[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CELEBRATING 110 YEARS OF THE EAST TOLEDO FAMILY CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2011

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize a milestone on the 
long road of service of the East Toledo Family Center in my District. 
At this Sunday's annual Renaissance Gala, our community will pay 
tribute to this achievement. The East Toledo Family Center is an 
incredible community-building resource. Every year, its dedicated staff 
and volunteers touch the lives of thousands of citizens of all ages--
for recreation, health care, meals, community activities, holiday 
gatherings and family support. Every neighborhood should be so 
fortunate as to have such a welcoming, caring, and effective community 
center. The East Toledo Family Center surely is the heart of East 
Toledo.
  Nearly 110 years ago, according to the Center's historical records, 
on Sunday, August 4th, 1901, Rev. H.W. Hoover held a tent meeting on 
factory grounds owned by D.J. Nysewander in East Toledo. A list 
survives of those who contributed towards the ``interest on loan, 
sidewalks, hymn books, lights and piano tuning'' for this first 
Industrial Heights Mission Contributors included such well known East 
side names as Metzger, Rideout, Tracy, and Hirzel. The Mission lasted 
for several days and was enlarged into ``settlement work'' to help the 
many new immigrants in the area become adjusted to life in America.
  A Baptist minister from Ontario, Canada, Rev. Hoover was just past 
the age of 40 when he began his mission work in Toledo's East Side. His 
efforts resulted in the formation of the Neighborhood House, where he 
spent the remaining years of his life until his passing at the age of 
72. By the summer of 1902, property was obtained on Vinal Street, and 
adjoining lots were soon added through the generosity of East Toledoans 
Alexander Black, George Metzger, Isaac Gerson, and Mr. Nysewander.
  The Center records its early years as the land on Vinal Street near 
East Broadway, which was originally a neglected dump, was quickly 
improved. Dirt from the streets was used as fill, grass was sown, East 
Side florists provided flowers, the Monroe Nurseries gave shrubs and 
the old dump was transformed. The Ohio Neighborhood Institute, commonly 
called the Neighborhood House, was incorporated and the property at 
1019 and 1027 Vinal Street developed rapidly. M.J. Riggs, 
superintendent of the American Bridge Company in East Toledo, helped 
purchase playground equipment along with paint, fencing, and ornamental 
gates and posts.
  A depression in 1908 led to what some families called the ``slim 
winter.'' When no assistance was available to help the many families 
who were out of work, Mrs. Hoover and East Side businessmen stepped in 
to provide food and aid through the Neighborhood House. During the 
years of World War I there was a need for classes in English for both 
children and adults as more and more immigrants came to work in the 
factories of America. Before Oakdale School opened, school classes were 
held at the Neighborhood House for small children of various grades.
  By 1916 the Neighborhood House had a large playground. It featured a 
merry-go-round, basket swing, May pole and an enormous sand box. A 
``Sunshine House'' donated by Dorothy Kimball was used to help children 
learn how to keep house. Tea parties were held to teach the children 
``proper manners'' when entertaining and of course there were sports of 
all kinds, including boxing matches.
  Attendance records from 1916 show just how important the work of the 
Neighborhood House was to the community. The Vinal Street playground 
was used by five thousand children that year and almost thirty-five 
hundred people attended American Citizenship classes. Over two thousand 
people came to other lectures while a ``School of Conduct'' attracted 
nearly twenty-seven hundred people. A satellite ministry of the 
Neighborhood House, the Ironville Neighborhood Settlement, called 
Lincoln Place, had seventy-eight hundred participants during 1916. For 
the year, 28,766 people were involved in all the activities of this 
important East Side ministry.
  The importance of the Neighborhood House to the community is apparent 
by the number of companies and individuals who contributed to its 
support. A list of hundreds of donors includes the names of some of 
Toledo's most prominent citizens. Here can be found the names Ernest 
Tiedtke, Thomas DeVilbiss, Edward Ford, General Sherwood, Mr. 
Walbridge, Mr. Detwiler and Mr. LaSalle, along with such East Side 
names as Winchester, Hoeflinger, Eggleston, Gardner and Tucker. Edward 
Drummond Libbey was also an important early benefactor.
  By 1927 there were three buildings on the Vinal Street property. 
During the dark days of the Great Depression the bad times began to 
take their toll on the working class families of East Toledo and the 
Neighborhood House lost its founder when the Rev. Hoover passed away in 
early 1932. An article by Isabel Toppin of the East Side Sun family 
records that ``now many are losing the houses they tried hard to 
maintain.'' she continues ``the streams of little wagons and push carts 
headed for the city's dole measures the depression into which we have 
fallen.'' It would be during these times that the Neighborhood House 
would be needed all the more. Ms. Toppin goes on to say ``In the midst 
of the general unhappiness, the Neighborhood House has striven to 
relieve the drab hopelessness of the situation.'' During these hard 
times the Neighborhood House was often a last resort for people.
  Volunteers would bring in clothing, a baker would send surplus stock 
and mothers, as it was recorded, would ``accomplish wonders with a yard 
of goods and a button. The Neighborhood House became a clearing house 
for the needs of the community and the human spirit would not be 
extinguished by these hard times. By the 1940's as the economic times 
began to improve and the Neighborhood House continued to provide a 
place for people of all ages in the community to grow and become better 
citizens and better Americans.
  The Neighborhood House kept growing following the post-World War II 
boom years until a new building was needed in the early 1970's. The 
Center stood as a bulwark through neighborhood changes in the 1980s and 
1990s and adapted to the changing needs of East Side residents. Now as 
the 21st century progresses and it is into its twelfth decade of 
service, The East Toledo Family Center serves more people and provides 
more services than at any other time in its long history. Tradition has 
been maintained even as services develop and grow so that efforts 
continue to be directed toward providing educational, economic, social 
and recreational opportunities for working class families and children.
  Through more than a century of careful stewardship, the leaders of 
the East Toledo Family Center have carried forth the vision of Rev. 
Hoover and the founding members. It remains a beacon of light, shining 
on into a new century of service.

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