Open House

Every time that Alejandro comes for a visit, all of my friends want to see him.  We end up having a very busy social schedule, a whirlwind of dinner engagements with different friends almost every night.  This time I decided to simplify things by having everyone over to the house on Sunday.  (Actually, I don't know if "simplify" is the right work, since having a big gathering at my home involved quite a bit of planning and work!) 

I invited 35 people to my "open house".  I was checking the weather forecast daily, and keeping my fingers crossed that people could be outside.  Thirty five people all in the house would be a tight squeeze.  At first the forecast called for a 20% probability of rain, but as the week progressed the percentage rose until they were predicting a 60% chance of afternoon thunderstorms.  Alejandro and I set up an old canopy I had from when I used to do outdoor art shows.

Sunday began warm and sunny.  Alejandro and I went to the grocery store to pick up the party trays I had ordered.  My sister-in-law Phyllis and her husband Jim, and my friend Frank arrived early to help out with the last minute preparations.  Thank you so much for your assistance!!  By the time that the guests were arriving it was overcast.   The weather looked threatening, but fortunately we only had a few minutes of light sprinkles.

The party was a success, and I think everyone had a good time.

   Alejandro with my nephew Benjamin

Berea High, to Thee We Sing

 

 

Berea High, to thee we sing,

Laud and honor thus we bring.

Deeds of kindness thou hast taught,

With the knowledge that we sought.

Hail to thee, Berea High!

All our trust in thee will lie.

True to thee we'll always be,

Steadfast through eternity.

 

                                             - Berea High School Alma Mater

 

 

I am a proud 1970 graduate of Berea High School, a school which now longer officially exists.  The Berea School District includes the Cleveland suburbs of Berea, Middleburg Heights, Brook Park and a portion of Olmsted Falls (where I live).  There were two high schools in the district... Berea High School, and Midpark High School, which was built to serve the growing populations of Middleburg Heights and Brook Park.  For years the two high schools were sports rivals, and the football season always culminated in the Berea-Midpark game.  However, declining enrollment led to the decision a couple years ago to consolidate the two high schools.  Midpark High School became a junior high school, and Berea High School was renamed Berea-Midpark High School.

 

The original plan had been to build a brand new high school building and to sell the Berea High property.  However the tax levy to build a new school failed at the ballot box.  (I will admit that I voted against a school levy for the first time in my life.  I did not want to see my alma mater sold and probably torn down.)  After the defeat with the voters, the alternative plan of consolidating the two high schools in the old Berea High building went into effect.  So, although there no longer is a "Berea High School"... my old school is still standing under a new name. 

 

 

On Saturday afternoon, as a part of our 45 year high school reunion, we were given a tour of Berea High School...  I mean Berea-Midpark High School. 

The oldest section of Berea High was built in 1928.  It was called the "Million Dollar High School", and it was a beautiful work of architecture.  Several additions were added in later years.  The year before we entered the school as sophomores another addition was added to the front.  Unfortunately it hid the original building.  You might be able to discern a little bit of the old tower sticking up above the modern section.

(image from the web)

(This is what the original 1928 building looked like.)

 

This sculpture on the front of the new addition was a commissioned piece of original art.  It is called the "Tree of Knowledge", and it was very controversial at the time.  It cost $25,000... an amount which in those days would have paid the salaries of three teachers for a year.

 

 

(photo taken by another Berea High grad.)

Alejandro and I in front of my "alma mater"

 

 

Although there have been many changes to the building in the forty five years since we graduated, some parts of the building are much as we remember them.

 

 



 

 

A number of us in the tour group have fond memories of our biology teacher.  He was a fantastic educator...  one of those rare teachers who are able to make the class great fun but still make us learn.  We asked the tour guide to let us into his old classroom, and here we posed for a picture.  I am still in touch with him, and I intend to send him this photo of some of his old students who still remember all the fun we had in 10th grade biology.

 

(photo taken by Alejandro)

 

In the evening, the main event of our reunion was held at the American Legion Post in Berea.

 

 

It was a fun evening.  Only fraction of our graduating class of over 400 were in attendance, and I must admit that I did not have a clue who some of the people were (even after looking at their name tags).  But I had many nice conversations with former classmates, and even Alejandro had a good time talking with a number of my friends.

 

 

 

We'll do this all again in another five years!





Class Reunion - the Opening Event

I graduated from Berea High School in 1970, and this weekend the Class of 70 is holding its 45 year reunion.  When Alejandro was planning his trip to Ohio, I asked him if he wanted to come along to the reunion events.  He said, "Sure!"

Friday afternoon a small group of us got together at a local restaurant which is located in Berea's former train station.  The station was built in 1876 of sandstone from the Berea quarries, and it is a historical landmark.

My friend Gail and I had purchased ahead of time tee-shirts for the opening event of the reunion weekend, and I had also ordered one for Alejandro.

Here is our group in the restaurant.  Some of us still live in the vicinity, but others came in from Florida, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.

(photo taken by Alejandro)

 

 

After dinner, we went to the All Class Reunion, which is held each year for all graduates of Berea High School. 

 

 

 

The All Class Reunion is held in Berea's "Polish Village" neighborhood.  Two of the neighborhood streets are closed off to traffic.  There are vendors and live music (which unfortunately was so loud that conversation was difficult) for this annual street party.  We were lucky... although the forecast called for thunderstorms, there were only a few minutes of very light rain.

 

 



I need not have worried that Alejandro would have a good time.  Here he is teaching my former classmate, Heather, how to dance the salsa.

There are more reunion activities on Saturday.

Ohio's Downton Abbey

Yesterday Alejandro and I drove about thirty miles south to the city of Akron to visit Stan Hywet Hall.  Stan Hywett (Old English for stone quarry) is a Tudor-style manor house that was begun in 1912 as the country estate of F.A. Sieberling, the co-founder of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.  The family took up residence here in 1915.  After Sieberling's death in 1955, the family donated the estate to a non-profit organization, and it was opened to the public.

Alejandro became a fan of the British TV series "Downton Abbey" after I gave him the DVD sets of the first four seasons.  I joked with Alejandro and told him that he was going to see Ohio's version of Downton Abbey!

The manor house has 65 rooms and is very impressive.  Many of the furnishings are antiques which the Sieberling family had imported from Europe.

The Music Room

The Great Hall

The Dining Room

 The fireplace in the dining room.  Many of the fireplaces

in the house were brought over from European castles and mansions.

The Master Bedroom

The grounds outside the manor house are very extensive, and we spent almost as much time wandering through the gardens as we did inside the house.

A new feature is the Children's Play Garden.  It was a fun place for these two overgrown kids to take some silly photos.

 

Another new feature on the grounds of the estate is a Butterfly House.  There were numerous varieties of butterflies and moths as well as caterpillars.

On the way home we stopped in the picturesque town of Peninsula in the Cuyahoga River Valley.  We had lunch there, and Alejandro was very happy that the restaurant served home made root beer.  (Root beer is his favorite beverage when he visits the U.S.)

It was a beautiful sunny day... a welcome respite from the rainy weather that we have been having.  Hopefully, the weather forecasters will be wrong, and we will have more days like yesterday.

A Mexican Supper

Yesterday, the day after Alejandro's arrival, I invited my cousin Gail, and her husband Wes, over to the house for supper.  Regular readers of my blog might remember that Gail is a third cousin from the Swiss branch of our family.  Incredibly, even though we live only ten minutes away from each other, we did not know of each other's existence until Gail stumbled upon my blog and read about my genealogical research.  The last time that Alejandro was up here for a visit, October of 2014, Gail and Wes had us over to their home.  Gail prepared an early Thanksgiving dinner so that Alejandro could experience our traditional holiday feast.  I wanted to return their gracious hospitality, so I prepared a five-course Mexican supper for them. 

I don't often give dinner parties, but when I do, I go all out.  I spent two days prior to Alejandro's arrival cooking up a storm. 

The table was set...

I even printed up menus written in Spanish and English to place at each setting.

 

 

The "chef" was ready for the guests to arrive.

 



We had a long leisurely dinner.  To drink we had "agua de jamaica"  (see my earlier post) and sangria.  We started with an appetizer of avocado tacos.  Then came "salmorejo", a cold tomato soup similar to gazpacho.  (OK, I cheated.  "Salmorejo" is Spanish not Mexican, but I figured that a cold soup would taste better in the summer.)  That was followed by "fideos al chipotle"... Mexican noodles with chipotle peppers.  The main course was my specialty, chicken "chilaquiles".  My "chilaquiles" are much more elaborate than what are typically served in restaurants.  It's a bit like lasagna in that there are layers of tortillas, chicken in salsa, sour cream, and cheese.  For dessert I simply served vanilla ice cream topped with "cajeta", a Mexican caramel sauce.

My "fideos" were a bit mushy, but otherwise, I was pleased with how everything turned out.  Everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy the meal, as we enjoyed our dinner conversation as we moved from one course to another.  However, it wasn't until after supper that I realized that I had forgotten to take pictures of the meal!

Oh well, here are a couple of pictures of us after filling our tummies with Mexican food!

Gail and Wes are great people, and I feel so fortunate to have made contact with them... through this blog!!

Anxiety at the Airport

My friend Alejandro arrived for a two week visit last night.  His trip started uneventfully with his flight leaving from Mexico City and arriving in Houston on time.  But then in Houston he had to wait in line for 45 minutes to pass through immigration.  Then, when he went to the baggage claim, his suitcase was missing.  He waited about an hour, until his suitcase was finally discovered... it was in rather bad shape, and it seems that someone had tried to tamper with the TSA lock.  He then waited in line to pass through customs.  At this point, he e-mailed that in spite of the long layover in Houston, he had twenty minutes to get to his gate for his flight to Cleveland.  I had been checking the status of his flights online, and I wrote back "Don't worry.  Your flight to Cleveland is delayed." 

The flight which was supposed to arrive in Cleveland at 8:05 P.M. did not arrive until 9:35.  At was at the airport to meet him.  We always meet by the escalator where the passengers descend to the baggage claim area.  I waited and waited, searching for Alejandro's face among the passengers.  After more than a half hour I was starting to get worried.  Where was he?!!  I finally headed over toward the luggage carrousels, when I heard his voice calling me.  Apparently there is now an additional escalator at the other end of the baggage claim area... and he had come that way.  He had been waiting and waiting, and wondering where I was.  He called the house a couple times, and when he got no answer he figured that I was on the way to the airport.

I know that some of you are going to say that this whole incident could have been
avoided if I would stop being such a dinosaur and get a cell phone.  (Well, I do have a cell phone, but it's for emergency.  It's never turned on, and no one knows the number.)  I have lived my life very happily without being constantly "connected", and I will continue to do so.  This is one of the very rare moments in my life where a cell phone would have come in handy, but after a few anxious moments, everything turned out OK.
 

Jamaica - No, Not the Caribbean Island

Anyone who travels frequently to Mexico is familiar with "aguas frescas", the flavored waters that are served in market stalls and restaurants throughout the country.  My favorite "agua fresca" is jamaica, a beverage made from hibiscus flowers.

Fortunately, the Mexican supermarket in Cleveland sells the dried flowers, so I am able to make it here at home.  Today I made a couple pitchers of "agua de jamaica".

Here's the recipe.  Rinse one cup of "Jamaica" flowers.  Put in a kettle with 4 cups of water, and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and allow it to stand for 2 hours.  Strain the liquid into a pitcher (discard the flowers), and add 4 more cups of water.  Stir in the juice of half a lime and one half cup of sugar (up to three quarters cup of sugar if you prefer it sweeter).  Refrigerate and serve cold.

 

 

It is not only a delicious, refreshing beverage, but it is very healthy too.  "Jamaica" is rich in vitamin C, and it is supposed to be good for blood pressure.