Fun Fact Friday

Fun Fact Friday 12/27/2024

For the final Fun Fact Friday of our Centennial year we would like to share with you the mystery of the name “Pepper Pike.” It is a mystery which we knew many were interested in solving. After a full year of our own  research, building upon many years of others researching, we still do not have a concrete answer for where the name Pepper Pike came from!  Apparently, it has been a mystery almost as long as it’s been our name! There have been several theories throughout the decades, but no factual recorded history. Our archives and outside resources have revealed a tantalizing short list of “maybe”, “probable” and “unlikely”.  Here are the theories most mentioned in various histories and through our own research we have found discussing the name. We also provide some very interesting materials which expand some of what we provide here.

               1)     A popular theory is that there was a toll road near the intersection of what is now known as Brainard and North Woodland (now Fairmount) that cut across a section of private property owned by a family or individual named Pepper. Therefore, in order to continue to cross the roadway, passerby would have to pay a toll. This was referred to as “Pepper’s Pike.” It has the merit of explaining the use of the word “pike” which referred to essentially a toll gate ( timber “pikes”) which stopped the traffic for the toll collection. Unfortunately, no surviving maps or first-hand historic accounts from the pioneer days evidence this theory. Its source is unknown.  

               2)     Another theory is that there was a Pepper family that lived on what is now Fairmount Blvd who owned a tavern or general store near Lander Road. Research done by amateur genealogists we enlisted reveal that there were people with the surname Pepper living in Cuyahoga County during the 19th century and early 20th. There were two families in 1850, four in 1870 and eight in 1900. But no evidence shows any of them living in what was then known as Orange Township.  Perhaps related to this theory is an account by Pepper Pike’s second and longest serving Mayor, James B Lewis (1926-’31 and 1934-’57).  Mayor Lewis recited in his campaign literature distributed in the 1940’s that Fairmount Blvd was previously called North Woodland Road and before that, Pepper Pike. What makes his account particularly interesting is that he and his wife Pauline (“Polly” was a member of our first City Council in 1925; see FFF of 03/29/2024), were among the founders of the Village of Pepper Pike. That suggests that Mayor Lewis “ought” to have known and this is perhaps a first-hand account, but only if the campaign literature statement is actually attributable to him!  But, this account still doesn’t tell us why the street or Village would be called Pepper Pike. 

               3)     Another and very interesting theory and history is that in our corner of Orange Township there was a rivalry in the early/mid 19th century between Union Democrats (who were secessionists) and lived on North Woodland and the more ‘upper class’ families who lived on South Woodland. The political debates were allegedly hot and “peppery”. The ‘upper class’ families referred to their neighbor’s road as “Pepper Street”.  Check out the photo referencing a letter to the editor written in 1944 by former resident Everett L. Abbey that mentions this theory.

              4)     Still another fascinating twist to the name’s origin is that The Pepper Pike Club, which is also celebrating its centennial year as a club, first came up with using the name at, it seems,  the behest of the Van Sweringens who had acquired  the vast majority ( even perhaps 80%) of what became Pepper Pike including the land sold to be the Pepper Pike Club. We have discovered the attached Plain Dealer article dated 4/25/22, two years before the Village was even formally incorporated in 1924 with the Ohio Secretary of State, that references the name The Pepper Pike Country Club Co. This was also two years before the Club’s own incorporation in 1924, and just two weeks after the Village.  The club’s initial membership included some of Cleveland’s (and the nation’s) largest industrialists, developers and businesses, including, Van Swerigan, Wade, Bradley, Hanna, Bolton, Crawford and many more. (See, FFF 4/26/24 to learn more of the club) This may be the most apparent explanation as to why the Village also used the name. But, where did the Club come up with the name? 

              5)     What seems the most disreputable theory is that the Village/City was named after Pepper trees that grew in the area. While Pepper(wood) trees are real, they are unlikely to grow in this area. Which name theory do you believe? Do you have any other ideas where the name Pepper Pike originated?  Will we ever know??  We do know (as mentioned in our FFF of 3/15/24) that we were almost called Roland (or some incorrectly say Rolling) Hills. That referendum initiative, as you recall from FFF 3/15/24, was defeated , but the same geographic area with the name Pepper Pike was adopted by referendum later the same year! We think Pepper Pike has a much better ring to it. 

We want to thank everyone who has followed along with our Fun Fact Friday series for our Centennial year. If you missed any or want to reread them in their entirety you can find them on our Centennial page on the Pepper Pike Website 

This has been a wonderful Centennial year which we at City Hall have enjoyed bringing to you. Thank you not only to the Pepper Pike Centennial Committee, but to our wonderful staff, some who served on the Committee, and who have worked so hard to bring to you the many Centennial events throughout the year! There has been not only our discovery and visit with some of our history, but parties, celebrations and dedications. These were all possible and successful because of the engagement of hundreds and hundreds of our residents! We hope you have enjoyed learning more about and celebrating the wonderful City we call home.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 12/20/2024

For this week’s FFF we are going to tell you about Beech Brook. Even though the land and buildings at 3737 Lander recently have a new owner that operates a new school, Beech Brook was a part of Pepper Pike history for close to 100 years.

This history of Beech Brook goes back to 1852, when ladies’ societies came together to start an orphanage after a cholera epidemic that had left many children destitute and orphaned. The Cleveland Orphan Asylum was the first (temporary) home to open for 11 orphans on the corner of East 9^th and Ohio Streets. Just a few years later a more permanent home was found on East 55^th and Woodland that could house up to 50 children. In 1878, an even larger home, with room for 100 children would open at East 50^th and St. Clair. This home was the first fireproof building in Cleveland and was bought for the Cleveland Protestant Orphan Asylum by Jeptha Wade, an industrialist and philanthropist.

The next century brought Beech Brook to Pepper Pike, when there was a growing trend to move orphanages to more rural settings. In 1917, when Pepper Pike was still a part of Orange Township, Jeptha Wade Jr. donated the Wade’s 95-acre Beech Brook Farm to the institution. In 1926 the Beech Brook Children’s home was complete, with seven Tudor style buildings and a Chapel. The children attended Orange Schools. In 1955 the agency would transition from an orphanage to a residential treatment center for children with emotional and behavioral problems. Throughout the next few decades Beech Brook would continue to develop new community-based treatment programs for children and families. In 2016, the residential cottages at Beech Brook would close and the agency would put their full focus on community-based programs.

Though Beech Brook is still active in the community and in local school districts, it is no longer in Pepper Pike. In November 2023, following the defeat of a developer’s referendum initiative to rezone the property from Institutional to Mixed-Use and preserving 22 acres as parkland, the property on Lander transferred from the Cleveland Protestant Orphan Asylum (Beech Brook) to Heritage Classical Academy. Before opening the doors to their new students, remodels were done on the existing buildings.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 12/13/2024

For this week’s Fun Fact Friday we are going to tell you a bit about the history of Sterling Lakes. Initially, in 2001, the City and developer Forest City Enterprises were negotiating the terms for putting together a residential development agreement that included the relocation of Brainard Road. This was a way to help alleviate the increasing traffic congestion along Brainard Road and the possible development of the 118 acre Porter property (what is now Sterling Lakes) was also a factor.

In 1981 the property had been rezoned. Instead of Pepper Pike’s usual one acre minimum lot for a single family home, this allowed 2.5 residential units per acre. In 2002 Forest City Enterprises presented a conceptual plan to City Council for Sterling Lakes, noting that the project would be done in stages. State aid was received in 2003 and the Brainard relocation began in 2004 and was completed in 2005. Also in 2004, after a multitude of variances and approvals, Sterling Lakes was ready to begin. Tree and brush clearing was completed in the fall of 2004 and sewer and water lines were put in in the spring of 2005.

The first streets to have houses constructed were Legends Way, Botanica Lane, Symphony Lane, Tradewinds Circle, Glengary Lane, and Muirfield Drive. Rembrandt Lane, Matisse Circle, Renoir Way, and Monet Place would be developed and see construction starting in 2016.

Sterling Lakes includes the homes on the west side of Old Brainard and ten streets within the gated section. Sterling Lakes also includes the townhouses at the Pointe. In total there are 180 lots in Sterling Lakes and 96 townhomes in the Pointe. The residents of these developments now comprise a significant portion of the City’s population. As 2024 comes to a close, twenty years after it was proposed, the Sterling Lakes development is nearly complete. There is one lot remaining on Matisse that will start construction very soon, leaving one vacant lot on Legends Way to be built upon.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 12/06/2024

For this week’s FFF we are sharing information given to us by another longtime resident, Barb Schmauder. In the early 1950s Barb’s parents, Frank and Betty Csiszko, built a home on Lander Road. Her grandparents built a home on Windy Hill, where Barb lives today. Frank was the brick mason for both homes. Back then Windy Hill was known as Heights Overlook. There was a barn on the property that was owned by the Jackson butcher shop which was located where the Senior Center stands today. Barb clearly remembers Ursuline College growing from only having the convent to what it is today. She also remembers when trash was burned in the Gates Mills median. Barb has fond memories of the camaraderie that existed in the Pepper Pike neighborhoods.

Barb’s family has a long history of service with the City of Pepper Pike. Her father Frank was not only the first Service Director but also the building inspector and assistant fire chief for years. Frank would receive city resolutions recognizing him for his work, such as initiating the garbage system, aspects of which we still use today, and launching our first recycling program. Frank was an “Honorary Lifetime Citizen” of the City of Pepper Pike. Check out the Resolution photo to see more of his achievements. Fun Fact within a Fun Fact – Frank’s 100^th birthday would have been yesterday, 12.5.24!

Barb’s mom Betty also contributed to the community and was secretary of the Orange Elementary School for over thirty years. Barb has followed her parents lead and has also been involved in many ways within the City. While she was in high school, Barb worked at City Hall. She may have even helped create the scrapbooks that we shared for last week’s FFF. She has also been the communication director of CERT and treasurer and president of the Civic League. Barb’s son Alex, who loved the garbage trucks growing up, also spent summers during high school working for the Service Department lawn crew.

We appreciate the longtime residents of Pepper Pike like the Csiszko Schmauder and their sharing of their stories. They allow us to look back into our history to discover things we didn’t know and had a hand in making the City what it is today.

For this week’s FFF we are sharing information given to us by another longtime resident, Barb Schmauder. In the early 1950s Barb’s parents, Frank and Betty Csiszko, built a home on Lander Road. Her grandparents built a home on Windy Hill, where Barb lives today. Frank was the brick mason for both homes. Back then Windy Hill was known as Heights Overlook. There was a barn on the property that was owned by the Jackson butcher shop which was located where the Senior Center stands today. Barb clearly remembers Ursuline College growing from only having the convent to what it is today. She also remembers when trash was burned in the Gates Mills median. Barb has fond memories of the camaraderie that existed in the Pepper Pike neighborhoods.

We appreciate the longtime residents of Pepper Pike like the Csiszko Schmauder and their sharing of their stories. They allow us to look back into our history to discover things we didn’t know and had a hand in making the City what it is today.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 11/22/2024

For this week’s FFF we are sharing the source of inspiration for a lot of our Fun Facts. At some point in the history of Pepper Pike, City Hall employees or interns had the foresight to document letters, newspaper articles and other printed information in scrapbooks. In total we have 13 scrapbooks filled with clippings from 1926-2011. These feature everything from City department news, crime and punishment, election info, event coverage, construction and infrastructure updates, letters to the editor, memos from Mayors and more. The earliest scrapbooks feature many handwritten notes with additional information. Take a look at our scrapbook collection and a few article selections we wanted to share.

These scrapbooks have been invaluable for our Centennial and we have learned so much from flipping through these numerous times in the last year. Resident and intern Charlie Martin has scanned all of these documents so they are now saved digitally. Thanks to Charlie and to all those in the past that had a hand in preserving Pepper Pike history.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 11/15/2024

In 2024 we have been celebrating the centennial year of creating Pepper Pike, which began its incorporated journey as a village in 1924. For this week’s FFF we’d like to share about when we became the City of Pepper Pike in 1970.

In Ohio, for formal recognition as a City, the population must be at least 5000. In 1940 Pepper Pike had a population of 423 and in 1950 there were 874 people residing here. There was a larger increase by 1960, and the population grew to 3,217. Between 1950 and 1970, Pepper Pike's population grew by more than 500%! And, in 1970, the population passed the 5,000 mark, thus allowing it to be recognized as a city under Ohio law. After 1970, the city's growth slowed, and the population became more diverse.

Anticipating what lay just ahead, Pepper Pike enacted a charter in 1966, in order to make the transition from village to a city form of government easier. It retained the authority of the mayor to preside at council meetings, but also gave the office significant administrative authority and veto power. Among other changes, it added a seventh member of council, and formed a civil service commission to administer tests for police and fire.

When Pepper Pike became a City, Edgar G. Parks was Mayor. He served from 1960-1975. Parks and his wife would be the guests of honor during an old-fashioned block party to celebrate Pepper Pike’s City status, as seen in the accompanying photos and news article. This party was held in the garage (due to a rainstorm) of a Belcourt Road resident. It included snacks, a dessert contest, games, and conversation amongst neighbors.

Now, as we celebrate 100 years of being Pepper Pike, the population at the 2020 census was 6,797. We are thankful for each and every one of you!
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 11/08/2024

On Cedar Road, heading east out of Pepper Pike, sits a classic midcentury modern home tucked behind trees. For this week’s FFF we are going to share a bit of the story of the two men who created this home, the architect and the original owner who contracted him.

Erich Mendelsohn (1887-1953) was a German- British architect who was a pioneer of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architectural styles and designed structures on four continents. Born in East Prussia Germany (now Poland), Mendelsohn became an architect in 1912 and worked out of Berlin. One of his first commissions was what is known as the Einstein Tower, a research facility to test the theory of relativity. Two months after the Nazis came to power, he fled Germany with his family and went to England and then to Palestine. In 1941, their third country of exile became the United States and he started an office in San Francisco. He was not allowed to practice architecture for four years due to immigration laws. In 1945 Myron E. Glass would bring Mendelsohn to Cleveland to design the new Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights. A curator of the Jewish Museum in New York wrote: “I regard Park Synagogue as the most significant structure of its kind in our generation.” More information on Mendelsohn can be found Here

Myron (M.E.) Glass, a Pepper Pike resident, was a businessman and leader in the Jewish community. In 1927 Glass incorporated the Texas Distributed Co. which operated a number of gas stations in the northern Ohio region. Glass was manager of the Ohio division of Texaco Inc. In 1946 he started the real estate investment firm Texby Co. Glass was well known for his leadership in raising money for construction projects. He served on Mount Sinai’s Board from 1952-1959 and was head of the fundraising drive to add 12 stories to the hospital. He was also a leader in raising money for Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights, which Mendelsohn designed. Glass Auditorium is named after M.E. Glass was president of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland from 1962-64 when construction was beginning for their new headquarters on Euclid and E 18th. Glass felt strongly that the JFC should have a permanent home in Cleveland, instead of renting space. Glass was recipient of the JFC’s Charles Eisenman award in 1965 for leadership in the health, welfare, and religious life of the community. He was also president of the League for Human Rights, which started in the 1930s to stop Nazi propaganda. Glass devoted his life to civic and philanthropic endeavors.

In the early 1950s Glass, who knew Mendelsohn from the Park Synagogue project, asked him to design his new home on what was then 24 acres in Pepper Pike. Mendelsohn, who was busy with larger commissions, agreed as an act of appreciation for being chosen as the Park Synagogue architect. A beautiful example of mid-century modern design by the renowned architect resulted! Sadly, because of the antisemitism that existed in the area at that time, guards needed to be retained and remained on the construction site throughout the construction. We have discussed that issue, along with the deed restrictions in our July 5 FFF. Glass would live in the home until about 1965 when he fell in love with the idea of condominiums, which were not permitted in Pepper Pike. While there have been remodels and additions to the home since, overall this architectural gem has maintained its classic midcentury design and we are proud to have the home still standing in our City.

Thanks to Joel Glass, M.E.’s nephew, for sharing this information with us. If anyone would like more information on either Mendelsohn or M.E. Glass email jeg5234@gmail.com
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 11/01/2024

For this week’s FFF we are sharing information about one of the earliest land owner’s in Pepper Pike, when it was still known as Orange. On 10.11 our FFF shared an interactive map that showed how the Cleveland area has changed since 1852. We wondered who W.W.W was, as he owned the majority of what is now Pepper Pike. The following week, thanks to the information shared by resident Jeff Leavitt, we found out! Jeff shared that the historic home he grew up in on Shaker Blvd. is known as the William W Woolsey house. We had a full name to put with W.W.W. and as we started researching William we discovered that he was the head of a very prominent American family with significant history. Here’s a few interesting facts about the Woolsey family.

The Woolsey’s story in America began when George Woolsey (1610-1698) immigrated to New Amsterdam (now NYC) in 1643. George was appointed as one of the first fire wardens in 1648 and was also one of the first militiamen in the Burghur Corps which was created to stem Native American incidents on Long Island. William Walton Woolsey (1766-1839) is the great, great grandson of George. William was a wealthy merchant and landowner. He engaged in foreign and domestic trade and was an important landowner in New York and Ohio. In addition, William and his brother were some of the first to refine sugar on a large scale in America. He was Vice President of the New York Chamber of Commerce and the New York Manufacturing Society. He was also Director of the Merchants Bank, Governor of the New York hospital, and President of the Eagle Fire Insurance Agency. Yale University has an entire Woolsey family papers collection in their archives that includes 108 boxes of information from 1750-1969.

The Woolsey's are remembered not only as a pioneer family in Ohio but for many other achievements. Here are some other (but not all!) significant contributions of Woolsey family members. Their relationship to W.W.W. is noted.

• Theodore Dwight Woolsey (son) was a Greek scholar and president of Yale for 25 years and led the university through significant expansion. Woolsey Hall, the primary auditorium at Yale, was named after him.

• Theodore Salisbury Woolsey (grandson) was professor of international law at Yale.

• William Walton Woolsey (grandson) was one of the engineers who built the first telegraph line over the Andes Mountains.

• Sarah Chauncey Woolsey (granddaughter) was a well know children’s book author. She wrote under the pseudonym Susan Coolidge and was best known for her What Katy Did series. She was also a nurse during the Civil War.

• Judge John Munroe Woolsey (great grandson) was known "for his brilliant and poignantly phrased decisions, including several important precedents in First Amendment jurisprudence.” His most well-known decision was the United States v. One Book Called Ulysses where Judge Woolsey determined the book was not obscene and could be brought into the United States.

More research is needed to find out when the Woolsey’s sold the last of their Pepper Pike land or if any descendants remain in the area. We love that William Walton Woolsey picked the beautiful land of Pepper Pike to invest in, if only for a short time. We enjoyed learning about the incredible history of their family and hope you will too. More information can be found Here

#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 10/25/2024

This week for our FFF we highlight the commitment of The City of Pepper Pike to our city’s green environment and our recognition for the Tree City USA program. We have been a Tree City for 24 consecutive years, going back to 1999! The commitment to reforesting Pepper Pike was begun by its residents long before that however. As most of this area had become farmland, what you see is primarily second, third and fourth generation growth. Much of our tree canopy exists on private land surrounding the creek ravines which crisscross the city. These trees provide beauty, habitat for our wildlife and the vital environmental filters, erosion barriers and buffers which preserve our creeks and wetlands. 

You may ask yourself, what does it take to be recognized as a Tree City? The requirements to become a Tree City USA community include having a tree ordinance, having an annual budget of at least $2 per capita, having an Arbor Day observance and proclamation, and keeping accurate records of tree maintenance for the year (with planting a certain number of trees yearly). 

In the last 5 years Pepper Pike has planted over 1,300 trees throughout the city. We promote tree planting by sponsoring tree giveaways to our residents. In the last 2 years over 1,200 saplings were provided to residents in tree giveaway events. For the Gates Mills Park project the city will be planting about 300 trees! The city has a trained arborist on staff as well as a very experienced outside arborist. The city also partners with the Ohio Department of Forestry when blights menace our trees, such as during the recent emerald ash borer epidemic. 

Tree City USA started in 1976 with just 42 communities in 16 states. Today there are more than 3,400 Tree Cities USA throughout the United States, with 233 of those communities being in Ohio! The Tree City USA program provides communities with a four-step framework to maintain and grow our tree cover, while providing us an avenue to celebrate not only our hard work but by showing our residents, visitors, and country that we are committed to the mission of environmental change!

What are the other advantages of a thriving urban forest? Trees help absorb the sounds of traffic by 40% and can reduce energy cost up to 25% by providing shade to buildings protecting them from sun and winter winds. Trees also play a major role in improving mental and physical health. They also absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, limiting the effects of climate change! 

Take a look at the Ohio’s summary, enjoy the beautiful tree pictures from around our city, and visit Arbor Day's Website to see how you can make our community more beautiful by helping plant more trees!  
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 10/18/2024

For this week’s FFF we are introducing you to another long time Pepper Pike resident. Jeff Leavitt is a 75-year resident of Pepper Pike! He has lived on Shaker Blvd, Kersdale Rd, and has been on SOM Center Road for the last 46 years. His parents purchased a home on Shaker, east of Lander, in 1949, the year Jeff was born. Purchased at the time for $29,750 the home is one of the oldest in Pepper Pike. Known as the William W Woolsey house (hopefully more information on Mr. Woolsey coming soon) the home was built in 1853.  

Jeff’s father, Morton Leavitt, was a registered architect. He was head of the Village/City’s Architectural Review Board and the City’s architect for over 30 years. He was responsible for the new Fire Station in 1976 and the first Police and Service Department additions. Morton designed the sanctuary at Garfield Church and many residences in Pepper Pike. He was also leader of a Boy Scout Troop that met in the basement of City Hall.  

Growing up in the 1950s, Jeff remembers a different Pepper Pike. Most of the area was fields, woods and old farmland.  There were very few homes.  It was a time of curiosity and discovery.  He would pick apples in his yard and bake pies. He made friends with children in the West Hill Colony, including the Dickson’s who were featured in the 9.6 FFF.  The closest grocery store at the time was in Chagrin Falls.  From his Shaker home traffic passing was nonexistent.  Sometimes an hour would go by without seeing a car.  An air raid siren was located at the southwest corner of Lander and Shaker.  Jeff remembers it being very loud and scary. One joyful memory that sticks out is using the base of the fire hydrant (a private hydrant that served West Hill Colony but was in his yard) to fly his parachute. It was a real novelty for the neighborhood youth, a good gust of wind would pick the children up to fly through the air. Once, the hydrant even got ripped out of the ground. 

Jeff worked as a young boy cutting grass for the Village and earned $1.25 a week. Later he was a part time then full time Service Department employee. He was also a part time fireman and then in 1974 was one of the first six, full time firefighters hired by the City.  Jeff retired in 2011.  

Thank you to Jeff for sharing his Pepper Pike memories and family history with us and for his excellent contribution to the Centennial Time Capsule. 

We only have ten Fun Fact Friday’s left! Please let us know if you have anything you’d like us to share.                                                                 #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 10/11/2024

For this week’s FFF we are sharing an interesting, interactive map we found while researching Pepper Pike history. The map is available on the Cleveland State University website under the History of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Cartography section. This map stitches together plat and street maps from the mid 1800s to today, aligning them so you can easily switch between years for locations.

The photos shared show the area of Pepper Pike City Hall and Centennial Park heading towards Lander in the following years – 1852, 1858, 1874, 1927-37, 1951, 1974 and currently. Looking through the whole of Pepper Pike you will notice names mentioned in previous FFF posts; Jackson, Stoneman, Van Sweringen, Shaker Country Estates, etc.

We hope you will enjoy looking at these maps and seeing how your neighborhoods, City and County have grown over the previous 170 years. #PepperPike100

Check it out here

Fun Fact Friday 10/4/2024

For this week’s FFF we are sharing the wonderful event that occurred on October 1! In what is now known as Centennial Park, we celebrated our city’s Centennial by dedicating a park, burying our time capsule, and planting a commemorative tree!

October 1 is the actual date that Pepper Pike was created. On October 1, 1924, Pepper Pike was created with the incorporation of Pepper Pike after the election that September to break off from Orange Township and create an independent village.

To commemorate that transition, this past Tuesday, we dedicated the Shaker/Brainard “Circle” park to be henceforth known as Centennial Park to mark this important year in our City’s history. In addition, our Centennial time capsule was buried and a dedication stone placed to mark it’s location. Lastly, a Burr Oak was planted for future generations to mark the growth and strength of our community. Click Here the news article covering the event.

Thanks to all who joined us for this event and everyone who donated to the time capsule. And thank you to the Centennial Committee and the Service Department for their work bringing these dedications to fruition. We hope all our residents will enjoy the new additions at Centennial Park! 
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 09/27/2024

This Fun Fact Friday video is a gift to the Pepper Pike Centennial from the Pepper Ridge Road community. Long-time resident, former councilman, and current Centennial Committee member Rick Taft is sharing with us a story of Growing Up on Pepper Ridge. He extracted the story from a medley of 1950's through 1970's neighborhood film clips taken and assembled by his mother, Franny. A big thank you to Rick and Matt Barker from New Image Media for creating this gem. We hope you all will enjoy watching this charming video of Pepper Pike history. Click Here to view video
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 09/20/2024

Lots of well known people have called Pepper Pike home, including many famous in the sports world. We’d like to introduce you to two of them for this week’s FFF.

The first is Arnie ‘Stilts’ Risen. Mr. Risen, who stood 6’9” (considered too tall to be drafted into WWII) was a former Ohio State University basketball star and two time NBA champion. He was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1998. Playing when basketball was not the major sport it is today, his accomplishments are still notable. In 1949, Risen led the NBA in field goal percentage while finishing as its fourth leading scorer. He played in three professional circuits over a thirteen year career—the National Basketball League, the Basketball Association of America, and, after these two leagues merge, the National Basketball Association. In 1949 he was selected to the All-NBA Second Team and in 1952, he began a string of four consecutive All-Star seasons, becoming Rochester’s franchise player in the process. Then there are the championships, the first coming in 1951 as the Royals’ starting center, the second coming six seasons later as a Celtic. Born in Williamstown, Kentucky in 1924, Mr. Risen spent his last years calling Pepper Pike home. He lived with his son Dennis and daughter in law Candace in a home on Bremerton, helping them raise their three daughters. Mr. Risen passed away in 2012 and is remembered as a sweet and gentle person.

If you’d like to read more about Arnie Here is an interview with him from Celtic Nation

We’d like to thank resident Stu Levine for ‘introducing’ us to Arnie Risen. Stu is a well known athlete in his own right and was inducted into the Ohio Northern Athletic Hall of Fame for baseball in 2023. He played baseball at Ohio Northern in 1964 and 1965 and he still holds the all-time record for career batting average at .429! He also has the sixth all time high slugging percentage at .579. Stu has lived in Pepper Pike since 1988 with his wife of over 50 years, Leslee.

Are they any other sports stars that you remember living in Pepper Pike? Please share, we recall a few! #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 09/13/2024

This week’s FFF focuses on one of our City greenspaces and the family that gifted it to the City. Stanley L and Eloise M. Morgan, who had three daughters, moved to Pepper Pike in 1957 and would remain here until their deaths. In December of 2012, the Morgan sisters made a generous donation in memory of their parents to the City of Pepper Pike. About 1.6 acres of land was purchased from Garfield Memorial Church and gifted to the City. Located on the Southeast side of the Lander Circle, as discussed in past FFFs, this area used to be the heart of the original Orange Township. The Morgan sisters thought it would be important that there was one last green area on the circle for residents to enjoy. Especially since their parents had seen the growth of the City since the 1950s. Morgan Park was dedicated in honor of Stanley and Eloise on August 11, 2014. One big goal of Morgan Park is to restore the stream there by planting native plants and using the area to educate residents about proper stormwater management techniques. A butterfly garden, footbridge and benches were also put in the park. If you haven’t been to Morgan Park, go check it out!

A big thank you to the Morgan family for the gift of a park to the City of Pepper Pike. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 09/06/2024

“There’s No Place Like Home”

This week’s FFF we are sharing information from longtime resident Debbie Dickson that she contributed to the time capsule at the Centennial Social. Debbie’s family has been in Pepper Pike for close to 70 years, building a house on Providence Avenue in 1955 where Debbie now lives today. Debbie shared photos of her life in Pepper Pike in the 1950s and was happy to be part of our FFF series. Here is a brief description of the photos posted.

Debbie and her brother John in the backyard of their newly built home on Providence Avenue in 1955.
Debbie and John with their dog Fritzy. This photo was taken in front of their Providence Avenue home in 1956 on John’s first day of first grade.
Christmas 1956 in the Dickson home. Debbie received a new bike and dolls, which were typical gifts at the time and still today.
Santa arriving at Pepper Pike City Hall via helicopter in December 1958. This must have thrilled children and adults alike!
Debbie and John’s father, Art Dickson, pulling his children and neighborhood children on a lawnmower through the snow. This photo was taken in January 1959.
The final photo shows the aftermath of a huge snowstorm in March 1964 where snow drifts reached to the roof of the Providence Avenue home. All roads were closed, and Debbie’s mom and brother took a toboggan a mile and half to get to Heinen’s to buy food.

Thank you, Debbie, for this glimpse of a child’s life in Pepper Pike in the 1950s and for sharing it with the community! As a reminder, there are a few weeks left to donate to our Centennial Time Capsule!

#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 08/30/2024

For this week’s FFF we are sharing an interesting item given to us at the Centennial Social for the time capsule. It a brochure from the Bu Carey Construction Company that offers three plans for homes in the Ainsworth Country Estates. A quick search didn’t yield any information on the construction company but as most homes on Ainsworth were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, this brochure likely dates from the early to mid-1960s. Many of the homes on Ainsworth Drive have a similar form to the plans shown but again, more research would be needed to see how many were actually designed and built by Bu Carey.

While some of the language is outdated, such as it ‘offers the man who has earned the right to better things…’, this brochure shows what was desirable in homes at that time and what new technologies and designs could be offered. Apparently if you built a home by Bu Carey Construction Company in the Ainsworth Country Estates you could have a revolutionary Mutschler kitchen featuring ‘the finest scientifically engineered custom cabinet arrangement yet designed.’ Take a look at the photos to see the individual plans, what every home would feature, and the customizable options available.

Do you live on Ainsworth and have a home built from this brochure by Bu Carey Construction Company? Also, a big thank you to the resident who shared this piece of Pepper Pike history!
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 08/23/2024

For this week's FFF we wanted to share some of the wonderful time capsule contributions and birthday cards we received at Sunday's Centennial Social celebration. Despite having to move the event indoors at the last minute, the Centennial Social was a great success with fun had by all. Thank you to everyone that celebrated with us!

The birthday card table was a hit with the kids and they put a lot of thought into their artwork. We even received a visit and card from Ms. Pepper Pike, who we mentioned in the 7.12 FFF. She was a special guest at the 75th celebration and surprised us by showing up to the Centennial with her family. Thank you to our little (and big) artists! Your creativity made us smile and we are proud to have your cards be a part of our Time Capsule. We have extra cards at City Hall and the Service Department if you’d like to add one to the capsule.

Our Time Capsule donation table also received several contributions. It was fun to see what people came up with to represent their families, Pepper Pike, the United States and the World. We are having a special event on October 1, Pepper Pike's actual 100th birthday, where we will bury the time capsule and have a tree planting and stone dedication ceremony. We hope you all will join us! Please see the attached flier, we welcome more contributions to our Centennial Time Capsule. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 08/16/2024

For this week's FFF, we look into the history of our very own Pepper Pike Fire Department!

The Pepper Pike Fire Department was originally formed in 1940 by a group of young energetic citizens. Their primary focus however was in combating brush fires throughout the vast acreages of the relatively new community which was incorporated in 1924. Roger Faragher was one of the original founders of the department and served as its first Chief.

It was required of each member to carry a water can extinguisher and a brush broom in the trunk of their cars. The Firefighters wives would take turns manning the fire phones around the clock from their homes. When a call was received, they in turn would call members of the department as to the location of the call.

The first fire truck purchased by the Village was a 1920's vintage used army surplus truck that was converted over to firefighting status with the addition of a water tank, hose bed, and an improvised Mercury outboard motor that was used to power the pump.

A reorganization of the department took place in 1954 when the department officially became chartered in the state of Ohio. With this organization, the department would provide for greater self-sufficiency with the hiring of the Villages first full-time firefighter. The Village provided him with free living quarters in an apartment unit above the Village Hall.

The first recorded fire fatality occurred on the morning of September 20, 1957. An air horn was mounted on the roof of the Village Hall which was sounded to alert volunteer members of the department made by the captain's wife. In early 1964 a more advanced group alert telephone system was put into service. This system would allow the dispatcher to record the call location and other pertinent information on a special phone that would ring simultaneously with a rapid distinct ring in the of the volunteers. The phone system was eventually replaced with radio boxes in the 1970's with individual pagers in the 1980's.

In 1974 a serious house fire destroyed a home on Meadowlark Rd, spurring petitions for improved services and additional full-time firefighter staffing. In December of 1974 and additional 6 firefighters were hired.

Along with the increased staffing also was the necessity for increased housing of personnel and apparatus. In 1976 a new fire station was built next to the city hall. The old fire station site was then converted to a new police station along with an addition to the east side of the building. That same year was the purchase of the city's first bonafide ambulance, replacing a 1963 Ford station wagon.

During the peak years between the 1980’s – 2000’s the department had a total roster of 13 fulltime firefighter/paramedics plus a full-time administrative and approximately 18 part-time firefighters/paramedics. Today the department has a roster of 9 full time EMS/firefighters supported by a large part time staff, all of whom are paramedics. This includes our full-time working Chief John Frazier who in addition to administrative duties is a full-time paramedic and firefighter.

In 2012, the City also began evaluation of Dispatch consolidation for fire and police. Lt. Larry Gordon (now retired) played a leading role in developing an in-depth study with a solution of Dispatch being consolidated with the City of Beachwood. This consolidation thrives today and has provided a long-term cost savings to Pepper Pike as well as a seamless system of public safety aid and assistance between the two cities!

Since then the PPFD, with its cadre of Firefighter-Paramedics, have maintained high quality medical care in cooperation with our Medical Control partner, Cleveland Clinic. PPFD has been consistently recognized by the American Heart Association Mission Lifeline award for its quality care in heart attacks and strokes in collaboration with all of the area health care systems. Fire protection in Pepper Pike is highly rated with an improvement in our ISO (Fire) Public Protection classification to a Class 3 over the past decade ( which reduces your own home insurance rates!)

The 50-year-old Fire Station has also seen some internal improvements. The great rain of September 7, 2020, sent a river through the middle of our PPFD offices, kitchen and training room with extensive damage. Repairs led to a remake of the first floor. The Covid pandemic identified the need to make updates to our living quarters as well (requiring the separation of staff). Covid funds became available to meet this goal with an extensive upgrade of the living quarters.

Fire Equipment will see some upgrades with a new ambulance on order and a new fire pumper is possible for 2025.

The Pepper Pike Fire Department has come a very long day from its origins, and today has an impressive team of young, caring professionals that are always prepared to provide high quality EMS & Fire protection to the residents of Pepper Pike. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 08/09/2024

For this week’s FFF we’re sharing the ‘Pepper Pike Living History’ project, a 40-minute film completed in 2009 by Orange High School students and teacher Mark Jones. This oral history preserves a fascinating collection of memories about Pepper Pike and is not to be missed! The project was proposed by Councilwoman Gail Mayland and Mr. Jones and his students spent 360 hours on the video. The video features many longtime residents of Pepper Pike, many who have now passed, and even some descendants of the earliest settlers, as they reflect on the history of Pepper Pike and the changes they’ve seen occur in the City. Many historic photos are shown throughout the video. You’ll hear mention of former FFF topics like Orange Hill, Ursuline College, Raw Jackson and the Van Sweringens.

Thanks to the former OHS students and Mark Jones for all of their work on this project. We hope you all will enjoy watching it and learn something new about the history of Pepper Pike.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 08/02/2024

For this week’s FFF we will share some information on one of Pepper Pike’s oldest homes. With new construction still occurring in the City and some homes being demolished to make way for new, can you believe that we still have a few homes that were built in the mid-1800s?

A two-story frame dwelling on Pinetree Road was built around 1840 by the Stoneman family, one of Pepper Pike’s earliest settlers. (The Stoneman family is also buried at cemetery near Lander Circle.) The full chronology of the home and its owners is not completely known but we have some information from the current owners.
The photo shared shows members of the Slovik and Kucera family, in 1914, along with their 14-year-old daughter, who one day kindly donated the photo to the current owners. At this time , the Slovak family owned the home and 105 acres which extended across South Woodland . In 1925 they sold the property to the Van Sweringens but, as mentioned in the 6.28 FFF, the Great Depression was the downfall of the brothers. The taxes were never paid for their Pinetree property and in the 1940s the Slovak family paid the back taxes and took back the property. It is believed that Dorothy Black was the next owner followed by the Scott family in 1962.

The Scotts installed the first electricity and plumbing in the house. Mr. Scott had a dental practice at Landerwood. According to Mrs. Scott, who sent a letter to the current owner, “This Ol’ House was a dream of a place to raise a family.” From the experience of several people who live and have lived in the house there are even periodic sightings/feelings of ghosts.

A few fun facts about the house are the Cobble Stones beneath the back yard that were found while trying to plant trees; it is suspected Kinsman Rd. might have run through the back field. Between the back of the house and Daisy Lane there was once a pond of which was filled in after a boy drowned at the end of the 19th century. The barn currently serves as the garage and there are many original areas of the house still in use. One area off the living room was a special section where traveling preachers would stay while meeting with their fellow worshipers.

The house has great bones but needed a lot of work when purchased in the mid 1990’s. So much was needed that the then Pepper Pike housing inspector apparently suggested to our residents that he would have torn the house down rather than spend the money to remodel. But who could do such a thing to a piece of Pepper Pike history?

Thankfully not the current owners and we are grateful that our residents, who have lived here since 1996, continue to take loving care of this historic home and were able to share this information with us. If you live in a historic home in Pepper Pike, we’d love to hear about it.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 07/26/2024

For this week's FFF we celebrate one of our residents who is also turning 100 this year - Richard "Dick" Hansler! Together with his wife Wanda, they have lived in Pepper Pike for 64 years. Their 4 children attended Orange schools. They have 10 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Read on and learn about Dick's fascinating life! 

Dick was born in St. Paul, MN on August 21, 1924. In 1942, shortly after the start of WWII, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and became a navigator on a B17 bomber. On their 25th mission his plane was shot down over Poland. He eluded capture and soon joined the Polish Partisans. For 7 months they were constantly on the move through the Polish countryside. During these 7 months Dick was list as MIA (missing in action) and his family didn't know if he was dead or alive. When the Russian front came through Dick spent 6 weeks in a Russian hospital with pneumonia. Later he wrote a book about his war experience called "Prepare to Bail Out". After his discharge he enrolled in Capital University where he met Wanda, his wife of 75 years.

Dick earned his PhD in physics at OSU and they moved to Cleveland where Dr. Hansler spent 43 years as a senior scientist at the world-renowned GE Nela Park Lighting Laboratory. He was instrumental in the development of several lighting techniques and applications and has 100 patents. After his retirement from GE he established the Lighting Innovations Institution at John Carroll University where he spent the following 23 years. During his later years, as a prolific writer, he has written 10 books focusing on the effects of low blue light and melatonin on health and sleep. In addition to his scientific career, Dick has a passion for social causes. He was one of the founders of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, an agency that began in the civil rights era and since has expanded to deal with homelessness, criminal justice, housing, youth issues, etc. Happy 100th birthday to Pepper Pike resident Dick Hansler!! 

If any of you know of other residents turning 100 this year please share. We'd love to celebrate them as well!
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 07/19/2024

This week’s FFF focuses on another of our religious institutions, B’nai Jeshurun. B’nai Jeshurun, which translates to “Brothers of Justice,“ is the third oldest conservative Jewish congregation in Cleveland. Started in 1866 by 16 Cleveland men of Hungarian descent, B’nai Jeshurun was originally Orthodox in their rituals and joined the Conservative movement in the beginning of the 20th century. Herman Sampliner was the first president and the first worship services were located at his home. In 1886, Sigmund Dreschler was B’nai Jeshurun’s first ordained rabbi. The location of the synagogues would move eastward, from Superior Avenue then to 55th and Scoville then to Cleveland Heights. The Synagogue in Cleveland Heights, located on Mayfield Road was popularly known as The Temple on the Heights and was the first synagogue to relocate into the suburbs. In 1980, as the congregation grew, B’nai Jeshurun moved to its current location in Pepper Pike, at the corner of Fairmount and Brainard. In May of that year, some of the congregation made the 10 mile walk from the Cleveland Heights location to their current home.

For a more thorough and interesting history on B’nai Jeshurun, including a documentary and anniversary video, click Here.                 #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 07/12/2024

With just over a month until our Centennial Social on August 18^th, we wanted to flash back to the City’s 75^th birthday celebration for this week’s Fun Fact Friday.

The 75^th celebration was casual and celebratory, a family-oriented event. It took place at City Hall and the Pepper Pike Park, which was officially dedicated on that day, August 29, 1999. A new City flag was unveiled. You can still see it flying from time to time. Refreshments were provided and tours of the City departments were given. The Orange High School band provided music and there was even an appearance by a New York resident with the name [Miss] Pepper Pike. In addition, the 75^th committee created a pamphlet titled “Fulfilling A Dream: A History of Pepper Pike,” which can be found on our website.

Were any of you in attendance at the 75^th and plan at being at the Centennial Social? Does anyone have the medallion from the 75^th? We’d love to see it!

This year’s Centennial Social, a family fun event, will take place in the Pepper Pike Park on August 18^th from 1pm – 4pm. There will be fun for all, even tee shirts for the kids! We hope you plan to join us!

Our Centennial celebration also proceeds this coming Thursday July 18^th 7:30-9:30 with a nighttime Party in the Park! Music, dancing, snacks and free fun! We will see you soon!
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 07/05/2024

Last week we introduced you to the Van Sweringen brothers and their vision for the Shaker Country Estates within Pepper Pike. Marketing the Shaker Country Estates as an idyllic place away from the commotion of Cleveland, behind the scenes the Vans placed deed restrictions on residents including one which was infamously unconstitutional and discriminatory. The above photo was part of an advertisement for the Shaker Country Estates that ran in the Plain Dealer in 1927. The ad promised that through the use of “permanent restrictions and controlled development” it will never change. Beyond protecting the way the suburb looked, the Van Sweringen Company went to great lengths to keep out the wrong sort of neighbor, particularly Jews and African Americans. While some of their standards were pleasing ideas, one acre lots and specific architectural style to use, one restriction was designed to be anti- Semitic and racially discriminatory.

Starting in 1925, the Vans placed ‘Restriction Number Five’ in their deeds, which required approval by their company on all property sales and transfers. The company could withhold their consent for potential buyers who they considered undesirable. If Van Sweringen Company consent was withheld, buyers could try to get consent from a majority of their neighbors in order to purchase the lot. The following is an abstract from a very informative article called Protection from Undesirable Neighbors: The Use of Deed Restrictions in Shaker Heights, Ohio –

Stringent architectural and building restrictions were put in place as the Van Sweringen Company laid out Shaker Heights, Ohio, an exclusive planned community, incorporated in 1912. In 1925, as African Americans and Jews sought to purchase property there, the company devised and implemented a new restriction that, while containing no overtly discriminatory language, succeeded in achieving the company’s discriminatory objective. The company and, later, the City of Shaker Heights [as well as Pepper Pike and Beachwood], would continue to enforce this restriction well beyond 1948 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled religious and racial covenants unenforceable.

Following the final ending of the Van Sweringen Company bankruptcy in 1959 after twenty-three years in reorganization, the company conveyed its only remaining asset, the company’s stock, to ultimately reside in a foundation created for the sole purpose of perpetuating the restrictions. The Mayors of Pepper Pike, Shaker Heights and Beachwood were established as the trustees of the foundation. Even though unconstitutional, some homeowners and purchasers understandably object to the presence of the deed restriction in their chain of title and request the three mayors to formally release the restriction on their property. That release is routinely provided, with some pleasure, by the three mayors, who coincidentally are each currently Jewish.

If you want to learn more about the Van Sweringen ‘Standards’ check out the full article by Virginia P. Dawson at the link below. Thanks to longtime Pepper Pike resident Valerie for sharing this with us.
#PepperPike100

Full Article

Fun Fact Friday 06/28/2024

This week’s FFF will introduce you to the Van Sweringen brothers (the Vans) and their plan for Shaker Country Estates. Oris and Mantis are well known in Cleveland for the Cleveland Interurban Railroad (becoming the Shaker Rapid Transit), the Terminal Tower, and developing Shaker Heights. In the 1920’s the Vans began to buy up land east of Shaker Heights to extend their community vision of a garden city suburb. This caused the replotting of land including in what would become the Village of Pepper Pike, which split off from Orange Township in 1924, the first defection from the township. The Vans marketed Pepper Pike as the Shaker Country Estates starting in 1926, intending it to be an extension of their housing projects in Shaker Heights. Traffic circles were laid out at Fairmount and Lander, Brainard and Shaker, and Chagrin and Lander. The large traffic circle at Shaker and Brainard and median on Gates Mills Blvd. were originally planned as part of an extension to the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit.

The Great Depression would be the undoing of the Van Sweringen’s fortune. Mantis passed away in 1935, Oris in 1936. Because of this, most of the Shaker Country Estates plan was never completed. Remnants of the Van’s presence in Pepper Pike remain as the Gates Mills median, the original brick road on Shaker/Brainard Circle, their one-acre minimum lot requirement as well as The Country Club, which relocated from Bratenahl at the invitation of the Vans.

In next week’s ‘Fun’ Fact Friday we will talk more about the Vans and the odious , now unconstitutional, discriminatory deed restriction (Shaker Standards) which they imposed on their communities, including in Pepper Pike. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 06/21/2024

This weeks FFF focuses on one of our City’s finest and most well known pieces of architecture, The Country Club. Though it has nearly reached its own centennial at this location in Pepper Pike (it was formally opened August 10, 1930), the history of the Club dates back much further. The Club was founded in 1889 in what is now Bratenahl. The first president was Samuel Mathers and the first vice president was Jeptha Wade, both well know Clevelanders. At the beginning, golf wasn’t even part of The Country Club. IN 1895, Mathers created a subsidiary of The Country Club called the Cleveland Golf Club. The Club is most well-known for one of its members, Coburn Haskell, creating the rubber cored golf ball in 1898, which is still used today! As industry grew around the Club in the 1920s, the decision was made to move to Pepper Pike. This plan was put in place when the Van Sweringen brothers promised the Club a large parcel of land and a loan to build a new clubhouse. Cleveland architect Philip L. Small was the architect for the Club and William Flynn designed the golf course. Since then The Club has continued to improve its facilities and offer recreational activities beyond golf. For more historic information about The Country Club click Here #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 06/14/2024

On February 23, we shared photos and information about one of Pepper Pike’s earliest settlements, Orange Hill which was located at SOM and Fairmount.  For this week’s FFF we are sharing Orange Center, another early settlement that was located at SOM and Pinetree.  Each of these areas had their own church, school, cemetery and general store.  Starting around 1820 Orange Center was the location of a stage coach line and also had a post office, doctor, a blacksmith shop, a cheese factory and even a dance hall. Hard to believe that area used to be a commercial center! Today, only the cemetery remains at this location.  Post-Civil War the Orange Township Town Hall was located on SOM, a bit south of Orange Center.  One of Pepper Pike’s most  well-known historic families, the Stonemans, also lived in this area.  William Stoneman had purchased a 250 acre farm on the southeast corner of Orange Center in 1847.  The Stonemans were key figures in the development of Orange Township.  
This information is from the book Orange Township…Orange Community by Kathleen Griffin Fant. 
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 06/07/2024

This week we are focusing on one of our religious institutions. The week's FFF was prepared for us by Thatcher Thomas, a church Elder. 

Hello neighbors!  We at the Church of the Western Reserve are thrilled to be a part of the centennial celebration for Pepper Pike!  We haven’t been here the whole 100 years, just since our congregation started worshipping at Orange High School in January of 1961.  We moved into our forever home in February 1966 and have seen changes through the years.  We expanded our Fellowship Hall in 1985 and the new Sanctuary you see from the circle was dedicated in March of 1997.  We are currently expanding our fellowship area and doing a bunch of updating to over half of the building!  We started with around 65 members and have grown to 250!  Through the years, members have built houses with Habitat for Humanity, gone on mission trips in the US and abroad, helped at the Cleveland food bank, provided Christmas gifts for families and a host of other volunteer opportunities, there is always something going on.  We host great music as part of our annual concert series that is free and open to the public.  Check our web site (www.cwr.church) or look for signs on the circle for dates and come join us.  We are looking forward to what the next 100 years brings to Pepper Pike and hope to be an active participant through all of it!
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 05/31/2024

This week for our FFF we would like to highlight our most popular event, The Taste of Pepper Pike! What started back in 2014 as a more modest gathering has now turned into our most talked about event! Our first event took place in the Parking lot near our Fire station, we had an attendance of 250 guests and it was considered sold out! Fast forward throughout the last 10 years, we have had to move our event to Ursuline College to accommodate a much larger tent and have consistently had over 600 attending every year since. Our longest standing restaurants to participate every single year are our dear neighbors, Geraci’s Pizza, Europa Restaurant, and Taza! Along with Heinen’s and Pat O’Brien’s always providing us with a grand selection of their wines. We have had outstanding sponsorships from many organizations over the years to help make this event what it is today! The event is sure to stick around and we are looking forward to what the future holds!
#PepperPike100
Don't miss your chance to join in on the fun and being a part of history! This year we have many great new restaurants participating for our centennial year celebration. Tickets go on sale starting Monday, June 3rd at 9 A.M. Event is slated for June 23rd from 5-8 PM.  Buy your Tickets Here

Fun Fact Friday 05/24/2024

This week's FFF focuses on our higher education institution, Ursuline College. The Ursuline Sisters were invited to the “Wilderness of Ohio” by Diocese of Cleveland, Bishop Amadeus Rappe and arrived August 6, 1850. In 1871 the first charter allowing the Ursuline Academy to issue academic degrees was obtained. Ursuline College was the first Catholic Women’s College in Ohio. Its current campus in Pepper Pike is it’s fifth. The first campus was at 50 Euclid Avenue and the next four campuses continued to migrate east due to commercial and industrial growth, construction and expansion of housing developments, and growth of the Ursuline student body. The college moved further east to settle on a property that gave them room to grow. On December 31, 1927 Ursuline purchased 50 acres in Pepper Pike for $3500 an acre from the London Syndicate Company. Additional land was purchased in 1949. On November 13, 1963 Ursuline College launched a campaign in order to fund the new home for its growing student body. Called “Once in a Century,” the campaign received grants, contributions, and gifts for the new 112 acre campus. The structures for the “Once in a Century’ campaign were designed by architect Peter van Dijk. A well- known architect in the Cleveland area, van Dijk’s accomplishments include Blossom Music Center, CSU’s music and physical education buildings and Cain Park Auditorium, among many others. There were several phases of building during the “Once in a Century” campaign. In 1965 Mullen, Dauby, Fritzche and Grace Residence Hall were completed. Students moved onto campus for the Fall 1966 semester. By 1968 another residence hall, Murphy, was built and in 1974 the O’Brien Athletic Center was added to the campus. When the new college campus opened, there was an enrollment of 468 students for the 1966-1967 school year. At this time Ursuline College also began accepting male students. This was a first for the traditionally woman’s college. The new campus would expand again in the 1980’s; first with the Frances O’Donell Wasmer Art Gallery (1980) and then with the Besse Library in 1985. Peter van Dijk would continue his job as Ursuline architect. One of the major materials used by van Dijk in the campus buildings is “Ursuline Blend” brick. The Labyrinth was completed in 2000, Pilla Learning Center and the athletic fields in 2001, tennis courts in 2005, and Smith Residence Hall in 2006. The largest of these projects, Pilla Learning Center, a 30,0000 sq. ft. campus center, was designed by Bialosky Partners Architects and it received an upgrade in 2013 with the addition of the dining hall and food court. The Pilla tower was built as a homage to Lake Erie lighthouses. When Ursuline was about to break ground on the Center for Creative and Healing Arts in 2013, a tornado hit campus on July 20. The tornado destroyed the O’Brien Athletic Center and did widespread damage, uprooting many trees on campus. With the new (2014) Athletic Center and Center for the Creative and Healing Arts, and its biggest project in 40 years, Ursuline attempted to modernize the campus while staying true to van Dijk’s vision of an open college community. In 2024, Ursuline College continues to update its dorms and facilities. The current enrollment is around 1000 students per year, with about a third of these being graduate students.

The photos in this FFF show –

The land at Fairmount and Lander in the early 20th century, prior to Ursuline being built.

A photo from the groundbreaking in March 1965.

The proposed Master Plan from the “Once in a Century” campaign.

A current map of the Ursuline College campus.

Special thanks to Tara Carlson of the Pepper Pike Building Dept. ( Ursuline College, MA 2020) for her research and preparation of this Fun Fact Friday! #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 05/17/2024

Did you know Pepper Pike has three cemeteries?  This week we are taking a closer look at the smallest of the three. 

This week's FFF is a second follow up for the painting of Garfield Memorial Church we shared on 5.3. We wanted to focus on the cemetery shown in the painting that is tucked into the frontage of Landerwood Plaza. It's easy to miss but it is an important part of our City's history. The small family plot includes five gravestones and one plaque that describes the significance of the site. Raw (who was named after his mother's maiden name) Jackson (1789-1859) and his wife Jane Lonsdale Jackson (1798-1864) came to America from Yorkshire England in the spring of 1835. In the summer of that year, they would move to what was then Orange Township and became some of the area's first settlers. They bought a large farm, on which the cemetery stands, and would have three more children. Raw and Jane would spend the rest of their lives on the farm and many of their children and their families would remain in Orange Township as well. The Orange Senior Center (which is located in Pepper Pike) is the site of Raw Jackson's slaughterhouse. The Jackson's gravestones are in the cemetery along with three of their children's. Jane Jackson (1825-1906), Lonsdale Jackson (1831-1887) and Rachel Jackson (1842-1879). The plaque was placed in 1975 by the Landerwood Merchants Association and states "This historic landmark is the site first settled in Orange Township of the Connecticut Western Reserve."                                                                                                       #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 05/10/2024

For this week's FFF we are following up on the historic painting of what became Lander Circle which we shared last week. This is the current view of the graves of Raw Jackson and his family (Found in the Landerwood North Plaza on what was once the Jackson farm) and looking south to Garfield Memorial Church. The original church (shown in the 1900 painting) sat on what was then originally known as “British Circle” and now is the Chagrin Lander Circle. The Interurban’s concrete “deadman” stop is still found in the circle. Around 1929, plans for building Chagrin Blvd. almost caused the demolition of the church, then known as Orange Church. The small congregation worked with the Van Sweringen Company to move the church out of harm's way and off of the new traffic circle. We are thankful for this church being an important part of Pepper Pike's history. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 05/03/2024

For this week's FFF we are sharing a painting from the early days of Garfield Memorial Church. Titled Orange's Favorite Son, this was painted by Glen Shaw and was accompanied by the following description in "Orange Township: Between the River and the Wooded Hills" by Vel Litt. 

An entry in the Sunday school records from September 3, 1899, notes "very hot and dusty, but forty were present and the collection was fifty cents." Old Kinsman Road (now Chagrin Blvd) was unpaved but the electric Interurban stopped on its route to Chagrin Falls. Gravestones from the church cemetery still stand on the southeast corner of Landerwood plaza.  

The parsonage and the church were then located with Lander Circle in this depiction viewed toward the southwest. Garfield's son, Abram, drew up plans to move part of the structure to a new location just off the circle. The new church, took the name Garfield Memorial to honor Orange Township's brilliant "favorite son." This frame structure, dedicated in 1930, remains as a part of the church today. The stained-glass windows in the Fellowship Hall date from 1866. 
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 04/26/2024

Did you know?--- In addition to the City of Pepper Pike and Orange Schools turning 100 this year, the Pepper Pike Club is also celebrating its centennial. The organization of the Pepper Pike Club was officially filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office only a few weeks after the Village of Pepper Pike was formally organized! A premiere club and golf course, it was formed by many of the region’s most significant industrial leaders, with names including Bolton, Wade, Bradley, Crawford, Hanna, and Bradley. Leadership of a significant company was an essential qualifier to be invited to join. The Club has been an important part of our history. Please see the attached historical summary prepared by the Western Reserve Historical Society to learn more of this treasured member of our community. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 04/19/2024

Imagine Bob Little as architect, planner and a site owner walking in 1950 the 40 acres depicted in this map that would, with his impassioned guidance and lots of help from friends, become the Pepper Pike community known today as Pepper Ridge.  Walking this land was a peak experience for him.  As he walked it again and again, he saw not just meadows, an orchard, an old barn, mature woods, streams and a pond behind a dam – he envisioned a gently serpentine road, guided by topography and providing access to widely dispersed and mostly sun-drenched house sites.  Bob was in love with sunlight and how houses he designed could bring that love to life.  With rigorous geometry he analyzed how much of an eave each south-facing window would need to manage the seasonal shift in the angle of the sun and how rare should be the fenestration in a western wall.   He envisioned building a vibrant community, too, as the cartoon figures in this map attest.  Use your “Where’s Waldo?” skills and a magnifying glass to find a kite-flier, an outdoor painter, tennis enthusiasts, a boater, baseball players, a bicyclist, some rubberneckers in a car, dog-walkers and a cow.  With the possible exception of the kite-flier and the cow, all his dreams have come true.   

A special thank you to Rick Taft and Chip Steiner for preparing this week's Fun Fact Friday! 

If any other residents have interesting Pepper Pike facts to share please email building@pepperpike.org                                                                                #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 04/12/2024

Did you know that there is a mystery novel that uses Pepper Pike as the setting? Written by Les Roberts and first published in 1988, Pepper Pike is the first of 15 mystery novels featuring Cleveland detective Milan Jacovich. One review described Pepper Pike as having "A clever plot, a vibrant Cleveland and rural Ohio setting, and a realistically drawn hero making this series one to watch." The book has received 3.83 out of 5 stars on Good Reads. Have any of you read this book? #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 04/05/2024

For this week's FFF we are featuring a cookbook we found in our storage files. The Orange Hill Ladies Aid Society Cookbook fits in the palm of your hand! If you recall from our 2.23 FFF, Orange Hill was the settlement located at the SOM/Fairmount intersection. Orange Hill began to be settled in the 1820s and eventually included a church, school, and cemetery. Ladies Aid Societies were organizations that were formed during the Civil War to help with supplies and also caring for wounded soldiers. After the Civil War these Societies continued to support their communities. While we are unsure of the date this cookbook was published, looking at some of the names in Census records, we think it may be around 1920. Check out some of these recipes. Would you make any of them? #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 03/29/2024

As we celebrate Pepper Pike and Women’s History Month, we honor Pepper Pike’s first Councilwoman, Pauline Moskopp Lewis. Ms. Lewis was born and raised in Cleveland in 1891, was a 1913 graduate of Western Reserve University, and taught English at Empire and Detroit junior high schools in Cleveland for about 10 years.

Only five years after the Constitution’s 19^th amendment established the right to vote for women, Pauline, (aka Polly), was elected as a member of Pepper Pike’s first Village Council in 1925, becoming not only a member of that freshman council but its first woman member! Pauline also served as the Clerk of Courts for 15 years. She and her husband, Pepper Pike’s second mayor, James B. Lewis, would maintain the mayor’s court records at their home to keep them safely stored!

Pauline’s extraordinary contributions were not finished, she also was instrumental, the main mover, in establishing the first library in Pepper Pike, (at first opening it one evening a week), and volunteering for 17 years as our first Librarian. Polly spearheaded the successful programs and campaigns for the library and ultimately it grew and became our current Orange Community Library, a part of The Cuyahoga County Library located on Chagrin! She lived to see the Village become a city and passed at the age of 89 in1980 at the Western Reserve nursing home in Kirtland. We pay tribute to this exceptional resident and life well lived!

Take a look at a few pictures of her during the opening reception for the City Hall building in 1954 and for a charming (and informative) 1965 history of Polly and the history of the Orange Library.

#WomensHistoryMonth

#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 03/22/2024

We'd like to highlight our first Mayor this week. Ford Ferry Quigley was voted mayor of the newly created Village of Pepper Pike in January 1925 (see FFF from 3/8). He was only Mayor for a year and then James Lewis took over the position. We had wondered why he was Mayor for such a short time. Recent research revealed that Mayor Quigley's wife, Abbey Elizabeth Heller Quigley, passed away in April 1925 at age 35, just months after the election. Mayor Quigley was left with an infant son, Ford F Quigley Jr., who was only 5 days old. Mayor Quigley was an apple farmer, also known as an orchardist. He worked at Halfred Farms (what is now the White North Stables near the Polo Field) and later for the Department of Agriculture. Later census records show him living on Euclid Avenue in Willoughby. Both Ford Quigley Sr. and Jr. were in attendance at the opening reception for our current City Hall in 1954 (FFF 2/9). Mayor Quigley lived to be 91 and is buried in Lake View Cemetery.

We have not found any photos of Mayor Quigley but did find some documentation regarding him in proceedings of the Ohio State Horticulture Society. One is the results of an experiment conducted in 1925 to control aphids in apple trees. The other is the report from the auditing committee in 1928, which Quigley was part of.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 03/15/2024

DID YOU KNOW? Before it was Pepper Pike, it was almost called the Village of Roland Hills. An initiative to split from Orange Township and become the Village of Roland Hills was defeated by the voters in February of 1924. Later that year, a second petition to spilt from the Township passed and we became the Village of Pepper Pike. See the original petition in the attached documents. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 03/08/2024

This week for Fun Fact Friday we are sharing the results of Pepper Pike's first election. This document is our only verification of the village's election. The election was held on January 26, 1925 and the results were signed and certified by the Clerk of Orange Township on February 5, 1925. Looking at census records there appears to be two married couples on this list, the Nycamps and the Tuppers. So far we have not found much information on any of these elected officials, but we will keep looking! We'd love to know if any of our current residents have any family ties to anyone on this list. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 03/01/2024

At the time of it's development, West Hill colony was such a noteworthy subdivision that it was featured in the March 1941 edition of the Architectural Forum, a magazine which ran from 1917-1974. The idea for the design and location of West Hill Colony came from the Cleveland Junior Chamber of Commerce as a way to promote the local building business. The cooperative subdivision was Chamber sponsored. The dominate architectural style was Colonial, which was labeled 'Cleveland's preference,' and the average cost was around $10,000 per home. The entire article can be read at the link below. https://westhillcolony.com/

If your home is 100 years old or more, (in the "Colony" or elsewhere) let us know, we'd love to honor it! #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 02/23/2024

Did you know that the corner of SOM and Fairmount (formerly known as North Woodland) used to be the location of one of our churches and schools? Shown on this map from 1892, you can see them marked as ME Ch. and School. Known as the Orange Hill Church, you can see it on the left in the photo taken in 1928. Just across SOM in what is now Hunting Valley, there was the Orange Center Cemetry (which still exists). Do you think this intersection looks similar to the photo taken recently from the same spot?

Thank you to resident Chip Steiner for sharing this information with us. We hope to share more history on this specific area as the year passes. #PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 02/16/2024

As a follow up to last week's Fun Fact Friday regarding the opening of our City Hall. The building shown in this picture, was one of the early meeting places for Council meetings and other village business in 1925 and 1926. It was also one of the last one room schools located in Orange Township. This picture was taken August of 1938 and it shows the building being removed from Shaker Blvd., (West of Lander) and being transferred to the Orange School property, where it was used for overflow.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday 02/09/2024

While the City is celebrating its centennial this year, our City Hall (FKA “Village Hall”) building is turning 70. Prior to 1954, City business was done in an old farmhouse located immediately to the east of the current building. The new building was financed by a $150,000 bond issue in 1952 and a $30,000 special building fund. On August 29, 1954, an inaugural reception for residents was held at, the then, Village Hall. Because of the architectural style of the building, the opening dedication had a Williamsburg theme. Visitors at the open house reception were greeted by Mayor James B Lewis and hosts in colonial attire and served refreshments. The building has since been modified and added to, with the Police Dept. extension being added in 1976, and then remodeled recently in 2022.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday! 02/02/2024

Many of you know that Orange City School District is also celebrating its centennial this year. Known originally as the Orange Consolidated School, its doors opened on January 14, 1924. Previously, there were smaller district schools throughout the area (five in what would become Pepper Pike). The current Orange High School was opened in 1973 but the auditorium and varsity gymnasium are retained from the original building! To find out more on the history of our Schools, please visit the Orange City School District.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday! 01/26/2024
As a continuation of last week’s fun fact, here you will see another passage of a letter written by Mayor James B. Lewis on October 30th, 1951. As you read this letter, you will notice that our Gates Mills Blvd. median used to be a dump that was used for the disposal of non-burnable materials! Fast forward to today, the Pepper Pike’s Service Department provides a service that collects all rubbish, recycling, waste, and more to our residents. We now have designated companies, outside of Pepper Pike, to collect said materials, leaving our beautiful Gates Mills Blvd. median open for use.
#PepperPike100

Fun Fact Friday

In celebration of the City's 100th anniversary year, each week we will share a fun fact of the City's history.