The Euclid YMCA closed recently, after being a part of Babbitt rd. and Euclid for over 60 years. When the crews came in to begin demolition, ward 8 councilwoman Laura Gorshe was curious - was there a time capsule? Aside from some "yes, I think there was", she had no hard proof, so she asked the demo folks to check. Sure enough, there was a time capsule in the cornerstone.
This appears to be a fairly common practice with YMCA buildings. The unveiling of the contents will be June 22nd from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the Euclid Historical society. You can read more about Concilwoman Gorshe's quest for the time capsule and the upcoming program here.
In the spirit of the Y coming down, and the time capsule opening, I wanted to put together a quick timeline of how the Euclid YMCA came to be, and how much it was loved by the community for a while.
1949 - Mayor Sims and a small group of citizens begin organizing efforts. Howard C. Jackman was made executive secretary in 1950. Original charter members included Spartoco DiBiasio, Rev. Paul Mayer, & Walter Schwegler.
February 1, 1950 - Original YMCA headquarters open its doors, located at Euclid Board of Education, 23131 Lakeshore Blvd. Within a few months, the headquarters move to the small house on Babbitt that would later be razed so the Y could be constructed in the same spot. This property was sold at a low price by Mrs. Loida Lentz, Mrs. Vern Petrovsec, and Mr. Arnold W. Burger. Not long after, Frank Mavec and Robert Stakich provided 6 acres of land fronting on Babbitt road to the Y.
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| The home of the first headquarters of the Euclid YMCA on Babbitt Rd. |
April 4 1950 - Inaugural banquet held at Thompson Products company. The Y was welcomed by Mayor Kenneth J. Sims, former governor Frank Lausche made a brief speech.
April 17, 1950 - the Mother's Club of Euclid held a Get Acquainted Tea at the East Shore Methodist Church regarding the Y.
1952 - A fundraising effort brought in $109,000 from residents of the city.
October 6, 1952 - Executive Secretary Howard Jackman tells of expansion plans for the new YMCA building at a Mother's Club meeting.
1953 - A grant in the amount of $3,000 was awarded to the YWCA by the Welfare Federation for the purpose of program expansion in the Euclid area.
November 1955 - Contracts totaling $381,000 (approximately $3,826,988.62 in 2021 dollars) were awarded to the American Construction Co. and the Smith & Oby Co.
November 27, 1955 - Groundbreaking! YMCA Cleveland president Curtis Lee Smith and first member of the Euclid Branch Kenton Smith turned over the first shovel of earth.
October 4, 1956 - The Cleveland YWCA Metropolitan Board of Directors invest $400,000 originally allotted for one new YWCA building into 4 YMCA buildings: Southeast, Hillcrest, East Cleveland, and of course, Euclid.
November 8, 1956 - The YMCA invites the YWCA to share the structure of 631 Babbitt Road, still under construction.
April 28, 1957 - Dedication ceremonies celebrating the Euclid YMCA get underway. Open houses and luncheons run for an entire week, day and night, through May 5, 1957. Keynoting the festivities was Carl V. Weygandt. Weygandt was Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court from 1933 until 1962.
Young members of the Euclid YMCA board a bus. Already aboard the bus are Terry Watson, Jack Kelly, Nils Dailey, Bill Vaughn, Craig Vernick, John Graafmeyer, Bill Boag, Tom Thureston, and Jim Halloran. Waiting to board are Steve Watson, Doug Stout, Lawrence Kemper, Robert Jamieson, Ralph Kirchner, Ralph Francis, George Birch, Dennis Kacperski, Gary Graus, Sam Guardo, Richard Schmidt, Danny Stevenson, and James Zaas.
Top, seated, left to right: Barbara Evans, Barbara Kinter, Beverly Carlton, Virginia Davis, Barbara Mulford. Standing: Dolores Rossow, Mrs. Marion Brown, Linda McCormack.
Middle, left to right: Dorothy Stiscak, Geraldine Macks, Mrs. Robert Humphrey, Linda Ross.
Bottom, left to right: Jan Benlein, Patricia Lang, Sandra Haney, Diane Strnad, Mary Yager, Rita Tekalec.
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| Robert C. Carlson |
In spring of 1957 when the Euclid YMCA and YWCA opened, Robert C. Carlson was Executive Secretary of the Euclid branch, taking over for Howard Jackman. His wife, Olive, was a member of the YWCA advisory board.
Robert resided at 26591 Shoreview Avenue in Euclid.
Darold D. Burgin was Physical Director, and Carlton C. Chopp was Youth Secretary.
Donald Burgin and his wife lived at 442 Clearview Drive in Euclid.
Lots of well wishes followed in the Euclid Sun Journal:
September 28, 1958: A $150,000 ($1,397,205.88 in 2021 dollars) pool was dedicated.
1962: Planning for additions commenced.
January 1967: The all-activity gymnasium was opened.
January 19, 1975: Tragedy strikes when a door is left unlocked and a 4 year old girl named Lisa Schwan drowns in the pool.
April 2018 - The Greater Cleveland YMCA cites declining membership and operating losses at more than 1.5 million dollars over 10 years, and an aging structure that would require $700,000 worth of repairs as reasons the branch will be closed. Y members are urged to transfer to another Y branch.
Cleveland city councilman Mike Polensek, who secured $11 million to build the North Collinwood recreation center in a former K-mart, believes many people stopped paying to use the Y when they could simply use North Collinwood's rec center free of charge.
May 2018 - The Euclid YMCA closes its doors for good.
April 2021: The building is torn down and what was a long time ago a shining jewel of "modernistic brick, redwood and glass" is another lot slated for re-use.
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