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The Union and League of Romanian Societies, Incorporated was formed in 1928 from a unification of two separate fraternal organizations, the Union and the League. The Union, founded on July 4, 1906, was originally organized for the purpose of promoting the general welfare of its members through life insurance policies obtained through individual societies located in the United States and Canada. The societies of the Union and League offer social interaction within their local lodges and through the strength of the larger parent organization. The purpose of the current Union and League is to maintain and encourage Romanian cultural heritage by promoting interest in Romanian ethnic values through cultural activities and to sustain loyalty to the United States and Canada among its respective members.
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In 1916, Bishop of Toledo Joseph Schrembs requested that the Sisters of Saint Francis, Rochester, Minnesota, send nuns to work with Polish immigrant children that were flooding into greater Toledo. Mother Mary Adelaide Sandusky (1874-1964) brought 22 sisters who quickly established a new order, their Toledo motherhouse, and began teaching in parish schools. Under her steady guidance, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes, Sylvania, Ohio, transformed 89-acres of farmland into a tranquil campus that included gardens, shrines, and an arboretum. Mother Adelaide designed buildings modeled on the California missions and filled them with European art as well as original ceramic murals made by the Sisters. The Sylvania Franciscans flourished and over 500 new members joined between 1916 and 1964. (Continued on other side)
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Ella Nora Phillips Myers Stewart was one of the first practicing Black women pharmacists in the United States. After she married William Stewart in 1920, the couple settled in Youngstown, then moved to Toledo where they opened Stewart’s Pharmacy in 1922. Having broken professional barriers, Ella Stewart became a tireless civil rights champion. Advocating for Black women she was active in the Enterprise Charity Club and was a 1937 charter member of Beta Lambda and Toledo Alumnae chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She served on the National Association of Colored Women Clubs, the Women’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Department of Labor, and Pan-Pacific Southeast Asia Women’s Association. Toledo’s Ella P. Stewart Academy for Girls was named in her honor in 1961. She was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1978.
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The Council of International Programs USA (CIPUSA) promotes international understanding in global communities through professional development and cross-cultural exchange. CIPUSA evolved from the Cleveland International Program, a professional and cultural exchange program for youth leaders and social workers, established by Dr. Henry B. Ollendorff in 1956. By 2003, CIPUSA had grown to include nine affiliate offices nationwide, including two offices in Ohio, the Cleveland International Program and the Columbus International Program. Since its founding, CIPUSA has brought over 10,000 professionals for practical training from 147 countries. As a leader in international exchange CIPUSA continues Ollendorff’s vision–leading people to international training exchange programs in a variety of fields, including social services, business, and education.
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Despite exclusionary laws preventing U.S. citizenship, Asians served in the Union and Confederate armies and navies during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Many of these soldiers were denied citizenship following their services due to the anti-Asian sentiment, which culminated in the Naturalization Act of 1870 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The exclusionary laws continued until 1943, and all restrictions on national origin or race were abolished in 1965. In April 2003, House Joint Resolution 45 was introduced to Congress to posthumously proclaim Civil War soldiers of Asian descent to be honorary citizens of the United States as recognition of their honorable services. (continued on other side)
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The Sarah Benedict House is a rare survivor of the once fashionable Upper Prospect neighborhood that included “Millionaires Row” on adjacent Euclid Avenue. Sarah Rathbone Benedict had this Queen Anne-inspired house built in 1883, when she was 68, and lived here until her death in 1902. She was active in the social, religious, and charitable life of Cleveland. Sarah Benedict was the widow of George A. Benedict, editor of the Cleveland Daily Herald. The house was given to the Cleveland Restoration Society by Dr. Maxine Goodman Levin in 1997 and rehabilitated for its headquarters in 1998. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and contributes to the locally designated Prospect Avenue Historic District.
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Springvale Ballroom is located on part of the one hundred and forty acre tract that English immigrant John Biddulph bought in 1840. Fred Biddulph, John Biddulph’s grandson, was born near this site in 1887. Fred and his wife, Clara, built the five thousand square foot Springvale Ballroom. On May 19, 1923, they paid fifteen dollars for the right to open the dancing pavilion. The first dance at Springvale Ballroom was held on May 23rd. A five hole golf course was added to the property in 1928. Later changes to Springvale included renovation of the ballroom, the addition of a golf office, and an upgrade to a full eighteen hole course.
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The Breathing Association was founded in 1906 as the Tuberculosis Society under the leadership of public health advocate Carrie Nelson Black. The society provided nutrition, medical care, and sanitorium services to people who could not afford proper medical care. A tuberculosis dispensary was operated at 40 South Third Street in Columbus for Ohioans needing consultation and treatment. Tuberculosis, known as the White Plague, killed one out of nine persons in Columbus during the early 1900s. An Open Air School was established on Neil Avenue in 1913 for children in homes where there were one or more cases of tuberculosis. In 1931, the Nightingale Cottage was opened on Brice Road as a tuberculosis preventorium for children. As tuberculosis became controllable, the agency became focused on emerging lung health issues. Today, The Breathing Association continues as a leading resource on lung health issues and preventing lung disease.