The Observation Deck

Is that how the term Czech-mate evolved?

Ryan,

Although I'm not a beautiful Czech woman, my great grandmother Liska would still recognize my creamed, pickled herring.

And in a recent conversation with my father, he was still noting that some people have pickled herring in their traditions and some... wouldn't know decent herring if they fell into it.

But believe me, they'd never forget the aroma.

And for clarification, the Great Migration which brought many African-Americans up to the North from the South is generally viewed to have occurred 1914-1950. The primary reason was that they were seeking jobs, which the industrial North had in abundance, especially due to wartime production during World War I and World War II. And the Northern cities, especially in Cleveland, was NOT in decline at that point, nor was our industrial capacity. In fact, those were some of Cleveland's peak years. In fact, in Cleveland the migration continued well into the 1950s, as the various automotive plants (Ford Brookpark and Lorain, Chevy Parma, Chrysler Twinsburg, etc.) were built in the 1950s. Additional African-Americans from the South, as well as a large population of former miners from Pennsylvania (many of the mines there closed in the 1950s as production shifted more to Tennesee, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, and the West) came to Cleveland as new migrants in the 1950s seeking work in those auto plants. Postwar emigration also included Eastern European Displaced Persons, many of whom came over and settled in Tremont and in Parma and Seven Hills, and who sought employment in the steel mills (which by the late 1940s and 1950s were going full out, with more than 17, 000 employees down in the valley).

So nope, the industrial decline really didn't begin until the 1960s, after the migration tides.

See, you should have been in the 20th Century US History class I taught at Kent State ... I made sure my students covered a good deal of immigration history!

The industrial growth certainly began plateauing in the late fifties. The blacks were more marginalized than other immigrants, who assimilated more easily and were treated better by Unions.

An interesting article in newspapers in Lorain described how the steel mills would send recruiters to Puerto Rico to recruit laborers during the labor shortages of world war II. They moved them up here by the trainload, then had them live in barracks between shifts.

Charyn:

It was Ivor’s response to the use of the term “invadingâ€Â

Never found a country that didn't have attractive women.

Surge in immigrants? The article was fine albeit two minor flaws. Methinks what for the author is a burka, for the wearer in most cases is a hijab (a scarf-like covering of the hair and around the face). Also, the numbers mentioned seemed to add up and up.

I'd love to know the actual numbers.

The demographic data, even going back to census data, seems to me to underestimate ethnic identification. The PSYclusters aren't ideologically flexible enough-yet-to capture the extended immigrant family.

Jim knows, as do other historically-minded homies, that the deep history of Lakewood is all about the flux of Lutheran, Irish Catholics and Eastern European urbanizers. Proto-homies. So, the wheel turns again.

Which is great! Maybe the challenge is respecting insular, tribal aspects and being patient about both assimilation and, hopefully, syncretic stuff, (the way a city is assimilated to the trads and culture of new exotic residents,) while encouraging the ordering energies of the immigrants refreshing ambitions and ethics.

If I close my eyes, I see fantastic eateries and mom and pop crafts and culture wares and a real openness to the hard to predict synergies evoked when various deep devotions intersect and create.

The United Nations of Lakewood...great goal.

to all the Noah Webster's of Lakewood

see definition # 3

no board is perfect, but I ask everyone to please not let this board degrade to the level of some of the discussions on craigslist lol


Definitions of invade on the Web:

march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation; "Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939"

intrude on: to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate; "This new colleague invades my territory"; "The neighbors intrude on your privacy"

occupy in large numbers or live on a host; "the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North"

Late in joining this thread--

Fantastic to see new people with new energies choosing Lakewood/NE Ohio. We need all people with a strong work ethic willing to be tolerant neighbors. Full houses and full stores are better than empty apartments and empty aisles. As Calhoun points out, new cultures keep our neighborhood life fresh and restaraunt options broad.

Change has always happened, and change happens even faster in the era of Internet Globalization. The danger sign in our times would be for things NOT to change--a sign of stagnation, staleness, stasis. The most prosperous cities in America are the most hopping--Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Vegas, Phoenix, Miami, LA, New York, DC--lots of people coming, going, sharing.

So I hope we continue to embrace change and new things. The curmudgeon's retreat is a privilege gone with the 70s. Gated communities no longer work.

It is troubling, therefore, to see one-size-fits-all enforcement of immigration rules by Homeland Security, as reported in this Plain Dealer story:

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/116513955329880.xml&coll=2

This is poor judgement and extreme enforcement by immigration police. Can we do anything to help get back two good Lakewood citizens and outstanding community leaders?

I found it interesting how immigrants in the article acted toward other immigrants. I spoke with Walter Novak (our staff photographer at Scene) about it, and he said they were very rude to him when he tried to photograph them for the article.

Interesting, considering he's a Czech immigrant himself, and one of the nicest people I know.

What matters is not so much the origins of our new neighbors.
What matters is the attitudes they have toward the neighborhood.

I've been disturbed at the sight of first-generation immigrants who did little more than camp-out in their rental house, and showed little respect for the house or the neighborhood.

I've been delighted by a family from Albania. They are genuinely warm, and have actively entered the community. They are genuinely grateful to be in this country, having lived under Communism and post-Communist chaos. When was the last time you saw somebody who was grateful to have the building inspector scrutinize their latest project?

Does this boil-down to the multiculturalism Vs. melting-pot debate? Give me the melting-pot. There is still room in the melting-pot for preservation of native culture. That is part of what gives a place like Lakewood its character.

I found it interesting how immigrants in the article acted toward other immigrants.

those are the one's that are usually living in their past. The war refugees that are still fighting a war here that's taken place a decade ago overseas. My family and I come across those kinds of people all the time, but we don't listen to them. Keep the genuine people around, you never know when you'll need a helping hand.

Nowadays immigrants and refugees come from war torn, horrific pasts. PTSD is alive and kicking in every one of them, and believe me that's a hard thing to overcome. They're stuck with a open wound for their rest of their lives. No matter how hard they try to overcome the traumatic things their eyes have had to see, salt gets poured on this wound every single day and it stings.