West Shore Revisited

100 Years Before Crocker Park….

Westlake Schools in the 1800’s…..Dover Board of Education Minutes

January 19, 1839 –

At a meeting of school Directors at A. Blood’s to consider the several applications of females out of the District to be admitted into the school, it was agreed that as the school was much crowded, females over 16 years of age could not be admitted at present.

Agreeable to previous notice posted this winter to receive proposals for building the aforesaid school house, viz. to have the hewed timbers furnished for a house 24 feet by 28 and 10 between joints and 2 feet stone underpinning with other requisitions mentioned. Horace B. Shapely’s proposal being later than and other. Directors entered into contract with him to do all the carpenter, joiner, and mason work of the school house and to find all the materials but the hewed timber for $199.50/100 but he being likely to fail every way and wishing to be released, Directors released him and Austin Lilly engaged to do the same for $210 house to be ready for summer school by the middle of May 1839.

June, 1839 –

School directors met at the house of Clark Smith. Emily Miller have exhibited a certificate from the School Examiners of this County it was agreed to employ her to teach school 3 or 4 months teaching 5 ½ days each week and six hours each day for $1.25 per week.

The members of School District No. 7, Dover Township met September 20th, 1839 according to previous notice being annual meeting at the school house, Meetings opened pointed Chairman. The report of the Directors being called was accepted. Directors reported that they had partially engaged a Mrs. Campbell to teach the winter school. On motion resolved that we have a female teacher the coming winter. On motion voted that Mr. L. L. Adams’ account of $1.69 for furnishing Book of Records, water pail, dipper, broom, paper be put into last winter’s school bill. On the motion voted that Hiram Smith, L. G. Porter, and Clark Smith serve as School Directors the ensuring year. On motion meeting dissolved.

Record of directions to District Clerk on delivering duplicate for collection. In ordering collection of schoolhouse tax duplicate of November 23, 1839. Specified that it should be demanded soon enough to have delinquents returned by the first of June as it is supposed that is the month the County taxes are assessed and that it be in February to give 3 months if not paid in February to collect it by distress.

October 8, 1839 –

The school Directors refusing to qualify, Township Clerk appointed as Directors Austin Lilly, Asher Cooley, and Clark Smith for the year ensuing.

October 17, 1839 –

Directors met at the house of A. Cooley and each in the presence of the others qualified according to law. After which they appointed A. Cooley Chairman, and also A. Cooley as Clerk of said district.

At the same time it being understood that several of the members of the District with 2 of the Directors being dissatisfied with the idea of a female teacher this winter it was agreed to employ a man teacher, school to commence first Monday of December.

Winter is a great time to catch up on some reading. Here is some local history we have achieved from the late great George Serb. George submitted many columns which chronicled the West Shore’s path.

Old Downtown Bay Village

Originally printed on October 31, 1996

The original business section in Bay during the 1920’s – 40’s was concentrated on Dover Center Road in the East and West Oviatt area. Hidden away in the woods, which encompassed land from Dover Road to Cahoon and owned by the Zipp family, was the original plant built in 1885. This best kept secret located next to the railroad is Bay’s first and last railroad operation. In the near future, I’ll go into interesting details concerning its products and its 4th generation family members running the plant.

Bay Village had its first automobile agency (now the Sell’s building) in about 1929. It’s showroom had two cars, a Plymouth and a Chrysler. Harvey Bott was in charge of the service and his brother, the one-man sales staff. I plan to go into more historic detail in future issues of The Villager to bring it up to the present.

Next to the Nickle Plate Railroad, the William Blaha family ran a full service grocery store, with home delivery to their customers. Reehorst Cleaners is the present owner. The Blaha family was renting from Richard Miller, who owned the building and purchased two lots farther north directly opposite of West Oviatt Road. He built a new store sometime in the late 1920’s and about 1928 had the wooden structure built for his daughter, Marie Blaha (Peterson)who graduated from old Parkview High (now the Middle School) in the first class of 1927. She then went to beauty school and established the first, and continuing, beauty shop in the Village of Bay. Marie is currently a resident of the Lutheran Home in Westlake. I will have to devote an entire article to the remarkable Blaha family.

A mini grape vineyard existed in the Southeast corner of Dover and East Oviatt. The parcel included the office building. Joe Poliafico, an Italian immigrant, lived in a small cottage in the midst of the vineyard. He was a loner, but very friendly if one understood his Italian accent. He made grape wine for himself and his friends. Unfortunately, I never had a sample.

There was Sam Moratta and his wife on the entire plat upon which our post office is located. They were also Italian immigrants and cultivated the land raising all sorts of vegetables. They sold them from a stand in front of their house until the early 50’s. I’ll never forget observing how they made their own tomato paste. Crushed tomatoes were spread on spotlessly cleaned boards and “cured” in the hot sunlight.

This is only the beginning of future articles depicting early “downtown” Bay Village. Stay tuned.

One of Bay’s Memorable Landmarks

Originally printed on February 27, 1997

One of Bay’s memorable landmarks is the cape cod-type brick building at the corner of Wolf and Dover Roads.

Harvey Bott purchased this corner track in the late ‘20s from Louis Scholl who had a berry patch extending to where Heinen’s stands and back to the farm house and barn overlooking Cahoon Valley. Wolf Road was paved and the bridge constructed in 1929.

Mr. Bott built a small two story gasoline station on the site, selling Sinclair gasoline and petroleum products. He was a widower and lived above the station.

Harvey had the first electric gasoline pumps with a clock-faced dial which rotated from one to ten gallons. Most people bought five gallons of regular for about $1. High test cost a few cents more. A price list for the purchase consisted of a printed price card attached to the pump. Computer pumps came in the late ‘30s.

There were no inside service facilities – the lift was out in the open at the west side of the building. Additions were made. The first one, an enclosed service bay followed by another. This gas station was the first full service facility in Bay. Blaha’s Grocery had only a glass top hand pump out front.

Mr. Bott had built a small office building on the lot for Columbia Gas, who needed more space than what they had in Kutchins Drug Store across the tracks. Bay V                                               illage printing now occupies the building. It is not part of the shopping center.

The late “Erie” Olchon owned the station until his retirement. Ernie worked at the station before W.W.II when he went into the service. Upon returning he again worked at the station and took over ownership. The gasoline brand changed to Hi-Speed, then Union 76, until discontinued a couple of years ago. One cannot compete with three self-service multiple pump facilities in the area.

After Ernie retired, the late Corman Landers took over the operation for several years. Union 76 then installed company personnel until the Burns family took over in 1986. Rich Burns retired and sold out to his son, Rick, who is now sole owner. The family has been in the service station and repair business since 1936 in the Cleveland area. Rick has been celebrating this anniversary by offering service specials thru March 31st.

Bayway – “Way Back When”

Originally printed on October 17, 1996

I was really glad that I attended the formal opening of the Bay Youth Center as it brought back memories that I want to share with Bay Village readers.

The idea of a youth center was developed by the newly formed Bay Kiwanis Club in the 1950’s. Dick Hardy was president and our City Auditor, Glen Ganyard, was the treasurer and a well qualified money manager. The weekly Kiwanis meetings were held in the restaurant across from City Hall.

Shortly after Parkview High School (now the Middle School) opened in 1922, there existed a dire need for more room. Four pre-fab wooden portable buildings were erected.

A long hallway from the west side of the original Parkview building led to four separate “portables”. The first one on the left was the cafeteria. Across the hall was the home economics room with standard equipment. At the far end were the two manual training buildings (later known as Industrials Arts). On the left were individual wooden work benches, drawing boards etc. Across the hall the power tools, such as a band saw, lathe, drill press, and circular saw buzzed away under the watchful eye of Otto Mahler, who was one of Parkview’s original teachers and coach of football, basketball, track, etc. In addition, he taught several academic subjects. The long hallway was the “dining room”. At lunchtime custodians, Frank Mains and Tom Erwin set up long tables and benches which were stored along the walls.

When it came time for the portables to go, the Kiwanis selected the cafeteria building and had it moved as the original building of the present Bayway complex. Two other buildings were moved and connected end-to-end behind the Louis Scholl house which housed the school administration headquarters.

For many years the portables served as a field house and bus repair garage. Then all had to make way for the new library and the administration offices moved to the “old” library building at the corner of Wolf and Dover.

Memories? You bet! Mom Serb ran the cafeteria for many years and is still remembered for her 25 cent meals.