Everyone is invited to honor our fallen soldiers and watch the Ravenna Memorial Day Parade from the porch of City Gardener & Florist at 329 N. Chestnut St. at 10 a.m. Monday, May 25. Enjoy free coffee and doughnuts as well as free parking. City Gardener & Florist has been in business for 32 years in the same location.
The Portage County Turns Purple Ceremony will be held May 28 at the Downtown Ravenna Pocket Park, located along North Park Way between Guido’s and the movie theater.
The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. and is sponsored by Homefront Heroes of Portage County.
Join local veterans, community members and elected leaders as Portage County is officially recognized as a Purple Heart County, an honorary designation granted to communities by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to recognize and honor the combat-wounded veterans residing here. Come be a part of this historic day!
The Vino and Van Gogh program was presented April 18 at Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna. If you missed it, you missed a good time, good food, live music and basket drawings. It was held to benefit Ravenna’s Art on Main event. Look for it next year.
Ravenna High School senior Connor Welling, son of Scott and Tiffany Welling and brother of Hannah, has played baseball during his high school career. Connor pitched his last game against the Newton Falls Tigers, with the Ravens winning 14-7. He struck out seven batters while giving up five earned runs in six innings pitched. After the game, Ravens head coach Lee Lovejoy told family and friends that Connor had broken the school’s 26-year-old record for stolen bases, while honoring each senior player with special comments. Congratulations to the seniors! What a wonderful ending for each of you.
The Portage County Historical Society brought elegance to fundraising to restore its clock tower with a traditional Victorian Tea held May 9 at the historic Yellow House in Ravenna.
“Our volunteers were looking forward to creating a Victorian Tea at the Yellow House that has been faithfully restored to this era. This was a chance for donors to experience a trip back in time and support a worthy community cause,” Angie Reedy, a PCHS trustee along with Susan Locke, said.
The 19th century Seth Thomas clock was housed in the old county courthouse from 1882 to 1960. Richard Whitmore of the American Clock Shop volunteered to restore the clock, which is now on display in the Carter House Museum of the PCHS campus at 6549 N. Chestnut St. in Ravenna.
The entire clock mechanism encompasses four levels and will be installed in the clock tower once much-needed renovations to the structure are complete, according to Deb Sunderland, PCHS president.
Considered state of the art in 1883, the clock was accurate to within one second per month when American railways established standard time zones and knowing the correct time was becoming a crucial part of modern life.
The clock stayed atop the Portage County Courthouse in Ravenna, keeping perfect time until the courthouse was demolished in 1960. Thirteen years later, the clock was officially installed in the Earl G. Proehl & Emmett J. Kline Clock Tower at the historical society.
Established in 1952, the PCHS is celebrating its 75th anniversary of serving the community. Visit www.pchsohio.org for more information on other society events and volunteer opportunities.
Catholic Charities honored Father William B. Kraynak, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, as a recipient of the Voice of Hope Award.
This distinction celebrates those who embody the mission of Catholic Charities through faith and service. It is a well-deserved award for everyone’s favorite. His foundation shaped his life. We will all be sorry when he retires. He had a packed audience at the Eastwood Event Center in Niles as many people showed up to wish him well.
Save the date: July 19. That’s when Guido’s Pizza and Catering of Ravenna is presenting a car show for its 60th anniversary. It will be a block party from noon to 8 p.m. in downtown Ravenna.
Open to the public, the event also will feature live entertainment, awesome eats and sweets, a cornhole tournament and children’s activities – all for Guido’s 60th anniversary.
Contact Angie Reedy at 330-297-7228 with your Ravenna news.
