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James W. Rankin served four consecutive terms (1971-1978) in the Ohio House of Representatives. Born and raised in Cincinnati, he graduated from Withrow High School and The Ohio State University’s School of Social Work. While working in Cincinnati’s Seven Hills neighborhood, he ran for office to “involve the disadvantaged in the governmental processes that affected their lives.” He won his first bid and served the next seven years as a state representative for the 69th House district, later the reapportioned 25th district. Representative Rankin fought passionately for civil and human rights in education and public policy. He served on the Reference, Human Resources, and Finance committees. When Rankin died of pneumonia, aged 52, the Cincinnati Enquirer proclaimed him a “Friend of the Poor.”
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One this site, December 10, 1886, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Union merged with the trade unionists of the Knights of Labor to create the American Federation of Labor. Delegates elected Samuel Gompers president and dedicated the Federation to improving the life of America’s working men and women. The A.F.L. recognizes November 15, 1881, as its anniversary date to honor the origin and legacy of F.O.T.L.U.
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The origin of Beulah Park Race Track began in 1889 when local businessman A. G. Grant petitioned the village of Grove City to create the Beulah Addition housing development on farmland once owned by town founder William Foster Breck. Grant named the new addition, located west of Harrisburg Pike, in honor of his daughter, Beulah. Grant, whose grandparents, Hugh and Catherine Grant, were Jackson Township’s first settlers in 1803, added a recreational park to the development to attract potential buyers. The beautifully wooded park attracted visitors who enjoyed picnics, concerts, speeches, and baseball games there. Soon the park was expanded to include a small racetrack on the grounds.
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This “little gem of a stone church,” built and dedicated in 1893, is constructed of locally quarried, rusticated Berea sandstone blocks. A Celtic cross at the top of the west wall represented the areas of Great Britain from which many original parish members immigrated to this area of Ohio. The chapel is named in honor of John Ogilvy. He was not a member of St. Thomas Church, but he did leave a bequest which the parish used to erect the chapel. It was constructed at a cost of $4,174.70.
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In 1915, Congress formed the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to coordinate aircraft research in the United States. The NACA built three research laboratories: Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (AERL), now the Glenn Research Center. Construction for AERL’s Cleveland, Ohio location began in 1941 in a field next to the Cleveland Municipal Airport used for parking during the National Air Races of the 1930s. The research campus’ roads followed the semi-circular pattern of the air races’ parking roads. Operations began in 1942 with Edward Sharp as the first director. In 1948, AERL was renamed the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in honor of George Lewis, NACA’s Director of Aeronautical Research for over twenty years.
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City architect Frederic H. Betz designed the St. Clair Avenue Public Bath House and it was constructed in 1919-1920 at a cost of $320,000. The facility included a large gymnasium, swimming pool, and laundry, in addition to showers. City Council dedicated the newly completed building to the late, beloved Cleveland Indians shortstop Raymond Chapman in 1920. The St. Clair Recreation Center, as it was later known, was in the impact zone and survived the East Ohio Gas Company disaster on October 20, 1944. The facility was remodeled in 1949 and subsequent renovations demonstrate the utility of the building. Edward J. Kovacic (1910-1974) was the superintendent of the bathhouse from 1933-1934 and served on the City Council from 1940-1953. In 1977, the facility was renamed to honor Kovacic’s contributions to the citizens of the St. Clair neighborhood and to the city. (Continued on other side)
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A group of Jewish immigrants fleeing Germany after Kristallnacht (The Night of the Broken Glass) settled in Cleveland in 1940. The refugees formed a congregation and named it Shaarey Tikvah, “Gates of Hope” in Hebrew. They met in private homes until obtaining premises above the Tasty Shop Bakery on Euclid Avenue. As the congregation thrived it moved and merged several times before settling in Beachwood in 1986. Rabbi Jacob Shtull, Shaarey Tikvah’s first English-speaking Rabbi, sought to honor the founders by establishing Cleveland’s annual Kristallnacht commemoration. “Face to Face,” a Holocaust education program that shares the refugee story with local schools, began in 1994. Today, this “Small Shul. Large Community” remains a tribute to the German immigrants that found their way to Cleveland to unite in friendship and faith.