During times of crisis, our region has always risen to the occasion. This week’s email focuses on Northeast Ohio and the community's response during periods of significant national change. We will look at how families, schools, and corporations evolved and adapted to the demands of the time.
These stories exemplify a long tradition of ingenuity, perseverance, innovation, and deep compassion for others within our community.
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Additionally, as we all look toward the future, we want to make sure you are aware that there are new provisions for donors outlined in the recently approved CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act). This pertains to donations made to any charitable organization in 2020. Under the recent CARES Act there may be some advantageous tax deductibility incentives for supporting WRHS. Please contact your tax advisor for details and consider making a contribution to WRHS today. Your support matters.
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Paper dolls offer an accessible alternative to expensive toys, especially during difficult periods in history such as the Great Depression or the World Wars. After the boom following the Civil War, several factors including the demonetization of silver and troubles in the railroad industry caused what is known as the Panic of 1873. Events triggered a period known today as the Long Depression of the 1870s.
These paper dolls from the WRHS collection were printed just following the “Long Depression” and would have been more affordable for many Cleveland parents at the time. They feature a bride, Diane, with gown, accessories, and trousseau items. The maker, McLoughlin Brothers publishing firm, pioneered printing techniques in books and toys for children. These bridal paper dolls showcase beautiful coloring and detail and likely would have been sold in toy stores or by mail order. Simpler paper dolls were surely available in Cleveland too. In 1884, Bingham-Hanna house resident Coralie Hanna and her daughter Lillian manned a booth of “fancy ware” and paper dolls at their church fair.
For those of you looking for a project at home,
CLICK HERE
to go to our Digital Learning Resources page where you can print your own paper doll. We’ve also included a few WRHS dresses from other periods: add your own folding tabs, and see if you can make them work for Diane. Toys like this allow for imaginative play and creativity. Share your results with us!
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Jigsaw puzzles date back to the late 1700s when maps mounted on wood were cut in pieces and then sold to be reassembled as an educational tool for teaching geography. The advent of lithography and saws that could cut intricate patterns spurred the growth of the jigsaw puzzle in the late 1800s. Eventually printed on cardboard stock, the puzzles were inexpensive, educational, and ideal for homebound activity in an era absent television and computers. The production of puzzles rose during the Great Depression – they represented an affordable recreational activity for families who had little expendable income. More importantly, working together on a puzzle helped bond a family during difficult times.
TAP Packaging Solutions, a member of the One Hundred Year Club of the Western Reserve, turned to the production of puzzles during the Depression. Then known as the Chilcote Company its specialty was the production and sale of paperboard products to display photographs. The turn to puzzles saved the company, and when war replaced depression, production grew to 50,000 puzzles per day by 1943! Today TAP focuses on product packaging.
Now, during another period of crisis, sales of jigsaw puzzles are again increasing, helping us keep our minds active as we puzzle out everything from National Park landscapes to classic cars.
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These colorful ensembles recall the clothing & style of the first family in the 1860s. Paper doll enthusiasts, lovers of fashion, and students of history will find endless inspiration and enjoyment. Send them to the grandkids or try them out for yourself! Available now on our website.
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What better way to pass the time than sitting down with this American Muscle Car Evolution Puzzle!
These high-performance automobiles grew in popularity and performance in the early 1960s. Hold on tight as you cruise through the years with these spectacular muscle cars, and feel like you're back at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum! This puzzle, as well as others, is a
vailable for purchase now on our website!
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When the US entered WWII, the production of war material became the primary job of many American factories. The growth of major industrial centers such as Cleveland was made possible in large part by the migration of peoples of a variety of origins to provide the labor or entrepreneurial skills demanded by the changing economy. The largest influx of Puerto Rican men arrived in this period through 1965. Recruited to work in factories in Lorain and in the greenhouses of northern Ohio. When their contracts were terminated, many were attracted to Cleveland by its diverse job opportunities and decided to stay sending for friends and relatives to join them.
Cleveland’s Thompson Products (which would become TRW) was particularly important given its focus on valves and other components for aircraft engines. Even before the US entered the war, the company had been producing parts for the British and French air forces. Foreseeing the likely American entry into the conflict, Thompson worked with the federal government through its United States Defense Plant Corporation
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Cleveland’s Thompson Products (which would become TRW) was particularly important given its focus on valves and other components for aircraft engines. Even before the US entered the war, the company had been producing parts for the British and French air forces. Foreseeing the likely American entry into the conflict, Thompson worked with the federal government through its United States Defense Plant Corporation to build a new production plant. The 1,100,000 square foot facility was completed in Euclid, Ohio, in December 1941, the month the nation entered the war. The TAPCO plant (Thompson Aircraft Products Company) was expanded in 1942. By 1944 TAPCO helped Thompson reach a product value of $135 million and employed a peak workforce of 16,000. After the war Thompson purchased the plant from the government as its products evolved with changing aviation technology into the production of turbine blades for jet engines.
A drive down Euclid Avenue east past East 196th St. shows the enormity of the former TAPCO plant as it stretches for a half mile along on the north side of the street. There are many close connections between the Western Reserve Historical Society and that plant. Frederick C. Crawford was the head of Thompson products at that time. He created what is now the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum and served as the chairman of the WRHS governing board. And, the records of Thompson Products-TRW are preserved in the WRHS Library. Among them are documents, company newspapers, photographs and sound recordings that tell the story of a major American company adapting to and assisting in a global crisis.
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Crawford and leading military figures, including Gen. George Patton, during a trip to Europe during the war.
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Cleveland Pioneers Persevered Through The Ague
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Long before today's COVID-19 crisis the people of Northeast Ohio had a different sickness to fight. We're talking even before the Spanish flu of 1918 and the 1832 cholera epidemic. Cleveland's earliest pioneers battled and eventually overcame a disease known as the ague.
Listen as WRHS's Senior Vice President of Research & Publications, John Grabowski discusses ague and how the region adapted in times of necessary change.
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General Motors During Crisis
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Throughout history, in moments of national emergency, whether caused by civil unrest, famine, war, or disease, the ability of governments and private enterprise to cooperate and adapt can be the deciding factor between surmounting the crisis, or falling into social disintegration.
When the Second World War was thrust upon America in late 1941, General Motors was already an enormous entity, comprising the car manufacturers, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac , Fisher Body, and GMC Truck. The gigantic effort of converting from automobile construction to the building of tanks, aircraft engines, munitions, guns, and amphibious vehicles required around eighteen months to achieve, but it ultimately succeeded despite the obstacles.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt faced the difficult task of cajoling the heads of Corporate America to accept his leadership and direction regarding their multinational businesses. F.D.R.’s New Deal liberalism rubbed them the wrong way from the outset, and the president had to pull a rabbit out of the hat to ensure their cooperation. The ‘rabbit’, as it turned out, was William S. Knudsen, the head of General Motors, who abandoned his lucrative position to assume command of war production for the salary of one dollar. His organizational ability and business acumen steered the country’s industry to previously unimagined output, eventually securing an Allied victory.
The difficulty with transitioning to war production in the 1940’s was that for heavy manufacturing, new stamping dies, tooling, and assembly methods had to be created; a laborious process given then-current technology. It is a testament to American ingenuity that by wars’ end, the massively complex B24 Liberator bomber was rolling off the assembly line at the rate of one per hour.
General Motors, the largest corporation in the country, transformed from passenger automobile constructor to the most important contributor to the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’, just as Roosevelt had hoped. The totals are impressive: 206,000 aircraft engines, 13,000 Navy fighter planes, 38,000 tanks, 854,000 trucks, 198,000 diesel engines, 1.9 million machine guns and more.
Today, we face a war against an unseen enemy, no less lethal than the armies that marched across Europe and Asia in 1940. On March 27th, President Trump activated the Defense Production Act of 1950, to enlist General Motors once again in using their skills to combat a deadly pandemic. The Act authorizes the president to compel businesses to undertake projects deemed critical to national defense, regardless of profit or loss. It also authorizes the president to prohibit the hoarding of goods or materials that fall under the same guidelines.
General Motors has been hurriedly reformatting some of its production facilities to assemble ventilators to address a nationwide shortage, hopefully providing relief to those most in need. One advantage of retooling in the modern age is that product designs can be delivered to manufacturers digitally, and the CNC machines that create component parts can be reprogrammed quickly.
Now, as in the 1940’s an industrial giant’s resources can be brought to bear on a critical situation. Let’s hope that GM’s ‘can-do’ spirit will shine through once again.
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Every day, community members, small businesses, and large manufacturers alike are making history by doing what they can to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
In response to the challenges of the current pandemic, The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA), Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), Ohio Manufacturing Extension Program (Ohio MEP), nursing homes and JobsOhio have joined forces through the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to Fight COVID-19. This collaborative effort will engage manufacturers to see which companies have interest in repurposing their manufacturing operations to produce some of the most in-demand products in the fight against COVID-19, especially products for the healthcare industry.
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Resilience in Times of Crisis
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Individuals all across the globe are rallying together to create
Resiliency Gardens
in order to help feed the community as well as supply a therapeutic outlet for those stuck at home. By planting a garden, not only are you able to help support your friends and neighbors, but you also show that even through the darkest of times, hope can still grow.
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Here are some tips and an accompanying video from Hale Farm & Village that will help get your garden started.
Starting Seeds for summer planting:
- Use a potting soil medium found at your local garden center to start.
- In addition a soil block maker and reusable plastic flats with a bottom that has a small grid pattern to hold the soil are necessary. Using a soil block maker and flats eliminates the need to throw away planting containers that cannot be recycled or reused. If you do not have a soil block maker the same principles apply to mixing soil and sowing seeds in small plastic planting containers.
- Pour the soil into a large plastic container.
- Add water and mix into the soil multiple times until soil forms a ball that will hold itself together.
- Press the soil block maker into the mix and then press into a flat. The density needs to be consistent for the soil blocks so make sure the depth of the mix stays consistent in the mixing container.
- Fill the entire flat with soil blocks, any gaps will allow the soil to dry out quicker and require more watering.
- Place one seed in each indent minding the directions on the seed pack.
- Cover the seeds and water.
- Place in a south facing window and watch it grow.
The soil should be checked daily and watered as needed.
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Today, Clevelanders can celebrate the April 7th National Beer Day holiday with a choice from any number of thriving local craft breweries. On the original ‘New Beer’s Day’ in 1933 the area breweries weren’t ready to release new production yet, so the city celebrated the passing of the Cullen Act, legalizing the production & consumption of beer (with up to 3.2% alcohol content) with beer shipped in from outside the city. Regardless, as President Roosevelt famously quipped after signing the bill, it was a “good time for a beer”, and Clevelanders joined the nation in drinking over 1.5 million barrels of beer on that day. Cleveland brewing would be up and running just a month later when Pilsener became the first of the local breweries back on the scene in early May with its beloved P.O.C beer.
Cleveland breweries experienced a glorious, but brief, Brewing Renaissance after Prohibition’s repeal. The popular demand would also inspire more companies to turn to the profitable business of brewing as Prohibition rattled to its death. James Bohannon, President of Cleveland’s luxury car manufacturer Peerless Motors, believed the car company could not survive the looming Depression, but did see potential in brewing as early as 1931. The company began refitting its 8 acre manufacturing plant on Quincy Ave. into a brewery, and in 1933 officially reorganized as the Brewing Corporation of America.
The brewery and Black Label would see continued success through the 1950s—becoming the 4th largest brewer in the nation (although at that point it was controlled by Canadian Breweries Ltd.) At the same time, due to heavy competition paired with a gradual decrease in beer sales both in the city and across the country, all of the historic Cleveland brewers would slowly close their doors. Original beer production would end in Cleveland in the 1960’s, though Carling carried on until the company decided to close its Cleveland production in 1971. The Peerless building was then purchased by C. Schmidt and Sons, a Philadelphia company, and continued as the sole production brewery in Cleveland until it too closed its doors in 1984.
This adaptation of the Peerless factory is a favorite story with WRHS staff. The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum boasts a sleek 1932 Peerless automobile built as a special project between Peerless and the American Aluminum Company (ALCOA). The chassis and engine were built completely out of aluminum here in Cleveland, while the aluminum body was done by the ALCOA team in Burbank, CA. The prototype was driven out to California with a temporary body in order to finish the build at ALCOA. Completed, it returned to Cleveland to find the company closing and reorganizing as a brewery. The automobile was kept on the floor of the brewery for some time as a type of mascot. It was so beloved that workers even hid it during WWII to keep the aluminum body from being scrapped for the war effort!
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Please take a look at the group launch and the earlier book-related posts in this group page. Feel free to share your discussion questions well in advance, and don't hesitate to offer helpful suggestions for making our discussions lively and informative!
Order your copy of "Designing Victory" now!
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