Category: Recreation and Popular Culture

TEBELAK, JOHN MICHAEL (17 Sept. 1949-2 Apr. 1985), composer of the musical Godspell, was born in Berea to John and Genevieve Tebelak. At age 9 he was active in the Berea Summer Theater. A choirboy at TRINITY CATHEDRAL, he was fascinated with the pageantry and drama of religion. At 21, he directed productions of Macbeth and Cabaret.

The PONI-TAILS, (1956 - 1960) were an all-female American pop band that was active from 1956 until 1960. Its members included Toni Cistone, Patti McCabe, Karen Topinka and LaVerne Novak. The Poni-Tails are best known for their top 10 hit song “Born Too Late” released in 1958. 

THE RASPBERRIES (1970 - 1975 and 2004 - 2007) were an influential American pop and boy band active from 1970 until 1975 then active again between 2004 through 2009. 

The Raspberries formed in the early 1970s when Eric Carmen and Jim Bonfanti envisioned a band that would emulate music legends of the 1960s such as The Beatles and The Who. 

THEATRICAL GRILL was a memorable dining and entertainment venue located on SHORT VINCENT.

TOWN HALL OF CLEVELAND, a subscription lecture series, was founded by Mrs. Wm. C. (Alice Katherine Newton) Wallin when she came to Cleveland from Detroit with her husband in 1930. Mrs. Wallin, a former newspaperwoman and participant in Detroit Town Hall, started the Town Hall of Cleveland (the 4th city in the country to have a Town Hall) as "courses designed for intelligent thinking." Dr.

TRI-STATE MOTION PICTURE COMPANY was an important Cleveland-based motion picture studio in the 1930s. Tri-State specialized in making SPONSORED FILMS. Theatrical films are movies made for showing in theaters to paying customers.

TURK, F. JEROME (20 May 1923 - 6 Dec. 2011). Born in Cleveland and raised in EUCLID, Jerome “Jerry” Turk was a writer, radio and TV director, and producer.

The UNION CLUB OF CLEVELAND, located at E. 12th St. and Euclid Ave., is a private organization composed of many of the city's industrialists, businessmen, and professional citizens. One of the oldest social organizations in Cleveland, it was incorporated on 25 Sept. 1872 as the Union Club of Cleveland.

The UNIVERSITY CLUB, 3813 Euclid Ave., located in a restored historic Cleveland mansion on "Millionaires Row," is a social club for business and professional men and women. In 1896-97, Drs. Chas. Harris, Samuel Ball Platner, and Abraham Lincoln Fuller, professors at Adelbert College, organized the original Univ. Club as an invitational social club, with membership limited to men having a college degree.

VADNAL, FRANK L. (24 July 1921-29 May 1995) belonged to a family quartet which became a leading exponent of Cleveland-style polka music (see POLKAS). The native Clevelander, son of Anthony and Anna Kappus Vadnal, was a graduate of Collinwood High School.

WADE PARK, which joins the southern end of ROCKEFELLER PARK at E. 105th and extends south of EUCLID AVE. along East Blvd., encompassing much of UNIV. CIRCLE, was originally the private estate of JEPTHA H.

WASHINGTON RESERVATION (originally Washington Park), at East 49th Street and Washington Park Boulevard, straddles the boundary of NEWBURGH HEIGHTS and the City of Cleveland. It was bought by the city in 1899 after a local amusement park was closed down.

The WATER ST. THEATER, reputedly the city's first theater intended exclusively for dramatic productions, was built by John S. Potter in 1848. Located on Water St. (W. 9th St. after 1905), it seated more than 1,000 and included 2 tiers of boxes and 4 private boxes. The theater was destroyed by fire in 1850, and the site at 1273 W. 9th St. was redeveloped as the Seaman's Hotel and, later, the Showboat Theater.

WATKlNS, SAMUEL "SAMMY" (ca. 1904-26 July 1969) was a well-known dance orchestra leader and songwriter in Cleveland whose style, quality, and good taste brought pleasure to Greater Clevelanders for over 40 years.

WEBSTER, FREDDIE (8 June 1916-1 April 1947) was an influential jazz trumpeter from Cleveland, Ohio. Although his legacy has been largely forgotten by the general public, jazz historians and fans acknowledge his influence on the American jazz scene. During his lifetime, Webster was an influential jazz artist who worked with other well-known artists of the time period, such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.

WEST CREEK RESERVATION is bounded by West Pleasant Valley Road to the south, Broadview Road to the east, and West Ridgewood Drive to the north in the city of PARMA. It opened as the sixteenth park reservation in the CLEVELAND METROPARKS in 2006.

WEST CREEK RESERVATION is bounded by West Pleasant Valley Road to the south, Broadview Road to the east, and West Ridgewood Drive to the north in the city of PARMA. It opened as the sixteenth park reservation in the CLEVELAND METROPARKS in 2006.

The WESTERN RESERVE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE (WRCWRT) was founded in 1965 by Dr. William Mahoney of Olmsted Falls, OH.

The WESTERN RESERVE NUMISMATIC CLUB, an organization of coin collectors, was established 9 Nov. 1921 by 6 numismatists, meeting at Weber's Restaurant in downtown Cleveland. It was the third club ever to register with the American Numismatic Association. Moses Marcusson, the club's first president, served until 1924.

WESTON, JACK (21 August 1924-3 May 1996), was a well-known Broadway, TV, and film actor. He was originally named Jack Weinstein, born to parents Morris Weinstein and Anna Tizer, and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, with his brother, Sam.

WHITE CITY was an amusement park located on Lake Erie at E. 140th St. Established in 1900, it was operated by Wm. R. Ryan, the former manager of EUCLID BEACH PARK. White City First known as "Manhattan Beach," its name was changed to White City soon afterward. Among the park's attractions were Bonavita the lion trainer and Madame Morelli the leopard trainer.

WOLF, FREDERICK C. (22 April 1902-23 Sept. 1972) became noted in Cleveland RADIO as a pioneer in nationality and classical music programming. A native of Prague, Czechoslovakia, he was the son of Vaclav and Magdalena Rosmanova Wolf. After attending the Prague Commercial Academy, he worked for the Krupp Munition Works before emigrating to Cleveland in 1927.

WOMACK, ROBERT DWAYNE "BOBBY" (4 March 1944 – 28 June 2014), was a prominent African-American whose musical career spanned six decades, creating 23 studio albums that garnered international acclaim, and was immortalized in the Cleveland

WOODLAND HILLS PARK. See LUKE EASTER PARK.