Thanksgiving grocery shopping, like all my mother’s grocery expeditions, was driven by a battle plan that George Patton would have admired. She scanned the Alliance Review Persky’s Market, Kroger, and A&P ads for the best…
Posts Published by Tom Bilcze
Elections and politics
1968 was a tumultuous year in American history with race relations and civil unrest front and center. It was a presidential election year with Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon in a bitter fight…
Ideological identity, faith, and the election
I have struggled with my Christianity for several years. I was a lifelong churchgoer heavily involved in the Church and advocacy for LGBT Lutherans in the Church. Bad experiences turned me away after 50+ years…
Freedom 2020
Independence Day is when Americans celebrate freedom. This is especially important in today’s politically and socially divided society. Freedom was instilled in my youth. It was the day when the red, white, and blue of…
Still coming out after all these years
June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Early Pride transformed from parades into month-long celebrations with corporate sponsorship and an endless display of rainbow merchandise. LGBTQ+ pride was born in the early 70s in the wake of…
Racism and the language of the unheard
Two young black males entered Jokie’s Café in Alliance, Ohio on a summer night somewhere around 1968. They walked past neighborhood regulars uncomfortable with their presence. They found their way to the payphone near the…
Memorial Day memories
Memorial Day signaled that school days would soon come to an end and the freedom of hot summer days would soon be here. My mother, siblings, and I headed into Alliance to my aunt Gert’s…