Eastlake Celebrates Its Seniors--Don Bard--November 2010

Donald Allen Bard has been friends with Robert Frank Janos since back in the 1930s when they lived as neighborhood children on Hulett Avenue. They are still friends today and I met with both of them around Don's dining room table. Many of their stories are similar because they have spent so much time in each other's company. In this month's issue I will discuss the life and times of Don Bard. In the next month's issue I will be happy to speak about Bob Janos in more detail.

Don was born March 31, 1923, in Akron, Ohio. His family lived on Hulett at that time, but it was customary for the woman giving birth to be surrounded by the women in her family to help facilitate the delivery of the baby. His Lowe grandparents resided in Akron, so that is where he was born. Don has one sister, Jean, married to Jim Ferness, and one brother, Robert M. Bard, who both live in Eastlake. Their parents were Frank R. and Carrie (Lowe) Bard. Frank had worked as a day laborer and helped to build Longfellow Elementary School, a school that all of his children attended.

On November 28, 1947, Don married Margaret Mary McCoy. They were married through the Immaculate Conception Church in Willoughby. Because Don was not Catholic they were not entitled to a church wedding, but the priest married them in the eyes of God. Don had to sign a paper swearing that their children would be raised in the Catholic faith, a promise which Don made good. The couple has four children, all of which still live in Eastlake; Donald, Timothy, Mrs. Jean Halerz and William. The Bard family began on Hulett Avenue, but currently resides on Rokeby Road.

Mr. Bard explained to me that he had been told by his high school English teacher, Cleo Sawyer, that many of the roads in Eastlake had been named after characters in the Waverley Novels, written by Sir Walter Scott.

Don was raised during the Depression. Kids didn't know that they were poor, but they were. He remembers that as a child one of the fun things to do was to ride a bicycle by the deli store owned by the Matau family. This was located on the corner of Waverly and Vine Street. They would place magazines with wonderful Western motifs in the window. The owners would never let you peek inside, like they do today. If you wanted to see it, you had to buy it.

In Don's youth he was inflicted with scarlet fever. His home was placed under quarantine. A sign was placed on the door warning all to BEWARE! No one could enter for fear of becoming contaminated. This lasted all summer. His grandfather, brother and sister all had to sleep on a tent in the backyard because they had never had the disease. This illness caused Don to have a very high fever. He remembers bleeding from his ears. His skin was flakey and fell off his arms. He would hold it up to the window for the neighborhood kids to see. He is grateful for vaccinations. He remembers, as a child, some of his neighbors dying from polio. In the summer months he would always fear for his own children. He remembers getting the Salk and Sabin vaccinations. He and his family stood in long lines in Euclid to take a sugar cube that contained the vaccine. He also remembers something similar but it ended with an inoculation. (Not as "sweet" as a sugar cube.)

In his youth Don proved to be a very athletic child. He attended Willoughby Union High School and graduated in 1942. Here he played football, basketball and baseball. He was also a successful boxer. At this time the school would host boxing tournaments. A plaque hangs on the wall of the current Willoughby Tech Center praising Don for his athletic prowess. Jokingly, Don said the reason he was so good at boxing was because he had to milk the goats before he went to school. Once he arrived, the other students would complain about how he smelled. This would cause him to want to punch out their lights. He also said that while he was in school the Willoughby students looked down upon the Eastlake students. Eastlake had no sewers and the homes still used privies.

The men told stories about war rations. Things like cheese, butter, sugar, cigarettes, gasoline and meat all had to be rationed because they were hard to come by during World War II. A system using a coupon book was put in place to keep people from having more than their fair share. Not only that, but you had to be a regular customer of some stores to be considered for the supplies that the business owner had in their possession. They were very loyal to their regular customers, and treated them with specialty.

During World War II, Don served in the U. S. Army, in the European Theater Operation. He served under General Patton. Don did not feel that Patton was well liked by the men who served under him, but he sure knew how to win a battle. Mr. Bard was in the 71st Division of the Third Army. He served as an Artillery Gunner Corporal. His division was known to have seen action further east that any other, going as far as Austria. He is presently a member of the VFW located on Vine Street.

When Don came home he worked for Addressograph-Multigraph as a machine operator.

A place that he enjoyed going on a date was to the Alpine Village, located downtown. It was similar to the Hofbrau House. It had good beer and good music.

Don Bard is a Democrat. He has always been a union man and he believes that the Democratic party tends to lean more in this direction. When he lived on Hulett Avenue he used to vote at Longfellow Elementary School. Now that he lives on Rokeby Road he votes at North High School, in the wrestling gym. When he started voting the election machines were mechanical with levers that one would push down. He liked them. Now with the devices that they are using today he finds it more comfortable to vote absentee. It comes to his house and he can take his time in reading and returning it. In his earlier days he did not feel that candidates used as much signage to gain your vote. He passed out literature at the polls to help get Mayor Bob Brown elected. Mr. Bard was instrumental in helping to set up the Eastlake Little League. He and Bob Janos also helped to get the flagpoles named in the Boulevard of Flags.

Most of the information that one gathered back in Eastlake's early history came from a newspaper. Some of the names of the newspapers that have been delivered in the Eastlake area are the Cleveland Press, Cleveland News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, The News Herald, Willoughby Republican, Times Leader, Painesville Telegraph and the Eastlake Gazette. When very important news was just released late at night, news carriers were brought out from the city. They would walk up and down the streets saying, "Extra, extra, read all about it!" Don remembers that the news of the Lindbergh baby murder case was delivered in such a manner.

EASTLAKE CELEBRATES ITS SENIORS