You Know That You Are A REAL Barbertonian IF: You graduated from the high school that was built in 1915. You remember that anything you ever needed could be bought from Barberton stores. You wished everyone a Merry Christmas and never said Happy Holidays. You differentiate between being born in either the “New Hospital” (1954) or in the Weather Seal. (Hospital from 1915 to 1954). You remember when we had two F. W. Woolworth stores and two Isaly stores. (One of each on Tuscarawas Ave. and one of each in the Magic City Shopping Center). You remember when we had Halloween and Christmas parades in downtown Barberton. You remember that you knew Ike was President, but it would be weeks before you ever heard or read anything about him. Somehow not knowing what he was doing made you feel safer. You remember the smell of the hair salon in the Oneil’s on Tuscarawas Ave., practically knocking you down when you went in the side door. You remember that to get a good curbside seat for the Barberton parades you had to arrive no later than 8:30 am for a 10:00 am start time. You remember going to Akron on the bus with your mom at Christmas to shop and feeling really special. You remember when the Cherry Blossom Festival was held only on Saturday and in Campfield Hickman’s parking lot or in the parking lot at Magic Stadium. You can complain about things in Barberton to other Barbertonians but you are willing to fight with anyone from Akron who says anything bad about our town. You remember being allowed to swim, boat, or ice skate on Lake Anna. Now you can look at Lake Anna or fish in it, only. You still refer to Parassons as Tonyos. You remember that Tonyos still sold a large cheese pizza for $1.00 and a large pepperoni pizza for $1.25, in the early 1970’s. You also remember that Tonyos delivered pizza on a Cushman motorscooter. Your friend would give you Patrol Boy Passes to get into the Lake or Park Theatres and half the time the kid at the box office wouldn’t bother to collect the passes & you could use them again next Saturday. This made you feel really lucky. You remember all of the bars we had in town, and yet you always felt safe walking down the streets. You remember the Diamond Match, Ohio Brass, Seiberling, & Rockwell. You remember those great B&W picnics at Chippewa Lake and those great B&W Christmas parties in the cafeteria of the B&W Van Buren office building. You remember when the Christmas lights were on Tuscarawas Ave and not at Lake Anna. You still call PPG Industries, Columbia Chemical or simply, “The Chemical.” You remember when Urban Renewal and Saving the Barber Mansion polarized the town. To an extent they still do. You remember cruising the Varsity Drive In. You remember when Barberton had a few motorcycle cops who rode around on three wheeled motorcycles called Harley Servi-cars. You remember the manually operated elevator in the Marshall’s building, and how the operator would always stop slightly between floors and have to re-align the elevator before he opened the gate for you to leave. You remember driving up Hudson Run Road and having to hold your nose from the smell of the Chemical. You remember going to the Barberton Dump off Van Buren Ave. and having to deal with Tiny when you tried to take anything from the dump without paying him for it. You remember going into bars with your dad and being allowed to sit and spin on the barstools and no one bothered you. You remember sitting in public school and suddenly a new kid would appear who had recently been tossed out of Catholic school, for some infraction of their rules. You remember………………….. (Please tell us what you do remember about Barberton)
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 02:43:40 +0000
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