About this collection
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- The collection consists of photographs and copy negatives assembled from a variety of sources, including PG 273 United Auto Workers, Local 45 Negatives (Western Reserve Historical Society), the Cleveland Press collection of Cleveland State University, and former Press photographer William S. Nehez. The photographs were used in an audiovisual presentation for the January 18, 1989 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The bulk of photographs are views of Dr. King's visits to Cleveland, Ohio and portraits of program honorees from the 1989 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration.
- The Dunbar Company, also known as Dunbar Construction Company, was established in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1884 by William Dunbar, a carpenter. The collection consists of views of commercial, business, industrial, and other buildings, located in Cleveland, Ohio. Included are photographs of the Cleveland Trust Company, Elliott Shoe Company, Pathe Film Company, Dinner Bell Meat Company, Fisher Food Inc., Ohio Bell Telephone Company, Geauga Community Hospital, Slovak Home for the Aged, Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Ursuline College Campus Center, and other representative examples of the company's work.
- The East Ohio Gas Company Explosion and Fire occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 20, 1944. A tank, constructed at the northern end of East 61st Street in 1942 to store reserves of liquid natural gas for local war industries, began to leak vapor which, when mixed with air, became combustible and exploded. It contained the equivalent to 90 million cubic feet of non-liquified gas and set off the most disastrous fire in Cleveland's history. A second tank exploded about twenty minutes after the first. Homes and businesses in the largely Slovenian-American neighborhood were set ablaze through an area of more than one square mile of Cleveland's east side. The affected area had boundaries of St. Clair Avenue NE, East 55th Street, East 67th Street, and the Memorial Shoreway. A wall of fire engulfed the area, destroying some homes while leaving others untouched. As the gas vaporized, it flowed through gutters and along curbs until it reached catch basins and the underground sewage system, causing streets to explode and manhole covers to blow off. The gas eventually flowed into homes and businesses via the sewage system, causing further explosions, destruction, and injuries. By the following day the fire had largely burned out but the damage was immense, including 79 houses, 2 factories, and 217 cars. The explosion and fire killed 130 people. As a result of the fire and the analysis of its causes, new and safer alternatives to storing natural gas were developed.
- Edgar Decker was one of Cleveland, Ohio's, most prominent photographers. He opened a studio in 1859, and moved his business to Euclid Avenue in 1883. Decker photographed many of the business, political, and society elite of Cleveland over a 40 year period. He also photographed presidents of the United States, statesmen, soldiers, and other famous persons of the time. Decker was elected president of the National Photographic Association in 1887, and was also involved in Cleveland politics, serving on City Council from 1878-1882. His business was taken over by his protege, George Edmondson. The collection consists of one album containing photographs taken by Edgar Decker. The album came into the hands of George Edmundson when he purchased Decker's business. Photographs are primarily of Cleveland, Ohio's, business, political, and society elite. Photographs of many women are included.
- Edwing Arthur Kraft (1883-1962) was the organist of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio (1907-1959) and Director of Music at Lake Erie College (1933-1951). His second wife, Marie Simmelink, was a vocal soloist at the First Baptist Church in Cleveland (1920-1934) and at The Temple (1934-), and head of the Vocal Department of the Cleveland Institute of Music (1949-1963). The collection consists of photographs relating to the family, life, and career of Edwin Kraft, musician and organist of Cleveland, Ohio. Photographs include portraits of Kraft, his wife, Marie Simmelink Kraft, his parents, the interior and choir of Trinity Cathedral, the Kraft home, and group portraits of the Trinity Cathedral Choir.
- Ella Grant Wilson (1854-1939) was a Cleveland, Ohio florist, publicist, journalist and author. She was founder of the Floral Syndicate, a publicity service which promoted conventions and other activities of interest to the floral industry and was garden editor of the Plain Dealer. Her series in the Sunday Plain Dealer, focusing on historic Cleveland led to her book, "Famous old Euclid Avenue", featuring anecdotes, history and biographies relating to the homes and personalities of "Millionaires' Row." The collection consists of photographs of flowers, floral arrangements, and floral displays. Included are many views of early homes of Cleveland, Ohio, and Cleveland area florists and florist operations and facilities.
- Ethel Standiford opened the Standiford Photographic Studio in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1919. Between 1919 and 1936, when the studio closed, she photographed many of Cleveland's elite. She was also elected president of the Cleveland Photographers Association. The collection consists of mounted portraits representing the studio work of Ethel Standiford, a prominent Cleveland, Ohio, photographer of the 1920s-1930s. Portraits of prominent business, political, religious, cultural, and society leaders of Cleveland are included in the collection.
- The Family Service Association of Cleveland was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1867 as the Cleveland Bethel Union. It extended its services to all the city's poor, transients and unemployed in 1873 and renamed itself the Bethel Relief Association. It merged in 1884 with the Charity Organization Society (founded 1881) and was renamed Bethel Associated Charities, with the added function of investigation and registration of all cases. In 1900 it changed its name to Cleveland Associated Charities and began an era of modern social casework. In 1945 it adopted a new name, Family Service Association, and changed its focus from relief to professional casework services. It merged in 1976 with the Travelers Aid Society and various day care centers to form the Center for Human Services. The collection consists of individual portraits of Family Service Association staff members and views of families and neighborhoods served by the Family Service Association of Cleveland. Included are views of early twentieth century slum conditions in some of the neighborhoods served.
- Frederick C. Crawford (1891-1994) was a Cleveland, Ohio, industrialist and philanthropist. Crawford headed Thompson Products, Inc. (later TRW Inc.) as it moved from an automotive and aircraft parts manufacturer into the aviation and aerospace industries. A leader of Cleveland's philanthropic community, Crawford served on the boards of many cultural institutions. He was appointed to the Western Reserve Historical Society Board of Trustees in 1944 and later served as it's president. He was instrumental in the transfer of the Thompson Auto Album and Aviation Museum collection to WRHS in the 1960s, which became the nucleus of the Frederick C. Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum of WRHS. Crawford was married twice; to Audrey Cecelia Bowles in 1932, and to Kathleen M. Saxon in 1975. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of Frederick C. Crawford and various Crawford family members. Views of various Crawford family homes are included, as are images from travels taken by Crawford. Portraits and views of Steel Products Co. and Thompson Products Inc. facilities and employees, including Thompson Products president Charles E. Thompson and Thompson family members, are also part of the collection. Pioneers in the aviation and aerospace industries are represented in the collection and include James E. Doolittle, T. Keith Glennan, aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, and three time Thompson Trophy Race winner Roscoe Turner. Others depicted include Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Claire Chennault, and William M. McVey. Groups Crawford was associated with, including the Western Reserve Historical Society, Harvard University, and various national aeronautic associations and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), are also part of the collection, as are portraits and views depicting the National Air Races.
- Frederick C. Crawford (1891-1994) was a Cleveland, Ohio, industrialist and philanthropist. Crawford headed Thompson Products, Inc. (later TRW Inc.) as it moved from an automotive and aircraft parts manufacturer into the aviation and aerospace industries. A leader of Cleveland's philanthropic community, Crawford served on the boards of many cultural institutions. He was appointed to the Western Reserve Historical Society Board of Trustees in 1944 and later served as it's president. He was instrumental in the transfer of the Thompson Auto Album and Aviation Museum collection to WRHS in the 1960s, which became the nucleus of the Frederick C. Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum of WRHS. Crawford was married twice; to Audrey Cecelia Bowles in 1932, and to Kathleen M. Saxon in 1975. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of Frederick C. Crawford, his family, friends, and associates, and views of his activities relating to awards, tours, dinners, business enterprises, clubs, travel, residences, and museums. The collection also contains portraits of Harold T. Clark, General James Doolittle, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Arthur Godfrey, Bob Hope, the King Sisters, General Curtis LeMay, General Douglas MacArthur, Walter O'Keefe, and Tyrone Power.