BJ reunion at Hardesty Park

There was a Beacon Journal reunion at the July 23-25 Akron Arts Expo at Hardesty Park.

First Paula and I came across former BJ staffer Connie Bloom, who has become a fabric art guru and publisher/editor of QSDS Voice (Quilt Surface Design Symposium), an art quilting publication. Doing the grunt work, as usual, was Connie's husband, Bob Shields.

As we strolled along the 169 exhibitor booths, we saw former BJ chief artist Art Krummel and current BJ artist and pages line-drawer Kathy Hagedorn at the Art by Art tent, which displayed Art Krummel's work. Sitting alongside the booth was retired BJ reporter Charlene Nevada, Art's wife.

The Krummels recently vacationed in Garden City Beach, South Carolina where, as previously reported on BJ Alums blog, they ran into retired printer Dick Latshaw, who lives on nearby Pawleys Island, as does another BJ retiree, Harold McElroy.

The Krummels liked South Carolina so well that they bought a home a town or two over, so there'll be a lot of Krummels spending time in South Carolina, particularly in the winter. The new granddaughter, Hannah, a May 2010 baby, and an older one, Julia, 3, can dig their toes in the beach sand.

Based on what Connie told me about the rental cost of her space, the Akron Recreation Department collects more than $30,000 from the exhibitors. Then there's the rental from the 20 vendors in concession row.

Click on the headline to see 20 photos of Connie, Art and their art work.