Life, beauty and other issues PUBLISHER’S COLUMN - by Les Somogyi VICTOR LEVENSTEIN In this issue, you should be incredibly pleased to read about a little old man. He is all of barely five-foot tall but a full 98-years-old who grew up in Russia. After surviving Siberian exile in hell, not because of his own choosing, he settled in Reynoldsburg and moved on, rebuilding his life. But his memories are still alive. He shared those memories with Reynoldsburg Magazine contributing writer Debbie Dunlap. And those memories are chilling, to say the least. It’s tough to imagine that in our lifetime, people were so cruel. But they were. Some survived, some needlessly died. Victor Levenstein, a long-time Reynoldsburg resident, was one of the lucky ones. He survived a brutal Russian purging era, with quite a few unpleasant memories. He shares those memories with Debbie in a sincere, gutwrenching interview, all conducted via social distancing - Zoom - yet still gripping because you cannot escape the power of words. He then sat with me for a morning of chat at Kennedy Park, at first wearing his aviator sunglasses and later removing them and exposing his tired, worn, raked-over-coal eyes. There was no hiding that Victor had a hard life. We are so glad Victor shared those events with us. We cannot and will not forget the atrocities of the past. Chronicled here is part of his life, bad, sometimes downright brutal, and also sometimes good. The fact that he feels Covid is a piece of cake compared to his past, is actually encouraging. MACEDONIAN CHURCH I just came back from an interview at the Macedonian Church in Reynoldsburg with Priest Rodovan Cekovski. My heart is still in overdrive just from talking to a humble servant of his congregation and seeing the beauty of the church eventhough this was not my first 4 time there. I have been there before and each time I came away with incredible awe. How can pieces of art work become more than a human’s imagination is beyond me. But they can. If the interior of this church doesn’t affect your soul, I don’t know what does. You walk away from this gorgeous collection of brick and morter like someone who has been possessed and cannot express what you’re feeling. You simply cannot find the words to describe what you have seen. To do justice to describing such beauty, you would need to spend months there, day after day and still not be all accurate. But short of that, let it suffice that the beauty and the deep meaning have been preserved maticulously by the people who came from Macedonia years ago, decided to settle here, and continue their worship here in Reynoldsburg. Reynoldsburg is the lucky community to harbor such beauty. It is cherished by the church’s members and awed by the surrounding community and beyond every single day. ODELLA LAMPKIN-CRAFTER Reynoldsburg is lucky to have a local resident who volunteered to assist Reynoldsburg Magazine in creating timely and appropriate content in the future. Her name is Odella LampkinCrafter, a retired Franklin County Juvenile Magistrate who read my magazine in the Spring, was impressed by it, and offered to help make it better and more relevant to our diverse community. We love having her aboard and look forward to her guidance along the way. DR Z He just wants to be called Dr. Z. That’s okay with us. His new dental office on Main Street is a welcome addition to Reynoldsburg business and the Chamber of Commerce. We will be talking to Dr. Z in the future about his background...a local business owner who has a lifealtering story to tell, one that makes us appreciate where we live. I promise you that his story which I already heard, is better than a CBS 60 Minutes episode. More to come in a future issue of the magazine. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Your local Chamber of Commerce has gone through a facelift and a reorganization during the past several months, especially after the pandamic hit us. As most non-profit organizations, the Chamber has endured some hard times but their resiliance is beyond comparison. Newly appointed Chamber president Rick Wagner took the bull by the horns, and made lemonade from lemon. And if you ask anyone in these uncertain times, that’s pretty remarkable. Susan Brusk took the helm at running the organization, as temporary as it may be, but the fact is that they did not falter. They are standing strong and ready to serve Reynoldsburg’s business community. Please reach out to them and assist them in their activities. FISHERS GARDENS Congratulations to one of Reynoldsburg’s new business owners, Kiki and Dan Caines, who recently purchased Fisher’s Gardens from Bee and Brian Kocher. Kiki is a sweet Reynoldsburg High School graduate. It’s funny how time runs faster than you can blink an eye, changes quickly, and our children become our sustainers. Nevertheless, I love it. Thank you so much, Bee, for years of contributions to Reynoldsburg Magazine with your always timely and sincere advice on gardening. AND LAST, A WORD ABOUT ME An admission. The picture of me you see above was taken years ago, when I first started the magazine. I am older, I am more wrinkled now then ever, and by my wife’s collaboration, I forget things more easily. But those of you who have known me for 13 years since the magazine has been published, and much beyond, can attest that we have an ever-changing city, but still very much great. Let’s keep it that way. Reynoldsburg Magazine • Fall, 2020
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