History of the West Park
Neighborhood
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Memories & Comments
of the West Park and nearby area

Memories and/or photographs that you wish to contribute would be appreciated.  Please try to include as many details as you possibly can.
Send them to The History of the West Park Neighborhood.          Return to Main Page

The Alfred Hitchcock Tree

I was allowed to drive the family station wagon the first night after getting my license. It was a yellow "woodie." Shelia Hanrahan, Carol Kirby, Elaine Stecko, maybe Lori Popa, and some other girls and I drove down to see the Alfred Hitchcock Tree. Unfortunately the ground was wet and we got stuck in the mud. We had to call a park ranger and a tow truck to get us out! As restitution we had to come back the next day, haul dirt up from the river, and plant new grass seed! Thanks to all my buddies who helped repair the damages. Anyone else remember that night?? 

--- Dawn (Shepp) Cartwright, Bloomington, IN. 03 July 2008

  Do you know of the Alfred Hitchcock tree? Lemme know. Wish I had a pic!

--- Joseph McDowell.  13 May 2008

 Hi Joe,
 Absolutely we know of the Alfred Hitchcock tree! Remember asking girls if they wanted to go down the valley and see Alfred Hitchcock?
     For those who don't know, there was once a tree in front of the golf course at the bottom of Puritas Hill in Metropolitan Park. There was a growth on the trunk of the tree that was silhouetted in the light from the golf course at night. It looked exactly, and I mean exactly, like the shadow of Alfred Hitchcock that used to appear at the beginning of his TV show.

--- Gary Swilik, westparkhistory.com.  13 May 2008

Asplin Basket Factory

(Hartville, Ohio, location) I worked for the Asplin Basket Company in Hartville, Ohio, for only one year before it was purchased by Longaberger Baskets in 1982. I started as a braider and was then trained on the banding staple machine. I then worked for the Longaberger Company as a master weaver until 1996. I will never forget the pinkish orange color mold that would grow on the veneer. I often wonder what kind of harm that has done to my lungs.
    Braiding was not as exciting as running the banding machine. There was no safety on these machines and I was told stories of people having staples run through fingers. We were paid minimum wage plus a piece rate per dozen. We worked hard to get the few extra dollars on our checks. The building we worked in was heated by the boiler which was stoked with wood scraps we threw on the floors. Needless to say the heat was poor and we worked with no air-conditioning in the summer months. I remember once standing in a puddle of water in the winter, my feet were frozen, but I kept on working.
    I may have some memorabilia around the house. I used to have one of my brother's business cards and my old time clock punch card, both had Asplin Basket Company on them. Thank you for bringing back the memories.

--- Vickie Black.  28 April 2009

(Hartville, Ohio, location) Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge of Asplin Basket Company. I was employed with the Hartville, Ohio branch of the company from the time I was 16 in 1973 until it was acquired by Longaberger Baskets in 1982.
    Asplin Basket began at West 150th and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland in 1914. I believe this location was closed in the 1960s before I began working for the company. The Hartville operation was owned by Charles T. “Kim” and Wilma Kimberly. Wilma was the daughter of founder W.E. Asplin.
    I have many found memories of the Hartville branch. When I began work at the age of 16, I was a material sorter, sorting out the good veneer for the braiders who did most of the work by hand. Then they would proceed to a banding stapling machine. Then a “maker” would staple the ends. If a handle was required there would be one last type of stapling machine. 
    Later my duties progressed to a “buncher” who would put the baskets into pods of four for shipping. Most of the baskets were 16 or 24 quarts sizes but we also had 4, 8 and 12 quart sizes. They were priced by the dozen and typically sold by the truck load. A truck would hold approximately 175 dozen and I believe they were priced at around $6.25 per dozen.
    Still later I moved to the warehouse and driving a truck. The baskets did not have the company name on them. They were strictly working baskets, used for lettuce, onions, peaches and other fruits and vegetables. "Asplin" was, however, written on all of the trucks.
    At the time most baskets were delivered to the muck farms (the soil is pure black) in Hartville and Willard, Ohio during the summer and to greenhouses in and around Cleveland in the winter months. We really had a small customer base; I would guess less than 50 customers.
    To my knowledge there was no advertising. Everyone in the industry knew the three local manufactures (Asplin was the largest). The other two manufacturers were MacIntyre Basket in Crestline, Ohio, and Berlin Heights Fruit and Basket in Berlin Heights, Ohio.
    Other duties during the time of my employment were working on the lathes and in the log yard. My parents could always tell when I worked in the log yard because the odor that came from the cooking logs stayed with you for days!
    I believe Hartville was the largest Asplin operation but we only employed around fifty workers prior to Longaberger purchasing the facility. I remember hearing (not sure how true) the plants were separated to keep the work force at each relatively small to help keep union activity out. The working wage at Asplin for all but a few was minimum wage. I remember working for $1.60 per hour!
    Eventually, I became manager of the Hartville plant. I really enjoyed my time at the Asplin company and the opportunity that Charles Kimberly gave a 16 year old looking for his first job.
    Longaberger bought the Asplin facility at Hartville for their veneer capabilities. They did not have this equipment in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the Hartville operation closed a couple of years ago.
    After Asplin in Hartville was acquired by Dave Longaberger, I relocated to Dresden, Ohio, to become the Executive Vice President of Longaberger Baskets until I left in 1986.

--- Raymond R. Black, Lewis Center, OH.  24 April 2009

As kids we used to always go to the Asplin Basket Factory as a family tradition to choose our Christmas tree. (The large warehouse was used to sell Christmas trees.) It was a unique place because their trees were on the second floor of the large, chilly warehouse, and the trees were suspended from ropes, not on the floor. That allowed we kids to race through the suspended forest, spinning trees as we went. I never knew the full name of that wonderful place until I read your article.

--- Michael McGannon, Aptos, CA.  31 January 2009

My mother, Dorothy Erman Goodyear, John Marshall High class of 1927, worked at the Asplin Basket Factory in the middle 1920s. It was her first job. She used to say she had to stand on her feet all day and it was awfully hot work.
 My Uncle, William Deeks, drove a delivery wagon for Asplin and delivered the baskets to local greenhouses. He did this for many years.
    Personally I don't have any memories of the factory except having it pointed out to me every time we drove past, so I grew up hearing many stories about Asplin's and feeling I had a direct connection.

--- Alma Goodyear Appelgate, Huntersville, NC. 20 January 2009

I remember the Asplin Basket Company from the early 1950s and the awful odor that occasionally would be generated from the plant.

--- Neil Sheeley, North Royalton, OH. 3 January 2009

Yes, I remember the Asplin Basket Factory. In the late 1940s and early 1950s several Japanese families were employed there. "Gary K." was class of 54 or 55. Melvin Hiramoto(?) was class of 56 or 57.

--- Dave Herrington, Clever, MO. 01 January 2009

The Asplin Basket Factory was owned by the father of a former classmate.  Sorry but I forgot his name.  He told me they were hiring for the summer of 1953.  I went to work there and somehow made it last for two weeks.  There was no air conditioning and it was 110 degrees in the loft of the main building.  Most of the workers were Chinese-born and we were required to make 75 baskets per hour.  My best was 37.  So I was demoted from basket making and wound up in the loft instead.  Since I was only 16 I could not operate any machinery and I was not allowed to run the stapler.  When I was let go, I felt relieved.

--- James Mokren, Jackson, OH.  29 December 2008

Asplin Basket Factory

Bearden's on Rocky River Drive

Bearden's! That was our hang out after going to the movies at the Riverside Theatre. They had the best hamburgers ever. Our favorite waitress (inside) was a classy lady named Hazel. We were just teenagers but we're treated like VIPs!

--- Noreen (Vogelpohl) Gerhardinger Elyria, OH. 14 May 2008

 

My future wife and I used to go to Bearden's on Rocky River Drive. We really liked the hamburgers; they were nice and juicy. I especially liked their sweet pickle relish. I liked it so much I asked for the brand so that we could use it at home. The brand was not available at stores, so I remember Bearden’s agreeing to sell me a jar. The jar was huge, it probably lasted a couple of years.
    I have one story always brings a chuckle to me. We were there one evening when we were about 19 years old. As was our custom, when the food came, we took the hamburgers, french fires and ketchup from the window tray and placed them on the front seat between us. We finished, and I was in the process of clearing things from the seat. I took the first hand full of stuff and turned to my left to place it on the tray outside the window, knowing all I had left to pick up was the ketchup, in those little white cup-like containers they used to use. Just then my wife scooted over to sit next to me, the way girls used to in the pre-bucket-seat days. She didn’t realize it immediately, but she had just sat on the ketchup."

--- Larry James, Dallas, TX.  January 28, 2007

(At Bearden's on Rocky River Drive)....the carhops came out to the car as you ordered over your own individual speaker.  Most of the car hops were "foxes" and served the best darn vanilla milkshakes, served in a tall glass like ice tea or mint julep.  Bearden's was the hangout for most John Marshall High kids but others joined in too. Last time I was there was in 1960 with my hot black Chevy Impala, 8th fastest car at the Detroit NHRA Nationals.  I went to the original Bearden's in Rocky River a couple of years ago, never knew it was there. Lots of fun . . . . The 50's were absolutely great!

--- Jon Dolfurd, John Marshall High School, Class of 1957, Longs, SC. 27 January 2006

I worked my way thru high school working at Bearden's.
    I was a car-hop at Bearden's on Rocky River Drive from June, 1960 to January, 1962. We had dark green uniforms with yellow stripes along the legs, and a dark green vest with a yellow cummerbund. We also wore a small, dark green hat. In cold weather we had dark green jackets.
    Rocky River Bearden's had a 60 car lot with automatic intercom speakers to take the orders, and you could signal for pick up of the trays.  Each car had a number and the car hops carried their food on a tray that fit over the car window. The serving trays we carried were able to attach to all car windows with little problem but you had to be careful they weren't top heavy. It could only carry two milkshakes per order otherwise it would tip over.
    Most of the time we took orders from the speakers but the staff took turns on busy days. . Bearden's was open 7 days a week, usually starting at 11 a.m., till 11 p.m., and two hours later on the week ends. Most days one girl took care of the entire lot but might have more help on Friday evenings. Friday and Saturday nights were very busy!
    We also took turns in chopping up onions one day and making onion rings on another day. We made more tips on "onion day" because we looked like we were crying.
    I only made $.55 an hour plus tips. All our food was free but we had to write it up for their expenses. 
    Yes, I liked the food! People remember Bearden's burgers were great and their onion rings were made fresh.  One other small burger was made with peanut butter grilled on the burger.  Only a few people ordered that but it smelled sooo good when it was cooking!
    The old Bearden's in Parma used the same recipes and made their onion rings the same.  Fast Eddies in Parma had the same food for a while.
    The first fast food to compete with us was "Golden Point" with 25 cent hamburgers.  They were not that good. Big Boys opened after that but they were not any faster and I don't think they hurt our business because we were in the same price range.
    At Rocky River Bearden's they tried serving breakfast for one year but they did not have the staff for it.  I think the Lakewood Bearden's had it longer.
    Howard Hinton was the manager of the Rocky River Drive Bearden's for many years.  His red-haired wife was a waitress at Lakewood Bearden's.  I don't think he was related to the Orange family, but the person that made the recipe for Bearden's used steak burger suet for their good taste.  The Orange family opened many restaurants in Florida, and I think they used the same suet.  There might be some family members that I don't know about.
    Of course all male customers were interested in every good looking car hop! Although Bearden's uniforms were not low cut and mothers did not object to them. Most car hops instinctively knew how to handle wolves. If not they all knew local police! If older men tried to flirt with young girls they usually called them "Grandpa!"

--- June Kreuzer, Cleveland, OH.  19 January 2006

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Bearden's Drive-In
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Corner Food Store  3711 West 140th & San Diego Avenue

My mother worked at the Corner Store at West 140th and San Diego Avenue. My mom and Louise Yanesh were good friends. That meant free penny candies! Stanley, Louise's first husband, used to sneak me candy by the bag. "Shhh! Put it in your book bag" but my mom knew. That all stopped when Stan died and she married Joe. Nice guy but no candy.

--- Patti Daycak, Parma, OH.  13 July 2006

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Corner Food Store

Diney's Drive In

"Diney's Drive-In was located on West 117th, south of Lorain.  It was torn down when the highway (I-90) was built. It was a very popular place for muscle cars to go, almost legendary.  I used to hang out there with my muscle car in the early 70's. I had a 1969 black Camaro SS. Also-known-as the blonde in the black Camaro, the only female on the West Side with a muscle car. I heard stories of a female on the East side with a pretty hot 'Vette but never saw her.  As I recall, the muscle cars at Diney's always backed into their spot.  Some would put money on the dashboard of the car, visible through the windshield to passerby, and wait for a car to challenge them.  Lots of anticipation and excitement in those days!  By that time Diney's had been around for quite awhile.  There was no dining room.  They served great cheeseburgers right to your car."

--- Jill (maiden name Henry) Fennessy, Sand Lake, MI. 15 December 2007

"Diney's had great burgers! I think it was the Velveeta that made them great. My mom even went there back when she went to John Marshall. Her favorite was the peanut butter burger. This is yet another great burger joint that bit the dust."

--- David Rimke, Hesperia, CA.  8 September 2007

The memories come flooding back.  When we were students at West Tech High School (1957-60), my best friend Joy and I would walk from West 97th Street (where we both lived) along Lorain Avenue to West. 117th Street.  Then we would hitchhike to Diney's, telling the driver we would buy him a cup of coffee just to take us there.  Diney's was a great place to go while out on a date.  They had the BEST burgers and chocolate malts.  My husband and I went there a lot and we continued to go to Diney's after we got married in 1961.
    I hesitated about mentioning the hitchhiking in my post but I've told my kids about it so the secret's out.  My best friend, Joy Clark Freda, and I used to hitchhike a lot back then, mostly on Denison Avenue on our way to the tennis courts at Brookside Park.  We never got in a car with a bunch of guys (safety first).  We usually accepted a ride from a family, and since we were carrying our tennis rackets, it was obvious where we were going.  We used to ride our bikes, but holding onto a tennis racket was awkward while riding a bike.

   --- Lois Gollwitzer Dixon, Livonia, Michigan. 15 April 2007.

  I sure remember Diney's! Spent many Friday and Saturday nights cruising between there and the Berea Manners. We used to drag race on the street just behind Diney's as well.
    I had a 59 Impala convertible with a 348. Used to hang out with Louie Wagner, Joe Siebert, and Dick Schurk. We were all into cars back then. At that time, my 59 was the one with the biggest engine of any of the other guys. They nicknamed me "Billy big motor." It wasn't all that fast, but made great noise with the cherry bomb mufflers.
    Off to war in 1968, returned in 1972, and still made the trip to Diney's occasionally, then with my 67 Impala SS427 that I bought before going into the Navy.
    Diney's closed sometime around 1975 if I remember correctly. The word got out there would be a final cruise night there. I went in my El Camino, and parked two cars deep. I saw cars from the old days that night, still out running around. One guy even brought a dragster on a trailer, parked across the street, unloaded it and drove across the street to the restaurant. Someone took pictures and sent them to Hot Rod magazine. A photo was put in the magazine, along with a short article about Diney's. I had the magazine at one time, but lost it over the years. Good memories of those days. I still haven't grown out of the old car thing; I have had an Avanti for 20 years now. As in the old days, it is the loudest car on the block.

--- Bill Chapo, Knoxville, TN.  6 June 2006
Originally posted on the John Marshall Alumni Message Board. Edited and posted here with Mr. Chapo's permission.

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Diney's Drive In

Dryer's Pond (Also known as Dreyer's Pond)

 Dryer's Pond was a place where the boys went but not the girls. It was mostly for guys and we just didn't go there. We called it "Bare Ass Beach."

--- Peggy Patton, Cleveland, OH.  17 February 2010

 I found your site earlier this evening and cannot believe I'm still studying it even at this late hour.

Just happened to locate the Dreyer's Pond info and I could go on for hours about that place.  My dad, Aloysius Baechle, was born in 1913 (God rest his beautiful soul) in the area now known as Brookpark.  When he was still a baby his family moved into a home that stood right next to Dreyer's Pond.  He told me many tales about the pond and I've got some, too.

My dad was a supervisor at the old Agrico plant (American Agricultural Company) and before that his father, Andrew Baechle, was a night watchman there.  As a child, my dad would meet my grandfather at that bridge and walk home with him after work.

I would like to correct an assumption concerning pollution of the pond. People think that because of the location of the fertilizer factory it only makes sense it was the cause of ruining the pond.  While the factory may have contributed in some minor ways, it was the Ford Motor Company on Brookpark Road that was the main culprit.  Dreyer's Creek runs from the location of Ford, eventually crosses W.150 Street, and leads to the old Dreyer's Pond.  This creek, I learned, is what really brought the "bad" stuff to a beautiful pond.

Also, a small tree-lined, dusty road, which I believe was called Red Road in the old days, led from West 150th Street straight back to the pond.  It was in a house at the end of this road that my dad lived when he was child.  As a matter of fact, your great photo of the bridge over Dreyer's Pond would have in its background the very end of the road where my dad lived.  Further, I feel that if studied carefully, the photo actually reveals my dad's home, along with another that sat across the road. I have a cousin who visited there often and she insists that is what's shown in the photo.

I have vivid memories of catching snapping turtles from below Dreyer's dam, as well as hunting pheasants and rabbits all around the pond and along the creek.  That was as late as the 1950s and very early 1960s!

Thanks for the memories.

--- Jim Baechle, Westlake  OH  26 March 2009

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Dryer's Pond

Ernie's (or Taffle's) Deli

 The deli at the southwest corner of West 158th and Lorain Avenue was owned by Ernie Chomos and was called Ernie's, or Taffle's for some reason. (Today it is Charlie's Beverage at 15803 Lorain.) There was a four stool soda fountain in there and you could get cherry, lime or lemon cokes. I remember they used to carry the MIDNIGHT tabloid, and it always scared me as a kid because it had front page stories like MOM COOKS FAMILY DOG AND SERVES IT FOR DINNER. Next to that was a laundromat, a couple of other places I can't remember, and of course the Far-Mor tavern. I also remember Wilkie's bakery across the street and the Cork 'n' Bottle. I used to go to Wilkie's every Saturday morning and get doughnuts and pastry for breakfast.

--- Nicolas D'Amico, Cleveland, OH. 02 January 2010

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Frankie's Delicatessen

 Sometime in the spring or summer in the 1950s the Duncan YoYo Company would send a Filipino sales rep to Frankie's Delicatessen (4444 Rocky River Drive just north of Puritas Avenue) to perform tricks in front of the store to induce us to go inside and purchase yoyos. I think Duncan sold 3 models; the Satellite, the Butterfly, and the Tournament. All made of wood. If you bought a yoyo this guy would expertly carve your name and maybe a palm tree on it. A Duncun yoyo was out of my price range so I had a cheap imitation that was ruined by my attempt at doing my own carving. But we would watch this guy do all those incredible yoyo tricks and walk down Rocky River trying to copy him. Years later Frankie's had a reputation for selling beer to minors who had fake draft cards. I think I may have used this service a few times.

--- Doug Viant, Galloway, OH.  25 February 2009

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Frankie's Delicatessen

Franklin Ice Cream - Puritas and West 140th

 I remember Franklin Ice Cream in the shopping center on W. 150th and Puritas.  My girlfriend Bev Brown and I used to meet there on Fridays and hang out. Of course you had to get ice cream or a coke to sit there but we sure had some great times.

--- Sandy Shaw, Daleville, AL.  4 June 2007

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Franklin Ice Cream

Gray Drug Store

Gray's Drug Store, at West 137th and Lorain, was our major hangout in the mid 1950s. After school the girls, mostly from St. Joes, and the guys would meet for a coke or a phosphate. Unless something else was going on, we would drift up there in the evening and congregate. The fountain girls were really nice to us, especially a middle-age woman named Mary and a small rotund lady with a German accent. I get the warm fuzzies thinking about it. We were not too unruly but every so often the pharmacist, who was the "muscle," would give us the heave-ho.

--- David Shepley, Brunswick OH.  30 May 2008

Gray Drug's at West 137th and Lorain was my comic-book-buying headquarters. I used to ride my bike up there almost daily, leave it leaning against a pole outside, and run in to see if any new issues had come out. The DC comics were my favorites. Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and especially The Atom, who could go from full-size to microscopic at will. Comics were displayed on revolving wire racks. There was a sign on top of the rack that read "Hey Kids! Comics!"

    Gray's also had a lunch counter along the west wall of the store, with both a counter and booths. A long, rectangular window behind the counter looked out on Christ Methodist Church.

    When my buddies and I were little it used to be fun to ride past that winortldow on our bikes at lunchtime, when the counter was packed with customers, and make silly faces at them. Not real bright.

    It was fun to get vanilla and chocolate cokes at the counter when we were a little older, and watch other stupid kids ride past the window and make faces.

--- Gary Swilik, Cleveland, OH. 28 November 2007

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Gunning Park:  Puritas Pool

 Does anyone remember the old open-air pool at Gunning Park? To get into the pool you had to go through those monkey bar turn-styles that were as tall as an adult, run through a shower, and then put your feet up on a board, one at a time, in front of the lifeguard. He or she would check between your toes for fungus or athlete's foot, and give you the OK to get in the pool.
    No matter how hot it was the water was always freezing till you adjusted. Actually it was only half water, the other half being chlorine. It smelled like a giant Clorox bottle!
    I seem to always have memories of death but here goes: The pool was usually packed full of people. All you could really do was stand up because it was so crowded. Once a small girl jumped in at the shallow end and hit her head on the side of the pool. No one realized what had happened because of the crowded conditions. You guessed it. She drowned! This put a damper on the whole summer and the pool was not the enjoyable place it once was.

--- Doug Viant, Galloway, OH.  12 May 2009

I most certainly do recall the swimming pool at Gunning Park. We always called it simply "Puritas Pool." It was an open-air pool, not enclosed in a building like the pool in the recreation center at Gunning Park today. So, of course, it was only open in the summer.
    We'd get to the pool by going south down West 140th, then west along Puritas Avenue. The railroad tracks on Puritas, just east of the pool, then crossed at street level. There was no underpass, as there is today. You couldn't see the pool until you came up over the tracks and, suddenly, there it was. It was always kind of exciting for us little kids to get the first glimpse of the pool, shining blue on a sunny day.
    I remember the turn-styles, the showers, and the foot inspections but you also had to walk through a shallow pool of some kind of yellowish-green foot disinfectant. The lifeguard sat at a wooden contraption that looked almost like a shoe-maker's bench, with a place for you to put your foot. You had to carefully spread your toes apart so the guard could look between them for signs of infection. I think one of my buddies was actually denied admittance once, having failed the foot inspection.
    I wonder why no one has to have their feet inspected before getting into a public pool today. Was it all for nothing?
    I learned to swim in a series of early morning classes at Puritas Pool, and since it was outside, it was often kind of cold at that hour. We'd stand around hugging ourselves, dreading jumping into the cold water. Then, once we were in the water, we didn't want to get out and freeze in the cold air.
Yes, on really hot days Puritas Pool was absolutely packed. No room to swim, just stand in the water and bob up and down! But these were the days when home air-conditioners were only for the wealthy and even that lukewarm water felt so good.

--- Gary Swilik, Cleveland, OH. 12 May 2009

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Herold’s Grocery and Meat Market

 I went to Garfield elementary school on West 140th and remember Herold's store across the street. We did the penny candy thing, especially the red licorice sticks.

 

--- Bill Chapo, Knoxville, TN.  17 June 2006

 

I worked at Herold's grocery for two or three years. I'd wait on customers and stock the shelves. Sometimes I'd deliver groceries and Mr. Herold would let me use his car. I think I started at ten dollars a week. Just before I quit to go into the army in July, 1941, I think I was making twelve dollars per week.
    Mr. Herold treated me nicely. I ate lunch there all the time right in the apartment over the store with the family. It was mostly sandwiches but they were good. Mrs. Herold was flamboyant and a flashy dresser. When I worked there she would sometimes wait on a customer but not often.
    Mr. Herold was a very good meat cutter. He was teaching me meat cutting when I went into the service.
    He had a lot of customers that were on the tab. Each customer had their own sheet kept in a drawer. I would just mark down their purchases on a sheet. A lot of customers then came in and paid their bills on Saturday.
    As I recall the store was open about 8 in the morning to 6 at night during the week, and until 8 in the evening on Saturday. It was a busy place. Mr. Herold held his own against Fisher's and Kroger's which also had stores on West 140th.
    I knew the Herold girls, Zita and Dolores. I remember when Zita got married Mr. Herold closed the store on a Saturday for her wedding.

--- Richard "Dick" R. Morrison, Cleveland, OH.  15 January 2007

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Herold's Grocery and Meat Market

Hullabaloo Teen Club

 On Friday evenings I would get my go-go boots and head to Hullabaloo Teen Club on Lorain Avenue where I would do the latest dances: The Hully Gully, Twist, Shotgun, Swim, Jerk, Watusi, The Stroll, Mashed Potato, The Pony, Four Corners, Dirty Dog, and a host of others. Once I even came in second in a Hullabaloo dance contest.
    There was no entry fee and anyone could compete. The winner won a motorcycle. We danced on the floor in front of the stage, similar to the dance contests of the 1940s. They would tag those that were disqualified. I wish I could remember the songs we danced to. I know there was a lot of shimmying going on.
    It came down to two of us, and the other girl won. At the time, I felt overlooked. She was a sexy greaser and I was a “Flower Child.” I have no idea if this played a part or not. They totally ignored me. One minute I felt like a star and the next – I was a loser. Poor soul!
    Another time I remember walking down Rocky River Drive going to Hullabaloo. I carried my shoes and walked barefoot. I had the typical surfer hair style, long and blond. Someone driving by stopped, jumped out of his car, took my picture, and sped off. I always wondered what happened to that picture.
    When I arrived at Hullabloo, I discovered I'd forgotten either my money or my pass. My friend Sherry and I tried to sneak in the back but the security guard caught us. He felt sorry for us and let us in.
    I actually still have an ashtray that I put on my Christmas Tree every year. It says “Swiped from the Hullabaloo.”

 

--- Garland McFarland, New Castle, KY. 8 September 2009

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Jefferson Park

 I just ran across your web site on West Park history. I haven't had time to view and read everything yet but I see no mention of Jefferson Park. I grew up on West 132nd Street and spent many a day in the park. The highlight was in the winter when they flooded the park for ice skating and on Friday nights they would leave the flood lights on until 9:00 p.m. Thanks again for such wonderful memories.

 

--- Brian F. Moran, Fairview Park, OH.  13 June 2008

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Kamms Corner Area

I remember the stores along Lorain Avenue going west from West 165th Street. There was a Rexall pharmacy, next to that was Baby Land, then a department store called Red Robin. I got all of my Aurora monster models at Baby Land and my copies of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine at Rexall. As I recall, there was a Dodge dealer across the street from Rexall, where the U-Haul place is now.

--- Nicolas D'Amico, Cleveland, OH. 02 January 2010

 

Eddie Trsek, policeman working Kamms Corners
    For many years the police department had a foot patrolman working Kamms Corners.  His name, as I recall, was Eddie Trsek (Tree-sick) and he was a nice man.  He ensured that the school kids got across the intersection without difficulty and occasionally directed traffic when things got hectic.  But he patrolled the neighborhood quite well summer and winter and I am sure the merchants appreciated that because at Christmas time he really made out.
    All the merchants loaded him up with gifts in response to his being around the corners day after day.  He must have looked like Santa at times on his way home.  We don't have a police presence like that any more. 

--- Dan Weber, Rancho Cordova, CA.  10 October 2008

More memories of Eddie Trsek:  2, 3

 

The Home Team at Kamm's Corners
    In the spring of 1944, toward the end of World War II when I was about 12 years old, my friends and I set our sights on some vacant property where the Kamm's Plaza parking lot is today. There was enough clear space there for a softball diamond. So, leading up to the end of the school year, we got together and cut weeds, smoothed out the field, and installed some white orange crates for bases. It really looked good.
    On the first morning of summer vacation I was lying in bed when I heard a tractor nearby. I got out of bed and raced over to “our” new ball field. My worst fears were confirmed. The owner had decided to plant a Victory Garden on the site! We were one despondent group. We vowed to get even but, in the end, stole only a couple of tomatoes and a few ears of corn that fall.
    The next spring we decided to try again and this time got permission for a diamond although it was a lot more work smoothing out the ruts. We even built a backstop and scoreboard from some scrap lumber and painted them green. It all looked very nice to us.
    At our evening games some of our parents came over and even our dads got involved. It was fun and we all enjoyed it.
    Over the years our group went in different directions. Only one stayed in the area so we pretty much lost contact with each other. Several have passed on and I only really keep track of one fellow who now lives in Oklahoma. Of course, I still see my brother Roger who lives near San Diego. I often wish my own kids could have lived in that era at a place like Kamm's Corners with valleys to explore, lakes to swim in, rivers to fish, and so many things to do.

--- Dan Weber, Rancho Cordova, CA. 95670.  5 February 2008

Kamm's Corner All-Stars vs. The West 159th Street Gang
    I was born in 1932 and grew up in our family home at 17504 Allien Avenue. Along with many of my friends, I attended Our Lady of the Angels Elementary School on Rocky River Drive and hung out around Kamm's Corners. In the era after World War II we played a lot of softball on a ball diamond we made on what was then vacant land but is now the northwest section of Kamm's Plaza parking lot.
    One morning I was bragging we had some pretty good players meeting on our ball diamond and, as a result, we were invited to take on the "West 159th Street Gang." A challenge I readily agreed to.
    I use the term "gang" because many of the players lived on West 159th Street or close by.
    The last names of some of these fellows were Birt, Sammon, and Kramer but I'm not certain of the spelling after all these years. They had built a respectable ball diamond of their own on open land northwest of Five Points, where Ernadale, Granton, Tuttle, West Park Road, and West 159th all come together. The neighborhood has changed considerably but I believe the ball field may now be in the area of Saint Anthony Lane.
    So on a sultry Saturday morning my team, including brothers Johnny and Jim Kolonick, (both have passed on) jumped on our bikes and pedaled over to teach the West 159th Street Gang how to play ball – or so we thought!
    Due to the heat, we agreed to play only 5, possibly 6, innings. Besides, that was all I felt we needed to beat them.
    As the visiting team, we batted first. The game started off great. I hit a homer my first time at bat and we immediately scored several runs. Then the roof caved in!
    The 159th Street guys were slamming hits all over the field. We were dropping pop flies, failing to tag runners, and got only a few more hits.  It was a disaster. They scored at will. We couldn’t wait for the end of the game. The final score was something like five runs for us and twenty or more for them.  We had been whipped good!
    We sat around and chatted for a few minutes and then, quick as we could, hopped on our bikes and got out of there. My pals made me promise I would never again schedule a game like this. We headed off to our dairy store hangout to soothe our egos and then, to add insult to injury, I got a flat tire on Lucille Avenue and had to walk the rest of the way back. 

--- Dan Weber, Rancho Cordova, CA. 95670.  10 February 2008

Hello,

Just a couple of comments about the Rocky River Drive 'THEN' photos . . .
    Number 3792 was a small house with a long front porch, sort of a Western motif.  The south side of the house butted up against Vic Gates' gas station.  I see it is now a Shell station.  I used to use their air pump for my bicycle tires.  It also backed up to the Rini's Supermarket which was west of the gas station.
    Number 3788-3786 was an add-on building that came along much later . . . .perhaps in the late 1940s  Our family bought our first 8mm movie camera there.  Next door was the Kamm's branch of the local Post Office.
    Number 3772 was a rather run down house and at one time there were a slew of kids living there.
    Number 3758 was a lovely old home and behind it was a small house with the address of 3744. (The back house with the address of 3744 may have been behind 3740 rather than 3758.  I am just not sure.) My mother knew those folks, probably from church, and they had a daughter that was a substitute teacher at Our Lady of Angels.  Behind that house was the ravine and creek which ran west, north of Allien Avenue (where my family lived.)  In the winter time we could see the back of that house clearly.
    Number 3740 was another rather stately home.  In small towns it might be referred to as the banker's house.  I do not know who lived in any of these homes, although my parents probably did.  Following 3740 northward was a small apartment building and then Oxford Avenue.
    The Kamm's store was on the SW corner of Rocky River Drive and Lorain.  It had been a restaurant and bar for many years under various names such as "Tony's".  The right/west side of the building was a barber shop for many years and when my Dad was too busy to give me a haircut I would go there and have Mr. House cut it.  Then next to that, westbound, was Joyce's Bar which was as close to a neighbor pub as you could find around West Park.
    The northeast corner of Kamm's Corner was the Cleveland Trust building with a number of doctors and dentists on the second floor.  The window looking out over the clock (which was a late add-on) was Doctor Faus' office.  My mother worked there as a dental assistant and met my father there.  He was a patient.  She lived south on Rocky River Drive at a boarding house for girls near St Pat's and would walk or ride the streetcar/bus down to Kamms to go to work.

--- Dan Weber, Rancho Cordova, CA. 95670.  12 June 2006

A place I remember very well is Leader Drug Store located at Kamm's Corner.  I worked there as a stock boy, helped at the soda bar and delivered drugs for Mr. Harold Resnick.  I always laugh now as I look back and compare how far we have come.  I would sometimes deliver up to 20 different drug prescriptions that contained who knows what, and I was only 17 years old.  Helping out at the soda bar was always fun, making sodas, banana splits and helping to grill hamburgers for the lady who was in charge.  I remember scrubbing the grill with I believe it was a soap stone after heating it up and pouring water on it.
    My wife and I used to bowl at Olympic recreation.  My wife was an excellent bowler and was on a bowling team at John Marshall called the "Ten Pins".  Mr. Barthelman ran the bowling center which, if memory serves me right, had only 12 lanes.  The "Ten Pins" represented Olympic Recreation in the City Bowling Tourney one year and won.  I still have a picture of my wife taken at the tourney which appeared in the newspaper.
    Kamm's Corner was always a great area to hang out.  Many places to eat and such.  As a matter of fact I played on the muny football team called the Kamms Corner Merchants.  It was a 125 pound weight limit league, bantam weight, and I was selected to the 2nd team all star team at the quarterback position. Great memories. I really enjoy thinking back to a time that was so important to all of us when things were more innocent.

 --- Lou Diamond, Garland, TX. 4 March 2007

I have many many fond memories of...

+ Kamm's corners
+ Our Lady of Angels School and church
+ Taking the bus to the rapid transit station with a group of friends, then to the baseball stadium to use the free baseball tickets that the Cleveland Plain Dealer gave to "A" students.  I was 8 through 11 years old!
+ "Down in the Valley"
+ Cutting through Alger Cemetery on my bike to go to the library
+ Royal Castle's cheap, great hamburgers and birch beer
+ "Kaiser's" Store, near the Fariview Hospital.  Actually, it was a liquor store that sold candy.  Run in the early '60's by Mrs. Kaiser, later by Alvin.  We went there every day, if we could scrape up a few pennies for Jawbreakers, licorice, gum or a nickel for a candy bar.
+ Eddie the crossing guard  (See also 1, 3)
(A newspaper article appeared in the Cleveland Press or the Plain Dealer circa spring 1966.  There was a photograph of Eddie the crossing guard with four girls.  I was sitting on his lap!  Four OLA sixth grade girls took up a collection for our favorite Kamm's Corner's policeman and crossing guard, Eddie, when he retired.  We collected $20.25!)
The article stated that Traffic Patrolman Ed Trsek had been a member of the Cleveland Police Department for 41 years when he retired circa 1966. Since 1939, he had been assigned to West Side traffic, particularly Kamms Corners. He had escorted two generations of school children across the intersection at Lorain Avenue and Rocky River Drive. Four sixth-grade pupils of Our Lady of Angels School initiated a fund drive for a gift certificate for "Eddie the crossing guard." Patrolman Trsek, a Strongsville resident, was presented a $21.25 gift certificate at the school.

    From birth to 1959 I lived on Westport Ave, near Brysdale St.  I noticed that street is now gone!  I lived at 17231 Bradgate Avenue from 1959 to May 3, 1966, when we moved to California.  (Click for photo. May, 1989.)

--- Joan Gulling Kolb. Whittier, CA. 5 March 2007

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Rocky River Drive - Then & Now

The Salem Dental Laboratory (3873 Rocky River Dr.) used to be a Convenient Food Mart. I stopped here almost everyday on the way home from school. I remember comics were 60 cents and candy bars were 40 cents. A dollar would be enough to get something worthwhile. This was the first store I was allowed to go to alone on my bike. I was about 11.
    Now there's a Papa John's Pizza on the corner of Lorain and Rocky River Drive. Something else was there first (bowling alley?) but it burned down. I remember the black streaks on the wall which is now covered by a mural. Later there was an empty lot with a big hole in the ground which I always wanted to look at but my mom wouldn't let me get close. It became a Dunkin Donuts by the time I was in high school. I went to a father-daughter dance in my freshman year (1986) and stopped there for donuts. When it first opened they had a guy dressed in a donut costume dancing in the parking lot handing out coffee and donut coupons. He was in a foam rubber suit in 90 degrees plus!
    Tops in Kamm's Plaza used to be Pick-N-Pay. I remember being little enough to fit in the seat on the shopping cart. Mom would stop at the spinner rack of Little Golden Books and get me something to read so I'd stay quiet while she shopped.
    I was highly annoyed when the Riverside Theater closed to build a drugstore. That's where I'd seen RETURN OF THE JEDI and Steven King's CATSEYE, the first movie I was allowed to see alone. This was also the first theater where I went on a date to see a movie. The tickets were $3.50 and popcorn was $1.75 so five dollars was almost enough for a movie and a snack.

--- Lisa Fournier, Cleveland, OH.  28 July 2006

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Landphair Dry Goods store

My grandfather, Edwin Landphair, was originally a partner in the Landphair Dry Goods store at Kamm's Corners with my great-uncle William Landphair. I recall going into the store with my Aunt Millie and her buying me Buster Brown socks."

--- Barb McGilvray Fischer, Toledo, OH. 20 August 2007

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Lorain Avenue in the West 120's area

I can tell you a lot about the before of the pics on Lorain Avenue, W. 130th, etc. since I was born and raised at 3465 W. 129th.  I worked for Bill Mather at the car lot and the West Park Lanes was owned by Johnny Klares once BPA's doubles champion, Lunte Drug made some great Malts, and the grocery store on the corner across from Lunte was owned by Al Capp.  Lloydas cafe made some darn good hamburgers and had the first projection TV which folded up to news paper size.  You forgot the old A&P between 126 and 127th., south side.  I could keep going and tell you about all from W. 116th. (Lyric Theater) all the way to almost Kamms corners on Lorain.  I remember the night before I left for the USMC (1957 Sept.) there was a tavern called the 123 Bar on the north side of Lorain Avenue where the bikers hung out.  That night they had all the units lined up outside and they kind of were leaning, well I helped them out and slightly pushed them over just like dominos.  Needless to say they were P___ed!!!

--- Alan Toth, near Crestview, OH

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Lorain Avenue

Marquard House     Go to Marquard House page

Martin Jewelry Store

I remember a Santa Claus figure that used to sit in the window during the Christmas season at Martin Jewelry near the Riverside Theater. (Martin Jewelry, 17021 Lorain Avenue.)  He was a mechanical figure that would play music while he rocked back and forth. He had a red velvet suit and a long white beard. He was gorgeous.

---  Barb McGilvray Fischer, Toledo, OH.  20 August 2007

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The Orange Hut

The Orange Hut was a great place! The best soft serve ice cream in town. They had 10, 15 and 25 cent cones - the 25 cent cones were HUGE. The Orange Hut had a walk-up window on the right front when you were facing it and a water fountain to the immediate left. There was also a diner inside with a counter and booths, although I almost never went in there.

---  Nicolas D'Amico, Cleveland, OH.  02 January 2010

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Ortli's Market on West 130th Street

Your Now & Then photos of Ortli's Market on West 130^th answered my question - (what ever happened to the building?), and jogged my memory as well.
    A year or two after your circa 1961 photo was taken, I purchased my first pack of baseball cards inside. The outside of Ortli's was two-toned green, as I recall. It was a common paint scheme for the time: light green with dark green around the entrance and windows. I remember the glass candy counter inside, and the nice lady who waited on us.
    It was the early 1960s , and I was about five years old. I was familiar with the neighborhood because I attended kindergarten at Nathaniel Hawthorne School on West 130th Street. My buddy Timmy Gallagher, who was a few years older than I, walked with me the ten blocks down Linnet Avenue from our homes on West 120th Street. Along the way Timmy explained to me how my nickel would buy a pack of cards, and how Timmy would receive the piece of bubble gum in the deal. He could have it - that pink rectangular flat piece of gum turned out to be so dry and hard it would crack apart in your mouth!
    I distinctly remember that first pack of five cards: No Cleveland Indians players but there was an outfielder from the Milwaukee Braves that Timmy had heard of. The player's name was Hank Aaron.

--- Peter D. Zwick, Columbia Station, OH. 05 August 2010

I have a nice memory of Ortli's candy store. My older sister used to walk me to a barber shop on West 127th and Lorain for an 85 cent haircut. Afterward, we'd walk down 130th and stop at the Ortli's to blow the remaining 15 cents. If we decided to get ice cream instead, we'd walk down to the Dairy Dell at the corner of West Avenue and 130th. My favorite was a two scooper, one lime and one orange sherbet.

--- David Shepley, Brunswick OH.  30 May 2008

We had a small candy store across from Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary on W 130th. It was called Ortli's.  I can remember some of the kids going there during lunch or after school to buy candy.  But I didn't have any money to spend on that kind of stuff so I would just go in with my friends and look at the candy in the display cases.  Mrs. Ortli was up in years back then. I can still see her face, a stern, no-nonsense woman with wire rimmed glasses. The counter was to the right as you walked in the door. The house still stands but there is no store there now.

--- John Papay, North Royalton, OH.  31 March 2007

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Ortli's Market on West 130th Street

Post Office at West 132nd and Lorain Rd.

I'm sorry to see some of these old places go. One building I really liked was the post office at West 132nd and Lorain Rd. My dad (Bill Cremati) worked there. Back then the mail men would take the bus to their routes and then work out of boxes that would have all their mail for the day - which they had sorted and cased that morning.  The mail was delivered to them by another driver. Some of the carriers would take their cars but that was a big No-No! It was a lot easier to do that than carry their full mail sack to the route. I guess they finally figured out the cost of the bus, time getting there, the other driver drop-offs, then coming back to the station, would pay for the vehicles they now drive. Today of course they all have there own mini-trucks!

--- John Cremati, Cleveland, OH.  April 2006

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Puritas Avenue and Rocky River Drive area

I grew up on Puritas Springs Rd. and used to go to the Park all the time. All my friends in the neighborhood and myself would go to the roller rink on Saturdays and rent skates and have a ball. The time period was between 1955 and 1958. We were just around seven years old but we would spend our time hiking all over Metropolitan Park and fishing in Rocky River. It was a great place to grow up. Sometimes we would ride our bikes down Grayton Rd. which was dirt and gravel at the time, and watch the planes take off and land at the airport. Too much fun!! I went to Puritas Springs Elementary School. At the corner of Rocky River Drive and Puritas Rd. was a little store called "Frankies" where we got our supply of wax lips, teeth, and licorice!! I loved it!!

--- James Martin, Morongo Valley, CA.  7 March 2009

I was born on West 127th Street on April 10, 1917. My folks moved to Fairview Park when I was there months old. My older sister, Eileen, and I used to go to Puritas Springs to roller skate. We'd walk through the valley from our home and climb up the side of the hill to the park.
    We were walking through the park one Sunday at the time the Cyclone roller coaster was getting ready to open. I was about 11 years old. My sister was older. They were hollering for volunteers to ride it. My sister and I went on. There were about ten of us riding altogether. The Cyclone went up the first hill and stopped. The brakes went on for some reason. We all had to get out and walk down the catwalk along the track.
    The Cyclone didn't open that Sunday but, I think, on the following Sunday. (The Cyclone opened in 1928.) It was a month after that I rode the Cyclone all the way through. It was alright but I liked the Flying Turns at Euclid Beach better.
    I don't recall buying food at Puritas Springs too much. Ice cream sometimes. We used to take our own food when we went on picnics.  They used to have a little ice house right where you went it and you could buy ice. There was a bowling alley, too. When pins got chipped, they'd just throw them down into the little ravines in the park. We used to go and pick them up. I thought Puritas Springs was a great place and had a lot of fun there.

--- Lewis H. Clark, Cleveland, OH.  9 October 2007

We lived right on Puritas Avenue. At night if we had the windows open we could hear Jungle Larry's lions roaring. We could hear the Cyclone going along the track, too.
    We were at Puritas Springs one time and got on the butterfly ride, and it went on and on. The poor little old gent that ran it sat down and had a stroke I think. We were on that ride about 20 minutes.

--- Nancy Clark Resendiz, Cleveland, OH.  9 October 2007

I follow your recent additions to westparkhistory.com with interest. I remember riding streetcars along Lorain and some of the buildings you picture. As you have worked your way to Kamm's Corners and then down Rocky River Drive, you are getting close to home. The intersection of Puritas and Rocky River is ever so familiar for me - beginning in February 1940. I lived on Flamingo Ave. and crossed this intersection for seven years on my way to Puritas Elementary school. I see there are many changes.
    Puritas, of course, was a two-lane street then and housing did not exist much beyond St. Patrick's Church to the west. This intersection had a stoplight, and a church cemetery on the northeast corner, but the other three corner lots were empty, except perhaps for a billboard or two.
    Frankie's Delicatessen existed but I do not remember the name. It was unusual to go up steps into the store, and as I remember, it was a very small neighborhood grocery, the forerunner of a convenience store. Often, on the way to school or the way home, a schoolmate by the name of Ron Thrasher and I would stop in the store and buy a two-pack of cupcakes (Hostess maybe) to share. I think they were a nickel.
    As I mentioned, Discount Tile Mart didn't exist, neither did the Gulf station, and the other corner lot was empty too. I think Kroger's built a store there. Now it is a Discount Drug Store, or was, when I went there for my father in the late 1990's.
    Homes were few along Puritas from Rocky River to Puritas Springs Park. Puritas was narrow and had dirt paths meandering into fields and even a dump to the north of the street. I wonder if those homeowners realize what exists beneath their home sites.
    Flamingo Avenue to the west of Rocky River Drive was a dirt path until the building boom following World War II. My father pointed out, probably in the 40's, a vaguely visible right-of-way along the western berm of Rocky River Drive heading south where there were signs of the old interurban railway that went to Berea. This evidence disappeared with the widening of Rocky River Drive and the developments that took place to the west.
    There was a street-car turn-around loop and terminal just to the north of St. Patrick's. Streetcars also used to turn around at Kamm's Corners but the extension south, down Rocky River to Puritas, occurred within my memory.
    Probably in 1946 or 47, I was handed a wooden pole, with a cloth "STOP" sign attached, and did my duty to assist the crossing guard at this intersection when school started and ended.
    I think Kim's hardware was a grocery in the 1940's, larger than the one near the corner of Rocky River and Puritas (Frankie's). My mother gave me a grocery list and cash (and meat tokens during WW II) and I would ride my bike there to shop.

--- Henry Kieffer, Lore City, OH. 7 April 2007.

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Rocky River Drive

Puritas Plaza

My family moved from Ohio City to Thornhope Road off Puritas Avenue in 1955, so I remember when Puritas Plaza at West 140th first opened. Right next to the W. T. Grant store was Crown Shoes, the first self-serve shoe store I had ever seen. Then Young's Jewelers, which is still there. Then there was Joanne's Beauty Parlor, A&P Supermarket, and Franklin's Ice Cream. I went to Ascension grade school right across the street. We girls would go to Franklin's after school and look at the teenagers in there with awe

--- Peggy Rieger Wagner, North Olmsted, OH. 26 January 2010

I remember the first stores in the shopping center at Puritas and West 140th. I recall when W. T. Grant's opened there in the early 1960s. They had a clown, balloons, and a piano player.
     The property where Puritas Plaza shopping center was built used to be the Peterjohn Farm. They had at least two houses on the property, both now gone.
     I also used to go to Jay Drug at the same shopping center. They had a fascinating section with rather bizarre jokes and novelties. For instance, they sold fake ears, noses, and thumbs sealed in plastic jars in some kind of green liquid. They were meant to look like medical specimens. When I was a little boy I was thrilled to find them on sale locally because until then I'd only seen them in the advertising section of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine. I pleaded with my mom to buy me the ear, which she finally did. It sat on a window sill in my bedroom for years.
     In about 1961 a very unusual attraction set up for a few weeks in the Puritas Plaza parking lot. It was billed as a "petrified man." You paid a small entrance fee and walked through a trailer. Lying upon a slab in the trailer, under glass I think, was what appeared to be a man made of stone. He had a gash visible on his forehead which was believed to be the cause of the man's death.
     I recall asking my science teacher at Garfield School, Mr. McCann, if he had seen the petrified man. He kind of laughed at me and said a man would decay before he would petrify. I don't know if that's accurate or not but I've never forgotten looking at the petrified man.

--- Gary Swilik, Cleveland, OH.  9 March 2008

My family moved to West 135th and Puritas back in 1961 from West 58th and Bridge Avenue neighborhood. I can still smell how fresh the air smelled back then. It felt like we were moving out to the country.
     I have fond memories of Baker’s Bakery in the shopping center at Puritas and West 140th. It would smell so good to go inside the bakery. They had the best Date Nut Cake that I ever had in my life time. I have never ever had one since. On special occasions, that was where we went. I do hope they are still in business.
     I remember the W.T. Grant store well, too. They had a Neanderthal man in a case on display out on their sidewalk.  It must have been in the early 1960s too, Maybe 1964? He was a stone man on display. It was unforgettable.

--- Louise McLaughlin, St. Cloud, FL.  8 March 2008

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Radke Delicatessen

My very first job was at Radtke's Delicatessen. I was attending a Catholic Business High School which required tuition, books and uniforms. In other words, at 16, I was old enough to earn my keep and learn the value of a dollar.. so my parents informed me.
    What? I asked ... Where? I asked ... "Look around ... apply in the neighborhood" was their response.
    We had shopped at Radtke's for years, not for major items but for fresh sandwich meat, bread, milk and the occasional item we discovered we were out of and needed for dinner ... and, oh yes, the ÒpennyÓ pretzels which were part and parcel of Radtke's.
    I talked an idea over with a friend of mine who was in the same boat. We knew the current cashier at Radtke's would soon be graduating from our high school so the two of us decided to apply for her position together. Mr. Radtke and Harold Radtke interviewed us and said they would consider our concept of splitting the job. Shortly thereafter we were both hired and hours were set. We could work alternate shifts during the week (6 - 11 pm) as well as alternate shifts on Saturday and Sunday (1-6 pm or 6-11 pm.) Which nights/weekends to work was up to us as long as one of us was there. Who said job sharing was a new thing? The Radtkes were ahead of their time!
    Here I learned everything about a grocery store on a small scale. I ran the register, bagged groceries, was in charge of penny candy, sliced sandwich meat to the customer's liking when Bob (Mr. Radtke's son-in-law) and/or Harold (Mr. Radtke's son) were out back taking deliveries, priced merchandise, stocked shelves, checked the produce to see that it was always freshly displayed, occasionally swept floors before closing and balanced out the register after the store was closed. Harold Radtke would be there at closing to see that we were safely headed for home.
    Radtke's was a place where an honest day's work was rewarded with an honest day's pay (50¢ an hour to $1.00 an hour in two years). I had good people to work for and good people to work with. Perhaps Radtke's was an omen of things to come? Perhaps my work ethic was established at Radtke's, If so, it has served me well.
    Radtke's is no longer there. It became expendable. Delicatessens became large grocery stores, which became Super-Stores, and neighbors changed their daily shopping routines to weekly shopping routines. Another sign of the times.

--- Fran Hendren, Toledo, OH. 17 February 2010

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Radke Delicatessen
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Reliable Drug

Reliable Drug was originally on the other side of West 134th. The later location, across from St. Vincent DePaul, was Fisher Foods before it was Reliable.
    Reliable had the best vanilla milk shakes at the old drug store in the whole world!
    A lady named Irene, short, dark-haired made them.  Then, when they moved to the new bldg., a Jewish fellow from the east side, Morrie Strauss, took over the huge soda fountain area.  I won a half-gallon of ice cream in an opening drawing. They forgot to take my name off, so I went back again!  Morrie served a super size sundae in a Pyrex casserole dish for $2.50 If you could finish it, you got another one free! What days those were! Brings a tear to my eye!
    There were two brothers owned Reliable, Albert and Charles Ruxin.  Albert could be grumpy but Charlie was a pretty good guy.

--- Jon Dolfurd, John Marshall High School, Class of 1957, Longs, SC.  6 March 2006

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The Riverside Theatre

Hello,
     Great website!  I grew up in the West Park area and worked at the Riverside Theatre for many years, roughly from 1974 to the early 1980s.  Loews purchased the Riverside from Community Circuit Theatres which was owned by Burt Lefkowich.  At the time Bill Helaney worked for Lefkowich.  I left the Riverside and managed the Berea Theatre and then the Loews West Theatre in Rocky River.  Helaney worked in the theatre circuit for many years.
     At the Riverside I was also the marquee changer.  I would set up the new movie letters on Thursday night for the Friday opening.  In fact, the picture on your site shows the "Omen II" on the marquee which was was set by me. Inside the "letter room" were many scraps of paper, left there by me, of letter lists.  I would cross off letters already on the marquee so I would not carry out duplicates.  I would spell out our next movie and, if space allowed, the star's name.
     There is a statement on your Memories page about the Riverside where it is mentioned that the light in the side alley was always burnt out.  It was not.  It was turned out or broken all the time by kids so they could sneak in the side door.  A friend inside the theatre would open the door for them and the light would shine in, which we would see from the top of the aisle.  So if the bulb was out at night this would aid them.
     I saw many movies at the Riverside.  It was a great place to work and many great people worked there.  I miss those times.  We had Mel Brook's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at the theatre in 1974, and if filled the place, even the balcony.  The laughter was so great it would shake the balcony and we were sold out for four straight weeks.  I may have some pictures.  If I find them I will send them.  Thanks again for a nice website.

--- George B. Dameron, Olmsted Township, OH.  6 April 2010

  I had some involvement with the Riverside Theater when Loews operated it and later when Bill Helaney took over and ran it as a $3 discount theater. I believe Norm Barr of General Theaters had some dealing with it as well. Norm Barr might have been partners with Bill Helaney but I do not remember. I believe Bill Helaney was in charge when the theater was sold and then closed. It is a shame Bill Helaney was not able to make it work. Those old Theaters were so grand! I loved them!
    I remember there was an art deco style "penny scale" in one of the bathrooms at the Riverside. These scales, the kind where you put in a penny to learn your weight, were common during the 1930s to the 1950s. The scale was eventually stored behind the stage, probably because it was no longer accurate. Later the scale was given to me and I tried unsuccessfully to fix it. I ended up selling it.
    I’m sure the air conditioning in the theater was once a major draw. The AC compressor room was located in the back of the building. It was forever breaking down and was a major expense to maintain and operate. One of the two open compressors was replaced under my watch.
    There was a large water cooling tower behind the building that was in need of serious repair. There was a huge blower in an upper room behind the screen that was only accessible by climbing a ladder attached to the wall. The room was at ceiling level as the ventilation duct work system went thru the ceiling. The blower motor went bad and it was a real chore hoisting a motor up into that little room. The motor was about the size of a car engine. The equipment was probably as old as the theater and may have been one of the reasons Loews gave it up after their lease expired.
    The neon marquee was also a major expense. Much of the fabricated metal was rusted some thru in parts. I scraped and painted the underside of the marquee one year and tried to get all the neon and incandescent lights working, as many were shorted out on the lower section. The vertical neon tower was a different story as a crane lift had to be brought in to install the neon tubing, but after replacing some of the large transformers I got most of it going. So with out any major expense it looked pretty nice and most of it ran.
    In the neon room located behind the marquee there was a metal basket with balls in it. Apparently this was once used for bingo. The electrical system in that room was in terrible condition. It would cause different portions of the neon marquee to blink. Wires were arcing, and sparks flying! I am surprised no fire had taken place.

--- John Cremati, Cleveland, OH.  23 March 2010

 

I well recall the Riverside Theater and the alley that ran next to it. One Sunday afternoon in the summer, two of my friends, John and Jim (both now deceased) and I were grounded for some reason. The three of us badly wanted to see the film showing at the Riverside. We wandered up there and read all the posters and were very upset we would miss the film.
    We then walked south through the alley and found several bricks stacked up for some repair work. One thing led to another and we decided we would throw a couple of bricks at the huge metal door in the alley, and scare everyone in the theater including our buddies. Then we would run like the devil for Alger Cemetery. I guess we thought we could hide among the tombstones.
    Well, as luck would have it, there just happened to be a couple of ushers standing inside the theater by that door. They were out of there in a flash and we three took off with the ushers in hot pursuit.
    The youngest in our group, Jim, was caught in the cemetery and taken to the manager's office. His brother and I escaped. The manager knew Jim and his parents, who were neighbors, so he got a good chewing out and probably further grounding.
    Our friends in the theater told us later that a huge "boom" echoed in the theater, scaring many of the patrons. Jim's brother and I stayed away from the theater for a long time after that.
    We kids were not vandals and none of us in the neighborhood ever had any problems with the police. This was a one of a kind action that just suddenly presented itself to us.

--- Dan Weber, Rancho Cordova, CA.  24 May 2009

 

 I have fond memories of the Riverside Theater and hated to see it go.  I saw a lot of monster movie matinees there in the 1950s and early 60s.  I recall seeing HORROR OF DRACULA with my sister in 1958 and GOLDFINGER in 1964.
    Remember those little balconies at the side of the theater with regular chairs in them instead of theater seats? They weren't really balconies, more like little theater boxes.  They were not far above the other seats, just separate.  I've recently learned some kids called them "boats." If you were lucky enough to occupy one, you rearranged the chairs, put your feet up, and had a private seating area just to yourself.  The chairs were literally like something you'd have at a kitchen table.
    The drinking fountain had a softly lit glass panel on the wall over it.  There were fish and seaweed etched or painted on different levels of the glass which gave a three-dimensional impression.  I thought it was the coolest thing and wanted one in my house!
    The Men's Room was in the basement with curving, carpeted stairs going down to it.  We used to push each other down the stairs because the soft, thick carpet would cushion your fall and make it fun.

--- Gary Swilik, Cleveland, OH.  28 December 2007

 Another Kamm's Corners institution I miss is the ornate, art deco-era Riverside Theatre, now unfortunately the site of yet another Walgreen's.  I understand the old-time movie theaters no longer make financial sense for the operators but I hate that all we have left of most of them are faded pictures and memories.
    I thought the balcony had the best seats in the house!  We used to both throw, and get hit by, flying boxes of Raisinets, Sour Balls, Goobers and Milk Duds from that balcony.  I forgot about the men's room being downstairs, that's right.  I also remember a drinking fountain with a little light over it.  In my memory the Riverside was always pretty dark, almost spooky.  But it was cool, wasn't it? My kids can't believe it when I tell them my parents used to get rid of us for a whole Sunday afternoon at just 50 cents a head:  a quarter for admission, 15 cents for candy, and 10 cents for popcorn.  The bargain was even greater as that got us a double feature, a news reel, and a cartoon!
   One of the last features I saw was BYE BY BIRDIE which I still love to this day.  Funny thing but I now live about three blocks north of the house where Bobby Rydell (Hugo, in the movie) grew up.  South Philly but it is the birthplace of many pop stars from that era:  Chubby Checker, Fabian, James Darren, Frankie Avalon.  

--- Josephine (Curella) Cardillo, Philadelphia, PA.  28 December 2007

 The Riverside Theater was taken over by a man named Bill Helaney who at one time was manager of that theater for Lowe's.  He ran the theater as an independent until it was forced to close because of the property being redeveloped.  It was Bill's life's dream to run his own theater and he finally accomplished it.  He sold the tickets, ushered, sold candy, made popcorn and did what ever it took to make it.  He operated it as a second-run, $3-admission, independent movie theater.  You should really try to look up Bill Helaney if he is still around.  I am sure he would have some great pictures as he was quite the promoter.  I think he went way-back as a theater manager in the area.  (Note: Several attempts to make contact with William Helaney have not been successful.)

--- John Cremati, Cleveland, OH,  23 April 2006

 I like the website. For a long time I'd been searching online for photos of the old Riverside Theater on Lorain, which closed only a dozen years ago but holds many memories for me. I was born in 1971 and too young to have ever gone to the little theater that used to be in Kamm's Plaza (World West) -- The) Riverside was our theater--that was THE place where OLA kids would sneak into slasher horror movies.  Otherwise, parents would have to drive us to Loews West at Rockport.

--- Pete Roche, Cleveland, OH.  28 September 2006

More Riverside Memories

Riverside Theater

Rocky River Drive

The Rocky River Drive portion of your website is a trip down memory lane!  You have a picture of the Colbrunn Medical Building.  I certainly remember that place.  Cyril J. Caldwell, who is listed as a dentist, was in fact an orthodontist.  (My mother went to work at W.T. Grants to pay for my braces, costing $900.00 in 1961).  I went to John Marshall High with his son, Cyril Junior.  His mother would drive him to school in her Avanti.
    I mentioned I played for the Valley View merchants and there were pictures of the Valley View Market area!  We had Riverview Pharmacy, Huntley Hardware, and Martens Funeral Home on the back of our shirts.
    Having lived on Rockland Avenue, I certainly remember the Charles Wood Hospital.  I used to play inside it when it was empty before it became a hospital.  I could tell some sad stories about what went on in there.
    I don't remember Wilton Drug, we always called it Homeway Drug.  My dad and I would meet my tipsy aunt at Haburt's Bar every once in a while.  And Topps Beverage was where you could buy "Little Tom's" soda, cheap stuff in tiny 6 ounce bottles, 24 in a wooden crate.
    There was a gas station called Seeger's Service just north of St. Patrick's on the east side of Rocky Drive.  And in the Valley View area was a shoe repair place called "Guardios" also on the east side of the road.  That was back in the days when you got new heels and soles put on your shoes, instead of just throwing them away and getting a new pair.

--- Doug Viant, Galloway, OH.  6 March 2009

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Rocky River Drive

Royal Castle

I recall riding bikes from home next to JMH (John Marshall High School), to the Castle on 140 and Triskett.   There was a colorful character who worked behind the counter, maybe in his twenties, and undeniably from the deep south.   He had a very pronounced southern accent, and the usual order we placed was 6 royal castles and a birch beer.  He would declare in a loud booming voice to whom I have no idea,   "A BEER FOR HERE AND A SQUARE" !!  A square was 6 burgers, not  exceptionally large order for a teen.  This fellow was always referred to by us as the "Hillbilly at Royal Castle".  Not very PC these days, buy quite funny back then.  Today living in east Tennessee, we enjoy a similar chain called "Krystals".   Not unlike "White Castle" or "Royal Castle", the buildings are small and painted white, stay open very late, and serve small burgers by the "sackfull".  Close, but no cigar, or should I say no birch beer.  To have those small burgers without birch beer is like eating hot wings without draft beer.  Its just not the same!

--- Bill Chapo,  JMH.  Jan 66

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Royal Castle

Settlement School
Located on the northeast corner of West 140th Street and Puritas Avenue.  Demolished in 1978.  (Photo, Jan. 1968)

Back in the 1960s I went to 6th grade at Settlement School at the corner of West 140th and Puritas Avenue. My dad was the custodian at Ascension across the street but I think the church leased Settlement School from the Cleveland Public School system. It was always referred to as ''The Academy." I've heard it was built in 1860.
     Dad spent a lot of time getting Settlement School ready for the fall classes with painting, electrical, and plumbing repairs. I spent many days and evenings in the old school while my dad worked on stuff. I was probably the only student who thought the building was cool with tubular toilets that were always flushing, old-fashion light fixtures, and desks with ink wells.
     The old school had a different feel to it at night. During the day it was an interesting old building but, after dark, it was more like a haunted house!
     The building made lots of noises after the sun went down. The sudden bangs from the old iron radiators added to the atmosphere. My dad told me the noises were the ghosts of bad children thrown into the basement to be eaten by the rats, leaving only the bones. Dad said the nuns used the bones for firewood to heat the building and told me never to open the door to the basement. (Anyone who knew my dad would say "Yeah, that sounds like Ed.")  It was an old steel fire door with weights that automatically closed it.
     I never totally believed dad's tale but one thing for sure -- he didn't want me to open that door!
     Even so, whenever I could I would take dad's flashlight and explore the old school, always one sudden noise from jumping right out of my shoes! About two weeks later I was doing my usual exploring and ''THE DOOR'' was suddenly right in front of me.
     I stood there for a long time, feeling both excitement and terror. Being the ''Devil Child'' my decision was easy.  I put my hand on the lever, gently pushed down, and pulled slowly trying not to make any noise. The door was heavy but I got it open and shined the flashlight in. It wasn't so bad. No spider webs or piles of bones. I opened it a little more and shined the flashlight inside. Suddenly there was movement all around me and bright little eyes everywhere!
     I screamed, dropped the flashlight, backed out of the door and slammed it shut, not caring how much noise I made. I heard dad calling my name.
     ''Did you open that door?'' he yelled. "I've spent three years sealing up all the holes to keep those damn rats from getting up here and if that damn door doesn't stay shut those rats will get in the classrooms. I don't want to get called in to smash a rat in front of a classroom full of kids with a damn shovel! So just stay the hell out of there!" 
     I was disappointed it was only rats and there were no boogie men or ghosts in the basement.
     Dad also told me about the bats in the attic. I'd seen pictures of Halloween bats and was a big Batman fan but had never seen a real bat. I pestered dad until he finally took me to up to the attic one evening. It was approaching Halloween so this was going to be way cool!
     In the light of the flashlight I saw REAL bats hanging from the timbers among the spider webs and dust. Some of them took off and fluttered to the front of the building where they flew out of a hole in the roof to feed on bugs, coming back in the morning. So this really was like a haunted building!
     It was like a punch in the gut when they tore down the old Settlement School. I thought it was a historic building.

--- Larry Polinski, Appleton, Wisconsin.  27 August 2008

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Stroemple's hamburger stand

I remember Stroemple's custard and hamburger stand (on the west side of W. 140th, just north of Lakota Ave) because the milk and cream for it was first delivered by my dad, John Mokren, who had the Dairyman's route around the vicinity of John Marshall High School. The Stroemple's were home customers, too, and one of the reasons Mr. Stroemple opened was the delivery of milk products guaranteed by my dad. I always stayed in school during the lunch hour to see the movies but there was a stretch of time when I went outside instead. Needless to say, guess where I headed?

--- James Mokren, Jackson, OH.  9 June 2008

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Stroemple's/Lou's

Vee's Freeze

 

There was a small ice cream shack called Vees Freeze located right between the West 140th Street Shell gas station and the U-Haul place. It was the best! Ten-cent cones and seventy-five-cent banana splits. They also had hamburgers and other foods but ice cream was king there.

--- Bill Fleig, Conroe, TX.  02 February 2010

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Verda Brobst Elementary School
     Verda Brobst school (at West 192nd & Maplewood) and the surrounding homes were razed to create
     a buffer zone for the expansion of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
    The site now is the Verda Brobst Playfield in the Riverside Neighborhood.

My sister Vicki and I just love to stroll down "Memory Lane." The funny thing is we're way more sentimental about our Cleveland past than about the years we lived in North Olmsted. Maybe it's because Cleveland is where we spent our most innocent years before we learned that not everything is black and white. The west side of Cleveland will always hold a special place in our hearts as it really is where we spent our "wonder years."
    Some of my fondest memories occurred when I was a student at Verda Brobst Elementary School from K through 6, '57-'64. I loved that place and was heartbroken when it was torn down back in the 1990s.
    My family lived at 19007 Midvale Avenue. My younger sister Vicki and I had only a five-minute walk from our house to school. I remember going home for lunch every day, watching Captain Penny while eating, and then eagerly running back to school.
    I just hate that Verda Brobst school and that community of little bungalows north of Brookpark Road was razed for an industrial park. It was a wonderful place to live! I still have a Plain Dealer article about the eminent-domain takeover of that piece of West Park.
    Sweet Mr. Joseph DeLuca, who lived on nearby on Forestwood Avenue, was extremely chagrined to be losing his beloved home to a wrecking ball. He raised his family of eight kids in that house. Before vacating the premises he actually buried a time capsule in his backyard.
    Before they demolished our block we visited our old house which had already been burglarized, for scrap material I guess. I pulled our address sign off the front of the house and it now hangs in my walk-in closet. I also pulled a tile off the kitchen wall which I use as a coaster.

--- Josephine (Curella) Cardillo, Philadelphia, PA. 01 May 2008

My family lived at 19106 Maplewood Avenue from 1958 to 1989. Wonderful street! I went to Verda Brobst elementary school from kindergarten up to sixth grade. That was from 1963 to 1970. My brother Jim went there from 1956 to 1962.T  he school was located at 4840 West 192nd Street, west of Rocky River Drive, just north of Parkmount Avenue. It had two halves to it. The old red brick part was built in 1954. Due to us baby boomers, a modern section was added in 1961. The principal was Miss Daily and she was a dead ringer for "Aunt Bee" from Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show. A very nice lady.

    My first grade teacher was Miss Summerfield. She was twenty-two years old and drove a convertible. We used to have recess and we would always play Duck, Duck, Goose. I remember Miss Summerfield used to play with us while the other teachers leaned against their cars smoking – yes, smoking. I always admired the fact Miss Summerfield could play a mean Duck, Duck Goose in spiked heels and a knee-length skirt! Again, this was 1963.
    Verda Brobst had a playground with a large slide and monkey bars made out of heavy lead pipe. If you fell and opened up a wound, your parents would blame you for being careless, not the school. It was a different time. The swings were bright orange and made out of a combination of heavy wood and steel. If you got hit in the head with those things, it was a ride to Fairview Hospital.
    One of the best memories was on summer nights when the little league was playing in the school ball diamonds. My parents (Richard & Betty Ferrell) would run the concession stand which was an ugly cinderblock building, painted an even uglier shade of bright blue. I remember mom and dad selling Orange Crush and hot dogs while I played on the swings, looking out over the parking lot filled with cars from the 50s and 60s.
    I would swing on into the soft summer night, safe and secure in my world.

--- Scott Ferrell, Cleveland, OH.  28 May 2007

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Wagenknecht Grocers & Meats

Avenue and West 134th Street. We kids could never pronounce the name so it was lovingly referred to as "Waggies". I remember sitting on my front porch waiting for the man to roll out the awning so we would know the store was open. That store was magical, too, with beautiful woodwork everywhere and shelves from floor to ceiling. They had to use a "grabber" to reach stuff on the top shelves.
     I remember the man in the store as very tall with a belly. He never smiled. I always hoped his wife would be there when I went in. She was very nice and I remember her looking like the grandma on The Waltons. There were fresh fruits and vegetables in the window displays and mom would send me there to buy a loaf of Wonder Bread and a half gallon of milk. I remember 10 cent bags of candy, then later 25 cent bags. Mom and dad would also send us there to buy them packs of cigarettes. Then one day the man, "Mr. Waggie," said the laws had changed and he could not sell them to kids.
     We eventually moved away from the neighborhood but I went back when I was 18. I just had to go into Waggies to buy a pack of cigarettes because I was old enough then and the man couldn't tell me no! LOL! That was my last purchase there because the next year Mr. Waggie died. No more Waggies store! It was like someone in my family had died. I look at the place now, with no awning, no display windows, and it breaks my heart every time.

--- Vicki (Clevenger) Grace, Sullivan, OH.  29 October 2009

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Wagenknecht Grocers & Meats