Cleveland: A city changing while I was gone



This isn't the city I remember: river on fire, too many poor people all unemployed, polluted Lake Erie, boarded up buildings littering downtown, plants closed. That was the Cleveland of the more recent past, the one with the bad rep.

The Cleveland in my mind's eye from the 1950 was prosperous and aspirational in all aspects. Families grew and moved to better and better suburbs with larger homes and better schools, each increasingly distant from the city center. Downtown was where you went for big-time shopping and museums. Mom bought the furniture for our new house in Hudson at Sterling, Linder and Davis, downtown. I went on the bus and then the trolley to the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland of my youth was a good, solid place to grow up.

But this city of Cleveland in present day was, what? Completely redone. Downtown full of lofts, 20 and 30-somethings popping into cafes with their Mac Books. Is that a software development company I see in the Rockefeller building? Good restaurants and corner bars, all with a vibe and personality of their own. New towers going up, newer stadiums, and of course, that destination unrivaled by others: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Cleveland had a new personality. But pirogues and brats were still on her menu.

We stayed at a centrally located hotel right downtown, the Marriott Residence Inn Downtown, a historic hotel built in the last decade of the 1800s and now redone and symbolizing what Cleveland was and what it is now. We enjoyed the buffet breakfast in what must have been the grand ballroom, bedecked with fine stained glass windows, two in the ceiling and a bunch over windows. An arcade occupied one part of the hotel footprint and it was fun to walk down a balcony that in olden days held offices for various professionals, now mostly empty. The arcade main floor, and if you aren't familiar with their function in such cold weather locales then click here, holds a small and busy luncheonette, a chocolatier, a olde time barber shop, and numerous small but fascinating shops. It took me right back to the 1950s when Mom and I "went downtown" on the bus and trolley to shop.

 

 

The new Marriott Residence Inn that was the old Colonial Hotel.
(Photos courtesy the Marriott web site.)

 

 

Two of our old neighborhoods stayed exactly the same, excepting the new builds around the edges. We found Chagrin Falls and Hudson to be pretty much as we left them in 1964, with the addition of malls, larger stores, a supermarket or two, and of course plenty of new restaurants. The old stores had changed hands no doubt, and new ones took residence in their place.

 

 

Two ladies drinking tea at Sterling, Linder and Davis.

Courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project.

 

The big Christmas tree at Sterling, Linder and Davis.

Courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project.

 

 

I love to think about the flash and excitement of going downtown to see the big department stores in the 1950s, especially at Christmas time. If you are a fan of that holiday staple, "A Christmas Story", you'll be all too familiar with The Higbee Company and their store windows. The Cleveland Memory Project has a dandy selection of images from all the department stores and you can find them on their main page for the "Golden Age of Downtown Shopping". Just use the menu at center to find your favorite store.

 

The Terminal Tower still takes center stage on the square, but the Higbee Company is gone. I was thrilled to see the big brass sign still in place on the side of the building next to one of the display windows.

 

 

 

We all talked and talked as we drove around, about the old times and memories from childhood. Nice to hear Mom's version of events that I half remember. Even my brother remembers shopping for furniture with Mom for the new house in Hudson.

 

Sure, Cleveland has changed, but I'm liking her quite a bit now. She's getting back to that up-and-coming spirit I remember so well. I could see myself living there, either downtown with all the young people and the cafes but probably out in Chagrin Falls or Hudson, my old turf. More about those next time.

 

 

 

The Halle Department Store's Japanese Tea Room,

our favorite lunch spot. I still remember the children's luncheon special with all the little compartments for food, when I was happy to eat my spinach because it came in a little ceramic hen!

 

 

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/10/cleveland-city-changing-while-i-was-gone.html





Cleveland: Maybe you can't go home again, and maybe you can

Just spent the last weekend in Cleveland. Why Cleveland? I grew up there, my brother and sister were born there. Mom and Dad moved us there in 1952 when I was four years old so that Dad could take a good management position with lots of opportunity in the plastics industry. So we moved from the little mountain town of Frostburg in Western Maryland that I so often write about. It was quite a change and we enjoyed every moment of our Cleveland adventure. Mom and Dad moved us back to Frostburg in 1964, the year I graduated high school in Hudson.

There's so much to share that it will take a couple of posts to get it all covered. There were two highlights for me: Mom telling stories about us when we were little as we drove through the old neighborhood where I attended elementary school, and going to stay at the Pine Lake Trout Club.

I took a ton of photos and some videos too. They are already a golden treasure to me. And yes, I already have them all backed up all over and in the cloud:)

This post is just to say "Hi" again and let you know what the upcoming topic will be. Guess the theme is serendipity. There was this guy.... Oh, I'll tell you later. Life surely is amazing if you just go out there and live it!

 

Scenes from the Pine Lake Trout Club

Thanks, Lynnie for these photos:)

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/10/cleveland-maybe-you-cant-go-home-again.html

DNA Monday: Stuff, random and otherwise

My DNA test results from 23andMe are continuing to work to connect me to new DNA cousins. And some interesting projects are in progress over on GEDmatch. Additionally, a tip off from the medical results from 23andMe.com has helped me solve a personal medical mystery. These are exciting times, my friend!

DAR soon to accept DNA: Hey, check this blog post out from The Legal Genealogist, Judy G. Russell about the big news that the DAR is going to be accepting DNA evidence for membership approval... along with the other usual stuff they want. As Judy sharply points out, they are only taking Y-DNA, which is a guy thing. Please read her blog post because this is a very big deal (at least to me) and marks our changing times.

The Basics of DNA testing for genealogy: If you are wondering about DNA for genealogy, here's a wonderful blog post by DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy, and you can see it here. Here is a lovely beginner's guide to the topic and while I know a bunch of stuff covered in this post, it was really good to have a re-check to make sure my understanding was clear. Thanks, Roberta!

A new GEDmatch project: Got an email from someone named Vivian because we matched through GEDmatch and 23andMe. She sent the same email out to a couple of hundred people telling them about their shared connection and letting us know that if we were interested in participating, to reply to the email. I replied, of course. Why wouldn't you want to?
In a couple of days she sent a rather long email letting us know that she'd found a sub-group of participants who all had Quaker ancestors. One of Mom's brick wall ancestors married a mystery man named Waggoner and that was one of the surnames included in the list. I just about stumbled over myself in crafting a quick reply!
This Waggoner guy has us stumped, but good. Sarah Wooden (1810 - 1870) married the mysterious Mr. Waggoner, had a daughter from whom we descend, that being Sarah (Waggoner) Whetstone (1825 - 1880). Presumably Mr. Waggoner died or otherwise made himself scarce such that Sarah Wooten then married Peter Yeast (1808 - 1851) in 1829. On his passing she married Phillip "Major" Durst (1817-1888) and they owned a whole big bunch of land together in what is now Garrett County, Maryland.
We know nothing about Mr. Waggoner and it's about to drive us (Mom and I) crazy! Maybe this DNA study group will give us a hint. There were very few Waggoners in what was then Allegany County around 1825 when Sarah Jr. was born and most of those were residing a ways east of where Sarah lived. Other researchers have suggested to Mom that Sarah wasn't married to Mr. Waggoner at all and that she was a "grass widow", meaning left in the grass where he lay with her. What Mom has found is that her marriage record to Peter Yeast states that her name was at the time of the marriage "Sarah Waggoner".

My medical mystery: I feel like one of the older ladies sitting on the porch chatting about their aches and pains in writing this:) Just to say that a clue for the 23andMe DNA test has uncovered a medical mystery that has been bothering me for a very long time. K304E: that's my mismatched gene. That was all I needed to get going and do a lot of googling to find what ails me. Science is amazing!!

Yours truly and Grandma Williams, Emma Susan (Whetstone) Williams (1897-1956)

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/10/dna-monday-stuff-random-and-otherwise.html

This one's for you, Molly!

My niece, Molly has expressed an interest in some of the family photos posted here, and she and I were chatting about those early pictures of Mom. They are wonderful and so expressive of Mom's personality and we both love them and her:) So this post is for you, Molly! And anyone else who cares.

This is Mom's mother, Emma Susan (Whetstone) Williams (1897 - 1956). Molly, she's your great grandmother. A very, very sweet woman.

 

Here's Emma with little Virginia. Love this picture!

That's Mom as a baby with her parents, Emma and Cambria "Camey" Williams (1897 - 1960).

I remember him as a big bear of a man whose arms would embrace me in a bear hug.

 

This is a cropped view of the above picture showing Mom and her mother and father better.

Look how cute she is!! Sitting out in a field.

This might have been taken at Mom's grand parent's home, the Whetstones, that's Joseph H. Whetstone (1858 - 1939) and Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" (House) Whetstone (1865 - 1947). Mom can show you where their "farm" used to be.

 

Mom with her "terrorist" uncles. Just look at them and you know that they're up to no good!

That's Mom on the right with her sister, Dorothy "Dot" (Williams) Conrad (1920 - 2007).

Mom and an unknown dog. We love animals, don't we?

This is Mom's all-time favorite picture of herself, with a kitten. For a very long time she "accused" me of having this photo, then one day I found it in one of her albums! Seriously, I kept telling her I didn't have it;)

Looks like this was taken on the same day as the photo of Mom with her uncles.

 

This one might have been taken on the same day too because Mom has that wonderful hair bow! There the grandkids are with their Whetstone grandparents.

 

Mom in the church choir, First row third from left. Her sister, Dot, is on the end and Mom's good friend Mary is between them.

 

Mom's high school photo, senior year. Ask her about her hair! Think she's still upset about it:)

 

 

Mom, on the left, with her mother Emma, her sister Dot, and her brother Camey, Cambria Williams Jr.

Hey Molly, you'll love this one: Mom on her 21st birthday! And you were there for her 95th!

 

Mom about 1945-ish, Easter Sunday, and sporting an impressive hat. Taken by Dad at the Castleman Bridge. Look at those legs!

Mom and Dad out with friends.

 

Mom fixes my hat on Easter Sunday, about 1950.

 We leave Frostburg Maryland for Cleveland Ohio. 1952.

 

Mom in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, after 1952. She's not too happy to be there.

 

That's my brother there so this is about 1955 or 56.

Mom and Dad in Ireland about 1986.

 

Mom in Wales.

 

So Molly, I have a ton more but this will do for now:) Here's a hug (   ).

 

 

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/10/this-ones-for-you-molly.html

The start of WWII for the Kelly family, in photos

I often look at this set of photos taken of my Kelly ancestors in 1942 and wonder what they were thinking and feeling. It was the start of America's involvement in WWII which everyone could pretty much see coming and dreaded, from what Mom has told me.

 

Of the three Kelly brothers which included Dad (Francis Patrick Kelly, 1916 - 2007), Uncle Bernie (Bernard Michael Kelly, 1918 - 2007) and Uncle Delbert (John Delbert Kelly, 1920 - 2013), two went to war. Not that Dad didn't try to enlist with the rest of the brothers because he did, and you can read about that here , here and especially here to find out why he had to stay home.

 



I look at this set of family photos and wonder if similar scenes were playing themselves out across the country. Sure they were: gather all together for photos to remember you by. Brave faces, men in uniform, women worried. I knew these people, and they were worried and trying not to show it. I bet Grandma Kelly cried then. Sure she did. What mother didn't, what mother wouldn't?

 

I think these in the first grouping were taken in the back yard of the Kelly home place on West Main Street, Frostburg, Allegany, Maryland, and are all from the same morning, but I'm not 100% sure. Just wanted you to know:)

 

 

The Back Yard Pictures:



 

Mom is in front with some kid that's not me on her lap. Grandma Kelly is second from left and none too happy.

Left to right, Uncle Delbert, Dad, and Uncle Bernie.

 

Uncle Delbert.

 

Mom and Uncle Delbert.

 

 

Dad on the left.

The ladies.

Grandma and Grandpa Kelly,

John Lee Kelly 1892 - 1969 and Helen Zeller Kelly 1894-1985.

Mom and Dad.

 

At Camp:

 

 

Uncle Bernie and Mom at Fort Bragg

 

Uncle Delbert

 

 

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-start-of-wwii-for-kelly-family-in.html