The Mentor & Mistress - the story of Daisy Jenks

The Mentor and Mistress

(Alternatively the story of Daisy Jenks)

Recently during lunch at the Union Club, a friend asked me about one of Cleveland’s most influential families; the Van Sweringens.  Without a thought, I said “it’s hard to understand the Vans without first understanding their Mentor and Mistress”.  He was surprised and asked, ‘for both’?  I responded in the affirmative and said she was also married to Ben.  Her name was Louise “Daisy” Davidson Jenks and her story is as important to Cleveland’s history as anyone who has ever lived in Cleveland.  Unfortunately there are few in Cleveland who know of her and most think of her in a poor light.  Hopefully this small piece will shed some light on the importance and influence of this woman and her husband.

Her husband was Ben Jenks and he was quiet and was tall and thin.  Ben was always sure not to eat or drink too much, as the rest of his family were overweight and he didn’t want to become so.  He initially had lumber yard and a development corporation, but went on to law school.  He was old friends with the Vans and became their attorney.

Daisy Davidson became his wife and was the more outgoing of the two.  She was eleven years younger than Ben.  She was a red head and a bright woman who Herbert Harwood described her in his book Invisible Giants,  as a woman who “…had a mind of her own”.   She was not thin however not overly large and was said to have ‘made the most of her looks’.    She was reported to be a red head and when I inquired about this, the response from one of her friends, was ‘it was from a bottle’. 

Daisy and her husband Ben had a land development company and helped the Vans get into development. If you know the history of the Vans Sweringens, you know they built many of Cleveland’s private schools, churches, country clubs and downtown landmarks.   They also laid out many of greater Cleveland’s streets and neighborhoods.  They also remodeled the Greenbrier in West Virginia and it still shows their influence.  However their fortunes did not take off until they began buying railroads.  This was the heyday of railroads and if someone had the brains to run them, they could be a success.  By some accounts they were the largest railroad owners in the country.  It’s been said this was under the tutoring of Daisy and her husband Ben.  As a friend of theirs once stated, “The Jenks were the brains behind the Van’s”. 

Their railroad company was a large company and based in Cleveland.  A descendent of one of the senior executives of the Vanesse Company retold the story that on more than one occasion executives from the company were required to attend a company function.  The entertainment of the evening at the Vaness company function was Daisy dancing.  While most of the executives in attendance were embarrassed or annoyed by the display, the Vans were seated in the front row.

Daisy and her husband Ben initially lived on Lee Rd.   When the Van’s moved to Hunting Valley they moved there.  Many Clevelanders know the Van Sweringens lived in Hunting Valley and on Daisy Hill.  However few realize it was name for Daisy Jenks.  Evidence of this can be found as there is a tunnel between the Jenk’s home and the Van Sweringens home.  This tunnel exists to this day.  No one can be certain what the tunnel was designed for, however according to gossip by at least one of the prominent neighbors it was said, “the one Jenk’s boy certainly resembles the Van’s”.

When it was first mentioned I was writing about Daisy, my friend who knew Daisy, informed me she was wild.  When it was inquired as to why, the response was she had a large nude in her bathroom.  When it commented this was pretty wild, she said I didn’t understand.  When questioned why, the response was the nude painting was of herself.  One can only image what individuals thought of this in the 1920’s and 1930’s. 

During a recent dinner party the above story was told and a woman at the table grew quiet and looked down.  I challenged her and said ‘you know someone who has  this’  She agreed she did.  When I questioned why she did this, the response was simply her friend felt she would never look this good again and wanted to preserve the way she looked.  These are some confident women. 

After the Van’s had passed away and the Jenks down sided they moved to the Moreland Courts apartments.  My aunt visited her there and said the apartment was as big as a house and rather  lavish.  My aunt grew visiting with the Van Sweringen and Daisy’s at their homes and apartments.  Later in life, my aunt’s father would visit Daisy in Arizona.  Daisy had moved there due to her arthritis and because her children lived there.  It’s uncertain if she is buried there or in the Cleveland area.    

There is another story which needs to be mentioned.  There was another Hunting Valley neighbor of the Vans and the Jenks, who was just starting out in building his own vast fortune.  He and his wife were religious individuals and didn’t approve of the Vans’ and the Jenks’ behavior.  During their long lives whenever they had a female dog they always named her ‘Daisy’. 

Many feel Daisy came from a simple or less to do family.  This is not the case as she came from a good family named Davidson and her brother had tremendous success in gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Her brother would often come back to Cleveland to visit.  A friend who met him, said he was a large man who was ‘filthy rich’. 

Another friend of mine attended medical school in Johannesburg and I asked if there were Davidson’s in Johannesburg.  He said there was a rather prominent family in Johannesburg name Davidson.  I asked if they were still in gold mining and he said they were.  Needless to say he was rather surprised to find they were originally from Cleveland.    

Whatever you might think of Daisy’s personal life, please don’t judge her too harsh.  The influence she had over the Van’s and therefore the shape and building of Cleveland and the surrounding areas was tremendous.  Its a shame more appreciation isn’t given for everything the Van Sweringen’s built and created for the Cleveland area and I hope one day more recognition will be given to these two brothers.  If this is the case, we can only hope some recognition goes to Daisy and her husband for all the assistance they gave to Mantis and Oris. 

Running Hazards

Every long distance runner faces the hazards of cars, animals, weather, terrain and such, however I wondered how many other runners have had trouble with the… police.  Specifically, I am referring to being pulled over for running.  As much as I would like to say it was for speeding, we all know for a 40 something year old running, this is simply not the case.  The cause of our offense was not running in a single file.  While the reasoning behind these laws is understandable, their enforcement leaves something to be desired.  In our case, each of our offenses were either on a 2 or 4 lane road and early on Sunday mornings.  On this stretch of road we were pulled over three times. Each with an interesting story of their own.

Police Encounter Number One

The first time was warm Sunday morning and toward the end of a 14 mile run and on the 4 lane section of road.  As we are cold weather runners, warm weather is particularly hard on us.  Near the end, an older policeman (I believe he was a sergeant) turned on his lights.  Being the only male in the group and the son of a politician, I agreed to speak with him. 

He began easy enough and stated, “There is a law which requires you to be single file” 

I responded “Yes Sir”, and before I tell what I said next, a little background is necessary.

We are fortunate that our town, has 5 roads which intersect the metroparks.  At the time,  there was no sidewalks on any of them.  I had been lobbying the city council for some time to add sidewalks to easily travel the one mile distance to the metroparks.  I would see families driving with their bikes on bike racks to the park to go riding. 

For this reason, my answer was something similar to, “Yes Sir, I understand, but it would be nice if we had some sidewalks”

I am a nice guy but what he said next really put me into orbit.

In the most sarcastic voice imaginable, he stated, “Well we don’t have any, do we?”

As I mentioned, I am nice guy but when he said this I had had enough and after 14 miles of hot weather running, I wasn’t in the mood to put up with smart-aleck remarks.   

So I retorted, “Put some in!!!”  

I waited to a response and while I knew he wanted to say something, there was no response forthcoming.  What I did see was an officer that was moving in his seat, face turning red, and hands gripping the wheel tighter.  He was upset and I believe he was particularly upset as he couldn’t respond to me. So I rejoined my group and we started off.  We were in single file with the middle runner being a little out so as not to trip each other. 

He again pulled up next to us and screamed “I said single file!!!”

“We are” I yelled back.

Shortly we arrived at an intersection and as we were turning east, the light was green and we proceeded.  Our friend from the police was stopped by the perpendicular red light and thought we had crossed through the red light and again turned on his flashers.  We simply ran on and he shortly realized his mistake. 

Now I have the most respect for police officers and appreciate every day the job they do.  That day I simply crossed the line after being a little tired.  I have re-told this story many times and once a friend asked why after being such as smart-ass, I hadn’t been arrested.  After a minute of thought I simply shrugged my shoulders and said, “Probably the only reason I wasn’t arrested is that I smelled too bad and the he didn’t want me in his car”.

Police encounter Number 2:

This was on another Sunday morning run out to the metro parks.  Sure enough a policeman pulled up and this time spoke politely to please run in a single file. Fortunately it was a different police officer and we agreed and kept running. 

 I need to mention, as we are each professionals and parents as soon as any car is in the area we do run single file.  I felt we were being harassed and knew this second occurrence would not be the end of it.  I contacted a couple of media outlets and a few had interest in a story. 

I also checked the city ordnances to make sure there is an ordnance requiring runners to run single file.  Much to my chagrin there is such an ordnance in our town.  To go further I had an attorney friend look into Ohio statutes and found in Ohio runners can not run on interstates and some other information.  Runners in many states don’t have too many rights. 

I had done my home work and the next time I would be ready.  I wanted a ticket. 

Police Encounter Number 3:

This was started innocent enough and on our way to the metro parks, a green pickup truck, slowed down moved toward us.  She moved close to us, so close that she crossed the white line on the side of the road and forced us into the gravel and grass off the edge of the road. When she was right next to us, she sped up.  As this normally happens when there is another car on the other side of the road, I assumed there was car in the other lane and she was simply moving over to be safe from the other vehicle.  I turned to look and unbelievably, there was no other cars on the road.  It seemed that this driver didn’t like runners.

So in my ornery way, I turned around and let her know she was number 1, in a most ungentlemanly way.  The other runners and I ran on talking about how dangerous cars and trucks are to runners. 

Sure enough a mile or two down the road, we get pulled over by a police officer who had his lights flashing and the officer was upset.  He said we weren’t single file and I started to argue.  The officer was argumentative and upset so I knew this wasn’t just about us not running single file, so I asked, “Sir what is this about?”

To which he responded “You flipped off my wife….” 

At this point I couldn’t help but to laugh, which didn’t help matters.  And he yelled, “do you want a ticket?”

As I had already alerted the media, I responded, “Yes”. 

This threw him off and he asked for some id.  I obviously didn’t have any. 

The other runners started lobbying for me not to get a ticket.  I had not forewarned them that I wanted one.  He agreed to let me go.   Not before he started trying to get us riled up by talking about sensitive issues in our town.  We ran on.

While I stated we have been pulled over 3 times, this is not the end of the story.  As I mentioned my father was Mayor and I know the Mayor of our town and was going to call him and complain.  However I thought it was better to start with the Police Chief.  So I called him.

He kept me on hold for about 10 minutes (thank goodness for speaker phones) and finally picked up.

We talked for a while and as he used to be a runner it was a pretty light hearted conversation.  I let him know we didn’t like being pulled over and he stated there had been complaints by doctors, attorneys and other professionals that we were slowing down traffic.  I didn’t challenge him on this but as we run with doctors, attorneys and other professional, and know most are rather accommodating to a 3 to 5 second delay which might be caused by runners. 

I told him I understood that we sometimes might slow down traffic and we do the best we can to avoid that.  But then I asked about those drivers which intentionally slow down and swerve toward the runners. 

In his biggest voice he said, “I want to know about those individuals”

A small smile came over me and I asked, “are you sure?”

He responded, “Yes !!!”

“Okay… there is a woman that works in the police department (I found this out after later) and she drives a green pick up truck and she is married to officer XX.”   There was a pause

 “There is no officer XX”, he responded,

I asked him to check again.

He then said “Oh”, followed by another pregnant pause. 

He quickly ended the phone call and I knew Sunday was going to be an interesting run.

Sure enough on the 1 mile of road to the metro parks, we had 4 police officers pass us and stare at us, but to their credit, none pulled us over.  It’s been four years of running since that phone call and I can happily report, we have not been pulled over since. 

I guess the moral of the story is, if you’re feeling harassed by the police, other drivers or any group or individuals; stand up for your rights and keep your fingers crossed…  Runners have a right to the road when there are no sidewalks or bikepaths.

Good luck and be safe in your running….

Saving Cleveland...

This was published in Nov 2009 and since that time I realized it should be title as the biggest Opportunity rather than the biggest issue.  Please read as a positive way to enhance Cleveland and its citizens.  thanks, Chris

The Biggest Issue with Cleveland is…

low self esteem.  This been caused primarily by condition known as a self fulfilling prophecy.  As any teacher or educator knows, if you think and say something is awful or unworthy long enough, over time people come to believe it.  Unfortunately too many in Northeast Ohio have heard for too long that this area has so many deficiencies, that no2 many believe it to be true and tell others outside the region the same. 

A recent conversation demonstrates how a self fulfilling prophecy works.  A good friend of mine works for a medium sized owner of retail centers.  He was complaining how the activity at one east side shopping was not as good as they wanted.  Needless to say, the next time I needed something, I was hesitant to shop at their center.  I went to one down the street, where I had heard things were booming.  How much better it would have been for his plaza, if he had stated sales at the stores were doing well and they were actively searching to fill the empty stores. I would have much more inclined to shop at his plaza. 

Now apply this to the city and region.  How many times have we heard bad, derogatory or sarcastic news and information about our region.  This came mostly from our lone daily periodical.  There is an outdated adage in news industry, ’bad news sells’ and former editors of this media lived by this shortsighted thinking.  Unfortunately why they may have increased their circulation temporarily, they and the region in the long run lost and continue to lose.  It is no surprise that this periodical is struggling to attract young readers. 

The new editors  seem wiser concerning the long term growth of news paper, but its too early to accuracy judge their style.  Recent studies have shown the best way for local news outlets to survive is to be more local; not a surprising revelation.  A recent example illustrates they are not doing as well as they could be at being more local. In the spring a team from a local suburb took 1^st place in a National Science competition.  They were #1 in the country!!!  What a statement about the schools and parent involvement in our area.  Unfortunately there was little mention of it.  If this had been a sports team, think of the coverage.  But even if there wasn’t wide regional interest, think of not only how many papers this would have sold to friends and family.  Additionally how much pride local Clevelanders would have taken in this home town team.  We can only hope our lone paper can become more local and more positive.

The local paper is not the only reason the region views itself so poorly.  At fault are also too many community leaders who are equally as negative.  Because my family and I live here, I am hesitant to name specific individuals, but I’m certain each of us know at least one civic or business leader who is says nothing but negative statements about this area.  Why it’s difficult to change people opinions, it’s probably more effective to simply not give these negative individuals your ear.  By not listening, you’re not encouraging their bad behavior.  Additionally if you want to have some fun, regardless of their status, you can always simply smile and walk away.  The smile will let them know, you understand these individuals are misguided and misinformed.     

This is so pervasive that many of us don't realize when it shows up blatantly in our every days lives.  For example, examine the local brewery which has named a beverage after one of the city’s more notorious event.  My family owed a brewery in this town and they would have never named one of their beverages in such a way.  It makes Clevelanders believe the Cuyahoga River is the only river in the world which caught fire.  Rivers in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and scores of other cities have caught fire.  Why not rename this beer, Burning RIVERS, so it’s understood ours is not the only region whose river caught fire.  Unfortunately the Cuyahoga River was turned into a politicians publicity stint.  It helped bring a national change, but why were we the only city to publicize it.  Maybe 40 years later its time to publicize all the American rivers or lakes which have burned.  Cleveland is not alone in this dark chapter in American history. 

Unfortunately this happens almost everyday in the Cleveland area and here a just a few examples of this daily misinformation.    

A friend of mine was interviewing for a profession’s position at a division of  Case Western Reserve University and during the interview the interviewer asked, “would you be willing to move to Cleveland?”  What this interviewer did not know is my friend had grown up here and loved this area.  As I have lived in different areas of this country and individuals have always talked highly of their areas.  How could a world class institution such as Case Western Reserve speak so poorly about this fantastic area?  They may need  retraining of their hiring managers.

This story was given to me by one of the true bright spots in the area, Positively Cleveland and their media contact Samantha Fryberger.  It appeared in The Miami Heard in the spring 2008.   Assistant travel editor Marjie Lambert wrote that she had an idyllic day in Cleveland, visiting the Rock Hall and drifting lazily on a Lake Erie sunset cruise. Then the boat's DJ started to explain how the city wasn't as bad as its passengers might think. This caused Lambert to note, "I wondered how much longer Clevelanders - with their pretty lake and cleaned-up river, classic baseball stadium and terrific rock 'n' roll museum - would feel compelled to go on the defensive in the company of tourists who, after all, had voluntarily chosen to visit their hometown."

Most people who complain about Cleveland have not lived anywhere else and don’t know what and how treasures are contained here.    

Please remember the Economist magazine; a respected international publication ranked Cleveland the most livable city in the United States.  If this was any city in the south they would have t-shirts, banners, parades about this ranking.  We need to begin to understand the way outsiders understand, the beauty and quality of our region. 

Below is a short (emphasis on short) list of benefits that this area contains.   

3 Major Sports Teams: Indians, Cavs, Browns.  How many cities have 3 major sports teams.  There are a total of 61 cities or regions with at least one profession sports program.  However there are only 17 which have at least 3.  We are only 1 of 17 that has this much sports coverage.  Not a bad place to be and think of all those regions that don’t even have one. 

 
Here are some of the often overlooked national if not international gems of our region. 

Park system – this is one of the largest and most beautiful in the country, however because its not in Cleveland proper, it many times is overlooked.

Water – we reside on one of the planets great wonders; a GREAT lake.  Recent studies have shown that the country of India may run out of water  by 2050, especially with the global warming occurring.  Many writes have call water the  21^st century oil.  Remember if anyone ever calls Cleveland the mistake on the lake, simply reply, “At least we have a lake…”.

Affordable housing and living – this is one of the most economical affordable areas in the world and recently new immigrants have been moving here just for this reason.  This country has been built by immigrants and we should welcome all that come our way. 

Commute time – most people’s commutes are short and easy.  This is not the case in so many areas across the country. 

Rich History – John D Rockefeller vacationed here even after he ‘moved’ to New York.  The reasons he vacationed here still exist; the art museum, the orchestra, the lake, the good hospitals, the good schools and so many other lasting treasures. 

The greatest legacy from our Western Reserve ancestors  was the region’s emphasis on education.  The area has what I like to call a great “Intellectual Infrastructure”.  The region is replete with high quality primary, secondary, private, public, undergraduate, graduate, post graduate and beyond.  Any well educated person understands learning never ends and this area abounds with continuous learning opportunities.  This is one reason so many wealthy individuals continue to live in this area.    

 
If we want this region to prosper we need to take a more positive outlook of ourselves. There are two reasons, one has to do with tourism and the other has to do with simple and positive job growth. 

People might shrug off tourism, however recent economic studies have shown that tourism is the largest industry in the world.  The state of Florida does not have a state income tax due to the economic impact of tourism.  The states of California, Texas, South Carolina all  have healthy tourism industries.  In the winter it might be hard to attract people outside of the University Circle area, however during the summer, we certainly have some of the finest weather around.  It’s for this reason we need to save the Air Show from leaving.  Its one of the few in the country and it brings Cleveland millions of tourism dollars. 

The other reason is pure and simple economic and job growth.  When this writer lived in North Carolina he heard the following story many times.  Whether or not it is true, I can’t be sure however it bears repeating.  The story concerns a woman working at a convenient store when someone riding a motorcycle came in. He asked her how she liked the town and she talked excitedly and enthusiastically about how much she loved the town.  The stranger was a business owner who moved a company division there and all the jobs with it.  Whether or not this is true doesn’t matter, what matters is this story is told over and over again in the growing regions of this country and not told in the older most established and more culturally rich and sophisticated regions of this country. 

Also at issue is how the national media is continually putting Cleveland in an incorrect and poor spotlight.  How many times have surveys written something derogatory about Cleveland; many of these are not only incorrect but they’re also libelous.  Unfortunately this is a late 20^th and early 21^st century issue and there seems to be no organization in charge of correcting these mistakes.  Unfortunately, Cleveland City Hall doesn’t do it, nor do the County Commissioners but I have often wondered why the large foundations who are charged with helping and improving the Cleveland area, don’t look at this recent issue.  They have some great minds on their staff and boards and if they wanted to put an end to this they certainly could do so.  Very little in the short term could more positively impact this area than correcting erroneous statements about our area.   

When discussing Cleveland’s need for an improved self image with a well respected business and civic leader, he simply stated one of the city’s sports teams needs to in a championship.  This will certainly help; think of how happy the region is after a Browns win, or a Cavs or Indians playoff win.  This will help but as I can’t assist those teams winning games or championships, I'll continue to do what I can do to help this region; write.  In many ways, this conversation was the genesis of this article. 

No one article will change people’s feeling, but it’s a strong hope that this article will start people thinking about this topic and hopefully get some thinkers and resources on this important issue.  I know that if Clevelanders won’t stand up for our region, no one else will.  The first thing to do in making this place a better place to live, work and raise families is to realize how fortunate we are to have all of the resources (natural and man made) that are located here. We’re not have a GREAT Lake, but we’re in a GREAT Region. 

  

Rod Blagojevich will be pardoned

It's my prediction that former Illinois Govenor Rod Blagojevich will be pardoned by President Obama in the last few months of the President's term.  Many Presidents have pardoned friends in the last term of their presidency; Bill Clinton especially comes to mind.

My reasoning for this is that I believe then Gov. Blagojevich sold President Obama's old US Senate seat to President Obama.  He put in the President's good friend Roland Burris.  Ironically one of the charges against the former Govenor is for trying to sell his this Senate seat.  If the former govenor is pardoned it seems he did sell it to the highest bidder... for a Presidential Pardon.

In either 11 months or 59 months we'll know if this prediction is true or not.

At least we have a Lake

Have you ever told someone you’re from Cleveland and they immediately respond, with “Mistake on the Lake”?  This term was originally coined for Mayor Kucinich and his term as Mayor of Cleveland.  Unfortunately, many individuals ignorant of what Cleveland has to offer, still use this term to insult individuals from this area and the city itself.  Anyone from Cleveland knows this is not the truth and while it might not be easy to come up with a quick retort, its time we start responding with… “At least we have a Lake”… 

As more and more populations around the world are literally running out of water, this saying and the importance of a great lake has never been stronger.  As our planet continues to warm up, the need for water will only increase. 

The Atlanta area is only the most recent example of an ‘instant town’ which has gotten itself in trouble.  A friend recently stated, Atlanta is a success story after the Olympics.  The population has grown from 2.5 million to over 5 million.  Unfortunately the aquatic infrastructure was not in place to allow for this growth.  Atlanta is running out of water. 

Lake Lanier is the fresh water lake where most of greater Atlanta receives their drinking water and the lake is down 10 or 11 feet.  The boat docks are all on dry land.  Atlanta’s civic leaders have asked Army Corp of Engineers to divert more water from Chattahoochee river and unfortunately they have agreed to do so.  This will only divert water away from Alabama and Florida.  We don’t yet know the long-term consequences of this action 

There are many reasons why Atlanta is this short of water.  One is the lack of summer rains and another is the lack of hurricanes.  While everyone holds their breath that hurricanes won’t hit land and especially their land and/or home.  The truth of the matter is the rain from these storms help replenish the water tables.   

The citizens in the Atlanta area are using the technique of not flushing the toilet after each use in order to conserve water.  It has recently been reported that establishments in the area are posting the following signs in the restrooms:

“If it’s Yellow, be mellow,

If it’s brown, flush it down…”  

Not a good way to attract visitors and patrons.  What’s next for these restaurants and hotels, outhouses…  

Las Vegas is another example of over population drawing down the available water.  Lake Mead is at half its normal level and if they don’t get more rain soon, the citizens of Las Vegas will be the first to feel it.  Las Vegas gets 90% of its drinking water from the lake and seven other states rely on the Colorado river for part of their water supply.   The water level is approaching one of the pumps the city uses and they are being forced to build a new pump lower in the lake.  Believe it or not, the city of Las Vegas pays its citizens to tear up their lawns and put in cacti and desertscape  landscaping. 

Additionally, the Hoover dam generates its power from the water in Lake Mead.  If Lake Mead goes dry, Las Vegas’s 1.8 million residents and the casinos will not simply be missing their drinking water but also their inexpensive source of electricity.  It seems living in the desert isn’t all that it is cracked up to be. 

Las Vegas is building a 280 mile water pipeline from northern Nevada.  To put this in perspective, that is a distance longer than Cleveland to Cincinnati.  One can only imagine what that will do for their water bills. 

Southern California is a desert and for the last  100 years they have piped in their water.  One of their aqueducts is 600 miles long.  This is the distance from Cleveland to Atlanta.  Today, no one would advocate moving water that distance, 100 years ago, this is what they did.  Even President Teddy Roosevelt assisted.  He obtained the rights to move water over this area by declaring some of the land as National Parks.  Southern California has another aqueduct and it is 400 miles long.  This drains water from the Colorado River and is a constant battle between the western states.   Mark Twain probably summed it up best when he wrote, “in the West, the whiskey is for drinking, and the water is for fighting over” This still holds true.  

One way we can help in Northern Ohio is to slow the constant paving of our lands with roads and parking lots.  This prevents rain water from returning to the ground and becoming part of the water tables.  Instead the water is channeled into storm water sewers and piped into other areas.  We should applaud an east side insurance company as they built a parking garage and left considerable green space.  It would have been easier to pave over the green space.  Let’s hope other communities, companies and developers follow suit. 

Clevelanders appreciate the lake and this is evidenced by the number of yacht clubs in the area.  As many well-heeled Clevelanders belong to yacht clubs as to country clubs.  Few regions in the country have the number or quality of yacht clubs as Cleveland.  There are numerous individuals from Columbus and from as far as Chillicothe who keep their boats on Lake Erie and drive north to enjoy the lake.    

Over 200 years ago, Cleveland’s forefathers settled this area for one reason; there was easy and plentiful access to clean, healthy drinking water.  Recently there have been “instant towns” which are created by adding water.  Anyone who has ever made instant anything, knows what happens when the water is removed.    

This area was previously known as the “Great Lakes Region”.  Unfortunately with the loss of a few large industries, we became known as the “Rust Belt Region”.  The good news is these old industries have been replaced with new more diverse and more permanent industries.  We should again refer to ourselves as the “Great Lakes Region”, or the “Good Hygiene Region” .  It will remind ourselves and others of how fortunate we are to be near these resources.    

In closing, for those of us old enough to remember our mothers’ saying, “eat your vegetables, there are people starving in China”.  We may have one for our children, “Don’t waste the water, there are people in the south who can’t take a shower”

And remember if you ever hear, “mistake on the lake”, please respond with, “at least we have a LAKE… ”

Unite or Die

Unite or Die

It’s never easy for strong willed individuals to set aside their own self interest for an unforeseen greater gain in the collective good. This is why over 250 years ago Ben Franklin first created the above artwork demonstrating the importance of joining efforts; a concept which still rings true in our own community, as the contemporary rendition was created by talented CIA graduate Graham Krausser, clearly shows. 

Initially, Flora Stone Mather (the main force behind the creation of University Circle) made sure the University Circle institutions combined their efforts, and what she understood has recently been proven by reams of economic evidence.  Quite simply, institutions are strongest when they work together and weakest when they are segmented.  As we struggle to find new ways of reinventing Cleveland, we under publicize the world class resources already established here.  If the University Circle institutions combine their marketing and other efforts, they can serve not only as the intellectual center of this great city, but also as selling point to others.  Imagine weekend tour packages which included events at The Orchestra, The Art Museum, The Gardens and other venues.  By working together, the University Circle institutions can serve to showcase our city, allowing individuals from outside the region to begin to appreciate Cleveland and understand what Clevelanders have always known and enjoyed about our great city.  

Regionalization of this microcosm is necessary for the regionalization of NE Ohio.  These leaders can easily and convincingly demonstrate the benefits regionalization can achieve, which would demonstrate to the citizens of the county the benefits of working together.  How can this community articulate the importance of regionalization and cohesiveness to the citizens of Cuyahoga County, when its own, greatest intellectual leaders refuse to do so?  We can all hope these benevolent leaders will lead by example.

The True Fountain of Youth

The True Fountain of Youth

Recent studies have proven there is a way to stay young, healthy and smart but it’s not easy and actually becomes harder as we age.  Everyone wants to drink from the fountain of youth, but few will climb the mountain to retrieve it.   What might be surprising to many, it is the ‘climbing of the mountain’, that will improve your life.  In other words, it is exercise that is the fountain of youth.  Newer studies have shown aerobic activity (particularly running), will help individuals grow new brain cells.  

Our brain consumes more blood than any other organ.  Many of the more seasoned individuals will remember the saying to ‘get your creative juices flowing’ which meant to move around.  Some of the better local schools know the importance of this and have the children move and perform light exercise to get their blood flowing and jump start their thinking.  It’s one of the main reasons for years we had recess and gym classes at schools.  It’s unfortunate during budget tightening times, these activities are being reduced or eliminated. These classes can literally make their students smarter. 

Another older line of thinking is reading, completing cross word puzzles or Sudoku improves your mind. This is certainly true, these things will help to improve your mind.  But surprisingly, exercise will help your brain more any of these mental activities.

This doesn’t suggest not to read or intellectually challenge your mind.  Exercise by itself while it will help your brain, it will not make one intelligent.  Its always been an interesting how successful men and women have for centuries have read and mentally challenged themselves. Even today there are still many intellectual and/or wealthy men and woman who, read, work with non-profits or are working to obtain their PhD’s.  

However bragging about this has never been appropriate.  There is humor from individuals who brag about their readings.  There are at least two main stream newspaper writers who have written that they ‘have read New Yorker for over 10 years’. If reading a magazine helps by introducing new information or is written well enough to improve the reader’s writing style, there is no need to mention reading it.  I have read an international publication for years and while I hope it improves my writing style and content, I won’t mention its name. 

Some might comment or think there are plenty of intelligent individuals who do little or no exercise. While this is certainly true, its interesting to wonder  how much smarter they would be if they did exercise.  Not everyone needs to run a 5k or a 42.2k race, but the trick is to do something.  The easiest and most basic exercise is to start walking. 

Not only will a person who exercise be helping their mental capacities, they will also in general be happier.  Ben Franklin in his autobiography wrote during the building of a fort, on sunny days when the people were working, there were few problems and everything progressed smoothly.  However when the weather was foul and the men couldn’t work, there were complaints about the food, arguments between men and even fights breaking out.  After watching this for 6 months, he wrote that people are only happy when they are working.  During this time, it was stated “idle hands are the devil’s workshop”  however in the 21^st century its probably more appropriate to write, “people are only happy when they are working”. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew this when he created the WPA and other works projects.  He had men and women working and staying busy.  Far better than more recent efforts that had people doing little and receiving benefits and leaders thinking this was kind to them.  They were doing these individuals a disservice.  These individuals had obviously never read Ben Franklin’s autobiography.  They failed to realized hard work never killed anyone; maybe poor health and poor nutrition but not hard work by itself.  Work actually keeps people happy.

The relationship between exercise and intelligence has been known for years.    This is why long ago the Rhodes Scholarship was set up to reward those individuals who were both an athlete and a scholar. These athletes aren’t necessary a star football player such as Mike Lanese was at Ohio State.  I have also met a Rhodes Scholar who was a crew member on a shell. Additionally it’s hard to think of former President Clinton as an athlete.  However its well known that he jogged during many of his days at the White House. 

A good friend of mine said he was an old x-athlete and I told him there is no such thing; there are simply athletes in waiting.  There are plenty of 70 to 80 year old individuals who run or exercise more than might be expected.  One friend began running marathons at 58 and has run 155 miles across the Sahara desert and scores of other endurance races. Another 70 to 80  year old  individual I met, regularly cycles across the US.  Another close friend walks 2 or 3 miles daily and ski’s whenever given the chance. Additionally, he is an accomplished pianist.  Each of these individuals are as quick and witting as any 20 or 30 year old and it’s a pleasure speaking with each.  These individuals are not simply young at heart, but also young in mind. 

A neighbor physician friend treats many seniors and he says there is a night and day difference between the patients who exercise and those that not.  This physician and his wife run regularly and they even run ½ marathons.  Another nationally, if not internationally known physician, told me if he was trying to resolve issue he would go on a run and invariably the answer would come to him.  As this individual competed in dance competitions in his younger years, he has always understood the importance of exercise.  Exercise keeps one younger and smarter. 

Previously I assisted in a 6 week healthy challenge course and the number of individuals who no longer needed their medicine for high blood pressure, diabetes or other aliments was staggering.  If you watch the NBC show “Biggest Loser” and you will see contestants on medication but after a few weeks of eating right and exercising; they no longer need them.  If your doctor recommends exercise, listen to them, if they recommend medicine, ask for an alternative.   Exercise keeps you healthy and is much less expensive then medicine. 

Pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to report the benefits of exercise to the public.   Hopefully, Nike or another athletic company would make this part of a national advertising campaign.  “Exercise and be Smarter”  Such a forward looking company could hopefully get this country moving again.   While this article won’t be published nationally at least the readers of Cool Cleveland will learn about the intellectually stimulating benefits of exercise. 

This is an immense, complicated and evolving topic and anyone who is interested in learning more on the subject should pick up one of Dr. Michael Roizen’s books. He is the Director of Wellness at the Cleveland Clinic and has created a large volume of pioneering research on aging.  His insight on flossing versus brushing and other aging related topics are worth far more than the price of the  book.  Cleveland and Clevelanders are fortunate to have the Cleveland Clinic in our backyard.  NIMBY doesn’t apply here.     

Get moving and you’ll not only feel better, but you’ll be happier, healthier and grow smarter.  The human form is roughly 200,000 years old.  Never in any of our ancestors’ background did they sit for 8 to 10 hours a day.   If you begin moving, you’ll not only probably lose a few pounds, but you’ll gain years to your life.      

There will be a few readers who adamantly disagree with this article.  One thing that is true is, if someone strongly disagrees, it’s probably because they deep down know this is correct.  As the old Hamlet saying goes, “doth protest too loudly”.

Hopefully this is good news, because after learning all the ways we have killed brain cells, it’s good to know there is a way to grow new ones.  Exercise and be healthier, be happier, live longer and most importantly be wiser.