life
I am from Lorain, Ohio, a post-industrial city known for a history of steel, shipping, and auto production. My house was on the site of the Pueblo Restaurant, which opened in 1928, right next to the railroad tracks. It later burned down and left its legacy in the multi-colored, weathered bar glass we used to find in our garden beds.
I was the youngest of 16 cousins, and I grew up splitting time between the stacks of the Lorain Public Library and the manmade shores of Lakeview Beach. My mother worked at the local telephone company. Everyone said she tapped the lines because she knew too much. My father operated a small lathe machine by day and played music in local bars at night. But the best memories come from the Dairy Isle–a seasonal ice cream store our family owned together to employ all the cousins and friends.
I currently live in Round Rock, Texas–a long way from home that has become home as I’m raising Rudy and Irene, nine-year-old twins who love life. It feels very surprising to have Texans for children, and I’m hoping to raise them to bring out the best in this state and let them show me all the good in endlessly wide skies.
Pueblo Restaurant, Lorain, OH
Broadway, Lorain, OH
Dairy Isle, Lorain, OH
Laura Jean Dixon 