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I think Kent just has a lot more festivals and events all year round. Recreation is better with the Cuyahoga River running right through town, with a few lakes pretty closeby too. Also very close to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, as well as both Akron and Cleveland. I think most people would enjoy life in Kent more due to the number of options at hand at all times. Just my opinion though.
Two of the best lakes in the Kent area -- Lakes Rockwell and Pippen -- are posted for no trespassing and no recreational activities are allowed.
I know there's Brady Lake, but I don't remember any public beaches/access there.
What are the recreational lakes in the Kent area? It looks like Kent is 20 minutes from West Branch State Park and Portage Lakes State Park. I've never been to either one. Any good? Anything closer popular with Kent residents?
However, Painesville is NOT a college town (it's the county seat of Lake County), unlike Kent or Oberlin. Oberlin has an extremely high cultural vibe with one of the nation's best music conservatories and college art museums, but still it's on a cultural level well below what's offered in University Circle, one of the nation's leading cultural centers. Kent State and Univ. of Akron offer Div. I sports teams, as does Cleveland State Univ. (but no football team), if that's an interest.
I'm going to push back on this comment just a wee bit . Although Painesville is not regarded specifically as a college town, it is home to a small historic liberal arts school, Lake Erie College, with about a thousand students, which dates back to 1856. The founders were from Mount Holyoke and it began as a female seminary, remaining a women's college until the 1970's. Lake Erie is now fully coed and in fact might have a slight majority male enrollment, so the founders are probably rolling over in their graves--lol. I think half the students now are on sports scholarships! While the campus is in the heart of town, when I was growing up there (in the 1960's) the college seemed rather aloof to the broader community. In recent years the city government has made efforts to try and rebrand Painesville as more of a "college town" and integrate Lake Erie more into the social fabric of the city. One bright spot is the renovation of a former bank building downtown into a dormitory for the college, which should be ready next year. So no, while Lake Erie College doesn't have the influence that a large university like Kent State or a prestigious, elite school like Oberlin has on their respective cities, it does have a special place historically in Painesville--
I'm going to push back on this comment just a wee bit . Although Painesville is not regarded specifically as a college town, it is home to a small historic liberal arts school, Lake Erie College, with about a thousand students, which dates back to 1856. The founders were from Mount Holyoke and it began as a female seminary, remaining a women's college until the 1970's. Lake Erie is now fully coed and in fact might have a slight majority male enrollment, so the founders are probably rolling over in their graves--lol. I think half the students now are on sports scholarships! While the campus is in the heart of town, when I was growing up there (in the 1960's) the college seemed rather aloof to the broader community. In recent years the city government has made efforts to try and rebrand Painesville as more of a "college town" and integrate Lake Erie more into the social fabric of the city. One bright spot is the renovation of a former bank building downtown into a dormitory for the college, which should be ready next year. So no, while Lake Erie College doesn't have the influence that a large university like Kent State or a prestigious, elite school like Oberlin has on their respective cities, it does have a special place historically in Painesville--
This is a good and interesting analysis, but it misses a key consideration -- what percentage of Lake Erie students live in college dorms? My impression is that Lake Erie now, much more than a half century ago, has a significant percentage of local students who commute to the college. I could be wrong, but none of the recent Lake Erie students of whom I have knowledge actually lived on campus. Residential students help shape and define a college town.
However, Lake Erie definitely has many more dorm rooms, even before the addition of the new downtown dorm, than a half century ago. At same time, the population of Painesville and of the rest of surrounding central Lake County (Mentor, Painesville Township, Concord Township, Fairport Harbor, Grand River, Perry Township) have mushroomed in population since 1960.
See population in the following Wikipedia articles.
Also, many Lake Erie students spend considerable time at the school's equine center in Concord Township, not engaged in Painesville activities.
It's probably minuscule, but how many Harvey High School students take college credit classes at Lake Erie, paid for by the school district? Are they counted in the student totals?
The physician assistant program is an important addition to the Lake Erie curriculum, but I think it's a fairly small program currently, with 26 students per class.
At one time, teacher education was very important to Lake Erie College, but I wonder if that hasn't waned as teaching has declined in popularity, and as Cleveland State, combined with Lakeland Community College's founding and growth, has changed the market for teacher training in Lake County.
Additionally, Lakeland's University Center increasingly provides stiff competition for Lake Erie College.
One reason that Lake Erie isn't more prominent in Painesville is because the city is the Lake County seat of government with county facilities and legal offices increasingly dominating the downtown area as Lake County grows in population.
This is a good and interesting analysis, but it misses a key consideration -- what percentage of Lake Erie students live in college dorms? My impression is that Lake Erie now, much more than a half century ago, has a significant percentage of local students who commute to the college. I could be wrong, but none of the recent Lake Erie students of whom I have knowledge actually lived on campus. Residential students help shape and define a college town.
However, Lake Erie definitely has many more dorm rooms, even before the addition of the new downtown dorm, than a half century ago. At same time, the population of Painesville and of the rest of surrounding central Lake County (Mentor, Painesville Township, Concord Township, Fairport Harbor, Grand River, Perry Township) have mushroomed in population since 1960.
See population in the following Wikipedia articles.
Also, many Lake Erie students spend considerable time at the school's equine center in Concord Township, not engaged in Painesville activities.
It's probably minuscule, but how many Harvey High School students take college credit classes at Lake Erie, paid for by the school district? Are they counted in the student totals?
The physician assistant program is an important addition to the Lake Erie curriculum, but I think it's a fairly small program currently, with 26 students per class.
At one time, teacher education was very important to Lake Erie College, but I wonder if that hasn't waned as teaching has declined in popularity, and as Cleveland State, combined with Lakeland Community College's founding and growth, has changed the market for teacher training in Lake County.
Additionally, Lakeland's University Center increasingly provides stiff competition for Lake Erie College.
One reason that Lake Erie isn't more prominent in Painesville is because the city is the Lake County seat of government with county facilities and legal offices increasingly dominating the downtown area as Lake County grows in population.
I can't answer most of your questions about the demographics of Lake Erie's enrollment. I do think though that since going coed more and more of the students have been locals who commute. While growing up back when the school was still all women, I remember having many student teachers from Lake Erie (as you indicated this was an important part of the college, probably in large part because a lot of professions weren't yet open to women on a widespread basis until later in the 70's), and as I recall most were from outside the area (one jr. high science teacher was from Poland, Ohio and she insisted it was pronounced Paw-land which of course we totally disputed lol). My 4th grade teacher at Huntington School in the 60's, a Lake Erie grad, was from Louisville, Ky. (in fact she taught there until retiring, some forty years later.) Also, part of the lack of Painesville's identity as a college town comes from the absence of the type of local college hangouts you see in most of them. I believe Oberlin's campus is adjacent to downtown, right? Also, Oberlin, while small, is still more than twice the size of Lake Erie, if my data is correct (then again Oberlin the town is much smaller than Painesville). Having gone to Harvey (50 years ago! arrgh), I only recall two classmates who went to Lake Erie. One, in fact, lived on Levan Drive, which I believe borders the campus to the west, and she actually lived in a dorm her first year!! Don't know exactly what that was all about to this day. I think with all the sports activity now and the downtown dorm coming, the college will probably have a more visible presence in Painesville over the years.
I can't answer most of your questions about the demographics of Lake Erie's enrollment. I do think though that since going coed more and more of the students have been locals who commute. While growing up back when the school was still all women, I remember having many student teachers from Lake Erie (as you indicated this was an important part of the college, probably in large part because a lot of professions weren't yet open to women on a widespread basis until later in the 70's), and as I recall most were from outside the area (one jr. high science teacher was from Poland, Ohio and she insisted it was pronounced Paw-land which of course we totally disputed lol). My 4th grade teacher at Huntington School in the 60's, a Lake Erie grad, was from Louisville, Ky. (in fact she taught there until retiring, some forty years later.) Also, part of the lack of Painesville's identity as a college town comes from the absence of the type of local college hangouts you see in most of them. I believe Oberlin's campus is adjacent to downtown, right? Also, Oberlin, while small, is still more than twice the size of Lake Erie, if my data is correct (then again Oberlin the town is much smaller than Painesville). Having gone to Harvey (50 years ago! arrgh), I only recall two classmates who went to Lake Erie. One, in fact, lived on Levan Drive, which I believe borders the campus to the west, and she actually lived in a dorm her first year!! Don't know exactly what that was all about to this day. I think with all the sports activity now and the downtown dorm coming, the college will probably have a more visible presence in Painesville over the years.
Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I've never heard anyone pronounce Poland as "paw-land." How old was this teacher? Maybe that pronunciation has faded away with time?
Now, if they were from Campbell, Ohio, I could see someone being surprised that locals pronounce it "Camel". I've lived in the area for over 22 years now, and I still don't know why Campbell is pronounced "Camel".
Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I've never heard anyone pronounce Poland as "paw-land." How old was this teacher? Maybe that pronunciation has faded away with time?
Now, if they were from Campbell, Ohio, I could see someone being surprised that locals pronounce it "Camel". I've lived in the area for over 22 years now, and I still don't know why Campbell is pronounced "Camel".
Anyway, back to our regular programming...
okay, this was back in the late 60's and I was in Jr. High, so as a student teacher she was probably 21 or 22. So now old, like me. I guess she pronounced it more like pollen, as opposed to paw (not that there's that much of a difference). Is that still not recognizable? I wish I could remember her name, but like all student and substitute teachers we loved giving her a hard time! lol
okay, this was back in the late 60's and I was in Jr. High, so as a student teacher she was probably 21 or 22. So now old, like me. I guess she pronounced it more like pollen, as opposed to paw (not that there's that much of a difference). Is that still not recognizable? I wish I could remember her name, but like all student and substitute teachers we loved giving her a hard time! lol
I've only ever heard it pronounced like the country in Europe.
Maybe it was from a slight variation in accent? There is a very slight accent here. I've heard it's from influence from Pittsburgh. But I don't know if it has weakened or gotten stronger over the last 50 years. And, I don't know if it would affect how "Poland" was pronounced. The only example of the accent I can think of is completely unrelated; long "e" sounds shift to a short "i" sound. So "steel" might sound like "still".
okay, this was back in the late 60's and I was in Jr. High, so as a student teacher she was probably 21 or 22. So now old, like me. I guess she pronounced it more like pollen, as opposed to paw (not that there's that much of a difference). Is that still not recognizable? I wish I could remember her name, but like all student and substitute teachers we loved giving her a hard time! lol
I'm going to make myself vulnerable here since this is a s small part of the whole forum. My last name is Poland, but it's not even a Polish last name! It's an Irish last name. It started as Poulan or something like that and was "anglicized" when the person who had it moved to what is now the US. It is Gaelic and means "small pond." So it could be pronounced as Poo Lan or something like that. Who knows? I pronounce it like the name of the country of Poland in central Europe.
I've only ever heard it pronounced like the country in Europe.
Maybe it was from a slight variation in accent? There is a very slight accent here. I've heard it's from influence from Pittsburgh. But I don't know if it has weakened or gotten stronger over the last 50 years. And, I don't know if it would affect how "Poland" was pronounced. The only example of the accent I can think of is completely unrelated; long "e" sounds shift to a short "i" sound. So "steel" might sound like "still".
There’s definitely a hint of a Yinzer/Pittsburghese accent in Youngstown. My relatives in Warren have it, even the younger generation. I had it, but it wore off after 30+ years away. It’s most evident in vowels, and it’s the same dynamic that makes “Steelers” come out as “Stillers”.
I notice it ends pretty quickly as you get west of Youngstown, replaced by the Inland North /Great Lakes accent, which sounded odd to me as a kid. Like the word “top” would be pronounced more like “tap”. FWIW, I personally notice this more on the west side of CLE than the eastern suburbs.
Perhaps not. The conclusion may be that if you live in many small Ohio towns you might develop a strange accent!
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. Although Painesville is not regarded specifically as a college town, it is home to a small historic liberal arts school, Lake Erie College, with about a thousand students, which dates back to 1856. The founders were from Mount Holyoke and it began as a female seminary, remaining a women's college until the 1970's. Lake Erie is now fully coed and in fact might have a slight majority male enrollment, so the founders are probably rolling over in their graves--lol. I think half the students now are on sports scholarships! While the campus is in the heart of town, when I was growing up there (in the 1960's) the college seemed rather aloof to the broader community. In recent years the city government has made efforts to try and rebrand Painesville as more of a "college town" and integrate Lake Erie more into the social fabric of the city. One bright spot is the renovation of a former bank building downtown into a dormitory for the college, which should be ready next year. So no, while Lake Erie College doesn't have the influence that a large university like Kent State or a prestigious, elite school like Oberlin has on their respective cities, it does have a special place historically in Painesville--
