Browse Interviews

Jim Neville has lived in Shaker Heights since 1970 and works for an architectural firm in the city. He talks about the Shaker Heights board of Architectural Review. He, as of 2012, was still serving on the board. He discusses how the board works, the standards they aim to keep in Shaker, and the value of the architecture. He also talks about the challenges of building sympathetic additions, even to his own historic home.

Robert O'Neal is the chief probation officer in Shaker Heights at the time of this interview. He was born in the Glenville area and moved to Shaker Heights when he was in the fifth grade. He went to school in Shaker, graduating from Shaker Heights High School. After high school he went to Morehouse College in Atlanta. While in college he worked on the campaign of Maynard Jackson, who became the first black mayor of Atlanta. From Atlanta he went back to Shaker for a few years then moved to Los…

Carolyn Peskin grew up in Cleveland Heights and was a dedicated student. She holds numerous graduate degrees ranging from chemistry to music therapy. She describes the integration of Shaker Heights. She briefly discusses how the role women played in society changed and developed. After having a short career as a teacher, Peskin devoted much of her adult life to the care of her children and traveling with her environmentalist husband. She touches on some of the environmental issues the Great…

Pat Pogue is an active member of the Shaker community. She was in charge of the Welcome Wagon for 37 years in Shaker Heights until 1999 when the national organization did away with their community representatives. Pogue loved welcoming newcomers so much that she began a program called the Welcome Basket where she fulfilled the same duties of the Welcome Wagon, but under a different name. She tells stories of her Welcome Wagon experiences and how the organization is an asset to the Shaker…

Walter Ratcliffe grew up in Shaker Heights and spent most of his life as a member of the Moreland community. He discusses his life growing up in Shaker playing basketball, going to parties, and his time moving around throughout the community.

In this 2012 interview, Bob Rawson talks about Shaker Heights as a child and today. His parents were both involved with Shaker Heights, and the city of Cleveland. He talks about his focus on education in the community, reflects on his childhood in Shaker Schools, and discusses what he believes to be current issues in Shaker.

Former Shaker Heights Planning Commission member, City Council Member and Mayor, Judy Rawson talks about redevelopment in Shaker Heights. She discusses the problems faced, the achievements, and the issues that still linger. She explains how the community gets involved with politics and what kind of impact that has on the outcome of public policy. She talks briefly about her work in reorganzing county government after her terms as mayor in Shaker Heights ended in 2007.

Winston Ritchie, a Shaker Heights resident, was the Vice Mayor of that city. He describes his childhood experiences and how issues of race affected him as a child. Some of these issues were faced by his children while they were going to school. While Ritchie used race a light-hearted source of humor during his campaign, he takes the integration of Shaker Heights very seriously. It was the most important issue for him during his time in office. He is proud of his efforts in Shaker Heights and of…

Norma Rodgers is a "boomerang" resident of the Cleveland area, in that she grew up in the city and moved away before returning to settle with her husband in Shaker Heights. Norma is a graduate of Hiram College and married to a retired psychologist who worked for the Cleveland Clinic. In the interview Norma discusses at length the desirability of living in Shaker, particularly its close proximity to the city's cultural areas which were vitally important to her and her family.

George Rose, originally from the Bronx in New York City, explains what it was like to live in a working-class neighborhood growing up. He vividly describes marches on Union Square and unionization. He was drafted in World War II, but he still completed college. He entered the oil industry and worked for decades at Standard Oil of Ohio in the Midland Building. He lived with his family in Shaker Heights. During the interview, the changes he observed in the neighborhood were detailed. Although born…

Miriam Rosenberg grew up in the Moreland community. She shares stories about being involved in Dr. Spock's program, the close friendships she made living in the neighborhood, and attending the Moreland schools.

Helen Schreiber has been a member of the Village Garden Club since about 1970. She discusses immigrating to the U.S. from Germany in the 1940s with her Ukrainian parents, living in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood through high school, and returning after college to live in Shaker Heights. Schreiber describes her experience teaching flower arranging classes and her service in several positions in the garden club.

James Schuerger describes how he and his wife came to live at Shaker Towers and relates stories of how the Towers and neighborhood have impacted their lives.

Charles Schulman of Carlyle Management describes the history and operations of Shaker Towers, including the the initial condominium conversion, property management, as well as his family's residence in the building across several generations.

Mary Webb Scibana talks about her experience moving to Shaker in the late 1960s. She and her husband lived in the Lomond Neighborhood. She relates her experiences in buying the Moses Warren house and its history. Her husband at that time, Tom Webb, was on city council and was influential in getting streets blocked. Mary was assistant to Mayor Stephen Alfred and first female president of the Shaker Heights Historical Society among many other positions she held in the community. She covers race…

Barbara Shockey, a member of Village Garden Club since 1992, moved from South Bend, Indiana, to Cleveland Heights in the late 1950s. She discusses her careers in teaching and real estate, offices held in the garden club, and her work to research the club’s history in preparation for its 85th anniversary in 2015. Shockey provides a summary of this history from its founding, including extensive commentary on the Shaker Lakes freeway fight in the 1960s, as well as on the Horseshoe Lake dam…

Billie Smith of Shaker Lakes Nature Center describes her involvement with the Center, providing details on the history of the Center, recreation and public events, staff development, and educational programming. Smith also discusses the "Red Raider" campground (near Chagrin Falls, Ohio), which was started by her husband Ralston Fox Smith in 1933 as part of a teaching program at Shaker Heights' Malvern School. Actor Paul Newman, a Shaker Heights native, is also mentioned for having attended the…

In this 2012 interview, Shelley Stokes-Hammond speaks about growing up in the city of Cleveland and then transitioning to the ever growing diverse community of Ludlow. She speaks about her lack of knowledge of racial aggression as a child, and the peaceful community she was raised in. She briefly discusses the attitude and tensions in the early days of the Ludlow integration, and the African-American response to the integrated housing plan put forth by the Ludlow Community Organization. The Van…

In this 2012 interview, Annette Sutherland describes her childhood living in Shaker Heights. Being one of the first students to volunteer to integrate Moreland School in Shaker in 1971, she grew up with a very open mind. She tells stories of activities she did as a child, involving Horseshoe Lake, Thornton Park, and Shaker Square, among others. As the current president of the school board, the importance of education, diversity, and tolerance are many recurring themes in her talk. She finishes…

James Toman is a photographer and author who has written two books on the Shaker Rapid system. An authority on the subject, Toman continues to give talks and present slide shows on the Shaker line and owns a vast personal collection of around 2000 photographs that he has taken of the trains since the 1970s. In this interview Toman relates the history of the Shaker Rapid from its origins as a capital venture on the part of the Van Sweringen brothers all the way up to the present, relating stories…

Kathleen Tripp grew up in Connecticut and moved to the Cleveland area in the 1970s. She and her husband lived in a farmhouse on Case Western Reserve University’s Squire Valleevue Farm in Moreland Hills and then spent time living in the Netherlands and traveling in Europe before moving to Cleveland Heights in 2002. In the following year she joined the Village Garden Club. She describes club activities including during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21, the club’s admission of its first male…

In this 2012 interview, Thelma Tucker describes her childhood live experiences that will eventually lead her the Shaker community. Originally raised in New York City, she was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants who valued education at a young age. She describes the racial discrimination she witnessed as a child, and how her Scandinavian background always viewed race as a non-issue. Working in Ghana after marriage, she then attended church before making her way to Shaker in the 1960s. She goes…

Croatian Native and longtime Clevelander, Sonja Unger describes her time in Cleveland. She begins by discussing how she volunteered to help accommodate newly arrived immigrants. She relates several interesting stories about various immigrants she encountered along the way. She then describes her political involvement in two arenas. The first being Civil Rights, which was mostly her husband's field, but she says she could not let him have all of the fun. She then talks about how she spearheaded…

Doris Vargo discusses the history of Plymouth Church, its origins in Shaker Heights, and her own personal experiences with the church. This includes the church's community invovlement in Shaker Heights and its progressive beliefs. Vargo also discusses housing in Shaker Heights.

Kristina Walter, an art educator, recollects her early life and how her faith has shaped her experience living in the greater Cleveland area. Walter notes the importance of religion and social justice throughout her education, which led her to join Cleveland's Catholic Worker Movement.

Annabelle Weiss is a long-time resident of Shaker Heights, having been drawn to the area primarily because of the reputation of the school district. In this interview Weiss speaks extensively about school and residential integration in Sussex and Ludlow, describing who the people were that led the push to integrate, reactions of the communities both inside and outside the neighborhood, and organizations established to ease the tensions that existed at the time.

Diana Wellman worked as a preservationist in Cleveland for 12 years and was asked to work on a project to get Inglewood on the National Register for Historic Neighborhoods. She talks about the highs and the lows, as well as, the surprises that she found along the way. She first gives a brief history and an overview of the landscape of the neighborhood. She discusses various architectural cues and where she got her information from. She used Sanborn Insurance maps to chart out the neighborhood,…

In this 2012 interview, Myra White talks about moving into the Ludlow neighborhood of Shaker Heights specifically because it was integrated. She became involved in housing integration in Shaker Heights, worked for the city, and eventually became a realtor. White talks about housing in Shaker from the sixties to present day. She talks about the difference between neighborhoods, the challenges within each, and various successes.

In this 2006 interview, Carmel Whiting talks about growing up in Washington D.C. and segregation of the schools and businesses. She married Cleveland native Elmer Whiting and talks about their Shaker Heights residence, segregation, and racism. There is a great deal of discussion about Carl and Louis Stokes throughout the interview including their personal relationship and the Stoke’s legacy. Whiting talks about the impact of the Hough Riots and other topics such as civic education, local history…

Donna M. Whyte speaks about the importance of the education system in Shaker Heights, specifically Moreland, to her decision to move to and remain in Moreland. She also discusses the importance of community and identity in this interview.

Donna McIntyre Whyte, a Shaker Heights resident, has led a colorful life. She describes the life of her parents. Her mother was a pilot in the 1940s – a unique job for an African American woman at the time – and her uncle was a Tuskegee Airman. Whyte's parents passed a strong work ethic and a belief in the value of education on to her. Whyte describes growing up in the Mount Pleasant area and the fun she had with friends. She tells a great story about how kids would hide in the trunk of the car…

LaVera Wingfield shares the story of her family growing up in Cleveland and moving to Shaker Heights. She tells stories about her children growing up in the school district and the affection she has for her community. Wingfield is currently involved with the Neighbor Night program and discusses programs they are hosting within the community.

Diana Woodbridge grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and Shaker Heights, attended college at Miami University, and taught school for a short time in Painesville, Ohio. She discusses the struggle for fair housing in the Heights in the 1960s-70s and the formation of two key organizations: Forest Hill Housing Corporation and Heights Community Congress.

In this 2012 interview, Jennifer Mearns talks about her role as a member of the school board in Shaker Heights. She explains some of the programs offered in the school, and the advantages of living in Shaker Heights.