Growing up in Yellow Springs was easy and carefree, Olivia Chen said this week. Not having to worry about others labeling her or questioning her identity, she was able to focus on things that were more important and more fun, such as playing tennis, performing theater and developing a deep sense of curiosity about the natural sciences and cultural diversity.

In terms of social memory, Yellow Springs has much to draw from recent history, including the coming together for Antioch College’s revival, the public effort to save Whitehall Farm, and the effort to prevent sprawl from developing on the west edge of town. A social memory of common experiences and struggles creates the kind of community that can weather political storms, according to local resident Don Hollister, and that is the kind of community he wants to support.

Morning may be considered a quiet time for humans, but for birds it’s all about chatting. Male red-winged blackbirds call to their drably dressed counterparts, downy woodpeckers impound their beaks for breakfast nibbles, and goldfinch streak through cedars in their chase as cardinals try to drown them all out with unsubtle piercing refrains.

Can there ever be too much locally grown, fresh fruit and vegetables in one town? Vendors at a new Yellow Springs farmers’ market think not, and they aim to give shoppers more variety by opening in the Corner Cone parking lot on Saturdays, just down the street from the farmers’ market at Kings Yard. Both markets open on May 2 and will continue Saturday mornings from 7 to 11:30 a.m. through the summer.

Some traditions don’t change, such as the raisin bars, spinach balls and heavenly tea cakes with orange glaze that Isabel Newman makes every year for the event known as the First Baptist Church Calendar Tea. But other traditions do, such as the fact that the Calendar Tea, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this Sunday, April 26, 3–6 p.m., is no longer named after its 12 tables themed for each month of the year.

The Vernay Foundation, which funded the building of the library, the Community Children’s Center, the Friends Care Community and many other projects in the village, officially dissolved on Dec. 31, 2008. Recalling its roots, the foundation donated the remainder of the fund to its first recipient, the Children’s Center.

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Due largely to the testimony of a village resident and information from a security tape, on Tuesday, March 31, Yellow Springs police arrested a Springfield man who confessed to having robbed US Bank last week.

In a bad economy, few businesses hurt like landscapers, and Stutzman’s Nursery, Garden Center & Landscaping is no exception. After several years of struggle to pay bills on time and maintain proper insurance, at the beginning of March the Village issued Stutzman’s an order to vacate the Village-owned property on U.S. 68 north.

As the task force charged with negotiating the separation of Antioch University from the college passed the midway mark last week on its way toward finalizing an agreement, college alumni representatives were working furiously to raise the money to insure a successful independent college.