Eastlake Celebrates Its Seniors--Martha Klancher--October 2010

Martha Richards Klancher, who settled in Eastlake in the 1950s, is a direct descendant of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Perry Island in Lake Erie and Perry's Monument on said island are named after him. If you remember, he led the Lake Erie fleet to victory during the War of 1812.

Martha herself was born in Medina, Ohio, on December 6, 1920 to Ralph and Olive (Perry) Richards. She had two brothers and three sisters. Her father had been a Marine who had served in Panama during the building of the Panama Canal. The military had been called in to help stop the natives from stealing all of the supplies.

Martha fell in love with her next-door neighbor named John Klancher. They were married in Cleveland in 1939. They lived in a Slovenian neighborhood near East 66th Street and St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland. John worked as a flame hardener. This work entailed a specialized way of hardening steel. The family moved first to 349th Street in Eastlake. They had three children: John, now deceased but whose family still lives in Eastlake, June who married an Eastlake boy name Gary Barr and has moved to Florida, and William who resides in Willoughby.

For 32 years Martha worked at Leece Neville in Cleveland. The company made radio parts and parts for automobiles. While working for this company Martha bowled on a shop league that met on 30th St. in Cleveland. Her husband had been an excellent left-handed bowler. For fun they would often take the children to bowl at the Vine Lanes Bowling Alley. This was located in the area now occupied by the Sears Store.

The Klancher family moved to 332nd Street in the 1960s. Her daughter attended North High School the first year that it opened. Across from the school had been a large crop farm.

Martha remembers her daughter and her daughter's friends with their beehive hairdos. The girls enjoyed attending Teen Town. This was a place that young people would go to dance. The Hall was located on the corner of Campbell Road and Vine Street. This would be where the Charter One Bank is today.

As a family they enjoyed tent camping. The longer vacations would take them to Canada, but the weekends would be spent at Pymatuning. Martha enjoyed cooking the walleye fish the family would catch but not cleaning them.

Mrs. Klancher has always been a long-time tea drinker. She still steams the water on the stove. Her grandmother, who lived with the Richards family when Martha was a little girl, was of English descent. She always insisted that the tea be served in proper manner. It was placed in a tea pot to keep it warm. It was one of Martha's jobs to make sure that it stayed that way throughout the day.

Pinochle is a card game that Martha has always enjoyed playing, but these days she can be found at the Eastside Irish American Club playing Kaluki. It is a card game with similar properties to Rummy. Mrs. Klancher is a member of the Saint Justin Martyr Church. She enjoys reading mysteries and enjoys living in Eastlake very much.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the Eastlake Historical Society.

EASTLAKE CELEBRATES ITS SENIORS