March 28,2016

March 28, 2016
IN REMEMBRANCE OF JOAN KASKEY JOCKE
Mr. and Mrs. Jocke were charter members of the Historical Society of Olmsted Falls. At our meetings Mrs. Jocke would give suggestions and ideas for special projects. Not only did she suggest ideas but she always gave of her time to participate in the activities. As some of you know, these activities were time consuming and a lot of work (the garage sales). Can any one forget the time we sold hot dogs and pop for the 4th of July? It must have been the hottest day in years, yet Mrs. Jocke and the loyal corps of volunteers were manning their posts.
I’ll always remember the times that I (and Sunshine!) would stop by their home to drop something off. Mrs. Jocke would say to come in for a few minutes. Mr. and Mrs. Jocke would sit at their kitchen table with Esther (later Mr. Dumpy) going from one to the other. They both would offer suggestions for the Historical Society. Mrs. Jocke would often say, “Well, Bill, you know..One year there was a project for a display for Mr. Williams’ new train station in Olmsted Falls. They worked out the details and all the rooms were filled with posters and exhibits made by Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Rowland, Mrs. Mason, Mr. and Mrs. Nickels, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Wehe, and others. It just so happened that it coincided with the dedication of the new historical marker at the Old Chestnut Grove Cemetery. Mrs. Jocke and I stayed at the train station and Mrs. Johnson, the officers, and other members conducted the program for the dedication. Mrs. Jocke’s efforts and enthusiasm will be greatly missed. Bravo Zulu.
WME 

MONDAY April 4, 2016, 7:00 p.m. Olmsted Falls Branch, Cuyahoga County Public Library.
The Friends of the Library topic is “Garrett Morgan: Cleveland’s Civic-Minded Inventor”.

MEMORIAL DAY 2016, The tradition that we revived last year of dropping flowers in to Plum Creek will immediately follow the City ceremonies at the Village Green.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF OLMSTED FALLS
We thank Mayor Ann Marie Donegan for giving us space in one of the old Olmsted Falls High School’s classrooms. The room at one time was the chemistry classroom (the lab was in the basement). The space is very much appreciated. We have our old school desk, the spinning wheel, the antique table, some book cases, file cabinets, a desk to work at, the long display case, plus pictures and items hung from the walls.

THE WINE TASTING AND SILENT AUCTION. Mr. Williams’ Wine tasting and Silent Auction was a wonderful event. We would like to thank Bev Smith, Jean Johnson, Lois Rowland, Bill and Nancy Nickels, and Barb Wehe for volunteering to help set up for the event and/or working at it.     WME 

RMS TITANIC
On the night of April 14-15, 1912, RMS TITANIC struck an iceberg. She went down in two and a half hours, taking 1500 passengers and crew. There were 712 survivors. It was the greatest sea disaster up to that time.
TITANIC was 92.5 feet wide, 882.5 feet long, and displaced 66,000 tons. She carried 20 lifeboats (16 regular and four collapsible). It was presumed that, if needed, they would ferry people from TITANIC to rescue ships and return for more people. The ship had three propellers, four funnels (one “dummy”), and was divided into 16 watertight compartments.
An interesting point about the disaster is that if she had seen the iceberg 15 seconds sooner or 15 seconds later she most probably wouldn’t have sunk. 15 seconds SOONER and the ship would have cleared the iceberg. She didn’t actually have a large, gaping 300’ hole in her. The plates on the ship were pushed in and the water entered through the dented seems. In ten seconds her first five water tight compartments were damaged. The ship could have floated with the first four compartments flooded. If the iceberg were seen 15 seconds LATER, the ship would have hit the iceberg dead on: her bow would have been mangled and pushed back but it would have been a self sealing wound. The watertight bulkheads would have kept the water from going any further in to the ship. Unfortunately there were no ships close enough to come to her aid. Her lifeboats carried about half their design capacity. Why? Unless you were where she was damaged you didn’t notice much out of the ordinary. It was cold outside so the people went back inside. The early lifeboats were launched 60 feet above the ocean. Most people preferred a warm, safe ocean liner to dangling in a lifeboat high above the water. One lifeboat was launched with 12 people, crew and passengers. Realizing most people did not consider the situation dangerous, the Captain told the lifeboat crews to row to the doors in the side of the ship and they would finish filling them from the sea. When the boats reached the water they saw the lights were no longer parallel to the ocean. They were afraid they would be pulled under when she went down so they rowed away from the ship. RMS CARPATHIA arrived an hour after she went down. The water was too cold for the people to survive.  WME  

AN OLD HOUSE by Jean Johnson
John and Amber Albrech lived at the junction of River Road and Nobottom Road, now 7322 River Road, home of Bruce and Jean Johnson. Amber and John had a Utopian dream of establishing a self supporting institution in Olmsted Township to serve humanity. They envisioned a complex of structures: small cabins to house tubercular affected boys and one to house older ladies who would knit, crochet, refinish antiques, braid rugs, weave small rugs, weave baskets, and make quilts that they would sell to support themselves.
Amber was a Cleveland school teacher who often rode her bicycle to a path in Olmsted, along the river to observe nature and study the geology. She found this to be the perfect place to realize her dream. Amber married Charles Phillip and together they purchased fifty acres from Charles Romp and started working to achieve their dream. She later divorced Charles and married John Albrech. In 1904, they built their first structure, a Bavarian style home with a large kitchen, a lot of cupboards, and four bedrooms. The woodwork found throughout the house was salvaged by Amber from mansions in Cleveland. The house is unique in that the wide windows raised and hooked on the ceiling.
John Albrech became disenchanted with his wife’s obsession and left. Amber was left in dire financial straits. Her health failed and the bank foreclosed.
The home was purchased by former Olmsted Falls Mayor Glenn Leslie. He and his extended family lived there for many years. It was then sold to Nick Ziegler, a lawyer, who lived there only a short time. The next owners were Bruce and Jean Johnson. They have lived there raising their family - Jeff and Scott - for the past 43 years.
At one time, the ruins of the Bradford Stage Coach Inn could be seen to the rear of this house.
In the 1800’s it housed travelers along the only road (Nobottom Road) connecting western county travelers to Cleveland.

Stuff Every AMERICAN Should Know By Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese
Submitted by Bev Smith
1.    ) How many Amendments are there to the U.S. Constitution?
2.    ) What is the “rule of law”?
3.    ) Name one of Ohio’s U.S. senators.
4.    ) Name your representative to Washington, D.C.
5.    ) Why do some States have more representatives than other States?
6.    ) The FEDERALIST PAPERS supported the U.S. Constitution. Name one of its authors.
7.    ) What did Susan B. Anthony do?
8.    ) Who was President during World War 1 ?
9.    ) Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
10.    ) Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
11.    ) Who composed STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER?
12.    ) Who wrote YOUR A GRAND OLD FLAG?
13.    ) Who wrote BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC?
14.    ) Who wrote THE STAR -SPANGLED BANNER?
15.    ) Who wrote MY COUNTRY ’TIS Of THEE?
16.    ) Who wrote AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL?
17.    ) Who wrote GOD BLESS AMERICA?
WHO SAID:
18.    ) “The buck stops here.”
19.    ) “Give me liberty or give me death.”
20.    ) “ A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
21.    ) “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
22.    ) “I have a dream.”
23.    ) “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”
24.    ) “Go west, young man.”