op-ed – The Transcript

Drinks made in Dela-where?

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

If you had asked me two years ago if I thought you could buy beer that was brewed in Delaware or drink wine from a vineyard down the road, my answer would have been: “Drinks made in Dela-where?”

It wasn’t that I thought the city of Delaware had nothing to offer its residents or the students of Ohio Wesleyan, but when I thought of beer, Delaware wasn’t on my radar and when I thought of wineries, I thought of California or Italy.

My view was completely changed when Restoration Brew Worx opened 15 months ago. Located on Sandusky Street, Restoration Brew Worx offers a variety of beers such as IPAs and Porters, among others that are all brewed in the back of their restaurant.

I sat down with Frank Barickman, partner and brewer of Restoration, who has been brewing beer for 20 years. He had done work for other people but realized about two years ago that it was time to start his own brewery. Barickman told me that all of their beer is made on premise and they only sell their beer in the restaurant. For now, he said they’re going to stick with their Sandusky Street location and continue selling their beer at restaurants in Delaware, but they plan on distributing kegs in the future.

When I asked Barickman why he thought the city of Delaware was a good place to brew beer in-house, he mentioned the growth Delaware has seen in the last 10 years and how the business owners in town have stepped up and answered that growth with successful restaurants such as Amato’s, Typhoon and others. Barickman said that if someone said they were going to start a brewery 10 years ago, people would say that it was never going to work, but today it is possible.

But if your palate desires wine over beer, try Blend of Seven Winery. Opening their first location in 2013 and currently located on Stratford Road, owners Steve and Sandi make their wine from imported grape juice. Offering wine by the taste, glass and bottle, Blend of Seven Winery offers reds and whites, among other types of wine.

When I spoke with Sandi, she said people actively seek out wineries, but it is their centralized location that draws in customers from Columbus, Findlay, Marion and other cities within twenty minutes of their winery. Sandi said they have the capability to ship their wine within Ohio, which has increased their customer base but also provided the issue of trying to stabilize their inventory level. Sandi said once they can get a steady amount of inventory, they would like to sell their wine at restaurants in Delaware.

So let me fast forward to my 2016 view: Drinks made in Delaware do exist and their presence around town is growing just as fast as Delaware grows.

Look closer: being a mindful consumer

Olivia Lease, Online Editor

I try to see stories in everything I purchase.

I wonder whose hands made the sweater resting on my shoulders or where the watermelon I am currently eating was grown, picked, washed and perfectly sliced.

I don’t like to go shopping very often. There are so many options that it is no longer exciting but overwhelming. I can walk into a store and see thousands of cheaply priced goods in front of me. What I don’t see are the hidden costs, I have to search for the real stories.

Organic pineapples being grown in Costa Rica, most of which to be transported elsewhere. Photo by Olivia Lease. — Organic pineapples being grown in Costa Rica, most of which to be transported elsewhere.

I think it’s time for us to acknowledge the fact that we live in a consumer-centric society made possible by the hard work of others. People we will most likely never meet but whose stories matter.

But first, let’s acknowledge the fact that our supermarkets no longer abide by the seasons.

You can buy a pineapple at any time, regardless of that fact that we are not living in Brazil or Paraguay, where the plant originated. It has now been spread throughout South America. I visited Costa Rica over winter break and was able to a tour a plantation.

There, some of the crops we saw would eventually travel over 3,000 miles to reach California while some would go even further destinations in the U.K.

A single pod of fruit from which palm oil is extracted. Photo taken in Costa Rica by Olivia Lease. — A single pod of fruit from which palm oil is extracted.

When we walk into a store, we don’t see the hours of hard labor or the elaborate transportation system it took to give us more choices. Variety is simply something we’ve become accustomed to.

While in Costa Rica, I also had the chance to tour a palm oil plantation.

The edible vegetable oil is used in 50 percent of all packaged products in America. It is extracted from the fruit grown on African palm trees. These trees are originally from Western Africa but are now grown wherever heat and rainfall are abundant enough.

On the tour, I passed workers yielding machetes. The heat was suffocating despite the early time of day. Poisonous snakes are common in the field and a constant threat for workers to be aware of. One boy helped wrangle the cattle used for transport. This was their everyday routine, a dangerous job they had become accustomed to.

Across the world, forests are being slashed down and indigenous people relocated in order to make room for these crops, just to keep up with our demand.

America, the land of the free, is unwilling to admit that we also are a catalyst for conflict and destruction.

Wokers herd cattle used for transportation of fruit from palm oil trees. Photo taken in Costa Rica by Olivia Lease. — Wokers herd cattle used for transportation of fruit from palm oil trees.

Look in your backpack, pick out a few things. How many of them say “made in the U.S.A.”? I don’t think it should be a point of pride to have these products, but more so, a standard.

There a several things you can do help slow the global economy, the best being to buy local items (and if it’s produce, make sure it’s in season). This phrase is so much more than a trendy consumer choice. It’s an effort to be a part of your community and a chance to know the story behind what you are purchasing.

Rediscovering a former interest

Sara Hollabaugh, Arts &Entertainment Editor

It’s ’s typically easy for people to be inspired by others.

Whether it’s an influential piece of writing in the form of a book, play or movie, or an athlete overcoming major injuries, watching other people succeed gives hope to the rest of us that we can do it, too.

But there’s a difference between being inspired to do something and actually doing something.

For me, it’s hard to stick to what initially inspires me. I obsessively plan out how to accomplish something, but the amount of times I don’t follow through (in the long-run) is embarrassing.

Yes, most of the time these changes can be sticking to a weight loss program or other resolution-based ideas, but my biggest challenge is continuing to do what I love.

Photography.

Since I was young, I was drawn to it. It started with my dad’s old Pentax k1000 film camera and progressed to many other cameras. I observed influential figures as the years passed.

For a while, my technical skills were limited as I hadn’t undergone real training, but I taught myself the basics and managed to get by with results that weren’t blurry (a success in my mind).

I loved exploring outside to find intriguing photographic opportunities.

What really inspired me to continue photography in high school, though, was taking candid portraits of my younger brother. I was enamored by my experiences with a kid whom I held 10 years over and determined to continue capturing his growth through my lens.

I eventually came here and didn’t have my brother with me.

I lost my muse, or at least the unlimited access to it. I lost my inspiration.

It’s not as depressing as it sounds, though. I am a very happy person. I have many other activities in my life that inspire me every day, but I tucked away the one that sometimes means the most to me.

The reason I have recently realized how much I miss that part of me is Peter Turnley, the talented photojournalist who received an honorary degree at Ohio Wesleyan on March 31.

I had dinner with Turnley and other students and listened to him speak very passionately about his photographs and experiences over his career.

I was immediately and quite easily inspired again.

This discovery of what I usually recall as my favorite past time is probably going to make a major appearance in my daily life.

It’s not to say that my inspiration will transform into eternal action, but I’m happy feel that urge to go out and do what I love again.