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Miller: Holiday Wishes 2: River of Stars

By
Michael Miller
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Pat Dailey’s “River of Stars” is not a Christmas song, yet it lends its title to this year’s collection of local holiday music benefiting Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The “star” connection is obvious. Make-A-Wish uses a bright blue star as its logo.Toledo Free Press uses a star in its masthead (a tribute to the owner’s connections to Texas).
With two CDs containing 44 tracks, the river of local music stars is well represented. And the star is a shining symbol for the wish kids and families that benefit from the organization’s great work.
The song’s connection to Christmas is not as obvious.
This is the second year for the“Holiday Wishes” project and the second year Dailey and his manager Tom Brady have generously contributed a track.
Last year’s Dailey song,“Here Comes The Cold,” was a natural fit. Another of his few winter-themed tracks, “Here In The North,” is one I hope to include next year.
When I heard “River of Stars,” from Dailey’s “Squeaky Clean” collection, it immediately struck me as a perfect choice to set the tone for this year’s collection. It begins with a light, sparkling twinkle of sounds that segue into gentle guitar.
The first words Dailey sings may not have been written to evoke Christmas, but they certainly serve as a grand place to begin this year’s musical journey through the holidays: “I remember a night, so long ago/under a river of stars,” Dailey sings, with all the confidence of a master storyteller.
And while Dailey may have envisioned Put-in-Bay harbor when he wrote the lyrics, they could just as easily describe a special night in the Bethlehem sky.
The song seems to be about an earthly relationship, but it culminates in imagery that clearly paints a picture of faith: “And so I row, row, row my boat once more/Until I find you waiting on a distant shore/With outstretched arms and upturned hands/You lead me into the harbor and back to the sand.”
It is a spiritual image of hope and comfort that captures the feeling of Christmas without needing a single direct word.
Musical treasures
There are many surprises and musical treasures on this year’s CDs.
Jon Hendricks contributes an original song, “The Gift,” that sounds as if it could be found on a Frank Sinatra holiday CD. Listening to the track for the first time with Dave Mariasy at Audio Matrix recording studio was transporting. Music is mostly listened to through tiny earbuds, computer speakers orc ar stereos. To listen to Hendricks and a single piano through Mariasy’s high-tech studio speakers was akin to hearing music for the first time.
It was a revelation. Hendricks’ voice simultaneously weaves tensile strength with an aching fragility.
A new tradition
For Christmas 2011,Toledo Free Press produced “Holiday Wishes,” a CD of holiday songs performed by Northwest Ohio musicians. The CD was a 25-track compilation and raised more than $25,000 for Make-A-Wish. It was underwritten by Toledo Transmission and UAW Local 14, so every dollar raised, through sales at Panera Bread locations, went directly to Make-A-Wish.
Although Toledo Free Press had produced two previous CDs, one collecting historical recordings and one from a Toledo songwriting contest, neither approached the scale or complexity of “Holiday Wishes.”
The 2011 CD included contributions from such Northwest Ohio stalwarts as Dailey, Jamie Farr, Mannheim Steamroller, Sherila Fontaine, Candice Coleman, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Crystal Bowersox and Alyson Stoner. It also featured newbrecordings from Kerry Patrick Clark, Jeff Stewart, Kyle White, Ramona Collins, TAPESTRY, Chrys Peterson and Hepcat Revival, Voodoo Libido, Mighty Wyte and Jameil Aossey, among several others.
With tremendous media support from FOX Toledo, WPOS, 101.5  The River and many of our media friends, the CD sold out and even before 2012 started, we were thinking about a second volume. Rather than start in late July, as we did in 2011, the 2012 compilation process started in January. Lexi Staples gave us a copy of a track her father, the late radio personality Dennis Staples, recorded of Dr. Seuss’ “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!” That required tracking down permission from Random House Publishing, Warner Bros. Studios and the estate of Dr. Seuss. With all those rights now granted, it is a great honor to include that track on this year’s CD.
Another late performer is remembered as the Johnny Knorr Orchestra, led by Johnny’s son, Jerry, plays “Auld Lang Syne” for the 2012 CD.
Johnny died in August 2011.
LaFontaine has allowed us to include “Toledo, My Hometown” on this year’s collection. It is a contribution that raises the bar for all the participating artists. “Toledo, My Hometown” is a seasonal staple on The River, and it is an honor to have it on this year’s CD. The tune has added poignancy as we wish laFontaine well in her new city of Nashville, Tenn.
There are several artists returning from last year. Stewart and White perform a revelatory version of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over).”
The great Chip Davis allowed us to use Mannheim Steamroller’s “Fum Fum Fum.”
Coleman did double duty, singing “Santa Baby” with Chris Brown’s band and “Merry Christmas Baby” with Buck 69.
Peterson and our friends in Hepcat Revival cover Harry Connick Jr.’s “Pray on Christmas.” Voodoo Libido, Skoobie Snaks and The Wanna Bees all contribute rocking tracks. The Polka Floyd show took “Run Like Hell” from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and created a mashup that has already attracted regional attention.
VH1 favorite Tatiana Owens wrote and recorded a stunning new song, “Winter Holidays,” that could be played alongside any modern classic.
Local media veterans Jerry Anderson, Fred leFebvre, Mary Beth Zolik and Rick Woodell recorded dynamic readings on par with Farr’s interpretation of “A Visit From St.Nicholas” from last year.
We wish Zolik a speedy recovery as she undergoes treatment for cancer.
This year’s CD will include a number of exciting new artists, from young country singers such as Connor Rose to emerging rockers like The Sanderlings.
Not that every wish comes true; a few notable Toledo entertainers did not bother to respond to requests, even with a “no.” The Danny Thomas estate declined permission for a track, and Sony Legacy would not provide gratis rights to a Teresa Brewer track we were hoping to include.
But even with those very few disappointments, we still had so many quality submissions we had to start saving them for 2013. Great tracks by Arctic Clam, Krystal Monique, Mitch Kahl, Tim Ellis, Andrew Z’s Morning Crew and a few others are waiting in the wings.
The MVPs
The best news for the project was the return of three people who are behind the scenes, but integral to the process; indeed, without them it would not have happened last year and would not happen this year.
Christopher Stoll, engineer at Audioflare Productions at Zeta Recording Studios, donated studio time and his finely attuned ears to the project. He earned MVP status this year, recording tracks ranging from Irish folk to German choirs. Matt Feher engineered the CDs, ensuring the discs are produced to the highest standards. Larry Meyer navigates the legal and publishing issues to make sure every “T” is crossed and every “I” is dotted.
Special thank-yous this year go to GM Powertrain Toledo, UAW Local 14, WNWO, 101.5 The River, A&D Glass & Mirror, Levis Commons and Panera Bread.
All proceeds will go directly to Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana to benefit children in the 21-county Northwest Ohio region. Make-A-Wish development officer Ellie McManus is a dream to work with and is a constant inspiration and reminder of Make-A-Wish’s mission.
Toledo Free Press Sales Manager BJ Rahn has also been an invaluable help.
I am personally grateful to have strengthened some friendships and made new ones. I may never have met McManus, Clark or E.J. Wells without this project, and my life would be a bit dimmer without their creativity.
Summertime Project
The project has also inspired an offshoot. For summer 2013, ToledoFree Press will produce a CD of upbeat summer party songs for the American Red Cross of Northwest Ohio to use as a vehicle for summer safety information. If you are a local musician interested in getting your Beach Boys vibe on disc, contact me before we get too far into January.
Thank you again to every musician and person who donated their time and talent to this project. If you would like to see the recipients of your labor, join us at 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at The Blarney Event Center for our second annual “Holiday Wishes” benefit concert. There will be food, friends and a lot of smiling faces at the public event.
In the meantime, I am going to start working on convincing Ramona Collins to record “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” for the 2013 collection.

Holiday Wishes 2: Chrys Peterson, Hepcat Revival ‘Pray on Christmas.’

By
Matt Liasse
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Hepcat Revival's Greg Tye and WTOL's Chrys Peterson "Pray on Christmas" for the Holiday Wishes 2 CD for Make-a-Wish.

WTOL news anchor Chrys Peterson’s favorite Christmas song is Elvis Presley’s “Santa, Bring My Baby Back to Me,” which she sang with Hepcat Revival for last year’s inaugural “Holiday Wishes” album.

This year, she challenged herself.

To choose a song, she and Hepcat Revival scanned YouTube.

“We wanted to do something maybe that people hadn’t really heard of that much,” Peterson said.

Hepcat Revival vocalist Greg Tye chose “Pray on Christmas” by Harry Connick Jr., but with an added refrain from “Go Tell It On The Mountain” and musical elements of “Joy To The World.”

Peterson said the components give the little-known song a sense of familiarity.

“You’ll recognize a lot of different Christmas music,” Peterson said. “I think there will be something familiar to a lot of people in it.”

Both Tye and Peterson were part of last year’s compilation, but only Peterson sang. This year, they both provide vocals.

Peterson said she was unquestionably interested in being involved with the Make-A-Wish benefit project again this year.

“There was such a great buzz about this last year,” she said. “Just to know that you can spend a little bit of time having fun and making music and that that music will bring joy … Isn’t that was Christmas is all about? That’s Christmas in a nutshell. It’s about giving of yourself and your time to make somebody else happy. And that’s exactly what this CD is.”

Peterson has been involved with Make-A-Wish before.

“I’ve served on the Make-A-Wish board and have gone on a couple of wish grantings,” Peterson said. “I know the mission of Make-A-Wish is very important. These children and these families in one of the lowest and most vulnerable times in their lives find joy and get comfort by Make-A-Wish.

“It’s a very bleak time for some ofthese families,” Peterson said. “Sometimes all a sick child needs is just that little spark.”

This year’s track was a little harderto record than last year’s and requiredmore studio time, Peterson said. She said it was still easy to make the song her own, but the challenge was balancing it with her work schedule at WTOL11 and the band members’ gigs and rehearsals.

The song was recorded almost three months before Christmas, but that was OK with Peterson.

“I keep my Christmas spirit all year round,” she said. “I suppose you can argue about the commercialism of it, but it makes me happy when I see Christmas trees and lights.”

Peterson doesn’t have history with“Pray on Christmas” the way she did with “Santa, Bring My Baby Back To Me,” but she has other hopes for it.

“Hopefully I’m making some history with the song and people will like it and it’ll become part of my tradition,” Peterson said. “It’s a beautiful song.”

Holiday Wishes 2: Collins returns with “This Christmas”

By
Jeff McGinnis
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Ramona Collins contributed "This Christmas" as her offering to the Holiday Wishes 2 CD benefiting Make-a-Wish. Courtesy Ramona Collins

For soulful singer Ramona Collins, the holidays are all about family.

“For me, it’s just really getting a chance to hang with my family and do things. We have things that we do on an annual basis,” Collins said. “I’m not so much into buying stuff at Christmas and all that, but just getting to see people that you don’t get to see that much. It just makes it a special time.”

Contributing to a special fundraising project like “Holiday Wishes 2” has also become an annual tradition for Collins. This is her second year involved with the project.

Her contribution is a cover of “This Christmas” — though she said the song was not the first idea pitched to her.“Michael [Miller, editor in chief of Toledo Free Press] called me this year and he suggested [Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’], something to do with ice skating. And I said, ‘Michael, what else you got?’” Collins said with a laugh. “And he said, ‘Well, how about ‘This Christmas’?” And I said, ‘Well, that’s a great choice.’ That’s one of my favorite songs.”

What Collins didn’t know until later was that the song had special meaning for Miller, as well.

“Later, after we recorded it and he heard it, he told me a story about how his mom used to play that 45 when he was a little boy, and I just thought that was really something, because I’ve been listening to it for years and a lot of people that I know love that song.”

With a standard like “This Christmas” that has been covered many times, it’s up to each musician to make it his or her own. Before recording at Christopher Stoll’s studio in Holland, Collins and a group of musicians met at the University of Toledo Performing Arts Center to rehearse their take on the material.

“By the time we got to the studio, we were, you know, we were comfortable with the way we were going to record it. And Chris is so accommodating and so cool, I think we did it in like two takes,” Collins said.

It’s obvious from Collins’s voice how thrilled she was to once again take part in the “Holiday Wishes” project, benefiting Make-A-Wish.

“It’s always nice to have your music out there, but it’s nice when your music is helping someone like that,” she said.

Holiday Wishes 2: Cakewalkin’ Jass Band has a “Ball” with an obscure track

By
Brigitta Burks
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Cakewalkin' Jass Band contributed a 1920s jazz track, "At the Christmas Ball," to the Holiday Wishes 2 CD for Make-a-Wish. Photo courtesy Ray Heitger.

Many listeners will not have heard of the track the Cakewalkin’ Jass Band chose to contribute to “Holiday Wishes 2,” a CD project benefiting Make-A-Wish.

In fact, band leader Ray Heitger is counting on it.

Of “At the Christmas Ball,” Heitger said, “It’s a great jazz tune. Anyone who buys the CD will never have heard of it. It’s an old tune from the ’20s.”

“At the Christmas Ball” was recorded by famed blues singer Bessie Smith in the 1920s.

Heitger’s group has played old-time New Orleans-style jazz since its inception in December 1967, making this winter its 45th anniversary.

“Jass” is how “jazz” was traditionally spelled. The Cakewalkin’ Jass Band also famously played at Tony Packo’s from 1968-2001.

“I love [New Orleans jazz]. To me, it’s very much like classical music. It’s beautiful and powerful,” Heitger, who plays clarinet, has said.

Heitger said he also picked the Smith track because he wanted one all eight band members could be involved in.

Heitger’s daughter, Nicole, sings the lead vocal. Other members include Dave Kosmyna on cornet and vocals, Russ Damschroder on trombone, Betsy Grafing on banjo, her husband “Ragtime” Rick Grafing on piano, Jim Fagnano on drums and Bob Miller on string bpm ass.

“Ragtime” Rick organized Grugel-fest, a traditional jazz festival, earlier this year to benefit the Children’s Dyslexia Center-NWO.

Heitger said the group has also done other fundraisers for Make-A-Wish.

“We love to make music, so if it helps anybody we’re glad to do it,” Heitger said. “We always try to help out causes like [Make-A-Wish].”

Holiday Wishes 2: Folk singer conjures Great Lakes winter in ‘Lighthouse Christmas’

By
Vincent Scebbi
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Russ Franzen contributed his "Lighthouse Christmas" to the Holiday Wishes 2 CD, benefiting Make-a-Wish.

Folk singer Russ Franzen tries to capture life and the history of the Great Lakes in his music.

His song “Lighthouse Christmas” does just that. Inspired by the New Presque Isle Lighthouse in Michigan, Franzen said the slow melodic song describes what winter life would be like for a lighthouse keeper and his family in the late 19th century when shipping lanes would close for the season.

“The light keeper still had his chores,” he said.“He’d still have to keep up the light even though he didn’t light the lamp at night.”

Franzen said some of the chores required of the keeper and his family would include sweeping, cleaning, stockpiling food and making sure the house was winter-proofed.

“It would be like any other house out in a remote area,” he said. “You have to make sure all the repairs are made, make sure the snow isn’t coming into the lighthouse. The lighthouse service required that their light stations be ‘ship shape’ at all times, so a keeper spending the winter at the light station would continue to make sure everything was clean and in proper working order.”

Aside from his family, Franzen said a lighthouse keeper’s life would be fairly lonely, as he and his family would be isolated from the rest of society.

“It would have been lonely,” he said. “A keeper in that particular situation, their nearest neighbor was probably a few miles away and the nearest town was 10-15 miles away. In the time period I was thinking about, it might have been a twice a month trip to town kind of place, so they would stockpile food. They would have prepared prior to the winter for the weather at the lakes.”

Franzen, who has lived in Toledo for about five years and in Michigan for 35 years before that, said the song was originally off his album “Life is Good.”

He said he is honored to be a part of the “Holiday Wishes 2” album, benefiting Make-A-Wish.

“I’ve been involved in charitable work of one sort or another for a long time and I like to use my music for that purpose,” Franzen said. “This is one way of doing that and I am so happy and honored to have been asked to contribute. There are a lot of great artists contributing to this and to be a part of that means a lot to me.”

Mentor Longenecker nominated for national award

By
John McCartney
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Clint Longenecker, UT professor, was nominated for a worldwide leadership education award. Photo courtesy Clint Longenecker.

Although he originally enrolled at the University of Toledo in 1973 “to major in football and minor in school, as sad as that sounds,” Clint Longenecker has been nominated as a candidate in the The Economist search for “Intelligence Unit Business Professor of the Year.”

Longenecker is a 28-year member of UT’s College of Business and Innovation who is currently a professor of Leadership and Business Excellence in UT’s Stranahan College of Business and Innovation.

The award is sponsored by the Hult International Business School, an undergraduate and graduate school of business with campuses in Boston, London, United Arab Emirates and Shanghai, and was created by the EIU to identify the best business professor in the world. Voting began Oct. 23 and continues through Nov. 23.

Longenecker, with undergraduate marketing and Master of Business Administration degrees from UT, graduated from Penn State University in 1984 with his Ph.D. in business.

“I came back to Toledo after Penn State for about a year because I wanted to let the batteries recharge and spend some time with family and that sort of stuff,” he said. “And here we are 28 years later. Isn’t that crazy?”

Longenecker said “UT has been very good to me. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here.

“If you’re in a university environment like UT, you realize that the word ‘universe’ is one of the root words of ‘university.’ You have this universe of people, a universe of opportunities, a universe of interest, and a ‘universe of learning things that really makes it really a very stimulating job.

“At the end of the day … you know what I’ve learned? I’ve learned people care how much you care before they care how much you know.

“I have never had anybody take a class because I wrote the book. I have had people take a class of mine because they say, ‘I hear you’re going to help me be successful. I hear you’re going to know my name and you’re going to show a personal interest in me.’

“So at the end of the day, this recognition — I’m in an environment where we place a high priority on teaching. I’ve been surrounded by good teachers pretty much my entire life between a student at UT and the Westgate Chapel [where] I go to church. I’ve had some great teachers.”

Longenecker’s colleagues say they hold him in highest regard.

“I’m a pretty good teacher, but if it wasn’t for Clint mentoring me, I never would have won the outstanding teacher award,” said Laurence S. Fink, a professor in UT’s College of Business Administration’s Department of Management. “It never would have happened. I don’t even come close to Clint. He’s in his own ZIP code.”Longenecker is quick to deflect any praise.“You know what’s nice? This is a place where people take teaching seriously,” Longenecker said. “There’s a verse in the scriptures, in the Old Testament, that says, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one person can sharpen another.’ That’s what’s going on. You’ve got a lot of ironworkers around here who are sharpening each other up.”

Although he was nominated by a group of former students, Longenecker’s current students are some of his most vocal advocates for this award.

Edward Griffith III, a senior marketing major from Cleveland who is looking forward to a business career as the owner of a chain of show stores, said he has enjoyed his mentor’s kindness.

“He really cares about his students in life,” Griffith said. “He knows everybody’s name in class. Some teachers that teach here don’t know your name. They just know you by your face. And you can sit down and talk to him about anything, and he explains everything very well.

“My class with Clint (Managing Organizational Change and Improvement) is a two-hour long class, and it goes by so fast. He actually keeps our attention the whole time. Class flies by.”

Tia Robinson, an Entrepreneurial and Organization Leadership and Management major from Cleveland who plans to graduate in December, said she is actively promoting Longenecker’s candidacy among her classmates.“He gets to know his students outside the classroom,” Robinson, 22, said.

“Even when there’s an issue at home that maybe you aren’t so willing to talk about offhand with any of your professors, you feel comfortable with him.

“He introduces you to everyone. If he’s walking and talking with you and he sees someone he knows, he’s like, ‘Hey! Have you met Tia?’”

Trent Miller, 32, a married graduate student with one son and an active member of the military, was touched with Longenecker’s compassion.“My class started with him last January, and I went and talked to him outside of class,” Miller said. “I approached him and said, ‘Here’s my story. I’m not a traditional student. This is what I’ve been doing. I’m looking forward to your class.’ Normal, just a professional introduction.

“And he was interested in my family and how connected we were. He gave my wife and me his time, and he introduced us to the spouses’ club. We’re from the area, but we’re a couple hours’ drive away from where our immediate family is. So he gave my wife a way, with our young son, where they could interact with some other moms, meet some other people in the area. He certainly didn’t have to do that or open that up. I thought that was very, very generous of him to try to help us get engaged in the community, knowing our background a little bit.”

Miller said he is also tremendously impressed with Longenecker’s leadership skills.

“He is certainly a remarkable individual and on par with some of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” Miller said. “And I’m certainly thinking of my military commanders I’ve had in the past. Previously, I’ve been under a Colonel Promotable (an officer who has been selected to become a general but has not been formally promoted) who’s now a two-star general, and the types of things that I would see in that man I also see in Clint.”

Keenan Fischer, a senior human resource management major from Toledo who plans to graduate in May, said he is inspired by the way Longenecker handles himself.

“When I was a kid in sixth grade at Rosary Cathedral, I played on the YMCA basketball team,” Fischer said. “Clint was the volunteer coach for the Y. He was a great coach. We developed a relationship through that— the basketball program — when I was younger.

“When I got to college, I met him again. He remembered me from when I was 12 years old, and now I’m 24. The very first time I saw him — and I hadn’t seen him since I was 12 — was, ‘You can come by my office. I’m always here to help you.’

“That impressed me, being a freshman in college and having that connection with him. Even being able to come by his office. We just talked.He’d give me advice on how to handle situations throughout my college career.

“He’s been so helpful with everything; making decisions on my major and my career path, and introducing me to people I can network with now and network with when I’m a college graduate.

“This man was my coach when I was 12, and I never thought we would be the No. 1 reference on my resume.”

Liz Hussey, 36, a nontraditional graduate student from Massachusetts, worked in employee benefits in a human resources department before she took a single college course and relocated to Toledo in 2004.

Hussey said she enrolled at UT because she noticed that she failed to get the career advancements she had the experience for because she didn’t have a college degree.

Hussey said Longenecker is one of UT’s more valuable assets, and she would like to see him named as one of the finalists in the International Teacher of the Year competition.

“He’s just a stand-up guy,” she said. “He really just cares a lot about people. I think he’s been very fortunate. He has worked real hard for what he has ,but he really appreciates it, and he wants to help people who are maybe less fortunate. He wants to help people succeed in general.
“He knows that obviously this [award] would be some good publicity for the University of Toledo. And it’s going to be especially good for students that are in the College of Business.

“I’m a prime example. I’ve taken one class in undergrad, I have an independent study with him in my MBA, and I’m going to take a course with him next semester. So I know him fairly well. And so if he’s recognized like this, that’s going to get back to me as a career connection or even a talking point.

“I’m just really excited for him.I think it’s awesome that he’s been nominated, and I think he definitely deserves to be in the Top 10.”

Longenecker has received more than 40 awards in recognition of his leadership, teaching, research and service to the community. He has published three books and has two more in the writing stages that are scheduled to be published in 2013 and 2014.

He has also published more than 160 articles in academic journals.

Longenecker has held seminars and lectures all over the world, including presentations in Barbados, Haiti, Hungary, Russia and Zimbabwe.

He has also presented seminars to members of the U. S. military.

Voting online

Current and former students and alumni can vote for Longenecker by completing an online form. Once avote is cast, it must be verified via email before the 1 p.m. Nov. 23 deadline.

The  10 professors who receive the most votes will join five other professors selected by the judges for an interview. From these 15 professors, the judges will choose four who compete in a live teach-off in London where they will present a short lecture on a topic of their choice to two audiences: a live audience and an online audience.

After the presentations, viewers will vote, and the winner, who will receive the title of EIU Business Professor of the Year as well as $100,000, will be announced live.

For more information on the award or to vote, visit the web site www.businessprofessoraward.com

Pounds: Politics as Usual

By
Tom Pounds
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President Barack Obama, during his Nov. 7 victory speech, said, “Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual.”

It’s hard to credit that here in Lucas County or in Ohio, especially when it came to Issue 2, a proposal to change the process for redrawing state legislative and congressional maps and Issue 1, a proposal to revisit the state’s constitution.

Can it all be blamed on Democrats blindly voting a D-slate card?

Issue 2 throws a wrench in that theory given how hard the Democratic Party pushed for Issue 2. It failed in Lucas County and failed across the entire state.

The same goes for Democratic Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown— she lost in Lucas County and in Ohio to Republican Sharon L. Kennedy. Angela Zimmann could not muster a victory when it came to challenging Rep. Bob Latta.

It makes it almost hypocritical to thank those who voted the way we hoped on some issues, like TARTA staying in Spencer and Sylvania townships, when some of those same voters likely doomed our state to politics as usual when it comes to redistricting.

Lucas County voters approved levies for Metroparks, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Lucas County Children Services and Mental Health & Recovery Services Board of Lucas County.

I will point out, admittedly with self-interest, that despite the politicians’ emphasis on a cascade of TV and radio ads, every levy and candidate that utilized Toledo Free Press advertising as a venue to reach voters triumphed, something for political types to keep in mind for future election cycles.

It’s difficult to understand voters’ motivation this year, but it’s hard to deem the results a “call to action.”  It appears to be a call to confusion.

I’m sure the political analysts will try to come up with some scenario to explain all of this, but it’s hard to celebrate the overall outcome of what took place in our county and our state during the election. It is a mixed bag of successes and some epic failures.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. 

Review: QQ Kitchen offers spicy, authentic Asian cuisine

By
Dustin Hostetler
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QQ Kitchen set up shop at 3324 Secor Road, Toledo, Free Press photo by Dustin Hostetler.

I am a huge fan of funky Asian cuisine. I’ve had some of the best meals of my life in Chinatown in New York City. I’ve eaten things that no one should have eaten, and it’s given me a real taste for things way too spicy and way too fishy. One time I ate a pot of clams that were so off, my tongue felt like I had licked a battery for days.

Toledo has some terrific Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean restaurants. We now have a contender for best “Asian” food in Toledo. Long story short, they don’t serve just Chinese.

Our friend Michelle came over last week and brought some takeout from QQ Kitchen. I tried the sizzling rice  soup, which was light and flavorful with a nice shrimpy finish, as well as the black bean noodles and pork bulgogi. Both dishes were very assertive in flavor, and much more deeply seasoned than is typical in Toledo.

The next day, I picked up some take-out which is clearly going to be QQ’s focus and specialty. The dining room is small, and the kitchen way too fast and efficient to be concerned with just the small amount of diners eating in.

We ordered several things, all of which were delightful. When I got home, I took note of how well they packaged and bagged up everything. I ordered the spicy seafood noodle soup (minus the noodles) and the plastic container it was in was wrapped in a sealed bag and then placed in another double bag.

It was filled with a surprising variety of seafood and veggies, along with equal parts deeply red and spicy broth. Absolutely gorgeous.

We had crab rangoon (classic) and an egg roll, which my wife described as “a nice little pocket of satisfying yum.”

We tried the Mapo tofu, which I loved. As soon as I got home with the to-go, I grabbed a spoon and took a scalding hot bite. I felt it slowly burn the entire way down my esophagus. It burnt not only with the scalding, freshly cooked heat, but also with the delicious twang of Sichwan spices that are mixed in with the silky soft tofu cubes and ground beef. This place is not messing around. The dish is very spicy, and I yelled in delight as it burnt its way down to my stomach. I did not grab a glass of water. I let it burn all the way down. This is a dish I am going to order again and again.

Then … for me … the piece de résistance was the salt and black pepper shrimp. The portion was huge, with nine or 10 — head and legs on — giant shrimp. They were very lightly breaded (so light, you could still see the eyeballs) and deep fried.

These beautiful bad boys are not for the faint of heart. I suspect many people would be prone to rip the head and tail off and just eat the body. But not me. I ate the whole thing. All nine or 10 of them. Bite off the head and enjoy the flavor. Then I poured a little soy into the body and gobbled that up. Seriously a joyful seafood experience.

I stopped by a couple more times during the course of a week, as I could not get enough. The hot and sour soup is complex, with a rich variety of textures and flavors. I also tried the Gan Pan Chicken, which is deep fried with the bone in. It’s stir-fried in a Chinese garlic sauce. It’s an adventurous dish, as the chicken is chopped up in such a way that you aren’t immediately sure which part of the bird you’re eating. The flavors and textures in this dish are addictive.

During my four visits to QQ during the course of only a week, I bumped into and recognized many familiar faces. The word is out, and Toledo is excited. This two-generation-deep, family-owned restaurant has only been open since July, and it has been so busy that it hasn’t had time to throw itself a proper opening celebration.

It’s rare for a brand-new restaurant to find its sea legs so quickly, but this place knows what it’s doing. I can’t wait to eat QQ’s food again and again and again. After finding out they deliver to the Old West End, it’s clear I’m eating QQ every week for the rest of my life. Five stars out of five all the way.

Miller: Fast food politics

By
Michael Miller
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Voters practice politics in Lucas County like they approach the comfort food menu at a fast food joint. The relatively smart and healthy choices are usually ignored for less challenging options.

There was not one surprise in any Lucas County race this year. The usual suspects won, like cheeseburgers win over salads at McDonald’s. Sherrod Brown. Bob Latta. Marcy Kaptur. Randy Gardner. Michael Ashford (unopposed). Teresa Fedor (unopposed). Future Toledo Mayor Matt Szollosi. Barbara Sears. Pete Gerken. Tina Skeldon Wozniak. Julia Bates (unopposed). J. Bernie Quilter. Wade Kapszukiewicz.

Would you like fries with that?

It’s not that these are bad people; they are just easy options, chosen for comfort and familiarity as much (if not more) as for competence and results.

In the Lucas County Recorder race, voters chose Phil Copeland over George Sarantou. It is gracious and proper to congratulate Copeland, even as one shakes one’s head in disappointment. Under Jeanine Perry, the recorder’s office has stayed out of the news, a testament to its efficiency and competence. Let us hope its employees can compensate for Copeland’s lack of a plan for the office (“I want to go and be a part of it and I may have some ideas when I get in there,” Copeland said, a fair approach when talking about decorating a kitchen but a suspect plan for dealing with an important county office).

Even scarier is that Jack Ford is reportedly maneuvering behind the scenes to garner an appointment to Copeland’s soon-to-be vacated seat. There is buzz that Carty Finkbeiner and current City Council President Joe McNamara are working to help Ford make that happen. Finkbeiner’s days in government are over, but if McNamara is embroiled in moving Council backward with Ford, serious doubts should be cast on McNamara’s judgment if he is truly considering a campaign for Toledo mayor.

Sarantou’s loss was part of another stellar showing for the Lucas County Republican Party, a pitiful group establishing a legacy of epic failures and incompetency. The Lucas County GOP loses so often, it makes the Pittsburgh Pirates’ current 20-season losing streak look like a rousing success.

Making a ‘metafur’

My first-grader’s school was closed on Election Day to serve as a polling place, so he was going to work with me for the day. We left our house at 6 a.m. to make sure I could vote. Six-year-old Evan, who has been absorbing political commercials and propaganda, was anxious for President Obama to retain his job. Evan’s mom and I disagreed on this point; she is an unshakable liberal who eschews Republican candidates like she shoos away summer flies and I am a conservative-leaning moderate who tries to vote case by case. I voted for Obama in 2008 but have seen enough of his idea of “hope and change” to switch allegiances to the GOP candidate. As we drove to the polling place, Evan asked me repeatedly if I was still voting against Obama and I repeatedly said yes. My jaw, despite regular doses of prescription Motrin, still ached from an earlier double root canal surgery, so I preferred not to talk. But I wanted to encourage Evan’s interest in the voting process so I tried to explain to him why I was voting against his guy.

“This vote is more about you and your little brother Sean than it is about me and your mom,” I told him. “The country needs to make some major changes about money and planning so you and Sean can grow up to be what you want and be comfortable enough to have families if you want to. I believe Mr. Romney is more likely to try to make changes that will benefit you than Mr. Obama is.”

“You don’t know that for sure, do you Dad?” he asked.

“No, I don’t,” I said. “But voting is sometimes about choosing a person based on potential and hope.”

Evan was silent for a beat.

“Daddy, I thought President Obama owned hope.”

I laughed to myself and told him, “No one really owns hope. I voted for Mr. Obama last time but you were only 2 and Sean was just a few months old. Today, I don’t have the same faith in him.”

Evan and I arrived at the precinct voting station a little early and stood in line with about 50 people. The line moved fairly quickly and Evan stood by patiently as I filled the ballot circles and turned in my ballot. We both received “I Voted” stickers, which we placed on our jackets, and walked to the car.

Evan was quiet for a while, then asked, “Daddy, did you vote for President Obama?”

“No, I voted for Mr. Romney. Remember, I think that’s the best choice for you and your future.”

“It’s OK,” Evan said. “I won’t tell Mommy.”

“I think she’ll know, son,” I said.

“But wouldn’t it be easier to keep President Obama?” Evan asked.

“Easier isn’t always better,” I said. “In fact, easier is usually not better. McDonald’s may be more fun, but it’s not as good for you as making a smart dinner at home.”

Evan sat quietly for a few miles.

“Can we go to McDonald’s today?”

“Not today,” I said. “There will be too many voters there.”

“Why would voters be at McDonald’s?” he asked.

“Never mind,” I said.

“You’re making up a ‘metafur,’ aren’t you?” he replied.

I smiled. “Yes, but don’t tell your mom.”

“I think she’ll know, Dad.”

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. 

Craig’s Pianos & Keyboards celebrating 41 years

By
Toledo Free Press
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Craig Whitaker owns Craig's Pianos & Keyboards, a piano sales, tuning and repair shop in Toledo. Free Press photo by Joseph Herr.

When he was in junior high, Craig Whitaker tried to tune his parents’ piano.

“We had a piano that needed to be tuned, so I said, ‘Hey, I can do that,’” Whitaker said. “I did such a bad job, my parents had to call out a piano tuner to fix it. A few months later, I had an opportunity to tune a relative’s piano and did an equally poor job. My parents had to call out the same piano tuner to correct that tuning.”

From those humble, fumbling beginnings, the West Toledo native went on to become a registered piano technician and estimates he’s successfully tuned more than 40,000 pianos to date.

Whitaker opened Craig’s Pianos & Keyboards in 1971. The business, at 2902 Sylvania Ave., is the only full-service piano shop in the Toledo area. It offers new and used pianos, keyboards and organs as well as sheet music, lessons and tuning, restoration and repair services.

Craig Whitaker, owner of Craig’s Pianos & Keyboards.

To celebrate more than 40 years in business, Craig’s will host a four-day sale Nov. 15-18, featuring up to 40 percent off all pianos. Sale hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 15-17 and 1-5 p.m. Nov. 18.

Whitaker said one of the reasons he’s lasted in business is because he surrounds himself with skilled staff.

“I’m smart enough to know I don’t know the stuff I don’t know,” Whitaker said. “So I find people who do those things better than I do.”

Whitaker majored in clarinet performance at the University of Toledo and then apprenticed under Rossford piano rebuilder Paul Stewart. He said he enjoys restoring and repairing pianos because it involves creativity and critical thinking skills.

“There’s a series of approximately 40 steps that happen in order to make a piano key sound correctly,” Whitaker said. “When that gets out of adjustment, there’s some figuring to do on what to do first and how that affects the second thing, which then adversely affects the third thing. So you have to think it through.

“Some of what I do, there aren’t any books to show you how. We’ve had pianos come in here that have been in three feet of water where the bottom half of the piano is unglued. It’s simply a matter of looking at the problem and analyzing it and trying to be creative in an approach. If you think about something long enough you usually come up with the solution.”

No two pianos are exactly alike, Whitaker said.

“That’s kind of the beauty of pianos, is that each piano is individual,” he said. “A manufacturer can produce two pianos of the same size, model, type, quality and color, sitting side by side, and they can both be completely different sounding.”

Steinway is his favorite brand for tone quality, Yamaha for quality of construction and European manufacturers for cabinetry, Whitaker said — but an elusive mix of aesthetic features will draw him to a certain piano.

“If I just want to sit down and play a piano, the piano has to speak to me,” Whitaker said.

Although he is intimately familiar with their innards, Whitaker plays piano only casually.

“You could equate me with a race car mechanic that drives casually in his home car, but knows how to soup up race cars,” Whitaker said. “I’m not a race car driver. I’m not a concert pianist. I play enough in order to get a sense of what the instrument sounds like and how it feels, but I am not proficient. I’m not a performer.”

Whitaker has been Toledo Symphony Orchestra’s (TSO) exclusive piano tuner and technician for more than 30 years.

“Nobody touches Toledo Symphony Orchestra pianos unless Craig assigns them,” said TSO General Manager Keith McWatters. “He’s always delivered. He’s a good guy to have on the team.”

Whitaker is on hand before each performance to adjust TSO’s pianos to the artist’s specifications. A collection of autographs from the professional musicians he’s tuned for fills two large binders at the shop.

“They are playing technical, difficult music and need an instrument that’s going to react,” McWatters said. “That’s what we call the action, how the piano responds to the fingers of the person trying to play. In a 9-foot grand that mechanism has to be absolutely flawless. If there’s any delay and you’ve got 10 fingers going 100 miles an hour and it doesn’t react, it’s like a bicycle race where one guy crashes and they all crash. There are so many variables in the inner workings of a piano.”

Whitaker also tunes all of Toledo School for the Arts’ (TSA) pianos and has demonstrated his work to TSA students who came to his shop for a field trip, said chorus and piano instructor Jamie Dauel.

“They really are one of the only true piano shops left in this area and they provide quality service and quality work,” Dauel said. “They are very good friends to the school and genuinely support education and participate in the education process. I can’t say enough good about them.”

Toledo Opera artistic administrator and chorus master Kevin Bylsma agreed.

“His work and service have been top-notch,” Bylsma said. “We’re always satisfied.”

For more information, visit the web site craigskeyboards.com.

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