| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Latvian Association of Cleveland |
| Title: | Latvian Association of Cleveland Records |
| Dates: | 1999-2009 |
| Extent: | 0.40 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | The Latvian Association of Cleveland was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1950 to unite the Latvian immigrant community in northeast Ohio, promote Latvian culture and traditions, and preserve the Latvian language. Beginning in 1999, the organization sponsored the effort to develop the Latvian Cultural Garden in Cleveland Cultural Gardens of Rockefeller Park. The garden was dedicated in 2006. The collection consists of the contents of two scrapbooks that document the development and dedication of the Latvian Cultural Garden in Cleveland, Ohio. |
| MS Number | MS 5261 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English and Latvian |
Immigrants from Latvia settled in Cleveland and northeast Ohio beginning in the 1890s. Early immigrants were predominantly manual laborers from rural areas with little education. In 1897 the Latvian community had established a small Lutheran congregation consisting of fifty members. Around 1905, the first political refugees from czarist repression arrived in Cleveland, and this group established its own society. Many of these immigrants returned to Latvia after the 1917 Russian Revolution. By 1940, more than 600 Latvians lived in northeast Ohio.
After 1950, another wave of Latvian immigration emerged in Cleveland, this time consisting of educated, skilled people fleeing communist oppression. By 1960, the northeast Ohio Latvian community grew to include more than 4,000 people. Most Latvian immigrants settled on Cleveland's west side and western suburbs. Two churches were established to meet the religious needs of this growing community, including the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Latvian Evangelical Church of Peace. In 1962 these churches merged to become the United Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the congregation purchased the Church of the Redeemer in Lakewood, Ohio. The new church was consecrated in 1964, and by the 1970s had a membership of 900. The church hall became the headquarters of the Latvian community in northeast Ohio.
In 1951, the Cleveland Latvian Baptist Church was organized. That same year, the Latvian community organized a small Roman Catholic group that held monthly Mass in Latvian. The Dievturi religious movement also established a strong presence in Cleveland.
The Latvian Association of Cleveland and the Latvian Welfare Association (Daugavas Vanagi) were established in 1950 and 1951. These organizations offered support for disabled Latvian veterans and supported cultural, educational, and humanitarian efforts. The Welfare Association in particular sponsored a theater group and sports activities while the Latvian Association of Cleveland worked to unite all Latvians, promote Latvian culture, preserve the Latvian language, and assist efforts to free Latvia from communist oppression.
The Cleveland Latvian community includes several established choirs, the Cleveland Latvian Concert Association, and several theater groups. Several Latvian artists have studios in Cleveland, and the folk dance troupe Pastalnieki promotes traditional folk dancing.
The oldest and largest Latvian credit union in the United States was established in Cleveland in 1960. A second credit union, consisting of Ohio Latvian church members, was established in 1966. These credit unions merged in 1998 to create the Latvian Cleveland Credit Union with more than 1,000 members and assets exceeding $15 million.
After Latvia achieved independence in 1991, Cleveland's Latvian immigrants began to visit their homeland in large numbers. These visits renewed efforts within the community to promote Latvian culture and language in Cleveland as younger generations became increasingly Americanized. One of those efforts was the establishment of the Latvian Cultural Garden.
The Latvian Cultural Garden was dedicated in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens of Rockefeller Park in Cleveland, Ohio, in October 2006. Efforts to secure a plat in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens for the Latvian immigrant community began in 1999 when Silvija Rutenbergs and Ilze Resnis began attending meetings of the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation during a time of "revival" of the Cultural Gardens. A Latvian garden committee was formed with the Latvian Association of Cleveland being the sponsor organization. The committee members included Anda Cook, Kalvis Kampe, Baiba and Egils Apelis, Zenta Apinis, Baiba and Bill Crawford, Dzintra and Vilmars Kukainis, John Resnis, and Inara Zarins.
The garden was designed by the Latvian Garden Committee, local Latvian architect Kalvis Kampe, Cleveland landscape architect Al Parker, and Latvian sculptor Girts Burvis. The entrance path begins with the Latvian flag and leads visitors to the arched granite stone sculpture which is surrounded by a "Stream" sculpture, the "Namejs" sculpture, and the "boat" bench. Birch trees, which are prevalent in Latvia's environment and poetry, are incorporated in the landscape. the center arched sculpture is a granite boulder from Latvia sculpted by Girts Burvis. It represents the passage of immigrants from Latvia to the United States. The arch silhouette represents a woman in traditional folk dress to signify the strength and spirit of the Latvian people. The stone is engraved with Latvian design elements. Two granite benches symbolize the many rivers, lakes, and the Baltic Sea in Latvia. Another sculpture includes an inscription encircled with a traditional Latvian "namejs" design.
The Latvian Association of Cleveland Records, 1999-2009, consist of the contents of two scrapbooks that document the development and dedication of the Latvian Cultural Garden in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens of Rockefeller Park. The collection includes autobiographies, biographies, brochures, correspondence, drawings, histories, maps, memoranda, newspaper clippings, notes, permits, photographs, proclamations, proposals, reports, summaries, and timelines.
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the Latvian immigrant community of Cleveland and northeast Ohio, particularly the experiences of immigrant who arrived from Latvia as political refugees after World War II. Those interested in the histories of various Latvian churches, benefit organizations, and immigrants will find this collection particularly useful. The collection documents the development and dedication of the Latvian Cultural Garden in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens of Rockefeller Park, and the scrapbooks use that project to tell a comprehensive history of the Latvian immigrant community in Cleveland. The collection includes details of the major donors of the garden, the artists and the sculpture they created for the garden, and the administrative details that were completed as part of the garden's development and dedication. The biographies and autobiographies of Latvian immigrants and their families will be useful to genealogists.
None.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5261 Latvian Association of Cleveland Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of the Latvian Association of Cleveland in 2009.
Processed by Margaret Burzynski-Bays in 2014.
Latvian Association of Cleveland Records 1999-2009 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Scrapbook contents, including a timeline and narrative history of the development of the Latvian Cultural Garden; map of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens; signature guest books for Latvian Cultural Garden inaugural/dedication events; landscape and sculpture drawings; curriculum vitae of sculptor Girts Burvis; memorandum; and brochures 2006-2007 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Scrapbook contents, including letters of support for the Latvian Cultural Garden; autobiographies and biographies of Latvian immigrants to Cleveland; and histories of Latvian organizations, churches, and businesses ca. 2006-2009 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Scrapbook contents, including photographs and other material documenting the Latvian Cultural Garden groundbreaking ceremony and soil transfer from Latvia to Cleveland 2006 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Scrapbook contents, including correspondence between the Latvian Association of Cleveland, the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation, and the City of Cleveland to secure a plat and approve plans for the Latvian Cultural Garden 1999-2006 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Scrapbook contents, including photographs of fundraising events, moving of the sculpture from Latvia to Cleveland, installation of the sculpture in the Latvian Cultural Garden, raising of the Latvian flag at the Latvian Cultural Garden, dedication of the Latvian Cultural Garden, and events and official visits to the Latvian Cultural Garden 2006-2008 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Scrapbook contents, including documentation of garden design and artistic concepts 2005 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Scrapbook contents, including contracts with sculptors and architect 2004-2008 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Scrapbook contents, including Phase I garden design, Phase II technical drawings, and plat description (Latvian Cultural Garden) 2005 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Scrapbook contents, including recommendations for "Namejs" stone inscription 2007-2008 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Scrapbook contents, including publicity (newspaper and magazine clippings) 2003-2006 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Scrapbook contents, including fundraising documentation for Latvian Cultural Garden 2001-2009 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Scrapbook contents, including materials related to events held at the Latvian Cultural Garden (invitations, brochures, newspaper clippings, permits, etc.) 2006-2008 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Scrapbook contents, including certificates, proclamations, and other concluding documents 2006-2008 | |||||||||