Detroit Bankruptcy Seen a Model as East Cleveland Collapses

Yours truly saw the first light of day being born at Huron Road Hospital in East Cleveland, back in the 1940s. After 137 years, it folded in 1997 and was "absorbed" by Cleveland Clinic. After I graduated from CSU, my first teaching job was at Shaw High School, again, in East Cleveland. I took the place of a teacher who was shot and killed on Euclid Avenue in broad daylight.

I quit after having to repeatedly take loaded sawed-off shotguns, pistols, and a few shivs off the little darlings back in the early 1970s. I was not allowed to expel any student as the system "needed the federal funds for each kid either in class or truant but as long as they were on the books." I moved on.

Wonder how in heaven's name they've lasted this long?....


("Forest Hill," East Cleveland--John D. Rockefeller's (richest man in the world) "summer" home back in the glory days; demolished years ago)

Nope--got drafted anyways!

A good friends daughter was a cop there and loved it, she's moved on but hated to leave the job.
I deal with the fire dpt on their vehicles and have found bullet holes and even "newer" trucks trashed quickly.


When I worked for a shop, myself and another guy had to go down to the Huron hospital for work and as we were pulling in armed security and police directed us to park in a certain area and keep the doors locked as they were on lockdown and had a armed man running around.

We tore the truck apart looking for anything to defend ourselves with as we couldn't carry at the job, ended up with a tire iron and a chain and our edc knives.

I'm big into the history of the Cleveland area and was looking at old pics of the area and then newer ones and its sad to see the downfall of a once beautiful city.

Unlike Detroit I really don't think there is any hope for EC, and I believe it will be absorbed into Cleveland. And that wouldn't be good for Cleveland, as Cleveland while still a shithole in some areas is really turning around and EC has just given up.

It isn't just Cleveland that let's students get away with that stuff.
While a freshman in High School at Lima Central Catholic, I had a senior put a knife to my throat and demand oral sex from me in the rest room. Well, I just couldn't  swallow my pride....or anything else that day and decided to say my final prayers. Though I told him to go ahead and kill me, he did not. He told me he would finish the job if I told, which I immediately did.
Of course nothing was done to him even though when they caught him with that seven inch knife, he was carving up the desk he was sitting in and had pretty much trashed it.
When my father(father of 6) came to school and demanded to know why he was still in school, the answer was that he was already thrown out of another school and they did not want to make a delinquent out of him. My dad said he already was one.
6 students were taken in that were thrown out of another school by this school. Of course this guy was 7' tall and played Basketball. Not sure about the govt. funding.
That was my last year there, between monthly incidents similar to this and dealing with Coach Jerry Glanville.(yes the onetime NFL and college coach)

I did part of my student teaching in East Cleveland.  My very first observation I literally walked in and had to help break up a fight - was told to go to the cafeteria and find the teacher I was to shadow.  She was on the bottom of the pile.  Tufts of her gray hair were rolling along the floor like tumbleweeds.  

Lived there, in various apartments on Superior, for five years.

Got my street cred.

Brings back memories.

I lived in Cleveland Heights for 18 months.  Hated every day of it too.

Just couldn't embrace the Nuclear Free Zone?

I lived there for 7 years of grad school...

Glad to see someone else is still around that lived through Shaw HS. My first class there was an "Honors" English class there. I started by saying "Today we will read and study Shakespeare..." and with that, "Amos," a kid in the first row with a huge rather badly-done "processed hair" job hairdo raised up his head from sleeping at his desk and said real loud: "WHO 'DAT DUDE?"

I knew it would be downhill from there.

Another "Honors" guy in the class, "Reginald," then pointed to Amos and declared: "Look at Amos' haid.  He done got it "pan-fried!""

And with that Amos picked up his desk and slammed it over Reggie's head. Miraculously, it didn't kill Reggie, who took the blow, and then started wailing on Amos. It was on! The entire class started chanting: "FIGHT! FIGHT!" and the rest of the little darlings de-assed their desks to gather round the "Friday Night Fights" on that Monday.

As the blows were raining down like a hailstorm, some kid asked me: "Ain't you gonna stop 'em?" "Heck no," I replied. " I always like to see men "settle up" themselves.'

Things finally quieted down, desks were re-arranged. Amos and Reggie seemed t be ok; I asked if they wanted to see the School Nurse. "Naw" was the joint answer.

Back to Billy Shakespeare. Amos and Reggie became good friends. Amos earned the nickname "Spoonhead" for his lousy hairdo, and everyone, including me when I called roll each class referred to him as "Spoon."

The wife asked me how my first day went at Shaw HS. "Fine" I said.