ASHLAND — When Dave Kowalka was born the doctor dangled him by his ankles and slapped his behind. Instead of crying, Dave told a story. He never stopped.
I hadn’t seen him for quite some time when our paths crossed last month at Goldberry Roasting Company, a coffee shop on Franklin Avenue. Of course our reunion began with a Dave story.
He frequents Goldberry. To the point that the location tracker on his smartphone has concluded that he more or less lives there. Except, as Dave tells it, the phone’s homing mechanism is slightly off; it has him living next door at the Beer Barrel Drive Thru.
When Dave invited me to join him for a cup at Goldberry, I didn’t know what to expect. Not so much from Dave, but from the coffee shop. When I visited Goldberry at its original location — when it was a relatively new business — I was not impressed. It seemed sterile, devoid of character. Or characters, an essential element for any coffee shop.
When I turned onto Franklin Avenue off Claremont to meet with Dave, I was shocked to see Goldberry’s parking lot full.
When I walked in, the place was abuzz with college students, young professionals and a few common folks, people like me who are a bit rough around the edges. Characters.
Dave described life at Goldberry, his home away from home.
“It’s like a free university,” he said. “Discussions range from current events, books read and to be read … assigned readings from AU students and seminary students. (There are) profs from both institutions and their seminars and discussions. Shared magazines … the Economist, New York Times, NYT Book Review, The New Yorker, Mother Jones and recent books on religion and theology by seminary profs.”
Dave and his friends have added a free library, which is tucked away in a nook at the front of the shop. They stock it with classics picked up from used book sales at local libraries.
“It’s interesting to see what books come and go,” Dave said.
Goldberry also hosts open mic nights, where Dave has been known to share a few stories — in addition to his nonstop storytelling over coffee.
It’s not surprising that he appreciates the academic aspects of the coffee shop; he’s spent his entire career in education. When I first met Dave, he was principal of Osborn Elementary School.
For the record, I was NOT a student there at the time.
I would have considered myself lucky to have a principal like Dave. Margaret Middleton, my principal at Orchard Elementary in Cleveland, meant well. That poor woman spent countless hours trying to convince me there was no future in being class clown.
Dave wouldn’t have done that; he would have encouraged me to cultivate that talent.
Ironically, he first met Goldberry founder and co-owner Doug Cooper while teaching English and reading at Ashland Middle School.
“He was a seventh-grade student,” Dave said. “I started him on ‘Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings.’”
Which is significant because, as Dave explained, “Goldberry is the wife of Tom Bombadil from ‘Lord of the Rings.’ She is a spirit of the river.”
Dave later moved on from Ashland City Schools to Ashland University.
Osborn Elementary is no longer. It was demolished and replaced by a Circle K. Gone are the stately oaks that graced the school’s front lawn at East Main Street and Holbrook Avenue.
Schools come and go. As do magnificent old shade trees. Nothing is exempt from extinction. Except stories.
The Dave Kowalkas of the world keep them alive.
On that note, I’ll leave you with a Dave story, recorded May 15 at Goldberry.
