Save the Town (Mayor Michael Ebert)

"Excuse me," I said sheepishly to the lady sitting at the desk in front of me. "I'm here for a meeting with the mayor at eleven. Do I just walk on in?"
"No, you do not," she said in a sort of matter of fact way, probably humored by my ignorance. I felt silly as she pointed me toward the front conference room. "You can wait in there and I'll let him know you've arrived." I walked into the front meeting room which had, like my last meeting, a long table situated in its center. Two of the four walls had windows displaying  the quite day to day living of Canal Winchesterians in the downtown area. The sun shone into the air conditioned climate as I twiddled my thumbs.

As I was preparing myself to be patted down by the mayor's secret service, in walked Mr. Michael Ebert with a casual business manner about him. I took off my hat and shook his hand. He held an experienced composure with hints of a country boy tucked into it, and was much less intimidating to be around than I initially expected. I mean, I never met with a mayor before, so this was kind of a first for me.

After giving him a brief explanation of what I do, why I do it, and how I do it, I dove right into my notepad and asked him the first question.

(Me) "What is Canal Winchester's greatest need? What is needed to make this town better?" 

(Mayor) "For everyone to keep their businesses and locations looking nice. If the town is clean and nicely kept, it will draw people to Canal Winchester. That means taking personal responsibility to pick up paper or other garbage you may see on the sidewalk when you're walking."

He also mentioned the locals promoting Canal Winchester, which interested me because that's what Pastor Wayne chimed on as well.

(Me) "Do you feel that there is a transition or needs to be a transition when it comes to helping and promoting the town? Is there a transition that needs to take place between an older model and a newer one?" 

(Mayor) "Well, I feel that that transition has already started. Having more events brings more people out to Canal Winchester."

He proceeded to name events in the past (Art in the Park, Art Stroll, Blues and Ribs Fest), and talked about the googols of people it brought in who before didn't know that such an enchanting town existed.

(Mayor) "You have an event that brings people who love art out to the town and then they find out that Canal Winchester has a jewelry store in its downtown area. 'I didn't know they had a jewelry store here!' they say."

At one point in the discussion, he mentioned his experience in Canal Winchester and how the downtown has changed. Back in the day, shop owners would shut everything up at about 7pm because no one was out. In recent years, it has come to be more lively in the evening. He attributed it to having more events, because some of them have been estimated to bring around 30,000 people. But there was an important note about events he mentioned that I asked him to expound on. He told me that no one event will draw everyone to Canal Winchester. That's why it's important to have multiple kinds of events taking place in town so that each in turn will draw its distinct kind of people in and lead them to discovering places like the jeweler, the antique shop, the gym, the art studio, etc. Apparently a 5k is being organized to take place in Canal on the 29th of September, an event called Courage and Conquer, which will draw runners into what they've been missing out on: Us!

(Me) "What can the businesses do to help the town?" 

(Mayor) "You mean help the government of the town or help the town itself in general?" 

(Me) "Both."

He gave a thought-filled look at the ceiling.

(Mayor) "That's a good question... Cooperation. They need to know to cooperate with us if we do something like shut down a street. The reason why we're doing that is because we want to improve things in town so that they get more business. I would say learning to cooperate when we do such things." 

(Me) "What about the people? What can the people do to help the town?" 

(Mayor) "Tell others about the town. For the commuters especially, those driving to Columbus every day, promote Canal Winchester to the people in the city." 

(Me) "Last question. Pastor David Long-Higgins once said to me in a meeting, 'When it comes to doing ministry, don't think of it as sprinting. Think of it as running a marathon.' What is the marathon run, the day to day action you would like people to do? What characteristic do you wish was instilled in every man, woman, and child of this town?" 

(Mayor) "Being courteous. Being nice to one another. Picking up the trash around town. The marathon is a good analogy because we're in this together for the long haul."

The interesting thing was that while I was all get-down-to-business-and-get-out in my approach to the meeting, he ended our discussion by taking time to ask about my experience, my schooling, and my travels. We ended up talking about government and the town for some time with small care for the clock. But I did have to end it and get back to work, so I thanked him, shook his hand again and wished him a good day. As I walked out the door, I the words that came to mind were, "He seems pretty cool."

~The Harvest Crier~

Save the Town (Pastor Wayne Stuntz)

Faith United Methodist Church, an edifice with architectural complexity of brick-laden beauty, is just a bowshot away from Harvest Moon.* The historic sanctuary, originally built in 1850, stands as solid as a rock among the shady trees and the chirping birds of West Columbus Street. I entered in through the doors of a more contemporary wing of the church, trusting that it would somehow lead me to the church office where I hoped to schedule an interview with the pastor, who I had never met before.

I walked down a hallway filled with the bellowing of excited children in their classrooms. I eventually made it through the wing, unscathed by finger paint and gold fish crackers, and into the historic sanctuary which, to say the least, looked really cool on the inside. After looking the sanctuary over, I finally walked into the seemingly empty church office and found the shoulder of a man peaking out from behind a cubical wall. I knocked lightly on the door frame and he beckoned me to come.

It turned out to be the pastor himself; Pastor Wayne is what he preferred to be called. I explained to him why I was there in his office, and what I was doing with note pad and pen in hand. He ushered me into what seemed to be a conference room and inclined me to take a seat.
"Well, you're here. Let's go ahead and meet now," he said with a pleasant tone as we sat at the end of the long table centered in the room. I explained to him that I worked with Harvest Moon, doing their social networking, and such. As I spoke, I noted his countenance, which was very approachable and relaxed.
"Are they doing some construction in there?" He asked, indicating that he probably saw Pete and the gang of workers earlier.
"Yeah. Well, renovations on the inside." I explained. It was because of the renovations happening that I was able to take a break from food photography and put into practice an idea I had come up with a few days ago: to meet with and interview people in positions of influence, asking them what can be done to improve Canal Winchester.

As we talked, I wrote down his responses. Our dialogue went something like so:

(Me) "What is Canal Winchester's greatest need?"   

(Pastor) "To be promoted. Because so much is on or near the Gender Road area, when I tell people that I am a pastor at Faith United Methodist Church, their response is usually, 'Where's that?' When I explain to them that it's in Historic Canal Winchester, they'll say, 'Oh, I've never been down there.' They'll tell me that they've lived in Canal for seven or eight years and yet have never gone down to the historic area. Promoting the town with something to draw young people here."

He then explained to me that, while not many people know Faith United Methodist Church, a lot of people know Educare, a preschool which takes place in the church building. It's the popularity of Educare that gains Faith United Methodist Church its exposure.

(Me) "So you're saying that the idea is to find a need, fill a need, and in that we get people coming to Canal Winchester?" 

He nodded. 

(Me) "What can the businesses do to make this town better?" 

(Pastor) "Produce great products and great customer service." (I would add here, for them to do their marketing on facebook. Just a post or two each day will help over time.) 

(Me) "What do you feel the people can do to help Canal Winchester? Any society is comprised of individuals, so what can the individual do to make this a better town?" 

(Pastor) "Be loving, be caring, and share the town, meaning, tell other people about it." 

(Me) "Pastor David Long-Higgins once said, 'When thinking about ministry, don't think of it as sprinting as much as a marathon,' what's the marathon performed you feel Canal Winchester needs?" 

(Pastor) "For you to be constantly loving no matter who the other person is and how they treat you. Remain loving."

~The Harvest Crier~

*By the way, we do not practice or endorse shooting arrows at random buildings.

Change of Plans

Hey there, blog-readers. A slight change of plans has occurred for this humble cafe. Due to some contractor conflicts, the scheduled renovation has been pushed back until a later date.

The new date for Harvest Moon's renovation is MAY 21st- MAY 26th. Until that time we will not only be open, but also giving a DISCOUNT to our beloved facebook fans!


The Garden Herb Shop will not be effected by this at all, and will remain open. Sorry for the confusion. We'll see you soon. :)

~The Harvest Crier~

Running Club

I know what you're thinking. You see the title of this blog post and presume that I'm going to make some kind of silly pun about Richard Simmons as I talk about exercising. Well, I'm afraid not. Because I have no experience with the Running Club, though it's highly talked about here at the Moon, I'll simply pass on the info that was given to me: 

~

1st run - Saturday May 12th, and Every Saturday

Where - Harvest Moon Cafe, 7 N. High Street

When - Meet at 8:45 AM, Ready to Run at 9 AMHow far - We'll be running a 3 - 3.5 Mile course

Why - Because running is always more fun with someone to suffer with!

Perks! - Refueling is important, all runners will get 10% off their order at Harvest Moon after they run. You must be sweating as proof (Joking! But, excludes alcohol, sorry)

In addition to the specifics I want to encourage everyone to join us regardless of your running level. Our runs are not about being the fastest or running the longest, just getting out there with fellow runners and motivating each other. Run the course once, twice, walk it, or crawl; we don't care!

~

If you haven't considered being a part of the Harvest Moon Running Club, give it a mental gander for a moment. Like the Garden Herb Shop Book Club, the Running Club takes a virtue (how many times have you said, "I need to go running," but didn't) and dresses it in a setting of community and accountability. While it's still tough, running with the pack has a more motivational feel to it than flying solo.

We'll see you out there. By "We" I mean we, myself included. I'll be the one running with a camera. :)

~The Harvest Crier~

Garden Herb Shop Book Club

Have you ever taken part in a book club before? Do you shudder at the sight of a book, yet at the same time know that you should read more? Or do you love reading avidly but know that you need a little more people-time because your social tenacity is as pale as your sunless skin? Perhaps you already have a good balance of both and would still like to join one but have noticed that there are no book clubs in Canal Winchester!!!

Well fear no more, talk of starting a Garden Herb Shop book club is afoot in the mouths of the staff. As I've written before, the owners of Harvest Moon and The Garden Herb Shop wish that all their customers were self-educating, nutritiously-aware individuals who feed both their bodies and their minds, especially with the right things. With group activities like this as well as the Running Club, this cafe and shop is turning out to be more than just a place of business to its customers. It's a gathering of like-minded people with an interest in what is good and right and natural.

A book club is an excellent way to make connections with fellow bookworms, and make a reading-friend or two. It's a great way to be held accountable to finishing a book, which I understand is difficult for some of us. It will also be a perfect way to increase your learning throughout the summer so that your brain won't feel flabby when the new school-year rolls around. :)

Looking up how a book club runs, the basic structure of it is like so: Each month the group will go through one book together. At the beginning of the month, the group members will purchase their books at The Garden Herb Shop and begin reading it at their convenience. Close to the end of the month, a get-together will take place so that the group can meet up and discuss what they learned from the book, answering questions asked by the book club's facilitator. After the meeting the group will be able to purchase the next month's book which the leader will present. How many months the book club goes, we'll just have to wait and see.

Bertrand Russell once said, "There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it." but I would disagree by confidently stating that there is a third possible motive for reading a book: because you know that you don't know as much as you ought to know.

Let's go clubbing. :)

~The Harvest Crier~