Talk of the Town by Patty Reiman

by Patty Reiman

It’s very likely that many of you who read Talk of the Town have heard about – or benefitted from – the unmatched generosity and community support of our fellow community members when we’ve found ourselves in a time of need. The August storm that flooded homes around the city is that latest demonstration of neighbors aiding neighbors with Hudson High School soccer players among the helpers that emerged to clean up basements and haul away damaged items. It would be great, however, if none of us had to encounter situations like the one Kevin and Kendra Altomare experienced in July. But Hudson is here for you!

The Altomares live in Stow and own and operate Hudson’s Restaurant, along with John and JJ Altomare, who are Kevin’s dad and brother, respectively. Kevin and Kendra’s house, two vehicles and a utility trailer were destroyed by an overnight fire in mid-July.

“Sounds coming from the garage woke me up, and when I went downstairs, I saw the flames outside and immediately alerted everyone in the house,” said Kevin. “The cause of the fire is unknown. We believe the fire started in the garage.”

Longtime family friend and loyal customer of Hudson’s Restaurant, Dianne Ketler, set up a GoFundMe account on the same day as the fire. Within just one hour, the initial funding goal was met. Dianne then adjusted the goal higher so more people could show their support for the family. Within just weeks of the fire, more than 500 donations and nearly $60,000 had poured in. Others offered to gather immediately needed items for the family like clothing through social media posts outlining clothing sizes for the entire family, including the Altomare kids: Keegan (age 12), Karina (10), and Kameron (6).

“Kevin has supported the annual Hudson PTO pancake breakfast by donating milk and orange juice for years and years, even when it was a financial stretch for them. It’s our turn to show support to him,” said Erin Werth in a Facebook comment.

“The outpouring of prayers, generosity, donations and concern from the community has been amazing,” Kevin said. “Our customers have stopped by to make sure we are OK and offer help. Our employees are like family. They have been so supportive.”

The Altomares even received help from one of their restaurant vendors. Coca-Cola sent their disaster relief team from North Carolina to help tear down the house. The Altomares are in temporary housing while they await next steps with insurance and construction.

“Thankfully, some sentimental pieces of jewelry were salvaged, and our jeweler, Jewelry Art, was able to clean them,” said Kevin. Great work, Barbara and Tony Johnson, who own and operate the store.

On a lighter note, not many extended families could say they’ve been having family reunions for nearly 80 consecutive years, but the family of Nicholas and Mary Kapusinski can. With the exception of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the descendants of this Hudson couple has gathered locally for 79 consecutive years. Two of their sons started the tradition back in 1945 after returning from service in World War II. Last month, about 20 relatives – mostly cousins – met up at Hudson Springs park for their 2024 family reunion.

Nicholas and Mary Kapusinski are the patriarchs of a clan that has gathered for
Hudson reunions nearly every year since 1944. Photo submitted.

Lori Laing is the granddaughter of Nicholas and Mary, who settled on a family farm on the northwest quadrant of Darrow Road and Middleton Road. She said the land remained within the family until 1990 and was often where the Kapusinski reunions were held. Two of her aunts and her cousin, Matthew Margida, and his wife live in Hudson. Matthew has coached Hudson High School football and Hudson Middle School track for the past seven years.

“The Kapusinski family had someone in the bloodline in the Hudson school system consecutively from 1938 to 2021. For 83 years, not a year was missed,” said Lori.

What an incredible Hudson legacy!

Among the many Hudson graduates or alumni heading back to college this fall are Lily and Amelia Swain. Lily is entering her senior year at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, after spending her junior year studying abroad in Toulouse, France. Younger sister, Amelia, heads back to Loyola University of Chicago as a sophomore, majoring in film studies.

Amelia’s first year away at college was a strong one, as she made the dean’s list for both the fall and spring semesters. She held a GPA of 3.5 or better in each semester as a full-time student.

“Thanks to AP credits from high school, and meeting the GPA minimum, Amelia made the list,” said mom, Sue. “Amelia’s love of storytelling and writing has led her to major in film studies.”

Sue and Amelia had a chance in the spring to visit Lily during her year in France. (Dad, Scott, was unable to make the trip.) Lily travelled throughout Europe during her academic year in France. She went to Spain, The Netherlands, Austria, Hungary and Italy. Lily is an art history and French major set to graduate in 2025.

“While there, Lily lived with a French family and interned with a French nonprofit,” said Sue.

Keep up the good work, Swains!

Last month, Western Reserve Academy alum Mark Auburn, and his wife, Sandy, received the 2024 Read Family Difference Maker Award given by Leadership Akron at their annual meeting. For more than 30 years, the Auburns have immersed themselves in professional and philanthropic Akron communities. They boosted their volunteerism efforts especially after retiring in 2006. Mark was provost and senior vice president at the University of Akron; Sandy was executive director of Summit Education Leadership Foundation.

Leadership Akron honored Western Reserve
Academy graduate Mark Auburn and
his wife Sandy for their years of leadership
and volunteer work in the city.

The Auburns married after meeting at the University of Akron in the 1960s. Each attained their PhDs, and together they spent more than 20 years of living and working outside of Ohio before returning to Akron in the early 1990s. In 2010, they were members of the founding class of Leadership Akron’s NEXT. This two-month program offers experienced leaders who are approaching, experiencing or mastering retirement to define their next steps of community involvement and impact.

A portion of Leadership Akron’s recognition of the Auburns stated: “Their impact has included assisting with Arts and Culture days for the NEXT program, as well as coaching and mentoring within the Diversity on Board program. Their service continues to ensure that generations of leaders are inspired, strengthened, and empowered to create a greater Akron.”

“Thank heavens I’ve stuck with Sandy for almost 60 years,” said Mark. “Because I never would have been asked [to receive the Read family award] if I weren’t her spouse. She has taught me about selfless behavior, making a difference for others, and putting service above self.”

Congrats to the Auburns and thanks to Hudson’s own WRA for helping to nurture such a fine example of servant leadership!

Finally, kudos to Hudson’s Megan Earp. Megan, an undergraduate student at Purdue University, spent the summer in an intensive language and culture study at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship Program. She was one of approximately 500 American students at U.S. colleges and universities who were selected from over 5,000 applicants to study overseas or virtually in the summer of 2024.

Megan Earp studied language and culture
at the National Cheng Kung University in
Tainan, Taiwan, this summer.

In the previous year, Megan also participated in the CLS Spark initiative, where she started her study of Mandarin Chinese with a university in China. She is starting her third year at Purdue studying electrical engineering and hopes to continue to use her language skills to work with international partners and companies in an ever-expanding global marketplace.

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