At the Cleveland Asian Festival several years ago Marine Brigadier General Daniel D. Yoo (Korean heritage) spoke about the contributions of Asian-Americans in the Marine Corps and other services and singled out 3 Asian-American military heroes. It’s worth at watch.
Thanks to all Veterans
Each year the Community Service Committee of the Rotary Club of Cleveland selects an individual or organization that has demonstrated outstanding "Service Above Self" in the Greater Cleveland area. The meeting was held on the 20th floor "Sky Lounge" of One University Circle.
What a view of University Circle!
The 2021 honoree is Chris Ronyane for his "innovative leadership he has transformed University Circle and its surrounding neighborhoods into a vibrant, diverse, and mixed-use community."
Rotary's Jennifer Kelly presents Chris Ronayne with the award
Radio Legend Mike Trivisonno passed away unexpectedly today (10-28-21).
In 2007, Debbie Hanson profiled Mike Trivisonno for ClevelandSeniors.com. Here is how it began...
Love him or hate him - everybody knows his name. He's WTAM radio's drive time disc jockey and he's not afraid to speak his mind. But now, as News Commentator Paul Harvey would say, here's the rest of the story.
Mike was born on Cleveland's East Side on September 20, 1949, the eldest of three children. He had a number of jobs before he took to the airwaves in 1987. His father worked in ceramic tile, so naturally, Mike worked on and off in that profession from a very young age. Then he went on to landscaping. He worked as an employee of a landscape firm before starting his own company "Chagrin Valley Landscaping".
Read the rest of the profile of Mike Trivisonno
Rest in Peace, Triv
Did you know the Irish and Scottish carved turnips not pumpkins for Halloween?
That was in the free ethnic eNews last night.
If you didn’t received the free weekly ClevelandPeople Ethnic eNews last night you can sign up here
You could write a book about the history and
spread of Halloween from the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows'
Day to what it is today. This was the time in the liturgical year dedicated to
remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the
departed.
Did you know that in Ireland and Scotland, the
turnip has traditionally been carved during Halloween? Immigrants to North America used the native
pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger – making it easier to carve
than a turnip. At least we don’t have turnip spice lattes.
The American tradition of carving pumpkins is
recorded in 1837 and was originally associated with harvest time in general,
not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th
century.
In England, from the medieval period up until the 1930s, people practiced the
Christian custom of souling on Halloween, which involved groups of soulers,
both Protestant and Catholic, going from parish to parish, begging the rich for
soul cakes, in exchange for praying for the souls of the givers and their
friends.
In the Philippines, the practice of souling is
called Pangangaluwa and is practiced on All Hallow's Eve among children in
rural areas. People drape themselves in white cloths to represent souls and
then visit houses, where they sing in return for prayers and sweets.
On Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve), in Poland,
believers were once taught to pray out loud as they walk through the forests in
order that the souls of the dead might find comfort.
In Spain, Christian priests in tiny villages
toll their church bells in order to remind their congregants to remember the
dead on All Hallows' Eve. And don’t
forget Dia de Muertos (see below).
Irish and Scottish migrants brought many
Halloween customs to North America, and then through American influence,
Halloween spread to many other countries by the 21st century such as Ecuador,
Chile, Australia, New Zealand, (most) continental Europe, Finland, Japan, and
other parts of East Asia.
You know who we like to have Fun with Maps.
Each year when the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation hosts the annual One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, ClevelandPeople.com makes sure everyone has fun with maps.
The ClevelandPeople.com booth had large 5' x 7' maps of Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America and the Middle East. Visitors placed a colorful dot on the map where there ancestors (or they) came from. At the end of the day almost 80 different countries were represented and various areas within countries. A real display of Cleveland's diversity.
Here are a few sample pictures of people finding their heritage on the maps. See more Fun with Maps
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There are only 3 enclaved countries in the world. By enclaved we mean an independent country whose territory is completely surrounded by the territory of one other country. In Lesotho’s case, it is within South Africa.
Lesotho is a unique and interesting country and the map really defines it. Did you know that the country of Wakanda in the Marvel superhero movie Black Panther was inspired by Lesotho?
There’s lots more interesting items about Lesotho. Keep having Fun with Maps.
Watch the video below"
My Ticket to Ride: How I Ran Away to England to Meet the Beatles and Got Rock and Roll Banned in Cleveland (A True Story from 1964)
By Janice Mitchell
Reviewed by Dan Hanson
September 2021
I didn't expect to really like this book. Of course I like the Beatles music but Beatlemania was a little before my time and I never understood the screaming throng of young girls at concerts. But I soon found myself engrossed in a fascinating story.
In 1964 as Beatlemania swept the US and world a Cleveland Heights teen from a troubled family falls "in love" with the Beatles. She buys every record, magazine and tchotcke she can. She dreams of meeting them and moving to London to be with them. Probably the same dream as thousands of young girls at the time, right?
But this girl went beyond the dreaming stage. Her passion and drive lead her to several adventures including being alone in a room with the Rolling Stones and being kissed by one of them (not the one you might expect!). She saved her money and camped out at Public Hall to get front row center seats for the Beatles concert at Public Hall. That just furthers her drive to be part of their world.
She and a friend actually cash in their meager funds, get passports and travel to London to "Meet the Beatles" just like the record said. Without telling their family or anyone else. It's a fascinating account of their adventures and exposure to a very different climate from their Cleveland Heights homes.
It was suspenseful as the teen girls hitchhiked in England, met and hung out with older guys in bands and took chances that would be much more dangerous in our modern world.
The story grows as Cleveland Heights police and the local radio station start tracking down the missing girls while the girls keep pursuing meeting the Beatles in London and Liverpool. Even the Beatles get involved!
It's a fun read and locals will recognize many of the Cleveland and Cleveland Heights landmarks from the story. It also gives an insider's look at the carefree mod days of early Beatlemania in London as teens flocked to clubs, dressed in the latest fashions.
Click to buy it at Amazon.
Sometimes we throw around numbers like a million or billion or trillion or more very casually. It's good to have a frame of reference to compare to.
For example, 1,000 seconds is almost 17 minutes. One million seconds are counted off in about eleven and a half days. But it takes 32 years for one billion seconds! That's how much bigger a billion is to a million.
A trillion seconds would amount to no less than 31,709.8 years!
Think of that when you hear of trillion dollar deficits and budgets.
We just heard the news about the passing of Bishop Anthony Pilla.
Instead of doing disservice to the man by rushing a few lines for this blog here are two videos
First is the video of Sam Miller inducting Bishop Pilla into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame in 2015.
This is Bishop Pilla’s acceptance speech. https://youtu.be/KMVo49Zi-94
I am sure that Sam and the Bishop are joyfully
reconnecting in Heaven. RIP Bishop
Pilla.
Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito Jr. (born August 10, 1933) is best known playing baseball for the Cleveland Indians in right field. In 1959, he hit four consecutive home runs in one game. In 1965, he became the first American League (AL) outfielder to play a complete season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
But Rocky is so much more than a bunch of all-star caliber achievements. He was a hero to Cleveland and every kid in little league copied the stretch and other batting nuances of #6. The fans loved Rocky and when he was unexpectedly traded to Detroit on April 17, 1960 by Indians general manager Frank Lane to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn the fans were devastated. They missed "The Rock" and cries of Don't knock the Rock were everywhere.
The Tribe was extremely unsuccessful after the trade and it was blamed on "The Curse of Rocky Colavito" which became a book by sportswriter Terry Pluto.
In January 1965, Rocky Colavito was brought back to Cleveland from Kansas City by Indians general manager Gabe Paul.
The Cleveland fans never stopped idolizing Rocky and he had a triumphant return in August 2021 for the unveiling of a statue in his honor in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood.
The day included a lunch with a birthday cake and the packed house singing Happy Birthday to Rocky.
Happy 88th birthday Rocky Colavito
I was fortunate to be one of a handful who got to ask Rocky questions at a press conference. I asked about the many Italian American stars in baseball. I asked who would be his all-time Italian outfield with him in right field and Joe Dimaggio in center. Off camera we talked about other positions. For example, he said while Mike Piazza was great the best Italian catcher was Yogi Berra. No contest.
The highlight of the day was the ceremony and unveiling of the statue in Little Italy.
See lots of photos and videos of Rocky Colavito ceremony
Fred Ziwich and his “International Sound Machine” has a new CD release
out called “When It’s Polka Time in Cleveland.”
(Now and Then). Some of the 23
songs were recorded in 2021 (Now) and others were recorder in the past.
See more from Fred Ziwich’s Lifetime Achievement Award bio.
There’s a unique arrangement of In Heaven There Is No Beer and Cleveland
Girls Polka. Fred also does several
covers that were a surprise such as The Accordion Man – Billy Joel’s Piano Man
with the words adjusted. Who would
expect covers of “Can’t Smile Without You”, “The Way You Look Tonight” and the
classic “Does your Chewing Gum lose its flavor (on the bedpost overnight)?
There are a lot of styles on this CD and a lot of music. Something for everyone.
You can get it when you see Fred perform live or at PolkaConnection.com
and other websites. You can also email
him at FredPolka@yahoo.com
I took this photo at One World Day on August 29, 2021.
It shows the scale of the Goethe-Schiller monument in the German Cultural Garden. Impressive!
Architect Berj Shakarian was inducted into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame. Berj was the driving force behind the Armenian Cultural Garden in Cleveland as well as the Centennial Peace Plaza among other projects.
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| Armenian Cultural Garden |
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| Berj Shakarian in the Plaza |
Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation president Dr. Wael Khoury introduced Berj and then previous inductee Paul Burik presented Berj and gave him his CIHF award and pin.
Berj then gave his acceptance speech.
More on the Cleveland International Hall of Fame 2020 inductions
The Estonian Cultural Garden was dedicated June 19, 1966. Each year, the Estonian community and friends gather to celebrate Estonian Victory Day (Võidupüha) and St John's Day (Jaanipäev).
Toomas Tubalkain served as MC and introduced speakers including Lithuanian Honorary Consul Ingrida Bublys, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Estonian Garden delegate Erika Puussaar.
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| Erika Puussaar and Toomas Tubalkain |
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| Estonian Garden Group |
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| Estonian Garden Monument |
Here’s how they fooled the occupying Soviets. (from our Ambassador Toomas Tubalkain).
Victory Day is the day Estonia won its final battle in the war of independence on June 21, 1919. St. John's Day is always celebrated as midsummer on June 24th. Victory Day and midsummer are linked through history. But during the Soviet occupation, Victory Day was banned, but midsummer (a pagan holiday) was allowed. Estonians decided to celebrate the two together, without informing anyone that Victory Day was being combined with midsummer celebrations.
The Serbian Cultural Garden is one of over 30 ethnic heritage gardens in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens in Cleveland Ohio.
The founder and driving force of the Serbian Cultural Garden is Serbian Honorary Consul Alex Machaskee.
Alex gave some history and led a tour of the Garden explaining the various features including the large icon of St. Sava and the busts of Nikola Tesla, King Peter 1, Mileva Maric, Nadezda Petrovic, Michael Pupin, Milutin Milankovic, Petar Njegos, Stevan Mokranjac, Vuk Karadzic and other Serbian cultural figures.
On June 1, 1971 Ken Kovach became Choir Master at the historic St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland Ohio. In his 50 (and counting) years he has witnessed many things in the Cathedral.
One of which is being part of the filming of the movie The Deer Hunter, a 1978 American epic war drama film. Ken met and worked with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, writer/director Michael Cimino and others.
Ken is an Ellis Island Medal Recipient and inductee in the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.
He also sings with a Russian folk group called the Cuyahoga Cossacks.
In this video, Ken tells about the Choir Master role and some of these stories. And then he gives a brief example of his great singing voice – singing The Lord’s Prayer.
St. Theodosius Cathedral is the oldest Orthodox Christian Church in the State of Ohio.
It is located in the historic Tremont area of the City of Cleveland. The historic cathedral was constructed between 1911-1912 and is considered one of the finest examples of Russian church architecture in the United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States.
The parish of St. Theodosius Orthodox Christian Cathedral was organized by immigrant Russians living in Tremont in 1896. St. Theodosius Cathedral was the "Mother Church" for most of the Orthodox Christian churches in northeast Ohio today.
The cathedral is perhaps best known for its appearance in the 1978 Best Picture winning film, The Deer Hunter with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep.
Ken Kovach has been Choir Master at St Theodosius for 50 years. He gives us a tour of the inside of the Cathedral and shares some thoughts on the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Rotary Club of Cleveland hosted Timothy Daley, Executive Director, Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors' Monument for a Zoom meeting.
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument commemorates the American Civil War; it consists of a 125' column surrounded at its base by a Memorial Room and esplanade. The column, topped with a statue of the Goddess of Freedom, defended by the Shield of Liberty, signifies the essence of the Nation for which Cuyahoga County veterans were willing to and did give their lives.
Four bronze groupings on the esplanade depict, in battle scenes, the Navy, Artillery, Infantry and Cavalry. Inside the Memorial Room are four bronze relief sculptures: Women's Soldiers' and Sailors' Aid Society, Beginning of the War in Ohio, Emancipation of the Slaves and End of the War at City Point, Va., as well as busts of Gen. James Barnett and Architect/ Sculptor Levi T. Scofield, together with 6 officers, who were either killed in action, or died of disease or their wounds.
The interior of this old Monument built in 1894 has just been gloriously rehabilitated with its original coloration restored, new lighting, heating, air conditioning and ADA access.
I am honored to have taken part in the Lakewood Public Library Meet the Author Series for my book Murder in the Cultural Gardens.
Filmed in the Hungarian and British Gardens and in front of the Mark Twain bust I tell the story of the book, the Cultural Gardens and the writing process.
See more at https://www.lakewoodpubliclibrary.org/dan-hanson/
| Hadia Tawadros and her husband Nader Soliman are encouraging people to "Eat like the Pharaohs" with the launch of their food truck, King Tut Egyptian Street Food. They love cooking and Egypt so decided to bring authentic Egyptian street food to the people of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. |
