You Are Here #2

You Are Here # 2

Eileen Libens
64 years old
Conference Center Coordinator and Caterer for IMG
Born and raised in Lakewood

Favorite Place: Koi Pond in her back yard

“I just like the closeness. You always want to have a little more land but still having the neighbors relatively close, I find that pleasant... I can’t imagine leaving. When I lost my tree I was a little depressed because it was so beautiful. And I did look at different places, condominiums and things like that and then I thought, I can’t leave. I can’t do it. So I came back home and I’m here to stay. So I’m constantly redoing the house so I can get my wheelchair around or my walker or whatever, you know, when the time comes. That’s the idea. To be here until the end.

I do go to Caribou. I like their lattes (laughs). I go there a lot. I do try to utilize anything Lakewood. As a matter of fact, if I have something going on, Lakewood is the first [phone] book that I open or I do call Jeff Fillar [Acting Assistant Building Commissioner for Residential Housing, City of Lakewood] and say, OK, who do you suggest to do plumbing, electrician…He’s very good about suggesting.”

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You Are Here* is a project that highlights what Lakewood residents think and feel about their city. We feel that a project like this shares a great affinity with many of the community efforts beginning and ongoing in our city. We are witnessing the emergence of an engaged, pro-active and committed community dedicated to creating the kind of place that we want to live in. But the question remains: who are you? To that end, we would like to use this project as a forum to meet as many Lakewood residents as possible. We would like to photograph you in your favorite place in Lakewood and discuss with you what you feel makes Lakewood a special place. These biographical vignettes will regularly be published in the Lakewood Observer. Publishing them in the Observer means that you get to share, and other people get to learn about, who you are and what you feel makes Lakewood a special place. Ultimately, a quilt of individuals and experiences will be available to all who live here, and those who do not live here yet, strengthening the sense of community that is Lakewood, Ohio.

Are you interested in participating? Contact Jason Weiner and Kristine Williams at lakewoodandyou@yahoo.com

*A photo-documentary project highlighting the individuals who live in the city of Lakewood, Ohio.