A few years ago, while preparing for a talk on women, I came across an old quilt. At first, when I saw it, all I saw was that it was tattered and torn and had been cut and repaired. I was wondering why my mother suggested I use it. Then she reminded me that my grandmother had made this quilt while she was still living in Kansas in the 1930s and I looked at it with a different perspective. The multicolored blocks and shapes that make up the quilt fit together to create a thing of beauty. The cotton was the old cotton; sure, it was matted where it was coming out of the edge of the quilt, but it was the original cotton used in the quilt about 80 years ago! It was well-loved and much-used and it carried its own battle scars. Therefore, I decided to use the quilt when I did my next talk on how women contributed to the cause during the American Civil War.

The first decade of the 20th Century was filled with discovery and invention. Our country was enjoying a decade of relative peace and prosperity. During this period, Collinwood and Nottingham villages were also very prosperous. The railroad, as well as business and industry, were growing and the population of the villages was expanding. The hearty immigrants brought their religion, their work ethics and their family values and built their homes, churches and their gathering places. The Collinwood School Fire of March 4, 1908 nearly devastated the community but the strong-willed immigrants continued on, despite their loss and worked even harder to build a cohesive community able to withstand anything life threw at them. Collinwood petitioned the City of Cleveland to become a part of their growing metropolis and in February 1910, Collinwood officially and legislatively is added to the City of Cleveland, able to receive services from the City while retaining their unique character. (The same happens with Nottingham Village in 1912 – but, that’s another story!)  

How do you celebrate the holidays? Regardless of one's faith or ethnic background, we all gather to celebrate during these early winter days.

There has to be a medical term for someone who awakens one morning and realizes how much she misses a particular part of her past. Is it melancholia? Homesickness? The “good old days” syndrome? Be that as it may, my “back-to-the-future” experience was the time I learned to play pinochle while tossing pizza.

Who’s making this paper?
You are. You and your neighbors. Anyone who steps forward to speak and write their thoughts down. We will publish everything you send us, either online or in print. We ask that it be truthful and not malicious. Think a writer’s missed the mark? Write down your perspective, send it in, we’ll print it.

Does Councilman Polensek control this paper?
No. He is providing $15,000 in ward allocation funds—your tax dollars—to build a grassroots project that allows

   Oliver Hazard Perry was the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie and a school in the north Collinwood community was named to honor him and his victory September 10, 1813. To read more about him, see the Collinwood Observer website for an article on Perry and his relevance to us today.

   Stay tuned for more Collinwood and Collinwood-related history.  If there is something you would like to know about just ask. It is always fun to look into our history. You can reach the Historical Society via email at collnotthistorical@aol.com. Find out, and write up the story for the Collinwood Observer!