Abstract
Diane Seskes is the leader of Riverlight Gallery in Peninsula and has been involved in other Peninsula art projects and festivals since 1999. She has organized Ramp Up Peninsula, Harry Potter Festivals and worked in collaboration with the Peninsula Foundation.
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Interviewee
Seskes, Diane (interviewee)
Interviewer
Jones Macko, Rebecca (interviewer); Schnack, Erich (participant)
Project
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Date
1-27-2022
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
75 minutes
Recommended Citation
"Diane Seskes interview, 27 January 2022" (2022). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 343001.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/1448
Transcript
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:00:01] I’m hoping we can- I’d like to just take an hour of your time because I know that there’s a lot going on with River Light and stuff. So Today is Thursday, January 27, 2022, and we are with Diane Seskes. And Diane, for the record, can you spell your last name?
Diane Seskes [00:00:24] It is spelled S as in Sam, E, S as in Sam, K, E, S as in Sam.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:00:34] All right, thank you. So you are- Your current business- Can you-
Diane Seskes [00:00:45] Are you there?
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:00:46] Yes, I’m here.
Diane Seskes [00:00:47] Okay. My current business is River Lake Gallery here in Peninsula. Diane Seskes Photography, although I have been neglecting that business. And actually the Log Cabin Gallery, although we’ve been closed for the last two years for various reasons, hoping at some future date we will reopen. But I’m not sure what the Log Cabin Gallery will look like once we do reopen. It might be a combination of collectibles, my photography, and only a few artists featured, since right now we have 54 artists at River Lake Gallery. And you know what? It’s a lot of coordination and a lot of work to do. Two, you know, 25 in one and 50 in the other.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:01:49] Oh, my.
Diane Seskes [00:01:51] Yeah.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:01:54] Wow, That’s a lot. So how long have you been a resident in the Valley?
Diane Seskes [00:02:01] I purchased my home in ’88, so I moved in the week before Christmas in 1988. Yeah. So I don’t know. That’s a lot of years.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:02:21] All right.
Diane Seskes [00:02:22] 30 plus. Yeah.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:02:22] Yeah.
Diane Seskes [00:02:23] I grew up in Broadview Heights. So, you know, we had actually lived for the first six years of my life in a Polish neighborhood off East 71st. And then we moved to the country where my dad built our home, and it was freedom. So always wanted to be in Peninsula. My mom actually almost bought two houses here, but those fell through over time and she ended up in Richfield. The Valley has been my stomping ground. My dad grew up in Valley View and he loved. We’d go on Sunday drives with my mom’s mother and father and my brother, and we drive down Riverview Road down 303 and Hinckley so we could go up and down the hills. Canal Road down by Tinker’s Creek. Holy cow. My dad actually had bought or almost bought, I’m not sure, a piece of Property up on 303 somewhere. And he also almost bought property in Valley View, but then ended up in Broadview Heights.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:04:01] Wow. So my next question was going to be, what drew you here? So. But I think you just answered that. And I was going to ask you to-
Diane Seskes [00:04:09] Well, can I tell you something really strange? This is from a dream. Okay. So, you know, I learned how to drive a stick shift on the hills around here over by Brandywine Falls before Stanford was closed. I went dances at Boston Mills when the James Gang played in the choir and all that. So I fell in love with the area. Sometime in maybe the ’70s, my friend and I went to a dream class. And I was like, you know, I don’t remember my dreams. And she says, well, put this, drink this water and put a notebook next to you and write down the dream when you wake up. So the dream was I was teaching at that point in Strongsville, and there was an emergency. It said it was an earthquake, but actually it looks. The clouds look like a hurricane was coming. And we were boarding all the kids onto the buses to get them to a safe point. And I was by myself thinking, I have to go see my mom. I have to go get these people. And the place that I was going was the safe point was Blossom Music Center. And for some reason that the dream interpreter said, you really need to look at this area because it seems like you’re tied to it. And that always stuck in my head.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:06:05] Wow.
Diane Seskes [00:06:06] Yeah. Isn’t that cool? And then if you look a little bit further, there’s a triangle that goes through Ohio, et cetera, et cetera, that is considered safer, safer ground for whatever reason. I don’t know if it’s spiritually or scientifically. But anyway, I had that dream. Then, the other thing was I lived. Let’s see, I taught in Strongsville, and then I moved to Maine. I was married. We got divorced. I met a gentleman through my friend Cindy, who just passed December 23rd.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:06:53] I’m sorry.
Diane Seskes [00:06:54] Oh, man, I miss her. She introduced me to Jacob, and he worked there in Norfolk at the shipyard. And I moved there briefly. I had been visiting Cindy and Carl for years, all different times of the year. And I moved there for the summer and said, no way, I’m not going to live here. One, it’s too hot. It’s fun if you’re at the beach. And two, there’s too much military, too much traffic, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So he looked for another job and ended up being hired at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. I went next weekend, was hired in Wisconsin at the middle school. And so we moved to Maine. I fell in love with Maine. Half of my heart is in Maine. We separated. I took a very sizable pay cut moving there. Teachers were not paid well, this was in the ’80s. Once we separated, I couldn’t- After a year, I realized I couldn’t afford living on the coast by myself on a teacher’s salary. I had lived on an island, looked due east into the ocean. Loved it there. Okay. So then when I moved back here and got a job in Beachwood, I househunted for two years, and my parameters were Medina to Hudson to maybe Fairlawn. You’re still there?
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:08:48] Mm. Oh, yeah. There’s a little beep in the background. Sorry.
Diane Seskes [00:08:51] Yeah, I heard that little thingamajigger. Looked for a house, couldn’t find one. Realized I had put some offers on a house in Hinckley two years in a row. Both times the women started crying. Didn’t want to sell it. So I moved in with my mom to save more money for a down payment. And we were driving down 303 to the church in Streetsboro that has the annual quilt show that she traditionally entered. And in front of my house was an open house sign. I’m like, mom, do you ever remember seeing this house? And it’s hard to see it because it’s raised and it’s small between two big buildings, you know? She said, I don’t remember ever noticing that. So we pulled in. When I walked into the house, all the ceilings in here are quite low. The house was built. The original two rooms was built in 1850 on logs. So the ceilings are really low. And small, small rooms. It reminded me of the cottage that I lived in on the coast of Maine. Then we walked to the backyard. In the backyard, log cabin gallery, there were tires and trash on the hill, keeping the hill up. And we walked there, and there was the Cuyahoga River. We drove to the corner to the Boston Township Hall, the school. Talked about it, came back. I offered them. They accepted it in an hour.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:10:43] Oh, my.
Diane Seskes [00:10:45] I was supposed to be here.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:10:48] It sounds like it.
Diane Seskes [00:10:50] I know, I know. It’s crazy.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:10:54] So Peninsula called out to you to come.
Diane Seskes [00:10:59] Yes!
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:11:00] And so how long was it before you got involved with the Peninsula Area Chamber of Commerce?
Diane Seskes [00:11:09] It took a while before I- Well-
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:11:14] Or can you tell me about how you became connected with them? Because-
Diane Seskes [00:11:19] That’s a good question. [laughs] Don’t remember that. I guess the first several years that I lived here, I was still- I spent most of the summer in Maine, so I wasn’t very actively involved here. When the, you know, they used the side yard, which is park property that I’d leased and maintained, they used that to build the road, to get equipment down, to put the bridge across the river.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:12:01] Okay.
Diane Seskes [00:11:46] Once the Towpath opens, I started Creativity Camp in my backyard. And using the Towpath as part of school. It was also the same time that Deb Yandala and Janice Matteucci were getting the school on Oak Hill going. Actually, I had some graduate courses through. Give me the name. I’m not getting the right name here for the school.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:12:44] The Environmental Education Center.
Diane Seskes [00:12:45] Yeah, thank you. We offered some graduate workshop in conjunction with the Environmental Education Center. But we offered creative writing, creative dramatics, calligraphy, poetry, journaling, oh, some painting. But it didn’t last very long because I realized very quickly that people say, oh, yes, yes, yes, I’m very interested in that. And then you set up dates and then you only have two people that are available. Then all of a sudden you can’t pay your teacher. And so it didn’t last very long. But I guess at that point I started going to chamber meetings at the library. And, you know, it was basically Steve Burris, Ronda Russell. And we just, Stephen, Ron and I became good friends. And from that point I continued. Then, of course, I was on the board either as vice president or treasurer or secretary or whatever. And we just started doing things like brainstorming, what can we do to bring people into the village? And we were actually growing at that point because the first Trail Mix was here, but it wasn’t Trail Mix. And I’d helped them when they first opened to get artists represented in the shop.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:14:58] Was that the Blue Heron?
Diane Seskes [00:15:00] Well…
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:15:02] Or was it before that?
Diane Seskes [00:15:03] We were asked. I think, were they there. Blue Heron, I think, was after the first Trail Mix, which wasn’t called Trail Mix. Park Place.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:15:15] Park Place, yes. Thank you.
Diane Seskes [00:15:17] I think Blue Heron came after that. And boy, she was dynamite on getting things going. But we had, you know, we had more businesses at that point. People started getting more involved. Folks from Yellow Creek, et cetera, et cetera. So we started brainstorming things like let’s do a cabin fever reliever in March, which I kind of coordinated that for several years. I just received a phone call from Richfield Historical Society, and they are continuing Cabin Fever Reliever and River Light will be part of it. And it’s, you know, the libraries and museums are open and shops are represented. Ronda and took over Python Day. It had been sporadic, and then it was like, okay, it was her thing. And so we had Python Day, which was so much fun. Decorated the pythons and having the real snakes. And we had the zoo, brought snakes to the library, and we had all kinds of things. But then, you know, what insurance and where you couldn’t put the big python up the road any longer. And over time, many of the movers and shakers down here for the valley have passed or have moved on and they. They’re missed for sure. We had. Oh, I brought the idea to one chamber meeting. And I’ll tell you what, George Hoy was hilarious. I said, you know, have you ever been to Monhegan Island? There’s all these fairy houses built there out of natural items. And now the big gardens in Maine have a whole section where kids can build natural fairy gardens. He’s laughing. He says now, what kind of fairies are you talking about?
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:17:44] Oh, my.
Diane Seskes [00:17:45] [laughs] I know. He did all kinds of fairy things around the inn at Brandywine Falls. And, oh God, it was one of the best things we did- We had partners. Two kids partnered up. I think we had about 15 pairs. We had collected the artists at the cabin, had collected all kinds of dried things. And we set aside areas within our yard and in the back around the cabin that we would not touch until nature took their fairy house down and did. Built the fairy houses. Parents were not allowed to help. There was no glue. There was no unnatural things. And there was three fairy houses that remained up for over a year. And those kids would come back and visit them.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:18:54] Oh, their parents, which- Oh.
Diane Seskes [00:18:58] Yeah. So that was- That was fun. And then everybody in town had fairy houses.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:19:02] Fairy houses. I do remember that.
Diane Seskes [00:19:05] Yeah. And then, of course, Heritage Farms really loved that idea. So they continued to have Fairy Days. A whole different thing. But, you know, some of these things have grown and gone into another, another direction. We came up- Oh, were you here with the Harry Potter festivals?
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:19:30] I was, I was in the park, but I was not involved with that because we were told, unless you are working at it, stay away because they’re expecting crowds. And it- You couldn’t get near Peninsula.
Diane Seskes [00:19:49] I know. [laughs] I know. The first one was by far the best because there was a Quidditch match. The train came in and brought people. Park rangers took people through the forest at night. Happy days. There was the owls swinging up from the top, delivering messages in the dinner. There was another event over at the Boston Township Hall. Every business had something. Don made this big archway up our road to enter Daikon Alley. And it was so hot. It was at night. It was so jammed. People loved it. And then it poured rain for a little while, but it was delightful. And then we had it again during the daytime, which had just as many people but not as many. Of the events, at night were just magical. So another event. And that Blue Heron. Everyone jumped on that one. Everybody was like- And of course then there’s Ramp Up.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:21:26] Yes.
Diane Seskes [00:21:28] Ramp Up was Don’s idea. The guys had been going hiking for several years. Knew that there were ramps in the valley. Would harvest a few [inaudible] after they hiked. And so we were beginning to enjoy them. And then of course we went to West Virginia for Richwood’s rampfest, Elkins’s rampfest, Mason-Dixon - we went there twice - and said, you know what, we need to have a rampfest. So we were going to do it independently. Doug Mayer was involved. This is way before he was mayor of Peninsula.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:22:24] And so this was Fisher?
Diane Seskes [00:22:27] No, this is Doug Mayer.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:22:29] Doug Mayer. Okay, thank you. Okay.
Diane Seskes [00:22:32] Yeah. Because Doug was one of the people that hiked every Sunday morning with Don.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:22:41] Ah, okay, okay.
Diane Seskes [00:22:43] It was Paul Logan that lives in town and Rick. The four of them would hike all over this valley every Sunday. So Doug’s sister-in-law managed Brandywine Golf Course.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:22:04] Oh!
Diane Seskes [00:22:05] We were able to get that space and the cabin was. I don’t think we had to pay anything. But then once we found out liability insurance, we knew we couldn’t do it, individuals. So we approached [the] chamber and [the] chamber said, yes, we will sponsor this. And man, it was successful. You know, it had to change spots a couple times for all kinds of reasons. It had to move very suddenly to Hale Farm.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:23:49] Yeah, I remember that.
Diane Seskes [00:23:50] Which they weren’t even open yet. And the reason it had to move was because we were told if it rained too much, we would not be able to use the space. And it’s like we can’t plan this whole thing. And then, you know, the next morning before it rains.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:24:08] Yeah, the weather is notoriously difficult that weekend, always.
Diane Seskes [00:24:12] Right. So we moved - and it rained - we moved to Hale Farm. And then of course many of the locals in Peninsula were like, that’s not in Peninsula, that’s in Bath. And being Peninsula. Well, it’s like, well, they have a Peninsula mail address. [laughs] So we moved to Heritage Farms, which worked out for a couple years. I think I was organizing it for two years there. And then Chris Wiegand took it over a year and then it became expensive too there. And people, we need to move it into town to get people to come to the businesses. So then Neil Franklin organized the first one that was kind of at Heritage Farms and also in the village. And then the next year it was completely in the village and people loved it. The weather was perfect. It was spread all throughout town. You know, it gets. Logistically it’s challenging because of parking and you always have to plan for rain. Where can you put a food truck? You can’t put it on the green Next to Bronson Church. But anyway, that was our big last big festival last year because of COVID we had Ramp Grab and Go.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:25:45) Yep. I remember that. Mm hm.
Diane Seskes [00:25:48] On Saturdays. People loved that. The vendors loved it. Their sales were, for some of them, better than the one-day festival. And it was easy. Those same vendors would like to do that again this year. They would prefer a festival. But you know what? I don’t know about that yet. I just don’t know. So we’ll probably have Ramp Grab and Go again just to keep it going.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:26:23] Yeah, that’s always been a fun one.
Diane Seskes [00:26:27] Yeah, it’s a fun one. I don’t know. I haven’t- I haven’t actually gotten it all together yet. I talked to Charlie Murphy and he’s like, yeah, let’s do this again. So we’ll see.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:26:40] And I have to tell you, you’re answering questions before I even get a chance to ask them, which is fabulous. Cause I was gonna ask that. And then you just. You flow. Because it was your advocacy through the Peninsula Area Chamber of Commerce that made me think of you. So as a member of the Chamber of Commerce and as a Peninsula resident, as an advocate, what changes have you seen in Peninsula since you’ve been here?
Diane Seskes [00:27:17] Well, a lot more visitors.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:27:26] Yeah.
Diane Seskes [00:27:27] A lot more bicyclists. Regular running train. When I first moved here, it was- I was on the train - it was actually steam train - that went to Hale Farm.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:27:46] Yeah. Mm hm.
Diane Seskes [00:27:48] And you know, that was few and far between, but we got train going all the time. Bicyclists. I mean, honestly, when the Towpath first opens, I was on it every single day. I will confess, I have not been on the tow path trail for over, I don’t know, three years in this village.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:28:17] And why is that?
Diane Seskes [00:28:20] It’s not as comfortable as a walking trail anymore. It’s just so much traffic. You know, I used to saunter with my camera. You gotta watch. You gotta listen who’s behind you, who’s coming up, who’s. You know, it’s not as comfortable because it’s so busy going north from here and going south from here. Now, I’ve been in other places in the park, but not as a regular walker on the Towpath right here.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:28:57] Mm hm. Because it’s right there at your house.
Diane Seskes [00:28:59] Right, right. I’ve seen a lot of businesses come and go. Initially, this was really an antique center when I first moved here. What did we have? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:29:22] Nine. The Downtown Emporium. Nine at Alvis’s place.
Diane Seskes [00:29:26] Right. When I first moved here, very shortly after, there was one up at the Bigelow House. Next to where Ohio Hardwoods was. That house split. I bought my china cabinet that’s in my kitchen there. There was Brunswick’s in their barn. There was one next to. Let’s see who’s in there now. Pedego. We were a mecca for antiques. I think, well, I know that the antique market has changed, but would love to have a presence of that again. What else has changed? Well, politics hasn’t changed. It’s still all screwed up down here. Lots of new people have moved in. The arts have still stayed at the same level. So many artists that live here or come here to create that, that has been a steady, steady thing. More programming, I mean, that didn’t exist before. Before the national park, the only programs would be the library. The foundation wasn’t super active. The Civil War in historical things, yes, but we didn’t have Voices in the Valley and Music on the Green. We didn’t have that programming. We didn’t have- Well, we did years ago. We had folk festivals at Palmetto. This one had- Most fun one was- And who was playing? Arlo Guthrie and-
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:31:40] Oh, Arlo Guthrie. Wow.
Diane Seskes [00:31:43] I think- Yeah, it was Arlo Guthrie and someone else. And we were sitting down in our chairs at Howe Meadow and the fog rose up from the ground up to our necks. And you were looking over the fog at the stage in the barn. It was so cool. That was so neat. Oh, the other thing. This isn’t biggie. When I first moved here, there was suds on the river and was alive there. And he was my neighbor and he was telling me about. Yeah, years ago we used to get a check every year because we had to put up with the smell and the suds on the river. Well, since then, we have- Every day we see three eagles fly over the river, over our backyard to go fishing. We have more wildlife. We just had the fox visit us two nights ago. The deer population is a lot lower, which has been very good. We used to have 15 of them that would come up. They come up the hill behind me, go through the backyard and wore a path through it. Now you’ll see an occasional deer, but we’re seeing other things. And when I first moved here, there was a rancher, I believe, who was looking at the fish. And I went down there and there was this big carp and I could see it every day. It was in the same area and he pulled it out and it had all kinds of weird sores and stuff on it. I don’t believe that’s true anymore. [laughs] So that’s been a huge improvement.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:33:58] Oh, so you mentioned the artist community. So I’m going to jump ahead a little bit here and ask some questions about the art. So how has the park or the valley influenced your artwork?
Diane Seskes [00:34:14] Well, way back when, you know, I had an Instamatic, I had a Swinger, I had a little Polaroid thing. I had cameras all my life. And when I was here stomping through the valley, I had a Minolta and would take photographs. I can remember one time my ex-husband and another friend and I went on a hike and at that point we would access Buttermilk Falls by going through Boston Mills Ski Area and following the creek. So we went to Buttermilk and then we went hiking the rest of the valley and got over to Blue Hen and then came out and came back down. And I took all these photographs along the way. I don’t know why I remember that one is so special, but it was. And then, you know, I mean, Kendall Lake. The whole valley was photogenic. Then I took a workshop with the Cuyahoga Valley Photo Society, who has remained a member. And after taking several workshops with them, three day workshops, and then was on board of the photo Society and helps actually coordinated their monthly meetings for a while and presenters. And I took the workshop. This one was with Jim Roetzel. He says you need a better camera and lens. So he let me use his camera that whole three days. And then he went and bought a Nikon. And that. It just opened my eyes to, you know what, Diane, maybe you are a good photographer. You’ve never taken yourself seriously and I hadn’t. It was one of my first printed and framed photos was an outhouse on State Road that I framed and it’s hanging and gave it to Whitey’s to hang on their wall.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:37:01] Oh my.
Diane Seskes [00:37:02] And that was - Oh my God - back- That had to be late ’70s, early ’80s. But anyway, then I started taking myself seriously. I transferred to taking slide transparencies and then I actually submitted work. You know, I took workshops with top people. David Muench. Oh, names escape me. But anyway, I started submitting and lo and behold, I submitted that Brandywine Falls photograph, which is the national park stamp.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:37:45] Oh! Okay.
Diane Seskes [00:37:47] Yeah. Which was exciting. And I submitted photos to the what? The Official Guide to National Parks? So I had two images in there which I would - surprise, surprise - when they would reprint a new edition, I’d get a check.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:38:10] Hey, there you go.
Diane Seskes [00:38:11] Yeah, I’m not in there any longer. But I was for, I don’t know, 20 years. And I submitted to the calendars, the national park calendars, and the book on, how do- I have an image in there of Wetmore Trailhead in the- What is it?
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:38:33] The trailhead or maybe [crosstalk]
Diane Seskes [00:38:38] Or maybe the park handbook.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:38:39] Which is kind of a coffee table thing?
Diane Seskes [00:38:42] No, it’s more about history of the farms and I’d have to go look. Anyway, it’s of Wetmore Trailhead and the fencing and hay bale. I guess they’re gonna be knocking that house down pretty soon here. You know which one I mean?
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:39:05] The- We call it the Pittenger, there at the trailhead.
Diane Seskes [00:39:10] Yeah, at the trailhead, yeah. And then, you know, I had cover images on the Akron Magazine, Brandywine Falls, in the Guide for the Inside in the National Parks. So I was publishing at that point. When I retired from teaching, my goal was to build my photography business further and to build the Log Cabin Gallery more. The cabin arrived in my backyard in 1996–97. That’s when my mom bought it and had it put back here. The first show was in. Now I have the date, right? ’99. Yeah. Our 20th anniversary was 2019. The first show was in 1999. I retired in 2004 from teaching full time, but continued to teach at Tri-C and at Kent for another five or six years part time. What happened was I built the Log Cabin Gallery successfully as a beautiful destination place, as a place for young artists to not be so intimidated and to try to get their pieces out there, to support my friends who are artists. And my mom, it was, you know, it was her place, it was her dream. So that became wonderful. And what happened was I stopped publishing. I still took photographs, but it was like, I have a ton of them here that nobody’s ever seen. You know, you divide your time. So I hope that answers that question.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:41:31] So do you create any kind of art besides photography?
Diane Seskes [00:41:36] Not anymore. Not any longer. I used to- I used to- Used to do a lot more writing and journaling. I used to have a huge Glomakra Swedish loom that was six feet wide. And I wove. I did design some cross-stitch designs. Used to cross-stitch. But then my eyes. I used to do teeny, tiny little cross stitch, but my eyes don’t like that so much anymore. I used to fiddle with things, you know, try painting this. And took some watercolor workshops and. But I guess the visual, I guess photography for me got me outside to see things. More closely. And it gave me, especially when I was teaching, that was such a release of stress, you know, to be out in nature and, you know, there wasn’t this instant gratification. It was like, okay, I just got this roll of slide film, 36 exposures. Send it off, then you get to get it later to look at it. It was just a wonderful experience. I didn’t enjoy the part of being on the computer and I do a little bit more now, but not as much. I never really got into portraiture or any of that. Some street photography early on when I was doing black and white. But nature and I guess architecture and close-ups is what I enjoy. And I do play with them now with different kinds of layers and things like that. And I guess that’s just for me. But my photography felt more hands on before.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:44:10] Mm hm. Yeah, hands on, yeah, with the old cameras as opposed to the DSLs can now do everything for you.
Diane Seskes [00:44:18] Right. Right.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:44:20] So I want to skip backwards to this advocacy thing. So Peninsula has surprised me with the number of women who’ve advocated for the valley and public life. So I want to ask you, what role do you see women playing in advocating for the Valley, advocating for Peninsula, or what role do women play in public work life?
Diane Seskes [00:44:50] Well, in Peninsula, I see the women in this village as the movers and shakers. The Garden Club, a woman-based organization, does so much to enhance the beauty of the village. Peninsula Art Academy, the women who have consistently been involved with that. Carolyn Virginal[sp?] years ago, Carol Adams, Edna [Edna Bradford Ratner]. It is a female-driven organization for the arts, the Peninsula Foundation, although it has had the male involved, when you look at the programming and the creativity that comes out of there, it is female driven. And a lot of the females who advocate this family, are women who live here. So that combination of living here and being aware of what is around you and maybe owning a business that I think brings the women in this valley to the forefront. I mean the Lily Fleder and the Ronda Russell, that’s who has driven this valley and appreciated. I mean, Ronda sitting on her porch, oh my God, we go over there and laugh, you know, and she loved being there. So I think, I think that’s- I think it’s a love for where you are.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:31] And I can’t begin to count the number of times I was in Peninsula and when I first moved here and up until she passed, of driving by, going by and Ronda’s on the porch.
Diane Seskes [00:47:44] Yeah, yeah. Yes. Let’s going to tell another story on the side here. When Lisa Maranci was at the Environmental Education Center for the first summer that she was here as an intern, she would come to the Log Cabin Gallery and we’d sit on the porch and talk and she was like you know, she wants to do this. She wants to do this. And how wonderful. And she came from. What’s the name of that place? I always forget the name. Place in Pennsylvania. It’s like a person’s name. But they had a national recreation area as well. And her mom would come and visit, and she’d sit there and we’d talk in my mom and plan and scheme. And then over the years, as Lisa moved her way, various and sundry things. Lisa has been a friend. It’s been wonderful to watch her grow in the direction she has gone in. But there’s another advocate for this valley in a different way. That blue, green, you know, the sky, the water, the earth. I mean- And, you know, I watched her grow from when she was, what, college student.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:49:30] That’s got to be like 20 years ago? 18 years ago?
Diane Seskes [00:49:34] Yeah, her first year. So, I mean, it was early on with Don’s coming in, so I’m moving.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:49:45] Oh, you can tell him hello.
Diane Seskes [00:49:47] She just waved at you. [laughs] So I don’t know. I don’t know where I was going with that, but just female as well. So look at you.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:50:07] [laughs] It’s like you- These stories have to be captured now before we lose- You know, we lost Ronda.
Diane Seskes [00:50:16] Yeah.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:50:17] We lost Lily Fleder, and we weren’t able to capture those stories, so we need to capture those now. So I just have two or three, because I really want to be respectful of your time. Okay. So who do you look up to as a leader in the community or as who is a leader in the art? Who do you look up to in the art field or in the community?
Diane Seskes [00:50:35] Hm. Hm. I don’t know why that should be so difficult to answer.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:50:48] It seems like Ronda was one of them for leading in the community.
Diane Seskes [00:50:52] Ronda, yes. Definitely. Oh man. Leaders in the community. Just trying to think of who I- In the arts- I don’t know how to answer that, because I think there’s so much diversity there. When you talk about, you know, somebody I might look up to because of their artistic talents, another person I might look up to because of the way that they teach their workshops, I don’t think I could answer that. I think a lot of the artists that I represent or have represented over the years, I might admire someone’s ability to always create something new and not be stagnant. You know, there’s several women that have really helped me over time because they’ve been support for me and an encourager. But I’m not going to say there’s any one specific name.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:52:33] And that’s valid.
Diane Seskes [00:52:34] I respect Judy Lahoski and how she was able to continue the business after John’s passing. And then, you know, the boys and, you know, showing them the ropes. And she has stories, unbelievable stories. So you might want to consider Judy.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:53:09] That’s a good point.
Diane Seskes [00:53:13] Yeah.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:53:15] And I don’t know why Judy slipped my mind, but yes, that’s a good one. Two more questions. And the one is - and it’s noon, so I don’t want to take too long - but one is a fun one and a light one to end on. But the other one is what challenges are in Peninsula moving forward?
Diane Seskes [00:53:37] Some of them are the same ones that have been there in existence for the last. Ever since I’ve been involved with [inaudible] timber parking. Space for festivals. We would like to continue them, but there’s not an ideal space. I’m hoping that somehow space could be accessed for festivals. At what was formerly Brandywine Golf Course, it would be really great to have ramp up back over there. It was like the perfect location. Septic. How many- Ever since I’ve lived here, septic and water has been a thing, a challenge. Another challenge is the- Folks who have lived here forever who have maybe, and I’m not grouping everybody together, but may have one idea of this valley and the folks that are moving in, who are moving in for the reason of the national park, the arts, where it’s located between Cleveland and Akron. Small village, all those things. And being able to breach the divide.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:55:33] The tensions.
Diane Seskes [00:55:34] Yeah, that is, you know, we really are a tourist village now. And that we have to know that. We have to remember that. And you can survive that way, but there’s certain things that you have to do. The other challenge is it’s progress is so slow. And then we have all these big. We have the national park, we have the conservancy, we have the railroad, we have the foundation, we have chamber, we have the village. How the heck. After meeting, after meeting, after meeting after meeting after meeting, how do you move forward? You know, accessibility, sidewalks. You know, some of the sidewalks ends where they shouldn’t. So it’s those- It’s mostly other than attitude or perspective, I should say. And the change is so slow. Other than that, it’s physical things, you know, how do we offer our village people what they need and our visitors what they need? Now we have Purple Brown Farm. Yay! Today’s my last pickup of CSA vegetables. Yay!
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:57:14] Yeah. You need an onion. You need a- You need a- You need a loaf of bread.
Diane Seskes [00:57:19] Right. Oh, man, I’m out of milk. Didn’t go there. So that’s been a real bonus. But how do you- And I have to be careful when I’m saying this. The Peninsula Foundation owns so much of this village that they really seriously control what happens here. They own so many buildings so that one group can, you know, can move this in whatever direction they want. A lot of people don’t know that. They think it’s because of the national park. Well, the national park, you know, surrounds us and owns a couple places right here, but it’s - how many buildings are there - fifteen owned by the foundation between [inaudible]. So that’s a lot.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:58:40] Yeah. Excuse me. I want to be respectful of your time, so my very last question is a fun one because I am curious. What is your favorite Peninsula event?
Diane Seskes [00:58:58] My favorite Peninsula event? Oh, man! Okay. Oh, man.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:59:09] I know. [laughs] Is it Python or is it Ramp Up? Or is it-
Diane Seskes [00:59:18] I guess- I guess I’m gonna have to put it.
Rebecca Jones Macko [00:59:26] And you can love all your children. That can be an answer, too.
Diane Seskes [00:59:31] I can love all my children? Okay. I’ve enjoyed all of them. I told you about some of them that I really enjoyed. Okay. But I suppose if I’m looking at present day, the Candlelight Walk is just magical, especially when the cabin’s open and we’re roasting the chestnuts back there and the wood stoves on in the cabin and it’s all decorated and the fire pits going and we have cookies made by Lisa Kane and the carolers come and you can stand at the fence and look at the lit up North Pole. The street looks- Oh, my God, Peninsula looks so beautiful. Lit up with the luminaries with- It just- It’s just gorgeous. My second favorite one, I guess is Ramp Up. I think Ramp Up is just a hoot, you know, and. And the festival itself with the music and the foods and I just, you know, I just think it’s just fun. It’s not very common in Ohio. You know, let’s get some of that- Let’s get some of that West Virginia, Kentucky stuff up here, right?
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:01:11] Yeah, it’s a little bit of the old Holton Commonwealth here.
Diane Seskes [01:01:14] Right. [laughs] So I guess those are the two. And I don’t know, now that I’m answering that, it’s like, do we do a festival this year? Do I want to put all that time into it? Maybe. Maybe something a little smaller than the biggies.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:01:38] Yeah. It is a lot of work and-
Diane Seskes [01:01:40] Yeah.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:01:41] And my colleague who’s doing the recording says we should bring back Arlo Guthrie in 2023. Diane, I want to thank you for this hour. I have to tell you, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much through this.
Diane Seskes [01:02:03] [laughs] I’ve been smiling, too. And thank you for letting me just, you know, blabble.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:02:09] Thank you. It’s funny because we had questions and you answered the questions before I even got a chance. So thank you, thank you for the time.
Diane Seskes [01:02:17] Oh, thank goodness.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:02:20] If you think of anything you’d like to add, feel free to reach out to myself or Erich. Probably sometime, maybe as early as Sunday, I’m going to try to come by and take a picture of River Light Gallery. Are you in, per chance on Sunday afternoon?
Diane Seskes [01:02:40] I’m not, but if you want me to be there, I could arrange that. I’m there Saturday.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:02:47] And I’m out of town Saturday. [crosstalk]
Diane Seskes [01:02:49] Yeah, that’s your day off. [crosstalk] You know, tell me ahead of time and I could meet you down there. We are open.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:03:03] Yeah, you are. And I haven’t been there a while. Anyway, I will give you a call before I come.
Diane Seskes [01:03:09] Okay.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:03:10] And here’s something to think about. Just for our records, we would like, if possible, if you have, like, a publicity or a shot or would you trust me to use a camera to take a picture of you, or is there some picture that you would prefer we use? We would like to capture that so we have a face to put with this interview.
Diane Seskes [01:03:34] Let me look. I might have one that was taken at River Lights. I mean, I have one from years ago that’s on the back of a couple books, but I think that’s too old. Let me look and I can email it to you.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:03:55] Mm, that’s fine.
Diane Seskes [01:03:56] Okay.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:03:34] And I’ll drop some stuff off Sunday afternoon. If not Sunday afternoon, Monday afternoon, depending on when I can break free from a visitor center. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Diane Seskes [01:04:09] What are you dropping off?
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:04:11] It’s just- It’s a form. It’s a permission form so that if we want to use something, like I said, if we want to highlight something about the artist community here in Peninsula, that we can use a quote, and then it’s giving us permission, and it’s just acknowledging that this was the acknowledgment that this was the interview we did.
Diane Seskes [01:04:30] River Light’s not open on Monday.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:04:33] Oh, well, then I have to come by on Sunday. I will be here on Sunday sometime.
Diane Seskes [01:04:37] Either Sunday or, let’s see, the other time would be- I’m probably scheduling artists to restock Wednesday and Thursday. So if you wanted to check with me. I’m not sure. Usually I’m there from, like, 11 till 3. It depends upon when all the artists are scheduled, so just keep in touch.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:05:02] Okay.
Diane Seskes [01:05:03] You can text me.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:05:06] Okay, I will do that.
Diane Seskes [01:05:08] Okay. And I have a request. If I said something that you feel that I shouldn’t have said, delete it. [laughs]
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:05:18] I can’t think of anything because I’ve heard nothing but glow from you.
Diane Seskes [01:05:23] Okay. All right. Are we being recorded now?
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:05:28] So that’s why Erich isn’t on at the moment because we have this electronic system that captures it.
Diane Seskes [01:05:35] Okay, so we’re still being recorded?
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:05:39] Yes.
Diane Seskes [01:05:40] Okay.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:05:42] And he just texted me and said yes. So, I- For the moment, I will hang up. If you have something else you wish to say, you can text me or you can give me a call back at 440-
Diane Seskes [01:05:57] Oh, wait, am I supposed to be writing this down?
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:05:59] If you wish. It’s the cell phone number that’s on the bottom of the emails that I sent you.
Diane Seskes [01:06:04] Oh, okay. Okay.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:06:05] It’s there. So if you have something else- [crosstalk] So thank you. Say hello to Dawn for me.
Diane Seskes [01:06:13] I will.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:06:14] And I’ll- Maybe I’ll see you on Sunday. If not, I’ll definitely see the River Lake Gallery on Sunday then.
Diane Seskes [01:06:23] Okay, sounds good.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:06:25] All right, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Diane Seskes [01:06:28] Thank you.
Rebecca Jones Macko [01:06:29] Bye.
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