LATVIANS. One of Cleveland's smaller ethnic groups is composed of men and women who trace their ancestry back to Latvia, a small land along the Baltic Sea that enjoyed political independence from 18 Nov.
The LAUB BAKING CO., organized by German immigrant Jacob Laub, grew to become the largest independent wholesale bakery in Ohio before closing in 1974. Born in Germany in 1861, Laub came to the U.S. in 1878 and worked as a baker's apprentice. In 1889 he established his own business, baking rye bread, rolls, and coffee cake in his home at 1981 (later 4832) Lorain Ave. A loan from Samuel H.
The LAUB FOUNDATION was founded in 1958 by Herbert J. Laub (1892-1967) and his sister Elsie K. Laub (1889-1969), of the LAUB BAKING CO. family. The foundation supports private high school scholarship programs, cultural activities, and youth agencies, primarily in Cuyahoga and adjacent counties. No grants are given to individuals, or for endowment funds or loans.
LAUCK, JOHN ALFRED (4 April 1909 - 24 May 1999) was a pioneering industrial engineer who developed one of the first heart-lung machines used in early open-heart surgery. He was born in Painesville, Ohio, to Nella (Anderson) and Arthur E. Lauk. He graduated from Elyria High School and attended Ohio State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering.
LAUKHUFF'S BOOKSTORE was a leading source in Cleveland of books and other material relating to current movements in LITERATURE and the arts during the 1920s-1940s. Richard Laukhuff, a German immigrant, opened his bookstore in 1916 at 40 Taylor Arcade.
LAUREL SCHOOL is an independent day school for girls, kindergarten through grade twelve, with a coeducational early childhood center. A private school for girls, Laurel School was established by Jennie Warren Prentiss with an enrollment of seven students in 1896. Originally known as Miss Prentiss' School, it was located in her home at 95 Streator Avenue (East 100th Street).
LAUSCHE, FRANK JOHN (14 Nov. 1895-21 Apr. 1990), a politician known for his independence and integrity, Frank was born in Cleveland the son of SLOVENIAN immigrants Louis and Frances (Milavec) Lausche. He attended the Central Institute Preparatory School 1915-16, completing his high school education by correspondence.
LAW. Cleveland at the turn of the 19th century was a frontier outpost of American law. By the late 20th century it had become one of the nation's most significant legal communities. The city gained, and retained, prominence in the law because of a potent mixture of local variations of national trends and distinctive developments.
LAWRENCE, WASHINGTON H. (17 Jan. 1840-23 Nov. 1900) was a pioneer in the manufacture of electricity who organized and served as president of the National Carbon Co., forerunner of Union Carbide & Carbon Corp.
LAWSON’S DAIRY STORES. In 1954 there were 25 Lawson Dairy stores with their trademark white milk can against a blue background in the Cleveland area. The stores were replaced by Dairy Mart stores in the 1980s and in 2000, the stores were rebranded Circle-K.
LAZAR, ALMA TREBEC (13 July 1911-11 April 1993) was an original trustee member who helped found the SLOVENE HOME FOR THE AGED and served as either board secretary or treasurer from when the nursing home opened in 1962, until her death.
LEACH, ROBERT BOYD (1822-29 July 1863), the first black physician in Cleveland and one of the first AFRICAN AMERICANS in Cleveland to advocate full rights as citizens for blacks, was originally from Virginia, moving to southern Ohio, and then to Cleveland in 1844. As a young man, he worked as a nurse on the lake steamers during navigation season.
The LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS was organized in Cleveland in 1933 by Rabbi ABBA HILLEL SILVER and journalist LEON WIESENFELD after they attended a national convention of the League for Human Rights & Against Nazism.
LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS & AGAINST NAZISM. See LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
The LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS (LWV) OF CLEVELAND was formed in April 1920 by a group of suffragists, after the disbanding of the Woman's Suffrage Party of Greater Cleveland. Founders followed the example of the National American Woman's Suffrage Association, which had organized the National League of Women Voters in February 1920.
LEAGUE PARK was a venue at the corner of East 66th Street and Lexington Avenue that hosted sports events including baseball, football and boxing.
The LEAR SIEGLER, INC., POWER EQUIPMENT DIVISION, a major designer and manufacturer of electromechanical equipment for aerospace, missile, and ordnance applications, was established in 1962 when Lear, Inc., merged with the Siegler Corp., the parent company of Jack & Heintz, at 17600 Broadway in MAPLE HTS. Jack & Heintz, Inc. had been cofounded by machinist Wm. S.
The LEASEWAY TRANSPORTATION CORP. was a holding company with over 110 subsidiaries in specialized highway transit, vehicle leasing, and distribution. Formed in 1960, the company was heir to a local cartage firm begun in 1899 by Hugh O'Neill and managed in subsequent years by his family.
LEATHEM, BARCLAY SPENCER (10 Mar. 1900-2 Feb.
The LEBANESE-SYRIAN JUNIOR WOMEN'S LEAGUE, organized in 1929, is a social and charitable organization that sponsors fundraising events to support children's institutions overseas, scholarships for local students of Syrian-Lebanese descent, and donations to local welfare agencies. The league was founded with 23 charter members at a party for Syrian girls sponsored by the Intl.
LEBLOND, CHARLES HUBERT (21 Nov. 1883-30 Dec. 1958) organized and directed the CATHOLIC CHARITIES CORPORATION (1919-33) in Cleveland. LeBlond was born in Celina, OH, to Ann Brennan LeBlond and Charles LeBlond. When he was 5, the family moved to Cleveland, where he attended ST. JOHN CATHEDRAL school, St.
LEBOVITZ, HAROLD (HAL) (11 September 1916-18 October 2005) was a longtime sports writer and editor for Cleveland-area newspapers.
LEBRON JAMES BANNER. LeBron James, the NBA superstar who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003-2010 and again from 2014-2018 was portrayed on several large banners hanging from the Sherwin Williams building in down
LECHOWICK, MARGARET (TROUGHTON) (1907-10 Apr. 1992), basketball champion, child welfare advocate, lawyer, and mother of 10, presided over the Cleveland Women Lawyers Association (1971-73). Born in Cleveland, Lechowick's parents, Edward J. and Katherine Troughton, owned a candy store. She attended Ursuline Academy where in 1925 she was the nation's top scorer in women's basketball, with 400 points in 20 games.
LEDBETTER, ELEANOR EDWARDS (6 May 1870-19 July 1954), librarian known for her pioneering work with immigrant groups and ethnic literature, was born in Holley, N.Y., daughter of Ira Edwards. She was educated at Brockport State Normal College, Syracuse University, and New York State Library School in Albany. Ledbetter began her career as a cataloguer at Worcester, Mass.
LEE, WILLIAM GRANVILLE (29 Nov. 1860-1 Nov. 1929), leader of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen for more than a quarter of a century, was born in La Prarie, Ill, the son of James and Sylvesta (Tracey) Lee. He began his railroading career as a telegraph operator in 1877 and worked on several railroads as a brakeman and conductor 1879-95, including the Santa Fe, Wabash, and Union Pacific roads.
LEE-HARVARD is a Cleveland neighborhood and Statistical Planning Area (SPA) on the city’s southeast side. It is roughly bounded by Miles Ave. on the south, Scottsdale Blvd. on the north, E. 154th St. on the west, and E. 190th St. and Shadywood and Larkspur Lns. on the east.
LEE-SEVILLE is a Cleveland neighborhood and Statistical Planning Area (SPA) on the city’s southeast side. It is bounded roughly by Miles Ave.
The LEECE-NEVILLE CO., an important developer and manufacturer of electrical products for heavy-duty trucking (see AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY), was organized in 1909 by Cleveland inventor Bennett M. Leece and financier Sylvester M. Neville. Incorporated in 1910 with capital of $61,000, Leece-Neville opened at 2069 E. 4th St., moving to 5363 Hamilton Ave. by 1915.
The LEES-BRADNER CO. (1906-67) was organized in 1906 as a partnership between Ernest J. Lees (1870-1937) and Hosea Townsend Bradner (1872-1963) of Cleveland and incorporated in 1909. Lees, a cofounder of the Grant-Lees Machine Co. of Cleveland, held basic patents in gear hobbing (cutting) machines.
The LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF CLEVELAND, incorporated on May 12, 1905, was the fifth society in the United States organized, according to its charter, "to render legal assistance gratuitously or for a moderate charge to deserving persons not otherwise able to obtain the services of a competent attorney, and to promote measures for their protection." Praised as an innovative program by proponents of legal aid at various points in it
LEGGETT, MORTIMER DORMER (19 Apr. 1821-6 Jan. 1896) promoted free, graded, public education in Ohio and has been credited with created the public school system in Akron (1845). In Cleveland, with CHARLES FRANCIS BRUSH and George W.
LEHMAN AND SCHMITT was a Cleveland architectural firm that designed many important public and institutional buildings between 1884-1935. ISRAEL J. LEHMAN (1859-1914) and Theodore Schmitt (1860-1935) formed a partnership in 1884. The first 2 buildings of which there is a record were large covered public halls, the Sheriff St. Market (1891) on E. 4th St.
LEHMAN, ISRAEL J. (29 Oct. 1859-2 Apr. 1914), architect, was a senior partner in the firm of LEHMAN & SCHMITT, which designed many religious, public and commercial buildings in Cleveland. Lehman was born in St. Joseph, MO, the second child of Joseph (d. 1883) and Hannah Schwarz Lehman (d. 1869).
LEIMKUEHLER, PAUL ELMER (22 Aug. 1918-27 Aug. 1993) turned the loss of a leg during WORLD WAR II into a successful prosthetics business and the pioneering hobby of 3-track skiing. The son of Clevelanders Elmer and Clara Leimkuehler, he graduated from West Tech High School and attended Ohio State Univ.
The LEISY BREWING CO., at 3400 Vega Ave. on the near west side, was once Cleveland's largest independent brewery. It was established by Isaac Leisy (1838-92), an Iowa brewer who purchased Cleveland's Frederick Haltnorth Brewery in association with 2 brothers; together they established Isaac Leisy & Co. in 1873. Leisy soon gained a reputation for its Premium Lager and Budweiser beers (Budweiser was not then a brand name).
LELAND, JACKSON MILLER (1818-20 Feb. 1896), music teacher and brass-band leader, was born in Holliston, Mass. to John and Sylvia Leland. With a proficiency in violin, bugle, and clarinet playing, he arrived in Cleveland in 1843 and shortly thereafter organized Leland's Band which played on lakeboats sailing between Buffalo and Chicago. Leland also toured the South with a theatrical group in 1846.
LEMKO HALL, located in TREMONT, 2337 W. 11th St. at the corner of Literary Ave., was initially a saloon built in 1909-1910 which remained the home of the saloon owner, Andrew Koreny, and his family, until purchased by the Lemko Assn. Home Branch No. 6, a branch of the Lemko Assn. of the U.S. and Canada.
LEMMERS, A. EUGENE (7 July 1907-2 June 1992), inventor in the field of lighting, was born in Cleveland the son of Maurice and Florence Victoria (Bierbrier) Lemmers. After graduation from Glenville High School in 1926, he began working for General Electric at Nela Park and took college courses but did not earn a degree.
LEMPCO INDUSTRIES, INC. was the umbrella corporation for 5 companies operating in the fields of auto rebuilding and replacement parts, die sets and supplies, and specialized machines. Started in 1918 as the Lake Erie Metal Products Co., the company produced war material in the ebbing days of World War I. After the armistice, owners James F.
LENHART, CARL H. (1 Sept. 1880-8 Apr. 1955), surgeon and medical researcher in shock, hemorrhaging, kidney studies, and endemic goiter treatment, was born to country doctor Peter J. Lenhart and his wife Ida I. (Pfeifer) Lenhart in Wauseon, Ohio. He graduated with an A.B. from Adelbert College (1901) and a M.D. from Western Reserve University Medical School (1904).
LEO'S CASINO was a premier showcase in Cleveland for R&B and Motown artists. The co-owner of Leo's Casino, Leo Frank, got his first taste of the entertainment business while serving in the Navy in 1945. He was in charge of a theater on a base near San Francisco that featured Bob Hope, Harry James and other prominent entertainers. In 1952 Leo Frank opened his first club, called Leo's, at E. 49th St. and Central Ave.
The LEONARD SCHLATHER BREWING CO. was begun in 1857 by Leonard Schlather and operated by him until 1902. Schlather, born in Ebenhausen, Wurttemburg, Germany in 1835, emigrated to America in 1852. After coming to Cleveland, Schlather began his own brewery in 1857 with the aid of a loan from his brother, Frederick. He built a brick building at Carroll Ave. and York (W. 28th) St.
LEONARD, WILLIAM ANDREW (15 July 1848-21 Sept. 1930), bishop co-adjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio (1889) and 4th bishop (1889-1930), was born in Southport, Conn., to William B. and Louise D. (Bulkley) Leonard. He graduated from St. Stephen's College (1866) and received his B.D. degree from Berkeley Divinity School (1871).