Loveland Magazine

LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: Loveland community

Our Loveland Story – The Colletto Family

by Kim and Dan Colletto

Loveland Schools are worth fighting for! Keeping our school district strong in turn will keep our beloved Loveland community thriving, protect our home values and make our neighborhoods enticing to outside buyers. We, as proud Lovelanders, will stand behind the #yesforloveland movement. This is our family’s story and why we are so passionate about supporting the Loveland School District.

Our family relocated from Orlando, Florida to Cincinnati in the summer of 2016. This change was met with a lot of resistance by myself and our girls, who were 12 and 8 at the time. We were faced with leaving the community we loved and the only home our girls had ever known. Getting the move right was essential, to set our family unit up for success in our new home. Where did we start? The area school districts.

In Orlando, our girls had grown into a young school district and a developing area, with one elementary and middle school to choose from. After 10 years in the area, our school district had grown to encompass three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a new high school. My husband and I sat on community growth committees, held school PTA board positions, and volunteered countless hours in the classroom, at fundraisers and community events. We assisted in the effort to make our neighborhood one of the best in the Orange County School District. We knew what a successful educational community looked like and we felt it was essential to make the right choice for the future of our girls in our relocation.

In researching the Cincinnati area, we toured every surrounding school district. The final school on our list was Loveland. We feared that the opportunities and programs would be lacking, as it was a smaller school district. Boy, were we wrong.

In Loveland, we were greeted by enthusiastic administration and teachers who took the time to talk directly to our girls and answer their questions. We had top-notch tours and even had a sit-down meeting with the superintendent, assistant superintendent, and the person who would be our daughter’s high school counselor. The girls instantly felt like they would feel safe and welcomed in the Loveland schools. The district’s forward thinking mindset, focus on growth, and developing a well rounded, competitive student was supremely impressive.

We knew Loveland was the right choice when we left that meeting. Not only were there educational opportunities here, including a thriving gifted program and course options such as foreign language and college prep courses, but the district had top-notch music and arts programs which were of very high importance to both our girls. Loveland was providing music programs from the elementary level up. The high school arts programs were known as some of the best in the Cincinnati area. These opportunities solidified our decision.

We wanted to get a sense of the Loveland community as well. We explored the quaint downtown, enjoyed the local restaurants, and toured a dozen homes before we ended up buying in a beautiful, homey neighborhood where we were instantly greeted by welcoming neighbors. We had found our home and a place where we felt confident our girls would thrive and above all, be happy. And they have flourished here. Each of our girls had different needs in the classroom and they were both met with phenomenal teachers and support. They each threw themselves into drama, music, and show choir. They were exposed to and tried new things including runners club, intramural sports, student government, and volunteerism.

Our oldest has now graduated and was set up to enter college with 32 hours of college credit classes allowing her to easily double major in two rigorous programs. The Loveland High School experience gave her the tools to enter into the world confident and prepared. Anna was exposed to a broad range of activities, including music, art, student media, Showchoir, and student leadership groups in addition to a multitude of course options from financial planning to AP and College Credit Plus opportunities. And she took advantage of it all. She had a remarkable high school experience and was set up to get into highly competitive college programs.

Our youngest is now a junior and is in the college preparation stage. While her high school experience began during the COVID-19 pandemic, she continues to have a wonderful high school life in her classes and extracurriculars including athletics, music, and show choir. We are so thankful for her dedicated school counselors and teachers and for the arts programs that have given her hope and comfort in spite of the challenges of these last couple of years due to the pandemic and unfortunate cuts in the Loveland schools. She has grown immensely into a hard-working student, performer, athlete, and a Tiger through and through. At Loveland, Avery has learned resilience through compassionate district leaders, teachers and mentors.

Even while navigating the challenges of failed levies, Loveland has kept excellence and the dedication to their students at the forefront. No matter what challenges the district may face, the foundation of community and excellence prevails. The opportunity for students to experience a vast, well-rounded education is there. But the reality is that many of those beloved, winning programs our children have been blessed with are now on the chopping block.

We have hope that the community will step up and value the importance of a strong school district and how important it is to set our children up for future success.

Our children in the younger grades should have the same opportunities to enter their years after high school prepared, motivated, and competitive. It’s up to each of us to fight for our schools and to keep Loveland thriving.

We are Lovelanders now and we won’t give up on our schools or this community. I hope you will join in the fight to keep Loveland strong and get out and vote #yesforloveland.

____________________________________

Kim and Dan Colletto live in the Miami Trails Neighborhood

Apr 11, 2023
[Video Interview] A Unity Prayer Walk through Loveland Neighborhoods

David Miller is the Editor and Publisher of Loveland Magazine

“God has given us a spirit of expectation to bring the community together.”

– Brittany Gault

by David Miller

Loveland, Ohio – The death of George Floyd hit Desmon Gault hard. I caught up with him and Brittany Gault Monday evening when they finished their evening Unity Prayer Walk through the neighborhoods surrounding the Prince of Peace Church on Lebanon Road.

Concerned over the death of George Floyd and wanting to be a symbol of healing and prayer-filled hope to the Loveland community, Desmon has been organizing evening prayer walks since last Saturday.

Floyd died in police custody on May 25 in the Powderhorn community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white American Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; according to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time occurred after Floyd became unresponsive.

Desmon wrote on FaceBook last Wednesday leading up to his decision to organize the Unity Prayer Walks.

I could barely sleep last night. My mind just wouldn’t turn off. The extreme thoughts of what if that was me, my Dad, my son, my nephews, a family member or friend; flooded my thoughts and emotions. Far too often these thoughts have filtered through my mind through the many events that have unfolded in my lifetime.

We live in a time full of uncertainty. In the year 2020, who would’ve ever imagine we would be fighting the same fight of old. Yes I agree we are ages ahead of the racial tension of old, but yet so far away from the peace and forgiveness we so desperately need as a nation.

Maybe we’re closer than I think. Maybe I’m feeding into the agenda of the media and the powers that be. Maybe I’ve let the perception of the nationwide injustice or the personal experiences of racism I witness in my lifetime, blind my eyes of what actually is. Or maybe I’m just finally awaken to the fact that America will never change.

Many will say we are better than we once were… But systematically are we truly? Though I love the Lord with all my Mind, Body and Spirit, how will that stop someone from using their free will of mistaking me for the wrong person which transpires to me being that latest headline on the news.

Maybe I’m just thinking to much into it, or maybe… just maybe this is the heart wrenching reality of our America.

These were just my thoughts last night…I prayed and finally went to sleep.

Watch this LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV interview with the Gaults to find out what was on their hearts and why they are walking in Loveland. I spoke to this deeply religious couple immediately after Desmon prayed for those who walked with them. I also asked the couple what they would say to “nonbelievers” and asked why the death of George Floyd has made such an impact on everyday people in the Loveland Community.

Desmon said that he hopes that he and his wife can be an inspiration to someone amid this trial in our city and our nation. “When I heard about the death of George Floyd my heart wanted to turn hard and bitter and I wanted to be angry,” he explained. So it was around last Thursday evening he decided to do something to be “impactful to his family, his son, and his daughter.”

Because we are an interracial couple – what can we do to make our voice be known in all of this –– this fog that’s going on in this world? – Desmon Gault

Brittany said, “If anyone wants to join us we’re going to continue this and we just ask God that he’s going to help us lead when others don’t know how to lead. God has given us a spirit of expectation to bring the community together.”

They will be walking again Tuesday beginning at 5:45 PM, meeting at the intersection of West Loveland and North Lebanon Road.

Jun 2, 2020
A video message from LHS Senior William Heard about his $socks4homeless2020 sock drive

Loveland, Ohio – Instead of having a graduation party, Loveland High School Senior William Heard decided, “that because of the virus” he should hold a sock drive to lift the spirits of those who have few material possessions.

For the graduation year of 2020, William would like to collect 2,020 pairs of new socks, or more, by the time he turns 18.

I want to do this in an effort to help those who are homeless and less fortunate than us. Due to all of the depression and fear surrounding the community in times like these, I want to be able to be a light in someone’s life by providing something to them that is so simple, yet very necessary.

Hello!

I just wanted to give a quick update about the sock drive so far. I have currently received from the Loveland community 307 pairs of socks and $1,203 in monetary donations, of which I used to purchase 1,356 pairs of socks and I

cassie mattia,

The deadline to bring socks/donations is on June 11 and I plan on delivering socks between Monday, June 15 and Saturday, June 20. Thank you so much for helping push the word out!

Sincerely,
William Heard

William is accepting money donations through Paypal, Venmo, and Cashapp (all of which are listed below), as well as setting up a drop-off point at his house, 1205 W Main Street, Loveland, OH 45140.

Venmo

Paypal

Cashapp: $socks4homeless2020

May 20, 2020
Sitting down with Loveland’s newest council member, Andy Bateman

In the video above, council member Andy Bateman sits down to talk about his new experience at the job, the future of Loveland, and how he sees our city.

Mihaela Manova

by Mihaela Manova

Loveland, Ohio – Fresh from getting newly elected, Andy Bateman has grown in popularity with his youthful presence and warm demeanor. Ever since the Loveland community has witnessed his election and presence in the city’s governing body, the locals expect the best to come from his ambition.

We met for the first time back in December when he was inducted in the city’s governing body and we were excited to see what could come next for our city. You can see our coverage and our first quick interview with him HERE (begin at 0.54).

In our interview with Andy (his name preference contrast to Mr. Bateman or Andrew), we learn more about his origin of ambitions, his outlook on Loveland, and what he could change if given the chance.

Jan 29, 2020
[w/Photos] St. Columban student Paul Laufersweiler’s keynote address to Veterans

Loveland, Ohio – These are the remarks St. Columban student, Paul Laufersweiler delivered as the keynote address at the Loveland Veterans’ Memorial on Memorial Day on November 11.

Veteran’s Day this year was another one for the books as fully uniformed St. Columban students marched down Oakland Road to the Loveland Veterans’ Memorial, located at the corner of Riverside and West Loveland. In honor of St. Columban’s Annual Walk for Local Veterans dozens of 7th and 8th-grade students from St. Columban School gathered around the Loveland Veterans’ Memorial with local veterans as a service was conducted in their honor.

We take time this morning to remember all of those who have served the United States of America, especially those from the Loveland community, to whom this memorial is dedicated.

Today there is, and perhaps there will always be, conflict in the world. But the United States, fortunately, enjoys peace and freedom.

Like other things of great value, this security did not come cheaply. Americans, who answered the call to military duty when their country needed them, have already paid part of the cost.

But another part of freedom’s cost must continue to be paid long after the weapons have been silenced. This debt is owed to our American veterans.

Some need their country’s help, even as their country once needed theirs. Often they need to readjust, to recover from wounds or to overcome hardships of age and infirmity. Most need and ask nothing in repayment for their sacrifices.

Let us continue to help those veterans in need with the greatest possible compassion, concern, and care. To these, since they ask no special thanks, we can best pay tribute this day by recognizing what they have achieved and joining them in their resolve to keep America strong and free.

These photos were taken by Paul’s mother, Stephanie during the Veterans Day ceremony. (Click photos for a larger view)

Related:

[Video Slide Show] St. Columban students Salute Local Veterans

Nov 19, 2019
Kathryn Lorenz: There’s no such thing as a small tax levy

by Kathryn Lorenz

I’ve been a Loveland school board member since 1991 and just prior to being elected, I was a chairperson of the bond issue campaign that earned us our “new” high school. Over these past 28 years, I’ve seen quite a few operating levies and a couple of bond issues, almost all of which have been supported by our Loveland community. None of them have been small or seemed completely fair. “Why not?” might be the question.

Kathryn Lorenz is a Loveland School Board member. She is Professor Emerita of French at the University of Cincinnati, and the mother of two Loveland graduates and the grandmother of three current Loveland school students.

First of all, Loveland has a predominantly residential tax base. This means that the tax burden is mostly borne by homeowners, whether their houses are large or small, whether their incomes are growing or fixed, whether they are employed or retired, whether they have school age children or not. And tax collections, once approved, can’t grow with increased valuation of property or additional homes or additional students in the district. So tax levies and bond issues, which are very big questions for voters, have a lot of inherent inequity, regardless of the number of mills involved. They can seem unfair to taxpayers just as the state funding model appears unfair to the school district.

Furthermore, tax levies are always a big deal. There has never been, in any of the years that I have been a board member, a tax issue that was proposed lightly or without consideration for the taxpayers of the district. Every levy has been considered through the lens of the current economy, the promises made in previous levies, the real needs of the district and the fiscal soundness of the uses proposed for the taxes to be collected.

Questions about the levy/bond issue shouldn’t be feared, nor should there be anger. Some questions are answered by board vote or information on the district website. Some questions cannot be answered because they concern actions that the board has not yet been able to consider or take. The board is consistently trying to get information out and into the hands of our citizens.

Each board member is a Loveland taxpayer. That doesn’t make it any easier to ask more tax dollars of our families, neighbors or fellow citizens. We all know what we committed to in becoming a board member and we take our responsibility very seriously. Our job is to oversee the provision of a safe and adequate education for all the children of our community. We strive further for excellence in Loveland education and we believe our community deserves no less.

Over the years that I have been a board member, enrollment in our schools has more than doubled. I imagine that you have seen Loveland schools get bigger and stronger and yes, better. This progress can only be due to the work of our whole community – citizens, parents, teachers, students. We, the community as a whole, expect great things from our schools and we have overwhelmingly supported the district in these past years. During this time, we have seen districts all around us struggle and communities as a whole suffer, often taking many years to recover from failed support of their schools.

Let’s never take for granted what we have in Loveland today. It has taken tremendous effort to get here and will take resources to maintain our place. We are at a truly important moment and there is really no option for us other than to rely on support on Election Day to keep our schools running and improving. An investment is necessary.

This Board of Education has respectfully presented a big picture. A big ask. It is based on needs of space and programs. We are beyond capacity but not beyond our abilities. Please consider carefully the issue that is on the November 5th ballot. Our students and their futures deserve no less.

Oct 7, 2019
Meeting Needs Now and for the Future
by Dr. Amy Crouse

As we launch a new school year at Loveland City Schools, I am particularly grateful to our community, which continues to support and invest in the greater good, especially for our children. Last week, more than 100 community members volunteered to prepare the playground at Loveland Early Childhood Center for our youngest Tigers to enjoy their first recess. And the community’s involvement has been evident throughout the past several years as hundreds of residents provided input in the district’s facility master planning process, where we extensively researched, assessed and vetted the district’s building and infrastructure needs, ultimately developing a plan that will adequately prepare our graduates.

Dr. Amy Crouse is the Loveland City School District Superintendent

The message heard from the community was clear: Loveland Schools must continue the positive momentum in academic achievement, yet the aging buildings need renovations and upgrades. With teachers using mobile carts and hallways for instruction and temporary trailer classrooms to absorb our overcrowded classrooms, we must modernize our facilities for our children and our community to have a strong future. The Loveland community expects a high-quality education and the reality is that we need to upgrade and expand science and technology laboratories to prepare students for college and 21st-century careers.

The plan put forth and adopted unanimously by the Board of Education is cost-effective and unique to Loveland’s current and future needs. The plan:
- reduces our reliance on trailers as classrooms and mobile carts and hallways for teaching;
- provides safer and more secure learning environments at all of our schools with secure entrances, camera systems and electronically-activated locks to prevent intrusions;
- updates and expands offerings of science, technology, engineering and math programs that are increasingly mandatory for colleges and careers.
The bottom line is, we do a great job of maintaining our buildings and infrastructure, but we are to the point where it’s more costly to maintain than it is to upgrade or, in some cases, rebuild. The district’s facility needs will not go away; they will only increase in cost. There is no zero-cost option and without this levy investment we will need to continue diverting funds from the classroom so that we can make critical fixes in our schools.

Strong schools mean a strong community, and I encourage everyone to make sure our schools are as strong as possible by joining us over the next couple of months at community conversations. Please see www.lovelandschools.org for all scheduled events. There will be a presentation at Loveland High School on September 12 at 7 p.m. where residents can learn more about the November 5th ballot issue and why it’s needed now. And, as always, please feel free to contact me directly with questions.

In service to our Tigers.
Aug 27, 2019
There’s no obstacle this local retired Pastor can’t overcome

Our continuing search for Loveland’s kindest, sweetest people and what they’re made of. What is our DNA match?

Loveland Magazine columnist Cassie Mattia is a resident of Historic Downtown Loveland

Loveland, Ohio – Life presents opportunities in the most unexpected ways. The opportunity could display itself at work, in nature, through another person or while you are simply enjoying an intense session of Netflix. What’s important is when an opportunity presents itself, you run with it because that opportunity may never present itself again. This is one of the many life mottos, former Loveland Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (POP) Pastor, Tom Stroeh lives by.

Tom Stroeh became very active in a church congregation at a young age as he was growing up with his sister in Wisconsin.

Cassie Mattia interviewing Tom Stroeh at the Loveland Magazine office.

“My parents were very important. Hospitality was really important to them. They were very welcoming. All of that kind of carried over into my involvement with the church congregation,” Stroeh explained.

Both of Stroeh’s parents went to church on a regular basis, but his pastor at the church he attended took a particular interest in Stroeh telling him on multiple occasions that he was going to be a pastor when he grew up.

My hometown pastor was very influential in getting me to where I wanted to be as a pastor,” Stroeh said, “At the congregation, when the choir was singing or the offering was taken up, the pastor would leave after the sermon and go visit Sunday school classes. The next thing that would happen would be the prayers of the church. One Sunday I was the acolyte and I was sitting near the organist and the pastor didn’t come back! I said, ‘The pastor’s not here yet,’ and they said, ‘Well then you go lead the prayers!’ I was 13 at the time. It was what I call an ‘Isaiah’ moment. So with a quivering voice, I led the prayers from the service book.”

That one moment inspired Stroeh to follow his heart and work towards becoming a part of the Ministry. After graduating with an English degree from St. Olaf College, a small Lutheran college in Minnesota, Stroeh went to the Northwestern Lutheran Seminary in Minneapolis. He then conducted his internship in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he met his wife Joan, who was a member of the church congregation Stroeh was interning at. Shortly after meeting the love of his life, the couple married and moved to Northern Texas, where Tom got his first opportunity to start a congregation.

“We started a ministry in Denton, Texas of basically knocking on doors! There were two universities in town so there was definitely a ministry to students,” Stroeh said.

As Stroeh and his wife worked hard, using their church congregation to unite a divided community that was affected heavily by racism, another opportunity arose. The Stroeh’s took in an African American boy named Alan and raised and nurtured him for 6 months.

“There was no one to take care of him at the time,” Stroeh explained, “So we took him in until they found good care for him. We didn’t think we could have any children, then we had 3 in 18 months!”

During The Stroeh’s time in Texas, they had twins, Dave and Kristen and their son John. In 1971, unfortunate events brought some very fortunate opportunities for Stroeh in the “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

“My wife and I were having health problems at both ends of our family. Joan’s dad had serious heart problems and my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer,” Stroeh said, “I felt the need to try and get close to both parents so we could travel to see them when we needed to. Turned out there was availability in greater Cincinnati. We took John and the twins, who were at the time 1 and 2, and drove through the night from Denton, Texas to Loveland, Ohio. We moved into Loveland Heights in a fairly small house, but with an expanding family, we moved a year later to another subdivision. Things in Loveland were really quite different then! Loveland was a great town to raise our kids in,” Stroeh added.

Immediately upon arrival to Loveland, Stroeh was welcomed by the POP congregation as their new pastor and by the Loveland community as their newest family member.

“I knew I was a welcomed member of the community back in the summer of 1971 when Mayor Viola Philips invited me to ride with her in a red convertible in the 4th of July parade and throw out candy to the kids along the parade route,” Stroeh said, “One time I even got the opportunity to play the part of Reverend Kemper. It was the bicentennial for Loveland. I came riding in on a horse in a reenactment of Loveland’s first wedding!”

As Loveland and the POP congregation welcomed Stroeh with open arms he began to give back the love and support to the community in more ways than anyone could have ever imagined. Stroeh, the POP congregation, and other Loveland area churches formed Loveland Inter-Church Youth. Every Thursday at 6:30 AM the group would meet at POP for breakfast, listen to a speaker, worship, then the group would walk down to the high school. Stroeh and the POP team also led Bible study, tutoring, and parent support groups at subsidized housing

complexes in Loveland as well as lead worship at the Loveland Health Care Center. Stroeh continued the trend of always taking advantage of opportunities given to him by surveying the neighborhoods that surrounded Loveland and asking those people how he could serve them. By doing that, POP Kids School, a Christian Pre-School, was established. Stroeh and the POP congregation, along with St. Columban Church and Loveland United Methodist Church, also sponsored a family with 6 children from Laos.

While doing so much for the Loveland community and POP, the Stroeh’s added a 4th child to the family and the Loveland Community. Joan then returned to her passion teaching. She taught first grade at Loveland Elementary School and retired in 2005. “Joan made quite the impact on the Loveland school system,” said Tom Stroeh.

“Our youngest son Dan has quite a story. When he was freshman at Wittenberg University he was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis, which is where tumors form around the nerves. Sometimes the tumors are external but his were internal. We were told they were inoperable.

One of the things about Loveland that I appreciate so much is that we are close to a lot of things especially medical facilities. Dan was a participant in a drug test through the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda Maryland and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital was instrumental in getting him accepted into the program, hoping that maybe it would decrease the size of the tumors and decrease the amount of pain. Along with the tumors against nerves you can imagine what it would do with the pain level. He went back to school and was on this drug for 28 days, then would be off it for 2 weeks and come back to get examined. He continued that cycle for a whole year.

Dan was a creative writing and drama major. For his senior thesis he decided to write a play and he called it ‘‘it is no desert.’ He performed it himself as it was a one person play. By this time he has a brace on both legs and walked with a cane. Every once in a while he had to use a wheelchair but now he is mostly in a wheelchair.

His theater professor called him over summer break and said ‘I think we should enter your play into the Kennedy Center Theater competition.’ It’s a national competition for student playwrights. During Homecoming weekend for the school he performed his play and the judges for the competition were there. We found out a few weeks later that he made the next round. He performed his play again in Milwaukee and then after Christmas that year he found out he won the competition.

He performed his play at the Aronoff Center a couple of times. Again I appreciated the support from the Prince of Peace congregation the Loveland Community. He also to perform it at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C. People came all the way from Loveland to the Kennedy Center!

The play is about him being an athlete on the soccer team and then he got this disease – and the whole diagnostic process and sort of what he had to do to adjust to it. It was sometimes gut wrenching but other times it was actually really funny. One of the rewards for winning was that he got his play published by Samuel French.

It’s quite something for a parent to watch something on stage that’s a story you know all too well.”

“My wife Joan went through cancer in the ’80s. She was a real inspiration to me,” Stroeh said. “She also inspired a lot of her students, so when she got sick, the Loveland community was great. The Loveland teachers brought us food and of course, the POP congregation was there too.”

Stroeh retired after being a pastor for 34 and a half years at POP. During that time Stroeh gave everything he had to his church congregation and to the community of Loveland.

Stroeh said, “I think one of the needs we have these days is that we need to truly listen to what drives a person and what has shaped and molded that person. What value system do they have? What gives them joy or a sense of accomplishment.

“I loved to hear people’s stories,” Stroeh said, “I think one of the needs we have these days is that we need to truly listen to what drives a person and what has shaped and molded that person. What value system do they have? What gives them joy or a sense of accomplishment. We don’t hear each other enough. I remember one story in particular about a Vietnam veteran. He would come to my office at night usually drinking. When he was drinking he would often reminisce about his experience in Vietnam,” Stroeh explained. “Unfortunately he had a friend in Vietnam who would take pictures of the people this guy had killed. So he had this stack of pictures that when he would drink he would go through and become filled with guilt. There were adults and children in those photos. It was terrible. We talked many times about it and finally one night when he came in and it was obvious he had been drinking, I said ‘Come to the sanctuary with me.’ We knelt at the altar and we prayed. Then I said

“Will you give those photos to me? I want to put them on the altar and after you leave I’m going to destroy them.”

‘Will you give those photos to me? I want to put them on the altar and after you leave I’m going to destroy them.’ And he did. Every time he looked at those photos he was reliving the experience. It was destroying him. He probably had those photos for 6 years. Eventually, the family moved from Loveland and I haven’t heard from them since, but it’s my hope that by letting go of the past he was able to find some peace.”

If you ask those around the community about Tom Stroeh many will say that during his career as a pastor he was instrumental in helping those less fortunate and in welcoming diversity into the community of Loveland.

“One of the things that came out of the ministerial association when I was still working was the Loveland food pantry. It was one of the things that I felt was very important for those less fortunate in the community,” Stroeh explained, “It was important to me that the church provided a space for the food pantry and so now the life food pantry is still at Prince of Peace. Loveland has always had a variety of incomes. It’s my hope that we could continue to become more diverse and anything that I can still do to encourage that I want to do,” Stroeh said.

Since retirement Stroeh has been staying heavily involved in the Loveland Community as well as the Prince of Peace congregation.

“I am still singing in two choirs at church. Music is a ministry to me. The fellowship of singing in a group is beyond words. We just started an all men’s choir a year ago that goes to a nursing home once a month and it’s just a really fun experience,” Stroeh said, “I also go to a senior group where we talk about our medications. I also visit retired pastors and their spouses and that’s really fun visiting them. A couple years ago I got involved in local politics as well. My two biggest passions are teaching and preaching,” Stroeh added.

Just last year the Loveland community got their turn to show Stroeh their appreciation for what he has done for them.

“Last May, I had a stroke and when I was at Good Samaritan Hospital I went blind. The next day I was able to see and when I woke up my family was surrounding me. All of my kids were there so I knew that what happened had to have been serious,” Stroeh explained, “I stayed a week in the hospital and then I was told I would need bypass surgery. In July, I had quadruple bypass surgery. It gave me the opportunity to reappropriate the gifts that I have been given. What was truly amazing was what the Loveland community and POP congregation did for my family and me. The church brought us food and of course prayers. They visited and just did everything they could to support Joan and me.

“Gratitude is a prominent theme and motivator for me.”

Gratitude is a prominent theme and motivator for me. I don’t take things for granted like I used to because it could be gone,” Stroeh said.

Stroeh successfully recovered from his bypass surgery and is now focusing on living every day like it’s going to be his last.

“I now take every opportunity that I can to get outdoors and enjoy creation,” Stroeh said.

Stroeh family photo around Christmas dinner table

A note from Pastor Stroeh:

Of course, after I got home from our interview, I thought of some things I wished I had said. For what they’re worth here they are:

• I knew I was a welcomed member of the community back in the summer of 1971 when Mayor Viola Philips invited me to ride with her in a red convertible in the 4th of July parade and throw out candy to the kids along the parade route.

• Prince of Peace Church has a long history of outreach and service to the community:

a. Back in the 1970s as an alternative to the prevalent drug culture in the area, we and area churches formed Loveland Inter-Church Youth (ICY — Cool Christians!) — the group would meet in our building for breakfast, a speaker and worship every Thursday at 6:30 a.m. and then walk down to the high school which was on Lebanon Road at that time.

b. A.A. and Al-anon have been meeting at POP since the sixties.

c. We once housed the Hamilton County Well-baby Clinic.

d. For many years: a team from POP would lead worship at the Loveland Health Care Center; a team would lead Bible study, tutoring and parent support groups at the subsidized housing complexes

e. After surveying the surrounding neighborhoods and asking people how we could serve them, it was decided to establish POP Kids School – a Christiian pre-school.

• In the 1980s we helped (with St. Columban and Loveland United Methodist) to sponsor the Sinanthas – family of mother, father and six children from Laos.

• In the 1990’s we established a partnership with a Lutheran congregation in the state of Mecklenburg, in the former East Germany, just after the wall came down.

• Now POP supports the Haitian TImoun Foundation. Each year a number of our members spend time in Haiti.

• Among the things I like about Loveland is the school system.

• A watchword for me in life is “Where God guides, God also provides.”

• We have on our front lawn a sign (which was distributed by our church) that says: “HATE HAS NO HOME HERE.”

If you think you know someone in the community that has made a huge impact on Loveland and would be a great candidate for our Loveland’s DNA segment feel free to email us at lovelandmagazine@cinci.rr.com.

Read MORE about the people who make up Loveland’s unique DNA…

Feb 28, 2019
An Inspirational Loveland Family “Canoes” Their Way Into People’s Hearts

My second feature story in a continuing search for Loveland’s kindest, sweetest people and what they’re made of. What is our DNA match?

Cassie Mattia is a columnist for Loveland Magazine and lives in Historic Downtown. Reach out to Cassie at cassiemattia@lovelandmagazine.com

Loveland, Ohio – The City of Loveland is known for many things such as its beautiful scenery, its historic buildings, and the famous Loveland Bike Trail, but what a lot of people don’t know is Loveland has become one of the top destination spots in Ohio for families. And the Bersani family is dedicated to that family-friendly atmosphere. What could be better than grabbing an ice cream cone from Loveland Sweets after a sunny afternoon canoeing on the Little Miami River? Well, that’s something Loveland Canoe and Kayak Owners Mark and Robyn Bersani couldn’t agree more with!

Mark and Robyn live right above their canoe and kayak shop on Karl Brown Way in Historic Downtown Loveland with their 5 dogs and their daughter Elena and quite frankly couldn’t be happier with where the journey to owning Loveland Canoe and Kayak has taken them.

The Bersanis knew they had some challenges ahead of them, but were committed to making Loveland Canoe and Kayak a family affair and family-friendly.

“We were not canoeists or kayakers we were outdoors people. We loved being outdoors and doing physical things,” Bersani said, “We were training for the Chicago Marathon in 2003 and we were running on the Loveland Bike Trail and Robyn said ‘Hey the Canoe business is for sale we should buy it! Robyn said ‘I’m off in the summer I don’t like to sit still and we will hire some kids and we will do it!’ We went into the process of negotiation. Initially, we were not going to get it because someone else had a better offer than things fell through and they came back to us and we put together an offer and essentially ‘We bought a Zoo,” Bersani explained. The business was formally owned by Bruce Crutchfield who at one time had a caged chimpanzee at the business named Sam who canoeists and locals fed a regular diet of beer and cigarettes.

The Bersanis didn’t always live in Loveland, in fact, they lived in Buffalo where their parents went to school together, which led them to eventually meet each other in high school.

Elena Bersani is not only an incredible hard-worker, an outstanding runner and Loveland’s very own “Sweetheart,” according to her parents, but she also has a soft spot for the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department.

“It took me 7 years to get a date,” Bersani joked, “But it was well worth the wait! We moved to Dallas a year after we got married. I started in Telecom and Robyn started teaching then I got transferred to New Orleans. We moved back up here to Cincinnati not knowing much about it except that we both had driven through it and thought it was beautiful coming from the Kentucky side,” Mark Bersani said, “Robyn started teaching in the Kings district and at that point, I had been in sales for 25 years in Telecommunications.”

After finally closing on the canoe and kayak property right before Memorial Day in 2004, the Bersanis knew they had some challenges ahead of them, but were committed to making Loveland Canoe and Kayak a family affair.

It was a challenge early on because Robyn and I had a vision for the business that was different from what others had seen it as before we took over,” Mark Bersani explained, “We wanted it to be a place where families could come and enjoy nature. At the time people knew the place as a sort of ‘Cabrewing’ venue. It was frustrating at times as we were trying to change the culture and dynamics. It wasn’t always easy but we were committed.”

The Bersani’s daughter Elena admitted at a young age of just 11 years old some of the people that came through Loveland Canoe and Kayak in the beginning quite frankly scared her.

Robyn Bersani was the first to experience what a difference the family-friendly atmosphere they created with Loveland Canoe and Kayak made for many locals and out-of-towners.

“It took 2 or 3 years of education, policy enforcement and talking with the local authorities to see what we could do to achieve our vision of that family-friendly environment,” Mark Bersani said, “People told me if you do away with alcohol your business is going to be gone. I was told if you make the decision to go alcohol free and you stick with it you’re going to have a couple of years that are going to be really difficult and then it’s going to get better because people are going to find out that they can bring their families, sports teams and scout troops because of what the business stands for. People from Loveland started pulling me aside after they saw what we were doing and would tell me thank you for doing this because they used to have to go an hour up the river to do this with their families because they did not want to be around the alcohol and what it brought along with it,” he explained.

Robyn Bersani was the first to experience what a difference the family-friendly atmosphere they created with Loveland Canoe and Kayak made for many locals and out-of-towners.

“Five of the original kids we hired stayed with us for 9 summers because of the atmosphere we created. My principal at Kings called me in the office and I thought she was going to tell me I can’t be a teacher and run the canoe and kayak business and she called me in and said ‘My son needs a job!,” Robyn Bersani said, “It’s the little things like the comments from people saying, ‘Thank you so much this was the best day my son and I have ever had.’ When people get out there on the river they realize how good it makes them feel. Our vision always was to get families out together in nature,” she said.

Robyn Bersani, who has now been a 3^rd grade teacher for 28 years at Kings, knows a little something about inspiring our younger generation to not only reach their goals but to not be afraid to try something new even if they don’t succeed at it the first time.

“It took 2 or 3 years of education, policy enforcement and talking with the local authorities to see what we could do to achieve our vision of that family-friendly environment,” Mark Bersani said.

“I always wanted to be a teacher from a young age, but my parents pushed me to do something different, so I got a bachelor’s degree in psychology,” Robyn Bersani explained, “But then I thought to myself what better way to serve the world than to educate children. I want to prove things to the world like there are more important things than how an 8-year-old scores on a standardized test!”

Of course, Robyn Bersani isn’t the only one in the Bersani family making an impact on the Loveland community; both Mark and Elena Bersani do their fair share of helping and encouraging others. Mark is on the board of the Adventure Crew, which is a non-profit where the objective is to get urban kids in outdoor activities.

“We get about 125 kids out into nature and get them to experience things they would never get to experience otherwise,” Mark Bersani said, “This year they have skiing on the curriculum, they ,of course, will have biking on the Loveland Bike Trail and kayaking in the Spring and the Fall. This is all funded through donations and grants.”

“Elena has a place in her heart for firemen so she will make cookies and brownies for them all the time,” Robyn Bersani said.

Mark also takes part in what they call a “River Clean-up,” where they spend the day taking trash out of the State and National Scenic Little Miami River.

“We are big on doing what we can to stop the trash that is thrown into the river. With the River Clean-up, I have found a hot tub, a boat and one time I pulled out 65 tires!”, Marl Bersani said, “People don’t realize that 90 percent of trash and plastic in the oceans comes from rivers and streams. We used to get our dumpster emptied twice a week now it’s once every 4 to 5 weeks, so we have definitely made an improvement.”

Elena Bersani is not only an incredible hard-worker, an outstanding runner and Loveland’s very own “Sweetheart,” according to her parents, but she also has a soft spot for the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department.

“Elena has a place in her heart for firemen so she will make cookies and brownies for them all the time,” Robyn Bersani said, “I think she recognizes how much they have done for our family and our business and of course all they do for the Loveland community. The Fire Department has really looked out for us.”

Elena ran cross country for Kings and made it to State in 2010. She also attended the Art Institute where she focused on her love for baking, which led her to win “Best in Show” for her cannoli’s.

“Both of our girls have worked in the business for a number of years. They have unbelievable work ethics that we tried to instill through our example,” Robyn Bersani said, “It has always been important to us to be good role models and of course get involved in the community. We do a lot of things to somehow give back to the community. We try to donate to the community and local non-profits as much as we can so they can further their causes.”

The Bersani family have also been a part of some very successful fundraisers, such as Paddlefest, where 2,000 people paddle along the Ohio River, in which proceeds go towards the Adventure Crew, and one of Loveland’s most famous events the Frogman 5k. Last year in October the Bersani’s took part in a Film Festival that was held in Loveland’s very own Nisbet Park, where proceeds went towards the Little Miami Conservatory.

Loveland Magazine columnist Cassie Mattia interviewing the Bersani family. She writes, “Mark and Robyn live right above their canoe and kayak shop on Karl Brown Way in Historic Downtown Loveland with their 5 dogs and their daughter Elena and quite frankly couldn’t be happier with where the journey to owning Loveland Canoe and Kayak has taken them.”

“It’s the big picture. It’s about being involved in the community as a business owner and resident. We want to connect with people and share resources. Everyone in this community really watches out for each other,” Robyn Bersani said, “We love telling the story of Loveland!”

The Bersanis are looking forward to the up and coming canoe and kayaking season and hope to see families from all over Ohio come and experience the beauty of Loveland and the Little Miami River. If you would like to learn more about the Loveland Canoe and Kayak you can visit their Facebook page, their website at lovelandcanoe.com or check out their location at 174 Karl Brown Way.

Read more about the Bersani family adventures…

Loveland, Ohio (Nov 9, 2015) – Mark Bersani and his wife Robyn own Loveland Canoe and Kayak on the bank of the State and National Scenic, Little Miami River in downtown. This Summer the weather was not kind to their business. Too much rain and too often, keeping river levels unsafe for canoers and kayakers. Business was dismal.

Mark’s staff made a dare. If they could muster enough customers to match last season, Mark would get tattooed, a tattoo like many of his young staff had already gotten.

This LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV VIDEO is the rest of that story….

Bersani keeps word: Canoes for Tattoos from Loveland Magazine on Vimeo.

Jan 31, 2019