FINNS. Immigrants from Finland settled in Cleveland as early as 1885. By 1900 79 Finns lived in Cleveland. Between 1901-10 304 Finns came to Cleveland; 288 more the following decade. By the 1930s approx. 3,000 people of Finnish descent lived in Cleveland. Most Finns came to America from rural areas for economic reasons, while compulsory military service in the Russian Army also prompted many to emigrate.

The FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION OF THE USA AND CANADA is a fraternal benefit society, founded in Cleveland on 4 Sept. 1890 by 11 men from 4 states. By 1933 the union had over 100,000 members and more than $9 million in assets. The union was established by Rev.

FLYNN, FR. THOMAS A. (May 19, 1932 - August 31, 2018) was the founding pastor of St. Clarence parish in North Olmsted, OH, and the genial host of an annual “Emerald Ball” for 39 years.

FOLEY, DR.

FREEDHEIM, EUGENE HEITLER (16 Mar. 1900-19 Dec. 1984), attorney, presided over the CLEVELAND BAR ASSN. during its controversial defense of 11 accused communists (1955-56), a local case which signaled the beginning of the demise of McCarthyism nationally. Freedheim was born in Leadville, CO, to Carrie H. and Alfred A. Freedheim. His father ran a men's clothing store.

FRENCH. The story of the French in Cleveland is one of individuals and not of a national group. The few French who did come, however, exerted a cultural influence out of proportion to the ethnic group's size.

The FROHSINN SINGING SOCIETY was the first German music club in Cleveland. Its work brought national attention to the city. The Frohsinn was begun in 1848 by German immigrants led by a man named Heber. The society's rehearsals, informal at best, were held from time to time in Seifert's Casino.

GANNON, JOHN A. (September 16, 1923 - May 31, 1997) was a Cleveland firefighter and union leader who, in 1985, spearheaded the creation of the John A.

GEORGIANS. Georgians form a small yet prominent and historically significant part of Greater Cleveland’s larger community of immigrants from the former USSR.

GERMAN AMERICAN RESETTLEMENT SERVICES, INC. organized 29 Feb. 1952 as the Federated German American Relief for Expellees Organizing Committee but incorporated under the later name. It formed "to aid and assist needy displaced persons of German ethnic origin" whose lives were disrupted by political changes in postwar Europe. The group was organized and headed by Rev. John Foisel, its first president, Robert A.

The GERMAN CENTRAL FARM occupies more than 30 acres of land at 7863 York Rd. in PARMA. Used for meetings, picnics, and sports and cultural events, the site was established by the German Central Organization (GCO), which bought the farm in 1926 for $24,000 and created a soccer field, tennis courts, a rifle range, a swimming pool, a meeting hall, and other accommodations.

GERMANIA was Cleveland's first German newspaper as well as the city's first printed foreign-language paper in any tongue. Although it was preceded by Maximilian Heinrich Allart's Monatliche Journal of July 1844, the earlier effort must be disqualified for its handwritten format. Founded by EDWARD HESSENMUELLER, Germania came off the press at 24 Water St.

GERMANIA HALL, located at 532 Erie (2416 E. 9th) St., was built by the Germania Turnverein in 1888 to house their gymnastic facilities and serve as a meeting place. Germania Turnverein was organized on 7 Sept. 1876 by east side residents who were former members of the Cleveland Turnverein. Their new $65,000 hall on Erie St.

GERMANS formed one of Cleveland's largest and most influential nationality groups in the 19th and 20th centuries. Although not as large as the German communities in some northern cities, the local community had an important influence on the city's economic, educational, and cultural life. Cleveland and other lake cities lagged a few years behind Cincinnati and St.

GLOBAL CLEVELAND, a non-profit economic development agency, was launched by young civic and business leaders in 2011 to try and boost Cleveland’s population and economy by attracting new residents from around the world.

GREEKS form one of Cleveland's smaller but most cohesive nationality groups, preserving their culture through their central institution, the Greek Orthodox church. The first Greek to settle in Cleveland reportedly was Panagiotis Koutalianos, a fabled "strong man," who is said to have come ca. 1880s. Out of 370,007 Greeks emigrating to the U.S.

HAGIWARA, ABE (1919? - 1971?) was the leading founder and first president of Cleveland's Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). 

HAYASHI, MASUMI (3 September1945- 17August 2006) was a Japanese-American photographer known for her panoramic collages capturing typically abandoned or isolated landscapes.