Browse Interviews

Wilburn Baker shares his experiences with Antioch Baptist Church including the various programs and parish leaders that have come and gone through the years.

Mary Baldwin, a marketing professional from Bedford, joined the Cleveland Hiking Club in 1985. She talks about being among the younger members of the club when she joined, special hikes including the Buckeye Trail and other hikes designed to show something of the land, friendships made and how being a member of the club has changed her perception of the city of Cleveland.

Interview with Mitchell Balk, the President of the Mt Sinai Healthcare Foundation. Balk discusses the history of Mt Sinai hospital, including the kinds of research and innovative procedures it pioneered. He also describes several philanthropic programs the hospital is involved in. Balk also touches on the challenges the healthcare system faces. He also briefly includes his impressions of Jewish history in Cleveland.

Phyliss Bambek taught at several Cleveland Catholic schools. She lived on Cleveland's West Side in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. She notes the influx of immigrants to Detroit Shoreway and the subsequent migration of Catholic parishioners to the suburbs. Bambek expresses her dissatisfaction with Bishop Lenin and the Dioceses' decree to shut down multiple parishes. Bambek, who also taught in public schools, mentions the effects of Cleveland's court-ordered busing. Finally, she describes how…

Harry Banfield grew up in Chesterland Ohio in Geauga County. He became a pastor and became involved with the City Mission as well as Youth for Christ. In 1970 he was asked to become the Mission's first full time youth director. He held that post until 1983. In this 2005 interview he discusses his work with the mission and his family's involvement with the children they worked with at the mission. He also discusses why people go to the mission and some of the work the mission does other than his…

Filmmaker, Robert C. Banks, Jr. discusses his life and career. A lifelong Clevelander, Banks attended the Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA), where he learned many of the fundamentals of art and film. Despite having spent some years pursuing higher education at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland State University, and elsewhere, Banks credits much of his film-making expertise to self-education and collegial exchanges from within the Cleveland art scene. Banks discusses his service in the…

Robert Banks, Sr. discusses growing up in Cleveland attending Antioch Baptist Church. Banks also includes his experiences serving in the Chemical Corps during World War II

Mr. Curtis Banks discusses his past and future for Kosciuszko Avenue in Cleveland Ohio. He explains what his plans are for his site and how he came to Cleveland. He discusses how and why his father came to Cleveland in the first place and what the living conditions were when he arrived. He also explains how the history and culture of the area has changed through the years and what he intends to do to make it a better place to live in the future.

Sylvia Banks joined the Cleveland Hiking Club in 1986. She has hiked more than 10,000 miles, served on the club's board and as its photo contest chairman, and enjoyed many trips, including rafting on the Colorado River and hiking in Great Britain. She also recalls memorable experiences in what later became the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Kathleen Barber of the Shaker Lakes Nature Center describes her involvement with the Center beginning with the battle to protect Shaker Lakes from highway development in the 1960s. Barber describes this activist campaign in great detail, discussing the proposed route of the highway, the role of County Commissioner Albert Porter, the strategies employed to stop the highway, and the parts played by numerous individuals and activists - particularly women, whose role, according to Barber, was very…

In this 2012 interview, Emilie Barnett describes her Shaker experience. Wife of Irving Barnett, she began getting involved with the Ludlow Community Association from the very beginning, collaborating with notable Ludlow activists like Drew and Fran King. She describes the neighborhood dinners and meetings that predated the LCA, which eventually became the foundation for the Ludlow integration movement. She tells stories of the many events and fundraisers that occurred in Ludlow and in Shaker as…

Russell Baron grew up in Glenville before moving to Cleveland Heights. His father owned a haberdashery, a men's clothing store, where Baron worked during high school and college. Baron became a lawyer and worked in his father-in-law's practice before starting his own law practice. He was a member of the Cleveland Heights Board of Education and later, the Planning Commission. While in city governent, Baron worked to integrate the Cleveland Heights schools despite the protests of some residents.…

John Barr, first owner of Nighttown, speaks of his experiences there. He describes the difficult beginnings that the bar had, but that they persevered and eventually made it to where they are now. Barr describes the building and how its changed over the years. He also talks about how the neighborhood went from near collapse to bustling and thriving. He concludes the piece by talking about the various articles, trinkets, and knick-knacks that he has accrued over the years.

An Interview with William Barrow who discusses his relative Thomas Cooper Barrow and his driving range on Euclid Ave. The Hole-in-One was a unique business that served as a transition between the glory days of Millionaire's Row and the period of decline that followed. The discussion includes various remembrances of Millionaire's Row and other general aspects of Cleveland life from the 1920s to the 50s.

This interview was conducted as part of Cleveland State University's 50th Anniversary Commemoration effort. William Barrow is currently the Special Collections librarian at Cleveland State University. Barrow was born in University Circle and grew up in Cleveland's eastern suburb of Mentor. After high school he went on to attend Bowling Green State University where he was active in the school's chapter of Students For a Democratic Society. Barrow left BGSU before graduating to work construction…

Roseana Bass, owner of Diamond's Flowers, talks about her experiences in Coventry Village. She talks about the previous owners of the store, and how she came to acquire the business. She also discusses the Coventry Street Fair and her involvement. She concludes by talking about how much Coventry Road has changed over the years.

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.

This interview was conducted as part of Cleveland State University's 50th Anniversary Commemoration Project. William G. Batchelder III is a native of Medina, Ohio and is the current Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University where he received a BA in history and following graduation went on to law school at the Ohio State University. While in law school he served as an aid for Lt. Governor John W. Brown. He was elected to the legislature in 1969 and served…

Karen Bauman recalls the vibrancy of Coventry in the 1970s, especially her time at Irv's Restaurant and the good times that were had there.

Born in 1961, Cleveland State University music professor Michael Baumgartner has traveled and worked around the world as a musicologist. He grew up in Zürich, Switzerland, but heard the music and experienced lifestyles of numerous cultures from around Europe. His experiences traveling and working in different countries showed him the significant privileges afforded to people of his identity, white men, versus the disadvantages and prejudice that people of color who traveled the world had to…

Richard Baznik, University Historian at Case Western Reserve University, provides a detailed history of the development of the university and describes how the school responded to various national and local events and movements. He notes CWRU's relationship with other cultural and educational institutions in the area.

Walter Beach III was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He served as the director for Council for Youth Opportunities during the administration of mayor Carl Stokes. Beach played defensive back for the 1964 World Championship Cleveland Browns football team. He is a lawyer and author. This 2017 interview was collected as part of a yearlong, community-wide commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Carl Stokes' election as mayor of Cleveland.

Larry Beam reflects on his eight years as president of the Coventry Neighbors Incorporated, particularly the ending of the Coventry street fair. He also recalls the Jewish organized crime in the area around the 1970s.

In this interview, Celestine Beasley describes her experiences growing up in a sharecropper family in rural Mississippi, migrating to Cleveland's Cedar-Central neighborhood, and her career as a nurse at Mount Sinai. The interview also relates information about race, farming, food culture, and cuisine.

Ralph Beattie [1925-2015], grandson of the founder of H. W. Beattie & Sons Jewelers on Euclid Avenue, discusses the history of the family business, particularly in the time after he joined the business in 1948 following his war service. Beattie also recalls memories of occasional shopping trips downtown as a child living on a farm in the 1930s. He reflects on prominent businesses on Euclid Avenue, including jewelry stores, and the decline of the Playhouse Square area after its theaters closed in…

In this 2005 interview, William Becker, University Archivist for Cleveland State University, discusses his career as an archivist at CSU since 1974 and also talks about the history of Fenn College. Mr. Becker points to his retrieval of the President's records from Fenn College as one of his most memorable accomplishments as CSU's Archivist. Mr. Becker has also taken oral histories of many professors and administrators from Fenn College. Mr. Becker describes how YMCA technical college at E.22nd…

This interview was conducted as part of Cleveland State University's 50th Anniversary Commemoration effort. Becker is a native Clevelander and is currently CSU's archivist. Becker enrolled at CSU in the fall of 1969, majoring in history. Following graduation he received a scholarship and received his M.A. in History from CWRU in 1974. He later returned to CSU to become the university's archivist after finishing his degree and has served in that position ever since. Of particular interest is…

This interview with William Becker of Cleveland State University archives focuses on the history of CSU, as well as its precursor Fenn College. See also William Becker Interview, 2005 (400006) and William Becker Interview, 15 October 2014 (500047).
Very poor sound quality.

Father Bob Begin is a native Clevelander from a large Catholic family. In this interview, he discusses growing up in Cleveland and the forces that impacted his decision to become a priest. Father Begin discusses the changes that occurred in the Catholic Church as a result of Vatican 2 and how those changes influenced his own ministry. He also discusses his involvement in anti-Vietnam activism. His activism included taking over a midnight mass at St. John's Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio and…

Artist Cushmere Bell describes his life and career. Raised in Cleveland, Bell knew he wanted to be an artist at an early age. An early interest in comics and a "part-time job" of drawing commissioned sports scenes from the covers of Sports Illustrated magazine for classmates typified his earliest artistic activities. After "discovering Impressionism in 12th grade," Cushmere decided to pursue a career in painting. Encouraged by teachers at Shaker Heights High School, Bell attended the Cleveland…

Donna Belles lives on West 64th Street in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. She lives in a house that her grandmother owned. Donna tells the story of her grandmother who moved into the neighborhood in 1950. She came to Cleveland from Pennsylvania for work. At one time her grandmother owned three houses on the street. She was able to buy them because her uncles sent her money during the war. Belles has lived in the neighborhood her whole life. She reminisces about growing up in the neighborhood…

Jeff Bennett, a middle school teacher, purchased a Victorian house in Zoar in 1992 and has been active as a Zoar trustee since the early 1990s. He discusses the town hall restoration, preservation, tours, and educational programming at Zoar, and his thoughts on living in Zoar.

William R. Bennett, previously the Financial Aid Director at Cleveland State University (CSU), discusses his position and how things have changed for African Americans in North East Ohio. He begins by talking about his experiences at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. He recalls that those days, days of segregation, no one confronted the students because they were a major economic driver in the town. After Hampton, Bennett came to Cleveland and pursued a research position at area hospitals…

Randy Bergdorf reflects on his role in the 1992 study for the funding of roads and his work on the Towpath Trail project. A library employee with a passion for history, Bergdorf discusses his passion for preserving and relating the history of the park to citizens. Challenges to this and other endeavors such as the Roads Project include the inability to tax local residents, since the park owns many of the houses.

Fr. Phillip Bernier, a Capuchin Franciscan Friar, discusses the history and role of the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul in Cleveland's Midtown Corridor. Located on the corner of East 40th Street and Euclid Avenue, the parish was originally conceived under the auspice of Archbishop Joseph Shrembs in 1930. Fr. Bernier, the pastor to the shrine of the Conversion of St. Paul, discusses his life history, the needs of the Midtown Corridor community, outreach, and various restoration projects.…

In this 2005 interview, Charles Berry, a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason, discusses his life growing up in Cleveland in the 1930s and his involvement with the Scottish Rite Masons with whom he had been a member a the time of this interview for 48 years. Berry is a volunteer worker at the Masonic Library in Cleveland, and has acquired a wealth of knowledge of Masonic history by reading many of the books at the Library. Along the way, Mr. Berry has also met many famous Clevelanders who were…

Architect Jack A. Bialosky gives an architecturally focused account of living in Cleveland. He begins by describing his early days as a child in Cleveland Heights. He then discusses his education, which was made possible by the Navy, but had twists and turns all the same. Once he graduated, with a degree in architecture, he describes his first major job: Suburban Temple in Beachwood. After talking about Suburban Temple, Bialosky recounts the trials and tribulations, sometimes literally, that…

Jack Bialosky Sr. grew up in Cleveland Heights and has worked as an architect in Cleveland since the early 1950s. In this 2006 interview, Bialosky talks about running his own architecture firm in the city and some of the projects he has worked on, elaborating on issues surrounding his firm's work in building houses in Shaker Heights. Bialosky describes the historical development of Cleveland's Euclid Avenue and offers his take on other parts of the city's development, addressing mistakes made on…

Marilyn B. Bialosky, Shaker Heights native, describes her well traveled life. She recalls what it was like growing up during the Great Depression and World War 2. She met her husband at Forest Hills Park, and at 16 years old she knew she was going to marry him. After 65 years of marriage, her feelings for him are still strong. Living in Shaker Heights around Shaker Square, Bialosky describes what it was like growing up with anti-semitism, and then what it was like teaching at Ludlow during…

News anchor Leon Bibb talks about growing up in Glenville and working in television news in Cleveland. As a young reporter, he dealt with such historic moments as the Tet Offensive and Kent State shooting. He said he was in the first of a wave of African Americans to work at the Plain Dealer. Bibb talks about Carl and Louis Stokes and offers thoughts about Vietnam, voting, civil rights and journalism. The interview contains memorable quotes and moments reflected on by Bibb throughout his career…

As a toddler, Leon Bibb’s family moved to Cleveland from Alabama. Bibb went away to college, served in the Army in Vietnam, and began a career in television news. In 1979, he returned to Cleveland to stay and worked as a TV news reporter and anchor until his 2017 retirement. This 2017 interview was collected as part of a yearlong, community-wide commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Carl Stokes' election as mayor of Cleveland.

Paul Biber sheds expertise and light on the business and entertainment industry in Cleveland. Barber details the challenges to Cleveland's entertainment districts and the effects of short-sightedness after the 1960s. Finally, Biber discusses plans to improve the city's future.

Ernest Biebel was born in 1941 in Uivar, Romania, and immigrated to the United States in 1955 to pursue a new life after World War II. In this interview, Biebel discusses his childhood experiences in Europe, his family's move to the U.S., and his life as a native German speaker.

Trinity Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio and is located in downtown Cleveland.This is an interview about the history of the church in Cleveland from the beginning of its' first structure in 1829 to the present structure consecrated in 1907. The Bifanos give some background to the history of the area and how it relates to the growth of Trinity. Throughout the course of the interview there is discussion related to the previous buildings but the focus is on the present…

The Wade Chapel in Lakeview Cemetery was built as a monument to Jeptha. H. Wade by his grandson in 1901. The chapel was used as a receiving vault and service chapel and is open to the public for visits or to schedule services (including weddings and other events). The Greek temple design houses the interior by Tiffany featuring a window and side wall glass mosaics produced in New York and shipped to Cleveland during its construction. A detailed description of the interior art and the chapel's…

Richard Bigelow grew up in Peninsula and lived on a farm in Richfield along SR 303. His grandfather brought the first Chevrolet dealership to Summit County in 1911. Richard and his brother Doug worked in the dealership and on their father's farm. Richard's grandfather eventually purchased the adjacent farm property. The Ohio turnpike eventually cut through the two properties. The family sold the farm to Nick Moletti for the Coliseum property.

Jim Biggar discusses his background in mechanical engineering and work with water and sewer companies and projects. Biggar discusses also the development of Stouffer and Biggar Farms and their creation as park land. Biggar Farm's transformation into Glen Cairn Forest is also discussed, with an emphasis on connecting local residents to park trails.

Elizabeth Billingsly speaks about her childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, and Cleveland during the beginning and height of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and onward.

In this 2005 interview, Ginger Bitikofer, the Christian Education Director for Trinity Cathedral, discusses her job with Trinity and the role of Trinity Cathedral in the Greater Cleveland community. Bitikofer came to Cleveland from Virginia in the 1980s and immediately became a volunteer in a variety of neighborhood organizations, all while working in the downtown May Company Department store. Bitikofer details her activities as a parishioner and volunteer worker at Trinity for 20 years, and…

Kathy Blackman, owner of the Grog Shop, describes her business. She talks about the founding of the venue, and how her and her two partners set off without a plan. She also mentions that their growth into the music scene was entirely organic. She says that at one point she considered moving away from Cleveland Heights because a new landlord had kicked her out. Finally, she says that she cannot pick a favorite act but she can talk about a fiasco that she will never forget.