The Tremont History Project

Memories of Maria Cairns-Yuras

Eileen — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:37:51 +0000

“Lincoln Park - Sundays people would gather on the grass and benches to chat with friends or play cards, checkers, dominos and chess on the picnic tables. Some would bring picnic baskets from home while others stopped after church. Children played soccer or played at the pond that was in the center of the park, they also had a carousel and swings, too. Water fountains were at the corners of the park off Kenilworth/W11th and W14th & Starkweather. There were bushes completely around the whole park and Post Lamps that lit up the park at night. They had toilets, but Mom remembers them being dirty. Mom seemed to think there were no sidewalks on the inside of the park in the early days, but brother Mike says there were always there. I remember goldfish in the pond and Mike says they broke ground in 1957 to put the swimming pool in that still stands today. Swimming was free from 7 years old and up, but you had to sign in your name and age before getting in. They would check our toes and make us take a quick outside shower spray before getting through the bar gates. Wednesday was Family night for swimming where parents could come. Teenagers would climb the fence and skinny dip late nights, too. There were Easter egg hunts and Band Concerts in the Park, also……

Our milk was delivered to our doorstep in glass bottles with cardboard caps. My brother Mike delivered the Cleveland Press Newspaper and then later turned it over to brother Bill who turned it over to Roman and me. We raised chickens, rabbits and pigeons in our backyard. We never locked our doors, someone was always home and kids running in and out all the time……

My mom was a cleaning lady and raised 4 children. She paid off her home and has lived in the same house in Tremont for 55 years so far. She has seen many changes over the years from good to bad to good again. There are still a few oldtimers like my parents that have hung on through thick and thin and still reside here in Tremont……”

With Memories and Sincerity, Maria Cairns-Yuras (Dowhaniuk Family)

*Used with permission from Maria Cairns-Yuras. These are only a few of the memories from Maria and are written as given to us. We do not guarantee historical accuracy for this or our other oral/written histories/memories. These are memories from the 1950’s/1960’s timeframe.

JOHN G. JENNINGS

Eileen — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:46:40 +0000

John G. Jennings was born in 1825 and died on December 16, 1896 at his residence at 194 Jennings Avenue. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery. He created the University Heights allotment in 1851. Mr. Jennings taught Sunday school in 1859-1860. The people of the area wanted their own church rather than traveling east of downtown and meetings were held at the home of John Jennings on Scranton Avenue. On November 13, 1859, University Heights Congregational Church was founded. When a new church building was added in 1869, this church was named Jennings Avenue Congregational Church after the street which was named after Mr. Jennings. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings were generous to the church and he was a deacon of the church for more than 25 years.

Thomas Holmden

Eileen — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:57:01 +0000

Thomas was born in 1817 in England and died February 3, 1886 at his residence , 829 Scranton Ave. He was buried in Monroe Cemetery. Holmden Avenue was named after him and was also called “Dutch Hill”, where children would sledride. In 1860, he lived in Allegheny, Venango County, Pennsylvania. He was Venango County Commissioner from 1863-1865. He sold his land in Allegheny for $25,000 to an oil drilling company when oil was found on his property. This land became known as Pithole City and there was a huge oil boom there. By 1865, Pithold had a population of 15,000. In 1866, the wells began to dry and by the end of 1867, Pithole was dead. Thomas Holmden arrived in Brooklyn Township in 1866.

St. Wendelin Church history

Eileen — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:42:59 +0000

2281 Columbus Road. The Early Days: Reverand Joseph Koudelka, the pastor of St. Michael Church on Scranton Road, first approached Bishop Ignatius Horstmann about the possibiity of establishing a parish to serve the needs of the Slovak community. Bishop Horstmann recognized the language difficulties this community faced and their need to continue their ethnic traditions. It was on May 3, 1903 that a group of pioneer parisioners received Bishop Horstman’s approval to build a new church. This new church was given the name, Saint Wendelin.

The next step was to find a location for the new church. Word spread that a property along Columbus Road near W. 25th St. had become available. This property, which was owned by the Meckes family consisted of two lots measuring 120 ft. by 330 ft. On the property stood a brick buildeing which was purchased for $6,500. The front part of the building was remodeled into a parish house, and the rear of the building was transformed into a two-room school. On one side of the property stood the Phoenix Brewery. On the other side, there was a salooon. (more…)

Holy Ghost Greek Catholic (Now called Byzantine Catholic) Church

Eileen — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:18:54 +0000

Southwest corner of Kenilworth and W. 14th Streets.

At the turn of the 20th century, both before and after 1900, waves of immigrants from the Carpathian Mountains of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in east Slovakia, West Ukraine, Southeast Poland and the northern tip of Romania and still with no country of their own), followed Irish and German settlers to the Greater Cleveland area. These people are not Slovak, Ukrainian, Russian, or other ethnic group. They are a separate ethnic group and founded a number of churches in the Cleveland area, both Greek Catholic and Orthodox. ***More about Rusyns and Carpatho-Rusyn churches will be written on this website.

Finding work in the steel mills and industries centering around the “Flats”, these Ruthenians (known more correctly as Rusyn - not Russian -) immigrants next turned their thoughts to establishing places where they could worship in accordance with their Byzantine Catholic heritage. (more…)

Cleveland University

Eileen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:05:59 +0000

In 1850 a group of prominent Clevelanders, including Mrs. Thyrza Pelton and John Giles Jennings, began plans for the founding of Cleveland University. They purchased 275 acres of land from the Kellogg, Barber and Branch farms, on the bluff overlooking the flats. One of the founders was Governor William Slade, Jr. who platted the surrounding area into a subdivision with streets bearing such intellectual-sounding names as Literary St., University St., College St., and one that would become Professor St. Next to Slade’s allotment, the university was incorporated on March 5, 1851 and one building was constructed near the corner of College and University Ave. The plan included a female seminary, an orphan asylum, and a retreat for aged persons. The residence for the president, Rev. Asa Mahan of Oberlin Institute, was also constructed on the corner of W. 14th and Fairfield. Pelton Park (now known as Lincoln Park) was established as part of the campus. The trustees included Ahaz Merchant, Samuel Starkweather and Richard Hilliard. (more…)

Lincoln Park Baths

Eileen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:40:15 +0000

1201 Starkweather Ave. Currently condominiums, the Lincoln Park Baths opened in 1921. The baths were built to serve a community whose housing lacked modern plumbing. There were separate entrances for men and women and the patrons paid between a penny and a nickel for the use of the facilities.

Info and picture courtesy of Tremont West Dev. Corp.

Dr. Martin Luther Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church

Eileen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:14:00 +0000

Originally at 2139 W. 14th St. Construction of the innerbelt caused the move to 4470 Ridge Rd. in 1958.

More to come.

St. Andrew Kim Korean

Eileen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:49:27 +0000

2310 West 14th Street. St. Andrew Kim was previously the home of Sacred heart of Jesus Polish National Church.

More info to come.

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

Eileen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:48:57 +0000

2187 West 14th Street. The congregation was organized in 1910 as the Pan Hellenic Society with services held downtown in a hall on the corner of Bolivar and Ontario Streets. In 1918 the Society became known as the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. The current church’s construction also began in 1918. Until 1937 this was Cleveland’s only church for Greeks.

Courtesy of “A Guide to Cleveland’s Sacred Landmarks” by Armstrong, Klein, Armstrong and

“Tremont’s Churches” by Victoria George and Drew Rolik, HABITAT magazine, February 9 / February 13, 1990