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Chagrin Falls envy goes two ways
(by Dave Lange - October 09, 2008)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Chagrin Falls envy goes two ways
If you live in Chagrin Falls Township, you do not live in Chagrin Falls Village. Mayor Thomas Brick is not your mayor.
I had to get that off my chest, because another local writer seems to have gotten folks riled up over recent columns in which she stated the obvious. If you live in Auburn, Bainbridge, Bentleyville, Hunting Valley, Moreland Hills, Russell or South Russell, you don't live in Chagrin Falls. But she failed to make the distinction between the village and the township.
If you tell people in Claridon, Hambden, Munson and Chardon Township that they don't live in the City of Chardon, even though they share the same post office and the same schools, they're likely to respond, "Well, duh!" But if you tell some people in South Russell, which isn't even in the same county, that they don't live in Chagrin Falls, you may hurt their feelings.
I've only lived in one of those surrounding communities with the same postal address for 25 years, so maybe Chagrin Falls envy has not yet afflicted me. Even though I worked in the village for the better part of a decade, go to the Blossom Time Festival every spring, attend events on the Triangle, visit Evergreen Hill Cemetery on Memorial Day, dine at village restaurants and patronize shops on Main Street, I know I live in Bainbridge.
I may not be a "real Chagrinite," as that other writer made perfectly clear, but I have some news for her. There is no such thing as taking a "hot bath and a big drink of good old Chagrin Falls H2O." For many years, Chagrin Falls residents have gotten their water either from Cleveland or from the village's well fields off East Washington Street -- in Bainbridge!
Not only that, if you live in Chagrin Falls and like to point to the Chagrin Falls Armory as a symbol of our community's support for the military, I have more news for you. It's not in Chagrin Falls. When your children play sports at the Chagrin Falls park known as Founders Field, they're not in Chagrin Falls. If you enjoy socializing at the Chagrin Falls Eagles Club, ditto. Not in Chagrin Falls. They're all in Bainbridge.
You could go across the street to the Chagrin Valley Roller Rink, but you won't be in Chagrin Falls. You can see a movie at Chagrin Cinemas, work out at the Chagrin Valley Athletic Club, get your kids a head start at Chagrin Falls Daycare and Preschool or take your dog for veterinary care at Chagrin Animal Clinic, and you'll still be in Bainbridge.
But if you play a round of golf at Chagrin Valley Country Club or catch a horse show at South Chagrin Reservation, you'll be in Moreland Hills. If you rent a stylish ride at Chagrin Valley Limousine Service or get your own ride repaired at Chagrin Automotive Center, you'll be in Auburn.
You can get an ice-cream cone at the Popcorn Shop by the falls in downtown Chagrin Falls, but, if you want Chinese food at Hunan by the Falls, you'll have to go to South Russell.
Afterward, if you do go home to Chagrin Falls, bear in mind that many people living in the surrounding communities pay income taxes to support your village services. And every time they shop in town, they help local businesses pay the property taxes on those wonderful historic downtown buildings that all of us can be proud of.
By the same token, dozens of employees of this newspaper, including a few who actually live in Chagrin Falls, pay municipal income taxes for the Village of South Russell to provide services for its residents.
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