Rubber City

Today is the first day of September in the Rubber City (our calendar is actually slightly ahead of other cities).  While it is still technically summer, fall is definitely in the air.  You can feel the chill coming on, yet the sun is still shining.  Soon the leaves will turn and the weather will be just right for enjoying all that is fall.  This is definitely my favorite season.  I love the red, pink, orange, and gold of the leaves, the brisk feeling in the air.  You get to layer up with sweaters and jackets.  The holidays will soon be approaching.  I love fall!

This painting is ‘Autumn Fun’ by Todd V, $125.

What do those 4 things have in common?  They are all ‘industries’, so to speak, that Akron has been known for- and one that we certainly will be known for.  We started off a canal town, then became the Rubber City.  Once the rubber for the most part left, we started to become a polymer chemicals leader, and now I think we are going to take over with t-shirts.  In the past week, I have seen at least 2 RCC shirts per day in my out of work adventures.  I see them at the bars, in gas stations, at the Art Expo- all over.  It is so exciting to see people passionate about Akron and representing this t-shirt company I love so much.

RCC actually started out as RCCC- Rubber City Clothing Company, a group of friends working together coming up with great catchy Akron t-shirts and screen printing themselves.  Not long after, Revival in Highland Square started their ‘Revivalist’ line with catchy shirts like ‘It’s All Downhill in Akron’.  In early 2006, a company called Campfire emerged in Akron creating shirts for Akron, NE Ohio, and soon expanded into creating catchy shirts for all over the US (you can pick some up at Made in Akron). Over the weekend I discovered another t-shirt company out of Stow that’s been around for about 5 years- Psycho Reindeer.  So many cool t-shirts I wanted to cry!

Psycho Reindeer had a booth at The Akron Arts Expo in Hardesty Park.  I was instantly drawn to a dark gray t-shirt with white print with a drawing of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the phrase, “SCHNURRBARTFAHRTEN: Funf Mark” which translates to “Mustache Rides: Five Cents”.  First of all, that is one hell of a deal; and secondly, I think that is the most perfect shirt ever made- almost like it was made for me.  My German Shepherd pup is named Kaiser Wilhelm II (von Soze- I had to compromise) after my favorite German monarch and I certainly love mustaches.  Of course I bought it.  They had so many truly awesome designs.  Check out their website by clicking here.  We’re going to do our part as purveyors of fine Akron-related goods to get them in our store.

Stay tuned for more cool t-shirts, they’re what we do.

After a hectic, yet awesome Friday night watching DEVO, The Black Keys, Chrissie Hynde, and Rachel Roberts (how AMAZING was that show?), I took a much needed weekend off (well sort of) to leave the Rubber City and head down to Cincinnati to visit an old friend.

While down there, I met & talked to different people; talked about Akron and RCC.  They asked why it was called “The Rubber City” and I gave the whole schpeel of Goodyear, Firestone, tires, etc.  Then I asked about Cincinnati’s nicknames.  A common one is “The ‘Nati” which seems like our “AK-Rowdy” (Which b-t-dubs, people always come in the store and ask what “Ack-Rowdy” is.  Don’t get me started on the “What’s 3-30?”).  But from ‘Nati, evolves “Nasty ‘Nati” which is catchy, but not really pleasant.  Someone else told me it was also called “The Queen City,” but couldn’t really give me a good reason.

An homage to Cincinnati's Pork roots: The Flying Pigs

So today, out of lingering curiosity and minor boredom, I Googled “Cincinnati, Queen City”.  One of the top matches was a wonderful Wikipedia article on Ohio city nicknames.  I later read somewhere else that some overly proud citizens of Cinci that gave it the “Queen City” moniker- no actual Queens have been there.  But now I was fascinated by this “nicknames” article.  I don’t know about you guys, but I could click “Random Article” on Wikipedia  all day long.  Back to the nicknames- we Akronites should be thrilled that we aren’t any of the following: “Porkopolis“- another Cinci name- while we were making tires, they were makin’ bacon; “The Bratwurst Capital of the World”- Bucyrus, Ohio (that would be an awesome moniker to hold, but I highly doubt li’l ol’ Bucyrus beats any town in Germany when it comes to being best of the wurst); one of Cleveland’s is “The Best Location in the Nation” (clean up Euclid Avenue and we’ll consider taking that one seriously); Columbus can be known as “Cowtown” or “Somaliwood”- because there is a budding Somali film industry there (???); Xenia is “The Twine City” or “Bicycle Capitol of the Midwest”; and Valley City is “The Frog Jump Capitol of Ohio”- not the world, just Ohio.

Akron: “The City of Invention,” “The Summit City,” “The Tire City,” “The Rubber Capitol of the World,” “The Rubber City.”  We simply just sound cooler.  “Porkopolis Clothing” wouldn’t seem as attractive as RCC.  That’s why we should be thankful for rubber.

It was a time when the American Dream was caked in rust, hormones raged, music actually mattered and the one thing that meant more than any other was: ESCAPE!