BUILDING A CULTURE OF RECOVERY

BUILDING A CULTURE OF RECOVERY

David Smeltz is working full-time. He’s teaching martial arts and meditation. He’s written a memoir about his path through drug and alcohol recovery.

And, in his spare time, when other busy people might be content to watch television or catch up on lost sleep, he’s in the process of rehabbing a building and launching a nonprofit on Buckeye.

THE SOUNDS OF (LATE) SUMMER

The first day of school at Harvey Rice Wraparound is this coming Monday.

To mark the occasion, Tanese Horton, the school's coordination manager, threw a "Welcome Back to School" festival.

Rice Library branch manager and all-around-talented-guy Ali Boyd joined in the festivities, playing drums as some incoming students joined him on vocals.

Listen to their sounds below!

WIGS, FAITH AND 'A CERTAIN FEARLESSNESS'

WIGS, FAITH AND 'A CERTAIN FEARLESSNESS'

When Julia, Seth and I walk into Sue’s Wigs and Fashions, the elderly Korean owner -- the store’s namesake -- gives us a polite greeting.

But she doesn’t want to talk to us.

“You come back later and talk to my daughter,” she tells us, covering her mouth with one hand. “She’ll tell you about the store.”

FIGHTING THE SOCIAL COSTS OF SEGREGATION - FROM A BUS

FIGHTING THE SOCIAL COSTS OF SEGREGATION - FROM A BUS

In the front window of Larry Freeman’s house is a handwritten sign, fixed to the glass with dozens of pieces of yellowing tape.

“Smile, God loves you,” it says, in large block letters.

His wife made it, Larry tells me, before she died in 2003. “I’ll never take it down,” he says. “It’ll go with this house.”

THE MAGIC OF A SINGLE HOUR

THE MAGIC OF A SINGLE HOUR

A man with white hair and a matching mustache is the only person sitting in Calvary Evangelical United Brethren Church, a grand but faded red-brick building at Shaker Boulevard and Woodhill Avenue.

He doesn’t hear me and Seth enter, so we tap him on the shoulder and introduce ourselves. He smiles and tells us his name is Mr. Primm. He’s a block club leader from a nearby street in the Woodland Hills neighborhood - Buckeye’s immediate neighbor.

FITTED FOR A HAT

FITTED FOR A HAT

At the corner of Buckeye and East 117th, Ego Adigwe runs Som Di Mma Elegance, a beautiful shop filled from floor to ceiling with clothing, jewelry and carvings from her home country of Nigeria, as well as from Senegal, Mali and India. 

She was kind enough to take a few minutes to share a little about her background with us ... and to demonstrate how she crafts hats right from her storefront.

FLOWERS, FRUIT AND A CENTURY OF MEMORIES

FLOWERS, FRUIT AND A CENTURY OF MEMORIES

Edward Wrobel’s earliest memories are of flowers, fruit, hard work - and more flowers. 

He grew up in a small apartment above Orban’s Fruit and Flowers, the business his parents owned near the corner of E. 115th Street and Buckeye. It’s still here, and Edward still owns it - one of the last remaining white-ethnic businesses from a time a couple generations ago when Buckeye Road was reputedly home to the largest population of Hungarians outside Budapest.