Audio and Video Stories
Shaker Heights Cable Access Television Programming
“Shaker Life” was a half-hour program aired on local cable access in the 1970s-1990s which profiled the events, people, and issues of the community of Shaker Heights, Ohio. It was produced by the City of Shaker Heights, with producer/director Douglas Drake and, after Drake’s death in 1983, Cynthia Merrick. These programs were donated to the Shaker Library Local History Collection by Doug Drake’s widow, Nola Drake, and their digitization from U-Matic format was made possible by generous support from Shaker Heights residents Sara and Brian Sullivan from Second Story Productions, the William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Foundation, and the Northeast Ohio Broadcast Archives at John Carroll University. The collection also contains several episodes of the Shaker Cable Access Television program “The Library Comes to You,” conceived and produced by Shaker Heights Public Librarian Kathy Englehart in 1983, and funded by a federal Library Services and Construction Act grant.
Presentations, Videos, Websites and other Multi-Media
- “Cuyahoga County Keeps its Feet on the Ground While Reaching for the ‘Heights.’ OH Really?” Kabir Bhatia, WCPN, February 24, 2022.
- “Harold Burton: From Cleveland Mayor to Supreme Court Justice.” Joseph G. Blake, a Zoom presentation at Shaker Heights Public Library, October 19, 2022.
- “How to Successfully Navigate the Shaker Schools, Then and Now: Connecting for Equity & Black Excellence.” SHARE-Families & School, a presentation at Shaker Heights Public Library, August 24, 2024. Panelists: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., Al Foster, Dr. Donna M. Whyte, John Addison, Judge Emanuella D. Groves, Nya Clark, and Dr. Vilma Seeberg, moderated by Tony Peebles.
- “Ludlow: A Revolution in Grassroots Integration.” Josh Podl and Jacob Voyzey. Shaker Heights High School. National History Day senior group website, 2014.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaks at Heights Christian Church in Shaker Heights in 1965. A WEWS NewsChannel 5 video vault find by Tom Livingston includes an extended clip of Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking on the steps of Heights Christian Church in July 1965, and scenes of the audience and picketers. Runs from 2:12 to 4:34 (with clips of other appearances).
- “Meeting at the Gate,” a documentary about the North Union Colony of Shakers produced by the Shaker Historical Society, part 1 and part 2.
- Project Discovery: A Demonstration in Education, 1965. Produced by Irving Rusinow, a 30-minute film on Encyclopedia Britannica’s experiment in filmstrip-based curricula at Mercer Elementary School in Shaker Heights. Principal Alice Van Deusen, teacher Mimi Weber, and several students are featured.
- Shaker Historical Society Oral History Forum, November 5-7, 2013. A series of interviews of Shaker residents, exploring their diverse experiences of living in Shaker Heights and the meaning of utopia. The conversations were held at the Shaker Historical Society in front of audiences during three consecutive evenings. November 5: Boulevard, Fernway, Lomond; November 6: Ludlow, Malvern, Mercer; November 7: Moreland, Onaway, Sussex.
- “Shaker in Sound, 1959-1960,” side 1 and side 2, from the 45 rpm vinyl included with the 1960 Shaker Heights High School Gristmill yearbook “Sounds of Shaker,” featuring Paul Newman (SHHS 1943), Don Stern (SHHS 1960), the Student Body, and others. Technician: James Weidner.
- “The Shakers in Ohio & North Union.“ Shaker Historical Society Director Brianna Treleven, a presentation to the Zoar Historic Village, October 2, 2021. [Note: viewers need to be logged into Facebook to watch this presentation.]
- “The Vans Remake the Face of Cleveland, 1905-1936.” Joseph G. Blake, a presentation at Shaker Heights Public Library, August 3, 2019. See also accompanying PowerPoint presentation.
- “What started in living rooms decades ago has left a lasting legacy in Shaker Heights.” Amanda Merrell, with Shelley Stokes-Hammond. News5Cleveland.com, February 21, 2020.
Essays, articles and theses on Shaker Heights
- Pete Beatty, “Train Dreams Part 1“; “Train Dreams Part 2“; “Train Dreams Part 3.” Belt Magazine.
- Arnie Berger, “The History of Shaker Square.” ShakerSquare.net
- Megan Chew, “Shaker Heights’ Revolt Against Highways.” Ohio State University, 2009. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center.
- Virginia P. Dawson, “Protection from Undesirable Neighbors: The Use of Deed Restrictions in Shaker Heights, Ohio.” Journal of Planning History 18:2, May 2019.
- Virginia P. Dawson, “Saving the Shaker Lakes: How an Alliance between Two Wealthy Suburbs and Cleveland’s Black Mayor Stopped the Clark Freeway.” Journal of Planning History 22:3, August 2023.
- Virginia P. Dawson, “Shaker Square and the Shaker Schools.” ShakerSquare.net.
- Alysse Eberhard, Marissa Miller, and Rachel Shaw, “100 Years of Shaker in the Making.” The Shakerite, July 5, 2012.
- Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. “Shaker Heights.”
- Molly Nackley Feghali, Interracial Conflict at a Diverse High School: How School and Community Structures Shape Students’ Experiences. Cleveland State University, 2018. Engaged Scholarship, Cleveland State University.
- James Donovan Hart, No Bowling Allowed: The Challenge of Commercial Revitalization and Racial Integration in Shaker Heights, Ohio (1976-1992). A Professional Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters in City and Regional Planning, May 2003.
- Meghan Hays, “Florence Ellinwood Allen: First Lady of the Law.” Cleveland Archival News 2:1, February 2020, pp. 31-33.
- Ludlow Community Association, “Cosmopolitan Pioneers: Interracial Living a Success in Cleveland Suburb,” 1967.
- Jeffrey S. Morris, “The Haymarket to the Heights,” 2014.
- Marian Morton, “Deferring Dreams: Racial and Religious Covenants in Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, 1925 to 1970.” Teaching Cleveland, 2010. The PDF transcript is here.
- Marian J. Morton, “Florence E. Allen, Cleveland’s Most Famous Woman Almost No Clevelanders Today Have Heard Of.” Teaching Cleveland, 2021. The PDF transcript is here.
- Nichole Nelson, “‘The Good Life in Shaker Heights’: Integrating One of Cleveland’s Most Iconic Suburbs.” The Metropole, October 2017.
- Cynthia Mills Richter, Integrating the Suburban Dream: Shaker Heights, Ohio. University of Minnesota, 1999. Available under ‘Digital Resources’ by permission of the author.
- Shaker Heights Public Library. 75 Years: An Informal History of Shaker Heights, 1987.
- Will Stewart, “More Than a Century in the Making: Coming renovations will add to 106 years of Woodbury’s stories, history and structures,” The Shakerite, May 15, 2024.
- Shelley Stokes-Hammond, “Recognizing Ludlow: A National Treasure; A Community That Stood Firm For Equality.” Master’s Thesis in Historic Preservation, Goucher College, 2011.
Growing Up in Shaker Heights
- Joseph G. Blake, SHHS 1964, “Fernway Memories.” November 2018.
- Kenneth A. Bravo, SHHS 1960, “Moreland School.” October 2018.
- Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi), “Hi, I’m Scott.” TEDxSHHS, February 2015.
- Marian Morton, HB 1955, “I Am Proud of Malvern.” August 2024.
- David Wain, SHHS 1987, “Tour of Shaker Heights, 1978.”
“Witness to History with Donna M. Whyte”: Interviews of Moreland neighborhood residents.
Usually recorded on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 6pm. Contact Neighborhood & Housing Specialist Theo Darden IV at 216-491-1333 or theodore.darden@shakerheightsoh.gov to verify timing and receive the Zoom link.
- Earline Hooper, July 12, 2020
- Iris Anderson, August 9, 2020
- Vicki Victoria and Harry Levine, September 13, 2020
- Cordelia Huffman, October 11, 2020
- Ernest and Janet Jenkins, November 8, 2020
- Berttina and James Walker, December 13, 2020
- Ceil Baldridge, February 14, 2021
- Carmella Williams, March 14, 2021
- Chiquitia and Crystal Montgomery, April 11, 2021
- Larry and Brenda Ford, May 16, 2021
- Sam Hooper, June 13, 2021
- George S. Eaton, July 11, 2021
- Alice and Amy Gardner, August 8, 2021
- John Dutton, September 19, 2021
- JoAnn, Rachel and Charlo Jemison, October 24, 2021
- Jim and JoAn Perkins, November 14, 2021
- Pam Fletcher, January 9, 2022
- Calvin McIntyre, February 6, 2022
- Al Foster, March 13, 2022
- Theodore Darden IV, April 10, 2022
- Shirley Ramsey, May 15, 2022
- Sabrina Heath, June 12, 2022
- Theodore Darden III, July 10, 2022
- Robert “Bobby” O’Neal, August 14, 2022
- Mariama Whyte, September 11, 2022
- Donna McIntyre Whyte, October 16, 2022
- Sheila Gardner, November 13, 2022
- Vanessa Shaw, December 11, 2022
- Hellie Stovall, January 15, 2023
- Ronda Wright, February 19, 2023
- Monica Boone, March 12, 2023
- East View United Church of Christ, April 16, 2023
- Danita Grigsby, May 21, 2023
- MeShelle Barclay, June 11, 2023
- David Owens, July 16, 2023
- Crystal Bowden, August 13, 2023
- Darryl Bell, September 17, 2023
- Dwight Gilmore, October 8, 2023
- Andrena Sharp, November 12, 2023
- Tammi Hayes, December 10, 2023
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1965 visit to Shaker Heights, January 14, 2024
- Reverend Walter Ratcliffe, February 18, 2024
- Earline Hooper (encore), March 10, 2024
- Darlene Garrison, April 21, 2024
- Pat Lanzy, May 19, 2024
- Sophronia Hairston, June 9, 2024
- Moreland Elementary Memories: Carmen Ellington Coleman, Miata Whyte Hunter, Janessa Hill Slade, Mariama Whyte, July 21, 2024
- Moreland Elementary Collected Memories, August 18, 2024 (recorded 8/4/24)
Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection
Cleveland State University’s Center for Public History + Digital Humanities conducted interviews with Shaker Heights residents for several different projects:
- Shaker Lakes Nature Center Interviews
- Shaker Heights 2012 Centennial Interviews
- All interviews with Shaker Heights content
See also their more user-friendly Cleveland Voices platform containing the same interviews.
Walking Tours
From 1982 to 2005 the Landmark Commission of the City of Shaker Heights produced self-guided walking and driving architectural tours of Shaker Heights, organized around the work of a prominent architect or a particular architectural style. Each included background information on the architect or style, and a map of the city showing the location of relevant homes.
Beginning with the city’s 2012 Centennial, the City of Shaker Heights’ Landmark Commission and the Shaker Library’s Local History Collection have co-hosted an occasional series of Architectural Walking Tours:
- Centennial Tour of Local Landmarked Homes, led by Local History Librarian Meghan Hays and City of Shaker Heights Senior Planner Ann Klavora, 2012
- Tour of Winslow Road Historic District, led by Local History Librarian Meghan Hays and historic architecture guide Ken Goldberg, 2013
- Tour of Homes of Architect Harry Shupe, led by residents/researchers Dozie Herbruck and Pat Agatisa, 2014
- Tour of Malvern neighborhood, led by architect Phillip Dodd, 2017
- Tour of Warrensville West Cemetery, led by Local History Librarian Meghan Hays and City of Shaker Heights Planner Cameron Roberts, 2019
- Warrensville West Cemetery Self-Guided Tour, designed by Shaker Historical Society interns, May 2022
The City of Shaker Heights has also gathered these and other self-guided tours here.
Cleveland Historic Maps
Shaker Heights and Cleveland change over time on this interactive site of historic maps. Created with information from the Digital Gallery at the Cleveland Public Library and the Cleveland transportation history maps resource Rails and Trails.
Cleveland Historical
Map-based, multimedia presentations and curated historical tours of Shaker Heights and Northeast Ohio, developed with Cleveland State University’s Center for Public History + Digital Humanities. Cleveland Historical and the Shaker Buildings Database together formed the grant-funded “Historic Shaker” project, created to commemorate Shaker Heights’ 2012 Centennial.