By David Dix
Record-Courier Publisher
Twenty-five years in business is a milestone and McKay Bricker, Kent's art and framing gallery located at 141 E. Main St., celebrated it in style Tuesday evening by hosting a Business After Hours party and inviting representatives of local businesses to mark the occasion with them..
The business is now in its third location, the handsomely restored W.W. Reed Building across from Ron Burbick's Phoenix Block.
Started by Cass Mayfield, McKay Bricker is the successor to a framing and art gallery first owned by Rich Scharlotte, who now teaches art in the Kent City Schools. His business was in the Kent Theater block, slightly east and uphill from where the gallery now stands.
Having studied art and interior design at Kent State University while working with a design partnership in Akron, Cass found herself frequently using Scharlotte's services. When he indicated a desire to sell, she decided to buy.
"I thought it would be a good fit," Cass said, and a good fit it has been, indeed.
With her artistic sense, Cass has developed a loyal clientele in a radius of 20 to 25 miles. She and her husband, Bob, have promoted the business with verve and style. Their hors d'ouevres parties showcase artists with ties to the area and let potential buyers comfortably browse. They are well-attended events.
They redid their front window into a rectangular arrangement of large, framed panes of glass that gives the store a Western Reserve-New England ambiance and invites passersby to look inside.
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Although McKay-Bricker started out on East Main Street, in 1992, it relocated to a building at the corner of North Mantua Street and the Crain Avenue Bridge. That building, so well maintained and with living quarters for Cass and Bob upstairs, was one of the true losses of the new bridge that will span the Cuyahoga River from Fairchild Avenue because it, along with several other buildings, had to be demolished to make way for the bridge.
North Mantua's loss was downtown Kent's gain. Forced to relocate, the Mayfields bought the W.W. Reed Building and transformed what was once an office building into two parallel galleries, the gallery to the east being theirs, the one to the west leased to the Kent State University Art Department, which exhibits works by faculty, students and artists from around the world.
KSU's presence creates a synergy with the McKay-Bricker gallery to the east, which showcases paintings, objects of art, and gifts. Framing remains the focus of the business, but the work of framing is done in the basement.
Together, the two galleries, with track lighting focusing on works of art, make up one of the most interesting spaces in downtown Kent. The front of the McKay-Bricker building is unique in downtown Kent, too, because its former owners, W.W. Reed & Son, designed it to look like a home with a gabled roof and dormer windows.
Second floor offices are leased to Marathon Financial Services, headed by Paul Organ, and W.W. Reed & Son Real Estate, headed by Jeff Hunt. Both took part in the Business After Hours, Marathon using it as a grand opening for its new offices. Dede Mulligan of Mulligan Management marked nine years in business, too.
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On another topic, student rentals, one of the more profitable businesses in Kent, home of Kent State University, may be even more lucrative in Athens, home of Ohio University.
I say that because our son, Tim, called home two weeks ago and said he needed money for a security deposit for an apartment he and a couple of buddies plan to occupy next year, when he is a junior and permitted to move out of the college dormitories.
"Tim," I said, "that's 11 months off and you have to pay your security deposit up front now?"
I sent him the money and I guess it made sense because Athens, unlike Kent, is a relatively isolated college town in the beautiful hills of southern Ohio, a situation that forces students to live on campus or in the city.
Within a 15-mile radius, Kent State students can find apartments in Kent, Ravenna, Stow, Brimfield, Rootstown, even Akron. It's more of a buyer's market for students in that sense whereas Athens is a market that favors the landlords.
Founded in 1804, Ohio University was the first institution of high education in what was then the Northwest Territory, where federal law specifically forbad ethe institution of slavery. Among its early enrollees were African-Americans.
The town's name is a reference to the apex of ancient Greek civilization. Athens grew up around Ohio University whereas Kent had a century of existence before its university was founded on the farm land donated by the Kent family on what was then the east end of town.
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Is the new monument over in the KSU football stadium that memorializes former Flashes running back, Jack Rittichier, who died in Vietnam trying to rescue two stranded Marines in 1968, a source of inspiration for the Flashes football team?
According to Jim Loomis, it may be.
Loomis, a Coast Guard retiree and a helicopter pilot like Rittichier, but not a KSU alumnus, was one of the prime movers in establishing the memorial on which annually will go the name of the Most Valuable Player of the Flashes. The memorial was dedicated during the contest with Miami and stands at the southwest corner of the stadium.
According to Jim, after the disastrous loss to Bowling Green three weeks ago, Coach Doug Martin took the entire team to the Rittichier memorial to explain its significance and to talk about courage and sacrifice.
Since then, he pointed out, the Flashes have defeated Eastern Michigan and Ohio University and are back in contention to win the Eastern Division of the MidAmerican Conference.
Janet and I visited our son, Tim, at Ohio University a week ago Saturday for Parents Day and sat through the contest between the Flashes and the Bobcats, which KSU won. The Flashes looked much improved, their defense far more aggressive than earlier in the season.