March 2021

March  2021
For those of us who have been “locked in” through the Corona Virus we thought it wise to interview those who have keep their act together and their minds intact. So we start with Nancy Nickels and Ruth Smith (no relation) but good friends. We got side-tracked with cookies and coffee but will get together again and expand some Olmsted History.

Nancy tells us she was born in Cleveland then moved to Lakewood and then to Rocky River before her eventual move to Olmsted Falls. When asked her first recollection of OF she said it was moving here when she entered 9th grade. She had started school originally in Lakewood. She got to school by bus. Even snow in winter kept students at home. They had fire drills back then from the building that is now Olmsted Falls City Hall. Her graduation in 1949 (forty-niners they were called) was in the High School Gym. Today that same room is part of the Olmsted Community Center. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that the same seats exist today. Her class motto was “Use today wisely and tomorrow will serve us well.” Her class colors were Blue and White. Nancy remembers the principal was W.W. Zinzer.

When asked how she celebrated holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter she said as an only child there was not a lot of family around. So here I will jump in and open the conversation to Ruth Smith who was actually born in Olmsted Township near 29720 Cook Road. She too went to school at the location of the current Olmsted Falls City Hall. She recalls names of her teachers as Miss Bonsey and Mrs. Goodnight in grade school and High School as Miss Harding for English, Miss Lustig, Mr. Schmerl, Mr. Neal, Miss Sacco for Latin, Mrs. Blickel and Mr. Dallas. She remembers classmates Doris Schultz, Sheldon Webster, Art Pohm, Dave Goodnight, Norb Hecker, Ed Stanek and Betty Bonham. When asked of both gals what sports they played they said girls had no sports! Guys had football and basketball. Ruth graduated in 1945 and she too graduated from the gym. Her class colors were green and grey but the school colors were blue and gold. Her principal was W.W. Smith.

I’ll throw in some information about my own school history way back in Connecticut. I went to elementary school at Glenbrook School which had 8 rooms, four on each floor. We never had substitute teachers is one of the regulars was ill. They merely opened the sliding door between the two rooms and the other luck teacher had two ground to oversee. We had to walk up the street to a large room for gym and library. Kids either went home for lunch if they lived close by or ate a bag lunch in the basement level where coats racks were. I remember one day the teacher had a left-over container of cream which she put outside on the window sill to cool and then sent it around all of us students to shake it hard for as few second. We made butter! She gave us each as cracker and a dab of butter. That day stands out clearly in my mind. I also remember that I had to take classwork to a boy in class who was home with a broken leg. Our job was to keep him on path with the rest of the class. I also remember my fifth grade teacher appointing 2 of us to really clean and wash the blackboard. She rewarded us with a dime apiece to buy an ice cream cones or candy bar at the corner store. I doubt they’d get away with that this year. My junior high was as brand new school that apparently was so novel that some of us had to serve as guides to people from all over New England. To this day I remember there were 666 seats in the auditorium and had a home economics department and
printing, woodworking and electrical rooms for the guys. We walked to school as did everyone else in the other junior highs. The only buses were for those students that lived out in the “Ridges” which was not only too far to walk but had no sidewalks. My H.S. Class was 508 students and we had graduation on the football field. It took forever for that many students to walk 2x2 from the school up on the hill down to the stadium and onto the field. Do you want to know how many times the band played Pomp and Circumstance? I don’t remember that. Oh, my school colors were Orange and Black. I still have my high school yearbook signed by lots of people before graduation.

Now back to Nancy and Ruth. Ruth remembers celebrating Thanksgiving with her Mom’s family the Scroggies and Christmas Eve with her Dad’s family the Halls. Nancy sounded bummed that she was an only child and stayed home most of the time as there was not more family nearby. My remembrance was staying at home with aunts and uncles coming to our house. For Christmas my mother would make tons of cookies while we were still in school and she’d hide them. One year she hid them in the washing machine so we wouldn’t raid the batch. She forgot… and when she turned the machine on Monday morning you guess what happened. We had a live tree when we had to tie to the window handle so the cat wouldn’t pull it over. And we painted the front windows with Windex so it looked like snow. I remember as a kid getting a handmade clown for Christmas made from blue and gold parachute “silk” so it must have been during the war.

What did parents do for a living? Nancy’s Dad was a purchasing agent for Ohio Tool Company, Her Mom was as homemaker. Ruth’s Dad was a farmer who ran a tomato greenhouse on McKenzie Road. Her Mom was a nurse who didn’t return to work until Ruth was in High School. Bev’s Dad was a clerk-secretary (now called a paralegal) in a legal firm and her Mom stayed home until kids were in school. She then worked as a bookkeeper and secretary at a lumber yard and then at a print shop.

Both Ruth and Nancy played in the neighborhood and Nancy had yard work which she called “ugh.” I remember playing with my friend across the street, her cousin and a guy from up the street in a large lot next to the local train tracks. One of the guys was Roy Rogers, she was Dale Evans, and I got to be Gene Autry. We used the fence as a horse and hooped and hollered until we tired of that. Bev remembers the luxury of being able to rearrange the cement blocks and wood piles at a builder’s store yard way down across the street as long as we didn’t break anything. My Dad said “He was no dummy to let us do that as it saved him hiring security at night” We didn’t care because we took flashlights with us until it got really, really dark. Then we’d play Hide and Go-Seek with home plate being a large sycamore tree across the street near a street light. Everybody had a front porch so there was always some parent watching us.

That’s it for now folks. We’ll continue this story of growing up with Nancy and Ruth in Olmsted and outsider Bev from Connecticut. If you would wish to add any stories of your own about growing up in the 30’s. 40o’s and 50’s please give Bev a call at 440- 235-3585 and we’ll add another round.

Bev Smith
Transplant to Olmsted Falls

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OHIO!
March 1,1803
On March 1,1803, Ohio became the 17th State in the Union. It was one of the five States made from the Northwest territory. The other States were Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Ohio ranks 35th in size: 41,000 square miles with 222 square miles of water (Lake Erie). She has 88 counties with Ashtabula being the largest with 706 square miles and Lake the smallest, covering 232 square miles. Many of Ohio’s boundaries are formed by natural features: the Ohio River to the south and south east and Lake Erie to the north. Even with natural boundaries there can be boundary disputes. Until a few years ago, the dividing line was the high side of the Ohio River. Snow melts and rain affect the amount of water in a river. As the Ohio River receives more water, the high side of the river goes north. Some of you may remember a number of times in the past when the Ohio flooded a portion of Cincinnati. Technically it was in Kentucky - including River Front Stadium. A few years ago this was settled with agreed upon boundaries for the river.

Ohio’s nicknames are “The Gateway State” and the “Crossroads of America”. If you look at a map, you will see why she received these names. It was an easier route to get from the East Coast to the West. The Appalachian Mountains form a difficult barrier to cross from Georgia to New England but there was a natural route for explorers to follow from Canada to the Ohio Valley. The explorers could travel east to west by using the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Travel north and south was easier because the Cuyahoga, Grand, Sandusky, and Maumee Rivers all lead to Lake Erie. The Muskingum, Scioto, Little Miami, and Miami Rivers lead to the Ohio River. Next time you travel south watch for the sign marking the Divide. Water falling north goes to Lake Erie, south to the Ohio River and Mississippi River. Don’t forget that at the time of the explorers, the waters were the interstate system of the day - of course, we all remember this from our seventh grade Ohio History class, right?

At one time - over 10,000 years ago when the last ice age ended - Ohio was covered by glaciers -10,000 feet thick. If you doubt the natural cycles, take a ride south on Interstate 77. Before long you will come to the terminal moraine. Up to this point the land and hills of Ohio are pretty well rounded by the glaciers and the valleys filled in - south of this line the land is very rugged. As the earth gradually turned colder ice and snow piled up over Canada and extended south. The glaciers moved across Ohio until the climate warmed and the glaciers started to melt. The line marking the limits of the glaciers advance is called the terminal moraine. It goes from Brown County on the Ohio River to Columbiana County on the Pennsylvania line. The terminal moraine is marked by a line of hills and mounds that formed when the rocks and soil were dropped when the glaciers melted. You can see the same principle alongside your drive and sidewalk. As the snow that you shoveled and piled up this winter melts, it leaves the gravel and twigs behind. Remember this as you pick the stones out of your grass - so you don't hit them with the lawnmower.

OHIO’S FLAG
Ohio has the only swallow-tailed flag of the fifty States. It has 17 stars representing Ohio being the 17th State: 13 stars being closer together (original colonies) and then the four additional stars. The blue triangle represents the hills and valleys, the red and white stripes represent the waterways and roadways, and the white “O” represents Ohio and the Buckeye.
WME

HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Things that we should think about reviving for 2021. Let us know your thoughts and suggestions.

PICNIC, JUNE, 2021
We can have our annual picnic at East River Park in June. It has been the first Monday of June but would a different day be more convenient? Would a few weeks later be better temperature
wise?

KEY PERSON, SEPTEMBER, 2021
In 2020, we had it outside at East River Park. We can have it outside again, if you like - should there are still be concerns about being indoors. Any suggestions for a Key Person nominee, please let us know.

ARMISTICE DAY, NOVEMBER 11,2021
For the first time the Historical Society of Olmsted Falls held the Veterans Day remembrance at the New Chestnut Grove Cemetery in 2021. It was brief - about twenty minutes. Somebody should definitely do it. It wasn’t done by anyone in 2018-2019. If we don’t do it, who will?

CHRISTMAS TREE, NOVEMBER, 2021
As you may recall, in 2019 we joined other groups that have put up trees for many years in the hall. In 2020, we weren’t able to do this. For 2021, we will hopefully put the tree up again. If you would like to add an ornament to the tree with your name and/or family name let us know. The trees usually go up the Monday after Thanksgiving.

CHRISTMAS PARTY, DECEMBER, 2021
​We can see how things are in the fall and if any of you would like to gather in a local restaurant for our Christmas get together.
Things to keep going:

OVER THE FALLS
OVER THE FALLS will come out in March, June, September, and December. Thank you, Mrs. Smith. If you have any suggestions or stories, please contact Bev.

​COMPUTER SITE
We have a computer site that hasn’t been updated for a number of years. Would any one like to be in charge of it? If not, I think it should be eliminated. It was great when it was new and cared for but if it isn’t cared for why have it? It doesn’t make a good impression if the latest information is years old - historical society or not!! No, computers and I do not do well together so YOU would have to work your magic.
Membership runs from March 1 to March 1.
Speaking of things left unfinished - with all our experience, can you suggest a marker, memorial, or point of interest in Olmsted Falls? We would still like to put together a brochure for visitors to use. If you know of any things which could be included, let us know.
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson for making the mailing labels.