The Butcher, the Baker, the Candle Stick Maker

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candle Stick Maker

Rub a dub dub
Three men in a tub
And who do you think they are?
The butcher, the baker, the candle stick maker,
All on their way to the fair.

So. Many. Questions.

What were the three men doing in the tub? How big was the tub? Why were they thinking a tub would be an appropriate mode of transportation to the fair?

Bottom line: we may never know the whole story, but we do know that there were three individuals representing three different career paths, all hanging out together. And that, my friends, was the point of Junior Leadership’s most recent day.

Part of the benefit of the Junior Leadership program is the experiential nature of it. One can describe our amazing park system to someone all day long, but never get the experience one gets by actually being somewhere like Allardale Lodge and talking to the people who make the decisions.

 *Get ready for some serious and unabashed name dropping*

Juniors spoke with the Medina County Park District capital program coordinator, Nate Eppink, landscape architect and playscape planner, Hayley Bondi, and prominent local attorney, Jeff Holland. Holland, also on the board of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, took the Juniors through a hands-on activity discussing the necessity of preserving green space while still providing for development opportunities.  The interactions, discussions, and activities the Juniors participated in were rich with content and served to feed their curious minds.

After Allardale Lodge, we headed to Root Candles. The Juniors learned about Amos Ives Root and his perseverance from jeweler to apiarist. They were given a personal tour of Root Candles  from his great-great-grandson and current Root Candles president, Brad Root. As a company, Root Candles has not only survived the changing landscape of how its customer use candles (from functional to decorative) but it continues to give back to the community generously.

After Root Candles, Juniors saw a different example of perseverance at the Recovery Center of Medina County. They learned how Serenite Restaurant hires recovering addicts, teaching them valuable skills to help them obtain employment and move in a more positive direction. The serious topic of recovery was then followed by a live (and tasty) demonstration of table-side bananas Foster at Serenite Restaurant.

Oh yes, and there was a birthday for one of our Juniors and a scavenger hunt for all around Medina Square! The day was nothing short of phenomenal.

While everyone may not be headed for a career as a butcher, baker, or candle stick maker, they are all headed for great things (and in a more appropriate receptacle that than a tub). The Junior Class of 2019 is now a cohesive group, eagerly awaiting their next adventure in Medina County. Stay tuned!