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Parma, Ohio

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Parma, Ohio
City of Parma
Cleveland Skyline from State Rd
Cleveland Skyline from State Rd
Official seal of Parma, Ohio
Nickname: 
The Garden City
Motto: 
"Progress Through Partnerships"
Location in Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio.
Location in Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio.
Location of Ohio in the United States
Location of Ohio in the United States
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyCuyahoga
Founded1816
TownshipMarch 7, 1826
IncorporatedDecember 15, 1924 (village) & January 1, 1931 (city)
Named forParma, Italy
Parma translated refers to a round shield, such as the one used by Roman legionaries
Government
 • TypeMayor–council
 • MayorTimothy J. DeGeeter
Area
 • City20.07 sq mi (51.98 km2)
 • Land20.02 sq mi (51.85 km2)
 • Water0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2)
Elevation
866 ft (264 m)
Population
 • City81,601
 • Estimate 
(2013)[3]
80,429
 • Density4,076.0/sq mi (1,573.8/km2)
 • Metro
2,064,725 (US: 29th)
DemonymParmesan
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
44129, 44130, 44134
Area code440 & 216
FIPS code39-61000
GNIS feature ID1049063
Websitewww.cityofparma-oh.gov

Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Located on the southern edge of Cleveland, it is both an inner-ring and the largest suburb of Cleveland. Parma, as of the 2010 census, is listed as the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio and the second largest city in Cuyahoga County after Cleveland.[4]

History

"Greenbriar" (1806–1826)

In 1806, the area that was to become Parma and Parma Heights was originally surveyed by Abraham Tappan, a surveyor for the Connecticut Land Company, and was known as Township 6 - Range 13. This designation gave the town its first identity in the Western Reserve. Soon after, Township 6 - Range 13 was commonly referred to as "Greenbriar," supposedly for the rambling bush that grew there. Benajah Fay, his wife Ruth Wilcox Fay, and their ten children, arrivals from Lewis County, New York, were the first settlers in 1816. It was then that Greenbriar, under a newly organized government seat under Brooklyn Township, began attending to its own governmental needs.[5]

Parma Township (1826–1924)

Self-government started to gain in popularity by the time the new Greenbriar settlement contained twenty householders. However, prior to the establishment of the new township, the name Greenbriar was replaced by the name Parma. This was largely due to Dr. David Long who had recently returned from Italy and "impressed with the grandeur and beauty...was reminded of Parma, Italy and...persuaded the early townspeople that the territory deserved a better name than Greenbriar."[6]

Thus, on March 7, 1826, a resolution was passed ordering the construction of the new township. It stated,

"On the petition of sundry inhabitants for a new township to be organized and erected comprising No. 6 in the 13th Range. Ordered that said Township No. 6 in the 13th Range be set off and erected into a new Township by the name of Parma, to be bounded by the original lines of said Township."[5]
Phillip Henninger House. Built in 1842, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On the same day, a public notice was issued to qualified electors by the County Commissioners. They met at the house of Samuel Freeman on April 3, 1826 to elect township officers according to the law. It was then that the first eleven officers were elected to lead the new government.[5]

During this time, Parma Township remained largely agricultural. The first schoolhouse was a log structure built on the hill at the northern corner of what is now Parma Heights Cemetery. A memorial plate on a stone marks the spot. In 1827, the township was divided into road districts. The Broadview Road of today was then known as Town Line Road as well as Independence Road. Ridge Road was known then as Center Road as it cut through the center of town. York Road was then known as York Street as arrivals from the state of New York settled there. Pearl Road then had many names which included Medina Wooster Pike, Wooster Pike, the Cleveland Columbus Road, and the Brighton and Parma Plank Road.[7]

Lyman Stearns Farm house, built 1855

A stone house, built in 1849 and known as the Henninger House, was occupied by several generations of Henningers and is still standing today. The house rests on one of the higher points in Cuyahoga County, which provided visibility for the entire northeastern part of Parma Township. This was also the same site where the Erie Indians, centuries before, stood to read and send fire signals as well as pray to their spirits.[8]

By 1850, the US census listed Parma Township's population at 1,329.[9] However, the rising population of the township had slowed over the decades. The Civil War affected Parma much as it did other towns and villages in the nation. Three out of four homes sent a father, sons, or sometimes both, to fight in the war. By 1910, the population of the township had increased to 1,631.[10]

In 1911, Parma Heights, due to the temperance mood of the day, separated itself from the Parma Township after by a vote of 42 to 32 and was incorporated as a village comprising 4.13 square miles.[11]

"A main reason for establishing the village of Parma Heights was to get a town marshal...There is one saloon in the territory...some pretty rough crowds Sundays have disturbed the quiet of the neighborhood...wanted it closed on Sundays. To do this they wished a town marshal. They couldn't have a town marshal without becoming a village, so they became one."[12]

The Village of Parma (1924–1930)

By 1920, the US census showed Parma Township had a population of just 2,345, but the following decade proved to be a time of significant growth and development for Parma. It was in the 1920s that Parma Township transformed from a farming community into a village. On December 15, 1924, Parma was incorporated as a village.

The largest and fastest growing development of that time was H. A. Stahl's Ridgewood Gardens development, which started in 1919, continued through the 1920s, and into the 1930s.[13][14] A resident of Shaker Heights, Ohio's first Garden City, H. A. Stahl developed Ridgewood as an ambitious "model village" project patterned along the lines of and rivaling the earlier Shaker Heights project with "churches, schools, motion picture theater, community house, and other features forming a part of all well-developed residence communities.".[15][16] Ridgewood was designed and marketed as a Garden City on 1,000 acres of land to accommodate about 40,000 residents "325 feet above Lake Erie, in the healthiest section of the South Side, free from the smoke of industries, or the congestion and noises of sections nearer the Public Square."[17][18]

The City of Parma (1931–present)

On January 1, 1931, Parma became a city with a population of 13,899. Whereas the incorporation of the village of Parma was met with much optimism, the newly established city of Parma faced the uncertainty of the Great Depression which had almost entirely stopped its growth.[19] Money was scarce, tax income was limited, and some began to talk of annexation of both the city and school district to Cleveland. Both annexation issues, however, were soundly defeated as Parma voters overwhelmingly voted against them and silenced proponents of annexation.[20] Not long after this, Parma was once again solvent due in large part to the newly created Gallagher Act and the determination of Parma's Auditor, Sam Nowlin.[21] By 1941, a building boom appeared to be underway in Parma just as the United States was about to enter World War II.[22]

After World War II, Parma once again began to experience tremendous growth as young families began moving from Cleveland into the suburbs. Between 1950 and 1960, Parma's population soared from 28,897 to 82,845. By 1956, Parma was unchallenged as the fastest growing city in the United States.[23] The population peaked in 1970 at 100,216.[24]

Today, Parma's population has reached 81,601, though it remains one of the Cleveland area's top three destinations young adults (aged 22 to 34) are increasingly choosing as a place to live, along with Lakewood and downtown Cleveland[25] and was recently recognized by Businessweek as one of the best places to raise kids in Ohio.[26]

Geography

Parma is located at 41°23′31″N 81°43′43″W / 41.39194°N 81.72861°W / 41.39194; -81.72861 (41.391852, -81.728502).[27]

Parma is southwest of Cleveland; it is bounded by Cleveland and Brooklyn on the north, Brooklyn Heights, and Seven Hills on the east, North Royalton and Broadview Heights on the south, and Brook Park, Middleburg Heights, and Parma Heights on the west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.07 square miles (51.98 km2), of which 20.02 square miles (51.85 km2) is land and 0.05 square miles (0.13 km2) is water.[1]

Two major changes and developments have recently occurred regarding two principal sites within the city:

  1. The West Creek Preservation Agency has worked to preserve various historic and natural sites in the city, including the Henninger House and the West Creek Watershed.[28]
  2. Henninger House, built in 1849 and the oldest standing home in Parma, is planned to be part of the proposed Quarry Creek Historic District.[29]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
193013,899
194016,36517.7%
195028,89776.6%
196082,845186.7%
1970100,21621.0%
198092,548−7.7%
199087,876−5.0%
200085,655−2.5%
201081,601−4.7%
2014 (est.)80,015[30]−1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[31]

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census,[2] there were 81,601 people, 34,489 households, and 21,646 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,076.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,573.8/km2). There were 36,608 housing units at an average density of 1,828.6 per square mile (706.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.0% White, 2.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.6% of the population. According to the 2010 Census.,[32][33] 22.5% were of German ancestry, 17.6% Polish, 14.8% Italian, 13.8% Irish, 7.4% Slovak, 6.7% English, 5.3% Ukrainian, 2.6% French, 2.2% Serbian, 1.9% Czech, 1.4% Arab, and 1.2% of Croatian, Lithuanian, or Russian ancestries. In regard to languages spoken, 87.03% spoke English, 2.26% Ukrainian, 1.68% Polish, 1.27% Spanish, 1.24% German, and 1.18% Italian as their first language.[34]

There were 34,489 households of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.2% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.95.

The median age in the city was 41.5 years. 20.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.7% were from 45 to 64; and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

Income

The median income for a household in the city is $50,198, the median income for a family is $60,696 and the mean income for a family is $68,828. The per capita income for the city is $25,064. The poverty rate in the city is 10.2%. This is low in comparison to other large Ohio cities as well as the state's individual poverty rate of 15.4%.[35][36]

Safety

In 2014, Parma ranked as the third safest city in the United States with a population of 25,000 or more by Neighborhood Scout. In the updated list for 2015 and 2016, Parma is no longer listed in the top 100.[37] In 2014, Parma had a crime index of 90 meaning it was safer than 90% of cities in the United States. By 2016, the crime index is 50% meaning Parma is only safer than 50% of cities in the United States. [38]

Transportation

Parma's major north-south roads, in order from west to east, are:

  • West 130th Street, which forms part of the western border of Parma,
  • Chevrolet Boulevard/Stumph Road/York Road,
  • Ridge Road (State Route 3),
  • West 54th Street
  • State Road (State Route 94),
  • Broadview Road (State Route 176), which forms part of the eastern boundary of Parma. The State Route 176 designation continues northward via the Jennings Freeway, connecting Parma to downtown Cleveland.

Its major east-west roads, in order from north to south, are:

  • I-480, running just north of Parma's northern border,
  • Brookpark Road (State Route 17), forming Parma's northern border with Cleveland,
  • Snow Road,
  • West Ridgewood Drive,
  • West Pleasant Valley Road, and
  • Sprague Road, which forms the southern border of Parma.

Also, Pearl Road (U.S. Route 42) runs from southwest to northeast through northern Parma for less than two miles.

Public transportation in Parma includes bus routes operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, which serves the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County suburbs.[39]

Economy

During the population boom between 1950 and 1980, Parma's commercial sector grew to match its residential sector. Since the 1950s, Parma has fostered the growth of many small businesses and been an operating hub for such well-known companies as General Motors, the Union Carbide Research Center (now GrafTech International) and Cox Cable Television.[40]

Located close to City Hall, at Ridge Rd. and West Ridgewood Dr., are The Shoppes at Parma (formerly Parmatown Mall), which is the location of the Parma Area Chamber of Commerce.

Commercial Districts

The Shoppes at Parma

The Shoppes at Parma, formerly Parmatown Mall, is a commercial shopping district that totals approximately 800,000 square feet. It is located approximately 3 miles south of Cleveland's southern border at the southwest corner of Ridge Road and West Ridgewood Drive in central Cuyahoga County. It is anchored by J.C. Penney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Marc's, Walmart. The mall opened as a shopping plaza in 1956 and was enclosed in the mid-1960s.[41]

Currently, it is owned and managed by Phillip's Edison & Co. and is undergoing extensive redevelopment at an expected cost of more than $70 million.[42] Senior vice president of Phillips Edison's strategic investment funds, Roy Williams, has stated:

"Our plan is to go far beyond a basic facelift and redevelopment for this long-standing regional shopping center. Besides bringing in additional shops, restaurants and services, we will create a more attractive, pedestrian-friendly, family-oriented environment that will act as a town center for Parma residents and surrounding communities."[43]

Redevelopment will transform the commercial center into a pedestrian-friendly community-oriented mall and will include attractive landscaping, new lighting, creation of two tree-lined boulevards, repaving of the parking lots, changing the entire facade of the outdoor shopping strip and medical offices, demolition of the current Macy's and Dick's Sporting Goods buildings, creating a new point of entry to J.C. Penney from West Ridgewood Drive, the construction of six new outbuildings, and the separation of Walmart from the rest of the mall.[44][45][46][47][48]

Recently, it was announced that a 15-member “Parma Mayor’s Town Center Task Force” will be formed to develop a plan for a town center based around the Ridge Road-West Ridgewood Drive intersection that features the Shoppes at Parma, Parma Branch library, University Hospitals Parma Medical Center and City Hall. It will be made up of representatives from various organizations including the Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma Area Chamber of Commerce, Parma schools and the Cleveland Metroparks’ West Creek Reservation.[49]

Ukrainian Village

The Ukrainian Village commercial district is located along State Road between Tuxedo Avenue and Grantwood Drive. This district was designated Ukrainian Village in September, 2009.[50]

This commercial district features a large number of small, family-owned businesses and medical offices, features one of the most "walkable" neighborhoods in Parma,[51] and boasts a traffic count of more than 40,000 vehicles each day at the intersection of State and Snow Roads.[52] This area also hosts the Ukrainian Independence Day parade (August).[53]

In 2013, Parma formed a sister-city relationship with Lviv, Ukraine[54] and is home to Ohio's largest Ukrainian community, the majority of whom are foreign born, with more than twice the number of any other city.[55]

Polish Village

The Polish Village commercial district is located along Ridge Road between Pearl Road and Thornton Avenue. This district was designated Polish Village on May 1, 2011.[56]

This commercial district features a large number of small, family-owned businesses and medical offices,[57] features one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Parma,[51] and boasts a traffic count of more than 40,000 vehicles each day at the intersection of Ridge and Snow Roads.[52] This area also hosts the Polish Constitution Day parade (May), St. Charles Carnival parade (July), Independence Day parade (July), and Christmas parade (December).[58][59][60][61]

Education

Public Schools

The Parma City School District serves Parma, Parma Heights, and Seven Hills.

Elementary Schools

  • Col. John Glenn Elementary School -closed
  • Dag Hammarskjold Elementary School- closed
  • Dentzler Elementary School
  • Forrest Elementary School - closed
  • Green Valley Elementary School
  • James E. Hanna Elementary School-closed
  • John Muir Elementary School
  • Parkview Elementary School-closed
  • Parma Park Elementary School
  • Pleasant Valley Elementary School
  • Pleasantview Elementary School -closed (now first step preschool)
  • Renwood Elementary School
  • Ridge-Brook Elementary School
  • State Road Elementary School-closed
  • Thoreau Park Elementary School

Middle Schools

  • Greenbriar Middle School
  • Hillside Middle School
  • Shiloh Middle School
  • Schaaf Junior High School - closed
  • Fay Junior High School - closed
  • Pleasant Valley Junior High School - re-designated an elementary school

High Schools

The District's sports stadium is Byers Field. All three high schools play golf at Ridgewood for their home course. The rivalry that exists between these schools is well documented.[62]

Charter Schools

Constellation Schools: Parma Community public charter schools:

Elementary Schools

  • Parma Community Elementary[63]

Middle Schools

  • Parma Community Middle[64]

High Schools

  • Parma Community High[65]

Private Schools

Elementary/Middle Schools

  • Al Ihsan School Elementary (K-5)
  • Bethany Christian Elementary School (PK-6)
  • Bethany Lutheran School (PK-8)
  • Bethel Christian Academy (PK-8)
  • Holy Family School (PK-8)
  • St. Anthony of Padua Elementary School (K-8)
  • St. Bridget School (PK-8)
  • St. Charles School (PK-8)
  • St. Columbkille Parish School (PK-8)
  • St. Francis De Sales School (K-8)

High Schools

Colleges

Television and radio towers

Parma is the location of most of the Cleveland area's television and FM radio transmission towers.

When Cleveland started to get television service in the late 1940s, WEWS-TV (Channel 5), the first television station in Ohio, picked a site on State Road. At the time, Parma was transitioning from a rural enclave to an urban area. Parma was selected for its high elevation. At almost 1,100 feet above sea level, it is 500 feet higher than downtown Cleveland. Other local stations followed, and nearly all local TV and FM radio outlets broadcast from Parma, or from other nearby suburbs.

The television towers are taller than downtown Cleveland's tallest buildings, and can be seen from great distance in Cleveland, and most of its southern suburbs. Airline pilots and broadcast experts call the collection of towers in and near Parma the Cleveland area's "antenna farm". Parma is second only to Los Angeles's Mount Wilson (California) with the greatest concentration of antennas and transmitters in the U.S.[citation needed]

Heights of Parma's television towers

  • WEWS-TV 5 (ABC) - 1,060 feet (State Road)
  • WJW-TV 8 (FOX) - 1,080 feet (Pleasant Valley Road at State Road)
  • WOIO-TV 19 (CBS) - 1,149 feet (Broadview Road)
  • WKYC 3 (NBC) - 1,150 feet (Broadview Road) To be replaced in the spring 2009 and shared with WVIZ-TV
  • WBNX-TV 55 (CW) - 1,020 feet (West Ridgewood Drive)
  • WQHS-TV 61 (Univisión) - 916 feet (Hawthorne Drive)
  • WUAB 43 (My) - 915 feet (Bruening Drive)

Mayors

Mayor Years
John F. Goldenbogen 1925
R. S. Stanfield 1926-1927
Frank D. Johnson 1928-1933
Anthony A. Fleger 1934-1935
Roland E. Reichert 1936-1942
Sylvester Augustine 1942-1945
Roland E. Reichert 1946-1949
Lawrence Stary 1950-1951
Stephen A. Zona 1952-1957
Joseph W. Kadar 1958-1959
Sylvester Augustine 1960-1961
John Bobko 1961
James W. Day 1962-1967
John Petruska 1967-1987
Michael A. Ries 1988-1994
Gerald Boldt 1994-2003
Dean DePiero 2004–2012
Timothy DeGeeter 2012–present[66]

Notable people

  • Jim Konya, best known as drummer for Nunslaughter and Gravewurm, and vocalist and drummer for Schnauzer. Awarded Freedom of the City[72]

Pop Culture

Moon Over Parma

The Drew Carey Show's opening credits of its first season consisted of a caricature of Drew Carey — consisting of his face and a yellow tie — singing the Robert McGuire-penned "Moon Over Parma".[73] The song was trimmed for the opening sequence, and the reference to Eastlake in the line "Guide her to Eastlake underneath your silvery light" was changed to a reference to Cleveland to stay in theme with the show.[74]

Moon over Parma bring my love to me tonight.
Guide her to Eastlake, underneath your silvery light.
We met in Ashtabula, she was doing the hula.
I handed her in my radishes and pledged my love that night.
Moon over Parma, won't you bring my love to me?
Shine on the freeway and guide her AMC.
Get her past those radar Mounties, bring her to Lake County, Moon over Parma, tonight.
Moon over Parma shine on I-271.
We can't get together in the warm light of the sun.
I'm askin' you don't fail. Get her safely through Linndale,
I can't go to Parma cause my Edsel will not run.
Moon over Parma, where those pink flamingos stand.
I need her kisses and the soft touch of her hand.
We're goin bowlin, so don't lose her in Solon.
Moon over Parma, tonight. I said tonight.[75]

Parma Place

Occasionally, during the 1960s and 1970s, Parma was the target of light-hearted jabs by local movie show hosts Ghoulardi, Big Chuck & Little John, and The Ghoul, due to its central European and, most specifically, Polish, make-up. Ghoulardi, the horror host of late night Shock Theater at WJW-TV, Channel 8, in Cleveland, Ohio from January 13, 1963 through December 16, 1966, made a series of shorts called "Parma Place" and focused on an alleged love of white socks, pink flamingos, chrome balls, kielbasa, pierogi and the polka.[76]

Surrounding communities

References

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  23. ^ . 4 January 1956 http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:EANX&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1276A08771D9F94B&svc_dat=HistArchive:ahnpdoc&req_dat=0FDEC62F6DF22455. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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  56. ^ https://www.facebook.com/PolishVillage/info
  57. ^ http://www.polishvillageparma.com/business-directory/
  58. ^ http://blog.cleveland.com/pdmultimedia/2013/05/slideshow_parma_shines_in_sunn.html
  59. ^ http://www.cleveland.com/parma/index.ssf/2013/06/st_charles_in_parma_prepares_f.html
  60. ^ http://www.cleveland.com/parma/index.ssf/2013/07/fourth-of-july_parade_on_ridge.html
  61. ^ http://www.cleveland.com/parma/index.ssf/2012/12/parma_has_annual_christmas_par.html
  62. ^ Even though rivalry may exist on the field of sports, the Spanish pen pals found connections to begin new friendships; “On the field, you think that the guys from Valley Forge and Parma are bad guys because they’re playing you tough trying to get the win” said recent Normandy graduate Dan Ebinger, who will play defensive end. “But, after you meet with them, you realize that they’re all actually pretty nice guys. It’s pretty nice getting to know them as people instead of just judging them by how they played against you.”; Normandy was upsetted last week against Parma. Over the years, a second rivalry has formed between Valley Forge & Normandy, the battle of Parma, a battle that would determine the better team.
  63. ^ http://www.constellationschools.com/EZ_Dept_Menu.aspx?d=18
  64. ^ http://www.constellationschools.com/EZ_Dept_Menu.aspx?d=19
  65. ^ http://www.constellationschools.com/EZ_Dept_Menu.aspx?d=20
  66. ^ The Political Graveyard: Mayors of Parma, Ohio
  67. ^ 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1899,' Biographical Sketch of Jeremiah Wallace Baldock, pg. 764
  68. ^ "About Joke Prdouctions". Joke Productions. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  69. ^ Simakis, Andrea (October 10, 2010). "'Scream Queens' helps Parma native make it big in Hollywood". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  70. ^ Robert Olds of Windsor and Suffield, CT and his descendants
  71. ^ Radio station's top 10 classical pick for December is like music to this Parma mom's ears: Rick Haase. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  72. ^ Parma Mayor To Commemorate NUNSLAUGHTER's Jim Konya With A Key To The City retrieved October 21, 2015.
  73. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV2NX1kabEg
  74. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JexaQUq8YAY
  75. ^ http://www.maxilyrics.com/drew-carey-moon-over-parma-lyrics-e5a5.html
  76. ^ Feran, Tom; R.D. Heldenfels (1997). Ghoulardi: inside Cleveland TV's wildest ride. Gray & Company. ISBN 1-886228-18-3.

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