Toledo, Ohio has turned up in the national media at least three times in the last month. First, Toledo-native Crystal Bowersox brought attention to “The Glass City” during her stint on American Idol. [1] Second, major news channels reported on Northwest Ohio after a tornado destroyed 100 homes in the area, killing at least six people. Third, in the last few minutes of Hot in Cleveland‘s pilot, Betty White’s character humorously labeled Toledo “the Paris of Ohio.”
As Bowersox stated on Idol‘s “homecoming episode,” the mid-size, blue-collar city — much like its neighbor Detroit — has been hit hard by the economic crisis. In other words, Toledo is definitely not, as Hot in Cleveland jokes, akin to the stylish, romantic, and bustling Paris, France. Conversely, much of its landscape features factories, car plants (Jeep/Chrysler has two), smokestacks, warehouses, run-down buildings, abandoned parking lots, and hundreds of for-sale signs in front yards. It’s a city, many of my students have admitted, they want to “get away from” after they graduate. Bowersox apparently felt the same when she wrote “Holy Toledo,” the song that played over her homecoming video montage on Idol and incidentally the only original piece the show has ever allowed on the air. The mellow tune, which I think is currently only airing on radio stations in Toledo, perfectly illustrates the somewhat gloomy environment that has been featured in the media:
HOLY TOLEDO
Livin life from day to day / And reading books from page to page / I know life is just my stage / And I wish I could have said I would / I know I should do something good / Then, my God, I fear I’m sheddin tears / Colors change from year to year around here / And I said how do I get to heaven from here / I wanna know how do I get to heaven from here
Holy Toledo, where does the time go / My dreads are locked, my watch is stopped, my glass is full, my gun is half cocked, / How do I redeem my sins / Well, I sure hope St. Peter’s gonna let me in / Holy Toledo
Now I’ve said too much, I’m losing touch, step on the gas and off the clutch / Oh, I’m gonna leave Toledo, have no fear and times go slow but I’m shiftin gears / I said how do I get to heaven from here / I wanna know how do I get to heaven from here
I say how do I get to heaven from here / I wanna know how in the hell am I gonna get to heaven from here
In an interview, Bowersox said that she wrote the song when she was 17, “at a point in [her] life where [she] loved [her] hometown, but always knew there was something bigger — hence the line how do I get to heaven from here.” But now, the dreadlocked singer/songwriter claims, “Holy Toledo” has “become an anthem for her city and what kind of hope is needed there.” Indeed, the song has taken on new meaning not only for the up-and-coming star but also for the citizens of Toledo who’ve genuinely supported and continue to support Bowersox’s rise to fame:
“[She's] given people here something to smile about” (Becky Zaborski, Petersburg, Mich [30m north of Toledo]).
Ryan Popp of Toledo said it’s surreal to watch Bowersox now and think back to all the years he saw her perform in front a few dozen people. “She’s set for life,” he said. “It might be better because now she can do the music she wants. She won’t be locked into being the American Idol.”
“She’s one of us,” said Diane Frick, who lives in Oregon, a Toledo suburb. “People are for the underdog today because everyone has been hit by the economic downturn.” [2]
Despite the way Toledo, OH appears in the media — dilapidated, unattractive, hard-hit, the butt of a sitcom joke — certain parts of the city and the surrounding NW Ohio area unquestionably counteract these rather disheartening images. Indeed, as I look back over the photos I’ve taken during my two-year tenure here, I realize how misrepresented the city sometimes is.
[1] Toledo is referred to as “The Glass City” because of its contributions to the glass industry, e.g., windows, bottles, construction materials, glass art, and most notably, car windshields (the city is located only 45 miles south of Detroit, the car-making hub of the U.S.).
[2] Idol Runner-Up Still Hero in Hometown.
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Professor of film and Shakespeare. Advocate of social media. Lover of popular culture,
Beautiful photos. A former student of mine from Toledo produced an indie feature set in Toledo called Glass City. Pardon the plug, but the tie-in with your post is strong, since the film is partly about a guy coming to terms with where he lives: http://glasscityfilms.stompgroundchicago.com/film…
Well, that's very cool! Will check it out…
These pictures just made me incredibly homesick. As a native of Toledo, I can attest to the conflicting emotions the city engenders in its inhabitants. At one time, Toledo was a thriving city, and it still has many great amenities that are really unexpected for the image that media portrayals of the city have shown.
I can see you're quite familiar with the Metropark system and the botanical gardens, but the Toledo Zoo and the museum of art are both incongruously nice when compared to much of the rest of the city. I remember reading a book of local history once that cited a journal entry from one of General Anthony Wayne's soldiers, who claimed that the land around Toledo was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. Having spent my first twenty-five years exploring the intricacies of northwest Ohio, like the sand dunes in Oak Openings preserve and the gigantic old-growth trees out in Goll Woods, I can see what he was talking about.
Hi, Nick — thanks for the comments!
Yes, we've learned a great deal about Toledo and the Midwest since we moved here in the fall of 2008. While I don't do zoos (or circuses), I hear the Toledo Zoo is one of the 10 best in the country. (I went there once, for Lights Before Christmas, when no animals were in sight.)
We've also been to the Toledo Art Museum at least 5 times. We're soooooo impressed with the collections there. Also impressive is the Glass Pavilion across the street; I've been to 3 of the glassblowing demonstrations and am waiting for the next glassblowing class to start. I want to make my own paperweight. =)
Re: the Metroparks, yes, we've visited at least 4-5 of them. We used to live near Wildwood Preserve, but now we're closer to Pearson Metropark.
We’ve also visited Cleveland (the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Cincinnati (the Underground Railroad Museum is fantastic!), Dayton, Sandusky (Cedar Point!), Chicago, Dearborn, Detroit (we love the Motown museum), and Syracuse.