the hard way on purpose by david giffels

Puglia had worked in rubber factories himself to pay for college. While working his day job as director of corporate communications at Roadway Express, Puglia founded Millworks Galleries in the space where BF Goodrich used to make tires. Like turning abandoned factories into art galleries. But also being in our home town, in a place where we knew how to operate, we could do things beyond that.” John started working for Roadway, and I soon started working for the Beacon Journal and we both got to do the things that we wanted to do professionally.

The bond held after graduation when others left in droves to find jobs. What we really didn’t realize at the time I think is that we were really bonding with it.” “Because John was kind of fearless and driven by his curiosity, we would go downtown and we would explore old abandoned places, break into the old Goodrich abandoned factory spaces. In the dedication of his latest book, 'The Hard Way on Purpose: Essays and Dispatches from the Rust Belt,' Giffels writes, “For John Puglia, who always ventured first.” That’s in part a reference to their college days prowling through the rust of Akron in the ‘80s. And it wasn’t like he was trying to be cool. 'But he always was interested, even in middle age, in new music and new art and new culture. He was not a beatnik, not a hippie, “not a bohemian. Puglia was fascinated by the counter-culture, but made his living as a corporate graphic designer. Into the counter-culture, but not part of it And he’s the one who gave me my first copy of Allen Ginsburg’s 'Howl,' things like that, that when you’re 19-years-old seem like these mind-blowing new things.” “That’s when we really bonded, when we really started to become closer friends and were turning each other on to ideas. Giffels and Puglia’s friendship deepened at the University of Akron. He was friends with the jocks and he was friends with the weirdos and the music fans.” “In high school he was one of those people who didn’t have boundaries. Giffels and Puglia first met a few blocks east of here on West Market Street at Akron’s St. I think that’s the kind of legacy that John left. Whenever I go into that store, the spirit of the life of that night, of that event is still in that room. “And there were power tools here and axes and hammers. Standing outside Revival, a vintage clothing store, Giffels recalls that Puglia once rented it for an art installation in which visitors were invited to hack away at a load of lumber. Our two favorite cities in the world were Akron and New York City.” “I think John liked Highland Square partly because it reminded him of Greenwich Village in a sort of distant way.

Writer David Giffels enjoyed hanging out with his best friend in Akron’s hippest neighborhood. LISTEN: The eclectic world of John Puglia

The hard way on purpose by david giffels