Finding aid for the Cleveland Heritage Program Records


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Cleveland Heritage Program
Title: Cleveland Heritage Program Records
Dates: 1975-1984
Extent: 3.20 linear feet (4 containers)
Abstract: The Cleveland Public Library's Cleveland Heritage Program was a public education project which aimed to help residents of Cleveland, Ohio, understand how neighborhoods have contributed to the growth and development of the city. The program, which ran from 1981-1983, allowed Clevelanders to take part in a number of educational activities that helped reveal Cleveland's past. The Cleveland Heritage Program was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Cleveland Foundation, and the Gund Foundation. The collection consists of notes, correspondence, pamphlets, interview transcripts, and video recordings.
MS Number MS 5176
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of the Cleveland Public Library's Cleveland Heritage Program

The Cleveland Public Library's Cleveland Heritage Program was a public education project which aimed to help residents of Cleveland, Ohio, understand how neighborhoods have contributed to the growth and development of the city. The program, which ran from 1981-1983, allowed Clevelanders to take part in a number of educational activities that helped reveal Cleveland's past.

The staff of the Program was assembled in 1981 under the leadership of Thomas F. Campbell, a history professor at Cleveland State University. In September, the staff began their research into the urban and neighborhood development of Cleveland at a seven-week Neighborhood Studies Institute. Their research focused on demographic, commercial, residential, and institutional development.

In June 1982, three historical exhibits were mounted focusing on three of Cleveland's neighborhoods - Ohio City, Central-Woodland, and Broadway-Fleet. Residents and businesspeople from these neighborhoods donated photographs, historical documents, and business records for the exhibits. Other activities of the Program included free public lectures, neighborhood bus and walking tours, local history contests, and neighborhood heritage week programs. Books and pamphlets focusing on Cleveland's neighborhood history were published and distributed, and a documentary tracing the history of the Broadway-Fleet neighborhood was filmed.

The staff of the Program also conducted a series oral histories, interviewing immigrants to Cleveland. In 1983, three of the staff members wrote a play, "Building Community: The Peoples of Cleveland," based on those oral histories. It was performed by the Near West Side Youth Theater.

The Cleveland Heritage Program was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Cleveland Foundation, and the George Gund Foundation.


Scope and Content

The Cleveland Heritage Program Records, 1975-1984 and undated, consist of notes, correspondence, pamphlets, interview transcripts, and video recordings.

This collection is of value to researchers who are interested in the history of the growth and development of Cleveland, Ohio, and its distinct neighborhoods from the mid-1800s to the 1980s. Specific neighborhoods detailed in this collection are the Ohio City, Central-Woodland, and Broadway-Fleet neighborhoods. Interviews with local business owners regarding the history and development of these neighborhoods will be of interest. Researchers who are interested in first-hand accounts of immigrant life in Cleveland will find the collection particularly helpful. The oral history portion of this collection includes representation from immigrants from South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia, Russia, and Appalachian America. Those looking for information about the Cleveland Heritage Festival itself will also find the collection valuable.


Statement of Arrangement

This collection is arranged in five series.
Series I: Administrative Records is arranged alphabetically by document type and then chronologically.
Series II: Interview Transcripts is arranged alphabetically by last name.
Series III: Ethnic Heritage Studies Series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series IV: Heritage Program Videos is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series V: Building Community: The Peoples of Cleveland is arranged alphabetically by document type.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 5177 Cuyahoga Community College Greater Cleveland Community Studies and Oral History Center Records; and MS 5175 Greater Cleveland Ethnographic Museum Records.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Cleveland (Ohio) -- Emigration and immigration
Cleveland Heritage Program
Cleveland Public Library
Ethnic neighborhoods -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History.
Immigrants -- Ohio -- Cleveland
Immigrants -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Interviews.
Neighborhoods -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Ohio City (Cleveland, Ohio)

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5176 Cleveland Heritage Program Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Edward Miggins in 2002.

Processing Information

The processing of this collection was made possible through a gift by Gina Hamister. Processed by Jessica Marra in 2014.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Series I: Administrative Records 1981-1983

Box Folder
1 1 Notes and program overview 1981
1 2 Pamphlets 1981-1983
1 3 Release forms 1982-1983

Series II: Interview Transcripts 1981-1984 undated

Box Folder
1 4 Anaya, Wilfredo 1982
1 5 Baya, William Sr. 1982
1 6 Butler, Katherine 1982
1 7 Cardenas, Daniel 1982
1 8 Caesar, Richard 1982
1 9 Christian, Corda 1982
1 10 Czako, Elizabeth 1981
1 11 Fagan, Henry 1983
1 12 Fedas 1982
1 13 Flewellyn, Ichabod 1982
1 14 Garcia, Jose 1982
1 15 Gaskins, Mary 1984
1 16 Graham, Ruth 1982
1 17 Grayson, Malcolm 1982
1 18 Greenly, Betty 1982
1 19 Hill, Reverend L.F. 1981
1 20 Holt, Audrey 1982
1 21 Jancsek, Veronica 1982
1 22 Jeliffe, Rowena 1983
1 23 Kanzeg, Lou Emily 1982
1 24 Keating, Thomas 1982
1 25 Kellum, Helen and Walters, Sam 1983
1 26 Le, Nguyen 1982
1 27 Lee, Harry 1982
1 28 Lynch, Beatrice 1982
1 29 Mahoney, Henrietta 1982
1 30 Marbach, Emma 1982
1 31 Maric, Nicola 1981
1 32 Mason, Merdis 1982
1 33 Matia, Helen 1982
1 34 Middleton, Margaret undated
1 35 Mobley, Florence 1982
1 36 Mosinski, Joseph 1982
1 37 Pawlowski, Monica 1982
1 38 Pelc, Barbara 1982
1 39 Podogil, Toni 1983
1 40 Powell, Henry Lee 1982
1 41 Richards, Florence 1982
1 42 Rivera, Jose 1982
1 43 Rowe, Edgar and Lorna 1982
1 44 Schmidt, Leo 1983
1 45 Sogg, Solomon 1981
1 46 Tamas, Alexandra undated
1 47 Thompson undated
1 48 Vacha, Norma 1981
1 49 Warcloud, Jerome undated

Series III: Ethnic Heritage Studies Series 1975

Box Folder
1 50 Activities for Ethnic Understanding 1975
1 51 America Celebrates Fall 1975
1 52 America Celebrates Winter 1975
1 53 Ethnic Foods 1975
1 54 Folklore 1975
1 55 Folk Music 1975
1 56 A Unit of Ethnic Literature 1975
1 57 What They Encountered 1975
1 58 Why They Came 1975

Series IV: Heritage Program Videos 1982-1983 undated

Box Folder
1 59 The Birth of the Corporation in Cleveland 1982
1 60 The Black Experience in Cleveland 1982
Box Folder
2 1 Buy Me Some Peanuts... 1983
2 2 Cleveland as a Cultural Center 1983
2 3 Cleveland as a Cultural Center, Part 2 1983
2 4 Cleveland's Ethnic Musical Tapestry 1982
2 5 Cleveland: The Industrial City 1982
2 6 Cleveland: The Industrial City, Part 2 1982
2 7 Cleveland Public Library 1982
2 8 Cleveland's World Role in Technological Change 1983
2 9 Ethnic Folklore in Cleveland 1982
2 10 The Ethnic Imagination: Immigrant Writers 1982
2 11 Four Key Cleveland Collections 1983
2 12 Immigrants & Cities - Civil War to Depression 1982
2 13 Mounting Crisis and Reform of Urban Politics undated
2 14 Nickelodeons and Early Movie Houses 1983
Box Folder
3 1 The People of Glenville - Yesterday and Today 1982
3 2 Religious Diversity in Cleveland 1983
3 3 Religious Diversity in Cleveland, Part 2 1983
3 4 What is Ethnic Architecture? 1982
3 5 Women in the Cleveland Unions 1983
3 6 Workers and Industrial Unrest in Cleveland 1983
3 7 The Writings of Frank Mlakar 1982

Series V: "Building Community: The Peoples of Cleveland" 1983

Box Folder
4 1 Notes and correspondence 1983
4 2 Programs 1983
4 3 Script 1983