Browse Interviews

Mary Ann Early was born in 1923 to Italian immigrant parents. Her father relocated to Cleveland for work. She describes growing up on Herman Avenue near Detroit Avenue and going to West High School. The neighborhood was predominately Italian, Irish, and Romanian at the time. She shares her remembrances of downtown Cleveland including shopping, theatres, the YWCA, and riding the streetcars. In addition, Early lists the places she worked including the Terminal Tower, the Department of Veteran's…

Zeta Swaggard was born in 1914 and migrated to Cleveland from southern Ohio during World War II. She quickly found work in a factory and found a place to live in a rooming house. Swaggard vividly describes riding the streetcars and notes their importance. She describes the atmosphere and the culture of Downtown Cleveland, including the shops, department stores, restaurants, and theatres. Swaggard notes the change in downtown as the department stores moved to the suburbs and they started to…

Rose Agnes Bastian was born in Cleveland in 1926. She grew up on Cory Avenue off of East 79th Street and later settled in Brook Park. She describes her neighborhood surroundings, going to St. Agnes Parish School, traveling around downtown on the streetcar and explains how the Depression and wars have affected her family. Bastian vividly describes what she and others did for fun while growing up in the area and compares the family dynamics of her youth to today.

Ann Nelson, who came to Cleveland in 1965, provides a fresh account of growing up on the East Side of Cleveland and her experiences as an African American woman in Cleveland. She describes changes in the urban environment over time and the racial divisions that have remained constant throughout. As a teacher, Nelson offers her opinions on the state of primary and secondary education in Ohio, as well as the lack of investment Cleveland puts into African American children.

Carol Paulik Schultheis introduces herself and gives her background information. She tells of leaving her home on a farm to come to Cleveland to study at Dyke College to become a secretary. She talks about her experiences at Dyke living in Cogswell Hall with the other out-of-towners. Carol talks about the courses she took and the friends she made. She tells of skipping class to go to the Phil Donahue show, which was broadcast from Cleveland at the time. Carol talks about the departments stores…

Oklahoma native, Marjorie M. Lamport recalls her move to Cleveland and the changes that have occurred in the last fifty years. She begins by talking about her time in Oklahoma during the Great depression. She continues by saying that her husband told her that they were moving to Cleveland because of work. Once in Cleveland, they settled in Maple Heights, until she divorced her first husband and moved to Cleveland Heights. There she lived behind what is now Severance Town Center, which she…

Leonard M. Trawick, a transplant from Alabama, describes living in Cleveland for over forty years. Trained to be an English professor, Trawick held positions at Columbia University before he came to Cleveland. He describes working at Columbia during the student unrest of the 1960s. In 1969, Trawick took a position at the newly created Cleveland State University. He relates the conditions of the school during those early years. He also has fond memories of the poetry programming that Cleveland…

Jane Gardener shares her memories of downtown Cleveland since the 1960s, including stories about shopping at downtown department stores during the holidays, trips to the Agora and sports arenas, and experiences as a student at Cleveland State University.

Terry Hogan shares childhood memories of growing up in the Kamm's Corners neighborhood, visits downtown during the holidays, showing out-of-town friends around the city, and feeling unsafe in the city today.

Ruth Ketteringham describes her personal experiences in Cleveland, focusing on holidays, shopping, and streetcars along Euclid Avenue.

Virgil E. Brown Sr., resident of Cleveland Heights, moved to Cleveland in 1929 at age twelve. Brown relates his experiences growing up during the Depression, including local schools, baseball games and the availability of part time jobs. Schools and ball teams were racially and ethnically mixed, and he does not remember much racial tension at that time. Brown discusses the changes in shopping habits; the shift from local shops and downtown stores to malls and big box stores, and the loss of…

Theresa Alessi discusses her memories of shopping downtown with her mother as a child and riding the Dinky. She also discusses swimming in the West Creek that runs through Parma, Ohio and how the area where she grew up has changed.

Ruth Graskemper recalls her experiences with downtown Cleveland during her youth and how great it was to be in Cleveland at this time. In detail, she discusses Vaudeville at Playhouse Square, Christmas shopping, and how the downtown has changed.

Anne Forgas discusse various aspects of downtown Cleveland including the Alpine Village, shopping for the Christmas season, and the decline of Euclid Avenue as a destination for shopping.

A longtime resident of the near west side of Cleveland, Stella Gloch discusses her youth and employment in Cleveland. A longtime department store employee, Gloch observed many of the changes that Cleveland underwent from the 1960s. Gloch details memories of her neighborhood while criticizing the rapid changes taking place in Cleveland.