Resident Profile – Billy and Michele Peake, 36 and 32

…(and recent-ish addition William James Peake V, 7 months and canine companion Trevor, 42 in dog years)

Billy is formally christened William James Peake IV after his dad, grandpa and great-grandpa. The original William James Peake was born in New Castleton, Isle of Man and moved to Buffalo as a young boy where he ultimately became a beloved florist in Buffalo. Ironically, and no doubt to his betrothed’s dismay, Billy could care less about flowers (at least the planting of them). People call him Billy, not Bill and while their son is properly named William James V he’s referred to as “Five”, not Billy, or Bill. Billy’s disclaimer, “No, we aren’t royalty (I come from a long line of union laborers) or trying to promote some weirdo patronymic society ideals. Basically, we just thought it’d be cool to call a kid “Five.”

Michele Susanne Peake’s parents wanted to honor her Great-Grandfather’s who were both named Morris and her middle name was chosen to honor her Great Uncle Sam who owned a shoe store with her Grandpa.
Normally I ask a bunch of questions and distill the answers into a couple paragraphs, but I was so amused by the Peakes’ responses that I figured you’d appreciate them in their raw form. So here we go!

1. Where do you live in Harrison West? Do you own your house or rent?
Perry Street. The bank owns it. We may own it in 25 years or so. I don’t trust banks, though. So we’re probably screwed.

2. How long have you lived in Harrison West?
Almost five years.

3. What brought you to Harrison West and where did you live before?
We followed the godforsaken Reno family (neighbors on Bradley Street). We had an apartment in Italian Village prior to moving to Harrison West.

4. Where were you born and where did you grow up?
BP: Youngstown. That’s where I got the chip on my shoulder and my love of homemade Slovak Pirohis and Nut Kolachi (Grandma Pallo). Don’t tell me I misspelled either of these words. The Pol’s are the ones who can’t spell.
MP: I was born in Princeton, NJ and moved around a bunch growing up. But, I spent my middle school and high school years in Cleveland Ohio. Go Orange Lions!
BP: Orange is the antithesis of Cleveland Proper.

5. How did you end up in Columbus if you are not from here?
BP: I attended OSU as a freshman in ’95, transferred out, but came back in ’99 because it was the best music scene in Ohio – and my band at the time, Miranda Sound, needed a solid home base. And it’s truly the only area in Ohio that is culturally diverse and not sinking economically.

MP: I was living in Chicago and my roommate had gone to grade school with Billy, so when he called her to tell her that his band was in town, we went to see him play. We hit it off right away and started dating long distance. It wasn’t long before I started looking for jobs in Columbus so that we could be together.

6. Did you go to college? If so, where and what did you study?
BP: OSU and BSGU – BS in Journalism.
MP: Indiana University – BS in Apparel Merchandising and Business

7. What do you do for a living? How did you end up in that occupation?
BP: Interactive Project Manager in Graphic Design/Advertising. I’m relatively creative – but I’m also a control freak. This is the one job where those qualities mesh.
MP: Senior Demand Forecaster/ Inventory Analyst for Bath and Body Works. I forecast store selling patterns and look for customer behaviors to ensure that the correct inventory is out in stores.

8. What do you like to do for fun?
BP: We’re raising our son to be a staunch progressive and hanging out with our 6-year-old pup, Trevor. I write a ton of music and play with my band Bicentennial Bear. I also like to binge drink and eat – usually in that order.
MP: I enjoy running and I’m getting back into photography, so you’ll probably see me with my camera in hand around the neighborhood. I also like to enjoy a good mojito on our back porch with friends.

9. What do you like about living in Harrison West?
BP: I love living close to downtown, where I work, amongst like-minded, urban folk. Strip malls and subdivisions make me uneasy.
MP: Billy said that well. I also like that it has a great neighborhood feeling about it. The park is a great place to hang out with the boys and I like being so close to the bike path.

10. What are your favorite places to go out? Do you frequent any of the neighborhood businesses?
BP: Yeah, Apropos is the best kept secret for great beer on tap. I also love the dudes at Culpepper’s carry-out. Their soda coolers are super cold and they give my pup treats.
MP: I’m also a big fan of the Nutella filled pancake balls at Katalina’s. YUM!

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