Magnificent Medina

Who doesn’t love the small, but beautiful farm towns full of unique dining and shopping mixed with breathtaking views of the countryside? Medina is one of them. Medina became a city of Ohio in 1835. Medina is a small, quaint town compared to the nearby city of Cleveland but its bustling downtown environment and beautiful farmlands put it on the map. Medina was founded in 1816, and part of the old town can still be seen in the public square of downtown Medina, where the city has restored the beautiful Victorian styled buildings surrounding it (www.medinahistorical.com). Medina is a continuously growing city; moving from a mostly rural community to a now suburban community. Now to take a deeper look into the Medina community through a firsthand account of the city from Sara Dieckman, a resident of Medina, and delve into her home and the surroundings, along with the economy of the city and its best and worst features; purely opinionated of course.

Sara Dieckman lives in the quiet countryside of Medina, surrounded by farmlands and some wooded areas. Sara lives on a 2 acre property off of the mile long Steigler Road. Her home is equipped with a basketball court and a garage around the same size as her house, filled with carpenter’s equipment to help house the tools of her father’s profession. Steigler Road is unique. Being only one mile long, it is also divided in half. The road is owned by both Medina and Valley City, another neighboring town. Medina is nicely snuggled close to the large city of Cleveland, being only a twenty minute drive away, along with Lake Erie close at hand. Dozens of deer roam the lightly wooded areas and vast farmlands of Medina. This rural town over the past few years has spouted more suburban developments to accommodate the growing population of roughly 27,000 mostly Caucasian occupants (www.medinaoh.org).

Medina’s economy has been slightly struggling the past couple years. Medina seems to have a drug issue erupting amongst the younger members of the population and it has yet to be confronted and solved. Also, the schools and the city seem to be unable to get any levy’s passed. For this, the busing has been canceled so students must find their own rides to school or walk. Also, only the main high school sports such as football, baseball, track, and basketball are played at the school as the smaller sports such as swimming and tennis were cut due to budget issues. A few years ago, the city tried to do away with all the sports to help save money, but the students organized a school wide walk out until the city agreed to return the sports to the schools. For a town that is in love with their football, they weren’t about to let the city get rid of it. The city has a very large recreational park called Hinkley Park. Hinkley Park offers rock-climbing, a lake which holds many forms of water sports, a beach, and a creek. Downtown Medina offers many large department stores for shopping, as does the town of Brunswick which is close by. The closest mall is the Strongsville mall called South Park, which is a twenty minute drive away.

Sara Dieckman, a resident of Medina, offers her opinion on the city. The best places to hang out are Hinkley Park, the attractive historical downtown Medina, and the Strongsville mall. She loves that the community is small and that everyone grows up together from a young age. In her opinion this can be a bad thing as everyone knows everything about everyone. Everyone in the town is close and it’s a beautiful city to live in. One thing she thinks needs to change is the fact that you will not see a sidewalk anywhere except for in the downtown part of the area and a few suburbs. Medina has made her laid back, easygoing, and good with people. However, Sara wants to escape to live on the beaches of North Carolina. She is tired of seeing the same people every day, and like most that live in Ohio, sick of the unpredictable Ohio weather.

Overall, Medina is a beautiful small town full of cheerful people, gorgeous farmlands, and historical settlements. Located close to larger cities, but also a town that can hold its own, Medina has a growing market and booming industries, which help supply 9.5% of the jobs in the Medina County area (www.ecanned.com). It is also close to many shopping centers and fantastical dining. To fully enjoy everything this town has to offer, try and see it all, and truly embrace the rich history and uniqueness of magnificent Medina.



http://www.ecanned.com/OH/Medina_County.shtml
http://www.medinaoh.org/About_Medina/
http://www.medinahistorical.com/MedinaCountyABriefHistory.htm

Hometown Connection

I have a connection with the town I grew up in when I was younger, Marion, OH. I lived there from about the age of 2 to fourth grade. I grew up near my elementary school and was very close with all the people that I met. I lived there with my dad, mom, and sister; my grandparents also lived about a five minute drive away. I have a close connection with my elementary school Indian Mound and the playground there, that has a small forest growing on the outer edge. My friend Tricia and I would spend every recess in that forest making up concoctions out of our left over lunch to try to "save" the trees and help them grow. We would slather our concoctions on leaves then glue them to the trees to "heal" them (we wanted to save the world).
I also have a close connection to my grandparents old house (they have moved since I've moved out of Marion). I spent at least an hour there everyday. It was a large house, very old, located on an acre of land. On this land stood a beautiful flower garden, shared by my grandfather and their neighbor, and a extremely large oak tree from which there was a tree swing. There was so many nooks and crannies in this house which me and my sister hid in during hide and seek. This is the place I learned to ride my bike, to roller skate, climb trees, where i got a leech stuck to my ankle, and where i tripped and landed on a gutter and had to get my first stitches. I loved this small town and still do. It has a great sense of community and is very pretty and old fashioned. I hope one day to be able to return there and take a walk around and once again visit all my old favorite spots.

About Me

Hi! My name is Kayla Miller. I am a freshman at Ohio University. I went to high school at Hilliard Davidson in Hilliard, OH. State champs! I am currently a History Major, but i hope to double major in Biology soon! I like to snowboard and I also love sports, especially flag football. I am an avid music lover and listen to pretty much any kind of music; except for polka and folk. It is kinda creepy. I love hanging with my friends and meeting new people! I am really excited for school to finally start so that way I will be able to stay busy, not to mention I enjoy the classes I am taking! See you later OU!