A taste of Hawaii is coming to Ohio.

Kona Brewing Co., located on the big island of Hawaii, is expanding its distribution early next year into Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Missouri.

“This is a bit of uncharted territory for us but we are genuinely stoked to be bringing ‘Liquid Aloha’ to the many craft beer lovers in our country’s interior,” Kona President Mattson Davis said in a statement.

“We appreciate the love for ohana [family] that Midwesterners have. In Hawaii, we have similar values of family and friendship and we look forward to finally sharing some warmth and a taste of Hawaii with more of our fans, especially during these cold winter months in the Midwest.”

With the expanded distribution, Kona will be available in 35 states. The beer is expected to arrive in Ohio in mid-January.

Kona’s flagship Longboard Island Lager will be available in bottles and on draft year-round. Big Wave Golden Ale, Fire Rock Pale Ale and seasonals beginning in the spring with Koko Brown Ale also will be available.

Kona was started in 1994 by father and son Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa. It is now owned by the Craft Brew Alliance, a publicly traded company that was formed in 2008 with the merger of Widmer Brothers Brewing and Redhook Ale Brewery.

New Frog beer

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery, 1680-F E. Waterloo Road, will release Frog Hops from Amager — the third beer in its collaboration series with European breweries — Friday and Saturday at the brewery.

Frog Hops from Amager is a hoppy chocolate-wheat imperial stout. The limited-release beer was developed with Amager Bryghus in Denmark.

The brewery will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The cost is $8.99 for a 22-ounce bottle.

To watch a video about the collaboration, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4sWtCzOaWI.

Christmas tastings

Acme Fresh Markets will hold Christmas beer tastings from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at its stores at 2630 Bailey Road in Cuyahoga Falls and 3979 Medina Road in Montrose.

Each store will have different beers to sample.

The Cuyahoga Falls store will offer Scaldis Noel, Thirsty Dog Barrel Aged 12 Dogs of Christmas, Southern Tier 2XMAS, Great Lakes Christmas Ale, Hoppin’ Frog Frosted Frog, Southern Tier Old Man Winter, Southern Tier Choklat and Lager Heads Winter Mischief.

The Montrose store will have Thirsty Dog Barrel Aged 12 Dogs of Christmas, Ohio Jingle Bell, Cellar Rats Festivus, Hoppin’ Frog Frosted Frog, Rivertown Death and Southern Tier Krampus.

The events are free to attend, although you pay for the beer you drink. Samples cost 25 cents to $1, depending on the beer. People also will be able to purchase growlers.

Top dog

Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas was selected as the best holiday beer by 60 people participating last week in the “12 Beers of Christmas” tasting at D’Agnese’s Trattoria in Akron.

Troegs Mad Elf finished a close second, and Southern Tier 2XMAS was third.

Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/the-beer-blog/ or follow him on Twitter @ArmonRick.

It’s that time of year again.

No, not the holidays. It’s Girl Scout cookie time.

The Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, troops in 18 Northeast Ohio counties, will begin their cookie sale on Dec. 21.

A box of cookies is selling for $3.50, same as last year. In fact, the price has remained the same for the past six years. The cookies are coming from Little Brownie Bakers of Louisville, Ky.

Varieties available are: Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, Dulce de Leche, Thank U Berry Munch and Savannah Smiles.

Cookies will be delivered Feb. 25 to 28. Cookie booth sales at malls and other locations will be March 1 to 17.

If you don’t know any scouts, you can call 888-9-THIN-MINT after March 1 to be connected to a troop, or visit www.gsneo.org and click on the Cookie Locator to find a sale in your area.

There’s an app for dba

Chef Dante Boccuzzi, owner of dba in Akron, Dante and Ginko in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood, and the DC Pasta Co. in Strongsville, has developed apps so customers can connect with his four restaurants from their phones and other electronic devices.

It is a free download from most app stores. Look for the Dante Dining Group app. It allows the user to make reservations, view menus, place a takeout order or purchase gift cards, among other things.

Yes, that is an ugly sweater

If you are brave enough to wear your most hideous sweater to Hudson’s restaurant on Thursdays from now until Christmas, you could win a $25 Hudson’s gift card.

The restaurant, with locations at 80 N. Main St. in Hudson and 3900 Medina Road in Copley, is sponsoring an Ugliest Sweater Contest this month.

Tell your server that you are entering the contest. Just for entering, you’ll get $2 off holiday martinis. Sweater judging is at 9 p.m. and contestants must be present to win. Prize is the $25 gift card.

Dine out for a good cause

Restaurant Week for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank’s ongoing Hunger Free Families campaign is coming.

From Dec. 16 to 22, for each customer who orders a specially selected item from the menu of participating restaurants, that restaurant will donate four meals to the Foodbank.

Visit the Foodbank’s website after Dec. 16 at www.akroncantonfoodbank.org/hff.aspx for a list of participating restaurants.

Winemaker will sell, sign

Akron native Drew Neiman will be serving up his Napa Valley wines at 750 ml Wines, 2287 W. Market St., Akron, at 6 p.m. Friday.

Neiman will be signing bottles of his wine, which will sell for $15.

Fruitcake is sold in Akron

In last week’s Ask Lisa column, I told a reader who was looking for the Sears Masterpiece Fruit Cake that while the cake was no longer made, the bakery that makes it, Beatrice Bakery Co. of Beatrice, Neb., makes and sells a similar cake, the Grandma’s Fruit Cake. The cakes can be ordered from the bakery’s website.

But recently I learned that they can be purchased locally at Akron’s own West Point Market, 1710 W. Market St., Akron.

Russ Vernon tells me the market has been selling Beatrice’s Grandma’s cake for more than 40 years. “I have never had a better fruitcake including my mother’s, and she was a great baker,” Vernon said. “I have described them to our customers as moist little cakes with pineapple, cherries, pecans, rum, brandy and bourbon with just enough cake to hold it all together. No citron or raisin fillers with this one.”

Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com. Find me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @akronfoodie or visit my blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.

People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The Beacon Journal has not investigated these causes, so donors should verify their worthiness and the tax-deductibility of contributions.

A link to a form for submitting requests to People Helping People can be found at www.ohio.com/charity, along with tips on researching charities and a list of causes already published.

Questions about submitting information? Call Mary Beth Breckenridge, 330-996-3756.

Summit County Children Services, 264 S. Arlington St., Akron, OH 44306-1399, responds to calls of child abuse and neglect. It is seeking donations of new, reasonably priced toys for its Holiday Toy Room, where grandparents and other caregivers in need can choose gifts for the children in their care.

For information, call the United Way Volunteer Center, 330-643-5512.

Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities is collecting new or gently used hats, gloves, scarves and mittens for families in need in Medina County. Items may be brought to the Achievement Center, 4691 Windfall Road, Granger Township, through Friday.

For information, call the board at 330-725-7751, Ext. 273.

Christmas Shoebox Campaign is collecting shoeboxes filled with personal hygiene items and small gifts for women, men and children living at area shelters.

Donors are asked to select an age group and gender of a recipient and fill a shoebox with appropriate small items. Hygiene items are the primary need, but a greeting card, toys, games, books, socks, hats or gloves may be added. The donor is asked to wrap the box and lid separately, write the gender and age group on a tag and attach the tag to the lid.

Shoeboxes can be dropped off from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at New Horizons Christian Church, 290 Darrow Road, Akron.

A list of suggested items, a breakdown of age groups and other details are at www.akrongirlscouts.org.

For more information, contact April Wortman at 330-760-2142 or dentalmom6@yahoo.com.

COLUMBUS: Ohio and the federal government reached an agreement Wednesday on a plan aimed at better coordinating medical care for some of the state’s sickest and most expensive patients.

Gov. John Kasich’s administration wants to streamline the way health care is delivered to people enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare.

Ohio has more than 182,000 so-called “dual-eligible” individuals. And while they make up only 14 percent of total the state’s Medicaid enrollment, they account for almost 40 percent of total Medicaid spending, according to state figures.

The federal Medicare program serves the elderly and disabled, while Medicaid provides coverage for the poor though state and federal funding.

The two programs operate fairly independently of each other. Medicare generally helps pay for doctor and hospital visits, along with prescription drugs. Medicaid typically helps pay for long-term care, such as nursing homes, among other services.

Officials worked to create a three-year demonstration project aimed at better coordinating the care of the beneficiaries in the programs.

The project would affect a portion of the dual-eligible population — almost 114,000 people living in seven urban regions. Voluntary enrollment in the program begins Sept. 1.

Federal officials had to sign off on the project before the state could move forward. Wednesday’s agreement makes Ohio the third state — after Massachusetts and Washington — to finalize such a proposal, the Kasich administration said.

As a result of the lack of connection between Medicaid and Medicare, some patients are more costly to the system, officials say.

For instance, a patient could be discharged from a hospital to a nursing home instead of to a less expensive home-based care because the two programs aren’t talking to each other in the same setting.

The state wants to better link the two programs so that the beneficiaries have to work with only a single entity to receive the services.

Individuals would get a care manager to help them with medical decisions and to live independently if they are still at home.

Ohio’s plan is also designed to eliminate unnecessary health tests, prevent medication errors and keep people healthier and out of emergency rooms.

“Better care coordination across the state means healthier Ohioans, and it will also help in driving down costs in the long run,” Kasich said in a statement.

COLUMBUS: Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed into law a measure to crack down on high-volume dog breeding operations that critics call puppy mills.

Kasich’s office says he signed the bill Tuesday.

The measure bolsters regulations on the care and treatment of animals housed in large-scale establishments and distinguishes the facilities from traditional dog kennels. Those considered “dog retailers” will have to be licensed.

The bill creates an advisory board to provide guidance on care standards for the facilities. It also allows the director of the state’s agriculture department to contract with local veterinarians to conduct inspections.

Animal rescues would have to register with the state. That raised concerns from one nonprofit rescue in Cleveland that the regulations would be onerous.

COLUMBUS: Ohio and the federal government reached an agreement Wednesday on a plan aimed at better coordinating medical care for some of the state’s sickest and most-expensive patients.

Gov. John Kasich’s administration wants to streamline the way health care is delivered to people enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare.

Ohio has more than 182,000 so-called “dual-eligible” individuals. And while they make up only 14 percent of the total of the state’s Medicaid enrollment, they account for almost 40 percent of total Medicaid spending, according to state figures.

Coordinating care is expected to save the state and federal government $243 million in Medicaid spending through the end of 2016, said Ohio Medicaid Director John McCarthy.

The bigger benefit, he said, will be better health care. Providers, as an example, will make decisions based on need rather than whether it’s paid for by Medicaid or Medicare, McCarthy said.

“That’s our No. 1 concern,” he said, “making sure the person gets what they need.”

The federal Medicare program serves the elderly and disabled, while Medicaid provides coverage for the poor though state and federal funding.

The two programs operate fairly independently of each other. Medicare generally helps pay for doctor and hospital visits, along with prescription drugs. Medicaid typically helps pay for long-term care, such as nursing homes, among other services.

Officials worked to create a three-year demonstration project aimed at better coordinating the care of the beneficiaries in the programs.

The project would affect a portion of the dual-eligible population — almost 114,000 people living in seven urban regions. Voluntary enrollment in the program begins Sept. 1.

More than 16,000 residents in Summit, Stark, Medina, Portage and Wayne counties are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, according to the state. All five counties are included in the demonstration project.

Federal officials had to approve the project before the state could move forward. Wednesday’s agreement makes Ohio the third state — after Massachusetts and Washington — to finalize such a plan, the Kasich administration said.

As a result of the lack of connection between Medicaid and Medicare, some patients are more costly to the system, officials say.

For instance, a patient could be discharged from a hospital to a nursing home instead of to a less-expensive home-based care because the two programs aren’t talking to each other in the same setting.

The state wants to better link the two programs so that the beneficiaries have to work with only a single entity to receive the services.

Individuals would get a care manager to help them with medical decisions and to live independently if they are still at home.

Ohio’s plan is also designed to eliminate unnecessary health tests, prevent medication errors and keep people healthier and out of emergency rooms.

People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The Beacon Journal has not investigated these causes, so donors should verify their worthiness and the tax-deductibility of contributions. A link to a form for submitting requests to People Helping People can be found at www.ohio.com/charity, along with tips on researching charities and a list of causes already published.

Questions about submitting information? Call Mary Beth Breckenridge, 330-996-3756.

The Victim Assistance Program and Furnace Street Mission, 150 Furnace St., Akron, OH 44304, are collecting new toys and accepting monetary donations through Friday to provide holiday food and gift baskets to victims of crime and trauma in Summit County.

Checks may be mailed. Toys may be dropped off at these locations:

• AAA Akron Auto Club, 111 W. Center St.

• Akron Police Department, 217 S. High St.

• AtNetPlus, 1000 Campus Drive, Stow.

• Barberton Police Department, 576 W. Park Ave.

• Brouse McDowell, 388 S. Main St., Akron.

• Canal Place, 520 S. Main St., Akron.

• Cascade Auto Group, 4149 State Road, Cuyahoga Falls.

• Church Agency, 600 E. Cuyahoga Fall Ave., Akron.

• Summit County Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s offices, 53 University Ave., Akron.

• University of Akron Police Department, 146 Hill St.

• University of Akron English Department, Olin Hall, East Buchtel Avenue.

• University of Akron Social Work Department, Polsky Building, South High Street and University Avenue.

For more information, call 330-376-0040 or visit www.victimassistanceprogram.org.

Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, 350 Opportunity Parkway, Akron, OH 44307-2234,. For information, visit www.akroncantonfoodbank.org/hff.aspx or call 330-535-6900.

People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The Beacon Journal has not investigated these causes, so donors should verify their worthiness and the tax-deductibility of contributions.

A link to a form for submitting requests to People Helping People can be found at www.ohio.com/charity, along with tips on researching charities and a list of causes already published.

Questions about submitting information? Call Mary Beth Breckenridge, 330-996-3756.

Holiday Paws Pantry, a project of the Ad Lab and the North Canton Area Chamber of Commerce, is collecting unopened wet and dry dog and cat food for families in need.

Pet food may be brought to the Barking Lot collection from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the future North Canton YMCA Child Care Center, 315 N. Main St..

In addition, food may be dropped off through Monday at these North Canton locations: Bead Boutique, Booney and Pooch, Caffe Gelato, CKP Heating & Cooling, DeHoff Realtors, Ermanno’s Pizza, FirstMerit Bank, ForPaws/Blue Cross Animal Hospital, Hoover High School (Wrenn Nicodemo’s senior English class), Kent State University at Stark (Business Division), North Canton Chamber of Commerce, North Canton Public Library, The Repository, Veterinary Wellness Center of North Canton, Viking Community Animal Hospital, Walgreens on South Main or Washington Square, Walsh University and Zoup!

Donations may also be made at Canton Charge games at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

More information is at www.facebook.com/HolidayPawsPantry.

Child Guidance & Family Solutions, 312 Locust St., Akron, OH 44302-1801, supports families by providing counseling and education, connecting them with resources and cooperating with community agencies and schools.

The agency is seeking donors to “adopt” families for the holidays by buying gifts for each family member. Donors will receive first names, ages, genders, sizes and specific needs or wants for the family members.

The donors are asked to wrap the gifts, label them with the recipients’ names and deliver them to the agency by Tuesday. Those who prefer not to shop may give gift cards to local grocery and/or discount stores.

For information, call the United Way Volunteer Center, 330-643-5512.

TV special airs tonight

One elf’s adventures are chronicled in The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf’s Story, an animated special airing at 9:31 tonight on CBS.

The program is based on the children’s book The Elf on the Shelf by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell. It focuses on an elf named Chippey whose human charge, Taylor McTuttle, doubts the magic of Christmas.

The show originally aired in 2011. It’s also available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Someone’s spying on the VanNatta kids.

Their parents aren’t worried. In fact, they approve wholeheartedly.

That someone is Buddy, the elf doll the VanNattas have adopted as a Christmas-season emissary. Buddy’s job is to use his magical powers to keep an eye on the five VanNatta children and report back to Santa on the behavior of Corrie, 12; Cole, 11; Cade, 9; Cameron, 7; and Caleigh, 5.

That’s their mother’s story, anyway, and she’s sticking to it.

Colleen and Chris VanNatta of Lake Township are among the growing legions of parents who have embraced the tradition of inviting an enchanted elf into their homes in the weeks leading to Christmas. Legend has it that the elves watch the children during the day and then return to the North Pole each night to share the inside scoop on naughtiness and niceness, along with tips on what the kids hope to find under their trees.

What’s especially fun is that when an elf returns each morning, he (or she, in some cases) finds a new place in the house to perch — and sometimes, some new mischief to get into. That inspires the kids to start each day with a sort of treasure hunt.

It also inspires a good deal of creativity.

Elves have been spotted hanging from ceiling fans and stringing lights on trees. They’ve been found in the midst of snowball fights with other toys, using miniature marshmallows as ammo. They’ve been discovered making snow angels in flour, crafting paper snowflakes and checking Facebook.

Keeping up with an active elf can take some effort, Colleen VanNatta admitted. But she likes how Buddy serves as a check on behavior at a time of year when kids can spin out of control. She said Buddy has a knack for showing up where he’s really needed, such as near the piano on a day after some of the kids balked at having to practice.

“It is work,” she said, “but it really is so fun.”

Bianca Murphy agreed.

“It just adds to the magic of Christmas,” said Murphy, whose Copley house is the seasonal home-away-from-home to an elf named Ben.

Ben came to stay last year with the Murphy family — Bianca, husband Patrick and sons Sean, 9; Jack, 6; and Joe, 4. She said Ben was fairly well-behaved that first year, but as he’s become more comfortable in his surroundings, he’s let his impish side show.

One day, he got into the refrigerator and turned the milk green. He’s written on the bathroom mirror with toothpaste and unrolled the toilet paper. The Murphy kids have discovered the elf playing Scrabble with some of their toys and having a slumber party with their stuffed animals, during which Ben and his inanimate friends ate popcorn and watched — what else? — the movie Elf.

Murphy is among the parents who share their elves’ adventures on social networking sites such as Facebook and Pinterest. Some even manage to capture their elves’ hi-jinks on video. YouTube has footage of elves flying, riding toy trains, boogieing along with the video game Just Dance 3 and even taking a potty break. (Don’t worry; the camera is outside the bathroom. Elves deserve their privacy, too.)

Sharing a tradition

The idea of an elf, angel or other figure visiting children is rooted in a number of Christmas traditions around the world, but a Portage County woman was instrumental in popularizing it in the United States.

The late Flora Johnson of Atwater shared the tradition with her own children in the 1960s, and her daughter passed it along to Johnson’s grandson. When Johnson noticed how much the elf’s visits thrilled the child, she got the idea of sharing the tradition with other children.

So in 1984, at age 60, Johnson wrote the story of an elf called Christopher Pop-In-Kins and started making elf dolls by hand, which were packaged with the book and sold locally. Over the years, she made an estimated 10,000 dolls, and eventually the kitchen-table enterprise grew into Pop-In-Kins Ltd., a company in Alliance that markets the dolls and books through independent retailers and Amazon.com, said Ed Kuntzman, the company’s vice president of creative services.

Johnson was so insistent on maintaining the enchantment that she asked retailers to keep her products behind the counter, shielded from little eyes, said Kuntzman’s brother Dave, the company’s president. “We’re trying to maintain the magic that Flora always wanted the elf to have,” he said.

Pop-In-Kins has since expanded on Christopher’s story to include a little sister, Christina Marie, and her cat, Mittens. Many families have all three come to visit, Ed Kuntzman said.

In recent years, however, the Pop-In-Kins characters have been eclipsed by the Elf on the Shelf, the brand popularized by Georgia resident Carol Aebersold and her twin daughters, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts.

Aebersold, like Johnson, made an elf part of her family’s Christmas ritual when her children were small. Years later, she teamed with Bell to write the book The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, which the women self-published and marketed along with the knee-hugging elf dolls that were popular in the 1960s.

Rules and rituals

Certain rules and rituals surround the elf tradition. The Elf on the Shelf makers insist their dolls must be named before their magic can be unleashed, and the company’s website allows families to register their elves. And both the shelf elves and the Pop-In-Kins come with a stern warning: Humans must not touch the elves, or their magic might disappear.

VanNatta made the mistake of violating the no-touching rule once, and her son caught her. She explained to him that she’d made a bad choice because she was upset about the children’s behavior that day and wanted to shield them by preventing Buddy from going back North and reporting their misdeeds to Santa.

(Note to parents: Sprinkling cinnamon near the elf serves as an antidote to skin contact from the clueless or curious. And what if your elf fails to move during the night? Well, it’s just in one of its favorite spots and wants to hang out there a little longer.)

Playing host to an elf requires a certain degree of diligence on the part of the adults. VanNatta said she has awakened in the middle of the night with the realization that she hadn’t properly attended to her elf. And when she and her husband were serving their regular weekend duty with the Air Force Reserve earlier this month, she texted the baby sitter to remind her about Buddy’s care.

Some parents scoff at that commitment, Murphy said. “Oh, you’re one of those parents,” she’s been told.

She shrugs that off with a laugh.

“I think it’s all what you make of it,” she said.

And she chooses to make it fun.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck and follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge.

Q: Our 45-year-old, waxed hardwood floor has some white water spots. Can you suggest a procedure for me to remove the spots? Should I then spot-stain them?

— John R. Cullen, Akron

A: For a waxed floor, the National Wood Flooring Association recommends rubbing water stains or white spots with extra-fine (#000) steel wool and wax. If that fails, you can lightly sand with fine sandpaper, and then clean the spot using very fine (#00) steel wool and mineral spirits or a wood floor cleaner.

Allow the floor to dry, and then stain the spot, wax and hand buff.

You can use either a paste or liquid wax. I’d choose a good-quality wax, possibly from a flooring retailer.

Have a question about home maintenance, decorating or gardening? Akron Beacon Journal home writer Mary Beth Breckenridge will find answers for the queries that are chosen to appear in the paper. To submit a question, call her at 330-996-3756, or send email to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. Be sure to include your full name, your town and your phone number or email address.

A compound once owned by singer Marvin Gaye and his first wife, Anna, has come on the market in Hollywood Hills West at $3.799 million.

The 1.46-acre estate includes a four-bedroom, five-bathroom main house, a guesthouse, an outdoor kitchen and an eight-car motor court. Water spills down a wall of boulders and into the swimming pool. There is 3,156 square feet of living space.

Gaye, who died in 1984 at age 44, owned the house in the mid-1970s when Anna Gaye, the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, filed for divorce. She kept the house until 2008, when it sold for $1.91 million.

Ex-Griffin property sold

Actor Albert Brooks sold the former Merv Griffin estate for $6.275 million. The two-acre-plus property had been priced at $6.995 million. The listing says the property is in upper Bel-Air, although the Los Angeles Times Mapping Database considers the location to be Sherman Oaks.

The 5,100-square-foot, single-story house features wood-paneled ceilings, expanses of windows, four bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms.

Happy holidays. Here are some questions and answers — a few holiday-related and others that are not.

Q: I was given a lovely poinsettia as a gift, and my cat wouldn’t leave it alone. I had to give it away. Is the poinsettia poisonous?

A: The poinsettia gets a bad rap as a poisonous plant because it was erroneously associated with the death of a young child in Hawaii many years ago. Poinsettia belongs to the euphorbia family, and while other members of this plant family contain toxins, poinsettia does not.

One estimate determined that a 50-pound child would have to ingest 500 poinsettia leaves to reach even potentially toxic levels. Accidental ingestion could cause mild digestive distress, but the plant (and its milky sap) are reported to be quite distasteful, making it unlikely that many leaves would be ingested by children or pets. As always, it’s recommended to keep these and all houseplants up and away from curious children or pets.

Q: Why is real mistletoe hard to find as a holiday decoration? I only see it in plastic.

A: Mistletoe is reputed to be toxic, although controversy surrounds this reputation. In several studies that reviewed the effects from accidental berry or leaf ingestion, few symptoms were reported and those symptoms were mild. Because of the potential for accidental ingestion, mistletoe is usually sold as a plastic sprig of green leaves and white berries.

The plant itself is a common parasitic plant that lives off host trees in southern Ohio and throughout the south. Mistletoe is spread by birds; they eat the fruit and then spread the sticky seeds onto trees. The seeds germinate and send out a structure that penetrates the tree bark, extracting vital fluids from the host tree. Although the plant is a tree parasite, it also plays a vital role in forest ecosystems by providing food and shelter for birds and other wildlife.

Q: I normally stop treating my dog for ticks during the winter months. A friend told me I should actually be treating year-round. I thought ticks were dormant in cold weather.

A: While some ticks, such as the American dog tick, do become inactive in winter, the blacklegged tick is active year-round. This tick, also called the “deer” tick, is becoming of great concern as it spreads throughout Ohio. According to Dr. Glen Needham, acarologist (mite and tick specialist) with the OSU Department of Entomology, this tick is believed to be established in more than half of Ohio’s counties, including all counties that border Summit County. The blacklegged tick is a carrier of Lyme disease and several other tick-borne illnesses.

In winter, the blacklegged tick feeds on deer, mice and other mammals. Ticks have been collected in cold temperatures and even on snow. Hunters are at risk as they handle deer or bring infested deer onto their property. Ticks will dislodge from dead deer and can embed on human hosts or drop off to establish new populations. Immature ticks, which are also disease carriers, are small and difficult to see. People rarely think of performing tick checks after a wintry woodland outing, but this is an important tactic to prevent disease. Ticks need to feed for 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease.

Because dogs can contract Lyme disease, many experts now recommend treating dogs for ticks year-round. Vaccines are also available to protect dogs from Lyme disease, but no human vaccines are available.

Hunters, hikers and others active in woodland settings in winter should protect themselves by treating boots and outdoor clothing with products containing the pesticide permethrin. This product is applied to clothing, not skin, and will last through repeated washings. Hunting stores and catalogs often carry this product.

To remove an embedded tick, forget the folk remedies that supposedly get the tick to “back out” of the skin. Dr. Needham has studied these strategies, and insists that none of them work, including covering the tick with Vaseline, fingernail polish, alcohol or touching the tick with an extinguished match. What’s worse, these tactics can allow ticks to feed longer, increasing the danger of disease spread from tick to human. Ticks should be removed by pulling them gently but firmly with tweezers or fingers.

For more information on ticks, Lyme disease and bite prevention, visit the Ohio Department of Health’s website (www.odh.ohio.gov). County health departments can also help with tick and tick-borne disease questions.

Denise Ellsworth directs the honeybee and native pollinator education program for the Ohio State University. If you have questions about caring for your garden, contact her at 330-263-3700 or click on the Ask Denise link on her blog at www.osugarden.com.

When the winter weather outside is frightful, it can be downright dangerous for your pets.

Products designed to lessen ice on streets and sidewalks are big cold-weather threats to animals. Protecting your pets’ paws from the elements and salt is vital to their overall health.

Slush, snow and ice can damage the pads of their feet and rock salt and other sidewalk treatments used to melt it can damage them all the more.

The main ingredient in most ice-melting products is either sodium chloride or calcium chloride, which are both corrosive compounds. Extended contact with salt and salt products can cause chemical burns to paws and damage the tender areas between paw pads. Ingesting the compounds when animals lick their paws to ease the irritation can cause severe stomach upset.

There are nontoxic ice-melting products available that are pet safe. Safe Paw advertises its products as 100 percent salt-free and environmentally safe. Use the locator on www.safepaw.com/ to find a store near you that carries it.

But that won’t help if your community doesn’t use Safe Paw on its roads, or your neighbors salt their sidewalks.

You could try to avoid walking your canine on roadways, but snowplows throw deicers onto the grassy areas, so you should be prepared to protect the pads of your dog’s and cat’s feet during and after outside activity.

Boots are not just for the pampered pooch and finicky feline these days. Although it might take awhile for your pet to get used to them, putting boots on just before you go for a walk should keep the animal from pulling them off their paws. Keep the first few walks short. Taking a handful of treats might also help.

From personal experience, I know you can accustom your dog to outerwear, but I’m not so sure Fluffy the feline will be a willing participant. Keep in mind, salt is as damaging to your cat’s paws as it is to a dog.

But for dogs, getting a good-fitting, well-made boot is extremely important. Make sure there are no inside seams that might cause discomfort or pain and slide your finger down the back of the dog’s leg to keep the dew claws in place and keep them from becoming irritated. Also, make sure the boots are not too tight. An animal should never be left unattended while wearing them.

Disposable booties are also available for dogs that will not tolerate the harder boots and might be the ticket for cats, too. The rubber or vinyl booty is more like wearing a latex glove and allows the paws to feel the ground.

Get your video camera ready. Watching their high-stepping, initial awkward walk can be really entertaining.

When all else fails, make sure to clean and dry your pet’s paws when they return from outside with warm water and a clean towel.

Inspect your pet’s paws regularly. Use a paw rub to help keep paws supple and moist year round.

You can purchase a paw balm or make one using these directions I found at www.ehow.com/how_12149610_make-paw-rub-dogs.html#ixzz2EaftCP5o.

Ingredients:

• Beeswax

• Olive, avocado, or bergamot essential oil.

• Borax.

Melt the beeswax according to the product’s directions.

Add oil to the melted wax gradually, mixing constantly until the substance appears whipped. Use bergamot essential oil to add anti-fungal properties to the balm.

Add a pinch of borax. Borax is used in products that contact high amounts of beeswax to emulsify and stabilize the beeswax and support the balm’s texture without the use of chemicals. It’s fine for your dog to lick this since it’s used in such a small amount. Borax is also frequently used in lip balm.

Clean your dog’s paw pads with a medicated wipe for pets, or soak the paws in Epsom salts and purified water for five to 10 minutes. Use 1 to 2 tablespoons per gallon of water.

Trim the hair between your dog’s paw pads to avoid getting the balm in it.

Apply a small amount of balm to your dog’s paw pads. Massage well into the pads. Reapply as needed.

Store the balm in an airtight container and keep in a cool place.

Other pets in the news:

Noon Year’s Eve party — Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, 3900 Wildlife Way, will host a party for children from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 31. Kids can ring in 2013 with a dance party hosted by Radio Disney, a countdown to noon complete with a ball drop on the Welcome Plaza, crafts, Get Close Animal encounters and “Safe Rides for All Kids’ activities. Activities are free with zoo admission.

Holiday Paws Pantry Barking Lot collection event — A last push collection for wet and dry pet food will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday for pets in need at 113 N. Main St. across from the North Canton Fire Department. The pet food drive is sponsored by Ad Lab and North Canton Chamber of Commerce. Pet food will be distributed to needy families on a first-come, first-served basis at the same site 4-8 p.m. Tuesday.

 Medina County Top Dog Award — Brunswick fourth-grader Ilsa Miller’s dog Buddy was named Medina County’s Top Dog in a recent annual awards ceremony that marks the beginning of the dog licensing period in the State of Ohio and ends Jan. 31. Miller’s essay, detailing why her dog was No. 1, beat out more than 400 Medina County fourth-grade students. Buddy will receive dog license No. 1 for the 2013 dog license season, and Ilsa took home other prizes from area businesses. The cost of a license is $12 and all proceeds go to the Medina County Animal Shelter. More information at www.medinacountyauditor.org/dog_buytags.htm.

Most Improved Player Award —The Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been named “Most Improved Player” for the North Central Division in the 2012 ASPCA Rachel Ray $100K Challenge. The shelter will receive a $10,000 grant prize from the ASPCA. The shelter saved 453 animals between August and October, an increase of 306 more cats and dogs than it saved in the same three-month period in 2011.

 Rescued Animal Giving Trees ­— Local pet stores in the Akron-Canton area are helping rescued pets with “Giving Trees” decorated with ornaments bearing gift requests. Rescue agencies are asking people to buy the suggested item and donate it to the rescue listed on the ornament. Tree locations are: Pet Supplies Plus stores on Manchester Road in Coventry Township, Waterloo Road and Arlington Road in Akron, Portage Street Northwest in North Canton and West Tuscarawas Street in Canton. Trees are also located at PBS Animal Health on Richville Drive in Massillon and Rohr’s Feed Store on Manchester Road in North Lawrence.

Kathy Antoniotti writes about pets for the Akron Beacon Journal. She is unable to help locate, place or provide medical attention for an individual animal. If you have an idea or question about pets, write her at the Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; call 330-996-3565; or send an email to kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.

A worker taking down the dying copper beech tree at Perkins Stone Mansion found a sweet surprise: a 57-year-old love note carved high in the canopy.

The crew member from the Davey Tree Expert Co. discovered the carving last week while removing limbs from the landmark tree. The beech’s growth has stretched the letters, but they appear to spell either “I.C. loves P.C.” or “J.C. loves P.C.” and are accompanied by the year, ’55.

The sentiment was found 30 or 40 feet off the ground — exactly where it would have been carved all those years ago, city arborist Bill Hahn said. Apparently some love-struck daredevil scaled the tree, sat in the crotch where a limb met the trunk and carved evidence of his ardor.

Even though the tree is believed to date to around 1837, the carving must be from the 20th century. The tree wouldn’t have been big enough by 1855 for someone to carve it at that height.

Tree carving is frowned upon because it can harm a tree’s ability to take up water and nutrients, but the folks at the Summit County Historical Society are understandably smitten by the discovery of a message so far up in their beloved beech. The society, which operates Perkins Stone Mansion, saved the carved section and plans to put it on display eventually, Executive Director Leianne Neff Heppner said.

She’s hoping someone will ’fess up to the carving. “We would just be tickled to death to hear somebody’s love story,” she said.

The tree is being removed in stages. The lower part has been left in place so the tree can be cloned, Heppner said, but eventually it will all come down.

Holiday lights hotline

Don’t make yourself crazy over Christmas lights that won’t work. Make a phone call instead.

Ulta-Lit Technologies is sponsoring its Holiday Lighting Hotline from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Christmas Eve. Representatives will help diagnose and repair problems with pre-lighted trees, indoor/outdoor lights and lighted yard ornaments.

The toll-free number is 888-858-2548. Ulta-Lit also has helpful information on its website, www.ultalit.com.

Finer tapped for AAAS

John Finer, a plant scientist at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster Township, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Finer is a professor in Ohio State University’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science. He was recognized for his genetics work on crop plants.

Events, programs

• Holiday tours, 1-4 p.m. today and Dec. 22, Perkins Stone Mansion, 550 Copley Road, Akron. $6, seniors $4, students $2, members free. www.summithistory.org.

• Knitty Gritters, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Lake Community Branch of Stark County District Library, 11955 Market Ave. N, Lake Township. Instructions for beginning knitters. 330-877-9975.

• Gardeners of Greater Akron meeting, Monday evening, St. George Fellowship Centre, 3204 Ridgewood Road, Copley Township. Social hour starts at 5:30, dinner at 6:30. Program: music by Miller South School students. Cost: $13. Reservations: 330-336-6269. Information: 330-673-3553 or www.ohiogardeners.org.

• Knitting and Crocheting Circle, 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Brunswick Library, 3649 Center Road. Registration: 330-273-4150.

• Needlework Circle meeting, 6 p.m. Thursdays, Seville Library, North Center Street. 330-769-2852.

• Knitting and Crocheting Circle, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 22, Highland Library, 4160 Ridge Road, Granger Township, Medina County. Learn the basics or bring your projects and swap tips. Registration: 330-278-4271 or 330-239-2674.

• Holiday Memories, through Dec. 30, Hower House, 60 Fir Hill, Akron. Victorian mansion is decorated to reflect memories of holidays past. Self-guided tours noon to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays; guided and group tours by appointment. Closed Dec. 24-26. $8; 65 and older $6; students $2; children 6 and younger free with adult. 330-972-6909 or www.uakron.edu/howerhse.

• Deck the Hall, 5-8 nightly through Dec. 30, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, 714 N. Portage Path, Akron. Music-theme holiday decorations in the Manor House, lighted grounds, entertainment and visits with Mr. Jingeling. Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Members, $13.50 for adults and $5.50 for youth; others, $17 for adults and $7 for youth. 5 and younger admitted free. Tickets available at the door or in advance at 330-836-5533 or www.stanhywet.org.

• Glow, through Dec. 31, Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Blvd. Holiday plantings, trees and decorations, along with entertainment, a gingerbread house display and a Garden Express train ride. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. $12, children 3 to 12 $6.50, members and younger children free. 216-721-1600 or www.cbgarden.org.

Submit notices of classes, programs and events two weeks in advance to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com or Home and Garden News, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Please include name and phone number. All events must be open to the public.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.

Guest bedrooms are no longer just for guests.

For most of the year, they function as flex spaces for offices, playrooms, dens or craft rooms. But when overnight guests descend for the holidays, it’s time to transform those spaces into quiet sleeping quarters as warm and cozy as a fleece robe.

“Clients have been calling me about their kids and family coming home and want to make it really comfortable for them,” said Kim Spillum, owner of Kim Spillum Interior Design in Minneapolis. “I’m turning studies and hobby rooms into guest bedrooms.”

Katie Bassett of KBI Design Studios in Edina, Minn., recently outfitted a client’s den with an antique daybed covered in luxe velvet bedding — with a large round bolster pillow that turns it into a comfortable sofa. New French doors can close off the den for sleepovers.

Sleeper sofas in family rooms and multi-use spaces also are making a comeback. That’s because today’s models are more like slumbering on a cloud than across a metal pole, according to designers and salespeople.

Today’s sleeper sofas are also a lot more stylish. Hancock & Moore manufactures a leather Chesterfield sleeper sofa, and many traditional upholstery lines often include sleeper sofas.

But guest accommodations don’t have to be fancy — a quiet, restful place to get a good’s night’s sleep can be enough. Interior designer Brandi Hagen of Eminent Interior Design, Minneapolis, sets out an inflatable air bed when her home is overflowing with holiday visitors. “I always place a table, lamp and water carafe next to it,” she said. “I want my relatives to feel comfortable, even though we don’t have enough bedrooms for everyone.”

And if your guests are early risers, there’s one sure-fire way to make them feel at home: Show them where the coffee is stored and how to work the coffeemaker.

Want to give your holiday houseguests a hotel-like experience? Here are more tips:

• Reading lamp, reading glasses and alarm clock on a nightstand.

• Basket filled with travel-size soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash and Q-tips in the room or a nearby bathroom.

• Folded fresh towels in an easy-to-find place.

• Pen and paper in the nightstand drawer.

• Nightlight.

• Don’t use air fresheners or fragrant candles, because some people are sensitive to scents.

• Make sure the room and bathroom the guest will be using are both squeaky clean.

• Empty out dressers, and clean out the closet. Add padded or wooden hangers.

• Set out a luggage rack or a bench with a cushion for suitcases.

• Inexpensive decorative screens for a family room or basement give guests privacy.

• Tie a ribbon on pillows labeled “firm” or “soft” and “down” or “hypoallergenic.”

• A water carafe and glass on the nightstand.

• Blow up the air bed and put on sheets ahead of time, not when guests are there.

• Lay a nice throw at the end of the bed.

• Hagen’s parents and in-laws stay in a lower-level guest bedroom where it’s easy to hear footsteps. “I give them a sound machine to block out noise.”

• Magazines next to the bed for insomniacs.

• If you have Wi-Fi, share the code with guests.

• Watch for a sale and pick up a robe, “just like at a nice hotel,” said Spillum.

When David Culp bought a 1790s farmhouse in southeastern Pennsylvania more than 20 years ago, he didn’t see peeling paint and a run-down condition. He saw possibilities.

In the years since, Culp and his partner have turned that house and its two-acre property into Brandywine Cottage, a noted landscape where he grows unusual plants from around the world. Culp shares the beauty of that property and some of his garden-design secrets in The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty From Brandywine Cottage.

Culp defines his approach to layering as “creating a series of peak garden moments,” and he fills the book with photos that illustrate that concept. He seeks not just a succession of bloom, but also a succession of interesting happenings.

For him, layering involves considering the various levels of the garden, from ground to treetops, as well as the attributes of the plants — textures, shapes, colors, bloom times and even the feelings they evoke.

Besides sharing design advice, Culp gives readers a tour of his property in photographs and words, often showing the same vista at different times of the year to highlight the garden’s progression. He also profiles many of the plants in his extensive collection.

The Layered Garden is published by Timber Press and sells for $34.95 in hardcover.

— Mary Beth Breckenridge

Looking for a lamp in just the right color?

Lamps Plus has you covered.

The lighting retailer’s Color + Plus collection offers a glass table lamp in 62 colors, so you can more easily match your lamps to your decor. Each lamp is displayed on the company’s website with a matching paint color chip or Pantone swatch to give a more accurate representation of the color.

The Color + Plus lamps have brushed steel accents, but brass and acrylic accents will be available soon. The lamps come with drum shades in either white linen or a choice of coordinated patterns.

The lamps sell for $99.99 at www.lampsplus.com. Shipping is free.

— Mary Beth Breckenridge

fairlawn: Rose Ann Mallardi Shirley still remembers the awe she felt when someone would lift her up to see the village of tiny people that decorated her grandmother’s fireplace mantel every Christmas.

That feeling never went away. Now Shirley is sharing it with new generations of her family as the caretaker of the village, handcrafted by her aunt the year Shirley was born.

The aunt, the late Teresa Mallardi Mastin, fashioned the miniature figures in 1940 out of pipe cleaners, scraps of fabric and “I don’t know what else,” Shirley said. The family had little money, she said, but what her aunt did have was artistic talent and the time to express it in those days before TV.

The figures with their stuffed-fabric heads and expressive, hand-drawn faces came out every Christmas to decorate the Mallardi family’s mantel in North Hill. They were perched on a cotton-covered base and were backed by a blue crepe-paper sky with silver stick-on stars, Shirley recalled.

After Christmas, they were packed away in a box that Mastin marked with the words “The Village People” long before the kitschy disco group made that name mainstream.

The whimsical figures populate an imaginary village that’s now set up each year on a table in the family room of Shirley’s home in Fairlawn. There’s a priest in his black vestments and biretta with a tiny pompom on top. There are sled riders on a cotton-covered hill, boys throwing snowballs and a fisherman smoking a tiny pipe, his fishing pole dangling over a mirror lake where skaters glide. There’s a boy in earmuffs with a newspaper under his arm, apparently made from a piece of a 1940 periodical.

The figures are painstakingly pinned to a Styrofoam layer under the cotton batting to keep them upright.

Altogether Mastin created 33 people, a project that took her 80 hours. Eventually she gave them to Shirley and was thrilled her niece wanted to carry on the tradition.

Shirley has since added buildings, trees and other accessories to the scene and created a blue fabric backdrop that a friend outfitted with twinkling lights to look like a starry sky. But it’s the handmade people she treasures.

“They are to me very precious,” she said.

Shirley is pleased her aunt got to see the village set up in her house before she died in 2008 at age 86. She smiled at the memory of her aunt’s micromanagement.

The first year she saw it, her aunt asked, “Where’s the hill?” The second year she remarked, “That tree could use a redbird.”

“I put the moon up [on the backdrop] because I didn’t want her to tell me I needed the moon,” Shirley said with a laugh.

Setting up the village takes a day, the most labor-intensive of the extensive holiday decorations that adorn Shirley’s house. “And I think I’ll be sweeping tinsel and little flakes of snow till July,” she said.

She considers the effort worthwhile, though, because she loves sharing the village with her children, her grandchildren and the other members of what she describes as her large Italian Catholic family. Among them are the female cousins and second cousins she invites to her home for a Christmas party every year, just to keep the family ties strong.

The village will remain a family legacy, she said. She has already promised it to her granddaughter Rosie Holcomb, who shares her grandmother’s love for the scene.

“My greatest joy is building memories for my children and grandchildren,” she said, “and this is part of it.”

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.

BATH TWP.: Montrose Zion United Methodist Church has been through some changes in the past 17 months.

The once all-white, male-led congregation now has a female pastor, a black music director and members who are white, black, Asian and Latino.

“Change can be difficult, and we lost some people because of it,” said Howard Harris Jr., Montrose Zion’s music director. “As disappointing as that was, we are finding new opportunities to grow and make the church community more diverse.”

On Sunday, Harris will direct a cantata, called “Hope of the Broken World,” at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. as part of the church’s advent celebration. The choir will perform a variety of musical selections, including traditional, contemporary and gospel, and will be accompanied by piano, violin and bass. The cantata will also be performed at 9 a.m. Dec. 22 at Copley United Methodist Church, 1518 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road.

The Copley church and Montrose Zion, at 565 N. Cleveland-Massillon Road, are among four United Methodist congregations that make up the Tree of Life Community. The regional ministry also includes Akron First United Methodist Church in downtown and Christ United Methodist Church in West Akron.

The Rev. Elizabeth Hadler said Montrose Zion strives to accept people where they are and encourages them to grow in their relationship with God. When she arrived at the church in July 2011 — as the congregation’s first female pastor — there were about 375 people worshipping at the church on Sundays. That number has fallen to about 275 people who attend the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services.

“People were scampering away when I got here. More people left because I am a woman than because Howard is African-American,” Hadler said. “When we began rebuilding our congregation, we thought it was important to become more diverse. Within a year, we have become more diverse in age, gender, race and music. We are more reflective of the world.”

Connecting through music

The two services offered at the church are designed to meet the needs of a variety of worshippers. The early service is traditional. It features a choir, historic hymns and primarily piano and organ music. The later, contemporary service includes a praise team, contemporary Christian music and a variety of musicians playing instruments.

A special children’s church begins at 11 a.m. on Sundays, and Sunday School is offered at 10 a.m. Nursery services are available.

In addition to the choir and praise team, the music ministry includes an Angelus Bell Choir, Bell Crier’s Ensemble, Salt & Light Worship Team and Small Instrument Ensemble.

Harris, 27, said the goal of the music ministry is to connect people to God. Because different people are touched by different musical styles, he said, it is important to include a variety of genres. He is shaping the ministry to include everything from classical to jazz. Since taking charge of the music ministry in April, the five-member praise team and six-member choir have grown to include 25 people.

In developing the music ministry, Harris — a classically trained pianist raised in the Baptist tradition — has recruited local musicians and composers to help with the effort. Among those recruits are Tom DeFrange and Joseph J. Hunter III.

Common cause

DeFrange, who grew up in the Catholic church, plays guitar and has directed choirs for 35 years. He said his personal commitment to diversity was the primary reason for coming on board about a month ago.

“Sunday morning is still the most segregated time of the week. This church has the potential to break that trend,” said DeFrange, 65, of Akron. “We have a group of people who work in different kinds of musical languages that have come together for a common cause, that opens the door to all kinds of possibilities.”

As a composer, DeFrange has written more than 400 songs. Three of those, ranging from traditional to calypso, will be performed during the cantata.

Like DeFrange, Hunter, 56, of Bath Township, is also a composer whose music can be characterized as gospel-jazz fusion. The Cleveland native grew up in the Baptist church and plays piano, keyboard, clarinet, oboe and saxophone.

“One of the things that I like about the music ministry here is that everyone is versatile and willing to do whatever it takes to make it work,” Hunter said. “The bottom line is we’re here to draw souls to Christ, and we can be an example of how people of different backgrounds can come together and benefit the kingdom.”

Harris said he is hopeful that the spirit of cooperation in the music ministry flows beyond the Montrose congregation and into the greater community. He called music the perfect tool to bring people together because “you don’t have to use words. You just play good music.”

“I’m not here because it’s a job. I’m here because God called me here. I’m not afraid to step into new places and let God use me,” Harris said. “One of the things that I hope people see when they look at our diverse music ministry is that we’re stronger together than we are apart.”

For more information about Montrose Zion, go to www.mzumc.org or call 330-665-9817.

Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com