I have usually been a fan of progress but with every surge of progress comes a wave of nostalgia.
So as I was pondering the amount of incredible progress that has been made in our fair city of Alliance in the last six decades (which represents my time in Alliance as a student at Mount Union in the early 1970s and as a resident since 1983), I realized that as I enjoy the elements of progress, I also miss some of stuff that no longer exists here.
Some may not consider it progress, but the arrival of the mega stores like Walmart, Lowe’s and Meijer certainly changed the face of State Street. Yet, with their arrival came the demise of some of the locally owned businesses that had served the area well.
If one wants to see more evidence of progress, it merits a trip to the Main Street extension, better known as the Industrial Park, where the buzz of manufacturing is clearly in evidence. The folks who run those plants have done incredible work to expand their companies and have put Alliance on the map as a hub for their respective industries.
Meanwhile, at the north end of town, Morgan Industries continues to expand and that well-regarded crane company is now so much more – a player in the global community.
Moreover, Mount Union, which had an undergraduate enrollment of under 900 students when I arrived to work there in 1983, now boasts just under 2,000 undergrads and hefty and well-respected graduate programs.
Certainly, as a community, we can take pride in what is happening.
At the same time, it is fun to reflect on where we were. Many of the things that are no longer a part of the community have served as building blocks to where we are now, and presumably where we are headed.
Let’s start with the precursors to Walmart. I cannot tell you how much I miss Value City. And ours was by far the best of the Value City stores that I visited. I bought suits, shirts, ties, pants, golf clubs, you name it. It also served as a great way to get the kids out of the house when they were growing up.
Before Value City (and at the same time), there was Perskey’s Super Center followed by Bud’s, both places one could go to get the odds and ends that Marc’s now offers.
In the appliance area, give credit to Grove’s, which has used service and reasonable pricing to compete with Lowe’s and other behemoths. And, recently, it has moved increasingly into the furniture business, reminding me of the local touch we got from Cunningham’s Country Furniture when we first moved to town.
For groceries, it was Buckeye Village IGA now occupied by Chase Bank before it became Buckeye Village Giant Eagle in its current location. Buckeye had its roots in a bakery that I remember from my college days called Sugar and Spice, arguably the best bakery in Alliance during my lifetime.
And let’s not forget Video Safari, a movie rental business that put Blockbuster to shame only to see the entire industry collapse due to, well, progress.
As for eateries, thankfully, we still have Polinori’s and Victorio’s in their long-standing locations and while we still have Heggy’s, the downtown location is the one I miss. Don’t get me wrong, Heggy’s is still a go-to, but somehow, the combination of Heggy’s, Brandon’s Men’s Wear and Roberts Men’s Wear was a major reason to head downtown.
I also like Doug’s in its current State Street location but miss Fred’s curbside service, which was a thing when I was in college.
Additionally, we still have the Naborhood and Chives (formerly the Bier Haus) but no longer have Roadhouse Charly’s, Taster’s Choice, CiCi’s or Quincy’s, which were four of my favorites.
As far as fast food is concerned, we seem to have a good core of current popular places, but who could forget Red Barn, Burger Chef, Hardees, Spaghetti Tree or Friendly’s? While the current lineup appears to have healthier options, I have continued the cholesterol medication that was necessitated by the aforementioned fast-food establishments.
One area where we have fallen short is replacing movie theaters, including the Drive-In on Route 62, bowling alleys, and a Putt-Putt course (where the Robertson Youth Center now sits). Fortunately, Alliance City Parks has expanded its footprint, and there are plenty of opportunities for organized, and disorganized, play.
Well, this column does have space limitations, or I could go on and on.
There are no doubt those of you reading this who go back even further than what I have cited here. After all, I am not a native and my recall only goes to 1970, when I enrolled as a freshman at Mount.
So, forgive me if I have omitted some of your favorites, like the Owl Grill for example. This is more or less an off-the-top-of-my-head recollection of days gone by.
I am proud of the progress our community has made. I am also proud of our past. The merging of the past with progress comes with gains and pains. We miss those elements from our past but take heart knowing that they formed building blocks for our future.
Harry Paidas is faculty emeritus at Mount Union and writes a monthly column for The Review. He can be reached at paidashp@mountunion.edu.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Alliance continues to show progress with tradition | Harry Paidas
Reporting by Harry Paidas, Special to The Alliance Review / The Alliance Review
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