The legend of Edgar Allan Poe
Tine Hreno tells Rotarians about American author Edgar Allan Poe.
Although American author and poet Edgar Allan Poe is best known for such 19th century macabre works as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Raven,” he actually is considered the Father of the Detective Story. Tine Hreno, literary historian at the University of Akron’s Hower House Museum, told Berea Rotarians on Tuesday, Oct. 29 that Poe was an innovative writer. His “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is a classic detective story and Arthur Conan Doyle considered Poe his inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes series.
Poe (1809-1849) was orphaned at 3 and felt rejected by his adoptive family. He struggled with alcoholism his entire adult life and probably died of alcohol or drug abuse, although the cause of death is uncertain.
Hreno said Poe’s reputation as a writer of horror fiction stems from a literary rival, Rufus Griswold, who wrote a slanted obituary of Poe, casting him as a depraved, drunken, drug-addled madman. Poe’s friends countered the accusations but Griswold’s obit was widely reprinted and accepted.
Hreno, a native of British Columbia, recently curated an exhibit at the University of Akon on 19th century horror writers, including Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and Poe. Her husband, Travis Hreno, originally from Manitoba, teaches philosophy at the U of A.
Britnee Davis updates Rotarians on the BW Student Veterans Center.
BW Vet Center ‘feels like home’
Thanks to donations from Berea Rotary and dozens of other organizations and businesses, the new Student Veterans Center on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University “feels like home,” Britnee Davis told Rotarians on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Davis, a Navy veteran, is president of the BW Student Veterans Association.
She said the center is not only a quiet place to study and do homework but a comfortable spot for vets to talk and share common concerns. Randy Stephenson, the vet services coordinator, has an office there to offer counseling and a shoulder to lean on. But the veterans also lean on each other, helping comrades to adjust to civilian life.
“The military offers you structure,” Davis said. “You lose some freedoms – the freedoms to wear what you want, to live where you want, to move where you want.
“One day you have that, the next you don’t. I literally pulled off my boots and pulled on a backpack overnight.”
The transition can be difficult. Many veterans have to deal with the trauma of combat, sexual assault and other mental and emotional issues from their time in the military. The center is “a place to decompress,” Davis said. The veteran suicide rate is much higher than that of the civilian community. In fact, two BW vet students lost their lives in the past. Another was talked down just recently thanks to the vet center. “That’s why this place is important,” Davis said. “This place saves lives.”
BW has around 100 student veterans and another 25 students who are dependents of veterans. All are welcome at the student vet center, which was dedicated this summer with funding from Major League Baseball and the Cleveland Indians.
Berea Rotary Foundation donated $5,000 to furnish the center with comfortable couches, chairs, tables and a conference room on the second floor. Berea Rotary Secretary Jo Ann Solnick crocheted a blue and white blanket, which she presented to Davis for the center. Davis took Rotarians on a tour of the center after the meeting and placed the blanket on a couch in the living room.
Davis, who lives in Stow, was a military police officer for 8 ½ years and now is working toward a degree in human resources. She is interning at MetroHealth Medical Center. Her goal is to keep working on behalf of veterans.
“I have a passion for this,” she said.
Berea Rotary Secretary Jo Ann Solnick presents a hand-made blanket
to Britnee Davis for the BW Student Veterans Center.
Kiva loans
Berea Rotary made five Kiva loans recently, bringing the total to 791 loans worth $19,825. The loans were made to Burkina Faso (food) and to Kenya (agriculture and retail). All loans were made to entrepreneurs on their third loan cycle.
Ron Isgro and Berea Rotary President Bob Huge
4,000-mile bike ride honors wife’s memory
When Ron Isgro’s wife, Carol, passed away two years, he wanted to do something to pay tribute to her and to thank Southwest General Health Center’s Hospice for caring for her in the Isgros’ home. Ron and Carol were avid long-distance bicyclists and travelers. What better way to honor both than a 4,425-mile trek from Washington State to Maine.
Ron traveled with Bill Myers of Pennsylvania, who planned the trip and made sure everything went smoothly.
Along the way, they visited some spectacular sights, such as Glacier National Park, and met some incredible people. “I fell in love with my country all over again,” Ron said.
His goal was to raise $10,000 for Hospice. So far, the total is more than $22,000. Ron said he is very grateful that the family of Rotarian Dr. Ed White requested memorial contributions in his name be made to Ron’s Ride for Hospice.
Strangers on his journey also donated. One couple wrote a check for $100. When they mete up with Ron again a few miles down the road, they changed the amount to $1,000.
Ron called the trip a metaphor for life. “In the morning, we would see blue skies and hear the birds. By afternoon, there would be hills and headwinds. A tailwind in the evening let us cruise along,” he said. “Isn’t that like life?”
A retired teacher and coach, Ron, 81, said he couldn’t see himself sitting at home watching TV. “That’s not life,” he said. “Look what I’m seeing! And it gives me time to think.”
ROTARACTORS AT HARVEST FEST
BW Rotaract adviser Marc West helps Rotaractors Noah Kostick and Drew Kopchak hand out goodies
to trick-or-treaters at Berea's Harvest Fest at Coe Lake Park on Oct. 12.
Rotaractors Kaylee McKee (in the bee costume), Maddie and Grant staff the BW table. Harvest Fest was along the Nature Trail at Coe Lake.