Jean, We Will Miss You!

Villa Mir Farm lost a good friend this week, with the passing of Jean Krizman. Jean passed away suddenly in her home, at the age of 86. The Plain Dealer has a nice obituary which details mostly her significant professional accomplishments and her contributions to charities like the Red Cross and the Slovene Home for the Aged. But they missed the verve and wit and spirit of the lady herself - and that's a shame. She was a long-time friend of my family - one of my Aunt Helen's closest friends - but I only really got to know her in the last 15 years. After my mother died, she became a surrogate for consultations on cooking: how to make potica, whether to use a mixer to make bread dough (she said 'yes'), whose Slovenian sausage was the best (of course, she was biased in favor of Krizman!). She loved a good party - never missed Farm and Fun, and she and friend Molly Strunge stayed late into the night, hoping for a good polka, even if it was played on the banjo! Jean was admirable in so many ways - she became a senior executive at Stouffer's at a time when women weren't expected to rise in the ranks of corporations, she devoted much of her time to worthy causes throughout her life, and she was a devout Catholic who lived her faith without preaching it. So we will miss Jean in our lives - I am hoping that the God she believed in put together a great party to welcome her to heaven, and I like to think of her with a glass of wine, surrounded by her friends and family who have passed on and toasting each other with a hearty 'nas zdravja'!

Geauga Maple Festival

Well, you know spring is just around the corner when the Maple Festival arrives! Unfortunately, the last few years the festival has been plagued with bad weather, causing an unprecedented weather delay last year after the Easter storm that dumped almost 2 feet of snow on Chardon. This year's festival has been no exception - traditionally held the week after Easter, this was a very early Easter and the region got hit with another good snow storm causing the festival to be delayed for the second year in a row. City officials said the ground would be too wet to support the weight of the carnival rides and it would be a safety hazard. New date is the week of April 10.

Speaking of the Maple Festival, here's a fabulous old film of the 1953 festival that I found on YouTube:


Note the wonderful old cars, the 'four woodsmen' in their racoon-skin caps, the Geauga Theater (which was owned by my friend Laura Jevnikar's grandparents and looks pretty much the same today!), and the shots of Main Street. This film is listed as part of the 'Elmer Gerlock Film Project', but I can't find any more about Mr. Gerlock. Anway, a great old film celebrating our local tradition!

Lambs at Farmpark

About 70 spring lambs have been born at the Farmpark, part of the Greater Cleveland Metroparks network, and just down Chardon Rd from Paul and Laura's house. Go here for the cutest video of them - almost makes me wish we had sheep again!