People
Celebrating our 55th year, the Columbus Free Press will honor five outstanding community activists and a community organization at our November 2025 Salon and Awards event on Saturday, November 8 from 1:30-4:30pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road. One of our "Libby" Award honorees is Bob Krasen.
Bob worked in Columbus for non-profits, United Cerebral Palsy, American Red Cross Blood Services, and Vision Center of Central Ohio. He volunteered for 12 years with Suicide Prevention Services.
After retiring in 2006, he became a volunteer in Healthcare for All Ohioans / SPAN Ohio, assuming a leadership position in 2014 as Columbus Regional Coordinator. He continues in active membership, stepping down from leadership positions in 2023.
Healthcare for All Ohioans is a state wide volunteer organization started in 2003, to promote passage Healthcare for All legislation in Ohio as the Ohio Health Care Act, (HB 289 & SB 78, 2025-26). The organization also supports the passage of Enhanced and Improved Medicare for All (HR 3069 & SR 1506, 2025-26) in Congress.
Amid this epic battle against fascism and in the wake of Oct. 18, the largest protest in US history, I wanted to take a moment to remember and celebrate the life of a friend and comrade who died recently - Bruce Bostick.
My deepest condolences go out to Bruce's family. Others have written about him, and I'm sure his family, friends, and comrades will continue to share memories.
I got to know Bruce right out of college when I joined the CPUSA and was a community organizer in Cleveland, Ohio. Bruce, a Midwesterner through and through, was radicalized by his involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement. In the early 1970s, he was already a young, experienced trade union activist at US Steel in Lorain, OH, and one of the leaders of the growing rank and file movement that was trying to transform the United Steelworkers of America into a fighting union. That movement played an important role in changing the USWA and the AFL-CIO.
Catch up with Simply Living’s founding member Chuck Lynd — a lifelong advocate for local economies, sustainability, and the power of community to shape a just future.
The Early Years
Few people embody Simply Living’s mission as fully as Chuck Lynd — longtime board member, community organizer, and local economy advocate. Chuck’s journey from small-town Ohio to the frontlines of social and environmental change offers a model of what it means to “live simply so that others may simply live.”
“I was very lucky to grow up in a loving family in Ironton, a small town on the Ohio River. My parents grew up during the depression and my brother and sister and I were all born during WWII, while my dad worked double shifts at Armco Steel. Later my dad owned the Ironton Book Store, which also sold office supplies, typewriters, gifts and dishware. From age 11 though high school I worked at the store and learned everything about running a retail store, and even kept the books. This experience gave me a good work ethic and influenced my love of local economics and my involvement in helping start the Clintonville Community Market.”
Trek Manifest is recording an entire album at Natalie’s with a live band October 11th.
Do I understand this correct?
Yep it’s a live album recording indeed! I’ve been doing these shows with the band so it only made sense and it’s honestly way overdue.
i’m gonna ask you about some live Hip Hop band’s songs for a fun history discussion. I don’t expect you to know these songs. I don’t expect a book report on each song, I just want reactions. Look them up from tidal, Spotify, apple music or YouTube. It’s kinda like an Beavis And Butthead informal live band hip hop discussion.
Just give me reactions:
KING Tim III and the Fatback Band - Personality Jock
Ok! This is some disco type vibes but a little rap feel to it!
Stetsasonic - Go Stetsa
Legendary right here! Heard a few producers sample these guys!
The Goats - Do The Dugs Dig
Ok never heard of these guys but you can never go wrong with this break beat!
This isn’t a live band b, it’s a live rap album. BDP My Philosophy live hardcore worldwide
Legend. God MC enough said with this one!
A relatively new union at a Columbus east side cannabis dispensary remains on strike as they demand their corporate owner come back to the negotiating table to ink out a new contract. Herbal Wellness Center United or HWC United went on strike at the end of September, forcing their corporate bosses to shorten hours of operation and bring in scabs.
Out of Ohio’s 159 cannabis dispensaries only a handful have unionized, and this is the first time Ohio dispensary workers have gone on strike. Most dispensary workers, or “budtenders,” make between $14 to $20-an-hour.
HWC United organized with the help of local Teamsters 413 in 2023 not long before full legalization in Ohio was passed by a citizen-led amendment. Their busy medical dispensary was going to have far more customers and make a lot more money. That was predictable, and then they began hearing rumors their owner was looking to sell to a much larger corporation.
On Sunday, October 5, 2025, Columbus would learn that afternoon the news that shook its soul: Queen Mother Ann B. Walker — broadcaster, journalist, community matriarch, civil rights trailblazer, and living archive of Black excellence — had joined the ancestors at 101. The air felt heavier that day. Social feeds filled with black-and-white photos, church bells echoed across the Near East Side, and elders spoke her name with reverence, as if afraid it might be the last time it would roll off their tongues while she was still fresh in memory.
This wsn’t just another obituary moment. This was Columbus losing a cornerstone.
From East High to Ebony Airwaves
Long before Ann B. Walker’s name echoed through newsrooms and political halls, it was written in the ink of the East High X-Ray, her high school paper. She recalled the moment her teacher, Miss Marie Google, told her that “we didn’t need to go to Bexley to work in anybody’s kitchen when we were working in our own.” That moment became prophecy.
Unless the law prevails, and in most situations that involve Donald Trump, it doesn’t, there will be a coin issued by the United States Treasury Department with Donald Trump’s face on it.
What what now (I know there are two whats. Don’t email me about that)?
The Treasury Department is developing a one-dollar commemorative coin featuring Donald Trump's horrid face in celebration of America’s 250th birthday. This is not a joke. This is not a tacky meme coin. This is not a product of the Trump Campaign or the Trump Organization. This is being created by the federal government, despite the fact that Donald Trump is the worst of our presidents (sic) and has even attacked our nation. His face on a coin is almost as outrageous and absurd as him being returned to the White House. What’s wrong with you, America?
Now in its twelfth year, the Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) 5K & Advocacy Fair is our largest annual event, bringing together hundreds of Central Ohioans in support of refugees and immigrants in our community.
Whether you’re a runner, walker, or a friend of CRIS, we would love for you to join us in downtown Columbus at Genoa Park on Saturday, October 4th, 2025, for a morning of fitness, food, and fun.
The CRIS mission is to help refugees and immigrants reach safety and stability, sustain self-sufficiency, and achieve successful integration into the Central Ohio community.
CRIS is an independent non-profit organization that serves the growing refugee and immigrant populations in Central Ohio. Our various programs have dedicated staff members from around the world who speak many different languages. Among other things, we are a refugee resettlement agency, meaning we have a contract with the Department of State to directly receive and place refugees in our community. In partnership with Church World Service, we resettle individuals and families from all over the world.
If you care about Central Ohio sustainability or environmental activism, chances are your journey has been touched by Marilyn Welker. As one of Simply Living’s co-founders and a past Executive Director, Marilyn’s gentle wisdom and steadfast commitment to justice helped shape Simply Living’s history and the broader
sustainability movement in our region.
Early Lessons
Marilyn traces her values to her parents’ quiet resilience. Before her birth, her mother contracted German measles while pregnant with Marilyn’s older brother, who was born with disabilities and passed away at only 6 years old. Her mother embraced spiritual growth, home gardening, and prioritizing organic foods as acts of love and self-reliance. Her choices were one of Marilyn’s earliest lessons that compassion and resilience are
cultivated through action. Her parents welcomed three more children. Growing up as the youngest of three, she absorbed those lessons deeply.
SoulCall Global invites you to our fun Mystic Cafe Variety Show and Open Mic Friday October 24, 2025.
Help SoulCall Global raise money to buy Christmas toys for kids and enjoy an old fashioned variety show with everything from great music and comedy acts to who knows what. Performers are encouraged to sign up. A keyboard accompanist is available.
Doors open at 6:00 pm
Performances 7:00-9:00 pm
Donation $15 (or more! 100% of profits go to our charitable programs)
Columbus Mennonite Church
35 Oakland Park Ave., Columbus OH 43214
Information at https://www.soulcallglobal.org
To secure a performance time slot, fill out an online application at
https://www.soulcallglobal.org/mystic-cafe-form
You can direct
performance related questions to Bob Lipetz at bob@debchi.com
614-906-4350.
Businesses interested in showcasing their services by becoming a sponsor, contact Lisa Ferraro at Soulcallone@gmail.com