of my favorite memories are from high school when I’d spend weekends with my guitar player friends. We would jam, teach each other songs we had learned, and help each other develop. It was pure and wholesome fun and kept us busy and out of trouble. 😂
7.) Favorite Kenmore restaurant and why?
That is easy, it’s Regina’s. Amazing cheesesteak sub.
8.) What concert or event would you love to see at The Rialto Theatre?
I know it’s known for its quality concerts but I would like to see standup comedy. Maybe now with the Living Room at the front of the venue it can be something that would thrive there. We all need a laugh these days.
9.) As a resident, where do you see Kenmore in ten years?
In the past few years I have seen more progress than any point of my thirty three years here. I can only see progress continuing with the right people in place.
10.) What do you want the world to know about Kenmore?
There are good people here, people who are making a difference. They are making the change we want to see for the betterment of our community.
The Rialto Theatre to host to Hey Monea, Labra Brothers and 10 other regional favorites April 1-2.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit two years ago, Northeast Ohio’s performance venues went completely dark, leaving local musicians to either hang it up or hunker down.
For Akron-based artist Angie Haze, it was a bit of both.
Now, she and her band are emerging from the pandemic with their first live performance in two years and a new, edgier sound as they headline the Kenmore Spring Break Music Festival April 1-2 at The Rialto Theatre.
“I sort of had a meltdown when COVID-19 hit and my biggest coping mechanism was ripped away. We were faced with a global catastrophe and I had no outlet,” Haze explained. “It really made me question who I was and whether or not I should even continue making music.”
Ultimately, the pandemic forced Haze to look inward, and in May she released “The Great Pause,” an ode to the worldwide shutdown.
Now, Haze said she’s finally feeling relieved and excited to hit the road again.
“I am truly grateful and proud of the community and my band, and it means everything to me to be able to get back on stage.”
The Angie Haze Project is one of 13 artists on the bill for the Kenmore Spring Break music festival, presented by The Summit and The Rialto Theatre in Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood.
The music will kick off Friday, April 1 at 6 p.m. featuring full-band performances by Hey Monea, Indre and Shelby Olive on the theatre’s main stage. Alternating between acts in the Rialto’s intimate Living Room will be acoustic performances by Alex Bevan, Charlie Wiener and My Buddy Josh’s Band – all decades-long veterans of Northeast Ohio’s music scene.
Saturday, April 2 will kick off with a special 5 p.m. performance by the young jazz artists from Open Tone Music Academy, followed by Anya Van Rose and Youngstown’s The Labra Brothers. The Angie Haze Project will close the night, but not before Yankee Bravo’s Benjamin Payne, Reed Mitchell and members of Church of the Starry Wisdom fill the Living Room.
Along with the Rialto’s range of alcoholic beverages, organic tea, coffee and pastries will be available in the Living Room from Srina Tea House & Cafe. It’s all part of The Rialto Theatre’s drive to become Northeast Ohio’s most unique venue, which includes live album recording and an onsite recording studio.
“We’ve toured the country and our favorite venues are always the ones that feel intimate and offer that little something extra, something magical,” said Seth Vaill, co-owner of The Rialto Theatre. He and his brother Nate co-founded the venue after spending years as touring musicians. They launched the first Kenmore Break music festival in December featuring Big Pop and J.D. Eicher as a way to showcase the best local artists in one place.
“When it comes to recording and sound, we know what musicians like. And Nate is the best around,” Seth said. “We always pay attention to the room, how it feels, how it sounds, how bands experience the space. And we want the fans who come here to experience the same magic, from the coffee to the coziness and friendliness of the staff. We just want them to feel different and special here.”
Tickets to the Kenmore Spring Break Music Festival are $15 each and are on sale now. For more information or to purchase, visit therialtotheatre.com.
Akron Promise will host the Kenmore-Summit Lake Rock Me on the Water 7K this spring as part of the 2022 Akron City Race Series.
All proceeds from the race, to be held from 8 to 10 a.m. May 28, will go to the Kenmore-Garfield Stark State Scholarship Fund. The fund is available for up to two years of funding toward tuition and books for graduates of Kenmore-Garfield High School planning to attend Stark State College.
This is the fifth year Akron Promise, a nonprofit that that aims to assist students access educational support, resources and opportunities by facilitating scholarships and enrichment activities, has offered the scholarship for up to ten students.
“For many Akron students, finances are a major barrier to post-secondary education,” Tom Ghinder, Akron Promise’s founder, said in a release. “We believe all students deserve the opportunity for a post-secondary certificate or degree, leading to a satisfying career and quality of life.”
The route will begin outside Kenmore’s Rialto Theatre and circle the entirety of Summit Lake, including past the new Summit Lake Nature Center and through wooded areas of Summit Metro Parks before finishing on Kenmore Boulevard. Participants will receive a medal and enjoy strolling musicians and complimentary coffee, tea and pastries from SRINA Cafe.
This past December, The Rialto Theatre and The Summit FM presented Kenmore Winter Break – a brand new two-day indoor music festival held at The Rialto Theatre.
Hundreds of music lovers flocked to Kenmore Boulevard to attend the event which featured some of the region’s finest musicians and made full use of both the Rialto Theatre stage and the new Rialto Living Room stage.
The Rialto Theatre and The Summit have teamed up once again for Kenmore Spring Break on Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2.
“Kenmore Winter Break was such a success we decided to replicate the format in springtime,” Rialto Theatre co-owner Seth Vaill said. “It’s not quite warm enough yet for outdoor festivals to return, but the ice is melting and people are ready to get out of the house again.“
Like its winter counterpart, Kenmore Spring Break boasts an impressive lineup and includes some of Northeast Ohio’s most established musicians as well as some up and comers.
When Matt Zeiner was busy drinking sodas on the playground at Rimer Elementary School, he could never have dreamed in 30 years he’d be bottling his own beverages or starting a business.
“I first brewed beer in 1998 with relative,” he explained. “I have always enjoyed beer and cooking, so brewing is a no brainer for me.”
For the first decade, it was a hobby. Over the next 10 years, it progressively became something more. But it was when Matt and a small group of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance volunteers designed, built and operated the beer garden for the Kenmore Better Block that the lightbulb finally went off.
“That Saturday night, I was standing in the beer garden and looked over and saw Mayor Horrigan and my city councilman and I said, “Man, there’s never been a brewery in Kenmore.”
Matt spent the next several years perfecting his craft, joining the craft brewer’s association and learning from others. But Matt soon came to a realization: “I know how to make beer: I don’t know anything about how to run a business,” he explained.
Enter the city’s Rubber City Match program, which provides education, loans and grants, and location matching for Akron’s small business community. “It was great,” Matt explained. “I started at the beginning and learned from the ground up.”
But when it came to location, there never was a question where Matt’s brewery would go.
“The Boulevard is awesome and has a really cool small town Main Street vibe in the middle of the city,” he said. “A brewery can attract people from outside the community and let them see some of the positives of this area.”
It’s an area Matt said he is committed to for the long run: “I grew up in Kenmore and have lived here for 42 years and will most likely be here another 42 or more.”
Matt is currently a finalist in the Rubber City Match cash award program. He said a Kickstarter campaign will follow once that program concludes.
For now, he’s asking people to spread the word that Kenmore Boulevard will finally be getting a brewery.
“In a few years, I see the Boulevard being a great destination for craft beer, craft food and craft music, if that’s such a thing,” he said.
