THE WAY IT WAS: 50 Years Ago in Euclid

FEBRUARY  10, 1966 ….

           Swamped with orders  for jet  engine components, the TRW headquarters plant in Euclid reports that it has hired 2,100 new employees in the past seven months…. The story points out that a serious problem for most large industrial plants is the difficulty in finding qualified employees.  “Even the unskilled are in short supply,” notes Frank Jobes, manager of placement and development for the TRW plant, which established a new training center to prepare the influx of new employees for their jobs.

           The scarcity of  industrial workers is a nationwide issue, Jobes notes. “And our high schools are not preparing their students for these jobs.” …. (Hmmm, haven’t we heard that criticism in recent years as well?  And where is TRW headquartered today?  Not in Euclid, that’s for sure.)

 ■  The Cleveland Browns’ legendary  kicker, Lou (“The Toe”) Groza,  is scheduled to be the main speaker  at the Upson School PTA’s  “Father’s Night” program.

           ■  In a letter to the editor, Thomas Baker asserts: “Mayor [Kenneth] Sims must run again and the Coalition must include in its ranks a group of men … dedicated to the preservation of fine government in Euclid.”  ….Mentioning the three councilmen who bolted from Sims’ Coalition party, the author asks:  “Why did these three run as Coalition candidates and then conspire to destroy that party a mere three months after the election?”

           ■   Architect Gordon Taylor, a Euclid resident who has closely followed the shenanigans of City Council and Zoning Board officials, writes a scathing letter to the News-Journal’s “Sounding Board” about traffic and parking problems arising due to poor planning for the East 228th St. business district. “The chickens,” he asserts, “have finally come home to roost…

           “The merchants, developers, zoners, and council have avoided the subject like the plague,” Taylor notes. As a result, “the traffic situation is about to bloom into a wonderful mess.”   Euclid, he adds,  “does not stand alone in this raping of the landscape. It seems that similar communities have been anxious to increase their tax duplicate and, as in Euclid, greedily grabbed any store, business, or entertainment facility that they could get their hands on – with no regard for the future planning of parking or traffic circulation.

           “However,” Taylor concludes, “I cannot blame some of the hams in City Council, the Zoning Board, and other offices for this mess. They get very little attendance at most council meetings … and, therefore, have been going on in their poor misguided ways for years.”  

 (So, in essence, perhaps  the real fault lies with disinterested citizens who fail to recognize their responsibilities?)

           ■  Babbitt  Road “Pioneers” … Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Stroyer, who recently  celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, spent 41 years in the home they built at 1480 Babbitt Rd. in 1925.  “At that time,” the News-Journal noted, “the street was a two-lane mud challenge to the automobile. And across from their home, a vast cornfield stretched from Euclid Ave. to the Nickel Plate  Railroad.”   …  (Mrs. Stroyer was a founder – and the first president – of the Noble School PTA.)

           ■  The Wells School PTA announces that Dr. Michael Pap, director of the Institute of Soviet Studies at JohnCarrollUniversity, will discuss “Permanent Crises with the Soviet Union,”  at its upcoming  PTA meeting. (Dr. Pap is  a former citizen of the Ukraine.)

           ■  Holy Cross Parish plans a “Get Acquainted” dance at Villa DiBorally. “The whole idea,” says co-chairman William Monroe, “is to get the parishioners acquainted with one another.”  (Monroe, who served as Euclid’s law director under Mayor Sims, is the Holy Name Society representative on the planning committee. The other co-chairs are Mary DiCuccio and Peg Moore, representing the parish Court of Mary.)

           ■  The Value City store on Shore Center Drive – now the location of the Burlington Coat Factory --  advertises its “Valentine’s Day Specials” – including imported Swiss watches for just $5.85 … And an ad for Jack’s Automatic Transmission on East 200th St. notes that the business is once again under the management of Jack Adkins — announcing that he is “now back in Euclid.”  (The Adkins  family, which resided in Richmond Heights,  produced several high school state  wrestling champions for Coach Mike Papouras’ top-notch mat  program.)

           FEBRUARY 17 – A Page One photo story shows how jay-walkers are causing “chaos” in the East 228th – Shore Center Dr. area. One photo caption reads: “Defiant of oncoming traffic, this jay-walker weaves his way through the congestion.”  (The accompanying story was written by Tom Brazaitis, a former basketball star at St. Joseph High who later became the Cleveland Plain Dealer‘s  Washington bureau chief.)

           ■   At-large councilman Joe Whalen, who engineered the Dems’ split from the Coalition Party,  announces that he plans to ask Law Director Bill Monroe to prepare legislation  for a City Charter amendment that would introduce bi-partisan elections in Euclid for the first time in 28 years.

           ■   A survey of the 1964 and 1965 Euclid High graduating classes finds that 57.8%  are either in college or taking advanced training. Another 29% are employed, while 3.8% are in military service, and only 2% are unemployed.  “This indicates that the schools are on the right track,” says Superintendent  Lester Angene.

           ■   Two St. Joseph High seniors receive appointments to the U.S. Air Force Academy – Kenneth Nosse and Paul Sukys.  Nosse played a leading role in the school’s production of “Sound of Music” and Sukys is sports editor of the school newspaper, the Norseman.

           ■   In its weekly advertisement, Holzheimer’s IGA Market offers ground beef for 39 cents a pound and 3 half-gallon jugs of Dairymen’s milk for just $1.00.

           ■   The Euclid Panther basketball team chalks up its third victory of the season, beating Cleveland Heights, 60-49. Tom McRedmond paced the scoring with 15 points. The team’s “super sophs” also played key roles as Ricky Brown scored 13 points, followed by Al Vilcheck (10), and Ed Heise (9). Vilcheck also snared 15 rebounds.

           ■   The St. Joe freshman team whipped crosstown rival St. Edward, 43-31, to finish its season with a 17-1 record. Tim Delaney led the Viking cagers with 18 points.

           ■   Shore Junior High seventh grader Paul Schonauer extends  his string of first-period pins  by flattening his Mayfield Junior High opponent  in 58 seconds – although the Admiral wrestlers were edged, 26-23, in the team competition.  (A few years later, Paul Schonauer would win a state championship for Euclid High.)

 ■   The Shore Admirals post a come-from-behind victory to snap Forest Park’s 21-game unbeaten string, 61-58, in an overtime thriller. Forest Park’s Jeff Booms led all scorers with 24 points. Doug Alecci paced the Admirals with 18.

 ■    The new Richmond Restaurant on Euclid Ave., owned and managed by Chris and Tom Papouras, advertises its “get acquainted special” – a Boston strip steak dinner, including salad and dessert, for just $1.35.

Well, that’s the way it was 50 years ago in Euclid. But to some of us old-timers, somehow it seems like only yesterday.