Rain showers early becoming more intermittent overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..
Rain showers early becoming more intermittent overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
In 1597, Juliet wondered “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” and in 1913 poet Gertrude Stein answered, “A rose is a rose is a rose.”
Cleveland bears the name of its founder Moses Cleaveland who surveyed the territory and negotiated safe passage with the Indians. The ones that did not play baseball or had their name changed in a fit of PC pique.
As it turned out, Moses’ way of spelling Cleaveland was appropriate. As all who live here know, the city and its burbs are “cleaved” by the Cuyahoga River to create two cities – the “east side” and a “west side” – and rarely the twain do meet.
Somewhere along the way, the middle “a” was dropped and Cleaveland became plain old Cleveland and plain is its most enduring problems along with maintaining a positive image. It is regularly the butt of jokes told by comedians for cheap laughs.
There was the time the river became so polluted it caught fi re which was viewed as a laugh riot by everyone but Clevelanders. Not long after that, the then mayor Ralph Perk opened an American Society for Metals event by cutting the ribbon with a torch and managed to catch his hair on fire. Then the mayor’s wife turned down a presidential dinner at the White House because it conflicted with her bowling night.
It goes on and on like that.
Do you remember when a group of Cleveland deciders said the city would not be complete without a slogan? They reasoned that if New York could call itself “The Big Apple” surely Cleveland could fi nd a symbol just as delectable.
But reason was not in the cards when they decided Cleveland would be “The Plum,” all juicy and sweet and the symbol of something “choice.” Wrong again and more jokes followed. Plums have stones at their heart, are wrinkled and serve as a home remedy for constipation.
And so, the city continues to struggle to find a meaningful describer, a magical word or phrase that would set it apart from all others and be so roll-off -the-tongue clever it would be embraced by all. Cleveland won the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and became “the Rock ‘n Roll Capital of the World” after proving the term was birthed in Cleveland by legendary local disc jockey Alan Freed.
Later there was “Cleveland Rocks!” named as such by Englishman Ian Hunter in 1979. It is an anthem still sung at Browns football games. But the performance of the city’s sports teams as “lovable losers” has not gone unnoticed by Hollywood.
The movie “Draft Day” is an unintended fairytale in which Kevin Costner plays the Browns general manager as a genius. A great movie even though suspended disbelief is required. Before “Draft Day” there was “Major League” in which the Cleveland Indians – tagline: “When oddballs play hardball” – win the World Series.
Then there is “LeBron” – whose last name is not needed when talking about the high school basketball phenom who became the real deal for the Cavs for seven seasons interrupted by a brief romance with the Miami Heat basketball team.
The city forgave him his infidelity when he came back to make good on his promise of a national championship and later when he left town for the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron and Northeast Ohio-bred rapper Machine Gun Kelly popularized “The Land” – shorthand for Cleveland – and “Believeland” was the title of Andy Billman’s “always next year” documentary film as a tribute to fans who “love the Browns, Indians, and Cavs no matter what they do to them.”
It has all been for naught and a once-and-for-all Cleveland describer has remained elusive.
Ohio has been better at branding itself. It is the “Birthplace of Presidents,” eight of them, and “Birthplace of Aviation,” thanks to Wilbur and Orville Wright.
“Beautiful Ohio” is the designated state song although “Hang on Sloopy” has long replaced it as its more modern anthem played by The Ohio State University marching band which is “The Best Damned Band in the Land” and set the gold standard for performing it.
But in recent years, Ohio has lost some of identity too. It is no longer the nation’s “bellwether state,” dubbed as such because its demographics matched that of the nation.
Ohio has correctly predicted the outcome of most presidential races since 1860, with the exceptions of 1944, 1960 and 2020. “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation” became its motto every four years.
That was when the state was a purple “swing state,” a “battleground state” where every vote was key and the media paid attention. Ohio took center stage every election night.
As near as anyone can tell, Ohio’s fall from grace began in 2016 when it voted for Donald Trump and four years later when they did it again even after the future one-term president said unkind things about beloved LeBron.
Today, Ohio is politically red as red can be and that makes an odd sort of sense. The state flower is a carnation, tomato juice is its official drink and its signature bird is the cardinal. All are red.
Then there is the state’s famous Buckeye tree. It may not turn red in the fall but it does produce a massive number of nuts which are toxic to humans, make a mess in the fall and are difficult to get rid of.
Barbara Christian’s words have appeared on the pages of Chagrin Falls newspapers for more than a half-century. Email her at: chagbarb@aol.com
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.