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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 August 1903, architects Daniel H. Burnham, John M. Carrere, and Arnold W. Brunner presented Mayor Tom L. Johnson and the City of Cleveland a plan that epitomized the City Beautiful Movement in America. The Group Plan envisioned a grand landscaped mall surrounded by public buildings in the Beaux-Arts style. The plan would create a monumental civic center, influence the design of buildings throughout the city, and lay the foundation for a city planning commission. The first of its kind in the nation, the Group Plan, as built, was the most completely realized of Burnham’s city planning efforts. In its green space and architecture, the Mall remains an enduring and vital element of Cleveland’s civic culture. (continued on other side)
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Built in 1852 and dedicated a year later, St. Patrick Church is the second oldest Roman Catholic Church in Columbus. Founded as the English speaking parish, this church of Norman Gothic design served as the home for three future bishops. Located on Naghten Street, the “Irish Broadway” of the nineteenth century, St. Patrick’s parish provided a vital place for the acculturation of the neighborhood Irish immigrants into mainstream American society. The Irish heritage is remembered through the shamrocks that emblazon the heads of each pew. Severely damaged by “the Great Fire” in 1935, the church was quickly restored and serves today as a vibrant religious center for central Ohio. The Dominican Fathers have staffed St. Patrick Church since 1885.
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The Fernald Feed Materials Production Center initiated operations on this site in October 1951, in support of America’s Cold War effort. As the first link in America’s nuclear weapons production cycle, Fernald’s mission was to produce high purity uranium metal products for use by other sites within the nuclear weapons complex. In the late 1980s, releases of radioactive contamination from Fernald focused national attention on the environmental legacy of the Cold War. As a result of reduced demand for its product and public outcry over the environmental contamination, Fernald’s mission changed to environmental cleanup in 1989. Following the completion of one of the largest environmental cleanup and ecological restoration projects in American history, the site was renamed “The Fernald Preserve” in 2006.
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George Bellows (1882-1925) is widely recognized as one of America’s premier artists. His vivid portrayals of modern urban life have become indelible icons of American art. Born and reared in Columbus, he retained close ties here throughout his life. Bellows gained fame while a young artist in New York, becoming a key figure among a group of artists nicknamed the “Ashcan School” because of their preference for commonplace subjects painted in dark colors. Bellows also excelled at printmaking, and it was largely through his efforts that lithography came to be accepted as a fine art in America. Bellow’s career was unexpectedly cut short by his death from complications following an appendectomy at the age of forty-two.
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Eckstein Elementary School operated on this site from 1915 to 1958, serving Glendale’s Negro children from Kindergarten through eighth grade. The school was named in honor of Eleanor Eckstein, who taught the children at various locations in the village during the time of segregation in America. Upon completing eighth grade, Eckstein School’s students were integrated with their white counterparts in grades nine through twelve at Congress Avenue School. The Eckstein School building evolved from a single family dwelling into its present structure through a series of expansions, the last of which was the addition of the gymnasium in 1928. In the mid-1950s Glendale became a part of the Princeton School District. A new consolidated high school opened in 1958, the Congress Avenue School became Glendale Elementary, and Eckstein was closed. This commemorative text was composed by alumni of the Eckstein School.
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In 1812, the Ohio legislature designated Columbus as the state capital, with local landowners contributing land and resources for a capitol building and penitentiary. The first Columbus statehouse, a Federal-style structure completed in 1816, stood on the northeast corner of State and High streets. By the 1830s, the need for a more substantial structure was apparent. Cincinnati architect Thomas Walter won the 1838 capitol design contest, though the final design incorporated several designers’ ideas, including prominent Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole. Construction proceeded slowly between 1839 and 1861, weathering political fights, prison labor disputes, and a cholera epidemic. Interior work was sufficiently complete by January 1857 for the legislature to hold its first session in the new capitol. A National Historic Landmark, the Ohio Statehouse stands as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in America.
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America’s World War I “Ace of Aces,” Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was born in Columbus in 1890 to Swiss immigrant parents, leaving school at age 12 to help support his family. Working for several Columbus automobile companies initiated his love of racing, and he achieved fame as a race driver and team owner between 1910 and 1916. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1917, he went to France as staff driver for General John Pershing with ambitions of becoming a combat flier. He managed a transfer to the American Expeditionary Force’s Aviation Instruction Center, learned to fly, and was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron, the famed “Hat in the Ring” squadron led by ace Raoul Lufbery. (continued on other side)