Code,915001
Subject,Geoff Mearns
Date,6/14/2012
Interviewer,Kelsey Smith
Abstract,"In this 2012 interview, Geoff Mearns talks about growing up in Shaker and moving back. HE spent his high school years in Shaker Heights in the 1970s, and then moved back to raise his kids there. His mother was on city council and then became the first woman to be mayor in Shaker Heights. He talks a little bit about her, as well as his father's involvement in desegregation in Cleveland Schools. He also talked about some of the changes taking place in Shaker today, especially the widening socioeconomic gap in the city."
Special Notes,
minutes:,
0,"background, how he came to Shaker"
1,Starting at Shaker High
2,Running track and cross country
3,"Lived in the Adlborough neighborhood, less of a neighborhood identity than others in Shaker"
4,Mother (Patricia Mearns) as mayor and on city council
5,His mother's reaction to finding out she was on city council
6,First woman as mayor
7,Her evolution into politics was natural-she was people person
8,His mother's interest in schools and community
9,Politics came to her naturally
10,Leaving for law school
11,Coming back to Shaker Heights
12,A personal and professional decision to come back
13,Quality of education and diversity
14,Shaker now and then (1970s)
15,Widening gap: two Shakers
16,Segregation then and now
17,His father's (Ted Mearns) role in Cleveland school desegregation
18,Locking the doors: a new experience
19,His father's threatening mail
20,Shaker schools integration less of an issue
21,Integration of Shaker schools
22,Legacy of integration
23,Socioeconomic tensions in community and schools
24,Why Shaker is special
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26,Mom as mayor
27,She cared about the community
28,Cleaning the city
29,"Less about the office, more about the people"
30,Accessible and caring as mayor and as a person
31,Geoff's involvement in community
32,Malvern Elementary
33,Mom made the drapes
34,"A place to come back to, a place to stay"
35,Intergenerational mix in school
36,No other community quite compares
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