Why Ashland?

In January 2006, the Salvation Army released the list of locations approved for the construction of a Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. As I opened the e-mail announcement, I wondered if one of these state-of-the-art centers would be built in Cleveland or Akron, or maybe Toledo or Youngstown, big cities with impoverished neighborhoods, just the kind of setting that Joan Kroc’s bequest was meant to serve, or so I thought. When I scanned the list of the winners, I was surprised to see that Ashland, Ohio was selected. A lovely town, yes, but why a Kroc Center in Ashland?

Six months later, that oft-repeated question became mine to answer when my husband Larry and I were given the responsibility to develop the RJKCCC in Ashland, Ohio. If I had a quarter for every time I’ve been asked that question over the last nine years, I could treat the town to Happy Meals – or Coneys and root beer from the A & W. I can’t speak for the hows and whys of the selection process. But in retrospect, I do know why Ashland is the home of a beautiful Kroc Center.

There is a Kroc Center in Ashland because of B.J. Brown. This die-hard Cleveland Browns, Indians and Cavs fan has cerebral palsy, and the old facility was not accessible for wheelchairs. Once B.J. became too heavy for his father to carry up the Salvation Army’s stairs, he could no longer attend programs there. But now, with a perfect record for church attendance and a broad smile even in the face of Cleveland defeats, the light in B.J.’s eyes shines throughout the Kroc Center.     

The Kroc Center also came to Ashland, Ohio for Trudy. With the support of ACCESS, Hospice, and Salvation Army staff, a dying journey that began in the Sacred Space at the RJKCCC brought faith, companionship and reconciliation to the final weeks of Trudy’s life.

And that’s not all. Because of the Kroc Center, Ashland’s children can leave their stifling apartments and stand for hours under the Tumblebuckets in RJ’s Spraypark on a hot and humid day – yes, soon! Women (and sometimes men) of all generations can pull up a chair to the knitting circle, creating community conversation accompanied by the rhythm of clicking needles. Young people can learn the basics of food preparation, gardening, or archery, and even the family dog can develop good manners in Puppy Pre-School. I just finished proof-reading the next program guide (available April 24) – there’s no way anyone can say, “there’s nothing to do in Ashland” this summer.

Has it made a difference? Ashland Times-Gazette editor Ted Daniels had this to say upon the first year anniversary: “In one short year, the Kroc Center has become such an integral part of the community that it's difficult to imagine Ashland without it. Perhaps that is the most fitting testament to its first-year success.”

Mrs. Kroc wanted these centers to level the playing field of opportunity so all children could reach for the stars. Yet so far, none of the children who’ve played soccer at the Kroc Center have advanced to the World Cup. None of its budding instrumentalists have performed at Carnegie Hall. No one from the afterschool program has been accepted at Harvard. Those may have been Joan Kroc’s lofty dreams for her legacy gift, but I’m happy to see young people playing middle school soccer, performing (soon) in Archer Auditorium, and beginning classes at AU. And, beyond specific achievements, I’m thrilled to see the development of character, confidence, and hope in children and adults, for as Christopher Reeve believed, “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”

Someone recently asked me why Mrs. Kroc chose Ashland. I explained that the McDonalds heiress died long before the sites for the new centers were chosen. But I believe that if she was able to spend just one day at the Ashland RJKCCC, she would be pleased with the choice. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we’d hear her say, “I’m lovin’ it!” As it completes its sixth year of operation, I’m grateful to its donors, guests, staff, and supporters for making Ashland the perfect place for a Kroc Center. 

Five Years and Counting . . .

Happy birthday, RJ Kroc and company. Or should I say, “Happy anniversary?” Can it really be five years since Ashland’s Sunday afternoon naptime was disturbed by a Salvation Army band triumphantly marching from 40 East Third Street to 527 East Liberty Street? It seems like just yesterday that we had the privilege of opening the doors of the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center to the people of Ashland. Then again, I can barely remember the grassy field that had been tucked away behind Luray Lanes for so many years, as the Kroc Center seems like an old neighborhood friend that’s been around a long time.

The passage of time is tricky to measure. Of course, we measure it in minutes and hours, days and weeks, but we also recognize that our perception of time changes, as time can either fly or drag on. As J.K. Rowling tells us in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, “It's a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up.” Dr. Seuss asks us, “How did it get so late so soon?” Yet when you’re five years old and waiting for Christmas morning, time creeps along at an agonizingly slow pace.

There were days during the Kroc Center development that I wasn’t sure we’d even make it to the ground-breaking, but now we’re marking the five year anniversary with a weekend of celebration. There will be a civic dinner honoring Ashland’s Ev DeVaul, an arts festival offering instructional sessions, an arts display, and a sidewalk chalk art contest, and a worship service with Commissioner Todd Bassett, a former National Commander of the Salvation Army as the guest speaker. But here’s the best part - our own KC Big Band will be on stage on Saturday night (April 5) at the Kroc. Music coordinator Neil Ebert has chosen some of my favorites – He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, Show Me Your Ways, and a glorious rendition of I’ll Fly Away. (Disclaimer: my husband and sons did not pay me to write these words – I really do love the Big Band sound). Get more details on the Kroc website or at the welcome center.

If I’ve done my math correctly, it’s been 1807 days since opening day, April 17, 2009. Those days have been filled with many measurable outcomes, computations expected by funders in today’s world of philanthropy. We as a community can be glad for those outcomes, because they symbolize skills achieved, employment maintained, and families fed.

But as I reflect on the impact the Kroc Center has had upon the Ashland community and on me, it’s the intangible influences that speak most deeply. The strains of live Dixieland music swinging through the corridors of area nursing homes. A beaming young boy displaying his first place prize in an ugly tie contest. A circle of knitters, learning the wisdom of “if in doubt, rip it out.” Water cascading from the tumble buckets at the spraypark on a blistering summer afternoon, hard as that feeling is to imagine with snow still in the air. A holy hush at the labyrinth. A homeless woman accompanied by caring companions as she walked through the valley of the shadow of death.

During my years of high school French, I was introduced to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s story, “The Little Prince.” Back in the day, I was able to read it in French, but those skills are long gone. However, one phrase has remained with me: On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. Translated, the Little Prince taught me, “One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

As we gather for next weekend’s festivities, we’ll embrace friends both new and old, recount the funny stories, and reflect on the impact the Center has made on Ashland. But if I seem a bit distracted from time to time, don’t worry – I’m planning to do some heart-seeing and heart-remembering too. Hope to see you there.

In the Gathering Place

In the Buckeye Nation, the rallying cry heard round the state is “O-H,” with the automatic response, “I-O.”  Diehard Ohio State fans take special pride if their infant’s first recognizable utterance is “I-O” rather than “ma-ma.”  A call and response can often be heard in church settings, political rallies and the sports arena, but I was surprised to hear a similar pattern at the recent reception for the first Kroc Center Elder in Resident.

 “If in doubt,” the speaker called, and the voices replied, “rip it out.”  The honoree of the evening was June Metcalf, an Ashland octogenarian whose gift for knitting and crocheting will be featured over the next few weeks.  She’s been a mainstay at the Kroc Center since the doors opened, present in the lobby on Tuesdays and Wednesday to share her love for all things knitted and crocheted.  In the early days, she often sat alone, sometimes joined by a staff member or two who was attempting to find the “knit one, purl two” rhythm of the needles. 

Now, three years later, you’ve got to come early to get one of the comfy seats, as the lobby area fills with people initially drawn together by an interest in yarn, but now held together by a sense of belonging.  While their rallying cry may be “if in doubt, rip it out,” another word of wisdom from June is her oft-repeated phrase, “you can do it.”  That spirit of encouragement and affirmation is contagious, and made June the obvious choice for the first Elder in Residence.      

It’s been three months since Larry and I handed over the reins of leadership at the Salvation Army, and I’ve had time to ponder on the hopes we’d brought to the center, both from our own hearts and experiences and from Joan Kroc’s legacy and vision.  Many of those dreams were expressed in the naming of the spaces in the new facility.

It made sense to call the gym area the Fun Zone, and lots of fun has been experienced in its space and in the companion Field House (soccer field).  Between the roller skaters, the bounce house bouncers, the budding soccer stars and the graceful dancers at the KC Big Band events, there’ve been plenty of smiles and lots of laughter in the building, especially within the walls of the Fun Zone.  Good choice of names.

A space for worship at the Salvation Army was also essential, and the chapel with its glorious stained-glass wall invites many to express their faith through prayer and praise.  Yet we chose to name a smaller room the “Sacred Space,” and that’s become a home for all kinds of sacred activities, as people have come together to study the Bible, to support families through the Salvation Army’s LINCS program and the Family and Children’s First Council care team meetings, and to simply have a quiet setting for personal counsel under the watchful eyes of the stained-glass Jesus and the children.  Another fitting choice. 

A third name assigned in those early days of planning was the Gathering Place, a title that didn’t seem to stick, as most of the time we simply called it the Lobby.  Boring.  Yes, it is a vestibule, an entrance hall to the facility that serves as a reception area for the Center.  But as I thought about June and the knitting circle, I realized that whether it’s called the Gathering Place or not, this entrance area has become the center’s front porch, a place for all people in our community to gather together.   It’s rivaled in the summer by the Adirondack chairs of the backyard spraypark, but year round, the Gathering Place brings people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests together.  While a sense of inclusion may have started with Joan’s dream, it has been richly nurtured by June’s faithfulness.

I can’t wait to see who the next Elder in Residence will be – and what his or her gifts are bringing to our community.  But in the meantime, whether in the Gathering Place at the Kroc or the yarn aisle at the store, I’m ready.  If I hear “when in doubt,” I’m answering, “rip it out!”  Yeah, June!