100th Anniversary of Parkview School

100^th Anniversary of Parkview School

by Michele Yamamoto

2022 marks the 100^th anniversary of the building of the Parkview School in Bay Village. It was located on the spot where the Bay Middle School parking lot is now.

The Bay Village Historical Society records indicate that by 1921 there was one remaining schoolhouse in Bay Village, the “Little Red Brick Schoolhouse,” built in 1869 and located between Bassett and present-day Huntington Park at 29503 Lake Road. There wasn’t enough space at the schoolhouse, even for its grades 1-8, and from the earliest days of Bay Village history, families who wanted their children to have a secondary education were forced to send them to either Rocky River, Lakewood or what is now known as Westlake.

Bay Village historian, Kay Laughlin, wrote of the beginnings of Parkview School. She noted that in 1921, the Bay Village school system had to rent a room in Bay Village City Hall in order to accommodate the fifth grade class. In a special election in April of that year, the Board of Education managed to pass a five-mill levy to support the $225,000 in bonds needed to construct a new school. Still, expenses to build were cut in every way possible, including the risk of using non-union labor, which stopped construction completely for a time.

1924/25 Parkview students grades 1-10, Bay Village Historical Society

A two story Parkview before the third floor addition, from the May 1925 school publication, The Larynx

Parkview faculty photo from the May 1925 school publication, The Larynx.

By the fall of 1922, Bay Village had all of their students in grades 1-8 at the Parkview School. Mentions to upper grades are not made in The Larynx (May 1925), the earliest Parkview publication the Bay Village Historical Society has in its collections. Grades 9-12 were most likely added on, one grade a year, until by 1927 Parkview High School had its first graduating senior high class.

The first graduating class at Parkview consisted of ten girls and five boys. The lack of male students proved to be a challenge for dancing partners and so the class decided to forego a traditional prom and created a “Junior-Senior Banquet” instead. The second annual banquet lists a food menu and musical performances by the students and faculty.

Parkview’s 1st Graduating Class 1927, Bay Village Historical Society. Top row, L-R: William J. Hursh, Ruth Claire Myers, Sarah E. Dodd, Caryl June French, Arthur W.J. Stampfli. Second row, L-R: Vera Anna Wuebker, George Edward Mehleck, Clarence Frank Meilander, Lawrence Kenneth Hille, Marie E. Blaha. Bottom row, L-R: Blanche Gertrude Cowley, Luella Anna Meilander, Ruth Naomi Proudley, Helen Louise Bell, Helen J. Toeller

1927 Parkview Graduation Program, Bay Village Historical Society

Vera Wuebker was a member of Bay Village’s first senior graduating class. She commented in the March 29, 1968 edition of the Bay Window that the limited number of students in Bay Village’s first senior graduating class was enjoyable. She is quoted as saying, “One became better acquainted with all of the students in the school.” Vera was also the daughter of West Dover’s first rural postman, Ernest Wuebker, and we have many items that once belonged to Vera in the Bay Village Historical Society’s collection that were generously donated by her grandson Kip Fanta. Vera married Herb (Irwin) Fanta in 1936 and worked in the guidance counselor’s office at Bay High School in later decades.

It appears that from the beginning of its use the school wasn’t big enough for all of the children in Bay Village. A third story was added in 1925, only three years after the building was first constructed. Temporary portable buildings were constructed before that addition but remained and were used until a wing on the west side of the building was opened in 1952. Forestview Elementary was constructed in 1927 at the southeast corner of Wolf and Forestview Road and housed the elementary students living on the east side of Bay Village, which may have alleviated some of the crowding.

The 1927 edition of the school publication Arc-Light lists the Parkview building as containing 13 standard classrooms, an auditorium that seated more than 430, a physics laboratory, chemistry laboratory, large library and gymnasium. Four portable buildings housed domestic science, manual training (shop class), a cafeteria and a dining hall in a corridor connecting the portables with the main building. There were 10 acres developed as a playground and athletic field.

1942 Bay Bluebook photo featuring Irma Schmedt and Bill Smith on the front steps of Parkview, Bay Village Historical Society

By the 1940s, many new changes were made to the Parkview classes. In 1941, Parkview added a kindergarten class to its 1-12 grade building. In 1947, Parkview began housing grades 7-12 only. Glenview Elementary, which opened in 1947, and the existing Forestview Elementary would now house all of Bay Village’s K-6 grades. 1947 was also the year the high school class officially renamed themselves Bay High School, although they used this name as early as 1941 in the Bay Blue Book. “Rockets” became the name of the school’s athletic teams through a vote by the student body.

By 1960, Parkview held only high school students when the Bay Junior High School moved to a brand-new building located where the present-day Bay High School now stands at 29230 Wolf Rd. In 1968 the high schoolers took over the location and the junior high classes moved back to the old Parkview building to stay for more than 30 years.

1968 Bay Bluebook photo of Parkview

1968 Bay Bluebook tribute to the old Parkview building

In November 2000, residents of Bay Village approved a bond issue for the construction of a new middle school. The current Bay Middle School location at Cahoon and Wolf Road was built directly behind Parkview and was ready for middle school students in grades 5-8 to attend for the 2003/2004 school year.

Bay Middle School old and new, December 2003, Bay Village Historical Society

Before the old Parkview building was torn down there were several send-offs and chances for former students to relive their time at the school. On Saturday, December 13, 2003 Bay residents had the opportunity to attend some farewell events. A “Wrecking Ball” dance was held in the gym. Although much of the equipment and furniture was moved throughout the district’s schools and the remainders were sent to a school in Haiti, there was also a sale where residents and school staff members could purchase a piece of the old school. A former student from the 1960s bought a handrail. One man bought a water fountain and urinal. A current eighth grader even expressed interest in buying his old locker. Marble partitions found in the 1920s restrooms could be had for $50.

George Serb, an 88-year-old former student (class of 1933) and Bay Village Citizen of the Year remembered entering Parkview as a second grader when the building first opened. He was given the honor of symbolically locking the building for the last time.

On December 22, Parkview alumni, current students, staff members and neighbors gathered across the street from the old school to spend a day-long vigil watching Parkview be demolished.

Parkview during demolition, December 2003, Bay Village Historical Society. Note the red, orange and yellow stripes above the lockers on the second floor.

You may still relive some of Parkview’s past by visiting the Rose Hill Museum to see in person a small display of items from Bay Village’s early school days. At the Osborn Learning Center next door, we have copies of most Bay High School yearbooks. You may also browse the yearbooks online at: https://www.bayhistorical.com/bay-village-history/#Yearbooks

A presentation about the history of Bay Village Schools, including Parkview, can be viewed on the Bay Village Historical Society website at:
Bay Highs First Fifty Years

More information about Bay Village public school history can be found through the Bay Village Alumni Association and you may find their contact information on their website at: Alumni Association

If you are enjoying these glimpses of Bay Village’s past, we ask you to please consider donating to the Bay Village Historical Society or becoming one of its members by visiting Donate. We appreciate your support!

Over 60 Years of Friendship

Friends of the Library, Bay Village: Over 60 Years of Friendship

by Michele Yamamoto

The Bay Village Friends of the Library has announced their latest book sale at the new Cuyahoga County Public Library, Bay Village Branch building for Saturday, August 27, 2022. This year marks the 60^th anniversary of the Friends book sales and the 61^st year of the group’s formation. To celebrate, we at the Bay Village Historical Society have combed through our records and photos, including many generously donated by the Bay Village Library itself, to compile a short history of the formation of the Friends and their first book sales.

As part of National Library Week in April of 1961, the Cuyahoga County Library system called for “Friends of Library” groups to be formed at local branches. Joseph H. Santone, an auditor for the Illuminating Company, was elected chairman at the Bay Village Branch’s first formal meeting. Mrs. Robert L. Vickroy (June) was listed as the first elected secretary, John Sturges, Jr., the publicity chairman, Mrs. John R. Van Syckle (Norma), membership chairman, and Dr. Daniel E. Marsalek, book collection chairman. Representatives from various local organizations in Bay Village served as members. That summer, the objectives of the organization as stated in their constitution were “to promote a better understanding in the community of the needs of the library, to lead in the development of programs which will extend and improve the use of the library services and facilities, to stimulate benefactions to the library, to render assistance to the library staff upon request by the librarian and to encourage the study of library science as a career.” Dues for families and individuals in Bay Village were set at $1 per year, $.50 for student members. Local organizations were asked to give $10 per year.

2022.P.08.11.05 Bay Library “Book Marks” (volunteers from the Bay Women’s Club) “smartly outfitted” in aqua cobbler’s aprons inside the Bay Library at 377 Dover Center Rd. for an August, 1960 news feature. L-R: Betty Clifton, Margaret Plum and Margaret Berger

The Bay Village Exchange Club (the local chapter of the national service organization) helped to sponsor a book collection and sale for the Bay Village Library by June of 1961. Containers for the deposit of books, old movies, and records were placed in Bay Village shopping centers for the public to donate their items. By the end of the year, they had collected over 3,700 items. Branch Manager Helen Casey, selected 400 of these books for the library’s own collections, stating that the donated books would have cost the new library at least $1,200. One volunteer of the Bay Women’s Club service group for the library, the “Book Marks,” stated in an appeal to donors “Friends of the Bay Village Library are citizens who share the conviction that books afford people a matchless means of enriching their lives and acquiring a greater understanding of the world in which they live.” Now President Santone stated that he hoped his group would help the library obtain more reference books, expand its facilities and services, purchase needed equipment, increase “best seller” circulation, enlarge its record library, obtain more foreign language books and encourage students to study library science.

The Friends must have received the number of books they needed because that April of 1962 they announced they would be holding their first book sale for four days during National Library Week that month. The Book Marks stepped up to help with the sale of the books and Bay Junior High School students made posters to advertise the sale that were hung all around town.

2022.08.14.05.049 Cleveland Press news clipping about the first Friends of the Library book sale, April 1962

The sale was considered a success with $600 raised. $250 was spent on children’s books and $350 on reference books. The sale also helped double the membership in the Friends group. Santone wrote to Branch Manager Helen Casey when reporting on the sale about the “friendly spirit which has developed between the library staff and our organization. We hope this is only the beginning in our joint effort to provide the Bay Village Library with an excellent collection and to make the Library a vital part of our community.”

By February of 1964, the Bay Village Friends of the Library had some new elected officers, including retired surgeon Dr. Dwight S. Spreng, a book lover and new resident of Bay. Dr. Spreng led the group in planning their second book sale to be held that April, two years after the first. The sale brought in about $600, some of which was marked to buy new furnishings for the library staff room.

2022.P.08.14.01.08 Bay Village Friends of the Library members with Branch Manager Helen Casey sorting through collected books for the Friends’ second book sale in 1964. L-R: John Sturges, Helen Casey, Dr. Dwight Spreng and Mrs. Sturges

2022.P.08.14.01.07 Mary Maheu, Louella Meyer and Dr. Dwight Spreng look over collected books for the Friends of the Bay Village Library’s second sale to be held in April of 1964.

2022.08.14.01.09.82 News clipping featuring the 1964 book sale set up.

The Bay Village Historical Society records do not contain much concerning the Friends until 1978, just a few years before a new library building was built at 502 Cahoon Rd. They began publishing a newsletter in the fall of 1978 called “Stacks of Information” which detailed the news and activities of the Friends and the Bay Village Library. Throughout the 1980s, the group sponsored various programs such as concert, travel and cooking series. You could learn “Concepts of Microwave Cooking” or how to bake bread during “Cooking with the Friends.” A juried art show was held through at least most of the decade. The book sales during this time period increased to usually about four a year.

2022.08.14.02 News clipping featuring a 1985 Friends book sale at the Bay Village Library at 502 Cahoon Rd.

Today the Friends of the Library, Bay Village is led by President Scott Rhee. Rhee says he started his work with the group during high school, when he worked as a library page in Bay. Members of the Friends asked if he could help them move around the heavy boxes of books they had collected for a sale. He soon found himself getting involved to a greater degree over the years.

The Friends’ latest book sale is for one day only, Saturday, August 27th from 9:00am-5:00pm. Items will be sold for only $.50 to $1 a piece and will include children’s, teen’s, adult fiction and nonfiction books as well as puzzles and games. If you would like to volunteer your time to help with the sale and meet some fellow book lovers, contact Holly Tramba at htramba@sbcglobal.net. If you are unable to make the sale this year, you may still purchase books from the Friends of the Bay Village Library all year round by shopping their shelf at the entrance of the Bay Village Library at 27400 Wolf Rd.

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Memberships and donations to the Bay Village Historical Society help keep the records of our town’s history preserved and accessible to all and can be made by visiting our webpage https://www.bayhistorical.com/support-us/.

If you would like a more hands-on experience with history, consider volunteering as a docent or behind-the-scenes with our collections by contacting us at (440) 871-7338 or email: info@bayhistorical.com.

The Early History of the Bayway Cabin

by Michele Yamamoto

This April, 2022 was bittersweet with the grand opening of the new Bay Village Library. Although there was great anticipation and excitement for the beautiful new library, there was also some sadness because in order to build it, an old building beloved by many for decades had to be removed. That building was the Bayway Cabin.

This past week I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Bob Reid and his wife Gail, members of the Bay Village Historical Society, just as he and his old classmates were preparing for their belated Bay High School class of 1956 reunion celebration. I had called him to get more information on the old Bayway cabin when he informed me that actually his family and classmates played a big part in the making of the youth center in Bay. Thanks to Bob’s recollections and papers and photographs in the Bay Village Historical Society archives, we were able to put together the early history of this community center that served the Bay community for almost 60 years.

A Bay Village Youth Cabin Committee Report from March, 1951 lists that there was interest in a center just for youth activities in Bay as far back as 1943 when a Bay Village Youth Center Committee raised $1,200 towards that effort. The only places to use for non-school youth activities were the local churches or the Community House (old Cahoon Barn, now Bay Rec. Center Offices) and it was usually filled up with adult events. The community wanted space dedicated to the youth in Bay. Unfortunately, World War II intervened and the committee decided to convert the money it had raised into war bonds. After the War, in 1948, the Recreation Board drew up plans for a recreation building and submitted a $100,000 bond issue to the voters. It did not receive enough votes to pass and the idea of a center for Bay youth again looked hopeless.

Temporary building long in use at Parkview School (probably 1950) Bay Village Historical Society Collection

Fate stepped in, or rather the Board of Education secured approval of a bond issue by 1950 to build a permanent addition to the high school (the old Parkview School Building where Bay Middle School now stands). A temporary addition that had been built there possibly as early as 1924 before a third story was added in 1925, needed to be moved out. It was one of two temporary buildings on the west side of the school and had most recently been used as the school cafeteria. The structure was a 24 by 70 foot shell with a leaking roof and sagging floor but at least one high school student saw its potential and knew the best adult to help make the idea a reality.

Ester Reid circa 1950s, from the personal collection of Bob & Gail Reid

That adult was Ester Reid, the Secretary of the Recreation Board, Bob Reid’s mother and a leader in many activities for the betterment of Bay Village. Through her, the idea took off to move the old building and renovate it to be used as a center for the town youth.

Bay teens at the Bayway building move (1950 or ’51), Bay Village Historical Society Collection

Students by the permit sign to build Bayway Cabin (1950), Bay Village Historical Society Collection

The Recreation Department sent out invitations to all of the clubs and organizations in Bay Village, asking each to send a representative to a meeting to discuss the need for a youth recreation center. The local Kiwanis Club Youth Service Committee Chairman, Raymond D. Kraus was soon talked into organizing the project, devoting much of his time outside of his regular employment to the task of forming the Youth Cabin Committee of the Bay Village Recreation Board. Chairman Kraus and Secretary of the Committee, Mrs. Norman L. Reid (Ester Reid), it is noted in the records, were the two members who made the most tremendous sacrifices of time and effort, inspiring and organizing the work of a long list of people to bring the community project to a successful completion. There were soon mailings and a house-to-house canvassing for funds to move and fix up the old cafeteria building and turn it into a youth center. Materials, labor and time was donated by many in the community. The building was able to be moved to its new location in September, 1950 and by March 22, 1951, it was finished and turned over to begin activities under the Recreation Board of Bay Village which held many youth activities there, including dances, youth group meetings and even a nursery school. The new youth center was named “Bayway” from a winning submission by student Skip Worley, in a naming contest held throughout the Bay Village School system.

The Lakewood Post on March 24, 1951 gushed with admiration “It is hardly necessary to emphasize the importance of providing attractive, well-regulated recreational facilities for youth. The average boy and girl in Bay enjoys advantages that are considerably above average. But no set of advantages can replace the need for a center where youth may gather for a healthy good time; which will serve as headquarters for organizations and activities, which will promote friendships and sound social relationships. It indicates growth of civic consciousness, of community character. In getting together to make possible the realization of a project calculated to benefit youth of the community, adults did fully as much for themselves as they did for their boys and girls. Such unselfish ventures knit people together, constructive thinking is channeled, pride is engendered, a sense of responsibility to the community is created.”

Drawing for the Bayway expansion (1958), Bay Village Historical Society Collection

The improvements didn’t stop there. Remember, this was the mid-20th century and there was a baby boom going on all over the United States, including in Bay Village, Ohio. This may be why the population of the town increased from about 3,000 in 1943 (when the idea of a youth center first started) to over 10,000 in 1956. New housing increased from a total of 1,006 in the 1940s to 2,133 by the end of the 1950s (the highest number of houses built in Bay in any decade in our history). Bayway cabin soon outgrew the needs of the young people in Bay.

Bay High School Senior Hi-Y club (from the 1956 Bay Blue Book). Bob Reid is in the top row, third from the right.

Bob Reid recalled a meeting at the Bayway in 1956, “Our Hi-Y club was meeting in May, right before we graduated, and we must have had $75 in our treasury and the question was what to do with it. As it happened, the night we were meeting, the Kiwanians were also meeting…we in marched, the whole Hi-Y Club, and interrupted their meeting to tell them we need to start expanding the Bayway.” Hi-Y President Al Bruscino spoke for his group and then gave the Kiwanis Club all they had left in their Hi-Y treasury as seed money to get the project going.

Bayway Addition (1958), Bay Village Historical Society Collection

Page from the Bayway scrapbook covering the late 1950s through the 1960s, Bay Village Historical Society Collection

Again, the town came together to build a youth center and again Ester Reid and a too numerous to list group of townspeople helped make it a reality. Charles J. Pecoy and Dr. Dean E. Saddler were General Chairman of the Bayway Expansion Committee and Past General Chairman, respectively. The local teenagers were credited for their fundraising activities which included car washes, dances, pancake days, door-to-door canvassing, and making publicity posters, amongst other activities. Bob Reid recalled working concessions at dances on the tennis courts in Cahoon Memorial Park. The town’s fundraising activities raised about $12,000, with an additional $8,000 from the City Council and the Recreation Board, but it wasn’t enough. The committee needed more help from the community. Most notably, Bay teens helped in the actual construction of the new 2,300 sq. ft. addition to the Bayway after a week-long buildup by professional contractors to a “Bayway Finishing Day” on October 18, 1958. On that day, the youth were joined by skilled and semi-skilled citizens for a day of community work and celebration. By November of 1958, Dr. Saddler turned over the keys to the now 4,700 sq. ft. building to Mayor Gershom Barber for the town youth to begin use.

Finished Bayway expansion (probably 1958 or ’59), Bay Village Historical Society Collection

In a write up about the Bayway expansion just before the construction in 1958 titled “A Community Pulls Together to Prevent Delinquency Before It Can Happen,” it is noted that the effort that was made is worthy of publicity. “Behind this “history” is a wealth of human interest. Bay Village is a rather “typical,” “ideal” suburban community of proudly tended, neat homes that has grown from a close-knit village to a city of widely separated special-interest groups. The force of a project that is being done for and with its kids has served to pull these groups together. The drive and effort of devoted citizens have made it go. Building trades are donating services and suppliers selling without profit. Here is a social phenomenon worthy of a second look—noteworthy because it can be made to happen elsewhere—an expression of the kind of community leadership that can provide facilities to put kids on the right path—a project to prevent juvenile delinquency before it happens, by providing youth facilities when they are needed.”

Teenagers operate heavy machinery! (Undated), Bay Village Historical Society Collection

The young builders take a break (Undated), Bay Village Historical Society Collection

We have only a few papers from the 1960s about Bayway and very little between then and the 1990s to fill in the gaps. We will continue our history of Bayway Cabin’s later years in another post to come soon.

Your donations and memberships help keep these artifacts preserved and accessible to all and can be made by visiting our webpage https://www.bayhistorical.com/support-us/

If you have any Bayway photos to share with us or can identify people in the posted photos, please contact us at (440) 871-7338 or email us: info@bayhistorical.com.

Fashion Diva Fun: Gloves

The following post about gloves was written by Bay Village Historical Society member and volunteer Marie Albano, who has been a tremendous help to the museum in her knowledge and interest in historical clothing.

We have more fashion on display at the Rose Hill Museum, with an emphasis on the 1920s. The museum is open on Sundays in April through December from 2:00pm to 4:30pm and admission is free.

Also open is the Osborn Learning Center which now showcases exhibits ranging from Eliot Ness and the “Untouchables” to the Sheppard murder case. It also houses various research materials from our archives for visitors.

Fashion Diva Fun: Gloves

The word “glove” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “glof” meaning palm. The term of measurement of a glove is the word button. It starts at the base of the thumb and is equal to one French inch. A French inch is slightly larger than an American inch. Therefore, a one button glove is wrist length. Whereas a four to six button glove is half-way to the elbow. A formal length is a sixteen-button glove (this is measurement, not how many buttons are on the glove).

As an accessory to dress, royalty had them ornamented with pearls and precious stones. Many of these are in museums today.

Mitts, sometimes referred to as mittens, are characteristically a Victorian accessory. Fingerless gloves were fashionable in the 1830-40’s for day and evening. Short for the day and long for the evening. They tended to go in and out of fashion until the late 1880’s. In the 1900’s they often accessorized wedding ensembles.

Throughout the Victorian and Edwardian periods, gloves were the symbol of gentility. The social status of a lady or a gentleman could be determined by the quality of their gloves.

For men’s working gloves in the late 1800’s there were 140 separate glove factories in Gloversville, New York which manufactured 2/3 of men’s working gloves in the United States. The annual production was $20,000,000 from this one town.

1996.C.241 Two black lace fingerless gloves in an open pattern of netting with pattern in rows. Glove has a dot design in a triangular pattern near the fingers and diagonal lines near the top.

1999.P.04.047 Two young women wear fingerless gloves.

2020.C.FIC.348 Leather classic gloves with a 3 1/4″ opening. There are four brass studs on the sides of the opening and two eyelets at the top. A cord is through each to pull them tighter.

2018.P.03.03.21 Edna Wuebker wears white gloves, early 1900s

2002.C.18K Rust colored, cloth, classic length gloves. Triangular shape cut from the front middle hem has plastic inset with the same inset repeated on the thumb. Beige hand sewn top stitching outlining the fingers on the front side, base thumb area, bottom hem and triangular detail. Bottom outer edge protrudes 5/8″ in a half-circle design.

1998.C.29 Long white leather gloves with three pearl buttons where there is a slit at the wrist, circa 1890s.

1996.P.019 Margaret Fairley Wright Glendenning wears long white gloves.

After the 1970’s gloves diminished as a fashion accessory, but a gloved hand can be mysterious and alluring as well.

More fashion fun to come,

Dr. Marie A. Albano, D.D.S.

Your donations and memberships help keep these artifacts preserved and accessible to all and can be made by visiting our webpage https://www.bayhistorical.com/support-us/.

If you have any questions for us or are interested in volunteering in order to have a more hands-on experience with Bay Village history, please contact us at (440) 871-7338 or email us at info@bayhistorical.com.

Victorian Virtual Reality

by Michele Yamamoto

In this week’s Glimpse of the Past, we are exploring our collection of stereographs and stereoscopes, credited by some as the very early precursor of modern day virtual reality technology.

Viewing photographs through a stereoscope was a wildly popular form of entertainment in America and most households in the 1800s and early 1900s owned one.

96.8.22 Wooden hand-held stereoscope (with copy of stereograph inserted)

The style of stereoscopes in the Bay Village Historical Society collection are used to view a stereograph card that is comprised of two photographic images. The images are placed side-by-side to create the illusion of depth to the person looking through the lenses of the stereoscope. This is done by taking two images of the same subject, offset by the same distance as human pupils (about 2 ½ inches). The viewer’s left eye views just the left image and the viewer’s right eye views only the offset right image. After taking a little time to adjust your eyes, you will soon see the images appear as one image in a 3-dimensional effect.

The original concept of “binocular vision” was first studied and described in 1838 by English scientist Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) who demonstrated the concept by constructing the first stereoscope using mirrors. Scottish scientist Sir David Brewster (1781-1868), already known since 1817 as the inventor of the kaleidoscope, saw great promise in this new invention. He improved upon Wheatstone’s design by making the device portable, adding lenses and dispensing with the mirrors. By the 1850s stereograph images were produced inexpensively and in massive amounts by companies such as The London Stereoscope Company. In about 1860, the American poet and physician Oliver Wendall Holmes (1809-1894) designed a popular version of the stereoscope viewer for the public that was a simple, hand-held device. This more convenient style of stereoscope became the most used in American homes and is the type we have in our collections at the Bay Village Historical Society.

2021.P.FIC.223C “No Place Like Home” Keystone View Company 1898

Now, in the comfort of his or her own home, the average American could see sights in more near realistic depth of vision of everything from the spectacular and exotic, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza, to the smaller and more intimate, as in scenes of family life. They could take the viewer into a historically significant event, such as images of the President McKinley funeral in our collections. They might be printed in a series to tell a story or to educate, as in our collection of cards that tell the story of the life of Jesus Christ. They may include additional information on the backside or another view at which to gaze. The American stereograph publisher Underwood and Underwood was the biggest in the world and at their height, produced 25,000 views a day for public consumption. We own at least one of their cards in our collections.

2021.P.FIC.224 “Easter Morning” Strohmeyer & Wyman, Publishers, sold by Underwood & Underwood 1892

2020.P.FIC.221B No.2 “Adoration Of The Wise Men”

2021.P.FIC.223S “The Funeral of President McKinley” Keystone View Company 1901

2021.P.FIC.225 “Our Father Which Art In Heaven”

2021.P.FIC.223 “Making Room For Patches” Keystone View Company 1901

2021.P.FIC.223Q “St. Gotthard R.R. and the Axenstrasse, Brunnen, Switzerland, Keystone View Company 1901

Stereographs became less popular as the 20th century moved on but we still have important uses for 3-D images today in such uses as microscopy, and even to train surgeons and pilots. Brian May, member of the rock group Queen, has for decades been an avid producer and promoter of the art of stereography (3-D photography) and has recently produced several books on the subject, complete with included viewers.
We hope you enjoyed this glimpse into a popular pastime from days long gone. We only wish you could view them here as they were meant to be seen, through the lenses of a stereoscope viewer.

1997.L.004 Wood and metal stereoscope (with copy of stereograph inserted)

Examples of stereoscopes and stereographs can be seen in person at the Rose Hill museum, which is open on Sundays, April-December, from 2:00 to 4:30pm.

We are working hard to preserve and be able to share objects and images such as these with the public but we need your help. If you enjoyed this post, we ask you to consider donating to or becoming a member of the Bay Village Historical Society at http://www.bayhistorical.com/support-us/#Donate. If you’d like a more hands-on experience, consider volunteering by contacting us at (216) 319-4634 or email info@bayhistorical.com.

Information for this post was taken from the following sources:
Thompson, Clive. “Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality.” Smithsonian Magazine, October 2017
Christie, Ian. “The 19th Century Craze for Stereoscopic Photography.” lecture at Gresham College, February 2018
Pellerin, Denis and May, Brian. “Stereoscopy: The Dawn of 3-D.” November 2021

Fashion Diva Fun: Stockings

The following post about stockings was written by Bay Village Historical Society member and volunteer Marie Albano, who has been a tremendous help to the museum in her knowledge and interest in historical clothing.

We have more fashion on display at the Rose Hill Museum, with an emphasis on the 1920s. The museum is now open on Sundays from 2:00pm to 4:30pm (closed July 3rd).

Fashion Diva Fun: Stockings

Let’s talk stockings and I don’t mean Christmas!

Did you know that our museum has an extensive collection of stockings and socks? Everyone tends to think that stockings came in either white or black. During the Victorian era, stockings were often matched to the shade of the gown for evening. It was also popular to match your stockings to your petticoat with purple or red being very fashionable.

1998.C.37 Victorian Maroon Stockings

Black stockings for boys and girls were considered to be strong and were typically worn until 1920. They were made domestically and cost 25 cents/year.

When hemlines revealed more leg, it was suggested by a 1915 fashion magazine that a delicate stripe would be permissible with the new saddle oxfords. Also, plaid or polka dot stockings with plain shoes would be in good taste.

The stockings for both men and women were typically made of wool, cotton, linen or silk with silk being reserved for the very wealthy. The thread for the silk stockings was made in Lille, France. The material is called Lisle, it is actually combed Egyptian cotton made fine and silky by a mercerizing process making it stronger. In 1903 they were imported from France at $1.00/pair.

More fashion fun to come.

Dr. Marie A. Albano, D.D.S.

1996.P.FIC.02.61 possibly Mae Ligget wearing light-colored stockings in the late 1800s, from the Foote Family album

Your donations and memberships help keep these artifacts preserved and accessible to all and can be made by visiting our webpage https://www.bayhistorical.com/support-us/.

2021.P.FIC.010 Georgia Brown shows a bit of dark stockings at the end of their popularity in the 1910s

2020.C.FIC.265 Corset with garters (front only survive) to hold up stockings

1996.C.503 Blue Embroidered Stockings, late 1800s

1999.C.78 Green Silk Stockings, circa 1930, labeled Osborne

2020.C.FIC.281 Marvel Emil Sebert’s Lace Stockings. Sebert was an English and typing teacher in Parkview/Bay High School from 1925-1952.

Marvel Sebert from the 1947 Bay Blue Book Yearbook

2022.08.14.01.12.117 Bay Librarians Model Jim Shea Hosiery, 1969

Beach Fun in Bay Village

Summer is almost here and many friends of the Bay Village Historical Society may have plans to visit our shoreline, if they haven’t already. The Lake Erie coastline is everchanging, both by natural and man-made forces. In the archives of the Osborn Learning Center, we have many photos of fun at the beach in Bay Village from years gone by. Below you’ll find several from our collection that we hope you’ll enjoy.

As a reminder, the Osborn Learning Center is open Sundays from 2:00pm to 4:30pm with exhibits ranging from Eliot Ness and the “Untouchables” to the Sheppard murder case. It also houses various research materials from our archives for visitors.

Want more glimpses of historic fun at the beach? At Rose Hill we have swimsuits on display from the 1920s, along with other exhibits showcasing the important decade in the history of Bay Village.

Your donations and memberships help keep these artifacts preserved and accessible to all and can be made by visiting our webpage https://www.bayhistorical.com/support-us/.

2021.P.23.09.08 Bay Family swimming in Lake Erie 1925 or 26. Back: Colette Clement, Colette Frank Clement (her mother), Jack McIlvried. Front: Sylvia Clement, and Clement cousins Myra and Louise

2021.P.23.09.06 Colette Clement and future husband Jack McIlvried on Huntington Beach 1934

2021.P.FIC.024 Man Buried in Sand (maybe 1941)

2021.P.FIC.237.07 Young Men on Huntington Beach (undated)

2000.P.FIC.017 Undated, Wischmeyer Hotel guests at the dock and out for a sail.

Victorians Ruffled Feathers

The following article was written by Bay Historical Society Trustee Sue Jachnick. It was sparked, in part, by the discovery of an intact bird-of-paradise in the costume collection at Rose Hill Museum. The museum owns many such accessories with some put on display this year to coincide with several small exhibits celebrating the significant decade of the 1920s in Bay.

The Osborn Learning Center (next door) currently features photos and artifacts concerning the Bay Hospital. Photos and articles about one of its physicians, Dr. Samuel Sheppard, and his infamous murder trial are also on display. Information about former Bay Village resident and famous G-Man of the “Untouchables” fame, Eliot Ness, can be viewed courtesy of collector Kevin Killeen.

Rose Hill Museum and the Osborn Learning Center are open Sundays, 2-4:30pm.

Victorian Women’s Fashion

Over the past winter under the direction of Cathy Flament, the clothing collection at Rosehill has been meticulously inventoried and stored. We have opened countless drawers, bags, boxes and containers filled with all sort of items. Imagine our surprise when we came across a beautiful stuffed bird. We had no idea where it came from but guessed that it had once adorned a woman’s hat. We did some research and learned that it was a bird of paradise and had likely come from Papua New Guinea. One of the few places on earth where it can be found. It is a multicolored bird with brilliant, iridescent feathers that grow only during its mating season. Further research revealed some fascinating facts about this odd Victorian fashion.

2021.C.FIC.41 Bird-of-paradise accessory.

The Victorians were said to have over done everything from decorating to fashion. Their motto may have been “too much is never enough” and this was certainly true from 1885 – 1921. During that time women’s hats were not only tall but wide-brimmed and lavishly decorated with large bows, flowers, ribbons, feathers and even entire birds. Yes, birds. The hats were so large that women had to sometimes kneel down in their carriages or ride with the head outside the window.

1996.C.302 Plum-colored hat with feathers.

This trend originated in the fashion salons of Paris and rapidly spread to the United States. The birds that were used were not common birds like chickens, starlings or robins but rather rare, exotic, colorful birds found only in Central/South America, Amazon rainforest and the Pacific Islands. Explorers spent months and sometimes years in these far-off places gathering thousands of specimens to be shipped back home for the sole purpose of the fashion industry. Hundreds of pounds of feathers were shipped back to supply the demand for this fashion trend. Hunters descended on the everglades in Florida and stole snowy egrets off the nest for the sole purpose of obtaining their plumes that only grow during mating season. The practice not only killed the stolen bird but left nestlings and eggs without a parent and doomed them to a certain death. It drove the species to near extinction.

1996.C.318 Cream color ostrich feather hand held fan.

Sometimes the specimens were prepared is such a way that the bird was left intact and the entire bird sat perched on the hat. For a particularly ostentatious look multiple birds would be used to adorn the hat thus increasing the status of the woman in Victorian society. Other times, the feathers would be plucked and used separately.

By 1914 the practice of killing birds for their feathers had become so out of control that entire species were being driven to extinction and birds were disappearing by the millions driving their numbers to dangerously low levels. Finally, people began to take notice and were appalled. Women’s groups and conservations groups began organizing and staging protests. Eventually, women began to reject the practice and refused to wear feathers of any sort.

2000.C.14 Pink hand held feather fan.

This fashion trend contributed to the founding of the Audubon society and in 1918 President Wilson signed the Migratory Bird Act into effect. It is the most important bird protection law in the U.S. and it has been in place for over 100 years. Legislation had been passed to weaken the act but it has recently been repealed.

If you want to learn more:

David Attenborough has a documentary about birds of paradise. The Feather Thief a non-fiction novel by Kirk Wallace Johnson.

written by Sue Jachnick

1999.C.70 Black ostrich feather and tortoise shell fan.

2020.C.FIC.452 Peacock feathers on display in the Rose Hill Museum Victorian Parlor.

Dream Mansion Turned Hospital / Bay View Hospital

by Michele Yamamoto

October 1948 marked the opening of the new Bay View Osteopathic General Hospital in the old estate of Washington Herbert Lawrence (b.1840, d. 1900). It was a dream home of this early investor in the new field of electricity and president of The National Carbon Company, which manufactured, among many products, the first “D” cell battery. Lawrence died in 1900, before the mansion was fully completed to house his seven daughters and their families.

*William H. Lawrence Mansion (now Cashelmara Condominiums)*

In 1948, monies to buy the old mansion and turn it into a hospital were advanced by the Sheppard Family, including new Bay View Hospital Chief of Staff Dr. Richard A. Sheppard and his two sons Dr. Richard N. Sheppard (senior surgeon and obstetrician) and Dr. Stephen A. Sheppard (director of hospital practices and urologist). A third son, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard, who was a specialist in neuro-traumatic surgery, joined the staff later in 1951.

*Drs. Sheppard: Samuel, Stephen, Richard (Sr.) and Richard N. circa 1940s*

Nurses listed as Miss Hodges, Marie Greckle and Mrs. Humphrey
stand in uniform in front of a giant azalea at the Bay View Hospital, May 1951

The hospital’s needs soon outgrew the old mansion and a wing was added in 1953 to increase the capacity to 96 beds. By 1963, 15,300 square feet of two more floors and 30 additional beds had been added above the newer wing and the hospital was able to provide an emergency room, X-rays, surgeries, lab work, a treatment center for alcoholism and a pharmacy, among other services and amenities for patients.

*Bay View Hospital Brochure detailing the expansion and new facilities added in 1963*

*A nurse with a pediatric patient from a 1965 Bay View Hospital brochure cover*

By 1971, the hospital needed to expand again and applied for permission from the Metropolitan Health Planning Commission to build to the west of the hospital building. Permission was refused with limited land space, cramped parking, building age and the need to care for more underserved areas and work with other hospitals listed as reasons for the refusal. As a result, there was a move toward developing the Westlake Health Campus with St. John’s and Fairview hospitals. At the end of its life, Bay View Hospital included nearly 100 doctors, 300 employees and more than 200 volunteers. The old home and hospital was converted into condominiums in the early 1980s and today is known as Cashelmara.

Photographs and objects from the Bay View Hospital are now on display in the “Crime Room” at the Osborn Learning Center at Cahoon Memorial Park. In a related display are pictures and news articles about the well-publicized 1954 murder of Marilyn Sheppard, wife of Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard, resident of Bay Village and physician at the Bay View Hospital.

You will also find a new display about former Bay Village resident Eliot Ness, the famous leader of a team of law enforcement agents nicknamed “The Untouchables,” courtesy of collector Kevin Killeen.

Rose Hill Museum and the Osborn Learning Center (next door) are now open to the public every Sunday from 2-4:30 p.m. Closed on holidays.

Bay Village Library, part 3 Bay Village Library on Cahoon Road

The following history of the library in Bay Village is taken from an article written by Bay Village Historical Society board member, Cynthia Eakin. It is part three of a three-part series that we will be sharing with you through Glimpse of the Past.

If you would like to find out even more about the library or Bay Village history in general, contact us at (440) 871-7338 or email us: info@bayhistorical.com.

Bay Village Library History, Part 3

Bay Village Builds a Larger, Modern Library on Cahoon Road

By the late 1970s, Bay Village had outgrown the library building at the corner of Dover Center Road and Wolf Road. A decision was made to construct a larger, more modern building.

A $1.2 million bond issue was approved by the voters of Bay Village on Nov. 7, 1978 for the design and construction of a new library. The Bay Village branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at 502 Cahoon Road opened on Apr. 5, 1981. The new building had 15,735 square feet of space and housed 70,000 volumes. The design received an award from the American Institute of Architects/Architects Society of Ohio in the fall of that year.

Bay Library at 502 Cahoon July 1980, 2022.P.08.14.02.13B.6

Bay Village Library before parking lot build, August 1981,2022.P.08.14.02.14A.1

Newly built Bay Village Library on 502 Cahoon Road 1981, 2022.P.08.14.03.02A.1

“The building was built in 1981 and renovated in 1997,” Bay Village Branch Manager Jessica Breslin noted. “At that time, the circulation department, entryways, computer and teen areas were modified significantly. There was a stage in the meeting room, which was removed during the renovation. The children’s play area was expanded and comfortable seating was added around 2012.”

Families browse books and new audio-visual collection circa early 1980s,2022.P.08.14.03.03B.3

Children reading at the Library circa 1981,2022.P.08.14.03.05B.1

“Over the years, we expanded early childhood programming to include STEAM programming, extended story times, facilitated kindergarten readiness activities and sensory story times adapted for youth with disabilities. Other children’s programs such as Book Buddies, Chalk the Walk and the Summer Reading Game grew in popularity,” she added.

“After the closure of the Bayway after school program, the library became a safe and engaging place for middle school students to spend time in the afternoon. We created a weekly Teen Zone program that encouraged our tweens and teens to participate in activities such as painting workshops, tech classes, movie days and service projects. We had a homework mentor to assist students with their schoolwork Monday through Thursday afternoons. Our staff welcomed students in and had a chance to make some great connections with them,” Breslin said.

“We offered digital literacy programming for adults including training on the library’s digital resources, iPad 101 and drop-in and download. We hosted the AARP for tax preparation sessions from January through April annually. Many civic organizations have utilized our meeting spaces, including the Bay Village Historical Society, League of Women Voters, Board of Elections, Girl Scouts, Sea Scouts, PTA and the Bay Village Community Council,” she said. “We have hosted many authors including local favorites like Michael Heaton, James Renner and Dan Coughlin. The Friends of the Library offered both quarterly and ongoing book sales and generously supported library programming. We offered various maker programs including 3D origami wall art, vegan leather jewelry, glass etching and book folding. We offered three monthly book discussions, including partnerships with Dwyer Senior Center and BAYarts.”

“Our collection floats from building to building, so we don’t keep statistics on the number of volumes that we now house,” Breslin explained. “But, our annual circulation from the Cahoon Road location was approximately 248,000 items with an average of 153,000 customer visits.”

Children study and use the new electronics at Bay Library circa early 1980s, 2022.P.08.14.03.06A.1