Blog 3: Natalie Lax

                                    My Mother, Natalie Lax

My mom and dad shortly after she moved to Dover


My mom, Natalie Lax (Goodman was her maiden name) grew up in the bustling city of Akron, Ohio up until she was 15 years old, when my Grandma Jackie decided to move here to the much quieter city of Dover in order to live in a more family friendly place. According to my mother, the sudden move made her very angry with my Grandma and she even begged her Akron friends parents to let her move in with them. To my mom who was only a teen at the time, a city like Dover simply meant that her "life was over". She enjoyed the fast-paced life she had in Akron and the never ending activities she could choose from. She at first viewed Dover to be a desolate place where nothing ever happened, but then she met my dad who quickly became her light at the end of the tunnel.

My dad started trying to woo my mom within days of seeing her for the first time in his Medieval Studies class in Dover High School in 1991. My mom even now describes my dad  as being "very persistent" during the beginning stages of their dating. My dad had quite the crush on her immediately and did not want my mother to move back to Akron, so he made every effort possible to show her that Dover, Ohio could be a cool place just like Akron. My mom has shared many memories of my dad showing her around the town and showing her the local treasures. Her favorite places he used to take her include Mary Zifer's pizza, Tuscora park, and Quaker Cinema.

Clearly my dad did something right because my mom eventually fell in love with him as well as this town, and they have stayed happily married right here for over a decade. She has expressed that she is thankful that my dad converted her from the city life to the suburb life, she enjoys the calmness and closeness of our community here very much. I think stories like my mothers matter because it shows that even if you did not grow up in a city like Dover, you can still learn to love the things about a small town. You can come to appreciate small town qualities such as community traditions (Dover vs. Phila football rivalry) and you can appreciate the fact that everyone knows eachother. Overall there are countless things you can love about this small community, and my mother's story is proof that truly anyone can grow to love living here.