Wednesday, March 22, 2023 • Vol. 15 No. 22 • FREE
Postal Customer Local / ECRWSS
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Community News from Middlefield, Parkman, Huntsburg and Surrounding Areas
PreSort Std U.S. Postage PAID Middlefield, OH 44062 Permit No. 77
Middlef ield
Glimpse of Yesteryear page 3
Faith Matters page 11
Foundation for Geauga Parks Welcomes New President page 9
Classifieds SUBMITTED
page 10
Firefighters combated a blaze at a building on Station Road owned by The Hardwood Lumber Company all night March 9 and 10.
Mouldings One Continues Production After Nearby Building Burns By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com Flames were not apparent when Middlefield Fire Department arrived at a fire on Station Road in Middlefield Township at about 8:30 p.m. March 9, but there was plenty of smoke. “Smoke was pushing out of the eves of the building,” Lt. Ben Reed said Saturday morning.
Because of the thick smoke and the building’s location — one side against a hill — the interior was hard to approach, Reed said. “Once we found (the fire), it was difficult to get to,” he said. As the firefighters worked to save the building, others began to arrive with water tankers from all over Geauga County, as well as from Ashtabula, Portage and Trumbull counties, Reed said.
A total of 25 departments contributed to the effort, he said. “We needed a lot of water,” Reed said, adding when the wind picked up in the morning, conditions for fighting the fire worsened. A press release from Middlefield Fire Department said crews worked for several hours to bring the fire under control. There were no injuries and no other buildings were damaged.
About one-third of the building owned by The Hardwood Lumber Co. was saved because of a firewall, but the main part of the building was charred and smoking come Friday morning, even when the danger from the blaze was extinguished, Reed said. Firefighters stayed on scene, putting out hot spots and waiting until the state fire marshal arrived See Fire • Page 8
Huskies Strong Up Middle on Diamond By Rich Kelly sports@karlovecmedia.com The Cardinal Huskies baseball team had a solid, if unspectacular, season on baseball diamonds last season. Cardinal finished above the break-even mark with a 12-9 record that included a 5-5 CVC Valley Division record, built mostly on solid pitching, good defense and opportune offense. That looks to be the same basic formula for Head Coach Greg Bean again this season. The Huskies are not loaded with numbers, with 19 players comprising the entire team. That said, the junior
varsity schedule will play out with some varsity players with limited experience putting in time. Most teams look for the strength of their teams to be up the middle on defense, and the Huskies are loaded in that area. Pitching will be a great place to start, and Coach Bean has a solid trio of starters who will rotate effectively between mound efforts and regular defensive positioning. It all starts with senior righthander Jake Bean. His efforts in all Cardinal sports have been a See Baseball • Page 7
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Cardinal Softball Expects An Upward Swing By Rich Kelly sports@karlovecmedia.com
Last season was a rough one for the ladies of Cardinal High School on the softball diamond. As Head Coach Haley Adams grew in building the relationship with her team, youthful inexperience played a huge role. Unfortunately that inexperi-
ence led to many thumpings on the diamond, and when a team gets thumped, games usually end up shorter. That, in turn, does not provide the experience-building mode a team needs to grow. The Huskies’ 2-14 record last season, including a 0-9 CVC mark, didn’t provide the experiences needed to improve the product. At See Softball • Page 6
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