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By Charlotte Morgan
Ohio State quarterback and Cleveland Glenville native Troy Smith led the Buckeyes into the game hoping to top off his collegiate football career with the trifecta--Big Ten title, the Heisman Trophy, and the BCS National Championship. Local folks wouldn’t bet against a hero who could do it all and it looked like Smith was the panacea for a place that ached to be healed through victory and restored to its former glory. But this fantasy fell short—fantasies are from the devil—the Buckeyes were badly beaten. So in the days that followed the defeat we Tarblooders reconciled our pain with the fact that Cleveland’s Glenville was in the national spotlight for an entire season and just because Mr. Smith and the Buckeyes didn’t win the 2006 National Championship, all was not lost. The neighborhood still has a remnant of pride—a root out of a dry place—that has begun to bloom the flower of restoration.
Driving around Glenville—up East Boulevard, on Grantwood Avenue and down East 105th, looking at the varied architecture, you witness the remnants of a place where residents’ pride still radiates. The remnant shards of foundations jut through dried mustard colored earth begging to be seen and recognized. “I used to be the home of or I used to be the office of—do you remember? But passers by don’t recognize the remains of a proud ethnic heritage of Jews, Italians and blacks that used to live in Glenville. Those residents were merchants, craft persons, doctors and lawyers who made the Village of Glenville their home. Too often, today’s residents are on the downside of the economic ladder—their housing subsidized and their homes filled with plump disobedient fatherless children who are the recipients of an education from a school system that too is on the downside economically. These children seemed doomed to remain in the neighborhood because their poor education lowers their earning power and thus their chances at a good life. Their uneducated past will follow them forever unless they find a means of escape. And I know from looking at the saddened faces of black folks in the neighborhood that it is hard to shake the stigma and mindset of poverty. Most people dwell on the past because their future was never bright. But there are times when we look back to the past to get back in touch with the vision of a place.
Since one of the features of the neighborhood that testifies to its state of being—its wellness—is its architecture, then Glenville is not quite dead yet. The different kinds of homes available on this side of town range from $18,000 homes on streets where gangs rule, to $200,000 homes on streets where decent law abiding residents who still take some pride in their property have gathered. In fact, one of the most visible signs of change is the clash of the aesthetic of the neighborhoods older homes with that of new homes along like those on Lakeview or Parkwood Avenue.
Those older residents remember when this was considered the Land of Goshen, a place set aside from the plagues of other urban centers—a neighborhood where there was plush greenery and nearby access to the Lake. Later after most Jews had migrated elsewhere, the pride of the neighborhood was its annual parade and festival that served as the climax of summer. This reached its zenith during the 90s. Then the prince of the city was Mayor Michael White who grew up in Glenville. He was the former student body president of The Ohio State University whose political aspirations took him all the way to City Hall.
So imagine 33 years after White was the big man on campus, Troy Smith, another Glenville Tarblooder runs the campus. Last December as Smith hoisted the Heisman trophy up, he held up an entire neighborhood. The tears of a town were shed that evening as ESPN played the film short that told the story of a young man who overcame the typical lifestyle of today’s black youth—run down neighborhood, poverty, Hip Hop socialization, peer pressure and absent father syndrome. His mother knew little about training a child up right. Troy rebelled and was put into foster care. But somewhere along the way, he continued to participate in athletics as a means of expression and release from the stress of ghetto life. Not only was Glenville the ghetto, the city of Cleveland has slumped to the position of the nation’s poorest City. However, something prevented Smith from going the way of most of his peers. He found help in a community program called BRICK.
In the ESPN film, Smith with his head held up high bragged about the BRICK program that saved his life. He learned pride from a young black man who believed in the future of our young people. There was a photograph of a scrawnier Troy wearing coincidentally, red and black—the colors of his soon to be high school—posing with other rescued youth. His mother who gave him up talked about her son and how he was always a leader and he always had a vision for his life and his neighborhood—Glenville.
The story of Smith’s life was accentuated with the actual Heisman trophy that served as an icon of victory over life. It was strategically placed in the locker room at Bump Taylor Field while Coach Ted Ginn Sr. stood in the midst of his players—their eyes all on the prize. Smith himself walked across what looked like the Lorain Carnegie Bridge and patted the statue not rubbing it for luck, but in a manner that claimed the trophy in a victory—he had as a young black man overcome the streets of his neighborhood, found a family and father in Coach Ginn, and used sports to get an education. And even before he had received his Bachelor’s Degree last summer, Smith had blossomed into a visionary and leader thereby rebuking the Hip Hop schema for life—glorify the misery of having no money, no education, and no father by joining a gang, and becoming a martyr to the hood. That’s why Smith’s story is an important part of the neighborhood of Glenville’s story.
You know it will take leadership and unprecedented hope and vision for the neighborhood to be restored to its former glory—that’s why the tears are shed. When Smith returned to the neighborhood, a proud community celebrated along with him. Smith came home to a hero's welcome as the city celebrated one of its sons winning the Heisman with an emotional celebration at Glenville High School, “Home of the Mighty Tarblooders,” the school Smith has credited with saving his life.
“You stayed focused in the classroom, the football field and in life,” said Dr. Eugene Sanders, CEO of Cleveland schools. “Out of Cleveland, Ohio, came greatness,” he said. And it was declared “Troy Smith Day.” Mayor Frank Jackson gave the quarterback who hopes to play for his hometown Cleveland Browns, the key to the city. “This definitely ranks at the top,” Smith said. “I'm a Tarblooder through and through. That's me.”
Smith’s success story proves that this neighborhood remains a breeding ground for success regardless of the economic blight that you see driving down its streets.
The neighborhood's lakeshore location and scenic qualities attracted many of the regions wealthiest individuals by the time of its incorporation in 1870 as the Village of Glenville. Nationally, Glenville was known as a center of horse racing and later auto racing. The track was built in 1870 at the Northern Ohio Fairgrounds and operated until 1908 when it was moved to North Randall.
Located along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and East Boulevard is Rockefeller Park. Walkways, picnic areas, beautiful landscape, and recreation opportunities create a wonderful day in the park. This section of Glenville was a gift from John D. Rockefeller himself and named in his honor. Not to be missed are the Rockefeller Green House and Gardens just before the entrance to the Shoreway (I-90).
Located within the Park are the Cultural Gardens. The gardens are visible along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, though the best way to experience them is on foot. These gardens pay homage to Cleveland's diversity and cultural heritage. The gardens began in 1916, dedicated in 1939, have recently been restored with bulbs and flowers that make a spring drive through the park a necessity.
In addition to access to the lake and fishing at Gordon State Park and Marina, Glenville has other recreation opportunities including a city recreation center, the YMCA-Midtown East, and Forest Hills Park and Pool.
Also at the time of its incorporation, Glenville was a semi-rural area known as the “garden spot of Cuyahoga County” because of its numerous vegetable farms. The community's scenic qualities and lakeshore sites also attracted many of the region's wealthiest residents. Nationally, Glenville was known as a center of horse racing and, later, auto racing. The track was built in 1870 at the Northern Ohio Fairgrounds and operated until 1908, when it was moved North Randall. By 1905, Glenville was annexed to Cleveland in 1905.
Residential and commercial development in Glenville was most intense during the period between 1900 and 1930. East 105th Street emerged as the center of business activity, and its many fine stores earned it the title of Cleveland's “gold coast”. The street also became a prime address for religious institutions. Among the largest and most architecturally distinguished buildings on East 105th Street today are those of the Cory United Methodist Church (home of the Park Synagogue congregation between 1922 and 1947) and the Abyssinia Baptist Church (also built as a synagogue in 1920).
By the 1970's, Glenville's fortunes had taken a turn for the worse. Population loss and declining household incomes, together with the nationally reported racial rioting in 1968, resulted in widespread deterioration and business vacancies along East 105th Street and along adjoining segments of St. Clair and Superior Avenues.
For the history of the neighborhood, read John T. Moriarty's book, “One Square Mile of Mayhem” which is about a teenage Irish boy facing the dilemma of growing up in the racially torn neighborhoods of Glenville and Collinwood. Moriarty’s family owned a delicatessen where black and Irish gangs hung out and battled. Gangs still plague the neighborhood today. Breaking free of them and that mindset is hard for black youth. Some black youth survive by playing sports like Smith. Pierre Woods made it out of the neighborhood by playing sports. He lettered in two sports at Glenville High School. He was a Defensive Lineman at Michigan and signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2006.
“It's a long process,” Woods said. “Some kids can get distracted. Most want to be off doing other things. There are little street gangs on different blocks. Some families are not stable. You've got to stay focused.” -- Glenville native Pierre Woods, New England Patriots.
If a city is like a woman, then her beauty is found in her features—for the face of a city is formed or seen in its communities. Glenville then has been an unattractive feature of this ugly woman Cleveland. This neighborhood which borders the north and east of Cleveland is run down with its boarded up houses and empty lots of land where strewn garbage makes its home. The street corners are manned by gang member sentries who wear dark clothing and hooded jackets; their uniform’s most noted feature are the jeans that cup the curvature of their buttocks holding on for dear life. Dingy boxers and briefs make their ill-mannered presence known to all—these are in actuality the prisoners who once held us all captive in Glenville. These are the young people of Tarblooderville. So if you believe children are our future, then things looked bleak in Glenville until that night in December when Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith who lived on East 112th Street off Saint Clair, raised up the Heisman Trophy Award which recognized his remarkable achievement not just as a college athlete, but also as a survivor of a city and neighborhood’s hopelessness for out of that despair was forged a hero from Glenville High School. One from a nationally recognized program of hope—ranked sixth in the nation--created and nurtured by Tarblooder Coach, Ted Ginn Sr., the 2006 High School Coach of the Year. When Troy Smith transferred to Glenville, was accepted at Ohio State and was suspended by the University for taking money, all was near lost. And as with his neighborhood there remained in Smith a root out of a dry place called hope and it was nurtured by Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel and his “father” Glenville Coach Ted Ginn Sr. The hardworking Smith never lost hope, turned his life around and saw the fruits of his labor—the Heisman Trophy.
“Ted Ginn Sr. saw an amazing 21 of his Tarblooder players sign college scholarships in 2006, 15 of them with Division 1-A schools, and every single one of them was academically eligible to play this season. As great as that is, Ginn has much bigger plans to reach out and help youngsters on and off the football field.” Jim Johnson, The CourtMaster Blog
The Tarblooder is the mascot of Glenville High School, my alma mater. The name is synonymous with laborers at the old Glenville Tar factory as well as a battle cry for high school fans at football game who threatened to beat the ‘tar and blood’ out of their opponents. The actual mascot is a robot. Most of the people who attended the school believe they are Tarblooders for life. As the fortune of the school has blossomed athletically, so has the desire for Glenville gear. One of the biggest fans of the school and the neighborhood is Ginn, who has been seen in the stands at OSU games wearing ‘black and red The Ville” gear and cheering for his son, the galloping Teddy Ginn, Jr., the speedster wide out who is opting out of his final year of college to join the NFL draft this year. Coach Ginn provided a definitive answer to the question of what is a Tarblooder.
“A Tarblooder was a railroad worker whose job was to smear hot tar on railroad ties after they were laid to seal them and hold them in place. It was difficult work to say the least. The mixture of tar, dirt (and most certainly the occasional real blood) and sweat pouring off of these men gave the impression of blood. These were men who truly ‘sweat blood’. Now, you think two-a-days are tough?” Glenville Coach Ted Ginn Sr. Class of 1974.
Ginn’s program started about five years ago, with eight athletes, a van and a few bucks for gas. His foundation’s, “Road to Opportunity” Division-I Combine Tour, “Enables players otherwise overlooked, to showcase their talent, visit the university, take the entrance exam and make off the field friendships. Many of these kids have never traveled outside of Cleveland,” said Ginn. His vision—he reportedly took out a second mortgage on his home--for making a change in the community birthed the foundation and resulting tour. “It's never just about football, but making a way for our kids to be successful.”
Ginn has announced plans to expand the tour schedule from one highly respected mid-west regional tour into a nationwide tour beginning with adding a southern region. “The foundation hopes this will be big news to Texas high school coaches, student-athletes and major universities as Ginn’s amazing track record has garnered national attention for selling the talents of otherwise overlooked, inner city kids into full-ride scholarships at major universities,” writes a reporter from NewswireToday.com.
A high school is often the centerpiece of pride in a community. Men like Ted Ginn who restored his alma mater’s name, realize one way to revitalize the neighborhood is through education and athletics—his vision for his players includes bringing wealth to their families and their neighborhood. And residents support their children as they participate in sports. While many heroes of hope escape through sports, Glenville gave birth to non-athletic notables. The school was home to Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, best known as the creators of the DC comic book icon, Superman. Sports writer Hal Lebowitz, Maury Feren, the produce king went there, and Harlan Diamond of Executive Caterers. Actor Ron O’Neal, best known for portraying the iconic drug dealer, “Superfly” was also a Tarblooder as was actor and comedian, Steve Harvey best known for the self-named half hour sitcom which still airs weekdays on the TBS cable network. While athletes like Smith are well known heroes, operating in the political arena are lesser-known heroes who labor to restore the neighborhood.
Ward 8 councilwoman Sabra Scott Pierce (D) Council Majority Leader is an unsung neighborhood champion. In her second term, Scott can cite progress in the restoration of her ward—new housing projects, new retail outlets, increased services and decreased crime--but socio-economic challenges remain the greatest challenge. With new mayor Frank Jackson, Pierce has found that her ward is finally getting some of the city’s services it needs.
“The streets are being cleaned with regularity and the police presence has been increased. Our residents have jobs, attend school and take care of their property for the most part. Our job is to respond to the needs of the community. And having a mayor like Frank Jackson who was a councilman in office means that he knows how to respond to residents. In fact, there was a building at the corner of Greenlawn Avenue and East 105th that I have been trying to get torn down for years, but with the new administration, I was finally able to get it down because Jackson was city council president, he’s been able to get things done faster,” she says. “The most effective means of making change in the neighborhood is for concerned citizens to attend our meetings so that they can learn the process of making change. We all want to see the neighborhood restored. The history of our neighborhood is important; but we want a bright future as well. That means we all work together. You can’t just complain but not pick up the trash on your property. If everyone picked up the trash on their property whether they rent or own, what an impact this would make.”
As far as crime is concerned, Scott wants parents to get involved in policing their children. “I want to start a campaign in this ward, ‘get your kids off the corner’. When we look at the police reports, the suspects have been arrested on the corner of their street. These people are committing crimes right on their street because their parents don’t know where their kids are—get your kids off the corner.”
According to Scott a longtime Glenville resident, the summer months are challenging in the fight against crime because many young people are hungry. “When they’re not in school, they’re not getting fed. We need programs to feed these people in the summertime. Much of the petty crime—like when they broke in your car and stole your CD player—was perpetrated by a young person trying to get money to eat.” These kids need something to do. They need jobs. So the plan is to reduce crime, create jobs and build affordable housing.
The vision for the neighborhood is to infuse new housing with old—this ensures that historic sites like the Amasa Stone House facility on East Boulevard and 105th Street is renovated. The 13 Heritage Lane homes also on East 105th Street between Ashbury and Wade Park Avenues are historic grand houses that are a showstopper on Glenville’s southern edge. According to the Famico Foundation website, “Glenville’s Heritage Lane neighborhood is a microcosm of Cleveland’s neighborhood history; flourishing followed by decline followed by urban revitalization with resident determination. A snapshot of change, re-birth and a story of hope: a neighborhood can house thrive again with a strong core of residents, institutions, businesses and community organizations.”
These side-by-side, two-and-a-half story wooden duplex structures built in 1910 reflect the prevalent American Foursquare style of architecture. The area was a popular destination for middle class and immigrant families looking for industrial work in the early 20th century, In the 60s, Glenville gained recognition during the Civil Rights Movement when Dr. Martin Luther King addressed a crowd of 10,000 at the neighborhood’s Cory Methodist Church. Later, Malcolm X delivered his famous “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech at the same podium.
Further north on Superior and 102nd, is the $4.7 million Parkside Townhomes—a new homeownership opportunity that was developed in part by Cleveland Cavaliers star Lebron James.
“The Parkside Townhomes will be a welcome addition to the Glenville neighborhood offering homebuyers of all ages a quality housing product, in a park-type setting that is near work, bus transportation, the interstate, and Cleveland's numerous and popular amenities, including University Circle,” said Councilwoman Scott. University Circle is becoming integrated into what is now considered the neighborhood of Glenville.
The amenities of a first class symphony orchestra and museums are juxtaposed with the run down houses and vacant storefronts of the neighborhood. But today we have a first class high school, new retail outlets, new homes, less crime and hope. Scott believes that by rekindling pride in neighborhood, reducing crime and partnering with developers, church leaders and residents, that Glenville can be restored to its former glory in what is one of the city’s greatest locations.
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Photo Credits for C. Morgan's article are as follows:
Stacie L. Brisker/Sepia Sirens 2007
