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EL Area Community & Learning Center reaches beyond intended focus groups

By CHARLES B. LANG 5 min read

EAST LIVERPOOL - When the HHH Foundation applied for tax exemption status in 2017 with the IRS it was necessary to describe an area that we intended to serve. It was identified as East Liverpool and the surrounding tri-state area. This has been the primary focus of the East Liverpool Area Community & Learning Center.

Today the community center reaches out to others far beyond its original intended focus. A new program at the center this summer was a Music and Motion for toddlers on Wednesday mornings. It was so successful that it required two sessions each week due to the number of toddlers who showed up. Locals Katy Muldoon and Amy Dunlap came up with this unique children's program. One parent brought her child from near Salem. Also on Wednesday mornings each week Margaret Myers, high school art instructor, held art classes for older children. The children produced some amazing works of art. Myers is making plans for her classes next year.

A Hall China Collectors Convention attracted several hundred visitors from across the country to the center. Some had never been to our city before. Scheduled outings to other locations around the city were offered but the community center was where they returned to each day where classes were held and exhibits of Hall China ware could be viewed.

The Guardians of the Children, a motorcycle club, devotes its efforts to protecting children who are victims of parent abuse. The center has been the home of the Guardians since it first organized. The Guardians have hosted families at the center from as far away as Marietta, Ohio. They are the only club in the nation located in Ohio.

Volunteer Linda Henderson chairs the Butterfly Garden located on the west lawn of the center. This is an East Liverpool Rotary Club project done in cooperation with students of East Liverpool High School. Butterflies will pollinate flowers in the garden and these beautiful creatures can be observed by visitors to the center. Monarch butterflies will prepare for migration to Mexico and South America before returning one day to begin a new life cycle.

Teresa James, a collector of old-time movies like the center's, each week presents the Thursday Nite Movies at the Center at 6 p.m. There is a loyal following of movie goers who regularly turnout to see great classic movies and then James leads a discussion about the plot, the actors and the performance.

The center has a wide screen, surround sound theatre with air-conditioning and snacks at no charge. The Center Theatre is available to folks from beyond our immediate area. A newspaper recently reported that Alliance is showing movies in its local library. The Center Theatre would welcome folks from the surrounding area to our theatre. No comparable theatres are in easy driving distance of East Liverpool. Visitors are welcome each day.

The schedule for James' movies in August will feature Spencer Tracy. The last movie in July was "Father of the Bride" starring Tracy. All movies in August will feature him. On Aug. 3 is "San Francisco," Aug. 10 is "Boys Town," Aug. 17 is "Edison the Man," Aug. 24 is "Boom Town" and Aug. 31 is a western, "Bad Day at Black Rock." Come to the center to experience the fun at the movies.

The John Fitzjohn Foundation calls the center its home. Its board for the past few years has awarded scholarships to talented area students wishing to further their music career at music camps and colleges beyond this area. The foundation sponsors a talent show each year in the center's auditorium for student awardees to display their talents to parents and others and to give them a great send off to their future training as they move on.

In July the Pegasus Track Club held its annual Awards Banquet in the center's Banquet Hall. So many participants and families participated that the event had to be held over two evenings. Nearly 200 people each night enjoyed a meal and then awards were presented. Many participants came from beyond what is generally considered to be that of the community center.

When the center first opened, the first major exhibit was the Harker Pottery Exhibit. Bill and Donna Gray built a display room for a Harker collection beside the lobby of the center. The Grays donated hundreds of pieces of Harker Pottery ware. Visitors from all around the country frequently visit just to see to see this amazing collection and purchase their books.

One way the community center is able to help support itself each year is to secure memberships to the Legacy & Legends Lecture Series. Memberships cost $100 and this covers two people. The center presently is accepting subscriptions for the seventh year of the lectures. The six lectures each year are held on a Tuesday evening in the Farmers Room. Lectures are preceded with a brief reception including oeuvres. Speakers have come from as far away as California and Florida.

This year's lectures extend from September to June 2024. Sept. 9 is author/humorist Fred Miller; Oct. 2, entitled "Dark Days," has Author Gary Cornell; Nov. 2 is the Ohio Underground Railroad with Kathy Shultz of California: Nov. 14 is author Craig Wetzel; March 12, 2024 will be Dr. Marc Hoffrichter speaking of the historic Riverview Cemetery; and April 16 the speaker will be Susan Weaver, director of the Museum of Ceramics. Membership forms are now available at the community center. You may call 330-385-2110 for information or to receive an application for membership.

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