August 25, 2003

CONTACT:
Deanna L. Bremer
Director of Marketing
Cleveland Restoration Society
Phone: (216) 426-3111
Fax: (216) 426-1975
E-mail: dbremer@clevelandrestoration.org

RESTORATION SOCIETY HONORS PRESERVATION LADIES AT TEA

On Saturday, August 23, 2003 from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., the Cleveland Restoration Society and Preservation Resource Center of Northeastern Ohio (CRS) honored five African American women who have been instrumental in Cleveland’s historic preservation movement at a ladies’ tea held in the recently opened garden at the Society’s headquarters, the Sarah Benedict House, 3751 Prospect Avenue. Society president, Marjorie H. Kitchell, welcomed over 100 friends and associates to honor Mrs. Artha Woods Blubaugh, the Honorable Lillian Walker Burke, the Honorable Jean Murrell Capers, Mrs. Joan Harris Southgate and Mrs. Olive Deany Tabor. Pastor Betty Williams of Burning Bush Evangelistic Ministry gave an opening prayer. As executive director, Kathleen H. Crowther, recognized each woman’s accomplishments she asked members of the audience who had been directly influenced by them to stand.

Artha Woods Blubaugh was a charter member of the Cleveland Restoration Society when it was formed in 1972. She served on the committee that founded the Society’s newsletter, Façade, which since 1976 has kept Clevelanders informed of preservation issues and accomplishments in our region. As a Cleveland City Council Representative from 1977 to 1989, and as Clerk of Council from 1990 to 1999, Mrs. Blubaugh has been a tireless advocate for historic preservation throughout the city.

The Honorable Lillian Walker Burke, a founding member of the Cleveland Restoration Society’s Board of Trustees, has influenced the historic preservation movement in Northeastern Ohio for three decades. She served on the City of Cleveland’s Landmarks Commission and Planning Commission and led the movement to list the East Boulevard Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Her advocacy contributed to the creation of the Society’s nationally recognized Neighborhood Historic Preservation Program in 1992 and to the conversion of several historic cooperative buildings to condominiums, immediately increasing homeownership in the district.

The Honorable Jean Murrell Capers has been a tireless advocate and articulate spokesperson for the preservation of Cleveland’s historic neighborhoods for over six decades. She has demonstrated her commitment to her family’s legacy through exemplary maintenance and preservation of the Murrell family home, which is located in Central, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. Her determination to protect that history was demonstrated in 2003 when the theft of the home’s stained glass windows spotlighted the violation of historic properties throughout Cleveland. Judge Capers served as a primary consultant for the Society’s first African American Historic Landmarks Tour in February 2003.

A distinguished social worker and community organizer, Joan Harris Southgate became a teacher of history when she completed a 519-mile walk tracing Ohio’s Underground Railroad. Her journey reminded us of the bravery of countless American slaves who traveled through Cleveland on their way to freedom, of the kindness of the brave families who assisted them on their journey, and the hope that a diverse citizenry can continue to work together toward a just society. The preservation community has greatly benefited from her advocacy on behalf of the Cozad Bates House, the last surviving pre-Civil War building in University Circle and the home of known abolitionists.

It was through Olive Deany Tabor’s vision of a better community that the Cleveland Restoration Society, Northeastern Ohio’s premier advocate for historic preservation, was established. In 1972, Mrs. Tabor worked with Maxine Goodman Levin and Thomas Campbell to convene hundreds of concerned citizens to advocate for the preservation of downtown Cleveland’s landmark buildings. As president of the Society from 1978 to 1980, she led efforts to expand the Society’s work into Cleveland’s neighborhoods.

The Cleveland Restoration Society/Preservation Resource Center of Northeastern Ohio is the region’s largest non-profit preservation organization and is a Local Partner affiliate of the National Trust. Founded in 1972, the Society is dedicated to the preservation of greater Cleveland’s historic resources.

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