Ike Maxwell documentary shown in Elyria for the first time
Feature image of Dr. Tara L. Conley for The Chronicle. Photo by Owen MacMillan (June 2026)
On Tuesday, as they had in Ely Stadium decades ago, Elyria residents once again came together and gathered in a crowd to watch Ike Maxwell.
But rather than being electrified by one of his record-setting performances on the football field, Elyrians learned about the man that Maxwell was as the documentary “Dry Bones” made its debut in the city where it is set.
The film, by Elyria native Tara Conley, explores Maxwell’s All-American football career at Elyria High School, but also the struggles he faced later in life and the tragedy of the death of his brother Daryl Maxwell, who was shot and killed by an Elyria police officer in 1975.
