43
A journey to Christmas past
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Lanterman’s Mill was all decked out for Olde Fashioned Christmas at the Mill this weekend. A couple enjoyed the view of the historic mill in Mill Creek Park Sunday.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Mary Bobersky, left, of Lake Milton, a vendor at the Olde-Fashioned Christmas at the Mill crafts show, demonstrates how to shape pottery for her nephew, James Auden, 11, also of Lake Milton, and for Jackson Spin, 2, of Boardman.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
People who attended Mill Creek Park’s Olde Fashioned Christmas at the Mill were treated to a 24-feet-long traveling mural by Bob Barko Jr. It depicts the history of Youngstown from 1796 to 2007.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Balloon artist Joe Sullivan, above, presents Lily Vari-Coppola, 6, of Lowellville with a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer balloon hat at Lanterman’s Mill on Sunday. The annual Olde-Fashioned Christmas at Lanterman’s Mill drew thousands of area residents Saturday and Sunday.
Thousands feast on food, crafts, displays at Lanterman’s Mill
By Jeanne Starmack
YOUNGSTOWN
Mill Creek MetroParks’ Olde Fashioned Christmas at the Mill had something for everyone.
“They have music,” said Jarret Shurilla, 9, of Poland. “They have food! I got a hot dog and a candy apple.”
“There was a guy who juggles,” Jarret’s friend P.J. Kostalas, also 9 and also of Poland, reminded him.
The two friends, sporting balloon animals on their heads, were at Lanterman’s Mill on Sunday afternoon during the annual weekend-long celebration of the start of the Christmas season. Their two moms, Debbie Shurilla and Jackie Kostalas, were tagging along.
“It’s something to look forward to on Thanksgiving weekend,” Debbie said.
“To get in the Christmas spirit,” Jackie added.
It was, actually, the anti-Black Friday weekend. There was a large crowd, but it wasn’t in any hurry. There were no stampedes or shoving matches. People stood or sat outside the mill, a historic landmark that was built in 1845 to grind grain, and talked, ate or watched Charles Hughes of Hubbard form nails out of low-carbon steel.
Hughes looked like an unassuming blacksmith, but inside the mill was the real story of his work.
Hughes is an artist — sculpting tools, turtles, gardenscapes and fountains from metal. His sculptures are in two parks in Hubbard and have been in Fellows Riverside Gardens. He was featured on the cover of Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil, an important industry magazine, said his wife, Connie.
He was among several vendors who’d set up inside the mill with original designs and hand-crafted items that would never be available at Wal-Mart. Take that, Black Friday.
While kids were entertained, adults delighted in browsing at the vendor displays. The artists demonstrated their work and created one-of-a-kind gifts right at their tables.
Around the corner from Hughes’ C&C Ironworks display was Linda Szmara of Boardman, busy turning ordinary stones into house cats with paint and some skilled brushwork. Other stones on crowded tables nearby had been transformed into dogs, rabbits, turtles, lions, fawns, butterflies, raccoons and even a skunk.
Susette Liddle, of setteinstone.com, showed onlookers how she engraved her own designs on natural rock she gets from a stream that runs through her property. Pet- related engravings, she said, were hot sellers.
Across the room, Patti White of Boardman showed people how she cut tin into cat ornaments, which she would later paint.
White also collects and paints on antique bottles. Her husband, Blair, a tinsmith, forged items on display such as candle- and lantern-holders.
White said she used to do a lot of craft shows, but she has scaled back.
“We like this show,” she said. “It’s a community show.”
“Three- to four-thousand people come through every year — people really like to come and see the mill for the last time, before they close it for the year,” she added.