January 31, 2012
Ernest J. Bohn Political Memorabilia
Ernest John Bohn was always especially proud of two of his achievements: he wrote and obtained passage of the Ohio Public Housing Act, the first in the nation; and he was the first director of the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), the first housing authority organized in the United States. He was often referred to as "the father of public housing," a distinction based not only on his work in Cleveland and in Ohio, but also on his prominence on the national scene, his lobbying efforts, especially for the 1937 U.S. Housing Act, and his involvement in every housing advocacy group of consequence. At his retirement in 1968, he could claim credit for presiding over the building of 10,684 units of "decent, safe and sanitary housing...for low income and elderly families" and for planning for 1,885 more. He was clearly and proudly dedicated to the cause of housing.
Born in Sannicolau Mare, Romania, on May 12, 1901, Bohn immigrated to America with his widowed father in 1911. In 1919 he graduated from East Tech High School in Cleveland and went on to graduate from Adelbert College of Western Reserve University (WRU) in 1924 and the WRU Law School in 1926. He practiced law in Cleveland from 1926 to 1938.
Campaign button for Cleveland’s progressive (and Democratic) mayor Tom L. Johnson belonging to Bohn. Johnson died in 1911, the year young Ernest J. Bohn immigrated to America. “Tom L. Johnson & 3 cent Fare. circa 1907. 3.5 cm diameter” Johnson inspired reform candidates from both political parties
Before he found his life's work in the housing problems which confronted Cleveland in the great depression, Bohn was active in Cleveland and Ohio politics as a highly visible and often quoted Republican Party organizer and candidate. Among his papers is his usher’s pin and ribbon for the republican national convention, held in Cleveland in 1924. Early in his career he was elected to a term in the Ohio House of Representatives [1928], and from 1930 to 1940 he was elected to successive terms on the Cleveland City Council.
A cherished memento: Usher’s pin with ribbon: “Usher. Republican National Convention. Cleveland Ohio 1924. 12.5 cm (h) with white ribbon”
Bohn never lost sight of his goal to further the cause of public housing and though he remained devoted to the Republican Party he accepted the reality of politics which dictated that he work with politicians and government officials of all stripes in order to succeed.
As the Special Collections Research Center nears completion of an updated guide to The Ernest J. Bohn Housing and Planning Library we offer images of selected political memorabilia from the collection.
Campaign pins for Republican presidential candidates from left to right: “War in Europe. Peace in America. God Bless Wilson. circa. 1916. 2 cm. diameter”; “Keep Coolidge. circa. 1924. 1.5 cm. diameter”; “For President. Herbert Hoover. circa. 1928. 2 cm. diameter”; “Landon. Deeds Not Deficits. circa. 1936. 2 cm. diameter”
For additional information about the Ernest J. Bohn Housing & Planning Library contact the Special Collections Research Center in the Kelvin Smith Library at Case Western Reserve University.
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January 03, 2012
2011 Views in Review
As the calendar page turns from 2011 to 2012 we would like to share more updates and interesting developments related to a few of last year’s topics:
Our August post on the survey of Special Collections World War I resources contained a reference to the Thomas Slavin gift of 50 images taken by commercial photographers Underwood & Underwood for distribution to news-bureaus during that era. The gift, noted then as "in process" has recently been added to Digital Case as The Underwood & Underwood. WWI Photographs.
"Disabled Heroes Being Taught New Trades." circa 1919 From the Underwood & Underwood Collection of World War I Photographs. Gift of Thomas Slavin
When we wrote about the collections in the Case Archive of Contemporary Science and Technology in September we could not foresee the events that would unfold bringing staff members into closer connection with History of Science and Technology groups meeting in Cleveland last fall. An invitation extended by NASA Chief Archivist Jane Odom presented an opportunity to archivists Helen Conger {University Archives) and Nora Blackman (Special Collections) to speak at the NASA Annual History Meeting on November 1st at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on our holdings related to T. Keith Glennan, President of CIT (1947-1966) and first NASA Administrator (1958-1961), and the Case Archive.
A second invitation was extended by Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Chair of the Engineering Education Working Group of The Prometheans - The Society for the History of Technology’s engineering SIG) to attend the November 5th session: Reexamining the Origins of the History of Technology at Case at the SHOT Annual Meeting.
The session featured the following papers, which underscored the value of our primary sources in the field of Engineering Education:
Bruce Seely (Michigan Technological University): Mel Kranzberg and SHOT’s Creation Story: “And How Does One Go About Forming a New Scholarly Society?”
Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute): Implementing Liberal-Professional Education at Case Institute of Technology
Robert C. Post (National Museum of American History): Mel Kranzberg’s Return to Ithaca
Lastly, in October we wrote about Octavofest activities in Special Collections. If you haven’t seen the results of the juried art competition be sure to read about the winners and view their submissions
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November 29, 2011
The Fritz Sage Darrow Papers in the Special Collections Research Center
In 1930, the Case Library, a private Cleveland, Ohio library affiliated with Western Reserve University (WRU) purchased the library of Fritz Sage Darrow. The library contained Darrow’s personal papers and his professional papers which included drafts, supporting documentation and rare books collected in his extensive research into the life and work of Francis Mercurius van Helmont, a 17th century alchemist, cabbalist and physician. James Holly Hanford, WRU professor of English and childhood friend of Darrow, took a keen interest in the disposition of the Darrow library, creating a six-page overview of the material around the time that the collection was acquired.
Hanford’s view was understandably trained on the Helmontia found in the collection and in preserving the final draft of Darrow’s Bibliography of Francis Mercurius van Helmont, but scholars have also shown interest in Darrow’s personal papers, particularly as they reflect his involvement in the International Theosophical Society and one of its earliest and most charismatic leaders, Katherine Tingley.
Darrow (1882-1929) was born in Rochester, New York in 1882 to Charles E. and Isabel Sage Darrow. He graduated from Harvard University (A.B., 1903, A.M., 1904, PhD, 1906) and earned many scholastic honors there including Harvard College Scholar (1902), John Harvard Scholar (1903), and Charles Eliot Norton Fellow. He was a Member of the American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece (1903-1904A)
Frontispiece with portraits of father and son as part of the elaborate engraving. From: Ortus Medicinae by Jean Baptiste van Helmont and edited by [his son] Francis Mercurius van Helmont. 1648. This volume was originally part of the library of Fritz Sage Darrow.
Darrow served as instructor of Classical Archeology in the Harvard Summer School (1906), Adjunct Professor of Greek at Dickenson College (1906-1907) and Professor of Greek at Drury College (1907-1910). He sought to write the definitive life of van Helmont, though for several reasons (primarily the war in Europe, family crises, and professional setbacks) he abandoned his years of scholarly effort in this area around 1915.
Also a prominent Theosophist, Darrow was the author of many works about that philosophy. He lived with his wife and children for a time at the International Theosophical Headquarters in Point Loma, California. After divorcing from his wife in 1919, Darrow returned to Rochester where he remarried and became director of the Rochester Business Institute. He died in 1929
Today, the bound volumes from the Darrow library are part of the Special Collections book collection, but are not described by their provenance except for the Case Library bookplate inside each cover.
The Fritz Sage Darrow Papers, dating from the years 1897-1920, consist of Darrow’s research regarding van Helmont, including most of the supporting documentation and a final draft of his Bibliography of Francis Mercurius van Helmont, many of his articles on Theosophy, as well as clippings and correspondence concerning his resignation from Drury College and his divorce.
We invite you to consult the finding aid for the Fritz Sage Darrow Papers for more information about Darrow and his work.
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