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Your faces look familiar! Haven’t I seen you somewhere in Paulding County?

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe  beautiful.”

William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer , artist, writer.

Background on Arts And Crafts Movement:

Arts and Crafts was an international design movement that flourished between 1860 and 1910, especially in the second half of that period,^[1] continuing its influence until the 1930s.^[2] It was led by the artist and writer William Morris (1834–1896) during the 1860s,^[1] and was inspired by the writings of John Ruskin (1819–1900) and Augustus Pugin(1812–1852). It developed first and most fully in the British Isles,^[2] but spread to Europe and North America.^[3] It was largely a reaction against the impoverished state of thedecorative arts at the time and the conditions in which they were produced.^[4] It stood for traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often applied medieval, romantic or folk styles of decoration. It advocated economic and social reform and has been said to be essentially anti-industrial. Wikepedia.

Arts And Craft movement gains recognition in the U.S.:

From its inception in 1894 to its demise in 1938, the Roycroft community produced some of the finest hand-crafted(1) furniture, books, lamps and metal work of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The community reflected the Movement’s ideals of art and craftsmanship as instruments of social reform in its organization as well as in its products. The high quality and unique artistry of the Roycroft creations made them very popular. But it was the business acumen and charismatic personality of its founder, Elbert Hubbard, that made Roycroft one of the most successful artistic enterprises of the Arts and Crafts era.

The philosophy of using all natural and local materials for the construction of homes and commercial buildings was part of the Arts And Crafts movement. The movement was the result of the loss of the individual  craftsmanship  using  natural material.  This rebellion, as some would come to refer it, was the result of the coming of the industrial revolution with its mass production of  products.

Master Gardeners’ annual plant sale starts today, Friday, May 17, 2013. Location of the sale is at the corner of Kay Nora and North Drive, the red brick home of the Stoller’s.  Good variety and quality of flowers and vegetables.  Sale is in progress now so get there early to make your selections.

Looks like we’ve turned the corner on the weather.  Next 10 days with mid to high 70”s and overnight temperatures in the mid 50′s.  Time to plant your annuals and vegetable gardens. Several vendors in Paulding offer flowering plants, herbs and vegetables for sale. Let’s not procrastinate and later wished we had done some gardening. It is nice to get those outside chores done early in the spring so you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your work all summer and fall.  Make a list of what needs to be done, usually best to prioritize the list – start with items that are the easiest but will make the biggest impact on the appearance of you home, then proceed with the more extensive projects requiring more resources – time and money.  Some ideas, wash and repair  siding, paint trim, remove debris, wash windows, plant flowers and trees. This is perfect weather to fertilize your yard  and plant grass seed.

What is quality of life?

Quality of life (QOL) is a broad multidimensional concept that usually includes subjective evaluations of both positive and negative aspects of life.² What makes it challenging to measure is that, although the term “quality of life” has meaning for nearly everyone and every academic discipline, individuals and groups can define it differently. Although health is one of the important domains of overall quality of life, there are other domains as well—for instance, jobs, housing, schools, the neighborhood. Aspects of culture, values, and spirituality are also key aspects of overall quality of life that add to the complexity of its measurement. Nevertheless, researchers have developed useful techniques that have helped to conceptualize and measure these multiple domains and how they to each other. CDC.

Also would include sense of security, social interaction, and a general sense of well being.

One year ago, May 2, 2012: Today I attended the “Courthouse Crew Relay For Life” team last Friday held on the Courthouse lawn. I must comment that I am always impressed with how much money “Relay For Life” raises in Paulding. The luncheon had great attendance. I sat at a table with some good friends and enjoyed some good conversation and a delicious lunch. As I sat looking at the well maintained Courthouse and the surrounding lawn with the trees and landscaping, a sudden sense of pride came over me. As I looked at the view around the square from my vantage point, discounting the empty retail space and lack of building maintenance, and the brick pile, that sense of pride came over me again, the view I was seeing was coming from an envisioning, a mental vision of what once was and what now could be. The views of the architecture of the old buildings were impressive, you have to look closely at the architectural details to appreciate them and look beyond the needed maintenance of some of the buildings, imagine what they could be. I had conjured up this mental vision of what this downtown area could look like with some serious community pride, effort and support to create an environment to sustain, attract and support local retail businesses. The vision I had conjured up was that of little specialty shops, maybe a sidewalk cafe – might as well have what I want since it was my vision – with nicely maintained buildings, some restored to the original period decor, with street and sidewalk improvements with plantings. Lots of people walking, talking, shopping, just enjoying their surroundings, you know that quality of life thing. You need to go, today not tomorrow, to the courthouse lawn and sit for a few minutes and look at what a great opportunity we have, see if you see what I envisioned. Allow your mind to formulate a vision of what this town could be. Seriously, if we build a nice community they will come. Let’s start today with a commitment to work together to create a vision and see that vision through to fruition

.Today, May 12, 2013

I attended a noon luncheon, BBQ, sponsored by “Courthouse Crew Relay For Life”.  I had concerns about the weather, it was overcast and breezy – although it looked like it could rain anytime soon, the weather forecast was for thunderstorms to start around 4:00 PM in the afternoon.  We were there shortly before noon and it didn’t look  like many people were showing up, however as time past a small but steady flow of people developed. I hope they reach their fund raising goal. I sat at a table with some good friends and enjoyed some good conversation and a delicious lunch. As I sat looking at the well maintained Courthouse and the surrounding lawn with the trees and landscaping, a sudden sense of pride came over me. As I looked at the view around the square from my vantage point, discounting the empty retail space and lack of building maintenance, and the brick pile, that sense of pride came over me again, the view I was seeing was coming from an envisioning, a mental vision of what once was and what now could be. The views of the architecture of the old buildings were impressive, you have to look closely at the architectural details to appreciate them and look beyond the needed maintenance of some of the buildings, imagine what they could be. I had conjured up this mental vision of what this downtown area could look like with some serious community pride, effort and support to create an environment to sustain, attract and support local retail businesses. The vision I had conjured up was that of little specialty shops, maybe a sidewalk cafe – might as well have what I want since it was my vision – with nicely maintained buildings, some restored to the original period decor, with street and sidewalk improvements with plantings. Lots of people walking, talking, shopping, just enjoying their surroundings, you know that quality of life thing. You need to go, today not tomorrow, to the courthouse lawn and sit for a few minutes and look at what a great opportunity we have, see if you see what I envisioned. Allow your mind to formulate a vision of what this town could be. Seriously, if we build a nice community they will come. Let’s start today with a commitment to work together to create a vision and see that vision through to fruition. Look at these pictures and list what changes you see from one year ago. We have a real asset in the courthouse and the architecture in the buildings. We must formulate a plan on how to get  the commercial buildings  renovated , structurally and aesthetically,  to improve our town to attract businesses that will create jobs, that will in turn help resolve our loss of population and the ever increasing number of housing units for sale – not good economic indicators.

Many times I’ve  told myself, “Just give up, does anyone else care, am I the only one that cares, surely not.” Then I see the renovation of the Zumba building, the sandstone building that was the Paulding National Bank building,  and now the Old Jail being renovated and repurposed – then I get enthusiastic all over again.  I remember my wife Melinda and I attended meetings over 25  years ago, her more than I, along with a group of  like minded individuals that consisted of  Vera Miles, Louise Miller, and Jim Hooker ( the Paulding contingent) Sue Westendorf  of Napoleon, and Jamie Black of Waterville, and many others,  that established the “Fort to Port (US 24 Improvements)”  initiative. – Voila, took a few years, but there it is now. Another instance was probably over three years ago Ron Lane contacted Melinda about the Certified property knowing we had talked to him over 10 years ago, or when he was Commissioner about finding resources for money for cleaning up the property and putting in  a farmers market/green space on the property.  On a mostly monthly basis Ron, Melinda and Nancy Fessel met and then they were joined by Mayor White, the Village Administrator Harry Wiebe and Village Solicitor Mike Jones. The result of that group’s efforts are now being realized. And I can add that the park hopefully, as I’ve said, will act as a catalyst to create an environment to attract and retain businesses to the downtown and Paulding in general. These types of community based initiatives have  proven to be effective.  We need a group of like minded individuals with a common goal  to form a community based initiative for community improvement and development, of course some projects will require political advocacy since the village and county have the tool chest (legislative ability) to accomplish certain aspects. There are some financial funds, both private and public, available if requirements are met.

I just feel like a potter with a big mound of clay that I just want to form into something beautiful, but have no potter’s wheel to accomplish the task.

Stay tuned for more commentary on “How do we improve our community and quality of life”.

Celebrate earth day by making a list of things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.

Recycle, plant a tree or shrub, shut off light not being used, fix leaky faucets, walk or ride a bicycle for short trips to the store, conserve our precious resources for future generations.

Have a great day!

I want to preface this comment with the fact that this and other posts are not meant to criticize anyone – no  person should  take any post as personal criticism please.  We are where we are for whatever reasons and  must move forward immediately  and must not dwell on how we got to this point.  Only looking for solutions.

Here is another building situation. This is what we will call the middle unit  of the building at the North East corner of Williams and Jackson, back of building. This situation also causes safety concerns.  This building has  been uninhabited for many years.  You have read before that a building maintenance code has long been advocated and may have prevented this situation , but in this case it is beyond an average building maintenance code.  This is in violation most likely of ORC building codes.  Why do we not enforce the code by contracting a city like Van Wert or Defiance to provide the service and pay on a  per case/ basis with fees charged to cover cost of service. Building departments require a  technical staff  that is often too expensive for smaller communities to support  financially. Liberty Center (in Henry Co.) has arranged for nearby Wood County to provide the service. Liberty Center is smaller than Paulding and  is experiencing some of the same issues  as Paulding and they decided to do something. This situation is probably causing interior damage to the building and probably causing the other units problems, if not now, in the near future if not corrected. All three store fronts are part of the same building structure and  this unit will cause structural failures to the rest of the building if problems are not remedied.