I've never been to Ashtabula, but always thought it looked interesting "on the map", if you know what i mean.  Seems to be going through some hard times.    :|

 

Ashtabula: A city that cries despair

 

'Basically, we need someone to rescue us.'

 

Sunday, February 24, 2008

By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

 

ASHTABULA, Ohio -- The candidates don't come here.

 

Long ago, when rival gangs fought knife and knuckle to offload ore from ships that docked in its rowdy Lake Erie harbor, and even later, when chemical plants and factories paid good wages to soldiers who came home from war, this place mattered.

 

"Basically, we need someone to rescue us," said Jason Strong, the city's director of community development. Empty storefronts dot Main Street, shuttered plants hug the low hills next to boarded houses, and the city's population has fallen from 30,000 to 20,000. After three decades of scanning the horizon, city fathers have yet to catch sight of a rescue party, certainly not one riding a campaign bus.

 

...

 

More at:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08055/859990-176.stm

I really don't like it when reporters don't look up their facts.  I live in Ashtabula and the first thing I see wrong is that the City of Ashtabula has NEVER had a population of 30,000. The most we ever had was 24,500 (in the 60's) and even now we have a population of 20,900. Yes, there are business's that are moving out, but there are businesses moving in. Main Street is not dotted with empty shops. And even though there are 3 dollar stores I never see many people in them, I do see a lot of people at the Mall! I have never seen people leave their kids at Walnut Beach while they go to work and if it just started last summer then it is an isolated family doing it, he makes it sound like every parent is doing it.  If it is that serious then instead of driving them home he needs to call child protective services.

 

This makes me sad.. I am from here (actually Conneaut, right next to Ashtabula)

My memories growing up here are nice.  It wasnt long ago when it was a nice place with a lot of good jobs and neighborhoods, and the downtowns were still there, and yes Charlisles.....

Now I will barely ever go back, because it is just too sad and depressing. 

Of course today, the sprawl of yesterday is even abondoned, in favor of the new Wallmarts.   

 

I've been to Ashtabula's downtown, and Main Street is absolutely blighted.  It is one of the more ghost-town-like downtowns that I have seen.  The Harbor, on the other hand, seems to have been rejuvenated a bit of late, and Walnut Beach is nice.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think Ashtabula is in as bad of shape as the article claims (it's no Conneaut), but its downtown is severely struggling.

Ashtabula has a pretty interesting port area with some great buildings and steel bridges.

Wow, for some reason I always envisioned Ashtabula as a relative pleasant place on Lake Erie.  That's certainly not the picture that the article paints, which just makes me want to check the place out even more.

It's gritty and urban for a smaller city.  I like what I've seen of it...but their economy is in the crapper.

It is still interesting and pleasant on the lake, both in Ashtabula and Conneaut.  There are still many interesting houses and buildings from the good old days.

Conneaut Harbor is where the Hullet Ore unloaders were first used.  There is an amazing "look out" spot to see the harbor there and actually a pretty nice beach. 

Although many of the charming neighborhoods have become somewhat rundown, most of the properies and houses along the lake are still pretty nice.     

I've been to Ashtabula's downtown, and Main Street is absolutely blighted.  It is one of the more ghost-town-like downtowns that I have seen.  The Harbor, on the other hand, seems to have been rejuvenated a bit of late, and Walnut Beach is nice.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think Ashtabula is in as bad of shape as the article claims (it's no Conneaut), but its downtown is severely struggling.

 

When was the last time you were here? I can not find a parking spot in downtown when I go there. (To downtown) A few more store have opened up in the last 6 months.

^A great way to dispel those perceptions would be to take a camera and show us the Ashtabula that you're familiar with.

When was the last time you were here?

 

I was at the Army Navy Store (long story) in December.  It was about 6 pm on a Tuesday, and there weren't many signs of life.  I drove the entire length of Main Street to check out the downtown as I hadn't been there in a while.  I saw a lot of unused buildings and a couple pubs/cafes, but not much else.  When I went to parallel park in front of the store, there may have been 1 or 2 other cars in sight parked on the same side of the street.  I'm not trying to bash Ashtabula, I wish it all the best, but from what I experienced it felt like a ghost town.

I honestly couldn't find the downtown when I was in Ashtabula.  I found a commercial district parallel to the river there but I don't believe that was their downtown (and if it was, it was quite sad).

No that was Ashtabula Harbor.  Downtown you cant miss.......  Oh wait, yes you can. 

I honestly couldn't find the downtown when I was in Ashtabula.  I found a commercial district parallel to the river there but I don't believe that was their downtown (and if it was, it was quite sad).

 

That is the Harbor, which is smaller than downtown but, believe it or not, IMO more functioning.  Downtown is kind of hard to find...it's south of US 20, I believe it's actually SR 84 that it's on, Main St.

When was the last time you were here?

 

I was at the Army Navy Store (long story) in December.  It was about 6 pm on a Tuesday, and there weren't many signs of life.  I drove the entire length of Main Street to check out the downtown as I hadn't been there in a while.  I saw a lot of unused buildings and a couple pubs/cafes, but not much else.  When I went to parallel park in front of the store, there may have been 1 or 2 other cars in sight parked on the same side of the street.  I'm not trying to bash Ashtabula, I wish it all the best, but from what I experienced it felt like a ghost town.

 

You should try coming during the daytime. Downtown Ashtabula at 6 PM is pretty much the same as Downtown Cleveland at 6PM....A ghost town.

 

"You can't blame the little kids," Mr. Cantagallo said. "They're hungry. And their parents don't have the wherewithal to have somebody watch them. So they have lifeguards and a police department at the beach who in effect are watching their kids for nothing."

 

This is just sad.

 

But what about that passage on advertising for people from Appalachia to come up for the cheap housing and welfare?  That sounds like an urban legend to me.

 

(& I agree with Dffly...i was thinking it was some quaint lake port)

 

You should try coming during the daytime. Downtown Ashtabula at 6 PM is pretty much the same as Downtown Cleveland at 6PM....A ghost town.

 

Really mature, chief. :roll:

i have some relatives there, but i havent been since i was a kid.

 

btw it was named dropped by bob dylan in a song -- so it cant be all that forgotten or bad.  :wink:

 

 

You should try coming during the daytime. Downtown Ashtabula at 6 PM is pretty much the same as Downtown Cleveland at 6PM....A ghost town.

 

[Attempting to keep this civil]

 

I stated I have nothing against Ashtabula.  I am just giving my honest to goodness opinion from what I have experienced.

 

I am judging by the fact that (1) there weren't near as many storefronts or old buildings as I expected for a city of Ashtabula's size, and (2) the fact that the vacancy rate was astounding.  Of course I realize that based on the time of day there may or may not be more people around.  But I would challenge any Urban Ohioan familiar with downtown Cleveland to take a trip to downtown Ashtabula to make a comparison to see how laughably ignorant that statement was.

Folks, do not go down this road.  Stick with the Ashtabula discussion.

      I grew up in Pierpont, (only those of you familiar with AC know where that's at) went to grade school in Conneaut for 8 yrs and went to HS in Ashtabula (jam40jeff and I have discussed this on the sports thread). I have a lot of friends from those 2 towns and those of us that have moved away still have a hard time seeing what's become of them in our lifetimes. I'm 31 and I can remember the Carlisle's on Main in Bula and all the different shops and whatnot. Same deal in Conneaut; I can remember my dad taking my bro's and I up there when we were really little to watch the Huletts' in action. It's been a love-affair with heavy industry and waterfronts ever since.  :-)The closest malls were in Erie, Mentor, or Niles; at least 45 minutes away. The 'Bula mall didn't open til 92/93, I believe, sucking a lot of the life that was left out of both of those downtowns.

       Today, Conneaut doesn't have the business or population that Bula has, but it's currently much safer. Bula has gotten so much rougher in the last 10 yrs or so, it's amazing to me. Both of those towns still have some pretty decent neighborhoods up by their waterfronts; and if you ask me, any hopes of a Bula rennaissance will happen in the harbor, near the water, not on Main ave.

        My folks still live in Pierpont, and my best friends still get together in Conneaut over the holidays and whatnot, but the only time I ever get back to Bula is for a St John event; there's just no reason for me to go there. And it's depressing to see what it's become. I hope someday it can find it's economic niche, but there are hundreds of Ashtabula's all over the country.

For you history buffs out there, Ashtabula was once the largest coal-handling port in the world and Conneaut was once the largest iron-ore receiving port in the world. Ashtabula still ships a lot of coal, but Conneaut only does a fraction of the ore it used to since most of Pittsburgh's mills closed.

^Since you seem to know a lot about the history of Ashtabula, do you have any idea on whether or not the harbor and the downtown were ever two separate towns in Ashtabula's infancy?  They must be a good 3 miles apart, and seem rather disjointed (West Ave. between them has many 60s structures up near Lake Ave.)  I agree about the harbor having much more of a chance...there are some signs of rehab in the harbor, but the downtown doesn't seem as promising.

 

Also, do you have any idea what they're going to do with the two old high schools now that they merged and built a new one?

Well I know that they had two different highschools for along time (Harbor and A City, until I think '99?).  Wasn't the City High School right in downtown?  I was a Painesville kid and remember playing HS football right around the downtown.  Maybe I could be mistaken.  BUT God I loved Carlisles' as a kid!

Yes, Ashtabula High was downtown and Harbor High was on Lake Ave. right by the harbor.  Now they're combined and out in a field somewhere (makes a lot of sense).

I really don't like it when reporters don't look up their facts.  I live in Ashtabula and the first thing I see wrong is that the City of Ashtabula has NEVER had a population of 30,000. The most we ever had was 24,500 (in the 60's) and even now we have a population of 20,900. Yes, there are business's that are moving out, but there are businesses moving in. Main Street is not dotted with empty shops. And even though there are 3 dollar stores I never see many people in them, I do see a lot of people at the Mall! I have never seen people leave their kids at Walnut Beach while they go to work and if it just started last summer then it is an isolated family doing it, he makes it sound like every parent is doing it.  If it is that serious then instead of driving them home he needs to call child protective services.

 

 

Candidly, I've never been, but it's the calling area for one of my co-workers. Given the amount of commercial business that he brings in, I can't imagine it's the ghost town portrayed in this article. This sounds like a hit job by a guy that was looking to make a story about a ghost town, and Ashtabula was close enough, and was driveable in one tank.

 

This sounds remarkably similar to that garbage piece written by that French reporter allegedly about Shaker Heights.

 

It's not in my direct calling area, but I may take a trip up there next week just to see for myself the 'despair' painted in this article, although truthfully it sounds like I should go up there in the summer months to see the real activity by the harbor.

http://books.google.com/books?id=TP6KM_w06isC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=carlisle's+ashtabula&source=web&ots=4nZ0VKV3GA&sig=1T4m0eSj1xDXGXH45fsfpQRsVlU&hl=en#PPP1,M1

 

Page 70 answers my one city, two towns question.  They had a trolley operating between the two until 1938.

 

^Ashtabula is definitely not a ghost town...but its downtown is struggling badly.  The mall area by the Rt. 11 freeway has stolen much of the business (and looks like a mini-Mentor) as well as Saybrook Township to the west.  It is suffering the same fate as many cities, but does not seem to have the size or money to mount an urban renewal movement.  Granted, the harbor area has seen some redevelopment, but not so much in the downtown area.

So after I read that I contacted my co-worker in AC, who promptly contacted people he knows at Growth Partnership. They were all over this yesterday. This is their response:

 

Dennis:

 

As a veteran journalist (I spent 34 years in the newspaper business, starting on the editorial side and working my way up to the publisher's seat), I applaud you for your Feb. 24 story profiling the city of Ashtabula. The lead was well done and the entire story well constructed.

 

As deputy director of Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County, a private-public economic development organization, I wish you could have contacted my agency. I believe we could have helped you paint a little different picture of Ashtabula and Ashtabula County.

 

Granted, the candidates do not come here. However, our representatives at both the federal and state levels do spend considerable time here. And, we have been fortunate over the years to land millions in federal and state grants.

 

You note in your story, and rightfully so, that Ashtabula in particular and Ashtabula County in generally have issues. We certainly understand those issues and we are working hard to fight the good fight.

 

I feel it important for you to have the following information about Ashtabula County:

 

• Ashtabula County still maintains a healthy manufacturing employment, with 22 percent of the workforce holding manufacturing-related jobs. Ashtabula County is one of only three counties in Northeast Ohio (Medina and Geauga are the others) to have actually gained manufacturing jobs since 1990.
  
• Ashtabula County is the cradle of the plastics/polymer industry with MFG, Plasticolors, Iten Industries and Premix, providing thousands of jobs in the area and throughout North America.  These Ashtabula County grown businesses make products for the full line of consumer and transportation products.
  
• Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, now operated by Cristal, made its first commitment to Ashtabula County in 1991, investing $111 million. In the last decade, Millennium has made between $25 and $30 million annually in capital investments.
  
• The largest private employers in Orwell (Kraftmaid), Jefferson Township (Worthington Cylinders), Harpersfield Township (Nordic Air), Saybrook Township (Mohawk Paper), Austinburg (Save A Lot) and Geneva (Tegam) were not even here in 1990.
  

• Nordic Air in Harpersfield Township recently completed a state of the art 100,000 square foot addition and has grown from a couple dozen employees to more than 150 in the past three years.
  
• Plastpro, an industry based in Taiwan, decided on Ashtabula County as the location for its first manufacturing facility for composite doors in the U.S.
  

• Thanks to Growth Partnership, the Ashtabula River Partnership was formed in 1995. By the end of 2007, more than 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment was removed from the river.
  
• Kent State University Ashtabula soon will be home to a new health and science building. When finished in early 2009, the building, offering world-class facilities and state-of-the-art equipment, will be the center for the school's nursing and health care curriculum. More than $4 million to help cover the construction costs were raised locally.
  

• Our educational facilities continue to rebuild as Conneaut, Ashtabula, Geneva, Pymatuning Valley and Grand Valley all have opened new schools. More new schools are going up in Jefferson and Ashtabula.
  
• The Ashtabula County Educational Service Center and Growth Partnership sponsor a Mentorship program each year for high school juniors and seniors. This school year, more than 150 students are receiving a "hands-on" look at various career choices. Mentorship represents a unique partnership between the educational community and the business/industrial community.
  

• All school districts in the county continue to show improvement on Ohio report cards.
  
• Save A Lot picked Austinburg Township in Ashtabula County over sites in four other states for a major distribution facility. The facility now employs 170 area residents in addition to the 40 local truckers working for Hogan, the firm with a contract with Save A Lot.
  

 

I could go on but suffice it to say we are making progress.  Often times, however, our own cries of despair get in the way of tackling the job at hand. One person quoted in your story said, "You may want to keep jobs in the country instead of sending them to Mexico and China." That person should know Growth Partnership is leading the way for a Team NEO (Northeast Ohio) effort to attract more industry from Canada. Currently, we are working with two companies looking to relocate to Northeast Ohio.

 

A final thought, Mr. Cantagallo was quoted as saying, "we're dealing with people who want to buy things for a dollar. That is the standard by which they're living." Obviously, he forgot to mention Ashtabula County has estimated retail speaking leakage of $6 to $7 million per year. The parking lots at shopping malls in Erie, Pa. and Mentor, Ohio generally are filled with Ashtabula County cars. Thus, buying things for a dollar is not the standard by which folks here are living.

 

Again, I applaud you for a job well done on constructing the story. If nothing else, I wanted you to have the rest of the story regarding Ashtabula County. Attached to this e-mail is another response, this one from Joe Mayernick, executive director for Growth Partnership.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Ed Looman

Deputy Director

Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County

 

His retort to the article about Ashtabula City is to claim businesses are coming to Ashtabula County?  I don't think anyone is saying Ashtabula County is in despair.

And I know for a fact that the vast majority of the newer jobs are nowhere near comparable to the old jobs that are no longer there....  Like the Docks, Rail Roads, True Tempers, GE's etc...

I know this, since most of my family is still there, and I know the people that are working in some of these "new" jobs.  Lets just say that I send my family money for Christmas...

It's like southern Ohio. Replace industry that all but closed completely in the 1970s and 1980s with Wal-Mart, Lowes, Bob Evans, hotels... While you may have "economic development" spurring from the service industry, pay and benefits is a fraction of what it once was.

This is the other response from Joe Mayernick

 

Feb. 26, 2008

 

 

 

Dennis,

 

Thank you for your time and interest in Northeast Ohio, and unfortunately I do write in response to the Sunday Post Gazette article on the city.

 

Ashtabula County is the largest and most northeastern in the State of Ohio, with three cities, seven villages and 27 townships, with a population of 104,000.

 

The former economy was substantially based upon railroads, shipyards, chemical plants, and defense related industries developed in the mid 1900s.  At one time, the harbors handled 25 percent of the ore and coal for the steel mills in Youngstown, Warren, and Pittsburgh.  We were also the cradle of the sheet molded compound polymer industry with the original Chevrolet Corvette bodies manufactured here.

 

During the 1970s and 1980s the area’s economy struggled as many heavy manufacturing – steel, transportation and steel related communities did.  The private sector created the private development efforts which I now lead, to forestall a total calamity in the economy, and we began working in 1990 to maintain the jobs base, but fully aware that the economic restructuring within the U.S., the emerging flat world economy, the European Union, and adding Northern America Fair Trade Agreement would inhibit the work. 

 

As an area, the communities, government, schools, infrastructure, and workforce were all struggling to maintain, yet, modernize to meet the ever-changing marketplace.

 

At this point, I would report to you that we have not completed the tasks, but have made progress in most areas.

 

• In 1990, there was one vacant industrial park in the County, now there are eight, with three 100 percent filled, one 50 percent filled, and three recently completed and one under construction, with several thousand new manufacturing jobs.  Since 1990, only three counties in Northeast Ohio added manufacturing jobs … Ashtabula County being one  …; the region as a whole lost 206,000 manufacturing jobs in that period.

 

• We are now home to manufacturers from Taiwan, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.

 

• We are home to the most sophisticated, technologically advanced composite manufacturing plant in the world.

 

• We are now home to the most sophisticated, technologically advanced paper conversion facility in the world.

 

• We are now home to the most sophisticated, technologically advanced cabinet market in the world. 

 

We have diversified the economy by adding paper, building products, composite

doors, composite columns, exterior lighting, cabinets, electronics, and adverse air handling equipment to the mix.

 

When a power plant was shut down and potentially the water intake system which supplied process water to eight manufacturing plants, we structured a deal to buy the power plant, saving 885 jobs and $60,000,000 in annual payroll.

 

Granted, the retail sector has lagged behind, but the construction of the regional mall in 1993 further impacted the traditional downtown retail markets, but did not reduce the exit of retail dollars to Youngstown/Warren, Erie and Cleveland suburbs which border us.

 

The tourism industry has grown exponentially, over 5,000 people are employed in the nearly $300 million industry, in the hotels, lodges, shops, golf courses, and 21 wineries (18 of which are new).

 

Dramatic changes in the school systems have happened, all but one of the seven public systems have or are in the process, of building 100 percent new schools (high schools, elementary and middle).  Test scores are up, the state report card on the school systems have shown substantial improvement with none rated below a “continuous improvement” level.

 

The high school attainment rates have grown and so have the college entrance rates, which exceed 40 percent.

 

The poverty rates are still too high, but the presence of the availability of jobs does not correct educational attainment levels, social challenges, personal issues, and any combination thereof.

 

We’ve been innovative in many ways because of the large nature of our geography, the lack of availability of large tax bases, and revenue streams to build wastewater, potable water lines, roads, highways, and other infrastructure, so we’ve had to marry federal and state funds, along with foundation and private sources to build several hundred million dollars of infrastructure and industrial sites. 

 

The County is large … in Orwell Village where 1,500 people live, over 2,000 manufacturing jobs have been added in the last ten years … the largest industrial employer, Kraftmaid (1,000 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs) was not here in 1990; the largest manufacturing employers in Conneaut (CW Ohio); Jefferson (Worthington Cylinders); Harperfield (Nordic Air): Austinburg (Save-A-Lot Distribution Center); Saybrook (Mohawk Find Papers) and Geneva (Tegam) were not here in 1990.

 

The path to recovery is not short … we did not get here overnight and we will not be completely successful for some time to come.

 

There are communities in the County where no homes have been built for several years and others where nearly $1 million homes are the norm.  The County is diverse.  The problems are diverse.  And, the responses are going to be diverse, coming at different times and opportunities.

 

Thank you for your time.  I appreciate the quality of the story that was done, but hope to be able to share “the rest of the story” with you.

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

Joseph W. Mayernick

Executive Director

Growth Partnership For Ashtabula County

 

 

I think the goal of the response was to provide a balanced portrayal of what is going on in the county. When a reporter paints an almost Dickensonian portrayal of your town/region, I think you're obligated to respond with the positive activities that are occurring, even if they aren't as positive as one would like.

I agree...

^Since you seem to know a lot about the history of Ashtabula, do you have any idea on whether or not the harbor and the downtown were ever two separate towns in Ashtabula's infancy?  They must be a good 3 miles apart, and seem rather disjointed (West Ave. between them has many 60s structures up near Lake Ave.)  I agree about the harbor having much more of a chance...there are some signs of rehab in the harbor, but the downtown doesn't seem as promising.

 

Also, do you have any idea what they're going to do with the two old high schools now that they merged and built a new one?

^The Harbor and downtown grew up seperately, although they were in the same municipality; AH developed around the shipping industry and the sailors who came in--Bridge St was a very rough 'hood at the turn of the century (brothels, saloons, etc) the neighborhoods around the Harbor were heavily Finnish (Conneaut & Fairport also have sizable Finnish population's) and Italian (dockworkers) while downtown Bula developed along a more traditional 'Main St USA' pattern. Imagine Fairport Harbor and downtown Painesville; an almost identical geographic and economic layout/history, except FH has remained a village unto itself.

       As for the remaining HS's, now that the new 'Lakeside' high and jr high have been built out in Saybrook township, the old Harbor hs and Bula hs are empty. Harbor was serving as the 9th grade bldg and Bula was 'Lakeside' high. Last I heard, some developer had expressed interest in the old Harbor bldg, otherwise it was slated for demo. I don't know what's going on with the old Bula high. Right now, St John is the only hs left in the city of Ashtabula.

     I'm actually headed back to Pierpont & Conneaut tonight; if I had a digital camera I'd take some shots and post 'em. :-(

Do you have family in Conneaut then?  What school did you go to there?

Wow -- all I can say is wow.  I grew up in Ashtabula and, since I left for college in the early 1980s, I only return now to see my dear parents and for funerals.

 

I've lived in great cities of urban renewal -- from Indianapolis to Chicago to Atlanta -- and, while I am certianly no expert, I can most-assuredly blush when I read the comments from the urban development guy posted below.  What's sad is that probably many Ashtabulans believe all the statistics -- 90% this and world class that.

 

Ashtabula is dying a slow, painful death.  "Downtown" Ashtabula is dead.  Bridge Street is dead.  East 46th street is dead.  West Avenue is dead.  Its not like "spring" where signs of life are patiently waiting for the sun to warm the ground so lives can blossom anew; Ashtabula, sadly, is more like "fall" where once vibant lives wait patiently for an eternal winter.

 

Across the country, there are other towns of Ashtabula's size and rich history that are earning a rebirth, but their economies -- as stated below -- aren't built upon the minimum wages paid at Wal-Mart, Bob Evans, and Carlisle's.  Ooops, no more Carlisles...

Do you have family in Conneaut then?  What school did you go to there?

^I don't have any family in Conneaut--my parents live in Pierpont, just south of there; my 2 best friends are from there and their families still live there, not to mention my brothers' friends. I still keep up with a lot of people there. I went to St Frances Cabrini grade school in town, which closed several years ago due to declining enrollment. When there once used to be 2 Catholic parishes with their own schools as recently as the late 70's, now the parishes have merged and both schools are gone. It's the same sad story in little towns like this all over the country.

I've been to Ashtabula's downtown, and Main Street is absolutely blighted.  It is one of the more ghost-town-like downtowns that I have seen.  The Harbor, on the other hand, seems to have been rejuvenated a bit of late, and Walnut Beach is nice.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think Ashtabula is in as bad of shape as the article claims (it's no Conneaut), but its downtown is severely struggling.

 

When was the last time you were here? I can not find a parking spot in downtown when I go there. (To downtown) A few more store have opened up in the last 6 months.

 

 

Parking is readily available at the abondoned, 4-story (N)Arrowhead Parking deck, built on the corner of main and W 46th in the late 70s...

... the neighborhoods around the Harbor were heavily Finnish (Conneaut & Fairport also have sizable Finnish population's) and Italian (dockworkers)...

 

This is really interesting to know, and makes me wonder...

 

Since these ports probably had a strong shipping connection with the Upper Penninsula, and the Finns and Italians are the dominant (European) ethnic groups up there you'd have to speculate if there was some ethnic connection between the via the ore trade on the Lakes.

 

 

They are so broke, that at one time they had a metal detector in the court house, but could not afford anyone to man the thing!  I have not been there lately, but if you read their newspaper forum, all they do is bash people.  They have teachers there who have criminal records and still are teaching at the vo-ed, crazy, they will fight each other on anything.  No respect!

They are so broke, that at one time they had a metal detector in the court house, but could not afford anyone to man the thing!  I have not been there lately, but if you read their newspaper forum, all they do is bash people.  They have teachers there who have criminal records and still are teaching at the vo-ed, crazy, they will fight each other on anything.  No respect!

 

As of early January of THIS year, I went to the court house and they had TWO people manning the metal detector.

Mr. Carlisle, and his wife, Toni, run a small store. Decades ago, Mr. Carlisle's family ran 14 stores -- department stores. Today, what had been the home store, is vacant along Main Street, :x years after the family sold the chain.

 

 

One of Mr. Carlisle's major concerns is the educational level of the workforce here. Roughly three-quarters have gone only as far as high school. Sixty percent are classified as unskilled, a legacy he says, of the good times, when unskilled laborers could land good-paying factory jobs. With the factories closed, the population declining, and the tax base eroding, it's hard to cover the costs needed to train and educate.

 

"We need to reinvent ourselves," said Mrs. Carlisle. "We need a vision of our place in the new economy."

 

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

 

It was Ren's desire to have a "mega" store chain that destroyed Carlisles' and nothing else. The store had a good/loyal following of customers but the expansion plans of the '80's are what caused its downfall. Grandfather and father Carlisle must be turning in their graves at that mismanagement by sonny boy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always find it so ironic that towns like these are so "poor" yet they can afford to have a car to drive everywhere. Leadership in towns like these is severely lacking.

Thread has been renamed to "Developments and news" since there was no central thread for this.

 

Heritage Ohio spearheads downtown revitalization drive

By Shelley Terry, Star Beacon, October 29, 2008

 

ASHTABULA — With 37 successfully revitalized Ohio cities under their belts, representatives from Heritage Ohio set out Wednesday morning to do the same for Ashtabula.

 

The question is, “How?”

 

Faced with deserted downtown storefronts and a lack of shoppers on the streets, Heritage Ohio team members met with about 60 people to brainstorm at the Ashtabula Area Chamber of Commerce and come up with a plan of action. Business owners, community leaders and concerned citizens packed the chamber’s meeting room.

 

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http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_303192105.html

Derived from today's Daily News Roundup at UrbanUp:

 

"They’re trying to improve the building... They’re scrapping some valuables."

WTF?

 

Crumbling building in Conneaut’s sights

By Mark Todd, Star Beacon, October 9, 2008

 

CONNEAUT — A dilapidated State Street building is traveling through the Ashtabula County legal system and the city of Conneaut is keeping watch in hopes of buying — and then demolishing — the eyesore.

 

The city has filed a foreclosure action aimed at the century-old building officials believe poses a threat to the public, said Law Director Lori Lamer. There’s a chance the city could acquire the three-story building at a discount price, she said.

 

“If no one else bids, the city could own it and then demolish it,” Lamer said.

 

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More at:

http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_283220447.html

^Posted two other articles in this thread.

 

New life for blighted Conneaut spot?

Unidentified neighbor would demolish, rebuild State Street building

By Mark Todd, Star Beacon, October 15, 2008

 

CONNEAUT — A Conneaut landowner is interested in tearing down a crumbling State Street building and replacing it with an apartment/retail building, City Council learned at Tuesday’s regular meeting.

 

Finance Director and interim City Manager John Williams said he recently spoke with the individual, who owns property immediately north of the century-old building the city considers a neighborhood nuisance. The man is interested in demolishing the building and construct a replacement on the site.

 

The city is expected to run interference on the proposed project, acquiring the land for the would-be buyer through a special sale for property under tax foreclosure, council learned. Administrators have already registered their interest via the county court system.

 

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More at:

http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_289185408.html

Harbor High School will be demolished

By Shelley Terry, Star Beacon, December 18, 2008

 

ASHTABULA — Old Harbor High School on Lake Avenue will be demolished, the Ashtabula Area City School Board unanimously decided Wednesday night.

 

The board is participating in the Ohio School Facilities Commission’s Classroom Facilities Assistance Program, and the plan prepared by OSFC provides for closing 13 existing schools in the school district and includes money for abatement of hazardous materials and to demolish the old schools, Superintendent Joseph Donatone said.

 

Ben Pintabona, R.P. Carbone Co. senior project manager for the new schools, said somebody is getting into the old Harbor High and building campfires.

 

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More at:

http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_353231909.html

^That's a shame. I thought the old Harbor hs bldg would've been a great candidate for a West-tech style conversion into apts (albeit much smaller). On the bright side, that piece of land is smack dab in the middle of the harbor area and just steps from walnut beach and bridge st...it would be an excellent spot for residential or mixed-use development..........someday :|

On a side note, there was a story in today's Ashtabula Star-Beacon about a rep from BQ Energy speaking about his company's plans to develop a wind-farm in AC (I don't know how to post newspaper articles in their entirety, sorry). BQ Energy is a NY company that developed the windfarm off of Buffalo/Lackawanna and has done others around the country. They are looking at land along the Lake in Conneaut that sits adjacent to the P&C dock Co. and the prison on the east side.

*An FYI for you history buffs out there; the land they are looking at was going to be the site of Andrew Carnegie's state-of-the-art steel mill before he sold out to J.P. Morgan in 1901 in a deal that helped create U.S. Steel (that new mill was eventually built at Gary, IN); this land was also looked at in the late 70's by US Steel for a new mill before the changing economic forces obliterated much of the domestic steel industry. The site was also a finalist for the saturn plant that eventually went to Tennessee. :-(

 

 

 

www.starbeacon.com