EASTLAKE CELEBRATES ITS SENIORS

If you’ve ever had a house built or construction done by Hayward Construction you know someone in Bob Hayward’s family.

Bob Hayward was born January 17, 1927 on Woodward Road in Eastlake. One might ask, where is Woodward Road? It is the street we currently call 348th Street. Bob explained how most of the streets had names back then, not numbers; Lincoln Road is now 351st Street, Campbell Road is 337th, Biedler Road is 361st, etc. He also said that the city streets named Lori Ann and Lou Ann were named after his nieces.

His parents, Elmer and Anna (Kameyar) Hayward, settled on Woodward Road and raised 11 children. Two brothers, Bill and Larry, and a sister, Pat Groskoph, are still living. His father was Canadian and his mother was of Czechoslovakian descent.

In the early days his father had been a mechanic, but through professional acquaintances he acquired construction equipment. From there and having such a handy family the construction business just took off.

Bob Hayward attended Longfellow Elementary school located at the end of his street. He was not a tall child, but in sixth grade he played basketball and remembers getting his first athletic letter. He went on to graduate from Union High School in 1944.

That same year Bob joined the Army and was stationed in Japan. Here he saw the remains of much devastation caused from the war. He worked as a jeep driver for the officers.

On Oct 9, 1948, he married Joan Stark at the Immaculate Conception church in Willoughby. I am sad to report that Joan passed away a year ago. As a young couple a date might have included going to the indoor movie theater on Vine Street in Willoughby or attending the drive-in theater on Vine Street in Eastlake. The drive-in was located in the vicinity of where Wal-Mart is now. Bob also remember a drive-in restaurant, located where Aaron’s is now, called the Henny Penny. The franchise didn’t last long but it was a place to go on a date.

In 1950, he purchased two lots on Quentin Road (50x150) for $750. The couple raised three children on Quentin Road: Kathleen, Thomas and Jeff. Jeff still lives in Eastlake. Bob has seven grandchildren and his third great-grandchild is on the way.

For a number of years Bob worked as a carpenter for the family business. He and his son Jeff have gone on to work for Yanesh Construction Co. Jeff’s memories include riding mini-bikes in the field located next to H & H Cycle on Vine St. It is too bad that there is no place like this for the youth of today to ride.

The family would occasionally venture down to the intersection of Vine Street and Lakeshore Boulevard. Here you could park the car and climb down the side of the hill to get to the beach along Lake Erie. It was a popular place to hang out. The beach had nice sand, which was a couple of hundred feet from the hill to the water, and the water was not polluted.

The family was also avid campers. They liked to go to Punderson State Park and to Pymatuning. What once began as tent camping ended up as camping in a motor home. Bob bought a membership in the Thousand Trails Campground and the family began seeing the USA. They traveled from one end to the other and have many fond memories of their adventures. Bob and Joan both enjoyed the many nice people that they met along the way. Bob had bought a direct TV antennae for use in the motor home. It has since come in handy in the family home, with the switch to digital TV.

Mr. Hayward has belonged to the Legion Hall in Willowick for 29 years. He prefers to spend his time watching professional sports. (Anything with a ball.) Besides rooting for the Cleveland teams he is also a big fan of Ohio State.

As a young man he played hardball for the Lake County League that met in Fairport. Don Shula and John Mummey were some of his teammates. Interests switched the league play to “Blooper Ball,” or high arc pitch.

We discussed the many ways that a family had food delivered to their home in the early days: There was the milk man, Star Bakery brought bread and Charley Chips delivered pretzels and chips. Bob remembers a business called Heinz Nursery, where Wendy’s is currently located. They would slaughter meat there and bring it to your home.

This article is brought to you by the Eastlake Historical Society. If you are or know of someone who is 80 years old or older and has lived in Eastlake for at least 50 years, please let us know by writing to the Eastlake Historical Society, c/o Eastlake City Hall, 35150 Lakeshore Blvd., Eastlake, OH 44095.

Read January 2010's article about Bob Turner

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