As we continue our year-end fundraising campaign, the entire FreshWater staff is grateful to all of the readers who have contributed to our fundraising efforts throughout the year, and in the past two weeks.

As the fundraising campaign continues, FreshWater writers sum up why we do what we do. After reading about all these worthwhile organizations and events, and learning about some of Cleveland’s outstanding changemakers, please consider making a contribution to FreshWater Cleveland.

Earlier this week, I asked all of FreshWater’s writers and photographers to share what their favorite stories of all-time have been. Here are just a few of our favorites from over the years.

Rebecca Cahill
FreshWater writer and community relations manager Rebecca Cahill always takes the lead when it comes to building relationships with our community partners. Her work has also led Cahill to write some of our most impactful stories.

“A few years back, I got tired of listening to myself complain about Cleveland winters,” says Cahill. “So I decided to change my perspective with a six-month, twice-a-week winter adventure: hiking every trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP).

“It worked! I love winter now—the quiet, the beauty, the lack of sweat, and being the first to leave footprints on a snowy trail. Magical!”

Cahill continues, “While I’ve written a few stories about CVNP now, the one I loved most was ‘Take a hike: Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Trails Council releases new trail guide.’ I’ve used the guide myself on every hike since.

Dream Big at Día de Muertos“I learned more than I expected in my interviews: how the trails are maintained, the work of the volunteer trails council, and the history behind the guide itself,” she says. “I even interviewed Rob and Peg Bobel, who helped create the trails, pushed for CVNP’s national park designation, and have put together every version of the guide since.

“To me, this is a great example of what FreshWater does best,” says Cahill. “We’re celebrating what makes our region so special, writing about the people who are out there doing the work to keep it as such.”

Reuben Kutash
Photographer Reuben Kutash’s favorite photo comes from his photo essay, “Ofrendas, skulls and skeletons, and music: Celebrating Día de Muertos in photos,” from the annual Día de Muertos on November 1, “Dream Big.”

“I like the inspiration to ‘Dream Big,’ with the symbolism of being on stilts,” Kutash says. “Anything is possible. I remember the story of Geoff Pankhurst (in the black suit), learning how to stilt walk so he could walk Julia Pankhurst (in the red dress) down the aisle at her wedding.

“Anything is possible when you dream big!”

Katie McMenamin
Writer Katie McMenamin chases the stories that not only spark her interest, she also is drawn to the people and organizations working hard for change.

“My all-time favorite story was ‘Support network: Village of Healing wins $1 million grant to combat health inequities’ because it highlights the healthcare inequities that women of color face and celebrates a group of women who are redefining what compassionate, culturally rooted care looks like,” says McMenamin. “They were such a dynamic and fun duo to interview, and it was a privilege to tell their story and spread the word!”

Frances Payne Bolton’s Lyndhurst home, Franchester, a colonial revival house on 110 acres with construction begining in 1914 and completed in 1917.Angelina Bair and Tom Matowitz
Architectural and Cleveland history writers Angelina Bair and Tom Matowitz have worked on several FreshWater stories together, including some of the stories in the Cleveland Masterworks series.

One of the stories Bair and Matowitz collaborated on was “Moyenage: a grand lakefront home to many prominent Cleveland business founders throughout history.”

“I liked being able to meet the owners of the property and seeing it in its original form before it was sold to a construction company who modernized it,” says Bair. “The house was on the market for $8 million originally and is pending sale at $6 million.”

Matowitz wrote two stories about Frances Payne Bolton and her estate that later became the TRW and Cleveland Clinic campuses—"Frances Payne Bolton: Nursing advocate, Congresswoman, Franchester Estate owner” and “For the love of Franchester and Frances Payne Bolton.” The campus was partially demolished by 2024.

“I like the article [Bair] and I wrote about Moyenage and my article about Frances Payne Bolton and Franchester,” says Matowitz. “Both Moyenage and Franchester provide a vivid glimpse of an unusual Cleveland story. Moyenage has been changed drastically since that story was written and the future of Franchester is very much in doubt.”

Sixth graders from Cleveland's Garfield School tackle challenges in the woods at Camp Ho Mita KodaDoug Guth
COVID-19 may be in the rearview mirror for most of us, but Doug Guth knows people still struggle with it, after writing “The long-haulers: Long Covid clinics guide patients on the slow path to recovery” in 2022.

“The [lead] was really interesting with that young volleyball player,” says Guth. “Plus, it was just an important story for the time.”

Grant Segall
As a nature lover, Grant Segall was happy to report on introducing young people to the great outdoors with “Bridging the nature gap: Empowering urban youth with outdoor experiences.”

"Loving nature, I was moved by accounts of being afraid or unable to enjoy it," says Segall.

Jill Sell
If you ask Jill Sell what her favorite writing topics are, she’s quick to tell you that she loves to write about the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) and the infamous Balto.

So she jumped at the opportunity to write “Damn Fine Dog': Genomic sequencing allows researchers to investigate Balto’s pedigree.”

“How could I resist writing about things I love: Cleveland history, dogs, and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History,” she says, “which began displaying the taxidermized mount of Balto in 1933?

“Although the story of Balto is well known, misconceptions still persist,” Sell continues. “For example, Balto didn’t run the entire 674 miles of the trek to deliver a life-saving antitoxin to a remote village in Alaska. (No dog did.) But he did lead the last 53-mile-long leg of the journey. And it wasn’t easy. I appreciate being able to set the story straight.”

Sell admits she can go on and on about Balto, but overall, she has claimed CMNH as her turf when it comes to writing for FreshWater.

The Prospect Ave Historic Elm in all it's glory in 2006“Any time I get to interview CMNH’s brilliant Chief Science Officer, Dr. Gavin Svenson, it is a privilege and an honor,” she says.

Brittney Hooper
If Brittney Hooper had to choose only two topics to cover for FreshWater, they are Cleveland’s tree canopy and the region’s mysterious and supernatural.

“It’s a tie between ‘Once-living history: Ode to a great Elm Tree’ and ‘Beyond the grave: Griffin Cider House & Gin Bar brings history to (after)life in Lakewood,’” Hooper answered when asked to choose her favorite story.

“The former because it is so meaningful to me,” she says. “It was the first time I reached out to share my heartfelt feelings, and I was grateful that FW shared them. Trees seem to be a lynch pin in my life in terms of important moments and decisions.”

Hooper says she likes the latter “because the subject was so interesting and fun, and I resonated with the bar owner's background and education. We were both scientists with imagination and an open mind. Plus the pictures I took were hair-raising!”

Nicky Perhacs
Offer Nicky Perhacs an assignment on nature or animals, and you’re almost guaranteed she’ll jump at the opportunity. That’s why it’s no surprise that “Superdogs: Area dog shelters hope Superman’s Krypto will spur adoptions” is her favorite story.

“I’m a huge animal lover and any way I can incorporate them into my professional life and help get more adopted is fulfilling,” she says.

Jess Starr
While people from all over came to the sold out Cleveland Museum of Art’s “Picasso and Paper” exhibit when it opened in 2024, writer Jess Starr jumped at the chance to see the exhibit and write about it for FreshWater.

“I had the honor of writing ‘Behind the scenes: Two Cleveland Museum of Art docents bring ‘Picasso and Paper’ to life,’” says Starr. “It allowed me to capture how people across Northeast Ohio connect with iconic art and a world-renowned museum right here at home, bringing back the same feeling I had exploring its galleries as a kid.”

Karin Connelly Rice
I have been with FreshWater Cleveland since 2011. Every new story I write or source I meet and interview seems to become my next favorite.

While thinking about this Thanksgiving list, two stories—stories are about resilient people who broke down barriers, marched forward, and improved our world—came to the top of my list.

Madison in front of Park Place, a Architect Robert P. Madison has accomplished a lot of firsts in his 102 years. I had the honor of interviewing Mr. Madison in April 2022, shortly before his 99^th birthday.

In “Robert P. Madison, man of many architectural, personal triumphs,” I learned that the Cleveland native is the oldest living Black architect in the United States and got his start repairing back porches before entering two house designs in an Ohio architectural competition.

Madison’s award-winning design of the Mt. Pleasant Medical Center on Kinsman Avenue was when, he says, people in the field started taking notice. But he says he is most proud of the fact that Robert P. Madison International was the first firm to be interracial.

“We hired Black people, white people, Chinese people, Indian people from India, the Russians. We really had a multicultural firm working for us because that was what we had to do. As a result, the work we did was really fascinating.”

More recently, for the story “Fairfax Renaissance CDC honors three Cleveland icons with Louis Stokes Community Visionary Award,” I got to interview former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Marcia Fudge; former Cleveland City Council President and workforce and civil rights advocate George Forbes; and former pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church and civil rights leader Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr. when the three were recognized with 2025 awards for their tireless work in community improvement and Civil Rights.

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