It’s easy to be critical about the way your community looks, or the people who have been elected to govern it or those who have been appointed to be in charge of services ranging from the streets to the water system, from the sewer system to garbage collection.
If you have any doubts about that, all you have to do is visit a restaurant, a doughnut shop or any place that has more than just a couple of seats and where you can find a cup of coffee any time between 5 a.m. and about 11 a.m.
There, you will likely find a group that has been meeting in the same place at the same time for a number of years -- and, in some cases, decades or even longer. All of the answers to just about all of the problems can be found coming from these groups. They will be based on years of experience and information that almost always is based in fact -- with a large dose of skepticism included.
The talk is usually backward looking and forward focused, a healthy dose of remembering what we have seen and concern about what we might never see.
Add it all up, and you will learn a lot about things residents of the area think are wrong.
In reality, there are things across the Tri-State Area that could stand a good refreshing. Those need to be addressed, and the sooner the better. But maybe, just maybe, there are areas that longtime residents of the region have come to take for granted. Now, everyone knows that it’s not possible, but if we could step back and become a person who was visiting the region for the first time, that view, that different perspective, could, possibly, change how the overall picture is viewed.
That’s a thought that came to mind during last month’s Dean Martin Hometown Festival. It’s truly an international event, drawing people from across both oceans and from many spots around the region to downtown Steubenville to celebrate the King of Cool, who was born here on June 7, 1917.
Even though the house he grew up in and some of the places he would frequent while growing up here have changed dramatically or are now gone completely, just about all of the fans who were interviewed during the June 18-20 festival had a positive impression of the city.
“I love it here -- I just love it here. There’s so much history, and it’s beautiful country,” explained Michelle DellaFave, who lives in New York City, while speaking about Martin’s hometown.
This year’s festival was the first time she had been in the hometown of an entertainer she had a chance to work with for several years. She was a member of the Golddiggers and the Ding-a-Ling Sisters, who were a part of his iconic television show that was must-see viewing on Thursday nights for nine years on NBC.
“He worked his way into show business,” added DellaFave, who sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the June 18 concert at the Berkman Amphitheater. “He worked hard, and he did so many films, but it started out like vaudeville. He worked with Jerry Lewis and he made it. He was there. He was a star. It was a dream to work with him.”
Jack Hanson also liked the community.
“It’s a great little town,” Hanson said while discussing Steubenville shortly after competing in the annual karaoke contest at the Spot Bar. “It’s very charming and very quaint. It definitely surprised me because I had never been here.”
Hanson and his mother had made the trip from Phoenix for the festival and were excited about being able to spend three days here.
For Dave Macis, the event, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, helps to tie Martin’s life and his career together.
“I think the Dean Martin Hometown Festival is a great way to link heritage with the cultural dynamic that seems to embrace the area, Hollywood and glamour, and bring some attention to a town that, and the end of the day, has such great roots with Martin’s history, but still has a lot to offer in the present day.”
Macis, a resident of Austin, Texas, served as moderator for a video presentation with Bob Furmanek, an archivist and filmmaker who was involved in the restoration of the 3-D Martin and Lewis film, “At War with the Army.” The presentation in the community room of the Main Branch of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County, was a part of the Ohio Goes to the Movies Series.
He was a volunteer member of the festival committee, who said he has has attended about 15 of the festivals.
There are many reasons the town has made such a favorable impression on the visitors, but one that came up more than once was the kindness of the residents.
“I love it here -- Steubenville’s got a special place in my heart because of all of the people I have met here, and the memories I have made over the years, ” Jimmy Rzepecki of Bel Air, Md., said while taking a break from browsing in the gift shop at Historic Fort Steubenville along with his girlfriend, Sam Schiumo. “It’s just how everybody has been so welcoming and how much history there is in Steubenville and the surrounding area. It’s just such a historic town and just a great place. I mean, it really is.”
Some interesting thoughts from different perspectives about Steubenville and the Tri-State Area.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is senior writer of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)