Thanks to Bob Dyer
With the announcement of Bob Dyer’s retirement, we would like to take a minute to express our appreciation for his columns and how they were instrumental in this project coming about.
On August 17, 2016, Bob ran a Q & A column of questions readers had asked of him. In it, Neil Neilson inquired as to why Akron didn’t have anything honoring the rubber industry workers? After all, these workers helped Akron grow into the one time premier Rubber Capital of the World. Neil thought Steve Love’s and David Giffels’ picture on the cover of Wheels of Fortune would make a great tribute in the form of a statue.
I read Neil’s question and agreed. I then reached out to Bob about a month later and he said no one had responded to Neil’s challenge. That is when I began to work on this to see if something could happen. I also looked at many images and concluded that the picture on the cover of Wheels of Fortune was the best I could find. Additionally, I added Stories from the workers to the project title. Our goal was to gather and save these stories, which were now two generations from the workers, before they were gone.
Bob did a front-page follow up on April 9, 2017 titled “Let’s Honor” to stir interest. I then followed up to everyone who responded to Bob’s article. Their replies gave me tremendous encouragement and direction. Craig Thompson, a young architect came on board and drove to Zanesville to take pictures of the maquette being made by Alan Cottrill the sculptor.
We heard about the Tiger Grant of Main St. Craig, my sister-in-law Kim, and I went to the public meeting where we saw that a roundabout was to be part of the downtown upgrade Bob wrote an additional article on April 29, 2017 titled “Circle Around.” This article featured pictures of Craig’s and a possible location for the statue. Once again, an overwhelming response from Bob’s readers gave me additional wisdom and encouragement on proceeding with this project.
As this grassroots project nears completion, a huge portion of the credit goes to Bob. Weaving both down-to-earth humor and common-sense insights into his articles resonated completely with his readers.
Because of Bob’s down to earth humor and insights, that were very welcoming to everyday people, I believe this grassroots project will be completed soon. People like me felt comfortable calling, or emailing Bob with our ideas, hopes, and we are truly grateful.
Bob, as you enter into retirement, please understand that your columns will be greatly missed. Your tremendous contributions to Akron’s community are without journalistic equal. Thank you! We all hope you get to travel soon and enjoy your retirement.
- Miriam Ray, Founder of Rubber Worker Statue & Stories Project