The POPULIST PARTY (also known as the People's party), espoused populist causes in Cleveland during the 1890s, including municipal ownership of utilities, better hospital and health facilities, labor representation on the police board, and improved schools. Its predecessor, the Union Labor party, organized by Dr. LOUIS B. TUCKERMAN in Oct.
PORATH, ISRAEL (3 July 1886-11 Apr. 1974), "dean" of Cleveland's Orthodox rabbis for almost 5 decades, was born in Jerusalem, Palestine, received a traditional Talmudic education, and graduated from Jerusalem's Etz Chaim Yeshiva.
POREMBA, MICHAEL J. (11 Dec. 1908-2 Aug. 1998) was a stained glass window maker whose masterpiece was the windows he made for the Meyers Chapel in the United Methodist Church of the Saviour in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS. He was born in Cleveland to John Poremba, an assembler, and Mary (Chormy) Poremba.
PORTER, ALBERT S. (29 Nov. 1904-7 Jan. 1979), Cuyahoga County engineer for 29 years and county Democratic party chairman for 6 years, was born in Portsmouth, Va. to Albert S. and Lena Edmonds Porter. He moved with his family to LAKEWOOD in 1913, graduated from Lakewood High School in 1922 and from Ohio State University with his B.S. in civil engineering in 1928.
PORTER, NANCY LYON (9 June 1921-26 Sept. 1996), was a career volunteer and tireless advocate for children, families and the elderly. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, to George Hale and Winifred (Hart) Lyon, she was raised in Cleveland where Mr. Lyon headed a major automobile dealership. Porter earned her B.A. in sociology and psychology from Wheaton College in Norton, MA, in 1943.
PORTER, PHILIP WYLIE (7 Aug. 1900-20 May 1985), reporter, columnist, and editor at the PLAIN DEALER for 44 years, was born in Portsmouth, Va., to Albert S. and Lena Edmonds Porter. He moved with his family to LAKEWOOD in 1913.
PORTER, SIMEON C. (23 April 1807-6 May 1871), architect active in Cleveland between 1848-71, was born in Waterbury, Conn. to Lemuel and Margatana Welton Porter. His father was a woodworker and joiner. The family moved to Tallmadge, Ohio, in 1818, and later to Hudson. Porter erected several buildings of Western Reserve College (now Western Reserve Academy) and many Hudson houses before moving to Cleveland in 1848.
POST, CHARLES ASA (28 Oct. 1848-2 May 1943) spent most of his life in business but earned the honorific of "Dean of Doan's Corners" for local historical recollections written after his retirement. He was born at EUCLID AVENUE and what later became E.
POTOCSNY, JULIUS (8 Jun. 1929 - 7 Oct. 2002).
POTTER & MELLEN, INC., one of Cleveland's prominent jewelry stores, was founded in 1900 (sometimes given as 1899) by Horace Potter, a noted jeweler, teacher, designer, and master craftsman.
POUTNEY, RICHARD IRVING (28 Feb. 1927-24 Jan. 1993) was the founder of the West Side Institute of Technology and a leader in vocational training. He was also president and chairman of the board of the Stella Maris Home (see STELLA MARIS DETOX CENTER) where he counseled recovering alcoholics.
POWER, EFFIE LOUISE (12 Feb. 1873—8 Oct. 1969) was the first children's librarian at the CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY (CPL), and taught courses in library science and literature for CHILDREN AND YOUTH.
PREDICASTS, INC., a company that specializes in providing computerized data for businesses and industries, was established by Samuel A. Wolpert in 1960. Wolpert, a native of Baltimore, came to Cleveland in 1954. Predicasts began as a publisher of economic indexes and surveys and was originally located at 10609 Euclid Ave. in the UNIV. CIRCLE area.
The PREFORMED LINE PRODUCTS CO., a manufacturer of hardware and accessories for electrical and telephone transmission cables, was organized in 1947 by inventor Thomas F. Peterson to produce his preformed spiral armor rod for reinforcing or splicing overhead high-tension cables. The company, located at 1051 Power Ave., had sales of $250,000 after its first year and grew rapidly, purchasing new facilities at 5349 St. Clair Ave.
PREHISTORIC INHABITANTS. Following the melting of the last glacial advances, ca. 15,000 years ago, northeast Ohio was an area of slow, gravel-choked rivers, high bogs, and ice-ponded lakes. Vegetation was a mixture of near-Arctic tundra, roamed by herd of caribou, as well as mastodon, giant beaver, moose, lynx, and wolves. There is no convincing evidence of the presence of Paleo-Indians in Ohio at this early date.
The PREMIER FARNELL PLC, was created from the 1996 merger of the Premier Industrial Corp. and the British electronics part distributor Farnell Electronics PLC. The Premier Industrial Corp. was a multimillion-dollar distribution company based in Cleveland, which grew out of the purchase of Premier Automotive Supply by Joseph C., Jack N., and Morton L. Mandel in 1940, with an initial investment of $900.
The PREMIER INDUSTRIAL CORP., see PREMIER FARNELL PLC
PRENTICE, WALTER M. (1824-2 June 1864), physician and Army surgeon in the CIVIL WAR, was born to Athalia and Noyes B. Prentice, a saddler, in Unionville, Lake County, Ohio. In 1850-51, Prentice was practicing medicine in Canfield, Ohio with his younger brother, Noyes Billings Prentice, studying medicine under him.
PRENTISS FOUNDATION. See ELISABETH SEVERANCE PRENTISS FOUNDATION.
PRENTISS, ELISABETH SEVERANCE ALLEN (16 Nov. 1865-4 Jan. 1944) was a generous benefactress of educational, art, and medical causes. Recipients of her gifts included St.
PRENTISS, FRANCIS FLEURY (22 Aug. 1858-1 Apr. 1937), founder of Cleveland Twist Drill Co. (see ACME-CLEVELAND) and philanthropist, was born in Montpelier, Vt., son of Joseph Addison and Rebecca Loomis Prentiss. Growing up in Winona, Minn, Prentiss worked as a bank clerk before moving to Cleveland in 1879.
PRENTISS, JENNIE WARREN (17 October 1870-5 April 1946) was a women’s educator who was a founder of the predecessor to LAUREL SCHOOL. She was born in Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, Ohio to parents Chauncey Prentiss and Emily Hanks.
The PRESBYTERIAN UNION (1870-1949), originally named the Cleveland Presbyterian Church Union, formed in 1870 and was incorporated on 24 Apr. 1891.
PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN is descended from a number of Presbyterian organizations, including the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church of Cleveland organized on 12 June 1872 at Second Presbyterian Church. That group had grown out of the Parlor Missionary Society, organized in 1833 at FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (OLD STONE).
PRESBYTERIANS. The Presbyterian Church established itself in the Cleveland area in 1807, among the earliest Protestant denominations, and developed rapidly. Presbyterianism originated in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation and the teachings of John Calvin of Switzerland and John Knox of Scotland.
PRESCOTT HUNTER/JUMPER CLASSIC. See MERRILL LYNCH HUNTER JUMPER CLASSIC.
PRESCOTT, BALL AND TURBEN, INC., one of the largest regionally based investment firms between New York and Chicago, was the product of several mergers. In 1924 Charles B. Merrill and Claude F. Turben organized Merrill, Turben & Co. and in 1934, Edward P. Prescott and Morton J. Stone formed Prescott & Co., located in the National City Bank Bldg. at E. 6th St. and Euclid Ave.
PRESCOTT, JAMES SULLIVAN (26 Jan. 1803-3 Apr. 1888), stonemason, educator, and historian of the NORTH UNION SHAKER COMMUNITY, was born in Lancaster, Mass., the son of Levi and Mary (Townsend) Prescott. He moved at age 16 to Springfield, Mass., then to Hartford, Conn., and apprenticed as a stonemason.
The second PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE OF 1980 between Democratic Pres. Jimmy Carter and Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan was held in Cleveland on 28 Oct. 1980, sponsored by the LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. Second Presidential Debate of 1980 The Cleveland Chapter of the league, led by Pres.
The PRESS CLUB OF CLEVELAND was originally organized on 1 Feb. 1887 as the Cleveland Press Club. Presided over by JOHN C. COVERT, editor of the CLEVELAND LEADER, the group apparently faded from view within a year.
PRESSER, JACKIE (6 Aug. 1926-9 July 1988), son of labor leader WILLIAM PRESSER, was head of the 1.6 million-member Teamster Union and served as labor advisor to President Ronald Reagan.
PRESSER, WlLLlAM E. (14 July 1907-18 July 1981) was a labor organizer and an influential Teamster union official who played a key role in the union's growth. The oldest of 6 children of Benjamin and Yetta Presser, William was born in Cleveland where he attended local schools until he was 16. Presser had numerous jobs during the depression, and by 1939 was employed by several local unions to recruit members.
PRETERM, INC., established on 15 Mar. 1974, is a nonprofit medical clinic run by WOMEN for women to provide abortion counseling, abortions, contraceptives, education and outreach, with care and sensitivity. Founded following the 1973 legalization of abortion, by 1975 Preterm offices were open 3 days a week and offered abortion counseling, abortions, breast examinations, and Pap smears.
PRICE, CONSTANCE MATHER (21 July 1918 - 25 May 1997) was active in civic affairs, sports, and theater throughout her life. She was born in Boston to Madeleine Almy and Philip Richard Mather, an industrialist and philanthropist who was on the board of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
PRICE, GRACE FINLEY "Momma Grace" (30 April 1896-2 July 1992) was, with her husband, Rodger, a pioneer African American entrepreneur. Born in Paulding, Ohio, to Ida Stuart, Grace attended Paulding public schools. She met Rodger in Toledo, and they lived in Detroit before coming to Cleveland in 1927.
PRICE, JOHN L., Jr., (29 May 1920 - 20 June 2012) was one of Cleveland's preeminent theatrical showmen in the decades following World War II.
PRIDE IN CLEVELAND has been celebrated by the city’s LGBTQ community since the early 1970s. The gay community in Cleveland in the 1970s was connected to the larger gay liberation movement growing in the United States, which was propelled by the Stonewall Riot in New York City in 1969. Pride celebrations began to occur annually in cities across the U.S.
PRIDGEON, LOUISE JOHNSON (27 Jan. 1891-18 July 1932) was the first practicing African American woman lawyer in Cleveland who was also active in welfare work and politics.
Born in Gallipolis, Ohio to Joseph and Mary (Ferguson) Johnson, Louise attended public school in Springfield, graduating from Springfield High School in 1907. Louise came to Cleveland in 1913 and found work as a bookkeeper.
PRIMO VINO, which opened on April 15, 1982, was a restaurant that both epitomized and catalyzed Little Italy’s growth as a major dining and entertainment district in Greater Cleveland during the last quarter of the twentieth century.
PRINDLE KARL E. (10 Dec. 1902 - 13 Oct.1998) was twenty-four when he developed moisture-proof cellophane for DuPont in the mid-1920s. He was born in Charlotte, Vermont, to Carrie and Edwin H. Prindle, a lumberman at a sawmill. In 1925, Prindle graduated from Oberlin College. Prindle worked for DuPont after college until he began working for Dobeckmun Co. of Cleveland, now Dow Chemical, in 1932.
The PRINT CLUB OF CLEVELAND is an organization of connoisseurs of prints and printmaking. Membership is by application and is limited to 250, with all members living in the Western Reserve. The club was founded by Ralph R. King (1855-1926), print enthusiast and benefactor, and incorporated as the Print Club on 20 Dec. 1919.
PRINT JOURNALISM. Like many of civilization's amenities, journalism came late to the Cleveland area. The settlement waited more than 20 years for its first newspaper, Andrew Logan's CLEAVELAND GAZETTE & COMMERCIAL REGISTER, founded on 31 July 1818.
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING IN CLEVELAND developed slowly and modestly, and it was not until the 1940s and the flowering of the WORLD PUBLISHING CO. that Cleveland could boast a first-class trade publisher. Although Cleveland was discovered and settled in 1796, as late as 1820 there were only 606 people.
PRINTZ-BIEDERMAN CO., one of the oldest American manufacturers of women's apparel, was organized in Dec. 1893 by master tailor Moritz Printz. A native of Austria, Printz came to Cleveland in 1872 to work for his brother-in-law, cloak manufacturer David Black. The head designer for D. Black & Co., Printz stayed in Cleveland when Black moved his company to New York in 1894.
PRITCHARD, D. JAMES (12 Apr. 1908-20 Aug. 1998) was a bank executive and public relations director who was heavily involved in promoting education in the community. He was born in Lisbon, Ohio, to Floy (McCausland) and David R. Pritchard, an accountant. He came to Cleveland as a child and lived in the Glenville area before moving to EAST CLEVELAND.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS. The public-school movement in the U.S. did not really begin until the 1830s and 1840s. Consequently, schools established in the early 19th century were, of necessity, private schools. The line between public and private, however, was not as rigid as it is today. The people believed that education benefited the community at large and that the costs should be borne by all.
PRO FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES have been played in Cleveland 9 times, 6 times for the Natl. Football League crown (1945, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1964, and 1968), and 3 times for the All-America Football Conference championship (1946, 1948, and 1949). Of the 9 title games Cleveland has hosted, the Cleveland team has triumphed in 7: 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, and 1964.
The PROFESSIONAL MEN'S CLUB OF CLEVELAND, an invitational organization for men, was preceded by the Cleveland Chapter of the Intl. Assn. of Torch Clubs, Inc.
The PROGRESSIVE CORP., a Cleveland-based insurance holding company specializing in non-standard, high-risk automobile insurance, began in 1937 when attorneys Joseph M. Lewis and J. H. Green formed the Progressive Mutual Insurance Co. with $10,000 in capital.
PROGRESSIVE FIELD, previously named Jacobs Field at 2401 Ontario Street, was opened in 1994 as part of the new Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex intended to revitalize downtown Cleveland.