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52  GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS  |  2020 – 2021 As one News account described it, Ohio Silver is “a sparkling wonderland of brilliant handmade jewelry created from exotic stones and metals.” The town’s longest run- ning jewelry store, Ohio Silver dates to 1971 and has been helmed since 1974 by local artist Marcia Wallgren. Wallgren began making jewelry as a teenager, and first came to this area to study at the Dayton Art Institute. Meanwhile, a silver jewelry shop, Stand- ing Room Only, or SRO, had been started in Kings Yard by the Viemeister brothers, Tucker and Kris, along with Kerry Moore. The store initially sold its owners’ original designs, and focused on silver, since the town’s other handmade jewelry shop, the Beetle, worked in gold. Wallgren and her then- husband, Moore, bought out the Viemeisters in 1974, and Wallgren became the sole owner a decade later. After a few moves, it eventually ended up in its present location next to the Little Art Theater in 1977, after which sales took off. Wallgren, who had been making every- thing from scratch, could no longer craft the jewelry fast enough. So she started sourcing handcrafted jew - elry from others — much of it fair trade — tracking down unique jewelry makers and semi-precious stones from far-flung places. Today she sources jewelry from a Hill tribe in Thailand and a group of silversmiths in India that support 75 families and gets amber directly from Poland, among other sources. “The focus has been on supporting other craftspeo- ple across the country and around the world,” she told the News. According to Wallgren, customers near and far seek out Ohio Silver for its beauty, its quality and its one-of-a-kind wearable works of art. —Megan Bachman Yellow Springs Pottery, founded 1973 Since 1973, the hand- crafted ceramic tableware and other products have been flying off the shelves at Yellow Springs Pottery as fast as its member potters can throw, sculpt and fire them. The artist co-op store has been going strong for close to five decades, thanks to its hard-working potters, savvy market sense and collab- orative model, according to Evelyn LaMers, its longest- tenured member, who joined six months after it opened. “I think we have the best pottery shop,” she said recently. “We’re very sales oriented and customer focused.” The co-op was started by three Bryan Community Center pottery teachers and another local potter — Pat Kontonickas, Paula Golden, Lynn Eder and Joan Page — and was originally housed in a building at the front of Kings Yard that was razed. Though the number of potters has fluctuated over the decades, there are now eight member potters, each with a unique aesthetic style and pottery technique: Brad Husk, David Hergesheimer, Jane Hockensmith-Reich, Janet Murie, Jerry Davis, Kate Lally, Michele Dutcher and LaMers. Although LaMers has been a member the longest, many of the others have been there more than 35 years, a testament to the pottery shop’s success. “We often don’t have an opening for 20 years,” she said, in reference to the members. When it opened in the 1970s as the Pottery Cup - board, the shop probably sold a few more fad items like hanging flower baskets, honey pots and chip ’n’ dip trays. But overall, its product line — con- sisting largely of mugs, bowls and platters, but also napkin holders, garlic keeps, sponge holders — hasn’t changed all that much. Many of its customers return again and again to stock their pantries, according to LaMers. Customers say “our house is filled with pots from your store,” she said. — Megan Bachman Ha Ha Pizza, founded 1975 Ha Ha Pizza may have changed hands several times over the years, but its name, location, recipes and laid- back vibe have been largely the same for 45 years. The pizzeria was started at Corry Street and Xenia Avenue in March 1975 by three Antioch College students. An article in the Antioch College newspaper in August of that year claims that the pizzeria was “already an institution in the area,” offering an alternative to Young’s for those besieged by the late-night “munchies.” The article also notes that the founders were revising their views of capitalism “from one of negativism to one of sym - pathy to other businesses.” BJ Walters, who began at Ha Ha as a dishwasher in 1997, purchased the pizzeria in 2005 from his onetime boss and mentor, Larry Look- abaugh. Walters figures he is somewhere between the fifth and seventh owner the pizzeria has had in 45 years. Walters has preserved many aspects of the eatery during his ownership, includ- ing its passed-down recipes for dough and sauce, kept “in a little black book in a secure location.” While brands and suppliers have changed, he has kept as faithful as pos- sible to Ha Ha’s proprietary recipes — and not just for the dough and sauce. The little black book details everything from how to chop red onions for the salad bar to how to slice sandwich meats. People eat at Ha Ha not just because they like the pizzas’ freshness but also their variety, Walters has told the News. It’s not every restaurant that offers a pep - peroni and banana pizza pie, which is, in fact, a popular Ha Ha favorite. Along with the traditional pepperoni and sausage, Ha Ha customers can load up their pie with, among other things, falafel, PHOTO: YS NEWS ARCHIVE From left, Janet Murie, Jane Hockensmith-Reich and Evelyn LaMers, three of the earliest members of local cooperative shop Yellow Springs Pottery. All three are still members.