Dan Ruminski - Cleveland in the Gilded Age: A Stroll Down Millionaires Row

We dedicate this book to children throughout the world and to the unsung heroes who care for and nurture these special beings: their parents.

Your work in so many cases is seen as an inspiration to all who have the privilege to observe.

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2012 by Dan Ruminski and Alan Dutka

All rights reserved

First published 2012

e-book edition 2012

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.61423.803.4

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

print edition ISBN 978.1.60949.878.8

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the authors or The History Press. The authors and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following individuals provided significant contributions to this book:

CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY

Beverly Austin (history)

Margaret Baughman (photographs)

Ronald Berdick (history)

Stacie Brisker (Special Collections)

Nicholas Durda (photographs)

Thomas Edwards (map collection)

Patrice Hamiter (photographs)

Michael Jacobs (Special Collections)

Chris Wood (history)

CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY

William C. Barrow (Special Collections)

Lynn M. Duchez Bycko (Special Collections)

INDIVIDUALS

Priscilla Dutka

Diane Dutka

Craig de Fasselle

Sara de Fasselle

INTRODUCTION

How does one become Clevelands storyteller? My journey actually started four years ago at a wonderful little library in Gates Mills, Ohio. It was one of those rainy, winter Saturday mornings in February, and I had nothing planned for the day. Upon awakening, I turned to my dear wife, Sue, to suggest that I might go to the library to do some reading. Dear Sue gave me that famous look of hers, as if to say, No way are you going to the library. You just want to go to breakfast with your buddies. Well, normally, dear Sue would have been correct, but in this case, I was going to make an extremely rare visit to the library.

My vision for the day was actually to do some research, for you see, I live on a very historical piece of property formerly owned by Walter White, founding brother of the White Motor Company. I own six acres of the once famous Circle W Farm, Walters grand estate. For whatever reason, I wanted to learn what my property was used for in 1920was it a cornfield, hay field or just a tree farm, as Walter planted thousands of trees so future generations could enjoy them. Walter and his family spent much time in Gates Mills, Ohio, once upon a time; he was a founding member of the Gates Mills Hunt Club, a well-known club throughout the country known for its polo team and other activities. Thus, just maybe the Gates Mills Library had what I was looking for.

A visit to the Gates Mills Library, I found, became very special. As I walked in with coffee in hand, I approached a young lady who obviously worked for the library, requesting information on the Walter White estate. The young lady turned out to be Katherine, head librarian. Katherine suggested a couple of books that I promptly found. I settled in a nice armchair in front of the fireplace and began to read a most fascinating story about Walter and his brother, Windsor, and their great estates.

My recollection of that morning is that about an hour into my research I received a tap on the shoulder from my new friend Katherine. She wanted me to meet her friend Sally Burke, president of Gates Mills Historical Society. After exchanging introductions, Sally, being in the history business, so to speak, asked if I would be willing to put together a presentation on these two great estates. She explained that most libraries have a group known as Friends of the Library, and they sponsor various speakers on a monthly basis. My Saturday now became most interesting in that I was faced with a decision that was about to change my life in a very significant fashion. I answered Sally almost instantly by saying, Yes. Never one to back down from an opportunity, I asked Sally how many people normally attended such an event. She told me a group of forty would represent a very successful event. We agreed to a date, and instantly I was put into the history business.

Once I returned home that afternoon, it finally hit me in terms of what I had just committed to. I now had to prepare a one-hour presentation on a subject I knew next to nothing about. Being a former schoolteacher, I believed I could do this, but now reality took the fun out of my wonderful Saturday morning. As is my habit, I procrastinated until the last two weeks before D-day, doing my homework and rehearsal at the last minute. Two days before that April Sunday, I completed the task at hand and was ready to make history, so to speak.

The day of my presentation, I arrived early, as is my habit, to get a feel for the room and also to make sure I knew my subject. I do not remember why, but I decided I would put this information into a story; thus, I would use no notes or anything else that would help me stay on track. The library and my friend Katherine had set up forty chairs, as is customary for such events. Finally, the hour of 2:00 p.m. approached, and to my complete surprise, people actually began to arrive to hear a fellow give a history talk. Amazingly, though, people kept coming and coming. When all was said and done, over 150 folks turned out to hear a very nervous storyteller give his first presentation.

Katherine decided she would introduce me, and she was extremely pleased with the audience. Unknown to me at the time, in the audience there were seven White family members. Katherine, who does have a sense of humor, made sure to recognize all seven during her introduction, knowing that I was now the next step beyond nervous. The time had arrived, and as I eased into my story, I actually became very comfortable as the audience reacted to what I had to say. I also felt a great sense of enjoyment as my forty-five minutes of presentation passed very quickly.

All finished well, and my audience had many questions upon my completion. I seem to remember that questions took an additional forty-five minutes, which I believe pleased Katherinethis was a sign of a good presentation. As a side note, the White family suggested to me that they learned many things they did not know about their most successful past relatives. I see this time and time again today as family information seems to get drastically defused with third and fourth generations. Today, I am a friend of the Whites, and they have come to many of my talks. Thus, my magical Saturday afternoon came to an end with me being on cloud nine, having accomplished something that I had no idea I could do. I guess there is a lesson here for you, reader. At any rate, I was content, for now I could return to making a living and playing golf, as spring was upon us.

Life sometimes has plans for us that we ourselves could never imagine. In my case, four years ago, life was about to change in a remarkable way. Since my first talk at the Gates Mills Library was so unexpectedly successful, head librarian Katherine suggested, in no uncertain terms, that I must return and do it again. Since I enjoyed my first talk so much when all was said and done, I agreed. A date was scheduled, and again, remarkably, over one hundred people showed up to hear Dan Ruminski, storyteller. Needless to say, libraries do communicate with one another, and soon enough I was getting calls from all over the Greater Cleveland area wanting me to share my story with their patrons. As this continued, my presentations grew to over seventy per year. Time, in passing, allowed me to create several stories about Cleveland history. This book is the written version of my stories. I developed a format of bringing in fifty to sixty pictures that related to each story and displayed them before and after my talk. The presentation itself has remained unchanged over the years, as I sit in my chair and tell stories of this rich Cleveland history.