Talk of the Town
Congrats and thanks go out to Brian Craven, a senior at Hudson High School, for his work to beautify part of our city for his Eagle Scout project. Earlier this year, he chose to improve the Reinhardt Arboretum.
You might be scratching your head about where to find this collection of trees and other botanicals. It’s adjacent to McDowell Early Learning School at 280 N. Hayden Pkwy. You’ll want to go check out Brian’s hard work, either now or when the weather warms up. The 50th anniversary of the arboretum will be in 2025.
He and other Scouts from his Boy Scout Troup 321 cut down invasive plants on the north section of the trail and down into the former pond area. To prevent regrowth, they sprayed the area with basal treatment.
The young men also lined the edges of the arboretum’s wood chip trail with available dead and fallen trees, logs and branches. Not only did this improve the look of the trail, but it will prevent erosion of the wood chips and keep them in place for the benefit of all who walk the trail now and down the road.
Most of Brian’s helpers were his fellow Scout members, who are students at Hudson High and Middle Schools.
“This project was important for me because it was the final step before becoming an Eagle Scout, which I have been working on for years,” said Brian.
We’re happy to report Brian received his Eagle Scout rank. Congrats!
Group congratulations go out to all of this year’s Hudson Middle School Cross Country team members, especially the girls who finished first in the state meet earlier this fall. Don’t be surprised if you see some of them braving the cold now to be ready for next season or spring track and field.
Coach Leo Doty led the boys and girls cross country teams all season and had nine boys and 10 girls who made it to Columbus to compete at the state level. While the girls team finished first overall out of 16 teams, the boys team placed 11 out of 20 teams.
“They were successful because they enjoyed working together toward a common goal and were willing to sacrifice for each other,” said Doty, who has been teaching high school math and coaching since 1997.
Mom of three HMS XC runners, Kristina Dooley, said her triplets’ experience on Coach Doty’s team, “has truly been transformational in their performances on the course, but also their attitudes. Runners leave the team with improved running times and a lifelong passion for the sport.” Her eighth-graders, Max, Mia and Isa, ran for HMS cross country, and Mia and Isa were on the state championship team.
“I enjoy coaching because I love to see kids improve through hard work and dedication and see them learn to help each other. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to work in such a supportive community,” Doty said.
Who doesn’t need a knit beanie hat to keep them warm in this NEO winter chill? How about adding some personalization to the hat and making a donation to an Akron charity all at the same time? Yes, please!
It’s what you can expect (and more) from a new Hudson business, the Humble Hat Collective, which was founded by three Hudson women and operates primarily through home parties and pop ups. (There may be a holiday pop-up shop coming, so check their Instagram and Facebook page for updates.)
They’ve chosen Akron Snow Angels as the beneficiary of a holiday promotion that’s running now through the end of 2024. For each hat purchased at a home party before Jan. 1, they will donate a knit beanie hat to Akron Snow Angels.
The business also offers trucker hats, baseball hats and bucket hats in a variety of colors. Shoppers can choose from a wide selection of patches to personalize their hat or beanie.
“My partners and I saw a similar concept in another state and thought it would be cool to bring it to Hudson,” said Mel Frontino, who also owns Hudson Plant Co. “Both children and adults love the creative concept, and we can travel anywhere.”
Contact the team for your home party before 2025 to help Akron Snow Angels. For more info, email humblehatcollective@gmail.com.
In a community like Hudson, we appreciate the charm of small town events like World Singing Day, held Oct. 19. About 100 people of all ages joined on the First & Main green for an hour of unrehearsed songs from a variety of genres and even a few German songs with movement and dancing, thanks to participation by members of the Hudson-Landsberg Sister Cities group.
Hudson Community Choruses sponsored the event, along with partial support from Hudson Community First. Eve Sliwinski and Laura Pritchard were volunteer co-coordinators for Hudon’s first year participating in the global event that started in 2012. Hudson was the only Ohio city to participate this year, which included singing day events in 60 cities worldwide in 17 countries.
Others from Hudson Community Choruses who made the event possible were Jon C. Peterson, artistic director; Angela Perrine, director of children’s and youth choruses and Anne Dalby, collaborative pianist. Songs sung at the event included: American the Beautiful, Imagine, We are the World, Take Me Home, Country Road, Sweet Caroline, and more!
An added bonus of community support were complimentary doughnuts provided by Peace, Love and Little Donuts – Hudson, which is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team, Tom Tikkanen and Andrea Bucey-Tikkanen. Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays. As always, tell us about your magical 2025 moments! Or will 2026 bring a longed-for reunion, dream vacation or family addition? Shoot us an email at news@scriptytpe.com and share your news with friends and neighbors!