Cleveland:: How Sweet It Is

By Gwen Graffenreed

This book tells of how a family was close-knit and how they survived by working together. The authors immediate family (Goodwin) realized that the City of Cleveland was, then and now, a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

The author lived through the Hough Race Riots in the 1960s, and at a young age, the assassination of three great world leadersPresident John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin L. King, and Robert F. Kennedy. The experience of her beloved paternal Grandma Maggies death when she was six years old impacted her life in so many ways. Gwen believes our lives are like puzzle pieces, and you continue to add on pieces; and no pieces are the same size, shape, or color.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524551919

Gwen Graffenreed

Gwen Graffenreed is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She had traveled to many exciting places. She is an experienced licensed preschool teacher. She has taught all over Cleveland as well as in Santa Ana, California. She devotes her additional time and energy to cultural and civic activities in the community. Gwen is an alumni of Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland. She is the author of Sentimental Journey. She believes that strengthening families is more valuable than dollars and cents. She is a member of African American Genealogical Society of Cleveland, Ohio. Her hobbies include writing, sewing, and creating unique ideas for the home and neighborhood.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Gwen Graffenreed. 740138

ISBN:   Softcover      978-1-5245-5192-6

             EBook          978-1-5245-5191-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 10/31/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

References:

The Beginning of My First Puzzle Piece

Second Puzzle Piece

Third Puzzle Piece

Forth Puzzle Piece

Fifth Puzzle Piece

Sixth Puzzle Piece

Seventh Puzzle Piece

Eighth Puzzle Piece

Ninth Puzzle Piece

Tenth Puzzle Piece

Eleventh Puzzle Piece

Dedication

To my family who struggled and sacrificed a lot.

To Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church Cleveland, Ohio; New Jerusalem Baptist Church Cleveland, Ohio; William Temple Church of God and Christ Cleveland, Ohio; Cory Methodist Church Cleveland, Ohio; Bethany Baptist Church Cleveland, Ohio; Lane Metropolitan Church Cleveland, Ohio; and National Mental Health Organization.

Acknowledgments

To my friends who supported me through the years; to Jocelyn Winn, for the title of my book; to Sam Norton for the photo preparation; to Julie Donaldson and Rashia Smith for their community support; to the Haynes family, Balford family, Shirley Gray, and Shirley Williams for their spiritual support; and to Cleveland Public Library—thank you.

References:

Call and Post

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Black American in Cleveland by Russell H. Davis

Renaissance Magazine An Historical Black Viewpoint of Cleveland 1991

Census tract

Wikipedia

Our family migrated from Laurel, Mississippi, located in the southeast region of the State of Mississippi to the State of Ohio between 1920s to 1930s. Laurel was an industrial place and known as a mill town. It has been the site of Native American’s camp, city of slaves holding and the segregated community. The men in the family, paternal and maternal side, were carpenters and learned many of trades. The women were homemakers and seamstress. They could read, write, and hard workers that had the expertise and knowledge to obtain employment with City of Cleveland.

Cleveland was an ideal place to be then and now. The Goodwin Family (my great-grandfather Frank is Choctaw Indian and great-grandma Mamie is Irish)

Cleveland was diverse according to the 1930s United States Census; and residence places of birth were Alabama, Georgia, Germany, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Italy, Russia, and Tennessee.

Living is not easy, but what you make of it. I believe our journey begins the day we are conceived. It’s what our parents do before we are born and after we are born. I believe life is like a puzzle and there are no exact pieces and no perfect family.

We do have a family. Our family is much different from the family I grew up with. The family I grew up with were close-knit, loved large family celebration with Grandma and Granddaddy, Mom. Dad, sister, brothers, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

The older family members are deceased. Although our family has individual family celebration all around the city of Cleveland, Ohio, in the suburbs and out of town, we make an effort to stay connected by phone, letter, cards, e-mails, and a few on Facebook. Our family reunions have always been exciting in various cities and states; Cleveland, Chicago, Anderson, Indiana, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Hampton, Virginia. Even though we have our differences, we do realize we are family. We will continue to have family reunions to enjoy the past and the future—to keep the Cleveland connection together.

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Great-uncle Bill and Aunt Josephine

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Great-grandma, Great-aunt