CATEGORY
Voices
The “Toledo Voices” series highlights Toledo community members, institutions, and legacies that shaped the past and continue to shape our present and future. Ranging from childhood memories to the historical legacies that cemented Toledo’s industrial identity, each story dissects the foundation on which Toledo was built and the community-centered vitalization that will propel Toledo higher.
Returning to Build Cincinnati’s Future: A Conversation with P.G. Sittenfeld
Over a year ahead of the election, P.G. Sittenfeld is already running to be Cincinnati’s next mayor. Born and raised in the city, he’s on a quest to build a more equitable future. Midstory talked with Sittenfeld about why he returned home and his future plans for Cincinnati.
South to Midwest: My Grandfather’s Great Migration
Through conversations with her grandfather, the author unpacks his personal history during the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration—one that paved the way for generations to come. Read his story and listen to excerpts from the interview.
Winding Path to Toledo
Victor is a Toledoan who works as a data scientist at the University of Michigan. He is also a human and an American. He enjoys life and lives in South Toledo with his wife and daughter.
Becoming Michael’s, from Ellis Island to Toledo
When I was in third grade, I remember my parents being asked at a parent-teacher conference why I always talked about “hanging out at...
Suburban Comforts
Ruth Chang - 0
The weather had been hot for the last four days. Sun-blistering heat had hit the Midwest without warning, averaging a ruthless 104 degrees Fahrenheit....
Memoirs of a Toledo Childhood: “Someday I Will Own It”
In 1977, I bought my dream house at 2210 Robinwood Avenue in the Historic Old West End. I first spotted this home when I...
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Think
Why Design? Principles to Shape a World in Unrest
The saying goes that you can only have two of three options: good, fast, cheap. In a world challenged by COVID-19 and other underlying unrest in 2020, however, designers are tasked with satisfying all three to solve complex societal issues. This piece outlines how formal and informal design can shape a world in trouble, and attempts a more human response to extraordinary circumstances. Cover graphic by Whitney Baxter for Midstory.
Film
The Humans Behind Labor Politics: A Review of American Factory
In Moraine, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, a former GM plant was bought by Chinese automobile glass manufacturer Fuyao in 2014, a...
Books
Publishing the Midwest
In a time of growing distrust of both public institutions and one another in America, storytelling might just be the remedy. Stories,...
Local Journalism Project
News Deserts, New Media, New Normal: An Introduction to the Local Journalism Project
For decades, the bike-riding paperboy hurling the daily news at doorsteps was a staple in the average American city. Over morning coffee,...
Books
The Rural Struggle for Survival: A Review of American Salvage
The fourteen short stories in Bonnie Jo Campbell’s 2009 finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction, American Salvage, introduce rural characters of all shapes and colors. What binds them is their focus on finding what they need to survive, whether it be a companion or a barrel of gasoline. The opinions expressed in this review are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any official organizational stance. Cover graphic by Jessie Walton for Midstory.